Recaps

Cheng Shi exposed Zhen Xin impersonating An Mingyu in the Golden House, and the two discussed the Trial’s connection to the ending of the era of [Nothingness]. As they prepared to investigate, a wealthy merchant arrived with a job for them.

• Hu Wei split the group into two teams and sent Zhang Jizu away with An Mingyu while he went with Cheng Shi.
• Cheng Shi questioned An Mingyu, then revealed that he had recognized her as Zhen Xin impersonating An Mingyu from the start.
• Zhen Xin dropped the disguise and admitted she had been pretending to be An Mingyu, then tried to hide her grief by claiming she was not her sister.
• Cheng Shi explained that the [Deception] Trial might reveal [Nothingness]'s intended ending for the era, and said they needed to win it.
• Zhen Xin asked Cheng Shi to tell her about the True Universe, but a wealthy merchant entered the Golden House and ordered them to get ready for a job.

Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin questioned Blackers, king of Kanliwal’s black market, and learned that Dusk Play’s clown, Lake, had gone missing before a major circus competition. Zhen Xin suggested Cheng Shi could take Lake’s place, leaving Blackers eager to recruit him.

• Shadow Cheng Shi pinned Blackers down and demanded to know who he was and what deal he had been discussing.
• Blackers identified himself as the owner of the Golden House and explained that Dusk Play’s Ringmaster Fait had hired him to find the missing clown, Lake.
• Blackers described Dusk Play’s rivalry with Morning Cheer and their upcoming competition in Kurd, where the larger audience would decide the winner.
• Blackers said Lake had disappeared that morning and that he had promised Ringmaster Fait to find him before the competition.
• Zhen Xin joked that Cheng Shi could replace Lake, and Blackers excitedly asked whether Cheng Shi was a clown.
• Cheng Shi hit Blackers for talking too long, while Blackers felt unfairly blamed for Zhen Xin’s joke.

Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin went to the Dusk Drama Circus to investigate whether finding its missing Clown was truly the way to clear the [Deception] Trial. They met Ringmaster Fitt, who publicly disavowed Blackers and then denied having commissioned him to find anyone.

• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin decided to visit Dusk Play before acting on the Trial's apparent instructions, and Cheng Shi dragged Blackers along.
• Blackers led Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin through the enormous Dusk Drama Circus toward Ringmaster Fitt's office.
• Zhen Xin told Cheng Shi that the first residents of Sandlais had been emigrants from Kanliwal whose memories the Scholarly Council erased.
• Ringmaster Fitt publicly rejected Blackers and told him to leave, then arranged to meet him privately behind the office.
• Blackers asked Fitt to confirm his commission to find the missing Clown, but Fitt denied remembering any commission.

Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin set out to find Lake the Clown after discovering Ringmaster Fitt denied meeting Blackers, while Hu Wei revealed he had recognized Zhang Jizu impersonating Cheng Shi and explained his plan to follow Cheng Shi’s lead in the Trial. The story left Fitt confronting Lake in his office as Hu Wei and Zhang Jizu split up to investigate Morning Cheer Circus.

• Fitt denied meeting Blackers and left, prompting Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin to suspect that Lake the Clown had returned and to go looking for him.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin slipped onto the roof of Fitt’s office and found Lake already inside as Fitt demanded to know where he had gone.
• Hu Wei and Zhang Jizu learned that Morning Cheer Circus and Dusk Play would perform on the same day and headed to Morning Cheer Circus to gather information.
• Hu Wei told Zhang Jizu he had recognized him as Cheng Shi’s impersonator after they left the Golden House because Zhang was too cooperative to be the real Cheng Shi.
• Hu Wei explained that he wanted to meet Fool’s Game and was letting Cheng Shi guide the Trial, then he and Zhang Jizu agreed to investigate separately.

Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin discovered that Lake had returned with assassination weapons, but the clown vanished when they tried to capture him. They caught a cloaked figure hiding in Lake’s tent, only to trigger an explosive trap that blasted them away.

• Lake reassured Ringmaster Fait that Dusk Play would win and arranged to perform second to last without revealing his plan.
• After Ringmaster Fait left, Lake returned to his tent and took Stilettos and Daggers from beneath his bed.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin attacked Lake, but he vanished in a Master of Trickery’s phantom, making them suspect the figure might not have been the real Lake.
• Zhen Xin spotted a shadow on the ground, and Cheng Shi used Shadow Cheng Shi to pull a cloaked figure down from the tent’s main beam.
• Zhen Xin trapped the cloaked figure with Magic Playing Cards, but Cheng Shi recognized the trap and pulled her back as lit explosives inside the cloak detonated.

