Chapter 255: Brothers (XI)
Chapter 255: Brothers (XI)
"So... this must be their mother's bedroom", Feng Bu Jue mused after watching the cutscene. "That kind of dialogue definitely sounds like final words. And that kid Ā Sè's reaction suggests he was already mostly corrupted during his youth period..." He pondered, "But why? Was it because he was adopted, leading him to resent his younger brother? Or was it the inherent evil of the Xingzu Clan bloodline? Or perhaps... something happened that completely changed his personality?"
With these questions in mind, Feng Bu Jue began turning the room upside down. This room had many places to search, and the process took him quite a while. The nightstand drawers were empty, and he checked every angle thoroughly without finding any carvings. The two wardrobes were equally barren, emitting a moldy, decaying stench when opened that nearly overwhelmed him even through his mask. Despite this, Feng Bu Jue still climbed to the top, squeezed behind the cabinets, and examined every inch inside and out.
Ten minutes later, after even checking under the bed, he finally confirmed... this room contained nothing but a single triggerable cutscene.
Feng Bu Jue clearly belonged to the type of gamer with exploration Ocd. This condition manifested as an obsession with uncovering every map corner, collecting every artifact, investigating every nook, conversing with every Npc, discovering every hidden element, completing every achievement, and ideally uncovering a few bugs to discuss after finishing the game.
He remembered how this habit plagued him even during his "research trip" playing The Elder Scrolls. Now in this solo scenario, without teammates to consider or time limits to worry about, the condition naturally resurfaced...
After finishing the first bedroom, he moved to the adjacent room.
The second room's exploration followed a similar pattern - probing with an iron bar first, then entering. This second room was also a bedroom, its furnishings different from the previous one but its condition vastly worse. Dust coated the floor, and besides a bed and wardrobe, nothing else remained. However, Feng Bu Jue deduced from floor marks that several pieces of furniture had once existed here, including a desk and a piano.
"With wooden floors", he explained while running his hand across the surface, "if furniture stays in the same spot for a year, the mark it leaves will never disappear. These imprints... they must've been here for over a decade. The compressed areas show distinctly different colors from the surrounding wood." He crouched, studying the floor for five minutes. "But judging by the dust accumulation, these items were removed quite some time ago. They've probably already been chopped into firewood."
As previously mentioned, the emptier the room, the easier the search. Feng Bu Jue briefly checked under the filthy bed, finding nothing, then turned to open the wall-mounted wardrobe.
"Hmph... exquisite taste", he remarked with a smirk as he examined the clothes inside.
The wardrobe contained only two types of garments - white shirts and overalls. The shirts hung neatly on hangers while the pants were even simpler, their straps draped over the wardrobe's horizontal bar.
Each piece of clothing was filthy, stained with blood and other substances. Even Feng Bu Jue, who considered himself fairly laid-back, found the filth unbearable. "What kind of mindset keeps unwashed dirty clothes neatly hung in a wardrobe? Every time you open it, you take off something damp and sticky, hang it up, then pick the least disgusting outfit to wear?" He speculated, "After their mother's death, did these two brothers fall into a world where no one does laundry? If this scenario follows that logic, it's genuinely horrifying..."
Lost in these thoughts, he crouched down, his hands resting on the lower drawers of the wardrobe. "If this drawer contains unwashed underwear and one of the yellow-and-white keys, how should I react..."
With a creaking sound of wood sliding, Feng Bu Jue pulled the drawer open. Fortunately, it was empty.
"Phew... strangely relieved for some reason", he sighed, closing the drawer. He took a shirt and pants from the wardrobe, checking their size. "The small figure in the opening scene was probably around 1.6 meters tall. These clothes are clearly too big for him." He concluded, "So... this must be Āndélǔ's bedroom?"
Feng Bu Jue tossed the clothes onto the bed, then began a meticulous search starting from one corner of the room. Since he hadn't found any story items or triggered memory fragments in this room yet, he searched even more carefully than before, examining and tapping every inch. Finally, when he paused near the windowsill for a few seconds, another CG sequence activated.
Golden sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating a desk positioned beneath it. A boy of about ten sat at the desk, carefully carving a small piece of wood with a chisel.
