Chapter Summaries

Cheng Shi persuaded Qin Xin and Hong Lin to risk returning to the True Universe so he could investigate [Silence]'s corpse and learn more about [Origin]. They reappeared together, but arrived somewhere else in the Gods' Graveyard, where divine radiances silently fell around them.

• Cheng Shi stopped Hong Lin and Qin Xin from leaving and argued that he needed to learn more from [Silence]'s corpse.
• Qin Xin agreed to go with Cheng Shi, and Hong Lin joined them; Qin Xin prepared [Memory] items to anchor their return.
• Cheng Shi explained how they would use the bridge to reach the corpse and instructed them to return home if they became separated for three minutes.
• The three synchronized their watches, changed their destinations, and jumped from the long bridge together.
• Cheng Shi awoke with Qin Xin and Hong Lin in the Gods' Graveyard, where divine powers fell in silence instead of [Silence]'s corpse appearing.

Cheng Shi, Hong Lin, and Qin Xin found themselves in a starless graveyard filled with the remains of dead gods and searched it for clues. They found no trace of [Filth and Decay] or [Destiny], leaving Cheng Shi to wonder whether those gods had never entered the True Universe—and whether [Destiny] had remained committed to its predetermined course even as its world was destroyed.

• Hong Lin, Cheng Shi, and Qin Xin were overwhelmed by the sight of countless dead gods and their falling authorities.
• Cheng Shi used the [Filth and Decay] vessel to draw away their fear and concluded that the starless expanse was a mass grave for gods who had already died.
• The three searched the graveyard and found the remains of [Deception], but no trace of [Filth and Decay] or [Destiny].
• Cheng Shi identified the fading stars as [Deception] by sensing laughter in their falling authority, and Qin Xin accepted his explanation.
• Hong Lin suggested that [Filth and Decay] might have survived, prompting Cheng Shi to consider that only gods who died in the True Universe were buried there.
• Cheng Shi feared that [Destiny] had never entered the True Universe and had stayed in its world guarding the predetermined course, even as that world was destroyed.

Cheng Shi, Hong Lin, and Qin Xin descended into the Corpse Field’s abyss and heard a voice that sounded like [Origin], leaving Hong Lin and Qin Xin unconscious and rescued while Cheng Shi stayed behind. Suspecting the voice was an impostor rather than [Origin], Cheng Shi sent Shadow Cheng Shi to investigate.

• Qin Xin urged the group to leave the Corpse Field, but Cheng Shi persuaded Hong Lin to descend farther into the abyss for one more look.
• The three descended through the corpse pit until a voice declared that the gods’ extinction would bring the cosmos to ruin and named [Origin].
• Qin Xin dragged Hong Lin upward, then lost consciousness when the voice sounded again; he used his [Memory] item to return himself and Hong Lin to the Space-Time Dolphin Bridge.
• Cheng Shi remained in the abyss, resisted the terror with [Filth and Decay], and reasoned that the voice could not have come from [Origin] or a god.
• Cheng Shi sent Shadow Cheng Shi to investigate the source of the voice while preparing to escape if necessary.

Cheng Shi explored the hidden space in the Gods' Graveyard and discovered a mysterious throne assembled from gods' corpses, then dismantled it and returned to Pig Bridge. Hong Lin and Qin Xin confronted him for leaving them behind, and the chapter ended with Cheng Shi apologizing but insisting he would take the same risk again.

• Shadow Cheng Shi turned into mist and entered the passage behind the piled gods' corpses.
• Cheng Shi discovered a throne assembled from fragments of gods' corpses and heard mist flowing through it repeat a message about [Origin].
• Cheng Shi deduced that the unfinished throne had spaces for [Filth and Decay] and [Destiny], then dismantled it and stored the pieces.
• Cheng Shi returned to Pig Bridge, where Hong Lin punched him for risking his life and Qin Xin apologized for leaving him behind.
• Cheng Shi urged Hong Lin to beat Qin Xin too, then sincerely apologized before declaring he would take the same risk again.

Cheng Shi, Hong Lin, and Qin Xin escaped the True Universe and confirmed they had returned to their world, while Jie Shu and two wandering Chengs remained behind with questions about the God of Merriment’s plan. After reconnecting with their allies, Cheng Shi learned that 104 days had passed during his absence and Doctor asked where he had gone.

• Hong Lin apologized to Qin Xin, and Cheng Shi described what he had seen in the True Universe while keeping the Divine Throne secret.
• Cheng Shi, Hong Lin, and Qin Xin agreed to return home and leaped from the Space-Time Dolphin Bridge into the streams of light.
• After they left, Jie Shu and a hooded companion encountered Cheng Deception and Cheng Destiny, who had arrived to collect a promised payment and learned Cheng Shi was already home.
• Cheng Deception and Cheng Destiny worried over the God of Merriment’s insistence that they deliver the line about [Deception] destroying the world and Destiny saving it.
• Hong Lin confirmed that Big Cat’s villa was in their world, while Qin Xin returned to the Fire-Keeping Hall and pledged the Fire Keepers’ friendship.
• Cheng Shi contacted Doctor, who said the group had been missing for 104 days and asked where they had gone.

