“Mm… I understand.” Feng Bujue said, “I have two more things I want to confirm with you.” He asked, “First, why do you want to become human? As a Xing Clan member, you should know how pathetic humans are. Why would you abandon your own power and talent to become one of them?” He paused, then continued, “Second, why have you kept me alive until now? You could have completed these experiments yourself, couldn’t you?”

Arthur looked at Feng Bujue deeply and sneered, “Hmph… you probably wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

Feng Bujue also laughed, “Then let me make a bold guess.” He paced slowly, as if he were a detective performing a推理秀 (tuīlǐ xiù; reasoning show), and began to narrate, “Humans, as intelligent creatures with limited lifespans but rich emotions, their thoughts and behaviors change with the passage of time. The same person will naturally act differently at forty than they did at twenty, and differently from thirty as well. I think even you, as a Xing Clan member, are no exception to this.”

Feng Bujue’s tone was full of confidence as he said this, “Therefore, as long as we deduce your thoughts and actions at the time based on the chronological order, everything can be reasonably explained.” He paused and said, “When we were young, whether it was the brotherly affection between siblings or the love for our mother, it was undoubtedly real and pure.” He held up the yellowed photograph, “Just like what this photo shows.”

A few seconds later, his tone changed abruptly, “Unfortunately, our mother had other plans. She probably didn’t expect that you would see through her conspiracy when you were thirteen or fourteen.” Feng Bujue sighed, “Could you have killed her directly? Of course, but doing so would obviously cause a series of problems.

“For the sake of life, our family had to deal with outsiders to some extent, and our mother’s death couldn’t be covered up by simply ‘killing and burying,’ you had to find a seemingly reasonable 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, you could legitimately take over the farm and family affairs during this time, and those who had contact with our family, including me, would also be mentally prepared for what was about to happen.

“Also, according to my personal speculation, there’s another important reason why you chose this method, which is… when a person knows that their death is near, you can see their true nature more clearly.”

As Feng Bujue said this, he couldn’t help but think of himself. Speaking of which… he also suffered from a strange neurological disease, and could die at any second. But he still lived his life as if nothing had happened, doing whatever he should do. What was that? Apathy? No, indifferent to everything? That didn’t seem right either. So, was he a madman then…

“You’re right… that woman realized that she couldn’t escape death, and also knew that she no longer had the ability and time to take my power, so she chose to ‘use’ me, using family affection as a bargaining chip, to make me take care of her biological son after her death,” Arthur replied.

“And you did promise her,” Feng Bujue continued.

“Heh… she deserved it,” Arthur laughed, “Her performance of feigned affection for more than ten years wasn’t easy either. And objectively speaking, she provided me with food, shelter, education, and care. No matter what her starting point was, I should give her some return.”

“You’re really clear about good and evil, decisive in killing,” Feng Bujue laughed, “Is the incurable disease also part of the return?”

“Of course,” Arthur replied, “If I didn’t end her life in this way, but waited until the day she decided to attack me before fighting back, she would have died even more miserably.”

“Well… let’s talk about what happened after her death…” Feng Bujue continued, “You kept your promise, didn’t kill me, and treated me like your own brother. No matter what kind of person our mother was, the brotherly affection between you and me didn’t change. At that time, you had an idea, you wanted to become human, you wanted to live a peaceful life like everyone else. You didn’t want to worry about your identity as a Xing Clan member, or implicate your family and friends.” He looked at Arthur, waiting for his response.

Arthur didn’t deny it, he just said faintly, “Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.”

“I admire the choice you made,” Feng Bujue said, “If I were in the Xing Clan’s position, I would never consider becoming human. Heh… from this point of view, if we make a vertical comparison within our respective races, you’re more kind.”

“Hmph… is that so…” Arthur sneered.

“But…” Feng Bujue turned to say, “After your research began, things gradually got out of control. As I said before, this time is different from that time. Many things will change. Often when we look back, we realize that what we’re doing now has long deviated from our original intentions.” He held up two fingers, “I think there are two key points that changed you. First, in the constant killing, your Xing Clan instincts were awakened; second, you discovered my abnormality… you finally realized that the seemingly kind and loyal younger brother was also acting in front of you, just like ‘that woman’.”