An explosion destroyed Lake’s tent at Dusk Play, while Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin investigated who had attacked them and considered the gods’ plans for the world. Cheng Shi chose to oppose what was supposedly ordained and invited Zhen Xin to stand with him, and she agreed.

• A blast flattened Lake’s tent, prompting Ringmaster Fait to organize a search for Lake and report the attack to the Royal Family.
• Zhen Xin confronted Cheng Shi for using her as a shield, then argued that they should bait their attacker into revealing himself.
• Cheng Shi suspected Su Yida, whom he believed might be an illegal interloper from another Slice Universe, and explained what he had learned about Jie Shu.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin considered whether [Destiny]’s supposed answer might actually accelerate the world’s collapse.
• Cheng Shi declared that he would write his own answer, treat the God of Merriment and [Destiny] as possible enemies, and ask the Clowns to oppose what was ordained.
• Zhen Xin agreed to stand with Cheng Shi because the game would be more fun that way.

At Morning Cheer, Zhang Jizu investigated the circus and encountered Poison, who mistook him for Cheng Shi before realizing he was not the little Priest. Poison then told Zhang Jizu that Cheng Shi was Fool's Game.

• Zhang Jizu learned that Flord had led Morning Cheer to success and chosen Maxford as her successor, though Maxford had recently been rehearsing alone.
• Zhang Jizu ran into Poison while leaving the performers' office area and realized she had mistaken him for Cheng Shi.
• Poison tried to lean on Zhang Jizu, but he threatened her with Scalpel and offered her a grave instead.
• Poison recognized that Zhang Jizu was not Cheng Shi and remarked that he and Cheng Shi seemed close.
• Poison asked Zhang Jizu if he knew that the little Priest was Fool's Game.

Poison tried to learn more about Cheng Shi’s motives by confiding in Zhang Jizu, but he fled before she could gauge his reaction. Meanwhile, Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin reconstructed the blast site’s memories and discovered that Su Yida had entered the tent before the explosion.

• Zhang Jizu explained why the Clowns suspected Cheng Shi was Fool’s Game but had never confronted him about it.
• Poison told Zhang Jizu that Qu Yan also knew Cheng Shi’s identity and wondered why Cheng Shi had approached her; Zhang Jizu kept his distance and left when she claimed Fool’s Game wanted pleasure from her.
• Poison admitted to herself that she had lied to test Zhang Jizu’s reactions, then wondered what desire was and why Cheng Shi had acted as he did.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin concealed the blast site with an illusion and used Zhen Xin’s magic cards to restore memories of the destroyed tent.
• Cheng Shi recognized the figure entering the tent as Su Yida, the Master of Trickery.

Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin investigated Lake’s disappearance and learned that Su Yida had disguised himself as Lake to influence the Dusk Play trial. Zhen Xin revealed that historical records contained no mention of Morning Cheer, prompting them to pursue Su Yida and then search for their missing teammate.

• Su Yida abandoned his plan to assassinate a key performer and disguised himself as Lake after realizing Lake was missing.
• Cheng Shi found that Lake’s belongings and props were intact, with only some clothes gone, suggesting he had left voluntarily.
• Zhen Xin explained that the school’s historical records described Dusk Play but never mentioned Morning Cheer, raising the possibility that the trial was altering history.
• Cheng Shi concluded that Su Yida’s disguise and the players’ presence could be important to the trial, so he decided to capture Su Yida before searching for their missing teammate at the Golden House.
• Zhen Xin and Cheng Shi spotted Su Yida’s hiding place and set off to capture him.

Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin exposed Su Yida’s attempt to frame Morning Cheer by impersonating Lake and Ringmaster Fait. After Su Yida broke free and tried to escape, Zhen Xin stopped him, and Cheng Shi demanded to know why Long. Jing was there.

• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin deduced that Su Yida had used illusions and Ringmaster Fait’s identity to stage the explosion and frame Morning Cheer.
• A Royal Family investigator confronted Ringmaster Fait, revealed himself as Cheng Shi, and exposed Su Yida hiding behind the investigator’s identity.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin captured Su Yida, but he displayed unnatural strength, broke free, and punched through the tent roof.
• Zhen Xin’s traps knocked Su Yida back into the tent, where she asked how a Master of Trickery had gained such strength.
• Cheng Shi demanded that Su Yida explain why Long. Jing was there.

