Chapter 2704: Chapter 2705: Letting Go
The Wise Sovereign expressed his "unwelcome" sentiment toward Sanders through his actions.
Although he was worried that the Wood Spirit might be affected by Sandersâ "character," it would be better to let the Wood Spirit meet Sanders rather than have Sanders show up personally at the Underground Aqueduct.
The Wise Sovereignâs tendency to avoid conflict with Sanders wasnât due to fear; he simply wanted to avoid any association with the Barbarian Cave.
The Illusion Demon Island is one of the rare main battle factions within the Barbarian Cave, and Sanders is its leader. His opinions and decisions can impact the entire Barbarian Cave.
The Barbarian Cave is a formidable giant, previously uninvolved in Naraku City. If Sanders or the Barbarian Cave starts paying attention to Naraku City due to the Wood Spirit, itâs not good news for the Wise Sovereign.
Even though Angel also originates from the Barbarian Cave and holds significant importance, their influence on the Barbarian Caveâs strategies differs considerably.
Therefore, the Wise Sovereign would rather accept Angelâs presence in Naraku City than see Sanders appear here.
Of course, it would be even better if Angel hadnât appeared in Naraku City at all. But since Angel is here now, he has no choice but to accept it.
At least Angelâs power is not yet high. The Wise Sovereign believes that, with a mix of coercion and sweetness, he can find ways through contracts to prevent Angel from divulging information about Naraku City to key decision-makers of the Barbarian Cave.
The above is the internal contemplation of the Wise Sovereign.
However, he wasnât aware that Angel had actually already conveyed information about Naraku City through the Wilderness of Dreams.
Moreover, Sanders hasnât completely ignored Naraku City. Heâs more concerned about it than the Wise Sovereign imagines; after all, Naraku City was the first place he entered the Nightmare Realm. Nowadays, Sanders frequently enters and exits the Nightmare Realm, so naturally, he cares about its corresponding location.
But in reality, the Wise Sovereign might be overthinking it.
Even if the decision-makers of the Barbarian Cave, whether Ironclad Granny or Lord Reine, know Naraku City holds secrets, they wouldnât be too interested.
Firstly, the Barbarian Cave is already quite busy.
Whether itâs dealing with the Xinai Land beneath the Star Pond or the disasters in the nearby Eternal Night Country, the Barbarian Cave needs to spend time and resources.
Apart from that, thereâs also the Tea Party soon to be held, along with the eventual emergence of the Peach Heart Theater. The former is a grand event for Southern Domain Witches, and the latter may attract Wizards from across the realm and even the Origin World. Just these two matters alone demand focus and effort. Naraku City? Secrets? Theyâre better left aside.
Secondly, if Naraku Cityâs secrets are unguarded, they might find some free time to explore. However, Naraku City still has the magical energy array running, and not only is the Wise Sovereign there, but more unknown ancient creatures remain dormant within. While taking the effort might defeat them, the ancient creatures could erase or destroy the secrets before losing. Itâs not worth the risk involved.
Thirdly, Naraku Cityâs geographical position is quite "delicate," being situated in the stirring Gumman Kingdom. During this period, various forces are maneuvering within the Gumman Kingdom, exploring Naraku City might instead alert these forces. Itâs one thing if they simply notice the exploration of Naraku City, but if it leads to assumptions of open interference in the Gumman Kingdom, that wouldnât be favorable.
Even after the turbulence in the Gumman Kingdom subsides, Naraku City isnât suitable for blatant exploration. Because for the Land of Sore and Wound, even minor ailments could be magnified by public opinion. Especially since Naraku City isnât just any normal ruin, housing unknown and powerful Extraordinary life, making it a bomb ready to explode with unpredictable consequences.
All involved parties, major organizations, the Gumman royal family, extreme sects waving their banners, and the most unfortunate common people, could all be dragged in.
Overall, in the short term, the Barbarian Cave wonât make Naraku City exploration a decision-level priority.
As for the longer term, the Barbarian Cave likely wonât show much interest in Naraku City.
The Southern Domain Wizard World hides too many mysteries, many places clearly known for secretive nature remain unexplored due to caution.
Secrets and crises, in a sense, equate to the same thing.
What Naraku Cityâs secret is remains unknown. But the crisis is evident: those ancient creatures like the Wise Sovereign.
