Who hid my body?

Chapter 355 Mr. Thumb, Don't Look Back

Rocky stared at Isaiah, who was leisurely drinking tea in front of him, his lips pressed tightly together, and he remained silent.

“Bishop Rocky,” Isaiah said slowly, setting down his teacup, “you seem quite nervous?”

"Nervous? What a joke, why should I be nervous?" Loki was like a cat whose fur had stood on end after being stressed. "Who do you think you are? I am the Eastern Bishop of the Rhine, why should I be afraid of you?"

“I meant nervous, not afraid.” Isaiah smiled and looked down. “I know my question was a bit offensive, but your reaction was just too obvious.”

Rocky subconsciously lowered his head, only to find that his legs under the table were shaking involuntarily, causing the tea on the table to sway uncontrollably.

He paused for a moment, then forcefully tried to save face: "I'm not nervous, I'm just a little... hyperactive."

"Oh, I understand, I understand." Isaiah nodded with a smile.

If anyone else had shown Rocky that expression, Rocky would have slapped them across the face long ago. But since it was Isaiah, Rocky's anger immediately vanished when he thought of the world-destroying scene from last night.

Rocky really didn't want to deal with Isaiah, especially after guessing that Isaiah already knew his identity. He really wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.

So when Isaiah first sent Mina to invite Rocky for "tea," Rocky's immediate reaction was, "This old guy is going to make a move on me," and he refused without a second thought. But he didn't expect that just a few minutes after refusing, Isaiah himself would arrive.

With representatives from various churches watching in broad daylight, if Rocky continued to hide, it would be detrimental to Rhine's reputation and would make him appear guilty.

So Loki had no choice but to reluctantly agree, but he chose a very open location where he could see the obedience of the Heavenly Voices just by looking up. The surrounding area was also filled with the eyes and ears of various churches and the Land of Contracts, highlighting his clear conscience and safety.

“Mr. Isaiah, what do you want with me?” Rocky decided to take the initiative and asked firmly, “If not, please excuse me… I have many things to do.”

“Don’t rush, Bishop Rocky,” Isaiah said with a smile. “It’s just a cup of tea.”

"Then why don't you drink with someone else? Why do you have to drink with me?"

“Because we are the same kind of people.” Isaiah looked at Rocky meaningfully. “Don’t you think so?”

Rocky's eyelids twitched.

Faced with such a blatant threat, Rocky could no longer keep shouting and left, lest Isaiah expose him as well.

"What do you want?" Now that he'd already laid his cards on the table, Rocky stopped pretending. He lowered his voice and said coldly, "Do you also want to attack me here?"

“I never intended to lay a hand on you. In fact, the only part of the body that could interest me in the entire Peach Blossom Village was the other eye.”

"So you already have three pieces of the body, but you still want that eye?" Rocky said. "You're being far too greedy."

“That’s the crux of the matter,” Isaiah said. “In fact, I never got those three pieces of body parts.”

Isaiah remained calm even as Rocky gave him a "you're fucking kidding me" look.

"I know you don't believe me, and I will tell you the truth, but before that, can you tell me one thing?"

"what?"

Isaiah looked into Loki's eyes and asked, word by word, "After that, did the Hand and Eye open up Paradise?"

Rocky frowned slightly: "Why should I tell you?"

But in Isaiah's eyes, this performance was already an answer.

“He really is alive.” Isaiah said softly, then, under Rocky’s suspicious gaze, slowly raised his left hand. “If I told you that I only got this one finger that night, would you believe me?”

Upon hearing this, Rocky's brows furrowed even more, clearly not understanding what Isaiah was. But after regaining his senses, his eyes gradually widened.

……

Rocky's changing expression was naturally noticed by Bai Wei, who was watching from a distance.

Bai Wei wasn't surprised that Isaiah approached Loki, since Loki was Isaiah's only known zombie friend from his perspective.

If possible, Bai Wei believed that Isaiah would prefer to approach him or Diana directly rather than Rocky.

