To say it’s a wooden figure is actually not quite right. Because it only has limbs resembling bamboo sticks, with no distinct head or neck.
It looks more like a large matchstick man made up of five sticks.
One stick is the body, while the other four sticks are the limbs.
Setting aside the peculiar appearance of this "matchstick man," its reaction alone left Angel somewhat puzzled.
When he turned around and suddenly saw a matchstick man nearby, it should have been him who was startled. So why was it now the matchstick man’s limbs trembling in fear?
Yes, at this moment, the limbs of the matchstick man, or rather its four sticks, turned from rigid to limp. It appeared like the shape of a large letter "X" suspended in mid-air, with limbs rippling like waves in a state of excessive fright.
The "startled" matchstick man began moving its wave-like arms in small circular motions.
A series of quivering "ah" sounds erupted in the air, starting at a high pitch and then gradually descending...
Finally, as the matchstick man vanished from view, the sound also disappeared without a trace.
Staring at the now empty space before him, Angel’s thoughts were still struggling to catch up.
When did it appear?
And, when did it leave? How did it leave? Why did he feel nothing, as if it had appeared and vanished out of thin air?
And most importantly: Who is it?
It had clearly appeared and followed behind him, yet he was completely unaware of its presence.
If he hadn’t seen it running before his eyes, Angel might have thought it was a brilliant illusion technique.
Now, confirming that it truly existed, only with an incredibly strong concealed presence, its identity seemed somewhat apparent.
"Is it a Wood Spirit?" Angel turned his head to look in the direction of the Wise Sovereign.
The Wise Sovereign was still in a daze at this moment. Or rather, everyone watching the "live broadcast," as well as the other onlooker, Kaier, seemed frozen in place as if immobilized.
Although initially only the Wise Sovereign and Kaier saw the Wood Spirit, after Kaier recounted through the Mind Ribbon, and Angel witnessed the matchstick man, the Illusionary Realm updated, and everyone saw the scene just now.
After a long while, the Wise Sovereign finally snapped out of it: "It, you... how did you call it out?"
"I didn’t do anything." Angel looked innocent: "Is it really a Wood Spirit?"
The Wise Sovereign paused briefly before nodding: "Yes."
He actually believed that Angel hadn’t done anything because he could observe Angel’s actions directly through the Magical Energy Array. Indeed, Angel did nothing but utter some seemingly profound sentiments.
And these sentiments, in the ears of the Wise Sovereign, aside from being pleasant, were utterly worthless.
Yet paradoxically, the Wood Spirit actually appeared, reluctantly following Angel attentively for a long stretch of the road.
You see, even when the Wise Sovereign came to the Hanging Jail Stairway to find the Wood Spirit, it wouldn’t willingly follow the Wise Sovereign. One reason was its timidity, and the other was its fear that once it left its "comfort zone," the Wise Sovereign might forcefully take it out of the Hanging Jail Stairway.
What the Wise Sovereign couldn’t achieve, Angel did. Moreover, the Wood Spirit even stepped out of its comfort zone on its own to follow Angel.
If Angel hadn’t turned back then, perhaps the Wood Spirit would have followed him all the way out of the Hanging Jail Stairway.
This was simply unimaginable to the Wise Sovereign.
This time, when setting the so-called "bonus condition," the Wise Sovereign never expected this group to accomplish it. In his view, there was a 99% chance they wouldn’t find the Wood Spirit; even if they found it, the possibility of taking it was extremely slim, less than one percent.
But now things have taken an unexpected turn.
Not only did they really find the Wood Spirit, they even almost managed to take it out.
How did they do it? Was it really just with words? But those words were not all that moving; frankly, some trickster’s rhetoric would be more compelling than those remarks.
Or is it... have I been too detached from reality? Perhaps the Wood Spirit truly responds to this, preferring these crafty words over elegant praises?
But thinking about it carefully, something still seems off. Because over these years, I haven’t taught the Wood Spirit much about transcendent knowledge, but rather a lot about understanding the world.
This understanding leans more toward the reflective. The Wise Sovereign provided the Wood Spirit with numerous books, the vast majority being mortal literature.
To nurture an understanding of the world, it cannot look at just one facet—instead, every angle should be considered. Therefore, the Wise Sovereign, when selecting books, never did much screening; inevitably, these books ranged from the elegant and noble to the crude and base.
From this, it was evident that the Wise Sovereign genuinely intended to cultivate the Wood Spirit as a successor. Not imparting direct conclusions but encouraging thought for the Wood Spirit to form its evaluations and engage in dialectic with him.
Many understandings only become clearer with debate.
In the process of dialectical engagement, the Wise Sovereign naturally learned about the Wood Spirit’s reading preferences.
Among these books, there were many resembling spiritual quotations. However, the Wood Spirit showed no interest in them. What intrigued the Wood Spirit were topics centered around "nobility," whether it be the etiquette of aristocrats, power struggles, or even the romantic tales of noble ladies, these were of the Wood Spirit’s interest.
Thus, it seemed the Wood Spirit’s fondness for refined and cultured topics overshadowed the common and popular.
How could a Wood Spirit like that be moved by just a few words from Angel?
The Wise Sovereign truly couldn’t fathom this—or perhaps, Angel did something secretly? Did he threaten the Wood Spirit?
However, when Angel turned around, the Wood Spirit was scared into running wildly. The Wise Sovereign, well-acquainted with the Wood Spirit, understood this to be its instinctual response, showing no sign of threat.
It seemed more like the Wood Spirit actively decided to follow Angel, only to be unexpectedly frightened.
"Did you do something secretly?" The Wise Sovereign still doubted Angel did nothing.
Angel responded dumbfoundedly, "What could I have done? Clearly, I’m the one who was startled, so how could I have done something?"
Wise Sovereign: "Since you didn’t do anything, how did you know the Wood Spirit was hiding here?"
"I thought the bonus condition was just to find the Wood Spirit and bring it out, with the process and method being irrelevant." Angel remarked, "I didn’t realize the method for finding the Wood Spirit also needed to be reported?"