A Reluctant Farewell

“Even so, do you still wish to help him?”

The voice, thick with seduction, resonated right beside his ear.

While Peng Biao found the statement absurd and untrustworthy, he couldn’t help but experience a sliver of hesitation as a myriad of conflicting thoughts flooded his mind.

What if?

He couldn’t resist thinking.

What if what “Wen Jinshi” said was actually true?

Peng Biao questioned himself internally.

When that time came, would he truly be capable of accepting his sweetheart leaving forever, never to return?

The answer was undoubtedly a resounding no.

Peng Biao had to admit that this version of “Wen Jinshi,” whose temperament had undergone a sudden transformation, possessed an incredibly piercing insight into the human heart, instantly seizing his fatal weakness the moment he spoke.

He was no saint; he possessed his own selfish desires and was entirely unwilling to take any action that carried a risk of losing his sweetheart.

No matter how absurd or untrustworthy the words uttered by “Wen Jinshi” were, they would cause him to hesitate out of fear of harming what he cherished, rendering him unable to make a rash attempt—especially since the beautiful youth’s expression changed abruptly the moment those words left “Wen Jinshi’s” mouth.

Every single detail indicated that the words spoken by “Wen Jinshi” were the absolute truth.

The beautiful youth was not a person of this world.

As long as he positioned this wooden hair stick where it belonged and activated the array, the puppet evil spirits would be sealed away once more, but the beautiful youth would similarly vanish alongside them, departing for a place he would never be able to find.

Yet, if he failed to act, the puppet evil spirits would certainly trigger massive chaos in the future, to say nothing of the fact that sitting atop these evil entities was a version of “Wen Jinshi” whose true origin remained entirely unknown.

Meeting the beautiful youth’s eyes, which were filled with a look akin to begging, Peng Biao’s heart grew increasingly hesitant, completely at a loss as to what choice to make.

He didn’t fear trouble; even if the puppet evil spirits caused immense chaos in the future, he could still exert all his strength to remedy the situation. However, he dreaded meeting the beautiful youth’s imploring gaze, and he feared even more that the begging within those eyes would transform into disappointment or resentment should he choose not to help.

Just the thought of it made Peng Biao feel terribly uncomfortable.

In a span of mere seconds, various thoughts ran through the minds of everyone present.

Seeing the big dummy Heavenly Master’s mind being swayed by the previous dungeon boss, Ye Shengge grew extremely anxious, hurriedly speaking up to tell him, “Put it down quickly, otherwise we are all going to lose our lives in this place!”

Looking at the long-term picture, as long as the Puppet Bosses remained unsealed, a time bomb would constantly exist. Looking at the immediate situation, no one knew what the Puppet Bosses and the previous dungeon boss would do to them once they broke through that freezing talisman paper.

Even if sealing the Puppet Bosses had nothing to do with the clearance conditions for leaving the dungeon, this seal still had to be completed.

Yet, for reasons unknown, the big dummy Heavenly Master failed to comprehend such a plain and simple matter, refusing to budge.

No, perhaps he understood perfectly well, but his selfish heart simply made him unwilling to carry it out.

Thinking of the words the big dummy Heavenly Master had previously spoken to him, along with his confession, Ye Shengge felt a massive headache coming on.

Selfishness could allow the big dummy Heavenly Master to make an exception, helping him handle the Puppet Bosses’ matter without the slightest hesitation. However, once he learned that sealing the puppet evil spirits would cause Ye Shengge to leave this world forever…

All their previous advantages transformed entirely into disadvantages at this very moment.

Under these circumstances, the probability of Peng Biao being willing to help him was simply too low.

However, the freezing talisman paper possessed a limited duration, granting them no time to continue their tug-of-war.

If a decision wasn’t made soon, the Evil God—who had been successfully caught off guard by Peng Biao—would certainly stop speaking with a bright smile as he was doing now. Instead, he would transform into an entirely different state, returning all of those underhanded strikes in full.

Thinking of this, Ye Shengge couldn’t resist furrowing his brows, his mind aching terribly, yet he couldn’t find any words capable of swiftly persuading the big dummy Heavenly Master to help him.

What should he do?

What on earth should he do?

Ye Shengge was both panicked and anxious.

Upon seeing their beautiful wife’s emotions take a sharp turn for the worse, the viewers in the livestream room began offering advice and suggestions one after another.

[Wife, don’t worry! Even if the mission can’t be completed, nothing will happen to us. The game officials have already replied to us, stating that they will pull you out no matter what.]

[But our wife wants to complete the mission.]

