Chapter Summaries

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.

Zhen Xin revealed to Hu Wei that the current [Chaos] was [Deception] and enlisted him to investigate the God of Merriment’s plans before Cheng Shi discovered the truth. She believed Cheng Shi was [Nothingness]’s answer, while she and Hu Wei needed to find their own way to help preserve the world.

• Zhen Xin asked Hu Wei to trust her as a fellow human, and Hu Wei agreed to take a gamble with her.
• Zhen Xin revealed that [Chaos] was actually [Deception], shocking Hu Wei and making him question the missions he had completed for [Chaos].
• Zhen Xin told Hu Wei she did not know Ultraman’s identity or where the real [Chaos] had gone, but warned that Flord must not tell Cheng Shi what she knew.
• Zhen Xin explained that she wanted to protect An Mingyu and preserve the world, so she and Hu Wei needed to understand the God of Merriment’s plans before Cheng Shi learned the truth.
• Hu Wei deduced that Zhen Xin wanted him to confuse someone’s senses so they could seek help from someone outside the Trial, and he agreed to go with her.
• Zhen Xin said Cheng Shi was [Nothingness]’s answer from the moment he fused with [Destiny], and that she and Hu Wei needed to write their own answers.

Zhen Xin and Hu Wei sought out Wei Mu to learn how to save the failing game, and Hu Wei brought her to a hidden gap beneath the void where the gods could not observe them. Wei Mu suggested that [Nothingness] was nearing its final bow, and Zhen Xin admitted that its final performance might already have begun.

• Zhen Xin decided to find Wei Mu, believing his insight into the Faith Game could help them salvage the era.
• Hu Wei led Zhen Xin deep beneath the void to a starry space where an unseen clock hand cast alternating shadows.
• Hu Wei explained that the space was a loophole in the Cosmos beyond the gods' gaze, where they could speak freely.
• Hu Wei revealed that he and Wei Mu had discovered the hidden space together and formed a partnership there.
• Wei Mu arrived, greeted Hu Wei, and asked Zhen Xin whether [Nothingness] was about to take its final bow.
• Zhen Xin said she was uncertain but believed the final performance had already begun.

The Magician told Wei Mu and Hu Wei that the Fate Weaver had revealed the existence of other worlds, and Wei Mu identified Cheng Shi as Fool's Game. After hearing the Magician's account of the Trial, Wei Mu concluded that [deception] came from another world and was seeking to use this world's Clown to finish a performance.

• The Magician explained that the True Universe contained many independent worlds, a claim the Fate Weaver had shared with the liars.
• Wei Mu inferred that Zhen Xin, Li Jingming, Zhang Jizu, Long Jing, and Wang Weijin formed an organization of liars, then declared that Cheng Shi was Fool's Game.
• Zhen Xin named Cheng Shi as the lead of the Trial and recounted the story of Morning Cheer and Dusk Play.
• Wei Mu reasoned that Fitt represented [destiny] and Flord represented [deception], and that Morning Cheer belonged to another world where the Clown had died.
• Wei Mu concluded that [deception] was an outsider seeking to use the Clown in their world, and suggested that Jie Shu had received information from another world.

Wei Mu connected the gods’ forgotten history to Fool’s Game and concluded that [Deception] wanted to take him from his world. Zhen Xin warned that Cheng Shi might already suspect their failure and urged them to find a way to disrupt the ending before they returned to him.

• Zhen Xin told Hu Wei that Cheng Shi might be the answer [Nothingness] sought in the Creator’s Experiment.
• Puppet deduced that [Deception] had deceived the gods, hidden memories in Fool’s Game’s Mask, and sought to take Fool’s Game away.
• Wei Mu concluded that protecting Fool’s Game was the only way to survive the Experiment and asked the Magician to draw out his knowledge of the True Universe.
• Puppet joked about choosing Dusk Play, alarming Zhen Xin and Hu Wei before reassuring them he would not betray their world.
• Zhen Xin said Cheng Shi might already have guessed their failure to bring Flord back and insisted they return with a way to disrupt the ending.

Cheng Shi learned that Poison had lost her desires and discussed the Trial of [Deception] with Zhang Jizu while waiting for Zhen Xin and the Grand Marshal. Long Jing returned from Kurd's Imperial City with news that Morning Cheer's leader had gone missing, and Zhen Xin and the Grand Marshal were still unaccounted for.

• Cheng Shi told Poison that her information about [Filth and Decay] mattered, then explained that he had guided her to Afros for mutual benefit.
• Cheng Shi found Zhang Jizu by a mound and asked what desire meant; Zhang Jizu noticed the aura of [Death] and wondered whether [Deception] had deceived him about the Trial.
• Cheng Shi mocked Zhang Jizu about Poison's supposed rock-paper-scissors debt and dismissed his attempt to raise Fool's Game.
• Cheng Shi grew concerned when Zhen Xin and the Grand Marshal failed to return, and Zhang Jizu stayed silent as he questioned Long Jing's whereabouts.
• Long Jing returned from Kurd's Imperial City and reported that Morning Cheer's leader was missing and the Kanliwal Royal Family had sealed the news while searching the city.
• Long Jing asked whether Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu were pretending to be Zhen Xin and the Grand Marshal, but Cheng Shi stared at him in disbelief.