Chapter 578: Grand Justice and Grand Investigator

Grand Justice and Grand Investigator

As for the other two...

"Laquis and Lideyala, what!? How could they possibly be here!?" Li Zhen's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in disbelief.

Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened. He did not act rashly, instead hiding behind Yu Mu, frowning as he asked, "Who are they?"

Li Zhen seemed unable to recover from the massive shock. He pointed stiffly at the old man in the middle of the three and said with a trembling voice, "Laquis, the last Grand Justice of the Grand Tribunal."

He then pointed to the woman on the far right, who looked listless, and said, "Lideyala, the second-to-last Grand Investigator of the Grand Tribunal. Historical records state she was ambushed and killed by followers of 【Truth】 while investigating the incident of the Tower of Reason scholar's intrusion. In this current timeline, she... should already be dead."

Cheng Shi's heart skipped a beat. Since this Grand Investigator was not dead and was instead locked in this Howling Iron Prison, it meant her story involved many people and might even point directly to the filth behind the Grand Tribunal.

He hadn't expected to come to the right place today, but things were perhaps a bit too smooth.

He raised an eyebrow, looked at Li Zhen's profile, and suddenly asked, "Are you sure you aren't mistaken?"

"No! It is absolutely impossible for me to be mistaken. I have seen them in many historical records. As a follower of 【Order】, I am sufficiently knowledgeable about the history of the Grand Tribunal."

"Hmm, I can see that. But Li Zhen, I suspect you aren't just a simple investigator, are you?

【Order】 is, after all, your benefactor. Even if you suspect your benefactor has issues, I don't think you should use such extreme methods to investigate a 'Him.'

Your piety is dissolving, which means your power might disappear, yet you don't seem afraid at all.

So, what will drives you to investigate Him so persistently, even at the cost of hiring me?

Faith? No, clearly not.

I thought about it the whole way here and couldn't figure it out, but now I finally understand a little.

You are... from the History School?"

Li Zhen's body stiffened. He stole a glance at Cheng Shi and nodded uneasily.

"Yes... I am from the History School."

"Heh, no wonder. No wonder you hate those 'Brother Shiguan' who whitewash history." Cheng Shi laughed at himself. "I should have guessed. You are clever, knowing to tell only half the truth."

"Big Boss, I didn't hide it on purpose. My identity doesn't affect our employment relationship, nor is it important."

"It is indeed not important, but I hate being deceived.

Who knows what other half-truths you've told.

Is that Dream-Peering Candle in your hand real?"

Li Zhen was stunned, not expecting the other party's train of thought to jump so far. Why suddenly talk about the Dream-Peering Candle?

"Of course it's real."

"Take it out. I want to see it with my own eyes," Cheng Shi said quietly.

Li Zhen didn't refuse, as he would need to use it soon anyway, so he took it directly out of his personal space.

"How do you use it? I want you to tell me word for word. Remember, don't try to deceive me."

Li Zhen nodded blankly and said efficiently:

"Light this Dream-Peering Candle beside the target. When we are enveloped by the candle smoke together with him, we can trace the source in the target's dream and see the deepest, most profound secret hidden in his heart.

This is almost identical to the talent of a Dream-Peering Ranger."

It was true; the investigator wasn't lying. This wasn't something the Master of Deception said, but rather something Cheng Shi already knew. He had wanted to test if the other party was hiding anything, but he hadn't found anything.

Cheng Shi nodded and pretended to be ignorant again: "So, we will both fall into a deep sleep?"

"Yes, but there shouldn't be any danger in this place. Furthermore, Big Boss, you have a... bodyguard. As long as you have him stand further away, I imagine he can wake us up before danger arrives.

As for the three in the dungeon, under the suppression of 【Order】, as long as they are knocked unconscious, I imagine they won't be able to wake up for a very long time."

"Thoughtful. It seems you have thought of everything. In that case, let's go," Cheng Shi applauded appreciatively.

Seeing that this Big Boss finally stopped questioning him, Li Zhen's complexion brightened, diluting some of his nervousness. He took the Dream-Peering Candle and walked toward the stone dungeon.

