The Wise Sovereign also noticed the intentional ambiguity in Angel’s words, but he didn’t mind and instead brought up an unrelated matter: "I’m quite interested in your source of information. Would you be willing to discuss it with ?"
Angel: "If I share it with you, will you let us pass through? I an, you won’t harm us, let us enter and exit smoothly, and then leave."
Wise Sovereign: "Everything is negotiable, as long as you et the corresponding conditions."
"That’s as good as saying nothing." Angel deliberately whispered a complaint before speaking up loudly: "Then what conditions do we need to et?"
Wise Sovereign: "Answer my questions."
Angel and the Wise Sovereign exchanged glances for several seconds before Angel directly responded: "Alright."
Wise Sovereign: "Aren’t you going to discuss it with your companions? Perhaps I also have questions for them."
Angel said indifferently: "If you want to ask them, just go ahead and ask directly."
Angel was well aware that the Wise Sovereign wasn’t likely to forgo observing the reactions of others. He wouldn’t completely trust Angel’s words, and the Wise Sovereign still harbored doubts about whether Angel belonged to the Noah Clan.
Therefore, if Angel were to consult with the others, the Wise Sovereign could interpret additional information through observation.
But Angel chose not to consult, making it seem like the team was entirely under his command. This left the Wise Sovereign wondering: Is Angel really their decision-maker? Or have they previously devised a strategy on how to deal with him? But to formulate such a strategy, they would need to thoroughly understand his character, which is knowledge not everyone possesses.
Even Cicia couldn’t predict his actions with such precision.
So, is this Illusionist Wizard really their decision-maker?
The Wise Sovereign pondered this deeply but didn’t show it outwardly. Without missing a beat, he turned to look at the others: "Are you all sure you want to follow his lead?"
The Wise Sovereign looked at each one, not concerned with the two apprentices who clearly had no say; his focus was on Dox and that strange nose.
The nose on the stone slab didn’t respond, but this attitude made the Wise Sovereign think: it endorsed Angel as the leader.
However, Dox’s reaction intrigued the Wise Sovereign.
"His opinion doesn’t represent mine." Dox raised an eyebrow.
The Wise Sovereign turned back to Angel: "It seems your teammates aren’t entirely on board with you. Are you sure you don’t want to discuss it with them?"
Before Angel could respond, Dox spoke first: "What do you an by not being on board with him? Can’t I have my own opinion? Besides, he just said that if you want to ask us questions, you can directly ask. He already stated that, so just ask away. What’s your question for ? Feel free to ask, and stop beating around the bush."
Angel initially intended to express a similar sentint, but since Dox said it, he was happy to relax.
However, Angel could also guess that the Wise Sovereign surely understood the essence of what Dox said. Distorting the intended aning was purely to test whether they were genuinely united.
This was an obvious provocation, and Dox willingly jumped into it.
Whether Dox jumping in was good or bad, Angel couldn’t predict. Nevertheless, Dox understood their current stalemate and passive position, yet still chose to step forward, indicating that he had his own thoughts.
Perhaps his inspiration led him to do so?
Even if the talent of inspiration hadn’t been restored, inspiration by nature is mysterious, and there is always the possibility of action driven by a sudden insight.
Just like Dororo, although he couldn’t discern Angel’s ultimate destination, even if prophecy fails, Dororo, relying purely on the echo of his mind, offered the response "The Wise Sovereign is not foolish."
This is another kind of "mystique." It’s hard to define, neither truly ability nor not, but occasionally, it erges to guide you in the right direction.
Therefore, Angel didn’t mind Dox taking the step to beco the Wise Sovereign’s new subject of observation.
Though Dox can sotis be unreliable, now under the oppressive presence of the Wise Sovereign where even his life might be threatened, Dox dared to step out, and Angel chose to trust him.
The Wise Sovereign looked at Dox: "Alright, let first ask you a question. Can you tell whether what he says is true?"
The Wise Sovereign pointed to Angel.
Dox: "Which words are you referring to? The ones he said earlier?"
Wise Sovereign: "Let’s not discuss earlier statents; I want you to respond to everything I say to him moving forward."
What Angel said earlier had been ambiguous, capable of being either true or false. Therefore, there’s no need to discuss the past but focus on the forthcoming.
