Chapter 2688 Mental Journey <TOC> Chapter 2690 Stick Figure
Translator: SumTLMan
The staff had no support whatsoever, yet it stood upright on the void path.
Angel, on the other hand, closed his eyes, wearing a look of calm composure.
At a glance, Angel seemed to be “fishing,” as though waiting for a fish to bite. In reality, however, Angel was already making up excuses in his mind: if the Wood Spirit never showed up, how could he fool the others into thinking he really had found the Wood Spirit, rather than simply putting on a mysterious act?
After all, right now it was nothing more than one-sided talk.
He was troubled, so very troubled.
“The intention that my lord mentioned, could it be whether the Wood Spirit itself is willing to appear?” Kael muttered.
“That’s probably what he means. What he’s doing is absolutely…” Daus paused, hesitating over whether to say aloud the words stuck in his throat: “Has your brain been devoured by a parasitic sandworm?”
He felt stifled not saying it, but he also worried that voicing it might hamper his “friend-making” progress.
While Daus was torn, Vai sighed with emotion: “Lord has already found the Wood Spirit, yet he still cares about respecting the Wood Spirit’s wishes. If the Wood Spirit doesn’t want to appear, he definitely won’t force it… he’s so gentle.”
The moment Vai finished speaking, Daus was astonished. He turned his head and stared at Vai with a look of deep skepticism that seemed to say: “Are you serious?”
However, Vai paid no attention to Daus and continued voicing similar sentiments.
Daus said: “That’s enough for you to praise him? Back when we were on the outskirts of the Burning Plane, I saved you and ended up getting my entire body burned to a crisp by the dark fire. Why didn’t you call me gentle then?”
Vai replied: “Aren’t you exaggerating a bit? It merely singed your back slightly. How did it become an all-over burn? Besides, you’re part of the bloodline branch, so you healed yourself not long after.”
Daus retorted: “You’re calling the dark fire’s burst of flames just a ‘slight singe’? And what do you mean, ‘not long after’? I was recuperating for half a year before I finally healed.”
“Half a year isn’t that long,” Vai muttered, turning his head slightly with a guilty look.
Daus was so angry he wanted to drag Vai back to the Burning World and let the dark fire “slightly singe” him, just to see how he’d react.
This was blatant double standards!
Vai probably also felt he had gone too far with his words. After all, Daus had been saving him… Even though he had repaid that favor in various ways over the years, speaking like that was indeed somewhat inappropriate. So he fell silent: he neither retorted Daus nor continued praising Angel, instead quietly diminishing his presence.
Meanwhile, the Sovereign of Wisdom, having listened to Vai and Daus’ conversation, had intended to analyze their relationship and the information they revealed. Yet, when he got to the analysis phase, a phrase Vai had said earlier echoed in his mind: Lord has already found the Wood Spirit, and still considers respecting the Wood Spirit’s opinion… He’s so gentle.
The Sovereign of Wisdom couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander: Was Gold truly respecting the Wood Spirit’s wishes, or was he merely putting on a show for him to see?
He leaned more toward the latter. He was well aware that the Wood Spirit couldn’t be so easily swayed, and that, besides moving himself, this method would accomplish nothing.
If he wasn’t trying to sway the Wood Spirit, then he must be performing for me. After all, the Wood Spirit was a disciple he acknowledged, so such a show was entirely possible.
The Sovereign of Wisdom wasn’t terribly bothered by this kind of ulterior motive. That Angel was willing to “perform” in such a way actually showed that he was willing to improve their adversarial relationship. In that case, perhaps this piece on the chessboard, known as the “variable,” could be utilized, not necessarily following him entirely, but at least exerting some influence on his decisions.
In that event, should any negative variable arise, he would also have time to prepare a response.
As the Sovereign of Wisdom considered this, he was already beginning to strategize on how to maximize the use of Gold as a chess piece.
Yet, when he collected his thoughts, a faint voice arose in his mind:
“Is a chess piece that can be influenced and controlled truly worthy of being called a variable?”
A variable is simply the “unknown,” beyond measure or prediction, that’s what makes it a variable. If Gold could truly be controlled and bow down to him, would that not strip him of his status as a variable?
The Sovereign of Wisdom’s thoughts churned, and his expression shifted constantly, sometimes frowning, sometimes relaxing, sometimes doubtful, sometimes pensive, revealing how fierce the internal conflict was within his mind.
If Angel had known what was going through the Sovereign of Wisdom’s mind, he would probably have been grateful that he had not bowed down to the Sovereign of Wisdom.
