Foolish Game of the Gods Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The Death of Cheng Shi

Strangely, there was no grief in Cheng Shi's eyes.

Or rather, he hadn't paid any attention to Bailing's death at all.

He continuously cast Accelerated Metabolism on himself, attempting to use time magic to smooth out the controlling effects of the negative states.

But unfortunately, the real world wasn't a turn-based game. While Cheng Shi struggled, the guard hadn't been idle either.

As a Bard, stacking negative states on enemies was his specialty. He continuously released his tricks, squeezing away what little surviving room Cheng Shi had left.

Before long, Cheng Shi felt his strength failing. He lost the tug-of-war at the edge of death, was utterly overwhelmed, and could only wait to die.

The guard walked up to Cheng Shi. Seeing him motionless, eyes vacant, he shook his head and sighed:

"Worms from the underground should stay underground. But sometimes, worms have their uses. I both like and hate you. Ah, what a contradiction."

But before he finished speaking, the guard suddenly raised his sword and thrust downward, piercing through Cheng Shi's chest with the speed of a thunderbolt.

Giving him absolutely no chance to turn the tables.

"Ssk!"

The blade pierced his heart.

Cheng Shi's eyes snapped wide, pupils contracting. He lasted only a few seconds before the light in his eyes shattered into nothing.

In the last second before his vision plunged into total darkness, he saw the door directly opposite him suddenly kicked open with a "bang." A familiar face came into view.

"Brother Cheng!!??"

It was A Ming.

But one step too late.

Cheng Shi smiled bitterly, then closed his eyes for good.

…

The moment A Ming entered the room, he was hit by the overwhelming power of [Order]. Seeing both teammates on the floor, he charged at the horrified guard with a maniacal expression.

"I'll kill you! Kill you!!"

"Impossible! This is a domain of [Order], how can you be unaffected!?"

"[Order?] I am [Order]!"

That was unmistakably a blasphemous statement, yet A Ming incurred no divine punishment!

His lips moved rapidly in frantic muttering, his expression twisted and vicious. One sidestep brought him directly behind the guard.

The guard couldn't react in time, the terror on his face deepening further. He seemed to want to shout something, but before the words could leave his mouth, a bloodstained dagger plunged into his back from behind.

Then, it emerged straight through his chest.

A murky yellow light flashed across the blade and vanished. The guard stared at the blade tip protruding from his chest, spat out a mouthful of foul blood, and died with his eyes wide open.

"Brother Cheng! I avenged you!"

A Ming's voice was twisted and sobbing. He kicked the corpse away from him and collapsed powerlessly onto the floor, eyes vacant.

Just then, Fang Shiqing and Xu Lu burst through the doorway.

A Ming looked up at them, tears still glistening in his eyes.

Xu Lu's face went three shades paler at the gruesome scene. She clutched tightly at the hem of Fang Shiqing's clothes.

Though she didn't like Cheng Shi, their shared identity as players stirred in her a sense of fellow-feeling, the grief of one rabbit watching another die.

Fang Shiqing stared at everything before her. Looking at the dead Bailing and Cheng Shi, she clamped her jaw so tight her lips went nearly bloodless.

"How could this happen…"

But she recovered quickly, immediately turning back to shut the door. Her expression was grave:

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I was a little late. I was exploring the second floor and heard noises from this room, so I rushed over. By the time I came in, Brother Cheng and Niao Niao were already…"

A Ming seemed consumed by self-blame. He clutched at his own hair and slammed his forehead against the floor.

"Who's on the bed?"

The moment she asked, Xu Lu's expression changed. She pointed at the person on the bed and gasped:

"It's him! The person who died in the prophecy, it's him!"

Fang Shiqing's entire body jolted. She looked back at Xu Lu in disbelief.

She suddenly realized that the dead man on the bed was very likely the Duke, who had been conspicuously absent.

Seeing the scene before her matching the vague image from her prophecy exactly, Xu Lu murmured in a daze:

"So it wasn't us who were going to die, but… the Duke. And that Cheng guy…"

Although no players had died in her prophecy, now two players had indeed perished.

Looking at this scene, only two possibilities existed:

Either Cheng Shi had stumbled upon the guard murdering someone, and the guard silenced him.

Or the guard had stumbled upon Cheng Shi murdering someone, and Cheng Shi had failed to turn the tables.

As for which one it was…

Fang Shiqing had barely voiced her conjectures when Xu Lu lowered her head and said:

"I think… it was probably the guard who caught Cheng Shi killing someone…"

Fang Shiqing's face turned stern. A flash of contempt swept through her eyes as she asked in a cold tone:

"Why?"

"He probably wanted to usurp the Duke's identity… He, he seems like… seems like that kind of person."

Even though she knew it wasn't appropriate to say such things now, for some reason Xu Lu screwed up her courage and voiced her suspicion.

Fang Shiqing frowned deeply but held herself back from lashing out.

"Sister Fang… what do we… do now?"

Fang Shiqing checked her watch. Nearly seven hours had passed. Only five and a half remained.

"You two go outside. Find a way to hold the door. As companions, we should at least see them off."