The boy's hair reflected golden hues in the sunlight. His eyes remained fixed on the wood, his movements precise and deliberate, as if crafting an extremely intricate and difficult artwork.
On the other side of the room, a brown-haired boy sat at a piano, casually playing a simple melody. His technique was somewhat clumsy, making the tune disjointed, but he didn't mind since his only audience was his younger brother.
This warm scene continued for about ten seconds before Āndélǔ suddenly dropped his wood and chisel onto the desk with a sigh. "Agh~failed again."
"Just start over", Ā Sè replied, lifting his hands from the piano keys.
"No way! This is already my fifth attempt. The homework's due tomorrow, and there's no time to start over now", Āndélǔ turned with an awkward smile. "If it were you, brother... you could finish this in one go, right? After all, you're a genius!"
"Exactly", Ā Sè replied flatly.
"Uh..." Āndélǔ narrowed his eyes. "You actually admitted it that easily?"
"You called me a genius. Why should I be humble?" Ā Sè stood from the piano bench, walking to Āndélǔ's side. "Fine, give it here. I'll handle it."
"Thanks, big brother!" Āndélǔ beamed.
Ā Sè picked up his brother's half-finished woodworking project, examining it for a few seconds. His expression held clear disdain. For him, creating such an item - well, failing five times was unthinkable. He could complete it perfectly on the first try.
Unfortunately, Ā Sè never had the opportunity to do these things. Once his Xingzu Clan identity was discovered, not only would he face death, but those who sheltered him would also be executed. Therefore, māma never allowed him to attend school like other children. In fact, aside from his brother, Ā Sè had no friends at all. His life was confined to the ranch, and aside from occasional conversations with nearby farmers, the only people he interacted with were his mother and Āndélǔ.
"Hmm... like this, then this..." Ā Sè observed for a moment before grabbing a pen and sketching a transmutation circle on paper.
Within a minute, he completed a simple transmutation circle, placing the ruined wooden piece at its center.
Ā Sè pressed his hands on either side of the paper, murmuring to himself as he organized his thoughts. Several seconds later, his eyes snapped open. The wooden piece on the circle transformed into a glowing mass, changing shape instantaneously.
When the light faded, the wood had become a small wooden comb.
"Wow! Amazing!" Āndélǔ exclaimed.
"Shh... Don't let māma hear. She doesn't like me using alchemy", Ā Sè raised a finger to his lips, signaling his brother to quiet down.
Āndélǔ eagerly picked up the comb, examining it closely. "Big brother, you're incredible! Our teacher said anyone who completes practical alchemy assignments before twelve is an absolute genius! You'll definitely join the Royal Alchemists Corps someday!"
"Is that so..." Ā Sè responded with little reaction. In his view, this transmutation was mere child's play - he'd mastered far more complex techniques long ago. As for the Royal Alchemists Corps... a Xingzu Clan member could never hope to study there.
Watching his excited younger brother, Ā Sè remained calm. He reminded, "Āndélǔ, never mention my abilities outside. You understand this, right?"
Āndélǔ nodded. "I know. Māma's told me many times." As he answered, he picked up the chisel again, carving something into the comb.
"Hey... I already finished it for you. What are you messing with now? If you ruin it, you won't have anything to submit", Ā Sè said, though he made no move to stop his brother.
Āndélǔ quickly finished his carving, then proudly showed the comb to his brother. "I won't submit it. This is the first thing you've ever transmuted for me. I want to keep it forever."
Looking at the "A.A" initials carved into the comb, Ā Sè shrugged noncommittally, patting his brother's head. "My silly little brother..."
After watching the scene, Feng Bu Jue couldn't help but mutter, "Are you Itachi's brother or something?"
From the cutscene's perspective, he couldn't know Ā Sè and Āndélǔ's inner thoughts. Feng Bu Jue could only roughly guess based on their expressions and actions.
"Well... it seems the room's memories don't play in chronological order", Feng Bu Jue thought. "Still, when these two were around ten years old, their relationship seemed quite good. While personality changes during growth can't be ruled out, I feel the critical turning point that led to their current situation must still be their so-called 'Xingzu Clan' bloodline."
(End of Chapter)
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