The Grand Justicar and the Grand Investigator

As for the other two...

"Laquis and Lidyaala, what!? How could they be here!?" Li Zhen's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in disbelief.

Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened, but he didn't make a move. Hiding behind Yu Mu, he frowned and asked, "Who are they?"

Li Zhen seemed to still be recovering from the huge shock. He pointed stiffly at the old man in the middle of the three and said in a trembling voice, "Laquis, the last Grand Justicar of the Grand Inquisition."

Then, pointing to the listless woman on the far right, she said, "Lidyaala, the second-to-last Grand Investigator of the Grand Inquisition, according to historical records, she was ambushed and killed by the Believer of [Truth] because she was investigating the intrusion of the Grand Scholar of the Tower of Reason. In the current timeline, she... should already be dead."

Cheng Shi's heart skipped a beat. Since this Grand Investigator was not dead and was still locked in this Wailing Iron Prison, it meant that her story involved many people and might even point directly to the filth behind the Grand Inquisition.

I didn't expect that coming here today would have been the right decision, but things have gone a little too smoothly.

He raised an eyebrow, looked at Li Zhen's profile, and suddenly asked, "Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

"No! I could never be wrong. I have seen them in many historical records. As Believer of the Order, I am well aware of the history of the Grand Inquisition."

"Hmm, I can see that. But Li Zhen, I guess you're not just a simple Investigator, are you?"

[Order] is ultimately your Lord of Grace. Even if you suspect that your Lord of Grace has a problem, I don't think you should use such drastic methods to investigate [He].

Your piety is waning, which means your power may disappear, but you seem utterly unafraid.

So what will drives you to relentlessly investigate Him, even at the cost of hiring me?

Faith? No, obviously not.

I've been thinking about this the whole way but couldn't figure it out. Now I finally understand it a little.

"Are you... a member of the History School?"

Li Zhen froze, secretly glancing at Cheng Shi out of the corner of her eye, and nodded nervously.

"Yes... I am a member of the History School."

"Heh, no wonder, no wonder you hate those corrupt officials History Erasure." Cheng Shi chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I should have guessed it. You're quite clever, knowing to only tell half the truth."

"Boss, I didn't mean to hide it. My identity has no impact on our employment relationship, nor is it important."

"It's not important, but I hate being lied to."

Who knows what other half-truths you said?

Is that Dream-Peeking Candle in your hand real?

Li Zhen was taken aback. He hadn't expected the other person's train of thought to jump so much. How did they suddenly start talking about the Dream-Peeking Candle again?

"Of course it's true."

"Take it out. I want to see it with my own eyes," Cheng Shi said quietly.

Li Zhen didn't refuse, since he was going to need it soon, so he took it out of his personal space.

"I want you to tell me exactly how to use it, word for word. Remember, don't try to lie to me."

Li Zhen nodded, bewildered, and quickly replied:

"Light this Dream-Peeking Candle beside the target. When we are enveloped in the candle smoke together, we can trace the source of the target's dream and see the deepest secret hidden in his heart."

This is almost identical to the Dream-Peeking Ranger's talent.

It's true. The Investigator wasn't lying. This wasn't something the Master of Deception said; Cheng Shi knew about this thing. He wanted to test whether the other party was hiding something, but he couldn't find out.

Cheng Shi nodded, then pretended to know nothing. "So you're saying we'll all fall into a deep sleep?"

"Yes, but there shouldn't be any danger here. Besides, you have a bodyguard, sir. If we just have him stand a little further away, he should be able to wake us up before any danger comes."

As for the three in the dungeon, under the suppression of [Order], as long as they are knocked unconscious, they will likely be unable to wake up for a long time.

"Well done, it seems you've thought of everything. In that case, let's go." Cheng Shi clapped his hands in appreciation.

Seeing that the big shot had finally stopped questioning him, Li Zhen's face lit up with joy, which eased his tension. He took the Dream-Peeking Candle and walked into the stone cell.

But he had only taken two steps when Cheng Shi rushed up behind him, pulled a Scalpel from his sleeve, and without saying a word, stabbed it towards the back of the other man's head.