Long Jing revealed that he had killed the original Su Yida and taken his identity to join Jie Shu’s team. Cheng Shi then recruited Zhen Xin into a new scheme, asking her to impersonate her old friend Zhao Xishi.

• Long Jing recalled stealing Su Yida’s identity after accidentally killing him, then using it in the Special Trial.
• Zhen Xin recognized Long Jing and mocked him for posing as Su Yida.
• Cheng Shi asked Long Jing where the real Su Yida was, and Long Jing admitted that he had killed him by mistake.
• Cheng Shi connected Long Jing’s confession to the God of Merriment’s earlier claim that both Su Yidas were dead.
• Cheng Shi proposed a new plan and invited Zhen Xin to play Zhao Xishi.

Cheng Shi, Zhen Xin, and Long Jing discussed Lake’s disappearance during the Trial of [Deception] and concluded that Morning Cheer likely benefited from forcing him to leave Dusk Play. They decided to investigate Morning Cheer and check on Old Zhang.

• Cheng Shi asked Long Jing how he had impersonated the Master of Trickery, and Long Jing explained that he had borrowed a [Memory] item from Li Jingming.
• Long Jing reported that Lake had left Dusk Play at night, appearing anxious and afraid as he headed into the city to meet someone.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin reasoned that someone had used compromising information about Lake to make him leave and protect Dusk Play from a threat.
• Long Jing argued that Morning Cheer had the most to gain from Lake’s departure, and the three agreed to visit Morning Cheer and check on Old Zhang.

After the chaos at Dusk Play, Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin reached Morning Cheer Circus to investigate Mrs. Flord and Lake’s disappearance before the authorities arrived. Zhen Xin’s faith-tracking item unexpectedly pointed to Cheng Shi, and she led him toward a play that might draw out Old Zhang.

• The Dusk Play performers found Ringmaster Fait unconscious in a supply tent and realized the Investigator had also been attacked.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin arrived at Morning Cheer Circus, sensed [Filth and Decay], and discussed whether it came from the Trials or their missing teammate.
• Zhen Xin used the Shared Prosperity Leaf to seek Old Zhang by following the aura of [Death] she had captured at Fishbone Hall.
• The leaf pointed at Cheng Shi, prompting Zhen Xin to suspect he had fused with [Death], though he denied it and said he was devoted to The Great One.
• Zhen Xin suggested they search for Old Zhang at a play about a boy whose parents had died, then hinted that she knew more about Old Zhang than the History School did.

Zhen Xin revealed Squinty Old Zhang’s history, including his parents’ deaths and his choice to become a cemetery guard. At the performance site, Zhang Jizu explained that Morning Cheer’s director, Mrs. Flord, belonged to the Brotherhood of Extreme Desire and had founded the troupe after leaving Dusk Play.

• Zhen Xin told Cheng Shi that Zhang Jizu had been a gifted university student who left before graduating to work at the cemetery where his parents were buried.
• Zhen Xin explained that Zhang Jizu’s wish for immortality might be his rebellion against his parents, who had died young from overwork.
• Cheng Shi suspected that Li Jingming had revealed Zhang Jizu’s private past and threatened to expose him unless he shared more information.
• Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin reached the performance and asked Zhang Jizu about Morning Cheer.
• Zhang Jizu revealed that Mrs. Flord was a member of the Brotherhood of Extreme Desire and had formed Morning Cheer after leaving Dusk Play with its young performers.

Cheng Shi and the others investigated Lake’s disappearance and uncovered a cenotaph bearing his Dusk Play clown badge, while learning that Maxford had visited the grave. They suspected Morning Cheer might be involved in Lake’s death and decided to confront Maxford.

• Zhang Jizu finished recounting how Flord built Morning Cheer and trained Maxford, prompting Cheng Shi to ask whether Zhang had buried Flord.
• Hu Wei recognized Cheng Shi and Zhen Xin, then led them to a hidden box buried outside the Circus.
• Zhang Jizu identified the box’s ashes as remnants of cloth and wood, and Zhen Xin used a [Memory] item to restore the objects as phantoms.
• The restored objects included Lake’s employee badge, revealing that the site was a cenotaph for him.
• Hu Wei revealed that he had caught Maxford mourning at the cenotaph, and Cheng Shi suspected Morning Cheer might have caused Lake’s death before deciding to meet Maxford.

