Famous Detective Cheng Shi

Time rewound to the inside of the wardrobe.

At that moment, Cheng Shi silently said, "Don't panic, take him down!" and then patted Bailing's shoulder.

Just as Bailing thought this was a disguised form of comfort, a small bottle of potion dropped from Cheng Shi's fingertip onto her chest, getting caught right in the middle.

Bailing froze and looked down.

She saw that the small potion bottle clearly had a line of small text written on it:

"Potion Name: Contempt of the Dead.

As long as this potion is consumed, you will not truly die within the duration of its effect."

Bailing looked up in shock, only to see Cheng Shi already counting down.

She didn't waste a second and drank the potion from the bottle just before rushing out.

Everyone knew the outcome of the battle: she had indeed died.

But now, she had indeed come back to life.

This was no trick to make her charge forward; Cheng Shi had not betrayed her trust.

As for why Bailing trusted Cheng Shi so much.

If she asked herself, it would be difficult to say.

Perhaps it was because he had never harbored any improper thoughts towards her, who was "easy to handle."

Seeing Bailing shakily stand up from the ground, Cheng Shi finally put his last worry to rest.

He thanked his previous teammates, who were far away but still contributed to the recognition of "Contempt of the Dead."

Cheng Shi's Faith Talent, [Sacrifice to the Void], could not store fabricated items; it could only be used on the spot.

However, this talent required a prerequisite: to be widely recognized by others.

This "widely" was interesting. After multiple trials, Cheng Shi discovered that as long as five people besides himself recognized it, the requirement would be met.

Coincidentally, this matched the number of people in the trial.

Back in the wardrobe, Cheng Shi had no means to get others to recognize it, so he couldn't fabricate a new item. Helplessly, he had to secretly mark a bottle of the "clichéd" "Contempt of the Dead."

Although this was a huge gamble, betting that his teammates wouldn't discover any flaws in this potion, Cheng Shi wasn't without confidence.

At least in his calculations, there were about 3 to 4 people who wouldn't scrutinize such things too deeply.

Adding Bailing on the spot, that was enough.

As it turned out, Cheng Shi had won the gamble again.

Even though he always rolled a 1 on dice, his luck in gambling was good.

Seeing that the two were safe, Fang Shiqing also felt a lot more relaxed. She looked at Cheng Shi with a serious expression, demanding an explanation.

Cheng Shi's expression darkened, and he looked towards the door.

Fang Shiqing immediately understood, recalling Cheng Shi's note that said, "When three walk together, be cautious."

Considering the situation in the fog at that time, besides herself and Cheng Shi, the only "outsider" at that temporal node was...

A'ming!

"Is A'ming the problem?"

Cheng Shi curled his lips and said silently:

"A'ming might not be the problem, but whether A'ming is A'ming, that's not necessarily true."

"What!!??"

Fang Shiqing and Bailing's expressions changed drastically, and they both shook their heads, looking incredulous.

Fang Shiqing frowned, "His heartstring's sound hasn't changed. Are you sure?"

Bailing also asked doubtfully:

"Boss, his attitude towards me is the same as always, never changed..."

Even so, Bailing still believed Cheng Shi's judgment.

Since there was a problem with a person, it was important to ensure internal stability first.

Cheng Shi shook his head, said nothing, and just made a gesture, signaling everyone to get ready to capture the person.

Whether A'ming was A'ming or not, as an agile "Assassin," it would be difficult to capture him without anyone noticing!

Relying only on Cheng Shi and Bailing might be difficult, but if Fang Shiqing were added...

This matter would be much easier.

Cheng Shi leaned towards Fang Shiqing as if seeking support. Fang Shiqing glared at him for a long time, then sighed and tore a golden page from her book.

S-rank talent, Eternal Prison.

Seeing this, Cheng Shi's face lit up. He felt the surging power of [Time] from this page.

This was a skill left behind by a Time Walker.

Fang Shiqing, wincing in pain, walked towards the door holding the book page. Before leaving, she glanced back at Cheng Shi and mouthed:

"Compensate me."

Cheng Shi nodded solemnly.

Seeing Cheng Shi agree, Fang Shiqing nimbly opened the door and, before the two people outside could react, slapped Ah Ming on the shoulder with a book page.

"Boom—"

A surge of temporal power exploded. Before Ah Ming could react, he was bound in place by the shackles of time.

He widened his eyes in shock and fear, exclaiming:

"Sister Fang! You..."

Xu Lu was also startled. She took two steps back, and at some point, had pulled out a small dagger. Trembling, she looked down at her own thigh.

"Sister Fang, what's going on?"

Before Fang Shiqing could answer, something even more insane happened.

Cheng Shi and Bailing, who had just died in the room, walked out completely unharmed.

