Time reversed back into the wardrobe.
At the time, Cheng Shi silently said, "Don't panic. Take him down!" Then he patted Bailing on the shoulder.
Just as Bailing thought this was some roundabout form of consolation, a small vial of potion slipped from Cheng Shi's fingertips and fell onto her chest, landing neatly between them.
Bailing froze and looked down.
She saw a line of tiny words clearly written on the outside of the vial:
"Potion name: Contempt of the Dead.
As long as this potion is consumed, the user will not truly die while its effects are active."
Bailing raised her head in shock, only to see that Cheng Shi had already begun counting down.
She did not waste a second. In the instant before rushing out, she drank the potion in the vial.
Everyone knew how the battle had ended: she had indeed died.
But now, she had indeed come back to life.
This had not been some empty promise to trick her into charging forward. Cheng Shi had not betrayed her trust.
As for why Bailing trusted Cheng Shi so completely—
Even she herself would probably have a hard time explaining it.
Perhaps it was because he had never harbored any improper thoughts about her, despite how easy she was to approach.
Watching Bailing shakily rise from the floor, Cheng Shi finally let out the breath he had been holding.
He had to thank his teammates from the distant past, who had still contributed recognition to Contempt of the Dead.
Cheng Shi's Faith Talent, Sacrifice to the Void, could not store fabricated items. They could only be used on the spot.
However, the talent had a prerequisite: it had to be widely acknowledged by others.
The meaning of "widely" was rather interesting. After repeated experiments, Cheng Shi had discovered that as long as five people besides himself acknowledged something, the requirement was met.
Coincidentally, that was the same as the number of people in the trial.
Back in the wardrobe, Cheng Shi had no way to make the others acknowledge anything, so he could not fabricate a new item. With no other choice, he secretly marked a bottle of the "old-fashioned" Contempt of the Dead.
It had been a huge gamble, betting that his teammates had not noticed anything unusual about the potion. But Cheng Shi had not been completely without confidence.
At least according to his calculations, three or four of them would probably not investigate something like this too deeply.
With Bailing there as well, that was enough.
The facts proved that Cheng Shi had won the gamble again.
Although he always rolled a one when he threw the Dice, his luck at gambling was pretty good.
Seeing that the two of them were safe and sound, Fang Shiqing relaxed considerably. She looked at Cheng Shi with a stern expression, demanding an explanation.
Cheng Shi's expression darkened as he looked toward the door.
Fang Shiqing immediately understood. She remembered the words on Cheng Shi's note: "When three travel together, be especially careful."
Given the situation in the mist at that time, apart from herself and Cheng Shi, the only "outsider" at that point was...
A'ming!
"There's something wrong with A'ming?"
The corner of Cheng Shi's mouth twitched upward. He silently said:
"A'ming may not have a problem, but whether A'ming is really A'ming is another matter."
"What!!??"
Fang Shiqing and Bailing both paled, shaking their heads with looks of disbelief.
Fang Shiqing frowned. "The sound of his heartstrings hasn't changed. Are you sure?"
Bailing was equally puzzled.
"Big shot, his attitude toward me is exactly the same as always. It hasn't changed at all..."
Even so, Bailing still trusted Cheng Shi's judgment.
Since there was a problem with someone, the first priority was naturally to ensure the team's internal stability.
Cheng Shi shook his head without saying anything. He merely gestured for everyone to prepare themselves and begin capturing him.
Whether A'ming was really A'ming or not, catching an agile Assassin without alerting him would be extremely difficult!
It might have been hard with just Cheng Shi and Bailing, but if Fang Shiqing joined them as well...
Then it would be much easier.
Cheng Shi sidled up to Fang Shiqing like he was clinging to a powerful ally. Fang Shiqing glared at him for a long while before sighing. Then she tore a golden page from the book.
S-rank talent, Eternal Prison.
Cheng Shi's face lit up when he saw it. He could feel the surging power of time within the page.
This was a skill left behind by a Time Walker.
Fang Shiqing reluctantly carried the page toward the door. Before leaving, she looked back at Cheng Shi and mouthed:
"Compensate me."
Cheng Shi nodded solemnly.
Seeing that Cheng Shi had agreed, Fang Shiqing opened the door decisively. While the two people outside were completely unprepared, she slapped the page onto A'ming's shoulder.
"Boom—"
A torrent of temporal power exploded. Before A'ming could react, the shackles of time had already bound him in place.
He widened his eyes in shock and cried out in alarm:
"Sis Fang! You..."
Xu Lu was startled as well. She took two steps back, somehow producing a small dagger in her hand, and looked fearfully toward her own thigh.
"Sister Fang, what's going on?"
Before Fang Shiqing could answer, something even more maddening happened.
Cheng Shi and Bailing, who had just died in the room, actually walked out perfectly alive.
