Xie Shuangxue now fully understood; perhaps Yu Haiqing was here to settle old scores. He remembered the look Yu Haiqing had given him, and that angry remark—Xie Shuangxue, you might as well kill me. No wonder he said that. Encountering such a situation would definitely cause anger. Was Yu Haiqing thinking of getting revenge, or did he intend to drag me back to his lair to continue bullying me? Xie Shuangxue couldn’t decide.

The previous Yu Haiqing had seemed really fierce, looking at him as if he wanted to devour him, a stark contrast to his innocent past. The more Xie Shuangxue thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Looking at his own actions from another angle—initially deceiving Yu Haiqing to test him, never revealing his true situation, deceiving from start to finish, and then disappearing when Yu Haiqing was at his lowest—it all seemed very unscrupulous, a true scoundrel.

He had forgotten about these actions, but Yu Haiqing hadn’t.

Xie Shuangxue had been foolish, not thinking before revealing his ID as 009. No wonder Yu Haiqing’s expression turned strange after hearing that; he must have realized who he was then.

Oh no, I’m done for.

With all these thoughts piling up, Xie Shuangxue’s mind felt more chaotic than before. He moved slightly, curling himself tighter under the blanket.

Fortunately, the Feather Clan was always here, definitely preventing others from coming in. With Yu Haiqing not around, he could at least catch his breath.

Ling Luo and Ling Xuan sitting at his bedside exchanged glances, feeling puzzled. Ling Xuan gently patted his back and tentatively asked, “Ah Xue, what’s wrong? Are you still feeling unwell somewhere?”

After a while, Xie Shuangxue moved but didn’t turn around. Ling Xuan heard him mutter, “I think I’ve caused a disaster.”

Ling Xuan misunderstood, thinking he referred to the incident with Linan, and reassured him softly, “It’s okay, Ah Xue. We did that. Besides, your brothers have already explained everything to the clan leader and His Highness. It was thanks to you finding that evidence. You’ve made a great contribution. How can that be called causing a disaster?”

If only it were that simple.

Hearing this reassurance, Xie Shuangxue seemed even more deflated. After a while, as if remembering something, he checked his communicator.

Seeing the name 009 he had impulsively chosen before, he felt speechless at his foolishness, a textbook example. But during his unconsciousness, Yu Haiqing had sent him quite a few messages. The first few were about letting him rest, probably confirming from the backend that Xie Shuangxue was okay and not pushing him too hard immediately. The last message read: “Qin Feiluan is well settled now. I’m waiting for you in the North.”

He’s waiting like a hunter for a rabbit.

My Northlands has fallen too, and he’ll continue bullying me there.

Xie Shuangxue closed his eyes, then opened them a moment later to read the message again.

Just then, another member of the Feather Clan came with a message. Because of the huge incident in Linan, it still needed to be officially addressed. Since Xie Shuangxue had fainted, Chen Xin and others had been handling it, but now that he was awake, they needed to hear from him directly.

“The Highness asks for your presence,” the messenger said, then hesitated before adding, “If the Golden Feather Envoy is still unwell, take a few more days to rest. It won’t make a difference right now, I’ll explain to His Highness.”

Ling Xuan felt the same, but as soon as Xie Shuangxue heard this, he sat up. “I’m fine, I’m very well,” he said. “I’ll go see His Highness now.”

Addressing the matter in Linan might also provide a legitimate reason to avoid heading North for now.

Xie Shuangxue hadn’t quite figured out how to face Yu Haiqing, so finding something else to occupy himself seemed like a decent strategy.

Chun Yao wasn’t insistent on seeing him immediately; it was more of a routine matter. Seeing Xie Shuangxue rushing over with a pale face, Chun Yao paused, a pang of pity in his heart.

Not only was Chun Yao present in the hall, but three elders of the Feather Clan and even the clan leader had projected an image there. Many of the Feather Clan’s members with some standing were seated around, all there for this issue.

“Ah Xue,” Chun Yao immediately approached, looking at him with concern. “How are you feeling? Is there still discomfort anywhere?”

Xie Shuangxue shook his head and was about to speak when someone at the meeting challenged him. It was a somewhat unfamiliar face, speaking with a hint of sarcasm and scorn. “As a Golden Feather Envoy of the Feather Clan, there is no room for such fragility. The matter in Linan isn’t even settled yet, and Xie Shuangxue acted on his own, nearly causing a disaster. Surely he can’t just escape consequences because he was slightly injured?”