The more intelligent a person is, the more they overthink. The more they overthink, the less they trust others.
With such people, upholding a precarious balance is often more effective for cooperation. If one were to lean wholly toward them, they wouldn’t easily place their trust in others without centuries or millennia of observation.
This also shows why the Sovereign of Wisdom chose the Wood Spirit as his disciple.
Apart from some shared misfortunes, the chief reason the Sovereign of Wisdom chose the Wood Spirit as his disciple was that he had a firm grasp on the Wood Spirit’s every movement.
When the Wood Spirit was first born, it was essentially a blank slate. Only by fully comprehending such a pure, flawless being could the Sovereign of Wisdom grant his unconditional trust.
Even though the Wood Spirit had many flaws, the Sovereign of Wisdom still didn’t abandon him for this very reason.
It was only that the Sovereign of Wisdom believed he had a handle on all of the Wood Spirit’s information, yet he alone overlooked one key point: the Wood Spirit’s physical body.
It wasn’t that he never tried to pursue the Wood Spirit’s body; rather, the Wood Spirit refused to cooperate. the Wood Spirit’s innate abilities made it extremely difficult for the Sovereign of Wisdom to unravel its secrets. Moreover, it was his own disciple; even if the Wood Spirit now harbored rebellious thoughts, he couldn’t bear to harm it.
As a result, the Sovereign of Wisdom had never truly understood the Wood Spirit’s origins.
Moreover, from the Sovereign of Wisdom’s own observations, the Wood Spirit’s extraordinary qualities emerged only after it manifested a spirit body. This implied that the Wood Spirit’s physical form was, in fact, quite ordinary, likely a mundane plant or some kind of man-made wooden item.
In either case, if the Wood Spirit’s body was truly ordinary, then its former owner was probably just a mortal or a low-level apprentice. The Sovereign of Wisdom would hardly pay attention to such people, as there was a high probability they were all dead.
Combining these various factors, the Sovereign of Wisdom no longer concerned himself with the Wood Spirit’s body. But what he never expected was that the body’s owner had indeed once been a very low-level apprentice, only he possessed an exceptionally high talent, and after a few centuries, had risen to become one of the top wizards in the Southern Region.
Even less did the Sovereign of Wisdom expect that, through a twist of fate, the disciple of that body’s owner would one day arrive here.
This could be considered the Sovereign of Wisdom’s oversight. By the time the final outcome was dissected, the Sovereign of Wisdom would likely acknowledge his mistake, for it was simply too coincidental, too unconventional to have easily prevented, even with foreknowledge of the result, it would have been difficult to preempt that gap.
Yet at this moment, the Sovereign of Wisdom remained unaware that everything was already predetermined; he still believed Angel’s current behavior was merely a Performance intended for him.
In truth, Angel truly was performing, yet he was not putting on a show for the Sovereign of Wisdom, but rather for the “audience.”
He knew that the Wood Spirit was present, but he could not locate any trace of it, and the Wood Spirit did not contact him either, leaving him with no other recourse.
Shouting and hollering here would do no good and would only make him lose face, so he might as well adopt a “whoever is willing will take the bait” posture, leaving everything to the Wood Spirit’s own decision.
And this was also the only thing Angel could do at that moment.
Angel did not know whether the Wood Spirit would appear or not, but he believed that most likely it would not.
Though the Wood Spirit had taken the initiative to contact him in consideration of Sanders, in the end, Sanders was merely its former master, and it was uncertain how much genuine emotion truly existed.
The Wood Spirit had not even truly seen Sanders after it gained sentience.
In Angel’s view, even if Sanders personally came here, the Wood Spirit might not show itself. He was only Sanders’ disciple, so it was quite normal if the Wood Spirit did not appear.
For this reason, Angel had already begun to prepare an explanation in advance, pondering how he might “perform” later so that everyone would understand he really had discovered the Wood Spirit, rather than simply fooling around here.
“Right, previously Vai mentioned that I’m respecting the Wood Spirit’s free will… maybe I can start from that angle,” Angel thought to himself, wondering whether he should enact a similar scenario.
Yet, would emphasizing the Wood Spirit’s freedom of choice be going too far? According to the information on the holographic tablet, on Earth one could do such a thing simply by elevating the issue to a matter of values, thus eliciting empathy from uninformed masses. Moreover, when technology entered a period of slow development, Earth was relatively peaceful, with many idle individuals and inciting organizations, along with advanced information networks, making it easier to manipulate the narrative and gain widespread credence.
