Foolish Game of the Gods - Chapter 102

Though Hu Xuan’s outrageous behavior left everyone unsettled, they still decided to follow her suggestion.

None of them dealt with the bodies; they simply wiped away any incriminating traces and left the two corpses in the room, heading outside.

This was an experiment—an attempt to test the boundaries of the town.

The players were probing the limits of Far Dusk Town, trying to see how the tour assistants would react to the presence of bodies.

After leaving the room, Cheng Shi returned to his own. Before heading out again, he had a question he wanted to ask Shaman, the tour assistant assigned to him. He was curious about the role of these so-called tour assistants.

Shaman stood obediently at the door of his room, not even sitting down, quietly awaiting his return.

“You’re back,” she greeted.

Seeing her so well-behaved, Cheng Shi’s mind started turning with a plan.

Smiling, he poured a glass of water and handed it to Shaman, then, with a magnetic voice, spoke slowly:

“Miss Shaman, where I come from, new friends often play a game to speed up the process of becoming closer.

Even though we’ve only just met, I feel like we’re already friends, don’t you?”

Shaman, likely not used to dealing with such bold travelers, blushed and gave a shy smile without saying a word.

“Since you’re not saying anything, I’ll take that as a yes,” Cheng Shi teased, continuing with his plan.

He led Shaman by the hand to the table and sat her down, clasping her slim wrist with both of his hands.

At the same time, he had Shaman hold his wrist as well.

“The game is called ‘Truth or Dare.’ Each person takes turns asking a question. If the one being asked chooses truth, they must answer honestly without lying.

If they choose dare, they must follow the asker’s request and do something.

And remember, it could be anything.”

As Cheng Shi said this, his gaze roamed shamelessly over Shaman’s chest, causing her to shrink back slightly in embarrassment, her grip tightening on his wrist.

“Since it’s your first time playing, I’ll let you ask the first question,” Cheng Shi offered generously, giving her the opportunity to make the first move.

But this was Shaman’s first time playing such an intimate game, and she clearly had no idea what to ask.

After several moments of contemplation, her face turned even redder before she finally spoke:

“Sir… where are you from?”

“Canrival, a faraway place in the north, covered in snow and ice.”

Cheng Shi answered quickly, then added: “I choose truth.”

Shaman looked surprised and covered her mouth with the hand that wasn’t holding his.

“I’ve never heard of such a place.”

“Is that so? The world is vast and full of wonders, isn’t it?” Cheng Shi said, his finger lightly tracing the soft skin on Shaman’s arm.

She felt a tingling sensation on her arm, like a faint electric current pricking her skin.

Her face flushed even more, and her head dipped lower, a pinkish hue spreading behind her ears and across her neck.

Seeing the shy girl in front of him, Cheng Shi chuckled.

A timid girl—this was good.

Timid people were either easy to deceive or easy to be deceived.

Shaman was clearly the latter.

Of course, Cheng Shi wasn’t just trying to take advantage of her.

The purpose behind his actions was to create a sense of physical closeness, to make this shy lamb in front of him feel the presence of the “wolf,” instilling a bit of fear so that she wouldn’t pick the potentially risky dare.

Cheng Shi wasn’t after any reckless dares, after all.

The silent tension in the room continued to build.

It was his turn to ask a question now, and as the atmosphere grew more charged, he gave her a gentle smile and softly asked:

“What’s the real reason you came to me?”

It wasn’t a very romantic question, and it probably didn’t belong in this kind of setting.

But Cheng Shi wasn’t here for romance; he was here to gather information. With all the groundwork laid, it was time to get some answers.

To his surprise, Shaman’s face turned an even deeper shade of red after hearing the question.

At that moment, Cheng Shi realized he might have misjudged the situation.

Shaman opened her mouth several times as if wanting to answer, but after struggling with her words for a while, she shyly said:

“I… I choose dare.”

?

Cheng Shi froze.

Girl, I’ve practically got my hand on you, and you’re choosing dare?

Do you even know what a dare is?

You do, right?

Okay, fine, if that’s how you want to play it…

Let’s see what you’re made of.

“Alright then, since that’s your choice, here’s my dare…”

Cheng Shi’s polite smile stiffened as he made a ridiculously over-the-top request.

“Please answer the question from just now—what’s the real reason you came to me?”

“???”

Shaman was visibly taken aback by the sudden shift in tone. She stared at Cheng Shi in disbelief, as if questioning his gentlemanly behavior.

Then, out of nowhere, she broke into a giggle, covering her mouth as she laughed.

