Chapter 254 Brothers (17)

“HMM… Get it.” Feng Bujue said, “I still want to confirm two more things.” He asked, “First, why do you want to be human? As a Penaese, you ought to know what a wretched creature man is, but why should you give up your strength and your gifts to become one of them? After a pause, he added, “Number two, why do you keep me alive till today? You can do these experiments all by yourself, can’t you?”

Arthur took a deep look at it and sneered, “Well… Maybe you don’t believe me.”

Feng Bujue also smiled, “Then lets me make a bold guess.” He paced slowly, like a detective on a show of reasoning, and started: “Humans, as sentient beings with limited lives, think and act over different times. The same man at forty is not of course what he is at twenty, nor is he at thirty. At this point, I think you, as a Penaese, should be the same.”

He said it in a confident tone, “Therefore, everything can be explained in a reasonable way, as long as we infer your thoughts and practices at that moment according to the chronological order.” He paused. “When we were young, there was no doubt that the affection between brothers or the love for mother was real and pure.” He held up the yellowing photograph, “as this one shows.”

A few seconds later, he said, “Unfortunately, our mother had other plans. I’m afraid she didn’t realize that when you’re thirteen or fourteen, you saw through her.” Feng Bujue sighed. “Can you just kill her? Sure, but that would obviously cause a lot of problems.

We all have to deal with outsiders in order to make a living, and our mother’s death can’t just be solved by “kill and buried”. You have to find a plausible cause of death.

So you created the illusion of illness. A long and incurable terminal illness is undoubtedly a very good transition. As the eldest son, it’s a natural time to take over the farm and family, and the people who were in touch with our family, including me, were prepared for what will come.

In addition, I think, there is another important reason why you choose this method, that is… When a man knows that he is going to die, you can see his nature more clearly.”

When Feng Bujue said that words, he thought about himself involuntarily. Well… He’s also a man with a strange neurological disease that may kill him at any time. But he still lives as if nothing had happened to him. What is this then? Is there no love in life? No. Nothing to care? It doesn’t seem to be the right answer either. The only explanation is he’s insane…

“You’re right… The woman realized that she was going to die and that she had no time or ability to take my power away, so she chose to ‘use’ me, using affection as a bargaining chip, to let me take care of her own son after her death.” Arthur replied.

“And you DID promise her.” Feng Bujue followed.

“Ha… She deserves it. It’s not easy for her to put on a show for more than a decade. And objectively speaking, she provides me with food, shelter, education and care, whatever her starting point is, I should pay something back.”

“You make good and evil clear, decisive man.” Feng Bujue smiled, “Is an incurable disease part of the reward?”

“Of course it is. If I had not ended her life that way,” said Arthur, “but had waited until the day she decided to strike back at me, she would have died much worse.”

“Well… Let’s talk about what happened after she died… You kept your promise. You didn’t kill me and treat me like a real brother. No matter what kind of man mother is, the brotherhood between you and I have not changed. At that time, you have an idea, you want to be human, you want to live a peaceful life like other people. You don’t have to worry about the identity of the Penaese or having family or friends.” He looked at Arthur, waiting for a response.

Arthur didn’t deny that. He simply said, “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”

“I admire the choice you made.” Feng Bujue said, “If I were in the shoes of the Penaese, I would never have considered becoming human. Ha-ha… From that point of view, you’re more kind than me when we make a longitudinal comparison in different races.”

“Hum… really?” Arthur sneered.

“But, when your research began, things gradually got out of hand. As I said before, people can change. A lot of things will change, when we look back, we can only find that the current action has deviated from the original intention.” He held out two fingers. “I think there are two keys that change you. First, in the ceaseless killing, your Penaese’s instinct is awakened; Second, you found my plan… You finally found out that the seeming kind and honest brother, like ‘that woman’, is also acting in front of you.”

“So,” said Arthur, “I forged a copy of the ancient book of soul refining in order to create an opportunity for you to discover it, as a trial.” He laughed bitterly and said, “I didn’t expect that you would hide it without hesitation and start your plan secretly.”

“Yeah, I got what I deserved for coming to this point.” Feng Bujue took the apologies of Andrew without any pressure. “I’ve got one last question… Why, after all this, do you still not kill me?” He asked. “And… Looks like you’re still trying to save me?”

“Yeah, why…” Arthur replied, “when the experiment started, I felt so disappointed to you, your eyes were full of undisguised excitement and enthusiasm, without the slightest hesitation.” He sighed. “When we failed, I looked at you and asked myself if there is any reason to keep you alive.” He stared up at Feng Bujue. “None.” He stood up. “But I couldn’t do it, because, at that moment, I realized that you are the only family I had in the world.” He shook his head. “Although we are not related, I still think of you as my brother. I just hope that we can go back to decades ago…” He took the photo from Feng Bujue and looked at the two giggling children in the photo, “… Regain that pure and happy time.”

Feng Bujue also signed: “What plan do you have for now? Since it’s already become like this?”

“I’m leaving, forever.” Arthur said, “I don’t know who your real father is, or what… So I can’t explain what’s happening on you right now.” He said and walked towards the door. “To cure you, you have to know what you are, and if you know that, you can do it at your alchemy level.” He looked up. “Go upstairs and ask that woman yourself about it.”

“What did you say?” Feng Bujue puzzled. What Arthur said confused him.

“You found her, didn’t you? How else could you have to do such a thing, and come to this?” Arthur said. “Well… I suppose she had put you up to this.” As Arthur spoke, he passed through the gate, turned, and disappeared.

Feng Bujue turned back and followed immediately, but found nothing in the corridor.

“Wait… Is their mother still alive?” Feng Bujue muttered.

[The current task has been completed, the main task has been completed] the task prompt sounded, but the prompt of the script has been completed did not come.

A few seconds later, a new prompt appeared:

“Arthur’s minions” have been triggered and witnessed.

[Items you are carrying have been detected as “dirty soap”, “carved dentist”, “perfume”, “feathered hat”, “wet blanket”, “artificial eye”]

[Enter the process of hidden ending]

[Hidden task triggered]

[Kill “Cantis”.]

“Well… ” Feng Bujue supported his chin, said: “I get it… These are the two ways to get to the ‘true’ end. If I did not meet the above two conditions to enter the gray room, what I may encounter will be a battle rather than a dialogue plot. Probably I can’t win the fight… Even if I win occasionally, the plot is not clear when I clear the scenario.” He thought as he made his way to the staircase.

It did not take him long to reach the second floor. The previous black figure, now standing in front of the big iron gate, seems to be waiting for the arrival of the player.

“This is where the final hidden BOSS is, triggered by the dialogue with Arthur.” Feng Bujue thought.

He ran into the room where the floor had collapsed, broke off a piece of wood, and then went out into the hallway, took out the antigravity gun, attached a piece of board and aimed at the figure. He then shouted, “Hey! Are you Cantis’s bodyguard!”

The figure remained motionless and made no response.

If it’s not really necessary, Feng Bujue won’t attack rashly. Before he pressed the launch button, he tried to use the first special effect of Vajra Bell to check it first. Turns out, the shadow is an NPC but not a monster…

[Name: Shadow of Dance]

[NPC side: Neutral]

[Level: ???]

[Height: 180 cm]

[Weight: 60 kg]

[Can be triggered a fight: No]

[Incidental event: Debut dance, open the chamber of the secret door]