Chapter 30: Detective Cheng Shi

Detective Cheng Shi

Time rolled backward into the wardrobe.

At that moment, Cheng Shi silently said, “Don’t panic, take him down!” then patted Bai Ling on the shoulder.

Just as Bai Ling thought this was a disguised form of comfort, a small vial of potion slipped from Cheng Shi’s fingertips and landed squarely on her chest, wedged in the middle.

Bai Ling froze, looking down.

There, clearly written on the outside of the vial, were a few small characters:

“Potion Name: The Scorn of the Dead.

Once consumed, the user will not truly die during the duration of its effect.”

Bai Ling looked up in shock—only to see Cheng Shi already counting down.

She wasted no time; in the instant before rushing out, she drank the potion.

The outcome of the battle was known to all: she truly died.

Yet now, she truly came back to life.

This was no trick to lure her into charging—Cheng Shi had not betrayed her trust.

As for why Bai Ling trusted Cheng Shi so completely:

Asking herself, she might struggle to answer.

Perhaps because he had never harbored any improper thoughts toward her, the one who was “easy to get along with.”

Watching Bai Ling tremble as she rose from the ground, Cheng Shi finally let out the last knot of tension in his chest.

Gratitude to his former teammates, far away yet still granting credibility to “The Scorn of the Dead.”

Cheng Shi’s faith talent, “Offerings to the Void,” could not store fabricated items—only use them on the spot.

But this talent required a prerequisite: widespread recognition by others.

“Widespread” was interesting; after multiple trials, Cheng Shi found that as long as five others besides himself recognized it, the condition was met.

Conveniently, that matched the number of participants in the trial.

Inside the wardrobe, Cheng Shi had no way to gain others’ recognition, so he couldn’t fabricate a new item. Helplessly, he secretly marked a “stale” vial of “The Scorn of the Dead.”

Though this was a high-stakes gamble—betting his teammates hadn’t noticed the vial’s oddity—he wasn’t without confidence.

At least in his estimation, three or four people wouldn’t dig into such details.

Add Bai Ling present at the scene, and it was enough.

The facts proved Cheng Shi had won again.

Though his dice rolls always came up ones, his luck at gambling was decent.

Fang Shiqing, seeing both unharmed, relaxed slightly. She turned to Cheng Shi, face serious, demanding an explanation.

Cheng Shi’s expression darkened as he looked toward the door.

Fang Shiqing immediately understood, recalling his note: “Three people together—be cautious.”

Given the fog’s conditions at that moment, besides herself and Cheng Shi, the only “outsider” in that timeframe was...

Ming!

“Ming has a problem?”

Cheng Shi curled his lips, silently saying:

“Ming may not be the problem—but whether Ming is truly Ming... that’s another question.”

“What!!??”

Fang Shiqing and Bai Ling both paled, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Fang Shiqing frowned: “His heartstring tone hasn’t changed. Are you certain?”

Bai Ling echoed, puzzled:

“Boss, his attitude toward me hasn’t changed at all...”

Still, Bai Ling trusted Cheng Shi’s judgment.

If someone was compromised, first secure internal stability.

Cheng Shi shook his head, said nothing, only signaled everyone to prepare and move to apprehend.

Whether Ming was Ming or not, as a nimble “assassin,” capturing him without alerting him would be difficult!

Cheng Shi and Bai Ling alone might struggle—but with Fang Shiqing added...

It became far easier.

Cheng Shi sidled up to Fang Shiqing like a beggar clinging to a leg. She glared at him for a long moment, sighed heavily, then tore off a golden page from her book.

S-rank talent: Eternal Prison.

Seeing it, Cheng Shi’s face lit up—he felt the surging [Time] power within the page.

A skill left behind by a Time Walker.

Fang Shiqing, visibly pained, walked toward the door with the page, then turned back, lips moving silently:

“Compensate me.”

Cheng Shi nodded solemnly.

Seeing his agreement, Fang Shiqing swiftly opened the door and slapped the page onto Ming’s shoulder—while the two outside were utterly unprepared.

“Boom—”

A surge of Time power exploded; Ming had no time to react before he was frozen in place by temporal chains.

He widened his eyes in shock and fear:

“Sister Fang! You...”

Xu Lu was also startled. She stepped back two paces, a small dagger suddenly in hand, her gaze terrified as she stared at her own thigh.

“Sister Fang, what’s going on?”

Before Fang Shiqing could answer, something even more insane happened.

Cheng Shi and Bai Ling—who had just died in the room—walked out, perfectly unharmed.

