But in hindsight, if the intention was to identify the master of the Wood Spirit’s essence, there was no need to specifically ask: what is the essence of the Wood Spirit?
Because the spirits born in the Southern Domain are almost all closely related to humans. Thus, mentioning the common trait of spirits already leads one to consider the master of the spirit’s essence, making it unnecessary to ask what the essence of the Wood Spirit is.
From prior observations, the Wise Sovereign knew well that Angel rarely speaks without purpose. He would not ask a redundant question without a reason; this must have significance.
What is the essence of the Wood Spirit? The Wise Sovereign had speculated before, undoubtedly it must be human-related. His guess was accessories, weapons, or furniture and ornaments...
Now, however, Angel deliberately pointed at the walking stick, saying, "The crucial evidence is right here."
It was no longer a hint, but a clear indication.
Upon realizing this, the Wise Sovereign said, "Is the essence of the Wood Spirit a walking stick?"
It sounded like a question, but the Wise Sovereign’s expression was very certain.
Angel nodded: "That’s mostly right, but the Wise Sovereign missed a layer. Just knowing the Wood Spirit’s essence is a walking stick isn’t considered key evidence, right?"
The Wise Sovereign didn’t try to guess this time. Originally, it was an exchange of questions, but now it became Angel guiding him to answer, putting him in a passive position, which wasn’t his intention.
So, the Wise Sovereign directly asked: "Then what is the crucial evidence you are talking about?"
Angel: "I said, the crucial evidence is right here."
Angel repeated his earlier words, simultaneously pointing again at the walking stick.
The Wise Sovereign looked at the walking stick, and a thought suddenly arose in his mind, making him a bit incredulous; the idea was even somewhat ludicrous. But seeing Angel repeatedly emphasize the walking stick, the Wise Sovereign felt perhaps this thought had a hint of possibility?
For the first time, using a hesitant tone, the Wise Sovereign said, "Is this walking stick the essence of the Wood Spirit?"
Angel’s lips curled upward as his eyes bent like a crescent with a smile: "Correct."
Looking at Angel, who seemed just a step away from celebrating with confetti, the Wise Sovereign was utterly bewildered.
"This walking stick... regarding the stick’s body, I saw you refine it with my own eyes. How can it be the essence of the Wood Spirit?" Even though the Wise Sovereign hesitantly answered before, he still wasn’t entirely confident in the answer he gave.
Angel: "The stick’s body was also derived from the Wood Spirit’s offspring."
While speaking, Angel picked up the walking stick and gently stroked the vines entwined around it. The Wood Spirit seemed to enjoy Angel’s touch, moving slightly as if responding.
"Everything on this walking stick belongs to the Wood Spirit. Besides, isn’t the Wood Spirit already entwined with this stick? Saying it is the essence of the Wood Spirit isn’t an overstatement."
To the Wise Sovereign, Angel’s words seemed a bit like sophistry, but the content caught his attention.
—Everything on this is the Wood Spirit’s.
The walking stick was composed of three parts: the vine, the stick’s body, and the head of the staff. There’s no need to discuss the first two; they inherently belong to the Wood Spirit. But by Angel’s account, the silver adornment on the staff’s head was also part of the Wood Spirit?
The Wise Sovereign did not ponder the relationship further but directly pointed to the engraved silver adornment and asked Angel: "Is this also the Wood Spirit’s?"
Angel nodded: "Exactly. When the Wood Spirit first emerged, this was already on it. So, saying it belongs is quite reasonable. Of course, from a perspective of property rights, half of this adornment’s ownership belongs to its original owner. But since the original owner accidentally lost the walking stick, all ownership should then belong to the Wood Spirit."
The Wise Sovereign remained silent, indicating for Angel to continue.
"However, the location where the Wood Spirit was born was a bit awkward, surrounded by Ghosteye Witches. To protect the budding Spirit Intelligence, it dared not move recklessly, fearing it would attract the attention of Ghosteye Witches, which is understandable."
With the Wood Spirit nearby, Angel had to phrase the ’timid’ attribute a bit more tactfully.
"Although the location of the walking stick was remote, the number of Ghosteye Witches was too great, and it was only a matter of time before someone discovered it. However, most Ghosteye Witches aren’t smart, and they lack interest in a ’dead object.’
"But at this moment, a very peculiar Ghosteye Witch appeared. It still wasn’t interested in ’dead objects,’ but it had an extraordinary pursuit of ’beauty.’
By this point, the Wise Sovereign already knew that the Ghosteye Witch Angel referred to was experiment number 6163.
This implies that the silver adornment from experiment 6163’s body came from the essence of the Wood Spirit? Then why does 6163 still have the adornment now?
The Wise Sovereign suddenly thought, Angel previously refined a Transcendent-natured walking stick on the spot. Making an ordinary silver adornment would be a breeze. So, did he swap a fake one for a real one?
Not quite... Actually, the silver adornment wasn’t particularly valuable, so distinguishing between real and fake was overthinking it; it should be seen as exchanging the new for the old.
Sure enough, Angel soon spoke of the latter part of the story.
"The Ghosteye Witch with a passion for beauty adored the little crown and engraved silver adornment on the staff’s head and naturally took them. Our poor Wood Spirit, not daring to resist, could only watch as its possessions were taken. By the way, the Ghosteye Witch may have also taken a Silver Ring, but finding it unattractive, discarded it, and it was picked up by another Ghosteye Witch, eventually."
"The Wood Spirit only had one last ring left, which it cherished. Unfortunately, during its time in the Other-dimensional Space, Cicia charged a toll, and the final ring was lost. In the end, it could only go bare onto the Hanging Jail Stairway."
Wise Sovereign:... It sounds rather sad when put that way.
"Until we came along, we were quite lucky, not only finding the Silver Ring but also retrieving the engraved adornment and crown from that peculiar Ghosteye Witch and its boudoir. We finally exchanged the last ring with Cicia, assembling it all on this staff. It was like completing the Wood Spirit’s lost pieces."
When Angel finished speaking, the Wise Sovereign understood everything.
While he didn’t comment on Angel’s other actions, the fact that Angel exchanged the old for the new to get the engraved adornment and crown from experiment 6163 without resorting to violence was something the Wise Sovereign actually appreciated.
Yet, the Wise Sovereign only kept this acknowledgment to himself, without verbalizing it. Just as Angel didn’t explicitly mention how he obtained the adornment from 6163.
Wise Sovereign: "Your story sounds full of coincidences, but it should be true. However, what I don’t understand is why you were so persistent in collecting those adornments. Did you already know they belonged to the Wood Spirit?"
Angel placed his hand on the table, indicating for the Wise Sovereign to look at his glove.
Truthfully, the Wise Sovereign didn’t even need to look; he already knew the emblem on Angel’s glove matched the one on the silver adornment exactly. However, the Wise Sovereign didn’t know what the emblem represented.
"At the time, I didn’t know it belonged to the Wood Spirit, I only knew this emblem represented my Mentor, meaning it was my Mentor’s. Since it belonged to my Mentor, I had to recover it no matter what."