Chapter 281: Second Trial: Piety Beside Decay

Second Trial: Piety Beside Decay

Cheng Shi had a good sleep.

To be honest, even on the roof of the rest area, he hadn't slept this soundly once. But last night, he slept until dawn, and both his body and mind were completely relaxed.

He even had a nightmare that wasn't really a nightmare, dreaming of some interesting things from his childhood.

Truly interesting.

Cheng Shi recalled the content of the dream with some aftertaste, then did a carp leap to stand up from the ground. After looking around, he found only Hong Lin left in the room; at this moment, she was standing at the door looking at him with a strange expression.

He raised an eyebrow, knowing that this Druid was not at ease with him, which was why she had guarded here.

In usual trials, it would be good if unfamiliar teammates didn't take action while you were sleeping; those who woke up early wouldn't waste time and would most likely leave directly to collect new information.

Sure enough, Zuo Qiu was right: Baldy was a very loyal player. Even if this loyalty was most likely directed at Tao Yi rather than himself, Cheng Shi still appreciated it.

So a brilliant smile bloomed on his face, and he said, "Thank you."

Cheng Shi guessed right; Hong Lin was indeed guarding him, but not just for this moment—she had guarded him all night.

She simply couldn't imagine how this Weaver, who was full of nonsense, dared to sleep soundly in a situation where the environment was unfamiliar, the road ahead was unclear, and the temperaments of his teammates were not well understood.

Last night, she only took a short, alert nap before opening her eyes again. Protected by 【Prosperity】, she actually didn't need to rest at all, but adopting a resting posture was also a good way to stay alert.

Because when a 【Prosperity】 God-Chosen is sitting in front of you dozing off, the person who should be alert shouldn't be her, but you.

You need to think carefully about whether this God-Chosen is fishing, or waiting for an opportunity to take action.

And this is the pressure of a God-Chosen!

When Jiang Wu Mei came in, she was already awake. She sensed the hunter quietly sitting not far from Cheng Shi, but because he didn't make any extra moves, Hong Lin didn't pay attention.

Among the players, only Zuo Qiu hadn't been seen all night.

Afterwards, in the long night, she sat quietly in place, waiting for Cheng Shi to wake up.

This kind of protection was indeed not to ensure the continuation of the "impersonate God-Messenger plan," nor was it a soft-hearted mentality; it was simply repaying a favor for Tao Yi.

Cheng Shi saved Tao Yi's life, which was very important to Hong Lin.

So when Hong Lin knew that Cheng Shi was the "liar" in Tao Yi's words, she had this thought: even if the trial wasn't completed, at least she couldn't let Tao Yi's savior fold here.

So for this 【Prosperity】 trial, she already had a target to protect.

But that target wasn't the Fungus-Foot people, but Cheng Shi.

She never cared about scores, only about friendship—and it was a friendship she acknowledged herself.

But she was still puzzled, because Cheng Shi seemed certain that he wouldn't have any problems. Why was that?

Logically, he shouldn't have guessed that she, who still had some friction with him, would guard him for a night.

So, upon hearing Cheng Shi's thanks, Hong Lin raised her eyebrows with interest and asked:

"Why did you dare to sleep so soundly? Weren't you afraid someone would take action against you at night?"

"Who would take action against me?"

"Who knows? Maybe it's me, who was played by you, or... that little assassin who likes to turn people into puppets?"

Cheng Shi was stunned for a moment and immediately reached out to hold up his pants: "I was just saying, how did I sleep so soundly? Did you drug me?"

?

Hong Lin was angered into laughter.

She felt that Cheng Shi's relaxed state was very similar to her own. If it weren't for the fact that she was disgusted by the Zhen Yi that Cheng Shi "impersonated" at the start of the trial, she should be in this state right now too.

Full of nonsense, not taking anything to heart.

But she knew Cheng Shi wasn't just simply relaxed. Under this relaxation, perhaps this Weaver's nerves were tense at all times. This was easy to guess from the fact that he always used simple jokes to cover up his real thoughts.

Every move he made was intended to make people unable to guess him.

But her own relaxation had a foundation; what was Cheng Shi's foundation?

Looking at it this way, this Weaver was probably far from being as simple as a priest.

She stared at Cheng Shi, looking him up and down, and sneered:

"Heh, no wonder Tao Yi said you're a shameless stinky rogue. The evaluation is quite accurate."

?

Cheng Shi's expression stalled. He thought, I didn't even do anything; how did I get labeled with such a big hat?

He curled his lips and looked at Hong Lin with a strange gaze:

"If you have a chance, take Tao Yi to see a doctor, or come find me; I can treat it too."

"?" Hong Lin was startled. "See a doctor for what?"

