Chapter 191: Cute

...... Cute......

Fang Fang Shiqing remembered everything.

She remembered the jester summoned by that mask, remembered the chaos the jester caused on the battlefield, remembered the 【Mocking Giggles】 beneath the Void, and also remembered the figure crawling down from the Conjugate Whisper Tree.

Most importantly, she remembered this jester's name.

Cheng Shi!

This "friend" who had once rejected her invitation had re-entered her memory in such a strange form.

Fang Fang Shiqing's heart was a mix of emotions: moved, appreciative, admiring, and praising.

But none of these complex expressions showed; only a hint of a knowing smile appeared on the face that had previously been filled with fear and panic.

This smile was like a red sun just rising above a mountain peak, illuminating the entire Path of Passing the Flame.

It was so beautiful it defied description.

Even the 【Flame of Hope】 was stunned into silence.

"You..."

"What is it? Anything urgent? If not, we can talk when I get back; I really need to go find him."

"... Could this be what humans call pulling out..."

"No swearing!"

"..." The candle flame on the 【Flame of Hope】 froze, then droopily shifted its position. "I'm hurt; I need Qingqing to coax me to get better."

"Coax me when I get back. Goodbye!"

Fang Fang Shiqing walked away smiling. The 【Flame of Hope】 watched her back, its flame flickering left and right, wondering what to think.

The Path of Passing the Flame was long; she hadn't walked long before she met Bailin, who came rushing in frantically.

But strangely, the moment Bailin saw Fang Fang Shiqing, she suddenly regained her composure.

Fang Fang Shiqing glanced at her thoughtfully and asked with a smile:

"Why so frantic?"

Bailin hopped over, linked arms with her, and said with a grin:

"I had a nightmare. I was really scared at first, but the moment I saw Sister Qing, I suddenly wasn't afraid anymore.

Sister Qing, I feel like you're radiating light; it's too dazzling."

"Stop your nonsense! I don't have time for you; I have something to say to him. We can talk later."

Fang Fang Shiqing patted Bailin's hand and continued forward, but after only two steps, she stopped, turned around, and asked inexplicably:

"Hey, I suddenly remembered: what was the name of that knight squad's priest we met in the trial just now?

I reviewed the entire trial, but I just couldn't recall his name..."

Hearing this, Bailin furrowed her brow slightly on the surface as if thinking, but her hand behind her back tightly pinched her own waist.

Her back was soaked in sweat.

"It seems to be called... Layel?"

Fang Fang Shiqing had a sudden realization:

"Yes, yes, Layel. Hmm, I remember now. I'll go first; we'll talk later."

Saying this, Fang Fang Shiqing turned and walked away. Her pace grew faster and faster, and the sunny aura radiating from her grew stronger and stronger.

She could hear that Bailin's heartstrings were in disarray, which meant Bailin had probably also remembered everything from the previous trial.

But she did not want to pursue the matter or say too much; she only needed to know that Bailin had just lied to her, and that was enough.

The City Guard must protect the beauty within their hearts.

And this little bird had learned very quickly.

Bailin watched her departing figure and pressed her lips tightly shut.

A person filled her mind, but that person was not the departing Fang Fang Shiqing.

A sentence echoed in her heart, and that sentence was:

I cannot say it!

A short while later, in the Void, the Flame-Passing Hall.

Fang Fang Shiqing saw that towering figure again, the founder of the Flame-Passers, the anchor of the Flame-Passers.

He was bent over a desk writing. Fang Fang Shiqing quickly walked to the edge and slapped the petal of the Conjugate Whisper Tree onto the table.

"Thump."

The man raised his head, glanced at the petal, and smiled.

"Well? Did you get it?"

"You don't seem surprised?" Fang Fang Shiqing said irritably.

"If a Flame-Seeker cannot bring back what they long for, the Flame-Passers do not deserve the confidence to speak of protecting beauty."

"..." Fang Fang Shiqing laughed in frustration. "Don't make it sound so easy, and don't make me sound so great. This isn't my achievement; this is..."

The man stopped his pen, stood upright, looked at her, and smiled: "This is what?"

Fang Fang Shiqing's eyes darkened, then instantly became bright again.

"It is the achievement of all the Flame-Passers!"

"Clap, clap, clap! Well said."

The man laughed heartily: "I think we need to establish the position of an Incentive Officer, and you are very suitable for it."

"..."

Fang Fang Shiqing stared at the man before her for a long time, then suddenly asked:

"You're in a good mood; is there good news?"

"So obvious? It's not good news, but at least it's not bad news.

For us tightrope walkers, as long as it's not bad news, it counts as good news."

"What good news?"

"They've been tricked. Someone just told me those self-righteous Chosen Ones have been tricked."

Fang Fang Shiqing froze, surprised: "Who? Them?"

"No, no, no, I don't know who, but he... is quite interesting...

You don't need to know the details, because this also involves someone... never mind, bad luck, I won't mention her.

Before you meet her, you don't need to know who she is; otherwise, merely attracting her interest will only bring more bad luck.

Alright, let's talk about your business. It seems you didn't come just for this petal."

Indeed, originally Fang Fang Shiqing had been determined to deliver this petal, whose power was dissipating, so that the anchor before her could turn it into Shadow Oath Elixir.

But now, she was no longer in a hurry.

The reason for this change was naturally that some wonderful stories had suddenly appeared in her memory; though these stories were very brief, they still gave her great inspiration.

No, it should be said they gave her enormous, unimaginable inspiration.

Fang Fang Shiqing glanced at the petal on the table, hesitating to speak.

She tried to open her mouth several times, but didn't know how to recount Cheng Shi's stirring words in the void.

Because she knew the man before her was extraordinarily sharp; the moment she spoke, he would surely guess someone had implanted this idea in her and would then press her on who that person was.

And Fang Fang Shiqing did not want to say Cheng Shi's name.

Because she felt she was not the one who had been implanted with the idea, but the one who had actively accepted it.

So she hesitated, she wrestled with it, she didn't know how to begin.

The man saw all this and smiled again.

He was far more sharp than Fang Fang Shiqing had imagined.

"It seems our Seeker of Embers has her own secret.

No matter. Since you feel this secret shouldn't be told to me, then..."

The man stepped back, pulled a syringe from under the desk, and placed it on the tabletop.

"This is..." Fang Fang Shiqing paused slightly, asking in confusion.

"A creation of Memory, an SS-grade item: Remembrance Lament.

Just lightly touch yourself with it, then think of the memory you wish to erase, and it will help you cover all of it up.

Don't underestimate it just because it's an SS-grade item; its effect is on the level of a Divine Relic, but..."

Fang Fang Shiqing's eyes widened, and she murmured a guess:

"A consumable?"

"Bingo. It is a consumable."

"But this is your..."

"This belongs to the Fire-Bearer," the man interrupted her, smiling even more brightly. He said very seriously, "We always trust our comrades. If you are not ready to tell me this secret, it only means I shouldn't know it.

And this, Ms. Fang Fang Shiqing, is also one of the beauties that you, as a Fire-Bearer, must protect.

As the founder of the Fire-Bearers, I can only be happy about this.

You should use it, and you need to use it."

Fang Fang Shiqing never denied that a large part of the reason she joined the Fire-Bearers was the personal charm of the man before her.

She always believed that with someone like him leading the way, the Fire-Bearers would surely walk the path of passing on the flame.

So she nodded heavily, then carefully organized her logic, weighed her wording, took several deep breaths, and finally spoke the words she had been holding back.

"I think...

the will of the City-Builder is too conservative."

"..."