Chapter 1129: A New Trial: [Folly]

New Trial: 【Folly】

The matter of the Black Long Wang weighed on Cheng Shi's mind.

He always felt that the secret of the Dream of Others, Haunting of Self seemed to contain more than just a connection to the Wuyi Dream Mirror, but for the moment he could not find an excuse to fool the Long Wang, so he could only set the matter aside and observe in secret for a while longer.

Before Cheng Shi now lay two matters: one was to go to the True Universe and pick up the Authority of 【War】, and the other was to go to the small town of 【Folly】 mentioned by Scarred Cheng Shi and investigate whether there were any clues about the purpose of Derision.

The former still required finding a way to break through the barrier of time, and the Fire of Hope had not sent back any news of Qin Xin being dealt with, so there was no rushing it; for now, the only one that could actually be carried out was the latter.

He had wanted to find some helpers among the Jesters to go with him and find out, but considering that news from another world might deviate slightly from the one beneath his feet, he thought it over and finally decided to go scout the way first, and only rally reinforcements once he had more accurate information.

But to be cautious, he still called for one person.

The call connected, and Cheng Shi got straight to the point: "Hey, Old Zhang, there's news about the Fool's Play mask. Come with me somewhere."

Zhang Zhang Jizu on the other end of the line straightened his expression and immediately answered: "Good. When, who else, and where?"

"We leave now. Just the two of us. Chaos Epoch, Lone Tower of Civilization, the town of Folly."

Cheng Shi wasted no words, quickly relayed the time of the wish and the prayer, then sat cross-legged on the ground and waited for the appointed time to arrive.

On the other side, Zhang Zhang Jizu in the void set down the phone, raised his head with a solemn expression toward those spiral-twisting star-eyes, narrowed his gaze, and said:

"You foresaw this phone call long ago, didn't you, my lord Patron?

That's why you summoned me beforehand and pulled me into the void."

Those eyes let out a soft laugh:

"I'm not 【Fate】; what foresight could I possibly have?

It was merely coincidence.

In recognition of your devotion, I have summoned you to bestow grace. I know the ambitions in your heart are no small matter, but a little ambition is always a good thing—otherwise this world would be far too dull.

Aren't you carving tombstones for the gods? Finish the tombstone of 【Truth】; He will have use for it."

"!!??"

Zhang Zhang Jizu's eyes went wide in an instant.

Though not by much...

He dared not believe it: "You mean to make a move against 【Truth】?"

"Those that should have been dealt with were dealt with long ago. Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Keep your head down and carve your tombstones.

And carve my tombstone a little better-looking. Even if it isn't used, it wouldn't hurt as a decoration.

I'm your Patron after all—surely it can't be worse than that old bag of bones' stele, can it?

Heh~

That's that, then. I still have things to attend to. You may withdraw."

As he spoke, those eyes, without further ceremony, whipped up a violent gust of nothingness and blew Zhang Zhang Jizu away, leaving behind one last remark.

"Oh, right—no need to mind the Jester. Anyone may go to 【Folly】's territory. The Old Bag of Bones' little bones cannot go there for now."

Zhang Zhang Jizu, fallen back into the graveyard, stood dazed before the gods' tombstones. His gaze swept over the Three Tombs of Civilization and lingered long before the unfinished tombstone of 【Truth】, his heart filled with shock and uncertainty.

Why had 【Truth】 fallen?

And why was he unable to go to 【Folly】's territory?

On the other side.

Knowing nothing of all this, Cheng Shi, once the appointed time arrived, closed his eyes devoutly and prayed:

"Discerning not true nor false, weighing not real nor void.

Your devout believer beseeches you—open a trial...

A trial of 'observing the life of the small town of Redicol near the Lone Tower of Civilization No. 413'!"

As the prayer faded, his vision flushed red.

【Wish Trial (Trial No. 12,814,229,109,136 — Foolish Act 【Folly】) has begun】

【Matching teammates (1/6)】

【Trial Objective: Yet Another Foolish Act (Time Limit: 5 Days)】

"?"

As expected, it's a setup of 【Folly】!

As the pinnacle of universal wisdom, the trials He bestows never carry any guidance—only the words "Foolish Act."

Perhaps in His eyes, everything in this world is a Foolish Act—even He Himself.

