Chapter 418: A Beggar Monk Even Poorer Than You

A Beggar Monk Even Poorer Than You

Upon seeing this familiar face, the corner of Cheng Shi's mouth instantly curled up.

But he did not greet this acquaintance. Instead, he suddenly stopped walking, turned around, and headed straight toward this familiar person. Then, under the other's bewildered and confused gaze, he nonchalantly sat down directly beneath him.

Row eight, No. 135.

And that familiar person was sitting in row nine, No. 151.

One should know that, at this point in the venue, the vast majority of people—even after finding their seats—would not choose to calmly sit in the lower position of a stranger. Yet Cheng Shi just sat down without the slightest scruple.

His manner was as if he were certain the other party would absolutely not harm him.

This bizarre move caused quite a few people around to freeze.

Clearly, in their eyes, Cheng Shi either knew this person or possessed sufficient confidence.

But judging from the expression of the person behind Cheng Shi, they clearly did not know each other, so......

A consensus gradually rose in the surrounding players' minds: this person was very strong, and even possessed a kind of wild, arrogant confidence!

But there was one person even more dumbfounded than the others around, and that person was the one sitting right behind Cheng Shi—

Cui Cui Qiushi.

Yes, that very Order Knight among the Torchbearers, the son of Cui Lao Cui Cui Dingtian—Cui Cui Qiushi.

The Torchbearers had clearly also obtained several invitation cards to the Mediocre Men's Gathering.

No one knew how these cards had appeared, but recently, it seemed many people were chasing after them.

The Torchbearers had been fortunate enough to "pick up" a few, and out of the need for intelligence gathering, they dispatched several companions to come here to probe the situation.

And Cui Cui Qiushi was one of them.

At this moment, he saw a stranger suddenly appear in his field of vision, deliberately change course to come sit in the lower seat beneath him, and thought he had encountered a disguised "one of our own."

But after a careful glance for a moment, he confirmed this person was not one of their own—just a strange man he had never seen before.

Conspiracy, or coincidence?

Cui Cui Qiushi, whose nerves had suddenly tensed, lightly clenched his fist and adjusted his body posture slightly backward.

He used his peripheral vision to glance at his companion not far at the other end, calculating the space he had to respond and the speed at which his companion could provide support, so as to ensure that if an accident occurred, he could shelter his companion behind him as quickly as possible.

His companion had likewise noticed this oddly-behaving man. His gaze faintly condensing, he began to size up Cheng Shi carefully.

As for the party involved who had triggered the surrounding tension, he had long since closed his eyes contentedly in his seat to rest.

In Cheng Shi's understanding, Cui Cui Qiushi was also someone who could not possibly know him, but that did not prevent him from knowing Cui Cui Qiushi—he also knew this Order Knight was a thoroughly upright good man who would not randomly kill innocents.

Therefore, before he had exposed his "evil nature," safety could still be assured.

Thinking as he went along, Cheng Shi curled up the corner of his mouth and smiled.

Tsk, not bad at all—found myself a big bodyguard right at the opening.

Looks like something good is going to happen today.

Just as Cui Cui Qiushi was still observing the seat in front, more and more players poured into the surroundings.

Most people's attitudes and reactions were similar: they kept watching the strangers around them, then moved lightly upward, heading toward places with fewer people.

Cheng Shi observed for a long time. He found that the scores of the vast majority of players present were probably not very high; only a few had calm expressions, looking like high-scoring contestants.

He even spotted a few cunning fellows pretending to be nervous. As for whether these few were his own colleagues, that would require further observation.

All in all, the venue was very lively. Though silent, the undercurrents beneath the calm surface were no less fierce than the clash of hearts within the trial itself.

Of course, once the number of attendees grew large, there would always be some "maverick" types appearing. For instance, after a few minutes, two people who cared less about others' gazes and the eerie atmosphere finally sat boldly in the very first row.

Cheng Shi took a look. One of the two sat at the head of his column, No. 7, and the other at No. 9. Moreover, the person sitting at No. 9—he also knew.

Another familiar face!

And this familiar person had actually also seen Cheng Shi the very first moment he pushed open the door.

The moment he noticed Cheng Shi's position, he raised an eyebrow. He had originally intended to greet him, but then, as if suddenly thinking of something, his face darkened, and he forcibly pressed his raised hand back down.

Seeing the other party's reaction, Cheng Shi nearly broke character and laughed out loud.

Once bitten by a snake, one fears a well rope for ten years. From now on, when his good big brother met him, it would probably be hard for him to be as happy as last time.

At the very least, he would have to wait until he first confirmed Cheng Shi was not Did Zhen Yi before perhaps showing a "genuine" smile.

That's right—this familiar person was precisely the Chosen of 【War】, Cheng Shi's "generous" good big brother, the Grand Marshal Hu Wei.

The moment he pushed open the door and entered, he broke the silence of the entire venue. His heavy footsteps immediately drew everyone's gaze.

But he had not the slightest interest in these gazes. He merely frowned, found his seat, then plopped himself down, looking for all the world like the host of this Mediocre Men's Gathering.

After he sat down, another man sitting with him in the first row pushed open the door and appeared.

After entering, he exchanged a smile with the Grand Marshal—clearly they knew each other.

Cheng Shi silently memorized this man's face, then quickly shifted his gaze away, letting his eyes wander.

With Hu Wei having broken the silence, faint rustling sounds gradually arose within the venue.

Perhaps some people had run into acquaintances, or perhaps some had run into mutual enemies. In any case, at some moment 【Silence】 shifted Its gaze away, and thereafter the sounds within the venue grew increasingly chaotic.

After another few minutes, the scene grew noisy. At this moment, someone in the first row once again pushed open the door and walked in. The instant he appeared, Cheng Shi noticed his shiny bald head.

This man was genuinely bald!

But this was not funny, because Cheng Shi clearly saw from the side profiles of Grand Marshal Hu Wei and the other man seated in the first row that, the instant this bald brother appeared, both their expressions became somewhat unnatural.

The last time he saw the Grand Marshal's face so embarrassed was when Cheng Shi had let out that "Heh~" right in front of him.

So......

Was he Did Zhen Yi?

"......"

No, no, no—he was not Did Zhen Yi!

This was not because Cheng Shi had figured out this bald man's identity, but because he had heard the other's name from the surrounding low gasps.

"Chen Shi!? How did he get here too?"

"Bro, who is Chen Shi?"

"He... forget it, you'd better not get to know him..."

Chen Shi?

Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened as he recalled what Big Cat had said to him back then:

The Chosen of 【Silence】 is an ascetic monk even poorer than you.

So this bald-headed guy was the Chosen of 【Silence】 Big Cat had mentioned!?

No, bro, your profession is ascetic monk—did you really just shave your own head clean?

He looked toward where Chen Shi had appeared, wanting to see where this Chosen of 【Silence】, poorer than himself, would choose to sit, but he never could have imagined that what happened next would completely exceed everyone's expectations.

He saw this "true·bald-headed Chosen" first feel his own smooth scalp as he surveyed the surroundings, and upon spotting Hu Wei's figure, he grinned cheerfully, spat out the gum he was chewing, casually kneaded it in his hand for a moment, then stuck it directly onto the wall of the passage beside him.

Then, hands stuffed in his pockets, whistling, he swaggered over to where the Grand Marshal sat, and under Hu Wei's increasingly grim expression, sat down with perfect naturalness on...

Hu Wei's lap.

"..."

"..."

"..."