But Isaiah had no choice; he was now surrounded by enemies, with Rocky being his only potential ally.

Now it remains to be seen how he will convince Rocky to believe in him.

Bai Wei wasn't in a hurry and watched leisurely.

……

After listening to Isaiah's story, Rocky's expression was quite complicated.

He felt the argument was a bit too far-fetched, with claims that the tongue, hands, and eyes were one person and that everything was the result of calculations by the hands and eyes, which he felt was an attempt to fool his intelligence.

But it was precisely because this claim was so outrageous that Rocky couldn't help but wonder if it could actually be true.

The only way to prove it is...

Rocky lowered his head and looked at Isaiah's left middle finger.

“Prove it to me,” Rocky said. “I’ll believe you if you can prove that this finger is real.”

“I will prove it, but not now,” Isaiah said calmly. “You should know that there are devices everywhere here to test Vesas’s power. As soon as I use the rules, I will be detected immediately.”

Rocky then remembered where they were.

The Land of Contracts is the most sensitive area in the world to the power of Vesas, after all, it was built to seal Vesas's corpse, and as Isaiah said, if they use the rules here, they will be detected instantly.

Especially with countless eyes watching them at this moment, snapping their fingers at this time would indeed be like walking into a trap.

but……

“If you can’t prove it, how can I believe you?” Rocky said in a deep voice. “I have reason to suspect that you deliberately chose such an unprovable method. Otherwise, why didn’t you prove it to me when you were far away from the place of the contract?”

“In fact, I had planned to prove it to you this morning,” Isaiah said calmly. “This morning we were still in Nameless Town, and we were supposed to have a long time together, during which we could talk at our leisure. But I didn’t expect you to leave that very night, without giving me that opportunity at all.”

Upon hearing this, Rocky blushed, but quickly regained his composure.

"In the end, this is just your side of the story, and I have absolutely no reason to believe you."

“If you really want to prove it, it’s not impossible.” Isaiah looked into Loki’s eyes. “I have a way to evade the surveillance of the Land of Covenants. When that time comes, I can show you whether this finger is real or fake.”

"Avoid the surveillance of the Contract Land?" Loki said. "You don't mean to tell me to find a blind spot so I can get past you without telling anyone?" "Looks like you still think I would harm you."

“Only a fool would place their hope and trust in someone who can take their life at any moment,” Rocky said, emphasizing each word. “Don’t try to fool me, Isaiah. I saw you kill Tongue with my own eyes…”

"Was it really with my own eyes?"

“…Okay, I didn’t see it with my own eyes, but it was definitely you who did it,” Rocky said. “Otherwise, where did the tongue go?”

"Are you sure the person you met in Della Town was Tongue?"

"of course."

"Did he use the rules of the tongue?"

"certainly……"

"Think it through before you speak," Isaiah said calmly. "There's no point in hiding it in a place like this; it will only hurt you."

Rocky was momentarily speechless.

"Then think about it again. If the person I killed was Tongue, then where did that forbidden scholar go?" Isaiah said. "Did he vanish into thin air? Don't say that I killed him too. Nameless Town wasn't without survivors. There were enough people who saw that the one I fought that night was just one person."

Rocky was speechless for a moment. He hadn't really thought about these questions. After all, after "witnessing" Isaiah kill Tongue, his focus was entirely on Isaiah, and he naturally stopped paying attention to the dead Tongue.

"To be honest, I really don't want you to be the only person I can contact right now." Isaiah's eyes gradually turned cold. "You have such crucial information, yet you have no doubts or actions, letting your hand and eyes exploit such huge loopholes to scheme. You believe whatever he says. And you still consider him your mortal enemy? Wake up. With his methods, even if he killed you, you would doubt whether you committed suicide."

Isaiah's direct mockery caught Loki off guard at first. When he finally reacted, he wanted to slam his fist on the table and yell, "You fucking..."

Rocky was halfway through uttering the swear word when he met Isaiah's gaze.