Well, not entirely unscathed. Their clothes were a little rumpled.
"You...!!??"
Xu Lu was completely stunned. For a moment, all kinds of conspiracy theories took turns playing out in her mind.
The most outrageous one was that she actually began to suspect Fang Shiqing had agreed to some demand from Cheng Shi and was planning to join forces with this irritating follower of Order to kill her.
Seeing how frightened Xu Lu was, Fang Shiqing shook her head apologetically, then gestured for her to listen to Cheng Shi's explanation.
The moment Cheng Shi stepped out of the room, he pulled out a Desire Arrow borrowed from Bailing and plunged it into A'ming's shoulder.
"Pfft!"
"Brother Cheng!? You're not dead? What are you doing? Niao Niao, you're not dead either? What... exactly happened to you?"
A'ming stared at everyone in extreme shock, his eyes darting back and forth.
Seeing him like this, Cheng Shi smiled meaningfully.
"My apologies. I'm not dead. I imagine that must be quite disappointing for you."
A'ming froze, then his face darkened.
"Brother Cheng, what do you mean? Of course I don't want anything to happen to my teammates, but you seem to be implying that I killed you. I even avenged you by killing that guard!"
"Oh, you avenged me. Clap, clap, clap." Cheng Shi nodded and applauded with a smile. "Indeed. If you hadn't arrived late, you might even have saved the two of us."
"Exactly. There must be some misunderstanding. Sis Fang, release me first. We don't have much time."
Fang Shiqing acted as though she had not heard him. She merely remained on guard, cautiously watching for anyone approaching from nearby.
Cheng Shi shook his head. He was no longer planning to waste time with him.
"You're not A'ming, are you?"
A'ming stiffened, then threw his head back and laughed.
"Brother Cheng, what are you talking about? If I'm not A'ming, then who am I?
"Have you forgotten? I came all the way here with you from the misty room. Along the way, I followed Sis Fang's instructions and split up to search the area, then came to this room and... avenged you.
"You've lost your memory?"
"I haven't lost my memory, and you don't need to keep pretending. Uncle Huang."
"!!??"
"Who? Huang Bo?" Fang Shiqing blurted out in shock. She immediately activated some kind of talent to probe A'ming's identity, but the result was unsurprising: he was indeed A'ming.
"Cheng Shi, are you sure? He's Huang Bo?"
A'ming gave a bitter smile.
"Brother Cheng, what are you talking about? Huang Bo is still behind us and hasn't caught up. The Memory Gate is still there. How could I be Huang Bo?"
Cheng Shi smiled and continued:
"How do you know he hasn't caught up?"
"..." A'ming's expression changed. He hurriedly explained, "I mean, he hadn't arrived yet when we came to the duke's manor."
"Right. If I'm not mistaken, the Memory Gate is indeed still open even now. Someone was left behind and didn't come over.
"But the one left behind wasn't Huang Bo. It was A'ming.
"The real Huang Bo is standing right in front of me."
A'ming seemed to have been enraged by the endless suspicion. His expression turned vicious as he roared:
"Cheng Shi, if you have some plan, just say it outright! I've saved you time and time again, so why are you suspicious of me!? You say I'm Huang Bo, so produce some evidence! What gives you the right to say I'm Huang Bo?"
As he watched the hysterical A'ming, Fang Shiqing's expression wavered slightly. She looked toward Cheng Shi, only to see him produce a small vial of potion in front of everyone. As he unscrewed the cap, he said:
"There's actually plenty of evidence.
"For example, an Assassin claiming that he was unable to withdraw from the mist;
"For example, the goblins that died in the servants' room weren't killed by a single person but by killing each other. That doesn't resemble Order's judgment. It looks more like the work of chaos;
"For example, someone killed the duke, but that person was neither the adulterous guard nor Bailing and me, and yet the murderer never appeared;
"And for example, someone clearly possessed the faster door-opening talent, Finger Key, yet chose to spend more time kicking the door down at a critical moment..."
With every sentence Cheng Shi spoke, A'ming's expression darkened further, while the surrounding teammates' mouths fell wider and wider open.
By the time Cheng Shi had unscrewed the potion bottle, a smile had spread all over his face.
"But it doesn't matter anymore. The potion in my hand is called Truth of Confession. It's a fine medicine used by the executioners of the Grand Inquisition to interrogate criminals. No matter who drinks it, just one drop is enough to make them answer everything. As an Assassin of Order, I imagine you should know what this is."
As he spoke, Cheng Shi lifted the bottle and poured it over A'ming's head.
But before the potion could flow out of the bottle, A'ming began laughing maniacally.
"Heh... hehehe...
"Hahahaha!!
"Cheng Shi!
"Very good!
"You're impressive."
That smile was exactly like Huang Bo's when they had first met.
Exactly the same.
Before you continue