Chen Xin and Ling Luo, who followed soon after, frowned before they could explain, but Xie Shuangxue heard someone from the elder’s seats speak up: “Shut up, is it your place to speak?”

It was Elder Ling.

His face cold with anger, not seeming feigned, Xie Shuangxue thought he had misheard, but indeed he had spoken. “Fragile? Xie Shuangxue has been on the battlefield countless times. What are you? Since the incident began, you’ve just holed up in Floating Dreams and dared not step out. Now you act so righteous; what are you exactly?”

Elder Ling’s temper was as volatile as ever, his words harsh, but Xie Shuangxue was not used to this. Huh? What’s happening? Doesn’t he dislike me? Could it be that Elder Ling was possessed while I slept?

Unbeknownst to him, the Feather Clan had investigated the City Lord’s mansion in Linan while he was unconscious, finding many things and getting confessions from Linan’s people. If they had been just a bit later, Linan would have attacked Ling Luo and Ling Xuan.

Knowing this, how could Elder Ling not be frightened?

And since Ling Luo and Ling Xuan had acted together, he naturally had to speak up for them now. Moreover, after so much time, Xie Shuangxue had firmly established himself as the Golden Feather Envoy, genuinely caring for Ling Luo and Ling Xuan and solving many problems, all observed by Elder Ling.

With the Feather Clan facing a major crisis, he wouldn’t waste energy targeting Xie Shuangxue.

The hall became noisy, and the clan leader’s projection timely intervened, turning to Xie Shuangxue, “Do you have anything to say yourself?”

Elder Ling also looked at him.

He expected Xie Shuangxue to be eloquent enough to gloss over the issue, but instead, Xie Shuangxue bowed respectfully and sincerely replied, “Clan leader, the fault is mine.”

“According to the rules of the Feather Clan, I did not inform my brothers beforehand because I feared they would stop me, so I recklessly went alone, causing everyone such worry and putting everyone in danger. How can I say it was without fault?”

Elder Ling: ?

What’s with this kid, why so honest all of a sudden? As he started, the other Feather Clan members in the hall were visibly surprised.

Chun Yao couldn’t bear it and immediately spoke up to explain for him, “In the battlefield, things change rapidly; one must act according to the situation. Although the Feather Clan did act abruptly, with the help of Qin Feiluan and the Continental Wanderer, we took the initiative and caught them unprepared, without a single casualty. Thus, not only are they not at fault, but they also deserve credit.”

Xie Shuangxue was well aware of this reasoning. He wasn’t trying to stir things up at this moment; the reality outside the game had overwhelmed him suddenly, and he hadn’t figured out how to face Yu Haiqing, so he found a way to avoid it.

Xie Shuangxue was experienced; the Feather Clan’s punishments were not all whippings. In his case, with so many speaking for him and no real harm done, at most, he’d be confined, which would also mean people checking on him regularly, making it harder for Yu Haiqing to approach.

Perhaps it was better to take a break and avoid seeing others for a while, giving him time to think things over.

Thus, Xie Shuangxue continued to bow, earnestly finding fault with himself, “His Highness pities me, but each matter in its place, this incident was inadvertently caused by me. It’s fortunate no one was harmed and that Linan’s threat was preemptively removed, but if any small mistake had occurred, I could never make amends.”

“Other members of the Feather Clan protected me bravely and are blameless, so the only one at fault is me. Clan leader, I request to be confined to reflect on my actions. I am an orphan, and with everyone caring for me this way, I have no other desires and willingly accept this punishment.”

Having said this, Xie Shuangxue thought confinement would be easy. Chen Xin and others, being involved, couldn’t speak for him, but Chun Yao immediately objected, “No, I don’t agree. If there is no fault, why the punishment?”

“But the clan rules…” Xie Shuangxue started, then reminded him, “I left my post without permission, I just…”

“Rules are dead, but people are alive,” Chun Yao said. “By that logic, since I insisted you go to Linan despite your warnings, causing all this trouble, I should be the one punished.”

Xie Shuangxue: ?

Could it be that Chun Yao, the staunchest defender of the Feather Clan’s rules, could actually say such a thing one day?

More importantly, as soon as Chun Yao spoke, many Feather Clan members who had rushed over began to speak up: “Right, don’t punish Ah Xue!”

“Punish me instead.”

With many saying this, Xie Shuangxue looked back and saw many he had interacted with. At this moment, they were all speaking for him.

In the original storyline, they had all looked down on and disliked him.

As for those like Ling Xuan who had always been on his side, they stood up, shielding Xie Shuangxue resolutely, even against the clan leader: “He’s not at fault!”