Dox paused: "You an, for each sentence you two exchange, I’m supposed to make a judgnt?"
Wise Sovereign: "That’s one way to interpret it. Are you willing?"
Dox: "I can try, but I might not know how to answer."
Wise Sovereign smiled amiably: "You may respond however you please."
Angel’s emotional leakage was minimal, whereas Dox’s emotions were clearly evident. Regardless of how Dox responds, the Wise Sovereign can find clues from it.
Dox scratched his head and muttered: "Why do I feel underestimated here?"
The Wise Sovereign chuckled, no longer speaking to Dox, and turned back to Angel: "So, are we ready to start the discussion?"
"We can, but discussion and examination are different things." Angel watched the Wise Sovereign.
Wise Sovereign: "Understood. Since it’s an exchange, it must be give and take. If there’s sothing you wish to know, I can also tell you."
The Wise Sovereign’s stance seed generous, but in Angel’s view, it was no big deal.
The Wise Sovereign isn’t foolish; he wouldn’t do sothing entirely without benefit. Angel’s questioning would in itself provide many clues to the Wise Sovereign.
Angel: "Let’s begin. Am I still answering your previous question regarding my information source?"
Wise Sovereign nodded.
Angel: "I’m not sure what kind of information source you’re referring to. Is it related to Noah ancestors, or sothing else?"
Wise Sovereign: "Since you know Augustine, then it makes sense for you to be here; so that’s not my focus. What I want to know is, where did you hear about my information?"
The Wise Sovereign’s words actually revealed a crucial piece of information, Augustine - the Noah ancestor - is indeed linked to the destination. Everyone present could discern this.
However, the Wise Sovereign didn’t need to disclose such information; stating it outright must have another purpose.
His purpose can be guessed: to test each team mber’s understanding of the objective.
Angel didn’t look at others’ reactions, but he suspected Vay and Kaier might be slightly surprised, the Black Earl would show no emotion, and as for Dox... Angel couldn’t predict.
Angel: "Regarding your information, I learned it from Day."
Wise Sovereign didn’t imdiately respond but instead turned to look at Dox.
Dox appropriately nodded: "That’s right, Day was the first to tell us you were the Wise Sovereign."
The Wise Sovereign quickly deduced that Dox... was not lying.
But, who is Zhou?
The Sage posed this question, but he wasn’t asking Angel; instead, he directly questioned Dox.
Dox looked puzzled, "You don’t know Zhou? Isn’t he one of your people?"
One of our people? As the Sage was still confused, Dox imdiately revealed that Zhou was the horned Half-Blood Demon at the third narrow passage.
The Sage instantly understood, "So it’s him? Did he tell you that his na is Zhou?"
Dox nodded, "Yes, by the look of it, did he deceive us by using a fake na?"
The Sage didn’t answer Dox but instead frowned and thought for a mont before turning to Angel, "It’s your turn to ask."
Angel: "I thought you would continue asking what Zhou told us."
The Sage: "The things he knows, I know. The things he doesn’t know, I also know."
Angel: "Since the Sage says so, does the Sage know why he’s called Zhou then?"
The Sage was montarily stumped...this, he indeed didn’t know.
After Angel asked this question with a smile, he didn’t give the Sage ti to respond and quickly shifted the topic: "This question was just for fun, a personal question, it’s understandable that the Sage doesn’t know. Shall I ask another question?"
"You may." The Sage saw that Angel wanted to control the pace of the conversation, but he didn’t mind. More than that, he was actually curious to ask if Angel knew why the horned Half-Blood Demon called himself Zhou?
Because Angel’s earlier question carried a strong implication, it was clearly telling the Sage that he knew why Zhou was nad Zhou.
The Sage felt a bit itchy to ask, but he didn’t want to follow Angel’s lead. Controlling the pace was fine, but leading it astray was sothing he wouldn’t allow.
Angel: "How many questions do I need to answer to fulfill the conditions you set?"
The Sage: "Answering my questions is just one of the conditions. Moreover, it’s not a necessary condition."
"Then why should I continue answering your questions? Why don’t you just tell the necessary condition?"
The Sage: "Although it’s not a necessary condition, it is a bonus condition."
"What do you an?"
"After fulfilling the necessary conditions, I can let you pass through my great hall, allowing you to search for Augustine’s legacy."
