Chapter 1261: The Disappearing Lake

The Disappearing Lake

Up to now, there were a total of four people in the Jieshu team known to Cheng Shi; excluding the organizer Jieshu, the rest were:

Mo Shu, Zhao Xishi, and Su Yi Da.

The Cleaner already had a death wish, and the Historian and the Trickster Master had long since been buried; if such an opportunity wasn't utilized, it would be a disservice to the fate that fed the meal to one's mouth.

So today, this team underwent a round of personnel changes without Jieshu's knowledge; besides the organizer Jieshu remaining the same, the other three new members were:

Cheng Shi, Seeing Zhen Xin, and Long Jing.

Yes, Cheng Shi prepared to borrow their identities to meet that "Fool Hunter" who wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible. This wasn't for revenge, but for a plan gradually taking shape in his heart.

This plan didn't have a name yet, but Cheng Shi knew that the moment the plan was completed, others would give it a name.

Although he wasn't sure if Jieshu's plan had changed over such a long time, or what state Mo Shu was in, it could be expected that no matter how this game was played, it wouldn't stump three top-tier swindlers.

It's interesting to think about: when the proportion of "moles" in an organization far exceeds other members, then whose organization is it really?

Is it possible that Jieshu is the outsider?

We Jesters are holding a meeting, how did you, a 【Foolish】 believer, sneak in?

Thinking of this, Cheng Shi smiled knowingly.

But even if the anticipated fun would be great, he still had no bottom line in his heart for this plan.

However, these were all matters for after the trial; the top priority was still to focus on this trial of 【Fraud】 before his eyes.

Cheng Shi was curious about how Long Jing played the Trickster Master, and Long Jing didn't hide it, saying this was a 【Memory】 item he got from Long Wang, which could temporarily borrow the abilities of enemies he had once fought.

Cheng Shi's eyes lit up, and he asked him to take it out for a look.

Long Jing spread his hands and said it was used up.

Cheng Shi didn't believe a single word; if it were really used up, how would you act for the next 4 days?

But he also knew that things in others' pockets weren't easy to pick, so he could only "save the nation by a curved path" and asked: "How did you extort it?"

Long Jing's expression stalled; he didn't really want to admit it.

In fact, he did indeed extort it; he painted a big pie for Li Jingming.

After finishing off Su Yi Da, he went to find Long Wang and told the other that he was about to penetrate the interior of the Jieshu group, but was still lacking some support; as long as Long Wang provided support, he was willing to share this memory exclusively with Long Wang in the future.

Li Jingming felt this exchange was doable, so he agreed to Long Jing.

But now, Long Jing's plan was interrupted by "his own people," and the interrupter even wanted him to join the other's plan...... if he shared the memory with Long Wang now, wouldn't he become a "well-known" jester again?

No, that won't do!

For the sake of President Gong's reputation, he had to renege on the debt!

Long Jing closed his mouth, firm as a righteous person who would die to protect Long Wang's interests from being harmed.

Unfortunately, he was facing two shrewd swindlers; without him saying it, just looking at his appearance, they could guess what kind of promise this acrobat had made.

Cheng Shi and Seeing Zhen Xin looked at each other and smiled, deciding to leave some face for President Gong.

"President Gong, you've been here so much longer than us, what have you discovered?"

Long Jing didn't want to share this matter either; originally this stage should have belonged to him, but now that someone had stuck their foot in, his perfect curtain call performance plan had long since gone bankrupt.

But he couldn't always not share; who knew if these two unlucky things would use methods on him?

Although he wasn't afraid of a fight, he was afraid of making a fool of himself, and what was uncomfortable was that it was too easy to make a fool of himself in front of these two......

Thus, Long Jing resigned himself to fate and said listlessly:

"Lake left secretly under the cover of night; I used the 【Memory】 item to see the scene of him leaving.

He was very resolute; before leaving, he even lingered at the entrance of the circus for a long time, clearly not intending to return, which is why I thought of replacing him to reverse the ending of the play.

I didn't find any clues related to his departure, nor could I fathom why a jester with such deep feelings for the circus would make such a choice.

The night he left, he was unusually nervous, even trembling while walking, which is very illogical for a jester who has performed on stage in front of audiences for years, is used to all kinds of scenes, and is extremely good at controlling the stage.

Of course, it can't be ruled out that he was afraid of being discovered, but combined with the confusion in his eyes, I am more inclined to believe this behavior was his anxiety over an unpredictable future!

Limited by the item's effective range, I didn't find where he stayed, but the direction he left in was toward the city, looking like he had an appointment with someone.

I suspect he was threatened, because I also saw a hint of fear in his eyes."

As he spoke, Long Jing sat up straight; clearly, he was also very interested in Lake's disappearance.

Cheng Shi frowned tightly, thinking carefully: to make a jester decisively leave the career he loved most, leave his closest friends and family, and leave the "home" he had fought for his whole life, how much power would the other party have to hold to achieve all this?

Cheng Shi pondered for a moment and soon thought of an answer, and at this time, Seeing Zhen Xin on the side also gave her own conjecture:

"The other party wants to destroy the play!

To protect the circus, the jester had no choice but to compromise."

Cheng Shi nodded; he thought the same. He sorted through all possibilities and asked and answered himself:

"The person meeting Lake either has great power and can easily decide the life or death of the play, or they hold leverage that would make the play notorious.

If it's the former, they seem to have no need to simply make things difficult for a jester, unless it's for some kind of incomprehensible bad taste.

The only people who can have such bad taste and hold power are probably the royal family.

Could it be that a royal family member is inclined to support Morning Joy to disgust the play?

But based on the royal family's reaction to the play's explosion and the observation of that royal investigator I knocked out, they seem more inclined to support the play; after all, the play can be considered a 'legacy' of a generation of kings, which is more in line with the traditionalist tone.

But if it's not the royal family, are there other large forces in Kanliwar?

No...... even if there are, it seems to be the same logic; if they want the play to collapse, they don't need to target only the jester.

In this way, it looks more like the second situation.

Someone got hold of the play's leverage and used it to threaten Lake into making a choice.

But why must it be Lake?

Oh?

I know, it's very likely because......"

"Because this leverage concerns the jester."

Seeing Zhen Xin raised her eyebrows, pointing out the key: "Lake must have committed a crime detrimental to the play and was seen by someone with a heart, which is why he was manipulated like this.

Otherwise, with his love for the circus, he would probably have guarded the play to the death.

Our vision shouldn't be limited to the circus; we have to investigate what Lake did before he disappeared.

Only by clarifying the cause and effect can we judge whether the play's ending should be tragic or happy.

Heh, it's also interesting to say, a stage that provides emotions for the audience, yet cannot decide its own tragic or happy ending......

The Joy God wouldn't be hinting at something with this, would He?"

Seeing Zhen Xin's eyes rolled around, not knowing what she was thinking.

"......"

"......"

Her sudden elevation of the topic caused the scene to fall into silence.

Cheng Shi curled his lips, not knowing how to respond, while Long Jing didn't consider that much. He thought along the lines of the two, combined with what he had seen and heard, and gave a very reasonable guess.

"There are no groundless threats in this world.

Forcing Lake to leave must benefit someone; if we put aside the trivial details and only talk about who benefits most from Lake's departure, then there is no doubt we will only get one result!"

The three looked at each other and said in unison:

"Morning Joy."

Cheng Shi smiled; this was the peak game he had once dreamed of, where everyone could carry.

Of course, it would be even better if they didn't swindle each other.

"It seems we need to take a trip to Morning Joy," Cheng Shi blinked, "and just happen to see how Old Zhang's suffering is going." ===== CHAPTER 1262 =====