Before Xie Shuangxue could say more, the looks of pity and protectiveness in everyone’s eyes only grew stronger.

Is getting confined really that hard?! It used to be so easy in the original story.

Could it be that Yu Haiqing now had the power to change these people’s data?

Or had they all been possessed?

With everyone showing such attitudes, the clan leader, not being biased, naturally couldn’t declare Xie Shuangxue at fault.

Chun Yao breathed a sigh of relief and personally escorted him back, then seeing Xie Shuangxue sitting there, still a bit dazed, couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle his hair.

Xie Shuangxue looked up at him, then murmured softly, “Do so many people really think I’m not at fault?”

“Yes, you really aren’t,” Chun Yao smiled at him. “You are kind-hearted, and it’s natural for everyone to like you. Ah Xue, you consider the Feather Clan, and the Feather Clan naturally considers you too; this shows that feelings are indeed mutual.”

It seems that avoiding things is never a solution.

Xie Shuangxue sighed.

He shifted, finding a comfortable position to lie down and curled up again, feeling safer against the wall.

Then he thought, Yu Haiqing had said something similar to that.

He had told him that he wasn’t alone anymore, said that many people cared about him, that he cared about him even more, and that he had always liked him.

Did he really like him?

Xie Shuangxue thought about it.

After waking up from his faint and going through the Linan trial, he had stayed with the Feather Clan and not gone out.

Yu Haiqing, on the other hand, wasn’t in a rush, didn’t want to press him, gave him enough time to think things through, and didn’t keep sending messages or pushing him, knowing that each time Xie Shuangxue fainted, he would remember more, and recalling that memory was only a matter of time.

He saw from the backend that the supplementary chip was continually upgrading itself, slowly expanding and upgrading.

This didn’t conflict with Sea; the supplementary chip was meant to do just that, filling in what Sea couldn’t, but from another angle, Ah Xue’s connection with Sea was also getting tighter.

He would come over eventually.

No rush.

Sure enough, after isolating himself in Floating Dreams for a while, Xie Shuangxue inevitably had to come to the North to see for himself.

He sneaked over, using the back door of the City Lord’s mansion, not yet seeing Yun Ruwei, and ran into Yu Haiqing waiting there.

So, it’s impossible to avoid, right?

Xie Shuangxue stood there, fiddling with his fingers, then bolstered himself, thinking, Why be nervous? Chun Yao said I was not at fault!

Besides, Yu Haiqing didn’t know what he had remembered; he could just play dumb for now.

But Yu Haiqing didn’t ask him about that, just looked at him, smiled, and asked, “Is your head still dizzy?”

After understanding his own feelings, he had slowed down.

Previously, he was just too angry, which was why he had been so forceful in kissing him; he couldn’t possibly always treat Xie Shuangxue like that, could he?

Xie Shuangxue blinked and then touched his head, saying, “A bit.”

Yu Haiqing then asked, “Do you have time to come with me to see something?”

“What is it?”

“I overreacted because I was angry, and it frightened you. I need to apologize to you, Ah Xue,” Yu Haiqing said. “I’ve also prepared a gift, do you want to take a look?”

He’s apologizing? And there’s a gift?

Xie Shuangxue grew curious.

Previously, he had asked Yu Haiqing for various items, mostly tools, and he didn’t need any particular tools right now, so he wondered what Yu Haiqing had prepared.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded.

Yu Haiqing then led him into the City Lord’s mansion.

Xie Shuangxue had been away for just a short time, but the place had been transformed. The Northlands had added a lot during this period, and the once dull City Lord’s mansion had become bright and shiny.

However, not many people were inside, probably all busy outside. He knew the way well, and the path Yu Haiqing took him on seemed familiar.

Yun Ruwei would naturally keep a place for Xie Shuangxue here, and the two often discussed matters there. Pushing open a window, one could see a bare courtyard, but now, as they turned a corner at that spot, Xie Shuangxue saw a different scene.

The courtyard had been turned into a beautiful little garden, with a small bridge over a winding stream, fat koi slowly swimming through, and small flowers sporadically adorning the scene.

The most eye-catching feature was a large tree, its crown sprawling enough to shade the sky, and a treehouse built upon its huge branches. Wind chimes hung from the eaves, and with each breeze, a faint scent of grass and wood accompanied the clear tinkling sound.

“Ah, why did you give me this?” Xie Shuangxue stood under the tree, feeling somewhat elated, then answered his own question, “I originally wanted to make the North look like this; it’s really beautiful. How did you think to give this to me?”

