"This kind of question doesn’t seem like one you’d ask." After listening to Angel’s question, Zhou glanced lightly at the only two apprentices present: "I guess it’s these two kids asking, right?"
Angel: "That’s not important. Besides, I am capable of asking such questions too."
Zhou snorted, "Being protected by demons, followed by strong winds, and surrounded by an illusionary realm, if you still dare to ask such a question, then you’re quite cowardly."
Angel: "Facing an unknown path, being a little cowardly is not a bad thing."
As Zhou and Angel exchanged words, the questioning Vay had long since lowered his head in embarrassment. If he had known it would make the adults be mocked by that demon, he—he shouldn’t have asked this question.
However, it feels pretty good to be defended by the adults...
While Vay’s thoughts were a mess, on the other side, after a bit of sarcasm, Zhou eventually answered the question.
"For you, there’s nothing ahead worth mentioning as dangerous. It’s just a bunch of Ghosteye Witches who go crazy at the sight of blood. If you can’t even deal with the Ghosteye Witches, then you needn’t confront that existence."
Setting aside the emotional language, Zhou’s answer was more or less as Angel had guessed.
Indeed, where there are Ghosteye Witches, the Hanging Jail Stairway is not far.
However, Angel was still a bit puzzled, "As guards, don’t you stop those Ghosteye Witches?"
"There’s no need to stop them. They have existed for a long time." After hesitating for a moment, Zhou said, "They are raised by that existence, supposedly to study some traits of the Ghosteye Witches."
After Zhou finished speaking, he paused for a while, seemingly sensing the feedback from a contract. After confirming there were no violations, he sighed in relief, "Years ago, the Ghosteye Witches often hovered around the Hanging Jail Stairway. Since they can’t enter the real prison, just treat them as guard dogs. However, as time goes by, the number of these guard dogs has grown."
As Zhou finished speaking, Angel heard Dox’s voice in the Mind Ribbon: "Raised for experiments but still allowed to roam freely... That existence is really carefree. And the most important thing is, others see it and don’t care, directly treating Ghosteye Witches as ’guard dogs’? I can imagine how crazy the Hanging Jail Stairway was once."
Angel agreed with Dox’s words, but these were thoughts he’d keep to himself, maintaining a calm expression when facing Zhou.
"And then, are there any other dangers besides Ghosteye Witches? Aren’t any Magical Creatures imprisoned in the Hanging Jail Stairway?" Angel asked.
"As long as you don’t enter the Hanging Jail Stairway, the only danger you’ll face is the Ghosteye Witches. As for entering the Hanging Jail Stairway..."
Zhou paused for a moment, "I can’t say more."
Everyone: "..."
Zhou: "However, I can tell you, the Hanging Jail Stairway has already broken, and you can’t get to the upper floors. As for the lower floors, even back then, there was nothing too dangerous."
Dox’s voice came through the Mind Ribbon again: "What do you mean can’t get to the upper floors? As long as it’s in the relic, I don’t believe we can’t reach it!"
Angel silently replied, "You don’t need to comment on every word Zhou says. As for the Hanging Jail Stairway, it might not be in the relic."
Dox paused for a moment, "What do you mean?"
Angel: "Different Space."
Once a ladder in a Different Space is broken between the upper and lower layers, no one knows where the broken piece will drift in the plane corridors. So, what Zhou said wasn’t actually wrong.
On the other side, after mentioning the broken ladder, Zhou remained silent for a while, "I’ve said all I can about your question. If you have any more questions, ask them quickly. If not, that’s fine; if you have them, don’t be as boring as this question."
Following Zhou’s words, Angel immediately raised a question that wasn’t so boring and childish.
It was Kaier’s question.
What ill intent could Kaier have? He just wanted to know the history of Naraku City, even if it’s merely the corners.
However, after listening to Angel’s question, Zhou pondered for a long time before managing to utter, "This question definitely wasn’t from you."
Angel responded with a faint smile, admitting, "Among my companions, there’s one who’s very interested in archaeology."
Zhou: "I can’t answer that question. Also, I take back what I said earlier; I allow you to ask boring and non-nutritious questions."
Angel had guessed that Zhou couldn’t answer Kaier’s question. But seeing Zhou awkwardly swallow back his own words with a frustrated and intriguing expression made Angel feel like the question was worth it.
"Then I’ll ask another question, also posed by my companion." This time, Angel didn’t hide the identity of the questioner and directly brought Dox into the conversation.
"This companion of mine has a hobby of recovering bodies of pioneers and loves collecting valuable items. Zhou, do you have any advice for him?"
Zhou looked at the bewildered Dox who was dragged into the spotlight by Angel and let out a cold chuckle, "You said it best earlier, what pioneers? They’re all robbers."
With that, Zhou didn’t continue to mock Dox, thinking to himself, is there anyone here not out for profit? Zhou didn’t believe it.
So, although he mocked Dox a bit, he felt that Dox might be the most genuine among this group of people.
"Pursuing profit is not shameful, but unfortunately, there are very few benefits you can gain upfront. If you’re interested in the bodies of Ghosteye Witches, you can kill some of them. If I remember correctly, there are two Wizard-Level Ghosteye Witches there, and even at prices from ten thousand years ago, those two Ghosteye Witches are quite valuable."
Dox silently added in his mind: Now, even more valuable!
Wizard-level Magic Creatures are becoming increasingly rare in the Southern Domain, and to obtain them, you have to go to other worlds. For a Wandering Wizard like Dox, it doesn’t matter much which world he goes to. But the methods to go to other worlds, aside from knowing the location yourself and traveling through the Void, are mostly controlled by large organizations and Extreme Sects, making it hard for Dox to obtain the usage rights.
Even if the rights were granted, upon returning, if an Extreme Sect wants to inspect Otherworldly items, without a background, you could only accept it.
This leads to Wizard-level Magic Creature bodies being extremely frightening in value now. Furthermore, Ghosteye Witches, which are very difficult to grow to Wizard-Level from a Low-level Demon, would at least be among the final highlights at an auction.
Considering this, Dox was already drafting a plan in his mind... thinking about how to convince Angel to go and kill those two Ghosteye Witches.
In case it really doesn’t work out, he’d have to weigh the pros and cons of leaving the group versus staying with the group before making a decision.
However, before Dox could persuade Angel, or even start weighing the pros and cons, Zhou added another crucial point, "By the way, those two Wizard-Level Ghosteye Witches were originally raised by that existence and are the only two still alive. Although that existence hasn’t paid much attention to them over the years, if you kill them, you might offend that existence."
Dox: "...What if we kill them and leave?"
This time, Zhou wasn’t bothered by Dox’s interruption: "If that existence truly cares about the lives of those two Ghosteye Witches, even using a Plane Corridor, you won’t be able to escape. If not, you can kill them and continue wandering here, it’s no problem."
In other words, it’s a gamble of a choice.
Killing them could mean death, or living.