A Ming looked at Fang Shiqing blankly, seemingly remembering that this carry was also a Bard.

Bards recorded stories, and the protagonists of stories were often all manner of people.

Naturally, that included all manner of dead people.

So they were skilled at singing dirges and reciting eulogies for the fallen.

Xu Lu felt that this ritual was perhaps a waste of time, but seeing the resolve on Fang Shiqing's face, she bit her lip and headed for the door.

A Ming followed, head bowed, his expression unreadable.

As Fang Shiqing passed him, she patted his shoulder in comfort.

Once the two had left the room and closed the door, the grief on Fang Shiqing's face vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of anger.

She opened her book, tore out a page, and gave it a gentle flick. The entire room instantly fell into absolute stillness. Even the curtains billowing in the breeze froze in place.

Not a single sound remained. Even breathing disappeared.

Then she walked over to Cheng Shi's side, looked down at him lying there with a pierced heart, and laughed from sheer exasperation.

Fang Shiqing recalled the moment she had woken up in Cheng Shi's arms within the thick fog and felt an extra slip of paper against her chest.

At the time, while no one was watching, she had sneaked a peek at the note.

It read:

"Dear Lady Firelight Bearer,

Consider these words a face-to-face meeting, even though I'm right beside you.

But please don't look at me, and please don't smile.

This is a distress signal, from the future me.

If I die, and you happen to stumble upon my corpse, please save my life.

Any healing spell whatsoever will pull me back from hell. I humbly request that, in consideration of my having been a Firelight Bearer reserve for one brief instant, you extend your aid.

Your junior is endlessly grateful.

Additionally, when three travel together, be careful."

Looking now at Cheng Shi at her feet, wasn't he indeed dead?

That bastard. How had he predicted his own death?

"How could you dare trust me so much?

How could you be so certain I'd come to save you?

You rejected me. Weren't you afraid I'd reject you too?

You bastard!"

Fang Shiqing's brows stood on end as she scolded Cheng Shi thoroughly.

The space was muted. No one could hear. It was like a silent trial.

But in the end, she accepted her fate with helpless resignation, tore another page from her book, crumpled it into a ball, and pressed it over Cheng Shi's wound.

The instant the page touched the wound, it dissolved into a green light carrying the essence of [Life], flooding into Cheng Shi's body.

Cheng Shi, who had been utterly lifeless, snapped his eyes open the moment the light of Life nourished him.

"Ugh, hah, ugh, hah…"

Violent gasping filled the air, but no one could hear it.

Watching Cheng Shi's comical display, Fang Shiqing couldn't hold back a laugh.

Gulps of fresh air flooded his lungs. The long-lost sensation of the living world rushed into every limb and bone, and Cheng Shi greedily sucked in a few extra breaths.

Alive!

He was alive again!

The first thing he did upon raising his head wasn't to look at Fang Shiqing, but to pull out his pocket watch and check how much time had passed.

Seeing that barely twenty-some minutes had elapsed since his death, he exhaled a long breath of turbid air in profound relief.

All the pressure pent up in his heart released at once.

Then he looked at Bailing's corpse nearby, and at the guard who lay dead with eyes still wide open in eternal outrage, and suddenly began to laugh.

Laughing without sound, like a clown in a silent film.

The carry was indeed reliable.

Or rather, the Defender was indeed reliable!

Seeing Cheng Shi laughing happily to himself without so much as acknowledging his savior, Fang Shiqing indignantly kicked him twice.

Cheng Shi hastily scrambled up, pressed his palms together, and bowed in thanks, then pointed at Bailing beside them.

Fang Shiqing's face darkened. She pointed at the book in her own hand and mouthed:

"Wasting book pages. You're the Priest, save her yourself."

Cheng Shi had no choice but to snap his fingers.

As the silent snap landed, Bailing's crushed form slowly filled out again. Within a few breaths, her eyes reopened.

Rewind Healing, a gift from [Time]!

Those clear eyes snapped open, brimming with shock. She stared blankly at Cheng Shi and murmured:

"It's actually… true…"

Fang Shiqing read her lips, looked at Cheng Shi in puzzlement, and seemed to mouth "What's true?"

Cheng Shi spread his hands, indicating he had no idea either.

Bailing, seeing the big shot still playing dumb, giggled along goofily.

The bloodstains on her body didn't vanish with the rewind, but the blood-soaked dress only added a certain flair to Bailing's appearance.

"Reborn," she seemed even more… alluring.

Fang Shiqing frowned, sensing that things were not simple.

The scent of [Defilement] had grown stronger.

Her gaze bounced between Cheng Shi and Bailing, trying to figure out what had happened between them.

But Cheng Shi hid it well. Nothing showed through at all.

Bailing, on the other hand, was no good at dissembling. Yet her gaze clung to Cheng Shi like taffy, so sticky it made one's stomach turn.

Who knew what she was thinking.

Fang Shiqing naturally had no idea what Bailing was thinking, because right now, her own mind was entirely consumed by the memory of that moment she and Cheng Shi had shared inside the wardrobe.

Ch. 29 Foolish Game of the Gods Chapter 29

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