In an instant, a huge panic surged into Rocky's heart, engulfing all other emotions and giving him an involuntary urge to submit.

“You…” The pride of the Rhine Bishop prevented Loki from bending over, and he stared intently at Isaiah. “Do you want to make a move here?”

Rocky's right hand, which was under the table, slowly rose up, his remaining thumb gradually pointing upwards.

Your rules are powerful, but mine are not to be underestimated!
At worst, we'll just explode together!
Rocky hardened his heart.

But just as the [disturbance] was about to be activated, the pressure that surged like a tide receded instantly, just like a tide.

“Don’t be nervous, Mr. Thumb.” The coldness in Isaiah’s eyes disappeared, and he returned to his usual calm. “We are not enemies. Only Hand and Eye are happy to see our conflict.”

Rocky was still staring intently at Isaiah: "Isn't it a little late for you to say all this now?"

“I mean no harm, I just want you to feel the pressure I’m under right now,” Isaiah said calmly. “But your pressure shouldn’t be less than mine, because right now, the only two people in Peach Blossom Village whose identities have been exposed are you and me, so we should be natural allies. Especially… now we’re both under the watchful eyes of the authorities.”

Rocky frowned: "What do you mean?"

“Literally, his hand and eye are here, I can feel his presence. Or rather, he hasn’t hidden his presence from me,” Isaiah said. “He’s like a cunning hunter who has set this trap himself, and after the prey falls into it, he waits quietly to reap the rewards… Yes, he is watching you and me right now.”

Isaiah's words were somewhat frightening, and Rocky raised his head with a hint of disbelief, looking around.

However, as mentioned before, there are countless eyes watching this place right now. Rocky has no way of knowing who the eyes and hands are, but the more he looks, the more uneasy he becomes.

Rocky looked away and said stiffly, "I think you're fucking lying to me again."

“A clever prey will start to save itself the moment it falls into a trap,” Isaiah said. “A foolish prey, even when it is already wounded, will still think that it was just an unfortunate slip. Ah, don’t look at me like that, Mr. Thumb, I’m talking about you. I have no intention of saving such a prey. You can go.”

"You called me here just to belittle me?" Rocky said. "Who do you think I am? Do you think I'll obey you just because you insult me?"

“I’m not interested in your strange fetishes, nor do I expect you to help me,” Isaiah said. “I’m just reminding you that you and I are both in a trap. If I die, you’ll be next, and it will be easier for him to deal with you than with me.”

After saying this, Isaiah took one last sip of tea, then got up and left, leaving Rocky standing there, his face alternating between red and white.

At this moment, Mina, who had been waiting not far away, came to greet them.

“Teacher,” Mina glanced at Rocky, “do you think this Rhine Bishop will believe you?”

“Whether he believes me or not is irrelevant,” Isaiah said calmly. “I have never placed my hopes on him.”

"What do you mean?"

Why do you think I agreed to meet Rocky in such a public place?

"This... the student doesn't know."

“It’s for someone else to see.” Isaiah faced the countless pairs of eyes watching him with composure and said in a voice that only Mina could hear, “I believe there are more than just the three of us here.”

……

Rocky returned to his lodgings, feeling utterly frustrated.

I got scolded for no reason!

That damn guy, he's already on the verge of death, yet he's still putting on an act. He's definitely trying to drag me down with him.

But he wasn't a fool. Even if his misdeeds were exposed and his identity in Peach Blossom Village was revealed, it wouldn't be a capital offense. The worst outcome would be dismissal from his post, certainly not death.

So this damned Isaiah was probably lying to him!

but……

What if what this guy is saying is true?

Rocky hesitated again.

Just then, a deep male voice rang out behind him.

"Mr. Thumb, don't turn around, I am the ring finger."

Rocky got goosebumps instantly.

　Thank you so much to "幼." for being the leader! Thank you so much!
　　I've been pressured by my family to go on blind dates so much these past two days that I'm practically delirious. I just saw this.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)