Even for a giant like the Barbarian Cave, handling that would require full efforts or a more prolonged approach of attrition.
Yet, this wouldnât aid in acquiring secrets; rather, it might easily destroy them. After all, they know little of the ancient creaturesâ strengths, but they could guess the depth of their obsession.
When an obsession reaches a certain magnitude, itâs impossible to yield.
As Jon would put it, itâs better to break jade than hold onto a tile.
So, why bother?
The Wise Sovereign, long confined within the Underground Aqueduct, misjudges the situation somewhat; if he kept abreast of external developments and planted insiders in various witcher organizations, he wouldnât be fretting excessively.
No matter how wise, without actual and accurate intel, one can end up falling to inferior positions.
But this doesnât affect Angel much, in fact, it might benefit him.
At least, the Wise Sovereign, to avoid Naraku City drawing attention, wouldnât dare "move" against Angel, opting for "sweetness" to ensure Angelâs confidentiality. As for the accompanying threat of coercion? Angel wouldnât resist; heâd cooperate willingly, leaving room for only kindness to come through.
Ultimately, Angel is the beneficiary of the Wise Sovereignâs internal extrapolation and concerns.
Therefore, excessive extrapolation isnât advantageous. Moreover, those who indulge in conspiracy theories often head toward the extremes of persecution delusions, which at times, becomes shackles of their own creation.
...
"So, the Wise Sovereign agreed to let me take the Wood Spirit to meet the Mentor?" Angel reconfirmed.
The Wise Sovereign, willing to prevent Sandersâ visit, naturally considered agreeing. However, before nodding, he hadnât forgotten the Wood Spirit is still his student, requiring its confirmation, in addition to Angelâs one-sided argument, before consenting.
"Whatâs your thought? Do you truly wish to meet your master from before your Spiritual Birth?" The Wise Sovereign looked at the Wood Spirit.
Perhaps aware that this involves the "Significant Spiritual Event" concerning its departure, the Wood Spirit, despite its timid nature, quickly replied audibly, rather than drafting letters with tendrils.
"Yes... Teacher."
The Wood Spiritâs voice is very faint, age-neutral, with no gender preference, yet overwhelmingly humble, buzzing, muffled, akin to an inaudible murmuring from dust, almost unnoticeable. If not for the present silence, they might not catch the Wood Spiritâs voice.
"He was unaware of your existence. Meeting you may not recognize you. Have you considered this?" The Wise Sovereign asked again, targeting the crux.
The Wood Spiritâs response remained firm, "I want to go."
The Wise Sovereign suspected the Wood Spirit hadnât grasped his point; likely, it simply wished to leave the monster-laden Underground Aqueduct for the human world outside, despite its malevolence. Spirits naturally gravitate toward humans.
With a slight sigh, the Wise Sovereign accepted the answer, although it left him slightly disappointed. In the Wood Spiritâs world, he too was just a "monster."
This momentary sorrow of the Wise Sovereign was so subtle that even Angel hadnât noticed, but the Wood Spirit might have sensed it.
It spoke a long sentence for the first time.
"I respect the Mentor, even though I also fear the Mentor... but that doesnât stop me from having the same feelings for the Mentor."
The Wood Spirit shows fear toward the Wise Sovereign because of its innate flaws, which are inherent and have physiological feedback issues, or rather... a defect. An uncontrollable fear, an uncontrollable timidity, an uncontrollable terror of non-human living beings.
But a defect is still just a "disease." Although hard to treat, it does not affect its thinking ability. It can see the Wise Sovereignâs concern and also sense the care from the Wise Sovereign.
After hundreds of years of companionship, the Wood Spirit understands the Wise Sovereignâs intentions very well. He regards a flawed self as an Inheritorâhow could the Wood Spirit not be grateful?
However, physiological feedback of timidity makes it difficult to control itself.
The Wood Spirit deciding to leave is not simply to "approach humans." It merely made a choiceâa choice to see if it could change itself.
How to change an innate character flaw? The Wood Spirit doesnât know, but the Wise Sovereign taught it that when unable to handle something, it could find ways to trace back to the source and find a solution from there.
The Wood Spirit doesnât know if tracing back can solve its problem, but it wants to try.