But this place was not Earth. There was no efficient intelligence network, and speaking of respecting freedom and human rights would probably make people think he had taken leave of his senses.
Thinking along those lines, trying to leverage this topic might merely invite ridicule. So how should he perform it?
Angel sank into deep contemplation once again.
Of course, in other people’s eyes, Angel still appeared to be in absolute control. Yet as time went on without any development, doubts inevitably arose.
“Could he be playing us?” Daus murmured softly.
Because Angel had held that pose for quite a while without any response. Even Vai, let alone Daus, was beginning to waver at this moment.
“Should we perhaps call the lord?” Kael suggested.
“If he is busy, wouldn’t we just be disturbing him?” Vai asked hesitantly.
Daus retorted in irritation: “Does he look busy to you? Don’t be fooled by his façade. If you cut open his heart, it’s black inside.”
Having spoken, Daus gave Kael a nudge: “Go rouse him. Tell him if he really can’t find the Wood Spirit, then let’s hurry and switch to someone else. Don’t waste any more time.”
Vai: “…Why don’t you say it yourself, instead of making someone else do it?”
Daus responded in dead seriousness: “We’ll still have to see each other in the future, so let’s maintain some dignity for both sides.”
Kael had originally been ready to step forward, but upon hearing Daus’ comment, his footsteps faltered. If Daus wanted to save face, did that mean Kael was supposed to forfeit his own?
Furthermore, as Daus implied, if he were to wake Angel, wouldn’t that incur Angel’s displeasure? He certainly did not want that.
In an instant, Kael found himself in a predicament, his face full of despair.
Perhaps he sensed Kael’s unspoken plea, or maybe his performance had reached its conclusion, but after standing quietly with eyes closed for five minutes, Angel finally opened them.
Feigning a deliberate inspection of his surroundings, Angel confirmed that the area was utterly empty, then sighed: “It seems you still aren’t willing to come out with me, so be it. I respect your choice…”
As Angel spoke this line filled with emotion, transitioning from the initial helplessness and disappointment to earnest solemnity by the end, he portrayed it quite convincingly.
Yet the one regret for Angel was that he had not come up with any alternative scenario.
In the end, he chose to depict the “respect your freedom of choice” approach.
The main reason was that he had indeed wasted so much time here that there was no longer any opportunity to devise another scenario. If he had genuinely tried something, even if it ultimately failed, that would be another matter. But he had done practically nothing, entirely squandering time. Even with his thick skin, he still felt a bit sheepish.
Moreover, this particular storyline had been foreshadowed earlier by Vai, so even if its values felt discordant, at least the others had a bit of time to get used to the idea.
Most importantly, Angel had not forgotten that he was currently acting as a “streamer.”
Once the live broadcast ended and the curtain closed, he would revert to being the regular Angel. As for his performance just now, or any incongruity in values, that was all part of the streaming effect. What did it really have to do with him personally?
Having steeled himself mentally, Angel then gritted his teeth and began acting out this segment.
Because of his ability to sense emotions, Angel’s acting range had steadily broadened, and it felt increasingly authentic. Even though he did not put on a tearful display, the helplessness he conveyed was nonetheless deeply affecting.
If Wizard Mumin from Torch Institute were present, he would likely have been moved by Angel’s performance.
Angel refrained from speaking further, keeping his emotions in check and giving just enough.
Then, at the climax of the performance, according to Angel’s intended streaming effect, he would heave a sorrowful sigh and then leave in a flourish.
Ideally, the others would watch him step into the darkness, gradually fading from view, which would amplify the dramatic effect and spark the imagination.
However, in the instant Angel truly turned around in a sweep of his sleeves, he failed to notice that the clamor in the distance abruptly ceased.
Everything fell silent.
It was only after Angel had walked over a dozen steps and realized that not one person had offered any sort of reaction, not even Vai, the designated ‘best audience member’, that a sense of doubt crept into him.
Could it be… was there something wrong with his performance? Was it insufficiently profound? Or perhaps others had seen too many similar acts, making it impossible for them to empathize?
With a hint of unease, Angel paused, intending to “reshoot” a backward glance scene.
Although such a backward glance would typically be reserved for indecisive characters, this was a live broadcast, so the power to justify anything lay solely in the hands of the streamer, completely unrelated to him as Angel.
With this in mind, Angel adjusted his mindset, restored his expression, and executed a sudden turning of the head.
Angel was all set to deliver his “reshoot” lines, yet upon turning around, he was completely stunned.
For at some unknown moment, a wooden figure, almost equal to his own height, had suddenly appeared behind him!