The Altered Story

Zhen Xin calmed herself down and recounted the Trials process in detail.

The first half is exactly the same as Cheng Shi's Memory, but the altered part occurs after Zhen Xin and Hu Wei went to the Kurd Imperial City together.

They found the bodies of Mrs. Flord, the head of the Morning Cheer Circus, and the Clown Maxford in the Imperial City, and confirmed that Mrs. Flord was involved in Maxford's death!

"Maxford was suffocated by Flord!"

"What!?"

Cheng Shi was shocked; this was Change he never expected.

Zhen Xin, with a solemn expression, continued:

After parting ways with Lake at the Tavern, Maxford returned to the Circus, where he happened to run into Flord, who had come looking for him.

Fueled by alcohol, the Clown confided in Flord about his admiration for Lake, saying he felt such an opponent was worthy of his respect, and even if he lost, he would have no regrets.

However, Flord didn't think so. She didn't know what had happened, but simply told Maxford that Morning Cheer couldn't lose no matter what.

But Maxford insisted that nothing is impossible in fair competition, and if Lake could really come up with a perfect Clown circus act, it would be right for the other side to win.

Perhaps the alcohol amplified Maxford's emotions; despite Flord's repeated assurances that he would win, his Flord -like rebelliousness led him to constantly refute the other's points.

An argument ensued between them, with Maxford asserting that art was of utmost importance and that Morning Cheer's victory should not be attributed solely to him!

It was this sentence that completely disappointed Flord. At that moment, she recalled all their past experiences and felt that those past experiences were not even as valuable as the drunken confessions Clown Dusk Play night.

At that moment, Mrs. Flord's long-buried desires completely twisted and erupted.

Don't forget, she's a member of the Brotherhood of Extreme Desire.

[The Filth and Decay] affected her at the height of her emotions. Without a word, she helped Maxford back to the tent, and then, while he was asleep, she smothered the Clown to death with her own hands!

She said through tears:

Morning Cheer's victory shouldn't be solely attributed to the Clown; in that case, let the victory come more easily.

Afterwards Mrs. Flord staged the scene, framing everything to Fate, the leader of the troupe "Fitt Dusk Play," and used this incident as a deception to lure the Dusk Play Clown to Morning Cheer, where he would then carry out his final showdown.

The change in the plot had a huge impact on Cheng Shi. He couldn't believe that the ending, which had been arbitrarily altered by God of Merriment, had no deeper meaning. His mind was buzzing and his body was cold. In that instant, he seemed to understand why the Despair era he had experienced in the previous Trials had come to an end.

[Filth and Decay]!?

Is God of Merriment trying to tell himself and the world that [Filth and Decay] influenced Him and almost led Him Wrong Path?

So what pulled them back from the Wrong Path?

Is it really [Time]!?

Noticing Cheng Shi's expression, Zhen Xin paused, her face growing even more serious as she asked, "What exactly happened?"

"There are some things beyond our expectations. Before we thoroughly verify them, I can't say what the truth is. You go on, I'll figure out the Trials first."

Zhen Xin nodded and continued:

"Afterwards, we brought Mrs. Flord back. Faced with irrefutable evidence, she had no way to deny it. After learning the truth, Lake kept questioning Flord about why he had treated him this way. Flord remained silent, and then..."

"What?" Cheng Shi's heart skipped a beat; he felt that Zhen Xin's pause was a little frightening.

She committed suicide.

"The Brotherhood of Extreme Desire their methods; she hid poison in her mouth, and while everyone's attention was on Lake, she bit the poison and committed suicide."

"!!??"

Zhen Xin sighed:

But this is far from the end.

We concealed the deaths of Maxford and Mrs. Flord, reassured them, and escorted Lake back to the Dusk Play. But when Ringmaster Fait was shocked to learn that Lake had not died in the explosion, a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes.

No one noticed anything unusual, except you.

You noticed Fitt's difference and told us that things were far more complicated than they seemed. Then we controlled Fitt and uncovered the secrets behind it all.

Those shoes...

It wasn't stolen by a tourist, nor was it found by Flord while searching; rather, Fitt deliberately placed it in an obvious place so that Flord would discover it!

"What!?"

Cheng Shi was stunned. He repeated in disbelief, "Fitt used shoes as bait to lure Flord, and then deliberately made Lake disheartened, letting him be deceived until Morning Cheer?"

Zhen Xin nodded. "Yes, that night, he, who cared about Lake, unexpectedly discovered the uninvited Flord and overheard her and Lake's 'secret'. He knew this traitor who had defected from the Dusk Play, so after eavesdropping, he came up with this method in an attempt to win without a fight!"

Unexpectedly, in the final days leading up to the final showdown, Flord's plan was exposed by us, and his plan was thus aborted.

"..."

The plot twist came so suddenly that Cheng Shi's mind went blank.

What is this? Destiny, through Deception, has completed its Predestination course?

While it's true that [Deception] contributed the most to the Predestination path, it would be far too absurd to assume that every move of the God of Merriment, or even the entire Fear Faction, was orchestrated by [Destiny]!

Is this still the same person who Predestination Destiny and was willing to risk everything for it?

No wonder [the Deception] said [Destiny] is better at deceiving people than He is.

But then again, whether the Fear Faction is still the Fear Faction is another matter, and the current state of God of Merriment and [Destiny] is also uncertain. In the end of that false era, Cheng Shi still doesn't understand why [Destiny] chose to directly self-destruct.

If the [Deception] Trials is meant to convey that [Destiny] is the true mastermind, then how could the [Destiny] of this world have so easily destroyed itself at that time?

Did He plan everything just to welcome his own Nothingness?

That doesn't make sense.

Cheng Shi fell into deep thought, while Zhen Xin continued:

Knowing everything, Lake was heartbroken. He felt that Kanliwal and Dusk Play could no longer tolerate him.

So he resigned from his post and left the land that had caused him so much sorrow, after hearing the distraught Ringmaster Fait.

He felt that this place was unworthy of being the highest hall of art, and he wanted to find another pure land outside the Snow Region, a pure land where there would be no more strife, yet where the circus could live on forever.

So he left Dusk Play alone, left Kurd, left the Northern Snow Country, and went south to find a new place to live.

You personally saw him off, while we... tried to 'reverse' the outcome of the Trials according to the 'hint' from the God of Merriment.

Faced with two Circus with no end in sight, President Gong continued to play his Lake, while I played Morning Cheer's Maxford.

On the fifth day of the Trials, the final showdown arrived as scheduled. President Gong lived up to his reputation as a 'Clown' with rich Stage experience... He won, the audience loved him, and the number of people attending Dusk Play far exceeded that of Morning Cheer.

He won a false tomorrow for Dusk Play, while we won a Special Trial in return.

Zhen Xin had been observing Cheng Shi. After finishing her explanation, she pursed her lips and said:

"What's on your mind, Fate Weaver?"

Can you tell me what you know?