Cheng Shi and his companions investigated Mrs. Flord’s diaries and questioned Maxford about someone he seemed to recognize. While Hu Wei brought Maxford back, Long Jing, disguised as Su Yida, was ambushed by Poison, and Mrs. Flord remained at the palace.

• Cheng Shi found that Mrs. Flord’s diary traced her changing feelings about Maxford, but its final entry ended abruptly before she recorded her promised answer.
• Cheng Shi asked Zhen Xin and Zhang Jizu to reconstruct what had happened, but neither could help him.
• Poison intercepted Long Jing, who was disguised as Su Yida, and attacked him with Dance With Me.
• Hu Wei returned with Maxford and reported that Flord had gone to the palace and that Maxford’s recent performances had been removed from the program.
• Cheng Shi questioned Maxford, who appeared to know whom they were searching for but denied having any information.
• Cheng Shi threatened to use other methods and called for someone to unleash Old Zhang.

Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu interrogated the clown they believed was Maxford, only to discover he was Lake in disguise and that the real Maxford had died. Lake explained that he and Maxford had become friends over drinks, while a mysterious person later told him that the circumstances of their meeting had won the contest for him.

• Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu questioned the clown about Lake, and he first claimed Lake was dead before revealing that he had left Dusk Play.
• The clown identified himself as Lake and said Maxford was the one who had died, then Cheng Shi removed his disguise and recognized Lake beneath it.
• Lake denied killing Maxford and recalled meeting him by chance at a bar while both were drinking over their doubts about the final showdown.
• Lake and Maxford bonded over their craft, encouraged each other to compete, and parted that night intending to win fairly.
• A mysterious person visited Lake the next morning and told him that their drinking had secured his victory, leaving Lake devastated by the accusation that he had buried a better clown.

Lake learned that Maxford had been murdered after their night of drinking, and Mrs. Flord accused someone from Dusk Play of killing him. When she brought Lake a footprint as evidence, he recognized it as Ringmaster Fait’s and broke down over the betrayal.

• Mrs. Flord told Lake that Maxford had been strangled in his tent and warned him that the killer likely came from Dusk Play.
• Lake denied killing Maxford and defended Fitt, while Mrs. Flord asked him to keep the news secret as she searched for evidence.
• Mrs. Flord returned that night with a footprint preserved in Maxford’s specially made carpet and asked Lake whether it belonged to someone from Dusk Play.
• Lake recognized the footprint as Fitt’s, remembering a fire-damaged depression in the sole of Fitt’s boot.
• Lake broke down, unable to understand why Fitt had killed Maxford and questioning whether Dusk Play valued art or merely victory.

Lake recounted how he agreed to impersonate Maxford so Morning Cheer could win fairly and Dusk Play could avoid disgrace. Cheng Shi and the others exposed gaps in Lake’s account, leaving him to wonder whether Maxford had died at all.

• Lake persuaded Flord to let him play Maxford in Morning Cheer’s final performance while he took the blame for the troupe’s defeat.
• Lake disguised himself, confirmed that Fitt claimed the fire-scorched boots had gone missing, and left Dusk Play that night.
• Lake finished his account, but Cheng Shi questioned why Fitt would contact the Golden House if he had murdered Maxford.
• Lake admitted he had never seen Maxford’s body, the crime scene, or the murder weapon.
• Zhang Jizu and the Grand Marshal pointed out inconsistencies in the alleged murder and the footprints attributed to Fitt.
• Zhen Xin asked Lake how he could know Maxford was dead, and Lake collapsed in shock.

Cheng Shi went to meet the teammate who had summoned him, while Zhen Xin exposed her identity and her fusion with [Chaos] to Hu Wei. At the meeting place, Cheng Shi discovered that Su Yida had captured and beaten Poison.

• Cheng Shi failed to contact Long Jing and received a summons to meet him alone, so Zhen Xin and Hu Wei went to retrieve Mrs. Flord instead.
• Hu Wei mistook Zhen Xin for a rival over Cheng Shi, and she told him she had already fused with another faith.
• Zhen Xin revealed that she was not Zhen Yi and demonstrated her [Chaos] power, confirming that she had fused with [Chaos].
• Cheng Shi hid Lake in the earth and brought Zhang Jizu along as a shield to meet Su Yida.
• Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu found Su Yida beside an injured Poison, who appeared to have been beaten.

