Cicia: "I’m curious about that too, perhaps a similarity in character? When you meet the Wise Sovereign, you could ask for verification and tell me next time."
After a pause, Cicia lowered her eyelids: "Never mind, perhaps there won’t be a next time. When the Wise Sovereign comes to me, I’ll ask myself."
Angel blinked: "Whether there is a next time, that’s hard to say. Perhaps we’ll meet often in the future?"
Cicia: "What? Are you thinking of taking Cicia’s Box away? I’m telling you, that’s not happening, I won’t leave here unless..."
Angel: "Unless what?"
Cicia made a gentle "shhh" gesture with her index finger: "Can’t say."
Although Cicia seemed to say "can’t be told" openly, she created a scene with the black mist around her.
The content of the scene was simple and could be summed up in a single word: rebirth.
Angel pondered, was Cicia hinting that only when Naraku City, this "withered wood," was reborn, could its shell leave here?
Angel could not ask directly, after all, Cicia was bound by an oath, the hint was already the limit, if Angel broke the hint, it would instead cause Cicia to be punished by the oath.
Angel: "Maybe there’s a way to leave without bringing your shell, and we can meet often."
Cicia: "Alright, I look forward to you bringing me the answer to why the Wise Sovereign fancies the Wood Spirit next time we meet."
Cicia thought Angel meant he would often come to this ruin, so they could meet often.
But in fact, Angel had no plans to revisit this ruin in the short term, unless it was Naraku City in the Nightmare Realm.
What Angel referred to as meeting often, undoubtedly meant the Wilderness of Dreams.
The release of the Wilderness of Dreams was imminent, and giving Cicia a heads-up was no big deal. Besides, in Cicia’s place, where no one comes for hundreds of years, giving her a hint early would not lead to a leakage.
Moreover, Angel was contemplating observing Cicia further, to make sure she wouldn’t harbor ulterior motives, so he could let her guide Dororo.
And how to observe her? Surely, bringing Cicia into the Wilderness of Dreams would enable full-time surveillance.
"Now you know my short-term goal. Does Miss Cicia have any suggestions for me? Whether it’s searching for the Wood Spirit or any other way to pass through the palace of the Wise Sovereign?"
Cicia thought for a moment: "A millennium ago, borrowing passage from the hall of the Wise Sovereign was very difficult. It seems only the daughter of the Warden was favored by the Wise Sovereign."
"Speaking of which, originally the two sides of that hall were clear paths. Later, the Wise Sovereign occupied one side to build his residence, which was quite inexplicable. I don’t know where you want to go, but the Underground Aqueduct extends in all directions; you could find another entrance, so you wouldn’t have to bypass his hall."
Angel: "Now the outside world is filled with ruins, and finding an entrance to the deeper layers is very difficult..."
Cicia: "Then I can’t help. I never remember the roads anyway."
Angel: "If I didn’t bypass it and insisted on taking the Hanging Jail Stairway?"
"Then there’s no way around it, apart from appealing to his interests, gaining favor through the Wood Spirit, I can’t think of another method."
"If I encountered the Wise Sovereign, and said I was introduced by Miss Cicia, wouldn’t that work?"
Cicia cast a sidelong glance at Angel: "Don’t use my name to bluff outside, and even if you did mention my name, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll let you through. So, you’d better follow your own idea and go find the Wood Spirit."
"Where is the Wood Spirit then?" Angel asked.
Cicia: "How would I know? I’ve never been out."
Angel: "..." All the buildup, only to ask in vain.
Cicia: "Anyway, it’s inside the Hanging Jail Stairway; since I haven’t been there, I don’t know exactly where, but you don’t need to look at the upper levels, it’s definitely not high up in the Hanging Jail Stairway."
Angel: "Because the upper levels of the Hanging Jail Stairway are broken?"
"Is this told to you by the soul of the outside demon?" Cicia said while changing her posture. She crossed her left leg over her right, and the high heels made of starry sky crystal swayed with her movement: "Indeed, the upper levels of the Hanging Jail Stairway are broken, but even if they weren’t, do you think that coward would dare go up?"
