Audience Assembly · Changing roles

Those who work behind the scenes have their advantages.

Since there was Stage and Curtain on site, there must also be a back door. That invisible Curtain was like a monitor. Cheng Shi a change of mind, Cheng Shi switched his perspective to the depths of the audience area and saw the fallen "corpse".

The corpse had come back to life and sat up.

Du Qiyu rubbed his neck, sitting silently in the Void, gazing up at the sky as if waiting for someone to arrive.

Cheng Shi smirked and tentatively pulled the Curtain. Through the gap between the two invisible Curtain, he indeed saw the figure in front of the Curtain!

Of course, those behind the scenes can move to the forefront, but Du Qiyu was completely unaware of this.

This means that as long as Cheng Shi pulls back the Curtain and steps out, he can appear in front of the Beast Tamer and question his true identity.

However, he did not rush out. Instead, he waited for a while and observed that Du Qiyu had no other ambitions and was genuinely waiting for Fool's Game to arrive. Only then did he confirm that the other party was not an ambitious person and at least had genuine "trust" in Fool's Game.

Although the origin of this trust was strange, Cheng Shi felt it was enough. He smiled, drew back the curtain on the Fool's Game, and walked out.

The real Fool's Game is about to begin.

Behind the scenes, the lead actor quietly changed his identity.

A pair of long, slender arms entered Du Qiyu's field of vision first, followed by a stick-like body and that familiar Pure White Mask. The Beast Tamer immediately noticed the arrival of Fool's Game, a slight look of surprise flashing across his face, but his body reacted quickly, immediately standing up and bowing respectfully towards Cheng Shi with a joyful expression:

"Praise be to the great Lord Foolish Play, you arrived much faster than I expected."

Cheng Shi stepped forward, chuckled, and did not respond. Instead, he sized up his "childhood friend" in front of him, and the more he looked, the more suspicious he became of the other person's identity.

He didn't speak, but just stared at the other person, exerting a silent pressure.

In the silent Void, at the very bottom of the Audience Assembly, this sense of oppression was amplified many times over. Even though Du Qiyu didn't seem afraid of the Fool's Game, he couldn't help but take a small half-step back.

Seeing that Fool's Game remained silent for a long time, Du Qiyu cautiously raised his head and tentatively asked, "Sir?"

Cheng Shi glanced into the other person's eyes, feeling he'd seen that look in Little Seven's eyes somewhere before. Could the person playing Du Qiyu be someone he knew?

But who would play the role of a perverted Beast Tamer, and what would their purpose be in doing so?

Cheng Shi knew it was time to speak; remaining silent would only arouse suspicion. So, he glanced up at the Audience Grounds above and said softly:

"You're too clever for your own good. Who told you I would definitely come?"

"?"

But haven't you already arrived?

Du Qiyu paused for a moment, her eyes blinking rapidly, feeling that the Lord Foolish Play today was... very strange.

It's nothing like Him.

But this was, after all, the Audience Grounds [Deception] received visitors. He couldn't tell if the other party was bound by some rules, or if they were being watched by the place's master, [Deception]. So he could only cooperate and explain in a measured and formal manner:

"You saw my emblem, acknowledged my identity, didn't kill me, and even kicked me out of the Void —wasn't that all so that I would wait for you here?"

You are here...

Du Qiyu glanced around furtively, then followed Fool's Game's gaze upwards and silently said, "Is it inconvenient to communicate?"

"!"

Heraldry!

What coat of arms?

Upon hearing those two words, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Cheng Shi!

Fire Emblem: The Proof of Fire Keeping!?

He's actually a Fire Keeper!?

Cheng Shi's pupils contracted, and he suddenly realized.

No, it should be said that the other party must be a Fire Keeper, otherwise Long Jing would never have let him go. But who among the Fire Keeper could he be?

Cheng Shi looked at those blinking eyes and felt an increasing sense of familiarity. He frantically recalled the Fire Keeper he had interacted with and wondered which ones might be connected to Little Seven.

After thinking it over, I actually came up with someone!

Xie Yang!

This neighbor of mine escaped from Little Seven's cage and joined the Fire Keeper. Could Du Qiyu be Xie Yang?

It doesn't seem like it.

Furthermore, how can Believer [War] attend a [Deception] Audience Assembly?

Did Xie Yang break his oath? No, it doesn't seem like it.

Cheng Shi carefully observed Du Qiyu's eyes and felt that although there was determination in them, it wasn't as "persistent" as Xie Yang's, and the occasional glint of liveliness in his eyes didn't seem like that of a real man...

Woman?

Cheng Shi's brows furrowed even deeper.

While Fool's Game was sizing up Du Qiyu, the puzzled Du Qiyu was also sizing up Fool's Game. He didn't doubt Fool's Game's identity, after all, no one would dare to come here at this time to impersonate Fool's Game. He just didn't understand why Fool's Game kept staring at him, as if trying to see something out of him.

But soon, Du Qiyu figured it out herself.

He exclaimed "Oh!" as if suddenly realizing something, then cautiously pointed around and whispered, "Sir... may I ask?"

Cheng Shi was taken aback. He hadn't even thought of an excuse to urge the other person to say something when the other person suddenly had something to say.

Yes, of course I can speak.

He chuckled and nodded, "Speak freely."

Du Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought that the adults were silent because it was inconvenient to communicate here. Seeing Fool's Game nod, he quickly explained:

"My lord, I know you are the Hope's Flame!"

"???"

No, buddy, who am I?

Hope's Flame?

Cheng Shi was stunned.

How come I didn't know I was Hope's Flame?

Du Qiyu was very nervous. Even after receiving permission, he remained vigilant, covering his mouth and whispering:

"Before I came, Sister Yue gave me a heads-up. She said that if there was any trouble during the Audience Assembly, I should say that I was one of your people, that is, someone who was Fool's Game people."

I asked her why, but she wouldn't tell me. I kept pestering her until she finally told me, "So you were just Fool's Game!"

"Sir, you've deceived us so badly..."

The last sentence contained both a complaint and a hint of surprise, the clear and melodious voice carrying a touch of familiarity.

"...?"

Did I lie to you?

Cheng Shi blinked, feeling like he'd been unfairly blamed.

The person addressed as "Sister Yue" by a Fire Keeper is most likely his old friend Fire Seeker Ji Yue. But why would Ji Yue say that the Fool's Game is the Hope's Flame?

Who started this rumor?

With Ji Yue's "Truth" mind, she would never speak without verification, but she'd never seen a farce before, so where would she find the Fool's Game...?

Etc!

She had never seen Fool's Game, but she had seen Hope's Flame!

The Fire Keeper, the Fire Seeker, will surely see the Hope's Flame; so could this rumor have originated from the Hope's Flame itself?

What is He doing? Is He promoting his own identity?

To portray oneself as a deity who protects those Fire Keeper?

Hmm... Thinking about it that way, it's not impossible.

After figuring everything out Cheng Shi was stunned for a long time, then chuckled and shook his head.

No wonder Du Qiyu was so bold as to Audience Assembly the audience; he was confident he had nothing to fear.

No wonder he and Long Jing were able to work together; the two idiots only had a superficial understanding of each other. If either of them knew a little more, the performance wouldn't have ended up like this.

As expected, anything can happen in an era of [Nothingness], especially on the Stage of [Deception].

What a baffling Clown circus!