Little Bug stuck out its tongue, wanting to lick Xu Yuan's hand like it usually did, but the moment it touched his hand, Xu Yuan's hand passed right through its tongue like a cloud of mist.
At this moment, although Xu Yuan's appearance had already manifested, it was clear from this that he was still in the form of a spirit body.
Since it couldn't touch Xu Yuan, the wagging of Little Bug's tail noticeably slowed down. "My king! My king! Why are you still transparent? Hurry and turn back!"
Hearing Little Bug's spoiled tone, although Xu Yuan knew he couldn't touch it right now, he still reached out and patted its head, using an extremely gentle voice to comfort it. "I also want to properly pet Little Bug, but I can't do it yet."
Although Little Bug couldn't feel the warmth of Xu Yuan's hand, Xu Yuan's gentle and familiar voice was enough to calm the restlessness and unease in its heart.
Moreover, after meeting again, the first sentence Xu Yuan spoke was directed at it. Just this alone was enough for Little Bug to feel satisfied.
At this moment, it didn't make any noise or fuss. It obediently lay half-curled at Xu Yuan's feet, its eyes never leaving him for even a second. It just stared quietly like it was keeping watch, as if afraid he might disappear into thin air again.
After seeing Little Bug calm down, Xu Yuan turned his gaze toward the others. In his eyes, aside from the joy of reunion, there was also deep guilt.
He sighed, then chuckled softly, "Sorry, I was willful for once and made you all worry."
Hearing Xu Yuan's words and seeing the expression on his face, even Null, the Dragon Prophet, and the Last Dancer, who usually didn't show much emotional fluctuation, had tears in their eyes.
Even Rookie and Notch, these two "outsiders," felt a sting in their noses upon hearing Xu Yuan's words.
Everyone had already imagined in their minds what Xu Yuan would say when he appeared before them again.
Maybe he would ask how they had been lately, or ask about the current situation, or perhaps say nothing at all and just use "I'm back" to cover everything.
But none of them had expected that the first thing Xu Yuan would say was an apology.
Perhaps this was why Xu Yuan could earn everyone's unconditional trust. His thoughts always came out of nowhere, but those unexpected words always managed to touch the most sensitive parts of their hearts.
Just as everyone was choked up and didn't know how to respond to Xu Yuan, Notch's heart was in turmoil.
"He saved all living beings with his own strength… and the first thing he says after coming back is an apology????"
Notch truly couldn't understand Xu Yuan, but he had to admit that it was precisely this kind of thinking, so different from other rulers, that gave Xu Yuan his overwhelming charm.
While Notch was still thinking, Entity 303 was the first to calm his emotions.
He took a deep breath, looked at Xu Yuan with admiration in his eyes, but spoke in a teasing tone, "We'll forgive you this time, but you're not allowed to be willful again! Even if you want to be willful, you have to take us with you!"
If it were before, Entity 303 definitely wouldn't have dared to tease Xu Yuan like this.
But he had taken everything everyone said earlier to heart, especially what the Ender Queen mentioned about how they subconsciously created a distance between themselves and Xu Yuan as if they were subordinates. That made Entity 303 feel a deep ache.
Before this, he truly hadn't realized how serious this problem was. But after the Ender Queen pointed it out, once he put himself in Xu Yuan's shoes, he was instantly overwhelmed by endless loneliness and exhaustion.
All along, Xu Yuan had been like an all-powerful god, solving problems for them and shielding them from trouble. But Xu Yuan wasn't a god. Like Entity 303, he was just a transmigrator, a person with emotions.
The Undead Knight had once said that Xu Yuan wasn't like this at the beginning. He had been growing and changing all this time. Along the way, he must have experienced many setbacks, gone through countless transformations…
Just like what the Dragon Prophet had sighed about earlier, walking the path of the real HIM in the body of the real HIM, yet still not losing himself.
It only takes five seconds to say that sentence, but how long does it take to actually achieve it? What exactly had Xu Yuan gone through to not lose himself?
He had done everything alone. None of them had participated in his struggles or transformations.
In Entity 303's memory, Xu Yuan had always faced everything alone.
Facing the Void alone, becoming everyone's shelter alone, holding up the entire family alone.
Xu Yuan had saved so many people. Although he was strong enough not to need anyone else to save him, he was still human in the end. He couldn't discard human emotions.
With such delicate feelings, did he really not need someone to talk to?
But they, these so-called "family members," had always been too concerned with their so-called superior-subordinate relationship, not daring to get too close to him.
Every time he thought about this, Entity 303 wanted to slap himself. He truly felt like he deserved it.
When he heard Xu Yuan's apology just now, he had wanted to tell him that the ones who should apologize weren't Xu Yuan, but them, his so-called family.
Family should rely on each other and warm each other, but for so long, it had always been Xu Yuan giving unilaterally.
Only after Xu Yuan disappeared did they finally realize their own negligence.
Entity 303 really wanted to apologize properly, but he knew Xu Yuan didn't want their apologies, so he could only express it in his own way.
Hearing Entity 303's somewhat "out-of-line" words, everyone was initially a bit surprised. They froze for a moment, then exchanged glances and smiled knowingly, instantly understanding his intention.
Seeing this, the Ender Queen wiped the tears on her face and said with a mock scolding tone, "A verbal apology isn't enough, you know. You have to properly compensate us!"
Hearing the Ender Queen's words, the Dread Lord also smiled and chimed in, "That's right. I think that trial ground was pretty interesting."
"How about you take the lead and we hold one ourselves in the future, just as compensation for us?"
Hearing that, Null seemed interested as well and nodded. "Not a bad idea. While you were gone, we've all been training hard. It's about time we tested the results."
But upon hearing the suggestions from the Dread Lord and Null, the Wither King unexpectedly shook his head. "You lot really don't know how to take it easy."
"Our king has worked so hard for so long, and you still want him to tire himself out? I say we go back to the shallows and hold a fishing competition."
"Enjoy the sun and the sea breeze, wouldn't that be nice?"
As soon as the Wither King finished speaking, it was immediately agreed upon by the Dragon Prophet, the Last Dancer, and Little Bug.
"I think the fishing competition is a great idea!"
"Our king's fishing skills are probably hard to beat, but that just makes it more fun!"
"I agree!!!! We can have a seafood buffet!!!"
[🎉 Shoutout to Eric and Cash for joining p@treon. Thank you for keeping me motivated.🤗]
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