"There are some sealed magical creatures in the higher levels, and, even a millennia ago, there were many traps in the higher levels; now space rifts are even commonplace. That coward absolutely wouldn’t dare go up, I suspect it didn’t even reach the third level."
Previously, when talking about the Wood Spirit, it was said it couldn’t go to the upper levels because those levels were broken. Now Cicia’s explanation aligns with that, but is more detailed.
After all, Dororo only heard about how cowardly the Wood Spirit was, but Cicia experienced firsthand how cowardly the Wood Spirit truly was.
"If it hadn’t even reached the third level, then it should be easy to find." Angel muttered to himself.
"Easy to find in the first three levels? From your tone, have you been to the Hanging Jail Stairway?" Cicia looked at Angel with curiosity.
Angel naturally wouldn’t admit it, so he casually fabricated: "Although Naraku City is now in ruins, most of its history submerged in the torrent of time. There are always those who remember the past still living today."
"I’ve gathered some intelligence from them; it’s said the Hanging Jail Stairway has at least twenty levels. The higher the level, the larger the internal space. Since Miss Cicia mentioned the first three levels, then each level might only have one or two cells, searching shouldn’t be very difficult."
Angel had ascended the top of the Hanging Jail Stairway in the Nightmare Realm before, but at the time, he didn’t count the levels.
This couldn’t be blamed on Angel not counting, as many levels overlapped, alternated, resembling complex illusion spaces, making it hard to determine if it was one layer or multiple layers, and there were many unexplored places, so it was unknown if there were branches.
But based on his personal experience, the Hanging Jail Stairway likely had around twenty to forty levels.
Cicia: "Every time you mention the source of intelligence, you tell a long story, vague and unclear, it always feels unreliable..."
"Never mind, it doesn’t matter where you heard it. What you mentioned is only the apparent number of levels. Certain specific levels have expanded prison spaces. So, taking everything into account, there must be at least a hundred levels."
"But if you’re only looking for the Wood Spirit, you don’t need to worry about these, because expanded prison spaces are generally in the middle or upper levels. The first three levels don’t have expanded prison spaces."
Angel nodded, he vaguely remembered the first three levels seemed to be single rooms, with limited space. If the Wood Spirit was really hiding in the first three levels, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find... right?
Angel: "Regarding finding the Wood Spirit, can Miss Cicia offer more advice?"
Cicia twirled her hair with her fingers unconsciously, leisurely tapping her foot, silently contemplating.
After a while, Cicia said: "I remember the Wise Sovereign mentioned before, that because the first few levels aren’t very dangerous, the Wood Spirit doesn’t deliberately hide, but is still inconspicuous."
"If you really can’t find it, just go ahead and destroy everything, it’ll get scared and definitely show itself."
Angel: "..." That’s a great idea... not.
"... Is there a gentler method, after all, we need to bring the Wood Spirit to meet the Wise Sovereign, and the Wise Sovereign didn’t forcibly take it away, doing this would probably make the Wise Sovereign more resentful."
Cicia snapped back to reality with an "oh right" expression: "Indeed, you’ve got a point."
Angel suppressed the urge to retort and continued: "Then does Miss Cicia have any other plans? Something gentler, we don’t wish to harm the Wood Spirit."
Angel was already hopeless, but Cicia’s occasionally off-track intelligence appeared to be back online.
Cicia: "Yes."
"If among the visitors this time, there is someone who knows Divination, they can use a tracking technique to determine its location."
Angel: "Tracking technique?"
Cicia nodded: "I mentioned before, I forcibly stripped something off it and sent it away. This item comes from the Wood Spirit, so using it as a medium for tracking, finding it won’t be hard."
Angel’s eyes lit up, this method seemed feasible. Even if not using tracking, sensing pheromones or energy waves might find the Wood Spirit.
"Then can Miss Cicia let me see what the Wood Spirit left behind?"