After returning from the True Universe, Cheng Shi was pulled into the God of Merriment’s [Deception] trial and disguised himself as Zhang Jizu to avoid attention. He reunited with An Mingyu and Hu Wei, then encountered another Chosen of [Death] as the team began gathering.

• Cheng Shi received the special trial notification and wondered whether the God of Merriment and [Time] had manipulated his return or were avoiding him.
• Cheng Shi entered the trial in a gold-filled room and disguised himself as Squinty Old Zhang, a Chosen of [Death].
• Cheng Shi met An Mingyu, who identified their location as Kanliwal in summer and reflected that beautiful things never lasted.
• Hu Wei emerged and greeted An Mingyu and Cheng Shi, then asked Cheng Shi to stay while he gathered the team.
• After several rooms went unanswered, another Chosen of [Death] named Zhang Jizu emerged.

Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu improvised an identity swap after meeting during the [Deception] Trial, while Hu Wei recruited them to investigate Giggle and Mock’s disappearance. The group learned that Cheng Shi had been trapped beyond the Void, though Zhang Jizu concealed the truth behind a misleading explanation.

• Cheng Shi recognized Zhang Jizu and signaled that he was impersonating him, so Zhang Jizu agreed to play along and claim Cheng Shi’s identity.
• Hu Wei realized the disguised player was Cheng Shi and enthusiastically tried to recruit him as a Priest, despite the real Zhang Jizu standing nearby.
• Hu Wei announced that Giggle and Mock had reappeared deep in the Void after disappearing and asked Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu to investigate with him.
• Cheng Shi realized the disappearance might have affected the Clowns’ search for the Nose of Discernment but stayed quiet because he was impersonating Zhang Jizu.
• When Hu Wei questioned how Cheng Shi could be unaware of Giggle and Mock’s disappearance, Zhang Jizu claimed Cheng Shi had been trapped beyond the Void and warned the others not to investigate.

Hu Wei told Cheng Shi and the others that [Destiny] had cut off Giggle and Mock during a fight within [Nothingness], though Cheng Shi suspected the God of Merriment was using the story to conceal responsibility. The group entered the void to investigate Giggle and Mock, while Cheng Shi tried to catch up with Zhang Jizu before their disguise failed.

• Hu Wei explained that Giggle and Mock had vanished and claimed [Destiny] severed it during a fierce fight within [Nothingness].
• Cheng Shi suspected the God of Merriment was using Hu Wei to shift blame for cutting off their route home, making him wary of the God of Merriment and the Fear Faction.
• Hu Wei argued that the gods were fighting over authority within the fusion of their faiths, then urged the group to leave for the void.
• Cheng Shi, Zhang Jizu, and An Mingyu agreed to investigate Giggle and Mock, and Hu Wei opened a passage with his sword.
• Hu Wei had "Cheng Shi" walk at the front, while Cheng Shi followed behind with An Mingyu and planned to catch up with Zhang Jizu before they reached Giggle and Mock.

Cheng Shi, Hu Wei, An Mingyu, and Zhang Jizu entered Giggle and Mock to investigate the upheaval and followed An Mingyu’s guidance toward the seven o’clock direction. As they explored, an unknown figure entered after them and slipped away separately.

• Hu Wei found Giggle and Mock, and the group descended into it after Hu Wei jumped in first.
• Cheng Shi discovered that An Mingyu had become formless inside Giggle and Mock, while Zhang Jizu appeared as a squinting little skull.
• Cheng Shi claimed his enlarged spiderweb and its mask represented his devotion, while Zhang Jizu recognized the Nose of Discernment in the mask.
• An Mingyu directed the group toward the seven o’clock direction, and Hu Wei explained that Zhen Xin could transform into anyone, even Cheng Shi.
• A dark green seed-shaped figure entered Giggle and Mock just before the opening closed, then quietly went in a different direction from the group.

Cheng Shi and his companions searched Giggle and Mock for traces of the gods’ conflict, but found no further clues and unknowingly headed the wrong way. Elsewhere, [Deception] revealed that [Destiny] was trapped and warned that the Trials would bring answers, while [Destiny] insisted Cheng Shi belonged to the Starry Sky.

• Cheng Shi and his companions followed traces of [Destiny] and [Chaos] through Giggle and Mock, and Cheng Shi suspected the God of Merriment had fought [Destiny].
• The group found no more evidence, and Hu Wei questioned Cheng Shi about how Fool's Game had chosen him.
• Cheng Shi told Hu Wei that devotion and completing the Trials might attract Fool's Game's attention, then the group returned to Kanliwal by Scrying Mirror.
• Unbeknownst to the group, they had searched in the wrong direction while [Deception] confronted the trapped [Destiny] elsewhere in Giggle and Mock.
• [Deception] told [Destiny] to remain imprisoned until the Trials ended, and [Destiny] declared that Cheng Shi belonged to the Starry Sky.

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.