But this time he was only going to take a look around and do nothing; surely that couldn't count as a Foolish Act, right?

Just as he thought this, Cheng Shi's vision slowly faded to black.

【Pi Pei Cheng Gong (6/6), entering trial】

A dry, crisp wind woke Cheng Shi. The moment his consciousness returned, violent pain surged from every part of his body.

His eyes burned as if seared by fire, his back and belly stabbed as if pricked by needles, and his wrists and ankles felt as though every bone had been shattered, leaving him unable to feel any feedback from his hands and feet.

The sudden onslaught of agony made Cheng Shi's brain instantly trigger a stress response, cutting off all sensation of pain, and at the same time put him on instant high alert.

He had to first confirm whether his current state was caused by the trial environment, or whether he had been done in by a teammate right at the start of the trial!

Fortunately, although Cheng Shi lay on the ground, his eyes filled with blood and seeing no light, his Shadow Cheng Shi could still perceive the surroundings.

This was clearly a prison cell, built on the side of a cliff. The iron bars set into the stone wall on the inside looked immensely sturdy, while the outside was completely unshielded, opening straight onto the precipice.

A great gap let in gust after gust of mountain wind, scattering the smell of blood within the cell, yet unable to stir the six gravely wounded prisoners lying on the ground.

It seemed these were all the players in this trial. Good—it wasn't only him who was injured, which meant the situation of the trial wasn't quite so dire.

Right, it's only an observation trial; surely the difficulty can't be that high, can it?

But again with a prison... again with prisoners...

Is this lousy game determined to bind me together with prisoners?

Cheng Shi sighed helplessly; he couldn't lift his hand, so he could only let his shadow extend a hand behind him to silently heal him, and before long he was fully recovered and on his feet.

And when he was the first to stand up and saw clearly who the teammate nearest to him was, the smile on his face after recovery instantly froze.

"Brother-in-law!? Save me, brother-in-law!"

Some bald-headed fellow opened his mouth and started jabbering away, "I was just saying why magpies were chirping outside my window first thing this morning — turns out there really is something good happening. What a coincidence, a warrior and a priest, the two of us are invincible, brother-in-law."

"......"

How is it him!?

Cheng Shi was dumbfounded; he had never imagined he'd run into Chen Shu in a place like this!

But running into Chen Shu would be one thing — where's Old Mi? Didn't he get matched?

Even if he didn't get matched with the 【Death】 Divine Chosen, you wouldn't go and match me with an 【Annihilation】 Divine Chosen, would you?

What kind of brain-dead matchmaking system is this, afraid an 【Annihilation】 believer can't find me?

That's right — the second person to stand up after Cheng Shi was precisely Mo Shu, who even with broken hands and broken feet hadn't forgotten to grab his suitcase. Yet the moment he saw Mo Shu, all the memories of this person that had once been blurred away in Cheng Shi's mind came flooding back, letting him recognize the Cleaner standing before him at a glance.

What was going on — had his Memory power disappeared?

Not far from Mo Shu lay two ladies; one of them Cheng Shi recognized — it was Ji Yue, the Erudite Scholar he'd sweet-talked during that previous 【Chaos】 trial where he'd plucked the bitter fruit of 【Fate】 — while the other was a strange female player he'd never seen before, with a cold look in her eyes.

The way she looked at him carried a hint of hostility; clearly, she knew who he was.

As for the last teammate in this prison cell......

He was an unfamiliar man, and this man looked very proper, or rather there was nothing remarkable about him — the sort of generic face that, placed in a crowd, you wouldn't pick out at a glance and wouldn't leave any impression.

Yet he looked at Cheng Shi with great interest, completely ignoring the pain on his body, and stood right up to offer a greeting:

"We meet again, Grand... Weaver of Fate?"

Cheng Shi's brow furrowed slightly, thinking to himself that he didn't seem to have ever seen this man before — why was the other's attitude toward him so familiar and strange, and what did that word "Grand" imply he knew?

Just as Cheng Shi had blocked out Chen Shu's chatter and was continually pondering who this person was, Chen Shu let out a shout that directly exposed the other's identity.

"Wei Mu?

Are you falling apart?

Otherwise how did you end up matched with me and my brother-in-law?"

"......"

Cheng Shi's pupils contracted sharply, his heart clenching.

Who!?