Chapter 1143: History Cannot Bury a Historian

History cannot bury a historian.

Yet history fundamentally cannot bury a true historian.

Because they are the researchers and recorders of history, yet uniquely not its participants.

It is they who pick up fragments of words and scattered texts to reconstruct the past of a land, piecing together the tapestry of history; thus, even if a historian truly dies, they only die within the history they compiled.

The Zhao Xishi who snapped Ying Cheng Shi's neck was a decoy.

Any player who has tangled with Zhen Yi is no "ordinary mortal," especially Zhao Xishi, who hails from the Historical School.

She was expelled from the Historical School precisely because she insisted on using later generations' wisdom to fill historical gaps—in short, she wanted to forge history!

But the false history she forged differed from the false history advocated by certain shit-officials; she did not believe her compiled history was false—in her eyes, history itself was always a story written by later wills, and she merely added some personal seasoning to these dull tales, making them more "delicious."

Coupled with the Historical School's "authority," once these stories spread widely and were universally accepted, what was not true would become true.

Thus, history could become a resource controlled by Zhao Xishi, not merely data, and the Historical School's power and prestige would rise another level.

In truth, the Historical School has always done this; Zhao Xishi's views and the school's current state are merely a question of whether there is more water or more rice.

The current Historical School has boiled a pot of porridge called "history"; though this porridge is mixed with dirt, stirred with mud, and possibly even stained with shit, at least it can fill the stomach.

But Zhao Xishi believes it doesn't matter if outsiders remain hungry, so she wants to omit all the rice and feed others nothing but dirt and shit.

This is why she was overwhelmingly rejected by Zhen Yi.

Of course, history is biased—whether Zhen Yi was truly the one who rejected her depends on whether the head of the Historical School, when casting the veto vote, truly awakened his sister.

In any case, all of the above proves Zhao Xishi is a master at fabricating history; thus, after leaving the Forbidden Folly at the start of the trial, she forged a false decoy for herself within this history of Redicor—a Zhao Xishi living in this era.

Therefore, what fell in history was not the true historian, but the historian's forged history; even though Cheng Shi, acting prudently, drove his Skin-Bone Knife through her corpse, the one who could not be revived was still the fake.

When Zhao Xishi in history collapsed, Mo Shu had already clashed again with Chen Shu.

You may despise this 【Silent】 believer's chatter, but you cannot deny his strength—otherwise, he would not have survived until now.

This applies equally to Mo Shu: you may question his pastry-making skill, but you cannot underestimate the methods of a 【Annihilation】 Divine Chosen.

Even as Cheng Shi and Ying Cheng Shi closed in together, Mo Shu still annihilated the dangers around him, holding off three opponents temporarily.

Since being ambushed and blown up by Cheng Shi in a civilian house, Mo Shu had paid close attention to Cheng Shi's attack methods; he even developed a defense against Lei Ting—wrapping himself in 【Annihilation】 power to annihilate all ballistic attacks.

But this defense consumes too much mental energy; without Zhao Xishi present to assist, he could not sustain it long.

Thus, upon seeing his teammate collapse, Mo Shu retreated temporarily, seeking another solution.

Yet Cheng Shi had no intention of being disturbed again; he had no plan to let Mo Shu go. From the instant Mo Shu appeared, he had marked the pastry chef.

He thought the Aflous family's cook was terrible—there were no decent pastries on the terrace banquet table—so he decided to gift the Aflous family a new cook.

But to his surprise, just as he prepared to activate the Redeemer of Self-Guilt, Mo Shu's Self-Guilt mark was annihilated by an inexplicable force!

The source of this power felt familiar; Cheng Shi's pupils contracted—he sensed something was wrong and turned to flee.

Chen Shu was enjoying the fight; seeing his brother-in-law leave, his heart sank—he immediately vanished as well.

His instinct told him his brother-in-law's ability to sense danger far surpassed his own; he was no fool, and would not risk his life by insisting on a fierce battle in such peril.

Thus, both sides broke contact instantly, and soon only a group of tardy Forbidden Folly guards stood at the alley's mouth, staring at the shattered houses and land, exchanging glances.

"Someone dared to attack the Forbidden Folly?"

"Report it to Lord Kandelter immediately!"

"Captain, Lord Kandelter is gone."

"...... Don't record that last statement. As enforcers, we cannot know folly and commit folly."

"Too late, Captain. Allow me to address you one last time as Captain—you are no longer fit to be an enforcer. Men, arrest him."

After retreating, Mo Shu arrived at a civilian house on the edge of the town.

At this moment, Zhao Xishi sat pale-faced at the table, calming her emotions.

Dying in place of history through a historical body was not without damage; she had lost combat capability in the short term, meaning if Mo Shu turned on her now, she would have no decoy body left to shield her.

Thus, from the moment Mo Shu returned, her gaze toward him carried heavy suspicion.

Mo Shu glanced at her coldly and sneered: "If I wanted to annihilate you, you would already cease to exist."

Zhao Xishi's expression shifted slightly, but her suspicion clearly lessened; she whispered weakly:

"I know you won't. Before verifying the truth spoken by Jieshu, we remain allies, don't we?"

Allies?

Mo Shu frowned, saying nothing.

"How long until you recover?"

Zhao Xishi's face darkened: "Nourishing my body through historical time will take some time."

"So we just wait idly?"

"You don't have to wait idly—if you can handle both of them alone, I'll gladly sing a victory song for you right here."

"......"

Mo Shu gave Zhao Xishi a cold glance and casually annihilated the chair beneath her; she lost all support and crashed to the ground with a "thud."

"You!!?" Her face flushed crimson, eyes blazing with fury.

Mo Shu ignored her:

"The defeated must speak cautiously.

I'm not here to play house with you. If your purpose here is to prove the Weaver of Fate's strength, I'll consider finding Jieshu a new ally.

Suppress your anger and grievance—they are useless.

If you can't control them, I won't mind annihilating them for you."

"......"

In a world where strength reigns supreme, everything a weakling says is wrong.

Zhao Xishi knew this well—that's why she sought strength, why she wanted to control the narrative.

She fell silent, then gathered her emotions and became extremely calm.

"Once I recover, I've already found a candidate who can join forces to deal with the Fate Weaver."

Mo Shu frowned slightly: "Wei Mu?"

"No, still Ji Yue!

The trump card in my hand tells me her memory has been contaminated, and it was contaminated by the Fate Weaver!

So it's no wonder she's so hostile toward us.

Once I recover and 'help' her recover her memory, we might gain another cannon fodder to go up and die.

This Purgatory Bishop's strength cannot be underestimated; when the two of them are both wounded, we can naturally reap the fisherman's profit."

"Why didn't you use it earlier?"

"The wonders of 【Existence】 are far beyond what 【Fallen】 can fathom. If Ji Yue hadn't attacked me, how would I have perceived the stain in her memory?

Still, every drink and every peck is fate.

She refused me once, so I won't allow her to refuse me a second time."

Though the plan sounded decent, Mo Shu always felt something was off. He frowned and said: "How can you be certain Ji Yue will definitely side with us?"

Hearing this, Zhao Xishi laughed.

"When people tamper with others' memories, it must be to cover up their own crimes.

Let me ask you — if you did something beneficial to me, would you want to erase my memory?"

"..."

How could they not?

The little cakes I fed to the world before — weren't they helping them approach 【Annihilation】? Yet afterward I made them forget me.

But even as he thought it, Mo Shu also admitted he was no ordinary person, so he felt Zhao Xishi's words held some truth.

In this world, even a villain might leave behind a false kindness to survive, let alone a good person?

The Fate Weaver is naturally that good person.