CHAPTER 570: CHAPTER 347: EPILOGUE (PART 2)

"I really don’t understand. Clearly, my brother has always been staying at home. What are you all talking about? Miss Ke, is it so amusing for you to joke about someone else’s family?"

Ke Qirui was taken aback.

Then, she slowly removed the cigarette holder from her mouth. "Ah, wait a minute... you all finished the fight without knowing who the Black Cocoon is?"

Gu Qiye was stunned.

A terrifying speculation emerged in his mind. The lights in the carriage flickered intermittently, and his expression changed unpredictably. The engine roared to life again, deafening, as he opened his mouth.

"Are you suggesting..."

"Yes, Gu Wenyu is the Black Cocoon."

"This is hilarious..." Gu Qiye opened his mouth and suddenly let out a low chuckle.

"Both Xiaomai and I know about this, he has already confessed in front of us," Ke Qirui said. "If you don’t believe it, here." After speaking, she took a voice recorder out of her coat pocket and handed it to Gu Qiye.

"Miss Ke, you really have a talent for jokes. I’d like to see what evidence you can give me, but if I find out you’re deceiving me, I won’t forgive you..." Gu Qiye’s thoughts were in complete disarray as he took the recorder and pressed the play button.

No matter what, Gu Wenyu, you hid your tracks so well that I only just realized it now. Truly a thorough defeat," Ke Qirui’s voice came from the recorder. "So why did you only tell me?"

"Because after thinking for a while, telling you wouldn’t actually affect my plans," a young male’s voice came.

At that moment, Gu Qiye froze in place; he could tell that the voice on the recorder belonged to Gu Wenyu.

"That makes sense. I’m not your family, so I have no right to point fingers at you," Ke Qirui’s voice continued in the recorder. "So, have you been secretly protecting Xiaomai all along?"

"Could I possibly not protect her?" Gu Wenyu continued, "I hope that what I just told you can remain a secret from my sister for the time being."

"I understand. You’re worried that if you die, your sister will never know who the Black Cocoon really is."

"Yes. If I really die, you can tell her about my identity."

Gu Qiye murmured, "Impossible, definitely impossible. It must be the Black Cocoon pretending to be my brother."

"Are you sure?" Ke Qirui looked at him skeptically. "Forget it, let’s not talk about who the Black Cocoon is. Where did he go?"

"Right, big brother... what did you just say about the Black Cocoon?" After saying goodbye to Gu Zhuo, Su Zimai returned to the train.

Gu Qiye stood dazed for a long, long time, his lips slightly parted, "The Black Cocoon he..."

"Why didn’t he come back with you?"

"Brother, why aren’t you speaking?"

"What’s wrong with you? Why does your expression look so strange?"

"Where did he go..."

"Where on earth did he go..."

"Tell me, won’t you?"

"I really..."

"Miss him so much."

Su Zimai’s lips moved, questioning word by word. She slowly realized that something was wrong, her face gradually turning pale.

Gu Qiye clutched the voice recorder, leaning blankly against the wall in a daze. He opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word, feeling the world buzzing chaotically, the intense ringing in his ears making his brain feel like it might split apart.

Just then, the carriage door suddenly closed with a heavy "bang," sealing off the scenery outside the train.

Immediately afterward, a cloud of white steam spread out from the seams of the Train Demon, enveloping the surroundings.

Upon hearing the sound of steam dispersing, Gu Qiye was startled. Turning his head quickly, he looked out the window. At that moment, it seemed as if he once again saw that scene on the Deserted Island, white steam pouring from the cracks of the mechanical Buddha.

Like a dense fog, it swept over everything, engulfing the lone figure standing on the barren sand. At that time, this solitary figure seemed to consider taking off his mask, raising his right hand to place it on the dark red mask.

But the hand soon fell back down, as if afraid of causing sorrow, simply waving at them.

Until the very last second of being consumed by the steam, that lonely figure was still waving goodbye, quietly and earnestly.

"Wen... Yu?" Gu Qiye muttered indistinctively at the reflection on the window, as a silent tear slipped from the corner of his eye. At that moment, the train plunged into a tunnel, and the entire carriage was swallowed by overwhelming darkness, leaving nothing but the rumbling sound of the engine in its wake.

.....

....

Meanwhile, in another corner of Osaka, Japan.

"Father-in-law, haven’t you left yet?"

Gu Zhuo hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the bookstore, looking up at the figure slumped against the wall.

He was slightly stunned. Though not long had passed, the Su Wei before him seemed to have changed into a different person; his once black hair had suddenly turned white, the wrinkles and age spots on his face were prominent, and his overall demeanor was withered.

Su Wei placed his glasses beside him, simply and silently staring at the floor.

Gu Zhuo furrowed his brow, looking at him in disbelief, never having seen Su Wei like this.

The Su Wei he remembered was always vibrant and young at heart, but now anyone could tell this was a sixty-year-old man. What exactly happened in that mere half hour? He couldn’t help but wonder.