[I feel like, uh, the wife can try threatening the big dummy to see if he’ll help.]

[…]

The Evil God still maintained a flawless smile upon his face, looking at Peng Biao with a bright glint in his eyes as he pressed further: “Are you certain you wish to help him? Wouldn’t it be better to keep him in this world forever?”

These words sounded immensely attractive to Peng Biao. He stared intently at the wooden hair stick nestled within his palm, his gaze growing increasingly vacant as he uncontrollably extended his hand, intending to snap the wooden hair stick in half.

Seeing this scene, the smile on the Evil God’s face deepened even further.

Yes, exactly like this.

As long as the wooden hair stick was snapped, the little liar—who was so accustomed to acting spoiled to make people soften their hearts before finding an opportunity to flee—would never be able to leave his side again.

As for Peng Biao, who would be the one snapping the wooden hair stick… considering he had contributed a share of effort, his action of launching cold arrows would be overlooked for the time being. Finding an opportunity to throw him far away, ensuring he could never come into contact with Ye Shengge again, would suffice.

When that time came, he could take his precious treasure to a sufficiently safe location meant solely for the two of them.

Just thinking about it made the Evil God incredibly excited.

Ye Shengge’s heart, which was already piercingly cold, felt as though someone had unexpectedly dumped an entire bucket of ice water over him upon witnessing the big dummy Heavenly Master’s mind being completely swayed, chilling him to an entirely new extreme.

Right at the critical juncture before the wooden hair stick could be snapped, a white light suddenly flashed across Ye Shengge’s mind, and he shouted loudly, “Peng Biao!”

Peng Biao’s movements came to a sudden halt, a touch of struggle flitting through his eyes, looking as though he had regained a fraction of his consciousness.

Seeing that this method yielded results, a surge of joy rose within Ye Shengge’s heart. Pressing on with his efforts, he said, “Listen to me clearly, do not force me to hate you.”

The eyes that had grown vacant instantly gathered focus following this sentence, staring straight at the beautiful youth whose face was filled with stubbornness.

Ye Shengge did not show the slightest hint of weakness, matching his gaze directly as he ruthlessly added, “Even if you don’t seal the puppet evil spirits and forcefully keep me here, I still won’t be together with you. Do not force me to hate you.”

This was his one and only opportunity.

He was gambling—gambling on exactly how much the big dummy Heavenly Master cared about him.

If the big dummy Heavenly Master merely possessed a passing interest in him, then he would certainly refuse to let him leave before obtaining him, completely disregarding his volition to choose to forcefully keep him within this dungeon world.

If the big dummy Heavenly Master harbored pure feelings and truly placed him at the very center of his heart, then no matter how much he tangled and struggled internally, he would ultimately choose to help him, assisting him in sealing the puppet evil spirits, respecting his volition to let him leave rather than forcefully keeping him behind to be resented.

Ye Shengge was gambling, and the Evil God—who had been deceived by Ye Shengge once before, becoming thoroughly submerged in darkness and distortion—was gambling as well.

Both pairs of eyes rested squarely upon Peng Biao.

Too many things transpired within a span of mere seconds.

Swapped with any other person, being pressured in such a manner would cause them to break down entirely.

However, the struggle within Peng Biao’s eyes actually transformed into absolute certainty under this high-intensity pressure.

The duration of the freezing talisman paper was under twenty seconds in total.

He had already arrived at a decision.

Under the Evil God’s confident smile and Ye Shengge’s immensely tense gaze, Peng Biao gripped the wooden hair stick tightly within his hand. No longer hesitating, he walked forward with a determined gaze.

The direction he walked toward was precisely the very center of the study.

The confident smile upon the Evil God’s face froze abruptly, an inexplicably ominous premonition surfacing within him. However, he was unable to move a single inch, forced to watch with open eyes as the single-minded Peng Biao positioned that wooden hair stick on the floor, utilizing his finger—which was still dripping with blood—to activate the array.

As the heart blood dropped, a brilliant golden-red array manifested within the study, which wasn’t considered massive, yet accommodated a dozen or so puppets, an Evil God, and two ordinary humans.

At that exact moment, the Evil God could no longer care about maintaining his grand posture or temperament, unable to resist cursing loudly, “Are you brain-dead?!”

He knew this Heavenly Master was stupid, but he hadn’t anticipated he could be stupid to such an extent.

Clearly understanding that taking this action would allow his sweetheart to flee, why did he still choose to do it?!

It was simply stupid beyond measure.

Looking at the Evil God, whose personality was leaning toward Jiang Yan’s style, Ye Shengge instinctively retorted, “Bah! You’re the one who’s brain-dead!”

