Yun Ruowei thought about it, then leaned in closer and whispered so only the two of them could hear, “But you seem to have forgotten, Yun Panshan isn’t in my hands.”

Originally, Yun Panshan was supposed to die, but Xie Shuangxue had stubbornly saved him. Ever since, Yun Panshan had been kept under Feather Clan’s control.

On the night of the chaos at the City Lord’s Mansion, Yun Ruowei had initially planned to take Yun Panshan into her custody. But unlike Xie Shuangxue, Yun Panshan didn’t step out of the protection array, so her plan failed. The Feather Clan, realizing her intention, quickly took him away, leaving her with no further chance.

Now at Lu Yun Tower, the common folk had all fled, and the city was filled with demons and Skeleton Ghosts. The Feather Clan had retreated to outside the city, working with incoming reinforcements to decide their next steps, unable to act rashly.

Outside the city was beyond the influence of the spiritual pulse, so Yun Ruowei was powerless there.

“I wouldn’t bring it up if I didn’t have a way,” Xie Shuangxue replied in a voice only the two of them could hear. “Just trust me.”

Yun Ruowei raised her eyebrows, and Xie Shuangxue noticed her slight nod — a sign of agreement. He felt a bit relieved.

Xie Shuangxue had a good read on Yun Ruowei’s personality. After all, she was only in her teens; despite any amount of hatred, her mindset hadn’t evolved beyond that level. As long as he drew her in, she was actually easy to talk to.

Just like now, Yun Ruowei’s mood had significantly improved compared to when she had arrived.

Players couldn’t hear what the two were discussing in those last few lines, but they sensed a shift in Yun Ruowei’s demeanor as she left — the constraints on Xie Shuangxue and the room’s restrictions seemed to have loosened noticeably.

This meant the tension had eased between them.

Whoa, could it actually work like this?

Everyone thought things would turn chaotic after their sneaky rescue was exposed, but who could have expected this outcome?

Many players guessed that Yun Ruowei had possessed Yun Panlong, and quite a few tried approaching her, only to be sent back to respawn after failing to say a single word.

Yet, in front of Xie Shuangxue, she seemed so much easier to talk to.

… As expected of Xie Shuangxue.

Once she left, Xie Shuangxue finally relaxed and patted Yun Ren on the head, saying, “Alright, you can get up now. It’s over.”

Yun Ren stood, silently clinging to Xie Shuangxue, as though seeing him for the first time.

Yun Ruowei paid no attention to the players as she departed. Xie Shuangxue hurried over to untie them.

Sure, players could opt to respawn by dying if they wanted to leave, but with both Xie Shuangxue and Yun Ren here, only a fool would miss out on this, especially witnessing such an event.

Other than the overly biased Qiao Zhihui, most players noticed a subtle change.

Shi Jiu Jianghu had a serious expression.

He hadn’t been one to rush in before, but this time he’d charged in with Bai Qiuyan, and after hearing what Xie Shuangxue said, he didn’t see him as someone who had become evil. Instead, he felt a pang of sadness and even some heartache.

Sighing, he said, “Shuangxue, if we hadn’t taken you out back then, would none of this have happened?”

Thinking back, when the players happily gained Bond Value with Xie Shuangxue, maybe that was the first step toward his descent into darkness.

Xie Shuangxue was briefly stunned before replying, “What are you talking about? I’m fine, aren’t I?”

“Did I scare you just now? Sorry,” he laughed, “Didn’t I already tell you not to worry about me? I came here with my own plans.”

But the players felt a wave of sadness, and no one spoke.

“Leave now,” Xie Shuangxue said, “This path is my choice, and it has nothing to do with anyone else, so don’t think about taking me away.”

Though he said this, the players weren’t willing to give up. Qiao Zhihui looked at him, feeling like he still needed to protect Xie Shuangxue, and tried to persuade him, “Yun Ruowei is unpredictable. She may seem agreeable now, but what if things turn for the worse? Senior Brother Chen Xin and the others are all worried about you, Shuangxue. Come back with us.”

Hearing this, Xie Shuangxue’s smile gradually faded.

“Did you think I was just placating Yun Ruowei?” he sighed. “I’m tainted with demonic Qi. What good would it do to return? The rules of the Feather Clan are even stricter than those of the Yun family. If I go back now, my end might be worse than the Evil Sword.”

He took a deep breath and continued, “If you really want me to end up that way, then go ahead and drag me back.”

