The Graveyard of Squinty Old Zhang

Cheng Shi was slightly taken aback. After sensing the extremely pure aura of death, he carefully withdrew his hand and released the key. Then, he picked up a bamboo pole from the side of his feet and nervously extended it towards the stark white door in front of him.

It wasn't that he didn't trust that the Great One, nor was he worried about the safety inside the gate. He was simply afraid that Squinty Old Zhang, who had become his brother of the same Faith, had tampered with the gate and wanted to use a scam to make him look like a real Clown.

So at this moment, Steady Cheng went online again.

But as it turned out, Cheng Shicai, who chose the safer Cheng Shi, became the real Clown, because there was no trap inside the door at all. The moment he touched the bone door with his bamboo pole, "whoosh—" he was sucked in.

When Cheng Shi came to his senses, he found himself transformed into a Little Skull, appearing in a...

Huh? No, what happened to the Cemetery?

This isn't Cemetery, it's a mass grave!

Looking at the desolate landscape around him, Cheng Shi felt a slight sense of dread and hugged himself tightly... He couldn't hug it tightly because the skull had no hands.

Cheng Shi was stunned. He hopped and skipped onto a protruding rock, looking around at the desolate slope where the cold wind was blowing. His jaw opened and closed, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.

It was so desolate here, with pebbles everywhere and weeds growing rampant. Under the pale moonlight, the landscape was barren and desolate, with not a trace of human intervention in sight, let alone the tombstone and hut that Squinty Old Zhang had mentioned.

Cheng Shi observing for a while, Cheng Shi realized that he was probably at the bottom of a long slope. In his current state, if he wanted to get over the slope, he would probably have to jump all night.

As for why we didn't go down the long slope in the opposite direction...

It's not that he doesn't want to, but that he can't. There's an invisible wall behind his head right now. That the Great One's teleportation sent him to the Squinty Old Zhang. So Cheng Shi now only has one choice, which is... to bravely climb to the top!

He could vaguely see a glimmer of light behind the long slope. After thinking for a moment, he felt that the Cemetery that Squinty Old Zhang was talking about was probably behind this long slope, and this might be an abandoned part on the edge of the Cemetery.

What's this, a show of force?

No, when you come to my house I greet you with a chair that looks like Divine Throne, but when I come to your place you do this to me?

Alright, Squinty Old Zhang, I'll remember this grudge!

The road ahead of Cheng Shi looks like an extremely difficult journey, but this is no match for a Today's Warrior, or rather, a hero of today, who Dice in his hand.

So he took out his [Destiny] dice, and then... silently put them back, took out a megaphone, fiddled with it for a long time, and then shouted loudly into the microphone.

"Old Zhang Old Zhang, please respond if you hear me, please respond if you hear me, over."

Yes, Yonggu gave up at the last minute. Why move the jawbone when you can use your brain?

Jumping around is tiring. Since we've already come all the way to Squinty Old Zhang's doorstep, it's not unreasonable to ask him to come out and pick someone up, right?

Zhang Jizu's response was much faster than Cheng Shi had imagined. Before the final "over" had even faded, a figure had already appeared on the long slope.

He squinted, his eyes almost invisible in the darkness, and cautiously looked down. When he saw the Little Skull bouncing around to greet him, he was slightly taken aback and said:

"Cheng Shi?"

"Hey Old Zhang, your house looks a bit run-down. There aren't even any lights in here. I almost thought I'd gone the wrong way."

Zhang Jizu did not immediately come down to greet them. Instead, he smiled and nodded from above, saying, "You have indeed taken the wrong road. This is not the entrance to the Cemetery, but rather land that was not yet cultivated when the Cemetery was expanded. I usually use this place to receive enemies."

???

Enemy?

Okay, okay, I treat you like a brother, but you treat me like an enemy, right?

Hold grudges twice as much!

Cheng Shi laughed angrily, pointing and gesturing with his jaw open and closed, saying, "Then I'd like to know, how do you entertain your friends!?"

Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes and smiled, "That's right, it's here too."

?

Cheng Shi was stunned for a moment, not understanding.

"Until we confirm who the intruder is, we will treat them as enemies. Of course, if we confirm that they are friends, we will invite them up, but in Cheng Shi, you will have to wait a while."

This is Magic Formation I set up in the Cemetery. No matter where spacetime fluctuations occur, they will eventually be distorted and teleported here. This is also one of the Cemetery's defense mechanisms.

This Cemetery is too large; I must be extra careful.