But after only two steps, Cheng Shi lunged behind him, a scalpel sliding from his sleeve into his fingertips. Without a word, he stabbed toward the back of the other man's head.

This sudden attack was so fast that the hunter in front had no time to react. Just as the scalpel tip grazed Li Zhen's hair, Cheng Shi frowned and hid the blade, suddenly changing force into a hand-blade, striking the back of his neck.

"Bang!"

"Thump—"

Li Zhen hadn't even reacted before he collapsed to the ground.

Looking at the knocked-out investigator, Cheng Shi's brow furrowed tightly.

Something was wrong, ten thousand times wrong.

This person knew too much. He not only recognized their identities but was also proficient in history, and most importantly, he was very familiar with the Howling Iron Prison.

This familiarity wasn't just knowing the way or where the lowest dungeon was, but... he definitely had researched this dungeon long ago.

Because just now, when Cheng Shi let him go in, the other party, as a hunter, had shown no caution or fear toward a prison holding three such important prisoners!

Was he not afraid of any 【Order】 traps or Grand Tribunal mechanisms in this stone dungeon?

Even if he wasn't a 'steady-style' player, one should be wary of a place they had never been to, let alone a hunter known for his keenness!

Cheng Shi had long been suspicious of him. The only point that allowed Cheng Shi to lower his guard was that Li Zhen was a true follower of 【Order】. In this game, followers of 【Order】 were mostly reliable.

But he was a bit too reliable; he had never said a single lie.

This wasn't Li Zhen's fault for being honest, but rather Cheng Shi now had a bit of 'All-Truth PTSD.' He was a bit afraid of the 'All-Truth Sect.'

So he had acted in advance to conduct a test. As for the result of the test...

This Li Zhen seemed truly ordinary.

But as an old steady-hand, Cheng Shi wouldn't just let it go.

He looked at the unconscious Li Zhen, took a bottle of sleeping potion from his personal space, and coated the other man's... entire body.

Then he took out umbilical cord shackles and gestured at Li Zhen, but after thinking for a moment, he put them back for some reason and replaced them with several thick ropes, binding the other man tightly.

That wasn't all; he even forced the tree servant Yu Mu into the posture of drawing a bow, with the arrow tip pressed against Li Zhen's back. Only after finishing all this did he pick up the Dream-Peering Candle and walk cautiously toward the stone dungeon.

Cheng Shi walked very carefully, scattering dice behind him while throwing bricks in front. A distance that should have taken a dozen steps took him nearly a hundred.

Only when he saw that familiar face of Chen Shu appearing above his head again did he let out a long sigh of relief, confirming everything was safe, and he became even more certain that this Li Zhen definitely had a problem.

The other party had known all along that there were no mechanisms in this stone dungeon!

However, Cheng Shi couldn't worry about Li Zhen anymore, because the three weak prisoners in front of him, upon sensing someone's arrival, opened their eyes simultaneously and slowly turned their heads to look at him.

Cheng Shi's heartbeat accelerated slightly, but on the surface, he said nonchalantly:

"Chen Shu, Laquis, Lideyala, long time no see."

The three prisoners frowned slightly, seemingly not recalling having such an old acquaintance. They opened their mouths weakly but couldn't say anything.

Seeing this, Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, took out a bottle of healing potion, and poured it on Chen Shu.

But before the potion could touch the other man's body, strands of holy light of law suddenly brightened, instantly weaving into a cocoon shield interwoven with golden light, tightly wrapping Chen Shu and blocking the potion in the bottle entirely outside.

Not only that, but a booming sound of judgment even rang out from the holy cocoon formed by the holy light of law. As the holy light circulated, the bindings on Chen Shu gradually tightened until they dug into his flesh, strangling this pale, weak judge into unconsciousness. Only then did the holy light of 【Order】 dissipate with a boom, and the entire stone dungeon fell into silence once again.

"..."

Cheng Shi watched this scene, his eye twitching violently several times.

He never expected that because of his kindness, Chen Shu would actually be punished by 【Order】.

The scene became awkward.

The bad news was that the only acquaintance was unconscious.

The good news was that when lighting the candle later, he might not need to think about how to knock the other party out. ===== CHAPTER 579 =====