“No, no, no,” Qiao Zhihui shook his head hurriedly. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I only told you this because you’re important friends to me,” Xie Shuangxue said. “This is my fate, my choice. I never forget why I came to Lu Yun Tower. There’s someone behind Yun Ruowei, and I’ll never uncover the truth if I don’t get closer to her.”

The players listened to this, feeling even more at a loss for words.

They seemed to grasp more clearly that this was a pre-set storyline in the game, something they couldn’t alter. Perhaps Xie Shuangxue had always been far deeper than they’d imagined.

In the next moment, Xie Shuangxue pushed them out.

“This isn’t a place for you to be lingering,” he said. “Stop taking risks to find me; I’ll handle the rest myself.”

The more Xie Shuangxue said this, the stronger the players’ defiant resolve became.

“No way!” Qiao Zhihui declared. “I won’t leave you alone. No matter what you want to do, I’ll support you.”

Sometimes he could be surprisingly smart, like right now.

“You want to find Lord Yun, right? Yun Ruowei listened to your suggestion, so she’ll definitely go after Yun Panshan,” Qiao Zhihui continued. “He’s closely guarded by the Feather Clan, but we gave him the antidote, so he has some trust in us. Leave this part to us.”

Xie Shuangxue paused. “…Really?”

This was different from last time when they had secretly freed Lord Yun. Back then, Yun Panshan wasn’t directly tied to the main storyline, but now, with the tense situation at Lu Yun Tower, the players’ main quest involved protecting the Feather Clan’s camp from unexpected attacks, including dealing with the Skeleton Ghosts, and Lord Yun was part of it.

According to the original background, if Yun Panshan escaped, Yun Ruowei would kill him. But since his storyline wasn’t finished, he couldn’t die or leave his safe zone.

Getting Yun Panshan out would directly violate the main quest requirements.

So Xie Shuangxue needed to gauge the players’ stance.

The classic “to catch them, let them go” strategy — that’s exactly what it was.

“Absolutely!” Qiao Zhihui answered firmly, tugging at Shi Jiu Jianghu. “Guild Leader, we can’t mess this up now, can we?”

Shi Jiu Jianghu thought about it and agreed.

Following Xie Shuangxue’s plan, Yun Panshan wouldn’t die, and since he was hiding something, meeting Yun Ruowei might actually reveal more information. After all, with his connection to the Evil Sword, he should stand up at a time like this.

“Alright,” Shi Jiu Jianghu said, “Shuangxue, don’t worry. Whatever you need, we’ll help you.”

The moment he finished, a hidden quest notification rang out.

Sure enough, it was related to Lord Yun. The players quickly understood why this quest conflicted with the main storyline — and with a time limit, there wasn’t much time to think.

“More Bond Value! And it’s ranked by contribution.”

“I see it! The number of participants has increased to 30 slots. I’m in! The main storyline reward doesn’t have nearly as much as this one.”

“I’m coming to build up Bond Value with my Shuangxue! Wait for me!”

With Xie Shuangxue’s mission posted, more and more people were drawn to him. Instead of seeing danger, they eagerly charged forward.

Once Qiao Zhihui and the others left, some players couldn’t wait any longer.

Yu Haiqing didn’t know that the others would beat him to it.

Even Bai Qiuyan had become cautious, knowing this needed planning. But unexpectedly, Shi Jiu Jianghu, usually calm and steady, seemed possessed and insisted on taking a look himself.

“Xie Shuangxue will be fine,” Yu Haiqing had told him before, “He’s not suffering in there.”

If nothing else, Yu Haiqing was watching things unfold from behind the scenes.

Xie Shuangxue’s control over the demonic Qi he’d absorbed was smooth and intentional, showing he had never followed Chen Xin’s path.

Yu Haiqing had initially panicked, afraid that the storyline changes would harm Xie Shuangxue. But observing everything, he began to see something different.

For instance, the protective barrier that Xie Shuangxue had purposely broken, especially when he’d pushed Ling Luo aside — his reaction had been faster than Ling Luo’s, showing he could have evaded if he truly wanted to.

As Yu Haiqing pieced everything together, he realized it was all intentional.

In the standoff at the City Lord’s Mansion, he had arrived a bit late. He’d even listened in on what Xie Shuangxue said while holding Yun Mu hostage, and the more he heard, the clearer the purpose behind it became.