Her entire frame shook with amusement.

Tch—

Stop shaking, it’s distracting.

“Sir, there’s no need for such suspicion. I’m just a simple tour assistant; I won’t harm you.”

Seeing that she had relaxed, Cheng Shi dropped the pretense and got straight to the point.

“Well then, I’m even more curious. Why does Far Dusk Town need to assign a tour assistant to every traveler?”

Shaman blinked in confusion, tilting her head as she asked:

“Haven’t the guides explained this to you?”

“Guides? He didn’t explain anything. He took my money, brought me here, then disappeared.

So as you can see, I know nothing about this place.”

Shaman’s face lit up with realization, and she smiled sympathetically.

“They’re too greedy for their own good. But don’t worry, sir. Far Dusk Town isn’t a dangerous place. We always welcome travelers, especially distinguished gentlemen such as yourself.”

Since when am I a gentleman?

Cheng Shi picked up on her playful tone and smiled stiffly, before asking:

“So, could the beautiful Miss Shaman tell me more about this exotic little town?”

Shaman shook her head apologetically.

“I’m sorry, sir. Far Dusk Town is just an ordinary town. There are no particularly beautiful sights to see here.”

“?”

Seeing the confusion in Cheng Shi’s eyes, Shaman continued:

“But the people here are enchanting.”

As she spoke, she shyly guided Cheng Shi’s hand along her arm, leading it toward…

Wait, hold up!

Cheng Shi quickly pulled his hand back, narrowly avoiding an awkward “finger weightlifting” session.

Touching unknown people in an unknown place was a recipe for unknown dangers.

Until he fully understood the landscape of this trial, any “free benefits” wouldn’t be benefits at all.

In fact, they might end up costing quite a bit.

Shaman felt Cheng Shi’s sudden withdrawal, sensing the rejection and disgust in his actions. She paused, stunned, before her face paled dramatically.

“Oh… so you don’t like me, sir.

If you don’t like me, you can go to the Traveler’s Office and request another tour assistant.

I… I…”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she covered her face and, surprisingly, ran out of the room, sobbing.

Cheng Shi, left behind, could only stand there, helplessly sucking air through his teeth.

At that moment, Qin Chaoge, who had apparently been eavesdropping by the door for who knows how long, leaned against the doorframe and gave Cheng Shi a knowing smirk.

Cheng Shi’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“Enjoying the show?” he asked.

“Tch, boring. What’s the matter, don’t like women? Or do you maybe prefer men?” Qin Chaoge teased.

Cheng Shi let out a dry laugh, tempted to sarcastically respond with, “Why don’t you try and find out?”

But then a mischievous idea popped into his head. Wearing a smile, he stood up, extended a hand toward Qin Chaoge, and with a calm tone, said a single word:

“Come.”

Just that one word was enough to set Qin Chaoge off.

“Boom—”

Before Cheng Shi even had a chance to react, a large fist flew toward his face, sending him crashing through the wooden wall of the room and tumbling down onto the street below.

Fortunately, his tough body could take a hit, and aside from a few cracked ribs, he wasn’t too badly injured.

“Thank god it’s only the second floor…”

He coughed up blood, casting a small healing spell on himself, and then lay on his back, staring up at the gaping hole in the inn’s wall.

Standing there, looking down with a playful grin, was Qin Chaoge.

The passersby seemed completely unfazed by what had just occurred at the inn. Though several people offered to help him up, Cheng Shi politely declined.

It wasn’t until Qin Chaoge came down and yanked him upright that the darkness lifted from his face.

“What’s wrong with you?” Cheng Shi grumbled.

“What’s wrong with you?” Qin Chaoge shot back.

“……”

This woman is crazy.

“What do you want?”

“Well, the [Fate] follower is napping, the [Existence] follower is nowhere to be found, and the [Bir… never mind.

Point is, you’re the only one who seems reasonable. Let’s team up and go investigate the town.”

“You punched me, and now you want to team up? Aren’t you worried I’ll find a chance to get back at you?”

“Heh, you’re not even strong enough to take one punch from me. Where do you get the confidence to talk about revenge?

Honestly, if you weren’t a priest, I wouldn’t even bother with you.”

Oh, so I should be grateful, huh?

Cheng Shi darkly muttered under his breath as he finished healing his cracked bones, growing impatient.

“Where are we going?”

“The Traveler’s Office. I’ve heard that’s the place to go if you want to switch tour assistants.”

“And where’s yours?”

“He tried to get handsy, so I killed him.”

“?”