Well, not completely unharmed; their clothes were just a bit rumpled.

"You...!!??"

Xu Lu was utterly stunned. For a moment, all sorts of conspiracy theories played out in her mind.

The most outrageous one was that she started suspecting Fang Shiqing might have agreed to some demand from Cheng Shi and was planning to collude with this annoying [Time] believer to kill her.

Seeing how frightened Xu Lu was, Fang Shiqing shook her head apologetically and then gestured for her to listen to Cheng Shi explain what happened.

As soon as Cheng Shi stepped out of the room, he plunged a Desire Arrow, taken from Bailing, into Ah Ming's shoulder.

"Ch-!"

"Brother Cheng!? You're not dead? What are you doing? Niao Niao, you're not dead either? What... what happened to you guys?"

Ah Ming looked at everyone with extreme shock, his eyes darting around.

Seeing his reaction, Cheng Shi smiled meaningfully.

"My apologies, I am indeed not dead. I imagine that must be quite disappointing for you."

Ah Ming froze for a moment, then his face darkened.

"Brother Cheng, what do you mean? Of course, I don't want my teammates to be in trouble, but are you implying I killed you? I avenged you! I killed that guard!"

"Oh, you avenged me, clap clap clap," Cheng Shi said, nodding and applauding with a smile. "Indeed, you were just a moment too late. Otherwise, you could have saved us."

"Yeah, there must be some misunderstanding. Sister Fang, let me go first, we're running out of time."

Fang Shiqing acted as if she hadn't heard him, remaining vigilant and cautiously watching for anyone approaching.

Cheng Shi shook his head, unwilling to waste any more time with him.

"You're not Ah Ming, are you?"

Ah Ming faltered, then burst into laughter.

"Brother Cheng, what are you talking about? Who else would I be if not Ah Ming?

Did you forget? I came with you all the way from the mist room. In the middle, we split up to scout as Sister Fang instructed, and then in this room, I avenged you... I avenged you both.

Did you lose your memory?"

"I haven't lost my memory, and you don't need to pretend anymore, Uncle Huang."

"!!??"

"Who? Huang Bo?" Fang Shiqing exclaimed in shock, then immediately activated some talent to probe Ah Ming's identity. However, there was no surprise in the result; he was indeed Ah Ming.

"Cheng Shi, are you sure? He's Huang Bo?"

Ah Ming said with a wry smile, "Brother Cheng, what are you talking about? Huang Bo is still behind and hasn't caught up. The Memory Gate is still open, how could I be Huang Bo?"

Cheng Shi smiled and continued, "How do you know he hasn't caught up?"

"..." Ah Ming's expression changed, and he quickly explained, "I mean, when we arrived at the Duke's manor, he hadn't arrived yet."

"Yes, that's true. If I'm not mistaken, the Memory Gate is indeed still open up to this point. Someone fell behind and didn't make it.

But the one who fell behind wasn't Huang Bo, it was Ah Ming.

The real Huang Bo is right in front of me."

Ah Ming, seemingly angered by the endless suspicion, roared with a sinister expression, "Cheng Shi, just say what you intend to do. I've saved you multiple times, why are you suspecting me!! You say I'm Huang Bo, show me proof, why do you say I'm Huang Bo?"

Looking at the hysterical Ah Ming, Fang Shiqing's expression wavered slightly. She looked at Cheng Shi, only to see him publicly take out a small bottle of potion. As he unscrewed the cap, he said, "Actually, there's a lot of evidence."

For example, an Assassin claiming they couldn't retreat from the mist;

For example, the goblin that died in the servant's quarters wasn't killed by a single person, but by each other, which didn't seem like the judgment of [Order], but more like the work of [Chaos];

For example, someone murdered the Duke, but that person wasn't an adulterous guard, nor was it me or Bailing, yet the killer has never been found;

Or, for example, someone clearly had a faster door-opening talent, the [Finger Key], yet at a critical moment of life and death, they chose to kick the door down, which took longer..."

With every sentence Cheng Shi spoke, A'ming's expression grew darker, and his teammates' mouths gaped wider.

By the time he unscrewed the potion, Cheng Shi's face was already full of smiles.

"But it doesn't matter. This potion in my hand is called the [Truth of Confession]. It's a good medicine used by the executioners of the [Grand Inquisition] to interrogate criminals. Anyone, with just one drop, will answer anything. As an Assassin of [Order], you should know this thing."

As he spoke, Cheng Shi picked up the potion bottle and poured it towards A'ming's head.

But before the potion could even flow out of the bottle, A'ming burst into manic laughter.

"Heh... hehe...

Hahahaha!!

Cheng Shi!

Very good!

You, are very formidable."

That smile, it was just like Huang Bo's when they first met.

Exactly the same.