The data of an NPC was naturally different from a monster’s. Things like fighting style and weaknesses were not available. After all, the system encouraged players to communicate with NPCs and not get into fights with them. After knowing that the other party was not hostile, Feng Bujue relaxed as he put his weapon away and walked to the shadow. When he was within two meters of the shadow, the latter suddenly raised one hand and extended his palm, signaling for Feng Bujue to stop.
Feng Bujue did what he was told and waited for the shadow’s reaction. The music came from who knew where again, and the shadow went into the dance of Thriller. It was hard to tell whether it was trying to say something or not.
After two minutes, the shadow spun twice on the spot and pushed the handle of the door behind him. On the surface of the door, an invisible magic circle lost its power, and the sound of glass shattering came. Then, the dancing shadow used its unique voice to yelp and brushed past Feng Bujue while dancing. As it faded away, the darkness surrounding Feng Bujue thickened.
Feng Bujue realized that one of the powers of the shadow was to control darkness. Because it had come above ground, the two floors aboveground had become brighter, so as the shadow left, the surrounding darkness returned.
“Alright… there is only one thing left to do.” Before the surroundings were completely swallowed up by darkness, he stepped forward, gripped the handle, and pushed the door open. The moment before he stepped into the room, Feng Bujue determined that he had found the source of the horrible smell that permeated the house. Compared to the decaying smell in the room, the stench in the other rooms was barely worth mentioning. If one had to make comparison, it was like someone had farted in the room and then disappeared.
Once Feng Bujue stepped into the room, the door behind him closed on its own. The light in the room was blurry and muffled. Feng Bujue looked around through the gas mask. The first thing he saw was the synthetic human that he had seen earlier standing by the wall, the one with joints at his lower body. Now it was pinned to the wall with many thick nails. The chest wounds had already stopped leaking, and there was a pool of blood on the ground beneath it.
The synthetic creature with bone spurs was leaning in an alcove by the wall. There were two metal racks where he could put his ’hand’, and the middle part of the alcove had strange fern growing. They appeared to be the tongues’ food. Feng Bujue moved his eyes about. He noticed that the room was ridiculously large. The height of the room did not match the layout of the room. Obviously, this room did not belong to the part of the house. He looked around and noticed twenty synthetic creatures encased in the wall. They were of different appearances, but all of them were scary looking.
“Andrew, is that you?” A female voice came from the darkness. Feng Bujue turned to the voice and saw a woman that was dried up like zombie in one of the alcoves. She only had an eyeball, dry skin, no hair, and rotting teeth, and she was radiated this horrible smell that caused Feng Bujue’s Life Points to drop. When Candace entered his gaze, another cinematic appeared.
…
“Andrew, my child, can’t you recognize me anymore?” Candace asked softly.
Andrew looked at the monster before him in shock. He finally understood why Arthur had forbidden him from entering this room. “Mom… Mom… No, impossible, you are…”
“I am not dead.” Candace’s voice was filled with hatred. “I was conscious even when I was buried. This is all Arthur’s doing. It’s him! He poisoned me and faked my death! The day after the burial, he dug me up and turned me into this with alchemy!”
“But… But why would big brother…”
“He is not your brother! He is from the Xin clan! The epitome of evil!” Candace cut him off. “Look at the monsters in this room. He has started to go after the innocent, hasn’t he?”
“No… those people…” Andrew still wanted to explain.
“Do not be tricked by him, Andrew!” Candace quickly added. “He is just using you. Look at what he has done to me! He will eventually do the same to you!”
“Then… what… what should I do?”
“You have to be patient, Andrew. The current you is no match for him. You have to wait for an opportunity…” Candace lowered her voice. “You have to keep the secret that you have been here today. Do not expose anything to him, understood?”
“I…” Andrew was flustered.
“Come here. Listen to me. I will tell you what to do…”
…
When the recap ended, Feng Bujue recovered, and he was already standing before Candace.
“Andrew, what happened to you?” Candace looked at Feng Bujue. “Wait… or are you Arthur?”
When Feng Bujue heard that, he instantly understood many things. Feng Bujue mimicked Andrew’s tone to say, “No, it’s me, Andrew.”
Candace took a good look at him. “What’s wrong with you? Did Arthur come after you?”
“The experiment to exchange souls failed,” Feng Bujue said as he took out the Advanced Study of Alchemy. He turned to the second chapter. By now, the content was no longer blurred. The system translated it, and the second chapter was a perfect example of the alchemy experiment.
“Failed… What does that mean? Where is Arthur?” Candace asked.
“I killed him, and he turned me into this.” Feng Bujue’s eyes landed on the book. Then he squatted down, dipped his finger in the unknown liquid nearby, and started to draw the magic circle according to the book.
Candace saw this and asked with curiosity, “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to save you, Mother,” Feng Bujue replied. “Using this magic circle, you can turn back into a normal human.”
“Is it…” Candace breathed out.
“Arthur is dead. Mom, you don’t need to stay here anymore. We can return to our normal life.”
“Yes… Yes… Hahaha…” Candace could not help but laugh, her joy undisguised. “Arthur is dead. Andrew, you are a good son… You have really killed that Xin clan demon. Hahaha… I can finally leave this place…”
Feng Bujue soon finished drawing the magic circle. He removed Candace from the wall and placed her in the middle of the circle. Then, he took out the six items in his pocket and placed them around her.
“Quick, Andrew, activate the circle,” Candace urged.
“Why the hurry, mother?” Feng Bujue asked in a strange voice. “Are you that desperate to claim my power?”
“What… what are you talking about?” Candace’s expression shifted, but she quickly covered it up and asked, “An… Andrew, what are you talking about? I don’t understand…”
“Just moment ago, I realized something… I finally understood what Arthur meant when he called me his ’silly little brother’.” Feng Bujue smirked coldly. “Actually, I am also not your son.”