The sudden attack was so fast that the Hunter in front had no time to react. Just as the hunter was about to die, Cheng Shi frowned and hid the blade just as the Scalpel grazed Li Zhen's hair. He then suddenly changed his strength and chopped the blade into a hand chop, striking Li Zhen's neck.

"Bang!"

"Thump—"

Li Zhen didn't even have time to react before she collapsed to the ground.

Cheng Shi frowned deeply as he watched the Investigator being taken down.

Something's not right, absolutely not right.

This person knows too much. He not only recognizes identities, but is also an expert in history. Most importantly, he knows a lot about the Wailing Iron Prison.

This understanding isn't simply knowing how to get there or where the final dungeon is; it means... he has definitely studied this dungeon beforehand.

Just now, when Cheng Shi let him in, the other party, a Hunter, showed no caution or fear whatsoever towards the prison holding three such important prisoners!

Isn't he afraid that there might be some kind of "Order" trap or Grand Inquisition mechanism in this stone prison?

Even players who aren't known for their cautious approach should be wary of places they've never been before, let alone a Hunter known for his keen observation skills!

Cheng Shi had long suspected him. The only thing that made Li Zhen Cheng Shi lower his guard was that Li Zhen was a true Believer in "Order". In this game, Believer in "Order" are mostly reliable.

But he was too reliable; he never told a lie.

This isn't Li Zhen Zhencheng's fault, but rather that Cheng Shi some "Quanzhen PTSD," and he's somewhat afraid of the "Quanzhen Sect."

So he preemptively conducted a test, and the result of that test...

This Li Zhen seems to be really just average.

But as a seasoned and prudent man, Cheng Shi wouldn't let it go so easily.

He looked at Li Zhen, who was lying on the ground, took out a handful of sleeping pills from his personal space, and smeared them all over the other person's body.

Then he took out the Umbilical Cord Shackles and gestured at Li Zhen, but after thinking for a moment, he put them back for some reason and replaced them with several thick ropes, binding the other person tightly.

That wasn't all. He even forced the Tree Servant Yu Mu into a position as if he were drawing a bow, with the arrow tip pressed against Li Zhen's back. Only after he finished all this did he pick up the Dream-Peeking Candle and carefully walk towards the stone prison.

Cheng Shi walked very carefully, scattering Dice behind him and throwing bricks in front of him. What should have been a dozen steps took him nearly a hundred.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Chenosli's familiar face appear above him again, confirming that everything was safe and becoming even more certain that Li Zhen was definitely up to something.

The other party already knew there were no traps in this stone cell!

However, Cheng Shi could no longer care about Li Zhen at this moment, because the three weak prisoners in front of him opened their eyes at the same time after realizing that someone had arrived, and slowly turned their heads to look at him.

Cheng Shi's heart raced slightly, but he remained calm and composed on the surface, saying:

"Chenosli, Laquis, Lidyaala, it's been a long time."

The three prisoners frowned slightly, seemingly not recalling this old friend. They opened their mouths listlessly, but could not utter a word.

Seeing this, Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, took out a bottle of healing potion, and poured it on Chenosli.

But before the potion could even touch the other person's body, Sacred Light of Precepts suddenly shone brightly, instantly weaving into a golden cocoon shield that tightly enveloped Chenosli and blocked all the potion in the bottle from entering.

Moreover, the holy cocoon formed by the Sacred Light of Precepts even resounded with the triumphant Divine Resonance of judgment. As the holy light flowed, the restraints on Chenosli's body gradually tightened until they pierced his flesh, causing the pale, weak, and powerless Adjudicator to faint. Only then did the holy light of [Order] vanish with a roar, and the entire stone prison fell silent once more.

"..."

Cheng Shi watched this scene, his eyes twitching violently a few times.

He never expected that his good intentions would lead to Chenosli being punished by the Order.

The situation became awkward.

The bad news is that the only person I know is there. I'm so confused.

The good news is that, from now on, when lighting candles, we might not have to think about how to knock the other person unconscious anymore.