"Spinal disease. Always carrying the blame makes the spine prone to deformation."

"..."

Hong Lin's eye twitched. She didn't pay any more attention to this Weaver, who was as annoying as Zhen Yi, and turned to walk out.

Cheng Shi hurried to follow, looking around while asking:

"Where are the others?"

"The Puppet Master is guarding the altar, the hunter is looking out over the forest, and Shiguan is holding his shit-book everywhere picking up shit.

In the morning, I asked, and that Wild Lamp has already returned to the hands of the old patriarch. This is indeed a magical thing. I still haven't figured out the reset mechanism of this Wild Lamp. Logically, based on my understanding of 【Him】, She wouldn't go to such great lengths for a group of sinners."

"So you're leaning toward Zuo Qiu's point of view?"

"We have to see that Erpuska to be sure. We must go find Erpuska today.

Just now, a Fungus-Foot person came to ask for your instructions—to ask you, this fake God-Shit, when today's trial will begin.

So, God-Shit, have you made up what today's trial is?"

Cheng Shi's expression was strange; he always felt Hong Lin had something in her words.

"I'm not a fake; I am now the real 【Prosperity】 God-Messenger!"

"Yes, yes, yes, you are God-Shit, you are God-Shit; no one is arguing with you."

"?"

Cheng Shi's expression became even stranger. He just wanted to ask if the "Messenger" in Hong Lin's mouth was implying something, but the Fungus-Foot people around, after seeing the God-Messenger wake up, enthusiastically surrounded him and greeted him respectfully.

"Greetings, God-Messenger!"

"God-Messenger, be well!"

"God-Messenger, please come this way; the patriarch is waiting for your audience at the central altar."

Look, I didn't claim this myself; they all think so.

Cheng Shi responded with a smile, tidied his clothes, and then quickly overtook Hong Lin, walking in front.

Not long after, they arrived at the central altar of the tribe.

When the old patriarch saw the God-Messenger had arrived, he hurried to welcome him, but Cheng Shi didn't give him a chance to greet him at all, going straight to the point:

"Let's make a long story short, His people. Today, the second trial bestowed upon you by my Lord is: Piety Beside Decay!

The 'Never-Extinguishing Wild Lamp' bestowed by Him contains the 【Decay】 power that erodes faith. This is my Lord's test of your piety. Without a doubt, in these hundreds of years, you have used practical actions to prove your piety, but whether this piety is real remains to be verified.

And today is the verification of your piety.

We will take the Wild Lamp away and roam the Sighing Forest for a day, and will not return until sunset, using this to verify whether the 【Decay】 in the Wild Lamp still has the effect of erosion, or whether it has been tampered with."

"God-Messenger, we..." The old patriarch was a bit anxious when he heard this, but Cheng Shi waved his hand to interrupt his explanation.

"No need to explain. When we returned yesterday, we had already confirmed the effect of the Wild Lamp. I have already learned of your current situation and also believe in your piety.

But my Lord's trial cannot be a joke, so today's matter must be carried out.

Relax and just wait for tomorrow."

When the old patriarch heard this, he was relieved. As long as the God-Messenger who was checking felt that the Fungus-Foot people were pious, then what else was there to be uneasy about?

What's more, this trial didn't even need the Fungus-Foot people to cooperate; they had already proven themselves in the previous hundred years.

Thus, the Fungus-Foot people in the tribe prostrated themselves again, shouting loudly at the players:

"Praise 【Prosperity】, praise the God-Messenger!"

The old patriarch reminded them with a nervous expression: "The Sighing Forest is full of crises. Although I have confidence in the abilities of you lords, please be careful, especially that Erpuska hidden in the fog..."

Hey, what a coincidence; that's exactly who I'm looking for. I was even afraid it wouldn't appear.

Cheng Shi smiled slightly, nodded, and replied:

"No matter, His radiance will protect us."

Saying this, Cheng Shi signaled for Hong Lin to activate the Wild Lamp, opening the fog door leading outside the tribe.

The moment the fog door appeared, the players gathered around. Cheng Shi glanced at Zuo Qiu, who didn't know what he was looking down at beside him, and raised an eyebrow:

"Meat shield, go first?"

Zuo Qiu's face turned black, and he gritted his teeth: "You're not even pretending anymore, are you?"

"It's not that I can't pretend. If you share with everyone where you went and what you did last night, I'll let you walk behind me."

As soon as the words fell, Zuo Qiu straightened his face, puffed out his chest, and directly lifted his leg to step into the door.

Cheng Shi looked at his back, thoughtful.

"A bit interesting. Looks like there's a harvest." ===== CHAPTER 282 =====