Not perfectly unharmed—their clothes were wrinkled.

“You...!!??”

Xu Lu was utterly stunned. Her mind spiraled through wild conspiracy theories.

The most absurd? She began to suspect Fang Shiqing had agreed to some demand from Cheng Shi and planned to team up with this detestable [Time] believer to kill her.

Seeing Xu Lu so terrified, Fang Shiqing shook her head apologetically, then gestured for her to listen to Cheng Shi explain.

As soon as Cheng Shi stepped out of the room, he jammed a Desire Arrow—taken from Bai Ling—into Ming’s shoulder.

“Hiss!”

“Brother Cheng!? You’re not dead? What are you doing? Niao Niao, you’re not dead either? What the hell happened?”

Ming stared at them in utter shock, his eyes darting wildly.

Seeing his reaction, Cheng Shi smiled meaningfully.

“Apologies, but I’m not dead—probably quite disappointing for you.”

Ming froze, then his face darkened:

“Brother Cheng, what are you implying? Of course I don’t wish harm on teammates—but are you suggesting I killed you? I avenged you—I killed that guard!”

“Oh, you avenged me, huh? Clap clap clap.” Cheng Shi nodded, clapping, smiling. “True, you arrived a step late—you could’ve saved us both.”

“Exactly! There must be some misunderstanding, Sister Fang, please release me—we’re running out of time!”

Fang Shiqing acted as if she heard nothing, silently on guard, watching for anyone approaching.

Cheng Shi shook his head, no longer willing to waste time.

“You’re not Ming, are you?”

Ming froze, then burst into loud laughter:

“Brother Cheng, what are you talking about? Who else would I be?

Don’t you remember? I came with you through the Mist Room, followed Sister Fang’s orders to split up and scout, then came back here to... avenge you.

Did you lose your memory?”

“I haven’t lost my memory. And you don’t need to pretend anymore, Uncle Huang.”

“!!??”

“Who? Huang Bo?” Fang Shiqing blurted out in shock, then immediately activated a talent to probe Ming’s identity—but the result was unsurprising: he was Ming.

“Cheng Shi, are you certain? He’s Huang Bo?”

Ming laughed bitterly:

“Brother Cheng, what are you saying? Huang Bo hasn’t arrived yet—he’s still back there. The Memory Gate is still open. How could I be Huang Bo?”

Cheng Shi smiled and continued:

“How do you know he hasn’t arrived?”

“...” Ming’s face changed. He hurriedly explained: “I mean, when we reached the Duke’s estate, he hadn’t arrived yet.”

“Correct. If I’m not mistaken, the Memory Gate is still open—someone lagged behind and hasn’t arrived yet.

But the one lagging behind isn’t Huang Bo—it’s Ming.

The real Huang Bo is right in front of me.”

Ming, seemingly enraged by endless suspicion, snarled fiercely:

Cheng Shi, if you have something to say, say it outright! I've saved you multiple times—why do you suspect me?! Call me Huang Bo—prove it!

Watching the hysterical Ming, Fang Shiqing’s expression wavered. She turned to Cheng Shi—only to see him pull out a small vial, twist open the cap, and say:

There is actually plenty of evidence.

For instance, an assassin claimed he could not withdraw once inside the mist;

for instance, the dwarf who died in the servants’ quarters was not killed by a single hand, but by mutual slaughter—this does not resemble the judgment of [Order], but rather the work of [Chaos];

for instance, someone murdered the duke, yet that person was neither the lover among the guards nor me or Bai Ling, yet the killer has never been found;

and for instance, someone clearly possessed the faster talent of ‘Finger Key,’ yet chose at the last moment to kick down the door instead, wasting precious time...」

With every sentence Cheng Shi spoke, A Ming’s face darkened further, and the surrounding teammates’ mouths widened in shock.

By the time he twisted open the vial, Cheng Shi’s grin had spread across his face.

“But it doesn’t matter. This vial I hold is called ‘Truth of Confession,’ a remedy used by executioners of the Grand Inquisition Court to interrogate criminals. Whoever drinks even a single drop will answer every question. As a [Order] assassin, you should know what this is.”

Saying this, Cheng Shi lifted the vial and poured its contents over A Ming’s head.

But before the liquid could leave the bottle, A Ming burst into mad laughter.

“Heh... hehe...

Hahaha!!

Cheng Shi!

Excellent!

You’re very skilled.”

That smile was identical to Huang Bo’s when they first met.

Exactly the same.