Chapter 1194: The Vanishing Nose of Discernment

The Vanishing Nose of Discernment

No one can defeat "Him" within the Greedy Overlord's domain.

The little gathering of three clowns ended hastily because of a raid; the Dragon King tossed down a pile of "jewels," and even Squinty Old Zhang was charged some "construction deposit" for "renovating the gathering site without permission."

Listen to that—how refreshing, a construction deposit. The entire construction of the gathering site had been done by Zhang Zhang Jizu alone, and it was a certain little clown who had specifically come knocking to seek his help.

But now he has to pay a deposit even to renovate a tombstone.

Apart from grumbling a couple of lines about "the world going to the dogs and people's hearts no longer ancient," what else can he do?

As the two black-faced clowns departed, Cheng Shi, who had made a killing, returned to his rest area fully content.

He was very satisfied with this trial: not only did he find Eye-Bro, he also took out the greatest threat from the divine level—【Oblivion】—and moreover glimpsed a corner of the Fun God's layout from certain angles.

One need only look at the current predicament of the gods to know:

The Path of 【Life】 has only one remaining devout approachist, 【Nurture】, but She has always been neutral in matters of the cosmos; 【Prosperity】 has fallen; Boss 【Death】 has also been verified as an ally of the Fear faction. It can be said there is no longer any resistance within this Path.

【Degeneration】 at this point has only the never-appearing 【Corruption】 and the dying, begging-for-pity 【Decay】, and has lost its influence among the cosmos and the gods.

【Civilization】 has been wiped out completely; the only one not dead is still imprisoned behind the throne of 【Chaos】, not knowing when he will go to meet his two sibling gods.

【Chaos】 is the most active, but unfortunately, one of its three seats is the Fun God himself, one is the Nostril God who only knows contempt and never lifts a finger, and one is a friendly force that can vote alongside Boss 【Death】. Looking at it this way, 【Silence】 may well be inseparable from the Fear faction.

【Existence】 goes without saying—【Memory】's abstention that drove 【Oblivion】 mad already shows that Her attitude toward 【Void】 has shifted, and 【Time】 is a steadfast ally of the Faith-Fusion faction, silently supporting the Fun God's various decisions.

So adding it all up, within the current cosmos there is no longer a single enemy capable of taking on the Fear faction, except for 【Fate】, who is also of 【Void】!

As sovereigns of 【Void】, these two patrons both wish to personally write the period of this era bearing their own will, but in their divergence, who exactly is right...

No one knows, just as no one knows what this experiment in the hands of 【Origin】 is actually for.

Cheng Shi vaguely felt that this contest of "the predetermined" was about to reach its conclusion, only he didn't know in what manner 【Fate】 would lose to 【Fraud】.

He didn't care how 【Fate】 would lose, only praying that he wouldn't become a sacrificial victim of this battle of paths. After all, he was still the offering chosen by 【Void】; once the Fun God's rebellious plan was to tear apart the offering prepared for *Him, then Cheng Shi would truly be forever trapped in fear, never to escape.

After spacing out in the rest area for a while, Cheng Shi gathered his spirits and began to examine himself.

He took out his ears and tongue in turn, then gouged out his eyes and tossed them into two small iron cages. Once his vision recovered, he watched the Eyes of Mockery bouncing tirelessly in the mouse cage and asked curiously:

"Eye-Bro, do you guys really have no abilities?

Ear-Bro can spy on secrets, Tongue-Bro can eat lies. Following this pattern, you two wouldn't happen to only know how to mock?

Is verbal attack your ability?

Or to spread it further, can you precisely capture the target's emotional points and break their defenses with words?

Or perhaps you simply have no abilities at all, and your constant contempt for me is just to add to your own mystique so I'd think you two are more valuable than the other body parts?"

The moment his words fell, Cheng Shi was cursed at again—and it was a stereo-channel split-frequency scolding.

"Pfft—

An idiot is an idiot; I find it hard to imagine how you found them by sheer guesswork alone.

This also perfectly demonstrates that stupidity gathers—idiots of the same kind will spontaneously draw close, just like them and you."

"Your provocation and denial only make you more of a clown; when everyone already knows it, there's no need to emphasize your clown attribute every single day.

