Chapter 530: How nostalgic, the familiar fish-pond match

How nostalgic, the familiar fish-pond match.

"Who is it!?"

The person making the sound inside the palace was indeed Nangong. This priest of 【Decay】 looked very alert, seemingly having discovered Cheng Shi outside the hall.

But in reality, she hadn't heard anyone approaching at all. After all, the wind was howling and the snow was falling heavily outside; as a low-ranked priest, there was no way she could keenly sense the light-footed Cheng Shi amidst such a storm.

Yet she still looked toward the outside of the hall. This wasn't because she was bluffing, but because someone had told her that someone had come outside.

Cheng Shi hadn't expected that this Blood-Exchange Priest, whom he hadn't seen in months, had become so sharp. Since he had been discovered, there was no need to hide when meeting an acquaintance.

Thus, he deliberately made some noise to let Nangong know that someone had indeed arrived outside.

Upon hearing this sound, Nangong's heart sank, and her entire body tensed up. She gripped her dagger tightly and looked toward the stone pillar outside the hall where the sound had come from, while simultaneously retreating a few steps in the opposite direction. With an extremely panicked expression, she shouted, "Come out, I see you!"

But just as the words left her lips, she saw a hand holding a bottle of cola reach over her shoulder and appear before her eyes, and she heard a somewhat familiar voice coming from behind her.

"People always say that when a friend visits, there's cola. Why is it, Nangong, that when you run into me, you have to pull out a knife?"

"!!!"

Nangong was stunned; her mind went completely blank with a "buzz." She had never expected that the sound just now was a diversionary tactic. The intruder had long since quietly snuck behind her, and she was so panicked that she didn't even have the mental capacity to wonder why the opponent's throat-slitting weapon was a bottle of cola!

She was too panicked, panicked as if some secret that couldn't see the light of day had been exposed. Like a startled animal, she instinctively lowered her body to dodge the "sneak attack" of the cola bottle, then swung her hand back. Without caring whether the dagger in her hand had scratched the enemy or not, she hurriedly turned around and "jumped" outward using both hands and feet...

Yes, her limbs were uncoordinated. Her running motion was awkward, and she charged outward like a silly roe deer.

"..."

Watching this scene, Cheng Shi was also stunned.

It had been a long time since he had been shocked by someone's form; even an acrobat probably couldn't perform such a bizarre and comical scene.

But what he was focused on wasn't Nangong's awkwardness, but rather why she was so... panicked.

Interesting, what is this Blood-Exchange Priest doing here?

Is she also coveting that legendary 【Gift of Scars】?

But who told her that there would be clues to this dagger in the First Imperial Prince's residence?

One must know, the place where the First Imperial Prince lived was not a conspicuous spot in this Imperial Court. Even if one were wandering around randomly, it would be impossible to just happen upon this place, right?

When things are extremely unreasonable, it means there is a mystery hidden inside that he doesn't know about.

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, watching Nangong continue her performance with great interest.

But he didn't expect this old friend to still have some reaction speed. Just as she was halfway through her "jump," she suddenly stopped, turned her head back to look at Cheng Shi behind her with a shocked expression, and then widened her eyes, asking in disbelief:

"Cheng... Cheng Shi?"

The Blood-Exchange Priest had a good memory.

Cheng Shi smiled. He nodded and said, "It seems I wronged you. So you were just wanting to perform some acrobatics for an old friend. Not bad, not bad, quite spectacular."

As he spoke, Cheng Shi even wickedly clapped his hands.

Nangong's face turned red in an instant. She hurriedly stood up, tugged at her clothes to cover her riddled body, awkwardly hid the dagger behind her back, and then retreated two steps with a face half-red and half-white.

Although there was joy in her eyes at seeing a friend, there was even more wariness toward Cheng Shi. It seemed this priest friend had also suffered enough; even if they were once acquaintances, she didn't quite dare to trust him anymore.

"You..."

Nangong took a few deep breaths, trying hard to calm her nervousness. Just as she was about to ask why Cheng Shi was here, she was immediately interrupted by Cheng Shi, who asked in return:

"What are you doing here?"

"..."

Nangong choked. The energy she had just regained surged up again. Her nerves were taut, and she bared a tiny smile with an ugly expression, wanting to quickly find an excuse to brush him off, but then she heard Cheng Shi say "Oh" in sudden realization:

"I know, you're also here to find the 【Gift of Scars】!"

"!!!"

When these four words were spoken so directly by Cheng Shi, Nangong broke out in a cold sweat again. But it was also amidst this multiple-layered fear that she finally regained her clarity, realizing a terrifying fact: that in this high-end match she and her teammates had stumbled into, there was a player named Cheng Shi!

