Chapter 973: Happy? I lied to you

Happy? I lied to you.

"Lord Fooling, why... must you dress as Cheng Xiaoshi to test me?"

Du Qiyu seemed to care deeply about this question, which made Cheng Shi sigh once again at the depth of the other's obsession.

Fortunately, he was well-prepared; his drafted script could handle almost any question.

"Tests must begin with those closest to you, for faith always sprouts from the insignificant."

"Every person who accepts a test must face their own heart, so you should know better than I why I would play the role of Cheng Shi."

"In this regard, his performance is far better than yours."

This was already the second time Cheng Shi had mentioned his own "good performance." It seemed like he was elevating himself, but in reality, this was one of Cheng Shi's psychological tactics.

Daring to repeatedly mention a version of himself that the other party disliked in front of Xiao Qi was actually a way of segmenting his own identity. By emphasizing the sensitive subject when it was most sensitive, outsiders would subconsciously assume that this person did not care about the impact of mentioning it.

Xiao Qi thought so too. He did not believe the real Cheng Shi would jump in his face again and again at a time like this; this was likely just an "objective" evaluation from Lord Fooling.

But he dared not agree with this evaluation.

More importantly, before this, Xiao Qi had already concluded that Cheng Shi was not Cheng Shi, but Fooling.

Therefore, Cheng Shi's maneuver could only be considered a redundant backup, playing a minor auxiliary role.

After hearing the name Cheng Xiaoshi twice, Du Qiyu became curious.

"So, Cheng Shi... passed your test?"

"You could say that. His devotion to faith is far purer than you humans with ulterior motives. This is thanks to him having a good father."

"..."

Hearing this, even with the enhancement of the 【Filth-Corrupted】 vessel, Du Qiyu still clenched his fists in hatred. He seemed to loathe any mention of Cheng Xiaoshi's father.

However, Du Qiyu was not truly angry, nor did he refute or press for more. Instead, he silently drove his beast tamer to walk in the opposite direction into the dense forest, saying respectfully at the same time:

"Apologies, Lord Fooling. For my own safety, I cannot hand the vessel to you personally. I hope you can understand my predicament."

"Clap, clap, clap—"

Cheng Shi suddenly clapped. He looked directly at where Du Qiyu's true body was with a playful smile, nodding in appreciation:

"Very good. It is precisely this caution of yours that makes me think highly of you."

"But wanting to hide yourself in front of me is, after all, a bit overestimating your own capabilities."

Seeing that Fooling had truly seen through his position at a glance, Du Qiyu felt no fear; instead, he felt a sense of relief that it should have been this way.

Right. How could he possibly deceive a Messenger? Especially when the other party was the Messenger of 【Deception】. Concealment and fraud were simply showing off one's axe before a master to Him.

Wait!

【Deception】...

Somehow, Du Qiyu suddenly frowned, slightly slowing the beast tamer's steps toward him in the dense forest.

And just at this moment, Cheng Shi also hummed softly, turning his gaze away:

"Do not perform any pointless little tricks, and do not let my appreciation fall to the ground."

"I look forward to the day you pass the next test and return to me, but today, let it end here. My time is limited."

This sudden warning made Du Qiyu's tightly furrowed brows slowly unfurl. He realized that he had been overthinking it after all.

If even a subtle movement could not escape the Messenger's eyes, with such ability, how could He possibly be deceiving him?

Little did he know that Cheng Shi had no idea what Du Qiyu had done in the dense forest; he had simply anticipated that the other party would not be so well-behaved, so he had vaguely pointed it out.

Yet, this ambiguous warning almost sealed Xiao Qi's fate.

Du Qiyu respectfully handed over the vessel, giving this life-saving object that could elevate his strength to the extreme into the hands of the beast tamer.

Under the influence of the vessel, calmness allowed him to make the most rational decision. But the moment the vessel gradually moved away from him, the furious, impatient, and insatiable Du Qiyu returned. He looked at Fooling in the middle of the dense forest with a gloomy face, both fearful and afraid to act rashly, and could only roar with frustration:

"My Lord, since you appreciate me so much, is there really no second chance?"

"Why is that dog Cheng Xiaoshi stronger than me!?"

"I should have performed better in this trial; it was your test that made me like this!"

"As compensation, shouldn't you give me another chance!"

"Believe me, My Lord, I can do better than Cheng Xiaoshi!"

Although his voice was loud, it was useless.

Driven by fear, Du Qiyu began to change his position. The beast tamer's expression changed again and again, the steps toward Fooling paused and paused, and there were even several instances of turning back.

Clearly, this beast tamer was struggling violently because of the loss of his "necessity."

He could not deny Fooling's identity, yet he did not want to lose the vessel that was so useful to him. But he was also afraid of the punishment for not following the game's rules, so he could only jump back and forth on this rule line with increasing irritability, even spewing profanities.

Most crucially, there were no living beings left in this dense forest to help him partition his emotions.

Cheng Shi had already cleared out this dense forest during the preparation stage. Otherwise, why did you think he fled here? He did it on purpose; even the direction of his escape had long been written into the script.

Thus, the true clown began his performance. Du Qiyu's irritability accumulated more and more. Especially with only one beast tamer to share his emotions, he was almost out of control. Within seconds, he began to criticize everything, cursing the heavens, the earth, and the gods, almost cursing Fooling and 【Deception】 who "ruined him" as well.

The phrase "blaming heaven and others" was perfectly interpreted at this moment. However, all of this held no more attraction for Cheng Shi.

Because for the current Cheng Shi, the irritable Du Qiyu was no longer an opponent. The moment the other party handed over the vessel and lost its influence, giving rise to fear...

The full charge of the Death Fun Ring had already written the final ending for Xiao Qi.

He could not escape, nor could he hide.

This was the script Cheng Shi had prepared for this childhood friend!

But simply killing Xiao Qi was not what Cheng Shi sought. The plan to "punish the heart" focused on "punishing the heart," so the story at hand was far from over.

Fooling made no move, his eyes only becoming colder, and his gaze toward the beast tamer gradually turning gloomy.

This change made the sensitive Du Qiyu even more hysterical, but he was helpless. In order to obtain the so-called second chance at the test, and to survive under a god's subordinate, he could only drive the beast tamer to quicken his pace and return the 【Filth-Corrupted】 vessel.

This short distance became the greatest torture for the beast tamer in this trial. The act of personally handing back the god-making vessel made Du Qiyu face an emotional breakdown.

"Give me another chance, Fooling! You must give me another chance!"

His mouth was hard, his temper was foul, and his heart was fearful. At this very moment, Du Qiyu had long since lost any human form.

Yet his torture was far from over; it could even be said to have just begun.

Because the moment Cheng Shi kept a straight face and took back his 【Filth-Corrupted】 vessel from the beast tamer Xiao Qi's hands, the corners of his mouth hooked into an absolutely ironic arc, and he spat out seven words at the frantic Du Qiyu:

"Happy?"

"I lied to you." ===== CHAPTER 974 =====