Once or twice can amuse the audience, but eight or ten times only proves you really are a clown—and a stupid one at that.

What's even more pathetic is that the mask has once again fallen into a clown's hands.

Tch, an endless loop. 【Fraud】 really is boring."

"......"

This time Cheng Shi felt balanced again.

You see, it's not just me getting cursed—the Fun God as patron isn't getting cursed just the same?

But since the cursing is done, you ought to spit out something useful for me. If I bust my ass to invite back two ancestors... I really can't accept that.

Cheng Shi pouted his lips and changed his approach, going roundabout:

"Fine, fine, fine, I'm stupid, I admit it.

Even if you look down on me, this fool, I am after all the one with the best hope of piecing that mask back together. Speaking of which, shouldn't you help me recover the last fragment, so the mask can be made whole again, and thereby console Klaun for his tremendous contribution to the faith of 【Fraud】?"

The two eyeballs scoffed once more and said:

"Klaun's greatest contribution to 【Fraud】 was helping Him trick you, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Of course I have abilities, but unfortunately idiots can't see them. When you're no longer stupid, you'll naturally know what I'm good for."

"......"

Cheng Shi truly had no moves left. He had asked the same question countless times, and all he got in return was contempt upon contempt, so he had no choice but to turn and seek help from Mouth-Bro, saying:

"Mouth-Bro, do you know?"

Before the Lips of Envoy Envoy Yu Xi could speak, the Eyes of Mockery spoke up again:

"What would it know? It doesn't even know what it's good for itself."

"?"

A gleam flashed in Cheng Shi's eyes; he perked up. "Besides knowing a lot, not being caught lying, and... calling me a clown, what else is Mouth-Bro good for?"

"Useless, just as useless as you."

"......"

"·......"

Defeated, utterly defeated.

Actually, when he saw the fearless Ears of Spying keeping silent without cease, and the ever-wriggling Tongue of Lie-Eating also lying obediently on the ground, Cheng Shi should have realized that communicating with the Eyes of Mockery would get him nowhere.

Wearily, he opened the mouse cage and released the endlessly energetic Eyes of Mockery, keeping them away from his ears, then lay on the ground gazing at the sky and sighed:

"Why do I feel these two brothers are more like creations of 【Folly】 than the Fun God's handiwork?

Who can give me an answer—Ear-Bro, Tongue-Bro?"

"......"

"Even if you don't want to talk about those two, surely you can talk about the Nose of Discernment. It's only one step away — once I find it, I can piece the False Face together, and you'll be able to find the secret that 【Memory】 has forgotten in the Archive of 【Memory】.

I wager the Eye of Mockery kept its memory, knowing what's inside — but you don't know, and aren't you curious?"

The Ear of Snooping said obediently, "Curious."

The Tongue of Lies flipped over too, and said lazily, "Curious."

Cheng Shi rallied: "Then tell me where the Nose is. I'll find it, and then I'll give you an answer!"

The scene fell silent for a moment — no one expected the one to pick up the thread to be the Lips of Foolery, who said:

"·No use. Before you know it's the Nose of Discernment, I can't even recall what it's called."

"!!??"

Cheng Shi sat bolt upright, his face full of disbelief, and the Ear beside him chimed in:

"That's right. I seem to have no memory of this 'brother' at all — it's as if some power has hidden it, making it impossible to sense where it is."

Cheng Shi's brow furrowed as he listened. According to Old Squint Zhang's conjecture, the Nose of Discernment should be something the God of Mischief created in an attempt to steal the authority of 【Existence】. If it really has been hidden by some power, could it be 【Existence】 that did it?

Not impossible — after all, They govern all 【Existence】.

But the question is, who would do such a thing?

【Time】, or 【Memory】?

【Volume Three: The False Face Is No Face, Complete.】

I was supposed to write a few words after the volume. This one was clearly harder to write than the first two, but I feel like saying too much would spoil things, so I'll just leave it at that.

Keep it simple and direct — Volume Four: In the End, Foolery!

Also, the physical book is out, and the physical design is seriously cool. Just in case some friends don't check the author's notes often, here's the heads-up. Over.