Arthur continued, “So, I forged an ancient book of soul-swapping alchemy, deliberately creating an opportunity for you to discover it, as a test.” He smiled bitterly, “I didn’t expect you to hide that thing without hesitation, and secretly start your plan.”

“Yeah, I deserved it for getting to this point,” Feng Bujue admitted guilt on behalf of Andrew without any pressure, “I have one last question… why, even now, don’t you still kill me?” He asked, “And… it seems you’re still thinking about saving me?”

“Yeah… why is that…” Arthur replied, “From the moment the alchemy began, I was completely disappointed in you. Your eyes were filled with undisguised excitement and fanaticism, without the slightest hesitation.” He sighed, “After the alchemy failed, I looked at you and asked myself, is there any reason to keep you alive.” He looked up at Feng Bujue, “Not a single one.” He stood up, “But I couldn’t do it, because at that moment, I realized that you were my only relative in the world.” He shook his head, “Although we have no blood relation, I still treat you like a younger brother. How I wish I could go back more than ten years…” He took the photo from Feng Bujue’s hand, looking at the two smiling children in the photo, “…to relive that pure and beautiful time.”

Feng Bujue also sighed, “What are you planning to do now?”

“I’m leaving, leaving forever,” Arthur said, “I don’t know who your biological father is, or what he is… so I can’t explain what’s happening to you right now.” As he spoke, he walked towards the door, “Just now, I rethought the reason for the alchemy’s failure… to cure you, I need to know what you ‘are’ first. As long as I know that, your alchemy skills should be enough to complete the treatment.” He raised his head, “You can go upstairs and ask that woman yourself.”

“What are you talking about…” Feng Bujue asked in confusion, Arthur’s words made him very puzzled.

“You found her a long time ago, didn’t you? Otherwise, how could you have said those things, and how could you have ended up like this?” Arthur said, “Hmph… I think you’ve become like this today because she instigated you, right?” As he said this, he passed through the door, turned around, and disappeared from Feng Bujue’s sight.

Feng Bujue immediately turned around and followed him out the door, only to find the corridor empty.

“Could it be… that their old mother is still alive?” Feng Bujue muttered.

[Current mission completed, main missions have all been completed] The mission prompt rang out, but the script completion prompt didn’t come.

A few seconds later, a new prompt appeared:

[“Arthur’s Servant” storyline has been triggered and witnessed.]

[The items you are carrying, “Dirty Soap,” “Carved Dentures,” “Perfume,” “Feathered Leather Hat,” “Soaked Blanket,” and “Glass Eye” have been detected.]

[Entering Hidden Ending Process]

[Hidden mission has been triggered]

[Kill “Candice.”]

“So that’s how it is…” Feng Bujue said, holding his chin, “I see… these two are the methods to enter the ‘true’ ending. If I entered the gray room without meeting the above two conditions, I might have encountered a battle instead of a dialogue scene. That’s probably impossible to win… even if I barely won, I would have cleared the game without understanding anything.” While he was thinking, he was already heading towards the stairs.

It didn’t take him too long to get to the second floor. This time, the room that couldn’t be opened finally had changed. The black figure from before was now standing in front of the big iron door, seemingly waiting for the player to arrive.

“This place is indeed the location of the final hidden Boss. After triggering the dialogue scene with Arthur, you can come here,” Feng Bujue thought.

He first ran to the room where the floor had collapsed, broke off a piece of wood, then came to the corridor, took out the [Anti-Gravity Catapult], adsorbed the wooden board, aimed at the black shadow and shouted: “Speak! Are you Candice’s bodyguard!”

The black shadow didn’t move, didn’t respond.

Feng Bujue wouldn’t attack rashly unless absolutely necessary, so before pulling the launch button, he first tried to use the first effect of the Vajra Bell to check the other party. He didn’t expect that this black shadow wasn’t a monster, but an NPC…

[Name: Shadow of Dance]

[NPC Faction: Neutral]

[Level: ???]

[Height: 180 cm]

[Weight: 60 kg]

[Can battle be triggered: No]

[Attached storyline: Debut dance, opening of the secret room door]