After Angel finished speaking, he looked towards the Black Earl.
Black Earl: "That’s it?"
Angel: "That’s it, nothing more."
The Black Earl glanced at the child still urinating within the illusion and said coolly, "Alright, once this is over, you can have your friend come to the Noah Clan to find me."
As for what the Black Earl would do after he was found, he didn’t say, and Angel didn’t ask. This was simply a chance secured for Serum, whether Serum would go or not was another matter.
If indeed he decided to go, they could talk to Lord Reine then, to see if there was a way for Serum to both repair the Black Classic and leave the Noah Clan complete.
"So, what we’re looking for now is a building called the Hanging Jail Stairway?" Dox finally found an opportunity to ask.
Angel’s expression hesitated a bit, and he said softly, "If you want to say the Hanging Jail Stairway is a building, you... could."
"What do you mean?" Dox asked puzzledly, "Isn’t the Hanging Jail Stairway a building?"
Angel: "Just by hearing the name, you should know, the Hanging Jail Stairway is a ladder. If you want to say a ladder is a building, I think you could."
Seeing that Dox seemed still confused, Angel quickly said, "Whether it is a building or not is not something to focus on, there’s no need to delve into it."
"So should we go straight back to the maze now?" Dox looked a bit reluctant: "Shouldn’t we explore the living area a bit?"
Angel: "If you want to stay here and explore, I won’t stop you."
After speaking, Angel turned directly around and walked towards the high walls of the maze behind him.
Everyone naturally followed, and although Dox really wanted to explore the living area a bit, after thinking about it carefully, it was so massive here that exploring thoroughly would never end. Also, given that the sword in the hands of the Goddess’s statue had been taken, it showed that this place had been looted countless times. He might not be able to sift gold from sand here, so he gave up.
After they re-entered the maze, everyone found that the air inside was even fresher than that in the living area outside. Outside, the air was thick with the smell of blood. If they weren’t in the light and shadow illusionary realm, they might have been targeted by hidden magical creatures.
However, to say the air in the maze smelled fantastic would be an overstatement. At least, not on this stretch of road, because there were still many mutated carrion squirrels around...
"Sir, was there really no exploration value in that living area just now?" A questioning voice arose from beside him.
Angel didn’t even need to look to know that it was Kaier speaking.
If it had been Dox asking, Angel would have been unwilling to respond, but since it was Kaier asking, Angel didn’t mind elaborating.
After all, Dox and Kaier’s motivations for exploring the ruins were entirely different, the former was for profit, and the latter was just pure curiosity.
Angel: "There is exploration value, but our destination isn’t there, so there’s no need to waste time exploring, plus..."
"Plus what?"
"Plus, the atmosphere there was too quiet. The smell of blood in the air was indeed heavy, but there wasn’t a sound around. Something seemed a little off." After Angel finished speaking, he shrugged, "Of course, maybe I’m just overthinking."
"So that’s why?" Kaier, hearing Angel’s words, recalled the previous situation. Indeed, while the air carried the scent of blood, there was not a rustle or stir to be heard. Maybe something was truly off.
Thinking this, Kaier turned to look at Dox, wanting to inquire about whether Dox’s inspiration offered any hints.
However, just as he was about to speak, Kaier remembered Angel’s earlier hint that it was better not to mention Dox’s inspiration in these ruins.
Kaier chose not to ask Dox, but Dox proactively approached.
"Did you really sense something was off?" Dox’s expression was peculiar.
Angel looked at him and immediately knew that Dox’s inspiration had not sounded an alarm just now; otherwise, Dox wouldn’t have been so reluctant to part with the living area at the time.
"I didn’t feel anything was off, I was just saying it casually, it’s more about reasoning and... caution," Angel spoke truthfully.
Dox pondered after listening, unsure what he was contemplating. After a while, for the first time, he actively approached the Black Earl.
"Did the Lord Earl notice anything amiss earlier?"
Dox’s question pricked everyone’s ears, including Angel’s. Angel was also keen to know what the Black Earl thought of his reasoning.
The Black Earl said nonchalantly, "Are you worried because your inspiration didn’t work?"
Dox remained silent, but his expression said it all.
The Black Earl: "There are three possibilities for your inspiration not working. First, inspiration doesn’t constantly work, perhaps it simply wasn’t active at the time; second, there was no danger there, so inspiration naturally didn’t need to alert you; third, something truly strange was there, and its weirdness exceeded your inspiration detection limit, so it didn’t work."
"Three possibilities, you choose one. As for the answer, don’t ask me, I’m just a nose, I don’t know."
The Black Earl didn’t state whether the living area indeed had something off, leaving everyone feeling somewhat disappointed.
Though Dox felt disappointed too, after hearing the Black Earl’s analysis, he also began speculating which scenario it could be?
While everyone was occupied with their thoughts, Angel resumed a "private chat" with the Black Earl.
"Lord, which of the three do you think it might be?" Angel asked directly.
The Black Earl’s lazy voice rang in Angel’s mind, "I told you, I don’t know. I didn’t lie to Dox, and I don’t need to lie to you either."
"Do you think it must be just these three scenarios? Could there be a fourth possibility?"
"Oh? What’s your thought?" The voice from the Black Earl remained calm, but Angel could sense that the Black Earl’s emotions fluctuated.
This implied his guess might not be wrong. The Black Earl hadn’t deceived Dox, but he hadn’t spoken everything.
"Fourth, the inspiration deliberately concealed, not alerting Dox."
Black Earl: "Do you think inspiration is intelligent life? Deliberately concealing?"
Angel: "Whether inspiration is intelligent life, I can’t answer, but since it exists within Dox’s sensory system, it’s not hard to veil Dox’s brain."
"Then why should it deliberately conceal? It’s part of Dox, if there was danger in the living area, concealing would only expose Dox to risk."