And he was that Scion Priest who had been matched with her a few months ago!

He really was an expert, just as Song Yawen had said; he had at least 2000 points!

No, a player in a 2000-point match couldn't kill an 1800-point Annihilation Apostle like cutting vegetables. The opponent definitely had more than 2000, perhaps even 2400!

This discovery made Nangong even more nervous. Fortunately, she knew that this Scion Priest wasn't a bad person—at least, not bad enough to make one despair.

But is he... also here to find that dagger?

Nangong pursed her lips and replied with a pale face, "Yes... I just wanted to come and see, to see if there was a chance..."

Cheng Shi sighed and shook his head.

No need to listen any further, because the Master of Deception told him that the opponent was lying; she wasn't here to find that dagger!

But since she wasn't, why would she quietly leave the team of three and risk coming here?

Cheng Shi frowned slightly, his gaze looking toward Nangong's right hand hidden behind her back, feigning casualness.

The opponent was holding a dagger, but she had hidden it behind her back...

Under what circumstances would a panicked player hide their defensive weapon behind their back?

Yes, even if she recognized him and felt that stabbing him was stupid and embarrassing, the problem was that this Blood-Exchange Priest's face was currently filled with caution. How could someone so carefully guarding against him have the first reaction of hiding her defensive dagger?

Even if she didn't want the meeting to be awkward, she could at least hide it in her sleeve. After all, her clothes were wrapped so tightly that a dagger could definitely be hidden in those long sleeves.

But she didn't; she chose a way that was more "distant" from him.

Interesting, she doesn't want him to see that dagger?

Cheng Shi couldn't be blamed for overthinking. In a place where a dagger should appear, running into a friend who deliberately concealed a dagger—anyone would overthink in this situation!

She... Nangong... found that 【Gift of Scars】?

Is it still in the First Imperial Prince's residence!?

No, that can't be. Da Yi had searched this place; if there were still a dagger here, there was no way he wouldn't have discovered it.

So, the dagger wasn't here originally, but someone... brought it back here?

Thinking of this, Cheng Shi's eyes narrowed slightly. At this moment, Nangong also noticed Cheng Shi's gaze. She retreated another step nervously, gripping the dagger behind her back tightly.

"Are you afraid of me?" Cheng Shi smiled.

Nangong paused, nodded, and then shook her head: "No, I know you're a good person."

"Mm, I'm a good person. Indeed, I'm a very good person.

You also know I'm a priest. The hardest thing for a Blood-Exchange Priest is balancing their own injuries. I see you're a bit weak, so how about this: I'll give you a free treatment as a reward for an old friend."

As he spoke, Cheng Shi reached out his hand.

This move made Nangong stumble back in fear.

She was too afraid; she didn't want to get pregnant with some weird child at this time. But Cheng Shi didn't give her a chance to refuse at all, and directly flicked his hand...

Throwing out a bottle of cola.

"...?"

Nangong had been prepared to dodge a healing spell, but ended up finding a bottle of cola suddenly rolling to her feet. This made her recall the two hours she had been drugged by Cheng Shi in that trial.

He still liked cola so much.

"You..." Nangong didn't know what to say for a moment.

Actually, she had always remembered that trial, and she also remembered Cheng Shi's kindness. But now she really had some secrets she couldn't let Cheng Shi know. However, seeing the opponent use this method to remind her that he had no ill intent, the moment the memories flooded back, Nangong pursed her lips and finally smiled.

"I... won't be fooled again. Your cola has strong sleeping pills in it. If I drink it, I'll oversleep. I won't drink it."

Just as the words left her lips, the cola at her feet exploded with a puff of smoke with a "bang." Nangong didn't even have time to react; she just instinctively took a deep breath out of nervousness, and then closed her eyes and fainted directly.

With only a "Bang—" sound, the priest girl hit the ground. Seeing this, Cheng Shi smacked his lips and said:

"Fool me once, fool me twice, every trick is different.

How could the same trick fool the same person twice? If you want to trick someone, of course, you have to change the trick. But honestly, this feeling is really nostalgic—the familiar scent of a fish-pond match, tricking them one by one.

The road to anti-fraud is long and arduous. Sigh, Nangong, Nangong, you really need to be more careful."

After finishing, Cheng Shi smiled himself. But as he laughed, his expression gradually turned cold. His aura continued to rise, and at the same time, he held a scalpel in each hand, looking into the smoke with sharp eyes, and sneered softly:

"Your Excellency has been watching the show for so long, it's time to come out and show your face, right?

Otherwise, do you need me to personally invite you out?" ===== CHAPTER 531 =====