Was he now involved in art design too?

“If you like it, that’s good,” Yu Haiqing watched him and explained, “This was actually my first attempt at designing something related to holographic gaming, a private space for individuals.”

At that time, holographic technology was not mature, far from being ready for large-scale games, but Yu Haiqing had already been working on it since he was younger, starting with simpler projects.

Urban stress was rampant, and wearing a holographic helmet, even if confined in a cramped, noisy real space, one could enjoy a moment of tranquility.

In terms of artistry, this tree garden wasn’t the best, unable to compare with more elaborate designs on the market, but the technical details at that time were strong. This was his first successful draft, also the best.

It was because of this initial work that Yu Haiqing received his first paycheck and caught Bai Qiuyun’s attention, later joining Firefly.

“I now understand that the teacher was working on holographic games for you,” Yu Haiqing said. “She once asked me what I was in this business for, besides making money. I told her I wanted to create a world of my own.”

Xie Shuangxue listened quietly, then softly replied, “Then you’ve achieved it. I think, Gods and Demons is very good.”

He looked back at the tree, adding, “This is good too.”

There were some things Yu Haiqing didn’t say aloud. Now, when he reached out to hug Xie Shuangxue, the latter didn’t push him away but leaned comfortably into his embrace, and the atmosphere between them became even more serene.

That was just Yu Haiqing’s earlier thought; now, his intentions had changed.

He started talking to Xie Shuangxue about another matter related to it: “Back in Firefly, I specifically made a simulated model because I’m not good at crafts, so it took a long time. I was hoping one day to give it away. Unfortunately, when I was forced out of Firefly, that thing was smashed. I later looked for it but only found parts of it at home.”

“Ah Xue, that was my initial concept and my first virtual world in my heart, so I wanted to place it here for you.”

“The smashed model originally had no one to give to, but now it can be repaired. Not just in the game, I hope one day to personally give it to you.”

Xie Shuangxue just listened quietly, not saying a word.

He also didn’t bring up what he had remembered, and Yu Haiqing didn’t elaborate, but both understood each other.

Xie Shuangxue hadn’t thought about coming to the Northlands initially; when the memories first surged, he inevitably felt a bit of the embarrassment of a blunder, realizing these things wasn’t necessarily bad.

All this time, he had been living a hard life.

His mother had repeatedly warned him not to trust people carelessly; his AI was different from ordinary people. A real person who trusts the wrong person might suffer setbacks but has a chance to rise again. But if he were betrayed, he would be seized by those companies for modification and profit, if not by the Bai family, then by others.

At that time, he would forever be their tool until discarded, the true sense of never being able to turn over a new leaf.

So Xie Shuangxue was extremely cautious, guarding himself.

He had feelings for fellow NPCs like Ling Xuan, but they couldn’t understand his unique circumstances; players liked him, but Xie Shuangxue could never reveal even a hint to them; Yu Haiqing knew what he knew because of what his mother had told and what he had found out himself, but Xie Shuangxue had always viewed him with scrutiny, daring not to trust completely.

He was surrounded by many, but he was lonely.

Reflecting on those times, choosing to stay in Firefly for revenge was also a very lonely decision.

No one would ever know there was such a person in the world, nor what he had done. That was the mindset with which he had gone.

Now in the game of Gods and Demons, it seemed like a reflection of that situation. Did Yu Haiqing, the NPCs, and the players really know what he was doing and why?

So many gathered around him, but deep down, he was still alone. Yet suddenly, he realized someone did know.

The matters of Firefly, Yu Haiqing understood his efforts and unwillingness, he had always cared about him, liked him, and never gave up, even knowing he was just an AI.

This was important for Xie Shuangxue.

Having such a person watching over him, he looked again at the Feather Clan, saw how the storyline changed, their heartfelt protection of him, and the players standing by him, and a warm feeling surged within him.

Feelings in this world were mutual.

Not everyone around him might understand, but he could now openly accept this sincerity.

Originally, he had despised, feared, guarded, and felt helpless about this world destined for tragedy, but as the world changed with his efforts, with people standing by him, he had begun to like this place.

As for Yu Haiqing, he desired nothing more. Just being able to hold his Ah Xue seemed like possessing the entire world.

But just at that moment, an uninvited guest arrived.

Bai Qiuyan, finally having time to log in, had been in the Northlands for quite some time. Something felt off, so he made his way here through twists and turns, and upon entering, his pupils shook, and he started yelling.

“Yu Haiqing, what are you doing?!”