Logic told him that Xie Shuangxue was doing it on purpose.

Xie Shuangxue wanted to get closer to Yun Ruowei; he’d probably intended to “demonize” from the start. There was no need to save him, because pulling him out of the City Lord’s Mansion would only upset him.

Of course, Bai Qiuyan and his group of fans were still fussing, but Yu Haiqing saw it clearly — it was all Xie Shuangxue’s own planning.

And in that odd fan group Yu Haiqing had joined, their conversations might even be closer to the truth, though their attitudes were bizarre.

“The darker he gets, the more I love him.”

“No matter what, god or demon, he’s my treasured fish. Let everyone know!”

They were practically cheering on his “villainy.”

Yet Shi Jiu Jianghu didn’t believe a word Yu Haiqing said.

“No wonder Bai Qiuyan called you a jerk! You don’t get it. Xue’s got his own reasons,” Shi Jiu Jianghu snapped, glaring at him. “I never thought you’d be that kind of person.”

Yu Haiqing pressed his forehead in frustration. “…You too, now?”

Hadn’t he been clear-headed, only tagging along with Xie Shuangxue for personal gain? When did he become a fan?

The fan group often discussed things that went right over Yu Haiqing’s head. He’d even had to look up what “fish” meant, realizing it perfectly described certain people.

People like Shi Jiu Jianghu, who ignored all reasoning, or Bai Qiuyan, who was already deep in it.

Bai Qiuyan had once been reasonable, but once he saw Shi Jiu Jianghu also jumping in, along with Xie Shuangxue unbinding him and speaking to him first, even granting him the hidden quest, his jealousy clouded his judgment.

Without caring for any plan, he rushed in, fearing he’d miss out on a hidden quest slot and be left fuming.

Even Yu Haiqing, despite his claims of clarity, quickly mapped out a path to the City Lord’s Mansion, moving faster than Bai Qiuyan.

“I thought you weren’t worried?” Bai Qiuyan sneered. “So why are you rushing?”

Yu Haiqing glanced at him. “Because I think you alone with Xie Shuangxue is a bigger issue.”

Bai Qiuyan didn’t see the problem.

Some people were just in denial.

But teaming up with Jiu Shen increased their odds of successfully infiltrating the City Lord’s Mansion, so Bai Qiuyan kept his thoughts to himself.

And just as the hidden quest launched, Bai Qiuyan was the first to see Xie Shuangxue.

“Shuangxue!” He rushed over, checking him up and down. “Are you alright?”

Xie Shuangxue’s face brightened when he saw them, smiling. “I’m fine.”

He wasn’t lying. Ever since his conversation with Yun Ruowei, his situation at the City Lord’s Mansion had improved. Yun Ren was even by his side, and Yun Qiang, eager to help, was allowed in, bringing him plenty of supplies.

Unlike last time, he wasn’t in shackles, his complexion was rosy, no longer pale, and he’d hidden all traces of demonic Qi, looking perfectly well.

“I told you not to worry too much,” Yu Haiqing said, tugging Bai Qiuyan aside and reminding him, “Don’t get too close.”

Bai Qiuyan was crowding too much.

Look at that — the fish Xie Shuangxue had hooked, absolutely entranced.

Even if Xie Shuangxue was scheming, revealing his intentions live to everyone, they still believed he had his reasons, tending to him like he was fragile.

With that kind of charm, how could Yun Ruowei not treat him well?

Bai Qiuyan glared at him, trying to edge closer to Xie Shuangxue. “Ignore him, Shuangxue. He’s just weird.”

But Xie Shuangxue wasn’t offended. He looked at Yu Haiqing, seeming relieved.

“I don’t blame any of you. I’m just happy you came.”

“When I didn’t see you among the first Wanderers who came looking, I worried something happened to you, or that you were angry and wouldn’t come again.” His gaze stayed on Yu Haiqing. “Thankfully, you’re here now.”

Yu Haiqing, who’d been maintaining his composure: …

He couldn’t help looking at Xie Shuangxue, locking eyes with that smiling gaze.

And Yu Haiqing said nothing.

But Bai Qiuyan, who received a hidden quest notification just by being near Xie Shuangxue, saw the task update. Among the list of players in the quest, the name “Jiu” appeared.

Ha, and he says it’s not affecting him.

Bai Qiuyan snorted to himself. Seems like he can’t resist either.

First place for denial.