Perhaps its former master, Sanders, knows how to solve its problem? Or maybe when it sees Sanders, the character issue may heal miraculously?
It sounds naive, but there is an underlying reason. The Wood Spirit feels this way because it can accept being in Angelâs hands.
Previously, it could not accept being touched in any form, but with Angel, it could.
The reason? The glove.
The glove Angel wears is the same one Sanders once wore. Moreover, the Wood Spirit can sense that Sanders once used the same glove to hold it before it became the birth spirit.
Because of this premise, the Wood Spirit is more determined to see Sanders.
Itâs not that it doesnât remember the kindness of the Wise Sovereign, but it knows its excessive timid reactions can hurt the Wise Sovereign. Solving its character defect is a hopeful aspiration and a way to respond to the Wise Sovereignâs affection.
So, itâs not that the Wood Spirit doesnât care. If it didnât care about the Wise Sovereign, how could it notice the Wise Sovereignâs emotional changes immediately?
How could it, for the first time in its Spirit life, express an emotional confession?
"Mentor, I have to go for a reason, and I will definitely come back."
The two sentences from the Wood Spirit left the Wise Sovereign stunned for quite a while. The Wood Spirit spoke very briefly, but the Wise Sovereign understood the Wood Spirit deeply and probably guessed its thoughts.
Although the Wise Sovereign initially taught the Wood Spirit out of personal interest, because the Wood Spirit was a blank slate he could color. Even if it betrayed him, he could see it at a glance. This fit the Wise Sovereignâs need for control.
But, after hundreds of years of teaching and companionship, that personal interest had long vanished. The Wise Sovereign genuinely regarded the Wood Spirit as its Inheritor.
The Wise Sovereign knew about the Wood Spiritâs character flaws, and never expected emotional returns from the Wood Spirit.
But at this moment, the Wise Sovereign was still stunned.
Emotions overflowed uncontrollably.
Not to mention Angel, even those around could see the profound care and undisguised emotion in the Wise Sovereignâs eyes as he looked at the Wood Spirit.
However, the Wood Spiritâs statement also brought some side effects.
The Wise Sovereignâs feeling of reluctance continued to rise.
If at this moment, Angel said, "Let Sanders come here to see the Wood Spirit," perhaps the Wise Sovereign would have agreed.
Ultimately, the Wise Sovereign was rational. He saw through the Wood Spiritâs pursuit and acknowledged the Wood Spiritâs choice.
Holding onto the affection, like constantly feeding food into the beaks of hungry fledglings, might allow their bodies to grow, but mere feeding does not teach fledglings how to fly, let alone teach them how to hunt and be self-reliant.
No matter how reluctant, the Wise Sovereign knew that the Wood Spiritâs willingness to take a step forward was correct. Even if it suffered outside, thatâs a necessary price for growth.
"Alright." The Wise Sovereign contained his reluctance and spoke softly.
"Iâve agreed to your going out, and you can come back too. But, itâs best if you come back alone."
The Wise Sovereignâs words sounded like a threat, but they were actually his encouragement.
Being able to come back alone is also a mark of the Wood Spiritâs growth.
...
After resolving the matter of the Wood Spiritâs departure, the Wise Sovereign gently exhaled a breath and looked again at Angel.
"The Wood Spirit following you is its choice, and I also agree with its choice, but I donât want to see it fall halfway up the mountain before learning to fly."
Angel understood the Wise Sovereignâs meaningâit was merely a concern that he might have ill intentions toward the Wood Spirit, or fail to protect the Wood Spirit well.
However, although he understood, figuring out how to answer the Wise Sovereign was a challenge.
Promises are always pleasing to the ear. However, the call of a dying kingfisher is also pleasing.
So, how to make the Wise Sovereign trust him, Angel could not give an absolute answer.
"Does the Wise Sovereign have any requirements?" Since he couldnât give an absolutely satisfactory answer, he let the Wise Sovereign decide.
The Wise Sovereign seemed to have anticipated Angelâs response and said directly, "Use the True Words Tome as a contract, and promise me these requirements."
After he finished speaking, the Wise Sovereign waved his hand, and the pages of the True Words Tome displayed a contract in plain sight.
Angelâs gaze fell on the True Words Tome, his eyebrows slightly raised.
The contract naturally had penalties, which were severe, but the reward section was blank.
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