Chapter 721: Complete Farewell

"What do you mean...?" Siwei Jiejie and I both froze for a moment.

"Hero, Siwei..." Gu Yu Gege let out a deep sigh, "You two should have figured it out by now. If one team is about to collect enough 'yu', the others won't be far behind."

After hearing that, the two of us understood what he meant and fell silent, lowering our heads.

"Even though I managed to drive them off this time, what about next time? Or the time after that? If every time someone is about to gather all the 'yu' it gets stolen, no matter what kind of 'house rules' we set, this home won't be safe anymore."

"Then... what about you, Gu Yu Gege?" I asked hesitantly.

"In the next cycle, I'm planning to leave." He said, "And this time... I won't be coming back."

Even though I had guessed it might be the answer, hearing Gu Yu Gege say it out loud still made my heart skip a beat.

"Leave...?" Siwei Jiejie was stunned, "Gu Yu, where are you going? Have you found a way to escape?"

"No." Gu Yu Gege shook his head, "But after all these years... I think you've both seen it. This city has no hope left."

"Are you going to another city? But no matter where you go... you'll still come back after ten days..."

"That's true, usually. But there's a way to avoid that." Gu Yu Gege stood up and walked to the corner of the room, rummaging around for a bit before pulling out a box.

Siwei Jiejie and I looked at him, completely puzzled about what he was up to.

He brought the box over to me, reached out to pat my head, and said softly, "Hero didi, all these years I've treated you like a hero, but today I want to treat you like an ordinary child."

I blinked and didn't say anything, but I felt like crying.

"How about we play a game?" Gu Yu Gege said, his voice carrying a sense of sadness as he placed the box in front of me, then took out a small handful of 'yu' and tossed them inside.

"Wh... what game?"

"There are thirty pieces of 'yu' in here... We'll take turns picking them out, as many as we want each time." He said with a bitter smile, "Whoever gets the last one wins. What do you think?"

I'd never played this game before, but I went along with Gu Yu Gege and played two rounds, and I lost both times.

"Gu Yu..." Siwei Jiejie called out, "What are you really trying to do?"

"This is the 'game' I designed." Gu Yu Gege looked at the box in his hands with a somber expression, "I want to become a 'shengxiao'."

Hearing that, Siwei Jiejie and I shot up from our seats, completely shocked.

"Become a 'shengxiao'?!" Siwei Jiejie exclaimed, "What do you mean?! Gu Yu, what are you planning?"

"I've never told you this before, but if you put on the 'shengxiao' mask, you can become one of them. It's just that this path is way too dangerous." Gu Yu Gege kept shaking his head with a bitter smile, "So I'm preparing to become a 'shengxiao' and follow that path."

"That's ridiculous!" Siwei Jiejie said, "Isn't 'shengxiao' supposed to be the enemy of the 'participants'? Are you going to join the enemy?"

"Don't be naive, Siwei." Gu Yu Gege shook his head, "All the 'shengxiao' in this place used to be 'participants'. They just woke up to it earlier and went further down that road than we have."

"So you're..." Siwei Jiejie seemed anxious, her voice changing as she pointed to the box in Gu Yu Gege's hands, "You're going to use this childish game... taking turns to draw 'yu' from the box... and climb your way up? Aren't you afraid someone will 'gamble their life' against you?!"

"I have a trump card." Gu Yu Gege said with a bitter smile, "You forgot, right? I used to be a magician."

"So what if you're a magician?"

Gu Yu Gege reached into the box and picked up one piece of 'yu', but I clearly saw that two pieces were missing from the box.

He turned his hand to show us, and there was another piece hidden in the palm of his hand.

"This is called the 'palm hide' technique—it's one of the most common methods in close-up magic. I can 'cheat'..." His hand was trembling slightly as he paused and continued, "Every 'shengxiao' has their own trait... like the dog can 'provoke', the rabbit can 'destroy', the snake can 'show favoritism', the sheep can 'lie'—and the monkey... can 'cheat'. I'll become the 'ren hou'."

Even though he was patiently explaining the principles of magic and 'shengxiao' to us, the sadness in his aura was palpable.

I thought... Gu Yu Gege must have had no other options left to choose this path.

"You actually understand the 'shengxiao' so well..." Siwei Jiejie said, stunned, "You've been planning this for a while?"

"That's right." Gu Yu Gege nodded, "Siwei, to be honest, four years ago before I came back, I went through some inner struggles. I had two paths in front of me: one was to return to 'Yu Cheng' and try to change things here, and the other was to become a 'shengxiao'. I even killed a 'ren hou' in advance and hid his mask, just in case I needed it one day. But I knew that if I didn't come back to 'Yu Cheng' and give it a try, I might regret it years later."

Listening to his words, Siwei Jiejie and I fell silent.

"You've seen it too... over the past four years, the situation in 'Yu Cheng' has only gotten worse, even with all three of us putting in everything we have. This 'fierce beast' has started to bite." He shook his head and stood up, facing Siwei Jiejie directly, "Siwei... I've done all I could within my power, and I know it makes me seem like a soldier deserting in the heat of battle, but I have to think about myself. I can't just wait around here to die once I know the outcome."

"I... I understand..." Siwei Jiejie said, "Your choice is right... I support you."

I could sense a hint of sadness from Siwei Jiejie, but she still managed to keep a smile.

She sniffed and added with a smile, "But if you become a 'shengxiao' here, no one might participate in the game... so..."

"I'm not choosing 'Yu Cheng'." Gu Yu Gege said, "'Yu Cheng' people are eager for 'ren ji' games, but they never touch 'di ji' games except for the 'xing guan'. If I advance to 'di', I'd be confined. And 'Wo Cheng' won't work either—that place is too dangerous; I might have to face dozens of life-gambling 'participants' in a single day. So..."

"Are you going to become a 'ren hou' in 'Dao Cheng'...?" Siwei Jiejie nodded, "But isn't that place full of smart people? With your game..."

"I have to take a gamble, and I'll spend the time I have left perfecting this game—maybe use two boxes or more chips. Anyway, I've made up my mind." Gu Yu Gege said, "There are only these three cities left; I have no other options. If I have to say it, becoming a 'shengxiao' in 'Dao Cheng' might be safer than staying here."

Seeing Siwei Jiejie remain silent, Gu Yu Gege asked, "Siwei, don't you want to become a rabbit that can 'escape'?"