The Evil God hadn’t anticipated being cursed at, freezing in place for a moment. He failed to snap back to reality even when the freezing talisman lost its efficacy, as though a single sentence from Ye Shengge possessed far more destructive power than the talisman Peng Biao had drawn at the cost of his lifespan.

Suffering a scolding from his sweetheart was one thing, but by the time the Evil God snapped back to reality, he suddenly realized that the array had already been successfully drawn.

The figures of the puppets gradually became translucent. The Evil God, who had forcefully split his soul to substitute for the role of this dungeon’s boss, was similarly affected, his expression becoming thoroughly unsightly.

He understood that once the array was formed, everything was set in stone.

Having reached an agreement with the dungeon plotline, he could no longer prevent the beautiful youth from leaving.

Once again.

He was forced to watch with open eyes as the beautiful youth departed from right before him once more, yet he was entirely unable to do anything about it.

How the tables turned. Ye Shengge’s current emotional state stood in stark contrast to the Evil God’s furious powerlessness.

Because the exact moment the array formed, the system’s notification sound resonated within his mind.

[Congratulations to Host Ye Shengge for successfully completing the mission to suppress the resentful puppets.]

[Dungeon departure countdown: six, five…]

Right at this moment, a cautious voice rose, drowning out the countdown broadcast inside Ye Shengge’s mind.

“The array is complete. Please don’t hate me, alright?” Having lost a significant amount of heart blood and expended so much of his lifespan, no matter how robust Peng Biao’s physique was, his face had become entirely bloodless.

But even so, he still firmly remembered the sentence Ye Shengge had spoken not long ago.

He didn’t wish to be held in resentment by the beautiful youth, nor did he want to be disliked by him.

Peng Biao, who had awakened much like the Evil God and understood that this world was merely one among thousands of dungeons, thought to himself in this manner.

He didn’t demand much. If it was destined that the outcome could not be altered, then he hoped the beautiful youth could reserve a corner within his heart. The corner didn’t need to be massive; even if it was incredibly tiny, it wouldn’t matter, as long as it could accommodate his name so he wouldn’t be entirely forgotten.

“I don’t hate you.” The upward curve at the corners of Ye Shengge’s lips gradually flattened out. For reasons unknown, seeing the big dummy Heavenly Master in this state caused him to experience a touch of hesitation, failing to feel as happy as he had previously.

It was likely the guilt that came from bullying a good-natured soul.

[Three…]

Listening to the final seconds of the countdown, Ye Shengge offered his thanks to Peng Biao with utmost seriousness: “Thank you.”

He figured that no matter how many dungeons he traversed in the future, he would likely remain unable to forget the big dummy he had encountered in this world—the one who possessed no underhanded schemes and kept his heart entirely focused on him.

Upon hearing this sentence, a smile that looked more painful than crying surfaced on Peng Biao’s face. He wanted to seize this opportunity to be selfish one last time, requesting the beautiful youth not to forget him. However, when it came down to the absolute end, he merely spoke in a soft voice: “Take good care of yourself.”

He thought to himself, forget it. Since it was destined that they could never encounter each other again, it was far better to let the beautiful youth forget him, saving him from experiencing any unhappiness.

Compared to being remembered forever, he preferred for the beautiful youth to remain this happy for all eternity.

[Two…]

“Okay.” Ye Shengge nodded forcefully, a layer of water mist uncontrollably enveloping his eyes.

Different from his previous states of dread or fear, the reason his eyes grew moist and red this time was due to moving emotion and an irrepressible surge of guilt.

When facing the previous dungeon boss, he could utter lies without a single shred of guilt to seek an opportunity to flee. However, when facing this big dummy who smiled so foolishly and appeared to harbor no wicked intentions whatsoever, he found himself unable to maintain a clear conscience.

A brilliant white light enveloped Ye Shengge. In the next second, the system’s broadcast sound resonated: [Ding-dong, dungeon departure successful!]

During the final second of his departure from the dungeon, Ye Shengge caught a glimpse of the previous dungeon boss’s expression, which looked exactly as though his wife had died. He even possessed the leisure to think that it appeared he wasn’t particularly useless after all; even without the assistance of the late-to-the-party system, he could still complete a dungeon mission under conditions of a collapsing world, relying on his own efforts to break free from the dungeon.

How wonderful.

…

Following the disappearance of the white light, no matter how unwilling the Evil God was, and no matter how lost in a sense of melancholy Peng Biao became, the study no longer contained that exquisitely featured beautiful youth whose every single movement captured the entire focus of everyone’s hearts.

…