"However, when you get there, the result may not be favorable."
"The ’I let you pass, and also ensure your safe return’ that you ntioned earlier can only fulfill the first half; as for the ’safe return,’ I can’t guarantee that."
When Angel heard this, he roughly understood what the Sage ant: "So, answering your questions is a bonus condition; you can ensure our safe return?"
The Sage: "I can’t guarantee, but I won’t stop you from leaving my great hall. If necessary, I can even take a nap and close the hall."
This sentence from the Sage was full of aning.
It basically revealed a truth directly to everyone: the destination you’re searching for is extrely dangerous. Moreover, there’s an existence there that you cannot contend with. As long as the bonus condition is t, he could consider helping them escape the danger.
Angel: "It’s your turn to ask now... By the way, does this count as a question?"
The Sage nodded nonchalantly: "Sure."
Angel: "That’s good then. If it were like Miss Cicia, insisting on counting every question one by one, it would be troubleso for ."
The Sage: "My second question, what did Cicia say to you?"
The Sage wasn’t stupid; he knew Angel intentionally ntioned Cicia.
However, even if Angel hadn’t ntioned Cicia, he would have asked about her because their location assuredly ant they would encounter Cicia.
So, the Sage just followed Angel’s lead and asked the question.
Angel: "She said a lot, I don’t even know where to start. Ah, there’s no way, I asked too many questions. To tell it all might take quite so ti, after all, I stayed in her box for nearly an hour."
The Sage knew that Cicia’s box had sensory acceleration; if it was really an hour, it ant Angel and Cicia talked for nearly a whole day.
That much conversation? Cicia was actually willing to chat with him?
The Sage, filled with doubt, turned to look at Dox.
Dox nodded, "That’s right, about an hour."
He really stayed for an hour?! The Sage still felt sothing was off, but he could sense that Dox wasn’t lying.
While the Sage was hesitating, Angel silently gave a thumbs up to Dox in his heart. Dox’s voluntary jump in had truly muddied the waters.
The murkier the water, the more perplexed the Sage’s considerations would be. Overthinking could bring the Sage closer to the truth, but it would also lead him to overlook the details.
Angel actually didn’t care about the truth; the last thing he wanted was for the Sage to know about the finer details, such as the Nightmare Realm and the Wilderness of Dreams...
So, the muddier the water, the more he could conceal those details.
Did Dox jumping in this ti really manifest so sort of divine insight?
Angel: "Does the Wise Sovereign want to hear it all from the beginning? Or should I just speak about the matters related to the Wise Sovereign?"
The Wise Sovereign could vaguely sense that Angel and Cicia had talked about so very secretive matters, and Angel’s current deanor seed as though he intended to hide those things...
The Sage was silent for a mont, then finally nodded: "Okay, just those matters concerning ."
The Sage was not condoning Angel’s concealnt, it was more about after considering that the matters Angel wanted to hide must be secret tales Cicia told him or perhaps Cicia’s true identity.
The Sage actually knew so secrets about Cicia, and he could confirm that they were definitely unrelated to Naraku City or Augustine because Augustine’s matters occurred after Cicia transford into a box.
Since it had nothing to do with this, there was no point in asking.
Moreover, he didn’t want to waste ti; if he were truly curious, he could directly ask Cicia afterwards.
Indeed, the Sage’s consideration of issues was comprehensive, but he overlooked a detail: Angel and Cicia engaged in a one-on-one exchange.
The process of exchanging information is called interaction. So, it’s not necessarily that Cicia only shared secrets with Angel; conversely, Angel might have shared secrets with Cicia that he wanted to keep hidden.
If the Sage knew that the person in front of him was Angel, one of the Southern Domain’s current most dazzling Supernovas, he would probably consider it from both angles. But he didn’t know that the red-haired man before him, shrouded in layers of illusions, was Angel, hence, based on general logic, he overlooked this point.
The Sage was using information asymtry against them. Likewise, Angel and the Sage, and with the Noah Clan, also had this information asymtry. Therefore, this point could also be used in reverse to obscure the Sage.
However, what can be obscured are only irrelevant details; the main thread is difficult to fully conceal.
If all matters could be completely obscured by Angel, then the Sage shouldn’t bear the title of Sage and might as well be called a fool.
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