Of course, don't rush. Wait a little longer... let me see. In two more minutes, after the 'backlash' buff from the Magic Formation disappears, I'll bring you up."

"..."

Cheng Shi was stunned. He had always thought that his defensive strategy on the rooftop was cautious enough, even to the point of being slightly neurotic. But today, he realized that he was far inferior to Steady Zhang.

With such a prop, he actually chose to place it in a Rest Area that was restricted by the rules of the [Faith Game] and isolated from outsiders.

No, who exactly are you guarding against? An imaginary enemy, huh?

Cheng Shi's expression turned extremely strange, his eye sockets almost distorted. He looked at Zhang Jizu and said irritably, "Let me guess, I won't be the first 'enemy' to be received by your Magic Formation, will I?"

Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes and nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed, your visit provided me with a lot of feedback, and I think I can make some improvements."

"..." Cheng Shi swore that he didn't ask Squinty Old Zhang for a testing fee because of that the Great One's face. "Okay, fine, that's really good. But Old Zhang, I still want to ask what kind of buff this backlash is?"

"Within 5 minutes of the teleportation being triggered, this corner of the Cemetery will be locked. If the power of Faith is used, the intruder will be attacked by the power of the opposing Faith that arises out of nowhere. This is a method from the Trap Master of the Tower of Reason. It is effective, but expensive."

So it's best not to waste any time, and well, time's up.

As he spoke, Zhang Jizu walked quickly down the long slope, but when he got close to Cheng Shi, he suddenly stopped and did not get any closer.

This action startled Cheng Shi, who then asked speechlessly, "What other mechanisms are there?"

Zhang Jizu narrowed his eyes and smiled, "That's all. I was afraid you would be angry and attack me, so I took precautions, but you didn't."

This isn't like you. Hmm, it seems you're here today because you need something from me?

"..."

Cheng Shi was numb. He stared blankly at the Squinty Old Zhang in front of him, and for a moment felt that the other person was such a stranger.

Alright, alright, you don't seem like some kind of Chosen of God of "death." Your Lord of Grace should be called "steady"!

"Don't look at me like that. Get to the point. You should know that the Special Trial is right in front of you. Do you want to enter the Trials here?"

Seeing Cheng Shi remain silent and motionless, Zhang Jizu chuckled, picked up the Little Skull, placed it on his shoulder, and then slowly walked towards the Cemetery.

Cheng Shi stood on Squinty Old Zhang's shoulders and bounced a couple of times, saying, "I always feel like you've become more lively. Is it just my imagination?"

"Really? I don't think so."

"Yes, absolutely. It seems that the God of Merriment has already begun to influence you. I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Shi stopped abruptly, his face filled with shock. At that moment Zhang Jizu had already led him over the long slope, and what came into view was row upon row of stone tombstones.

This Cemetery is completely different from the simple Cemetery in Cheng Shi's dream. The style here is very fancy, especially the front part of the Cemetery, where almost every grave has exquisite decorations comparable to a miniature courtyard. It is obvious that the person who erected the tombstone spent a lot of money to decorate it.

Moreover, several candles were lit in front of each tombstone. The faint flames flickered in the cold wind but were not blown out. Hundreds of candles crisscrossed, outlining a rather spectacular dwelling place for Believer in the "death".

Looking at the vast number of tombstones, far exceeding his expectations, Cheng Shi was utterly astonished.

"How many people have you buried in this Cemetery?"

Race?

Zhang Jizu was taken aback by this novel idea, but a second later he realized that Cheng Shi meant burying the dead. He shook his head and chuckled.

"Only half or even less of the graves actually contain people; the rest are just memorial mounds I carved for my teammates who died in the Trials."

"Are you commemorating their deaths?"

"Squinty Old Zhang, you've finally got something on me! You've already embarked on the path of Deception, and you still dare to do such sneaky and blasphemous things in the Rest Area. Next time I see God of Merriment, I'll definitely report you!"

"..."

Zhang Jizu fell silent. His narrowed eyes betrayed no emotion, but a hint of embarrassment flickered across his face.

Cheng Shi had finally won a round, and looking around triumphantly, he soon grinned again, shoved the squinty-eyed man's shoulder, and looked at the nearest tombstone at his feet, saying in a strange tone:

"No, Old Zhang, are you a professional blasphemer too?"

If I'm not mistaken, the words '[Order]' engraved on this tombstone refer to the one on the Divine Throne?

Tsk, you've got some nerve, daring to secretly carve a monument for the gods?

You want... they to die?

"..."

"That's interesting, but I have to say, is there God of Merriment?"

"...?"