Poison and Long Jing staged a clumsy trap to summon Cheng Shi, but he left when Poison told him to go. Poison drew Shadow Cheng Shi out by threatening to reveal a secret, and Long Jing and Zhang Jizu departed while Cheng Shi and Poison were left together.

• Poison recognized the disguised Su Yida as Long Jing and proposed that they work together to summon Cheng Shi in exchange for a secret about filth and decay.
• Poison pretended to be tied up and urged Cheng Shi to flee, and he immediately left.
• Poison freed herself and called Cheng Shi back, but he did not appear until she threatened to reveal that he was Foolish Play.
• Shadow Cheng Shi denied committing any Foolish Deeds, and Poison accepted his explanation while Long Jing abandoned his disguise.
• Long Jing walked away with Zhang Jizu, who introduced himself as Clown.

Cheng Shi met Poison in private and tried to understand why she was acting strangely. Poison questioned whether he was really Fool's Game and asked what faith was for, then revealed that someone had destroyed Himself before her eyes.

• Long Jing and Zhang Jizu hid behind a mound to eavesdrop on Cheng Shi and Poison discussing a secret about [Filth and Decay].
• Cheng Shi merged with his shadow and denied Poison's guess that he had manifested a Divine Authority, then healed her after she pretended to cut her clothes to treat a wound.
• Cheng Shi recognized Poison's provocative behavior as a distraction and asked what had happened to her.
• Poison asked whether Cheng Shi was really Fool's Game, then asked what faith was for.
• Cheng Shi answered that faith was for staying alive, and Poison asked why He had destroyed Himself before her eyes.

Cheng Shi learned from Poison that Drachirko, [Sin of Desirelessness], had killed himself beside the Sea of Desire after claiming there was no [Filth and Decay] in this world. Before dying, Drachirko removed Poison’s desire, leaving Cheng Shi unable to explain his actions or the mystery of the god’s existence.

• Cheng Shi feared that [Filth and Decay] had died and questioned Poison about what she knew.
• Cheng Shi set aside his Fool's Game mask and told Poison he wanted to keep the world alive, asking her to trust him.
• Poison revealed that she had returned to the Sea of Desire to confirm a death she had witnessed during the Trials.
• Poison explained that Drachirko had told her there was no [Filth and Decay] in this world, then stabbed himself and took away her desire before dying.
• Cheng Shi realized Drachirko, not [Filth and Decay], had destroyed himself, but he could not understand what Drachirko had discovered or why he acted.

Zhen Xin and Hu Wei infiltrated the Kurd Imperial City and tracked down Mrs. Flord, whom they suspected of hiding Maxford. They found Maxford’s corpse inside the last prop trunk in Flord’s room.

• Zhen Xin and Hu Wei entered the Kurd Imperial City under the power of [Chaos] and discussed their encounters with the god.
• Hu Wei learned that [Chaos] had personally bestowed Zhen Xin’s second faith on her and privately resented that she had received an audience first.
• Zhen Xin and Hu Wei heard palace guards discussing Mrs. Flord’s troupe and followed their directions to its quarters.
• Zhen Xin confronted Mrs. Flord about Maxford, and Flord tried to mislead her by claiming he was preparing a new act.
• Hu Wei restrained Flord while Zhen Xin searched the prop trunks and found Maxford’s corpse in the last one.

Zhen Xin and Hu Wei discovered Maxford’s body and forced Mrs. Flord to explain his death. She revealed that Maxford had died accidentally after drinking with Lake, but Zhen Xin realized the truth had put them in serious trouble.

• Zhen Xin questioned Flord about Maxford’s death and threatened to take his body away.
• Flord attacked Zhen Xin with a dagger, but an illusion made her believe she had stabbed Maxford; Zhen Xin then demanded the truth.
• Flord confessed that Maxford had died after drinking too much at a tavern with Lake, not from murder.
• Flord admitted she had used Maxford’s death to lure Lake to Morning Cheer and make Dusk Play pay.
• Zhen Xin realized the accidental meeting between Maxford and Lake had caused a greater problem, while Hu Wei remained wary of her.