[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-foolish-game-of-the-gods":3,"chapter-foolish-game-of-the-gods-foolish-game-of-the-gods-chapter-404":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Foolish Game of the Gods",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},579375,829,"Chapter 404: Blow the Whistle — Phone Calls Just Don't Hit Right","foolish-game-of-the-gods-chapter-404",404,"\u003Cp>Cheng Shi didn't want to share his memories, so he scammed Dragon King.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though calling it a scam was generous — he hadn't actually heard Aph Ros's story either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one had to frame it a certain way, two Deceit followers had engaged in a brief telephone sparring match, and Cheng Shi felt he'd come out slightly ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But knowing Aph Ros's identity alone didn't resolve his confusion. What he wanted wasn't a label — it was the reason Birth and Deceit had shoved Aph Ros right in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trial was bestowed by Birth. Yet the one ultimately tied to him was a Corruption Envoy. Did that make any sense?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It did not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bewildered, Cheng Shi pondered for a moment and made another call. He wasn't sure this one would even connect — but to his surprise, it went through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An elegant voice tinged with a hint of coquettishness answered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hello?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn't said a single word — he'd only let out a breath — yet somehow the person on the other end seemed to guess who it was:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cheng Shi?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Are you all cheating? Every last one of you?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'You can identify me from breathing?!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi's brain short-circuited. He forced an awkward laugh and greeted her while curling his toes: \"Hu Xuan, long time no see.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other side laughed — warmly, happily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It really has been. Where's the Night Curtain Spring Whistle I gave you? Why haven't you blown it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Sis, do I dare?!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'One toot and I'm afraid this rooftop's headcount jumps from one to three — maybe more!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'That whistle is NOT meant for normal circumstances!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi's mouth twitched. He laughed it off:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Blowing a whistle would disturb the neighbors. The person across from me is a light sleeper. I'd hate to bother him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A phone call works just fine, you know? The second I found out you had a phone, I contacted you right away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that so? Then I should thank Tu Tou?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, on the other end, Hu Xuan laughed — and even without seeing that smile, Cheng Shi felt an instinctive Birth-related impulse stir in his subconscious!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'She's gotten stronger again — even her voice carries His color now!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Xuan continued with a soft chuckle:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When she ran into me yesterday, I was debating whether to accept the phone to stay in touch with a new friend. Looks like I made the right call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You're the first friend to phone me, Cheng Shi. I'm very happy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Huh?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Wait — huh?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'What do you mean yesterday?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Sis, that \"I contacted you the second I found out\" was just a pleasantry — I didn't actually mean it!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\" Cheng Shi's brain stalled. He'd never imagined an offhand courtesy could bury him like this. He blinked in bewilderment, then rushed to explain. \"I—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everyone's talking about you and Zhen Yi... Is it true?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I recall you didn't get along with her sister. So is this your way of getting revenge on Zhen Xin?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In that case, giving me a child could also count as a form of revenge against her, couldn't it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh? No, I—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Blow the whistle. Phone calls just don't hit right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I'm guessing you didn't call to catch up. Perfect timing, actually — I have something to pass along to you too. So...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blow the whistle, Cheng Shi. Whatever you want to know, I can tell you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Sis, I'm terrified. Can I please get a word in?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi wanted to hang up. But he could tell that the \"something\" Hu Xuan mentioned was probably... a very good something!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Damn it — Aph Ros's influence must have left aftereffects. There's a greedy impulse devouring my reason!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Anything the Birth Chosen, the Eternal Sun candidate, is willing to part with can't be ordinary. Free loot — why say no?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as quickly, he squelched that thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'No — steady, Cheng Steady. You can't lose your head. That thing probably costs a life to obtain — or maybe is a life!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Remember what that great one said: greed is the path to death!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While his brain churned in panicked debate over whether to risk it, a different question suddenly struck him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality — how could Hu Xuan even come to him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He jolted. Then, disbelieving:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You succeeded?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Xuan laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not yet. But I'm on the right path now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since I met you, Fate seems to have begun favoring me. So...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I should thank you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relax — I can't break the Convention's constraints. I'm just looking at you from far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mm. One look is enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened: \"You even know about the Convention.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Surprised?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to me knowing about the Convention, the fact that you know about it is what surprises me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I really don't have the luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I'm starting to regret. If back then I had...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stop, stop, stop — hold on, Hu Xuan. One question. You want me to blow this whistle, and it has nothing to do with luck — correct?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other end fell silent for a moment, then chuckled softly: \"Correct. Nothing to do with luck. But it does involve... Him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Him?!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Who?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Birth?!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi frowned. Was the thing He wanted to convey split in half — with one part entrusted to Hu Xuan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that seemed absurdly prescient. How could He have foreseen Cheng Shi would phone Hu Xuan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or was it that regardless of whether he made this call, He'd have arranged another encounter — engineering a meeting between Hu Xuan and him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so — there was no escaping it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After lengthy deliberation, Cheng Shi decided to trust Hu Xuan one more time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she was telling the truth, then this friend was well worth having. And if she was lying — better still. One phone call to see through a so-called friend was a bargain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he agreed, hung up, and with trembling hands retrieved the Night Curtain Spring Whistle from his storage. He raised it gingerly to his lips and gave it the faintest blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A crisp, bright note rang out — the kind that filled you with surging spirit and energy the instant you heard it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Cheng Shi sensed something off about this particular brand of \"energy,\" he noticed his hands had turned white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he quickly realized it wasn't his skin — the rooftop had gotten brighter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sunlight was growing blindingly intense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi startled violently. Something occurred to him. He looked skyward in utter disbelief — and there it was: a sun rivaling reality's own, blazing into existence directly above him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right on the rooftop!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Close enough to touch!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi gaped, scalp tingling. He'd never imagined the \"meet-up\" Hu Xuan described would look like this!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Sis — you call this \"looking at me\"?!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'You're not going to melt everything on my rooftop, are you?!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheng Shi gulped, flashing back to several months ago — scrambling in panic beneath the fire-rain of the Wrath of Abomination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the scene before him now looked terrifyingly familiar!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>",1189,"2026-05-30T16:17:59.408Z","2026-06-01T04:31:40.442Z",1,"novelbin.me","5c40de97de2c8e5fabf35cc15b31029f16ced89b46fcd08526c0fea31254170a","foolish-game-of-the-gods-chapter-405","foolish-game-of-the-gods-chapter-403",1463,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffoolish-game-of-the-gods-cover.jpg"]