Ye Xiaotian was not surprised by Xu Xiaoshou's reaction. He remained calm as he said:
"A-Jie is a Heavenly Mechanism Puppet, and it has also been Elder Qiao's research subject for decades. But more than that, it is the one closest to him.
"You should understand. To a spiritual array master truly obsessed with the path of spiritual arrays, a Heavenly Mechanism Puppet possessing intelligence would inspire such love and care. It is like...
"His child."
Ye Xiaotian paused as he spoke, then gave a faint, self-mocking laugh.
Perhaps Xu Xiaoshou still could not deeply understand everything he had said.
But as Qiao Qianzhi's friend, Ye Xiaotian knew that Qiao Qianzhi's affection for A-Jie was no less than Xu Xiaoshou's.
If anything, it was even greater.
After all, how could an old man with no children, who had spent more than half his life on A-Jie, not have feelings for it?
Seeing no reaction from Xu Xiaoshou, Ye Xiaotian continued:
"Actually, from the moment you encountered A-Jie in the Heavenly Mystery Gate, Elder Qiao knew. Yet he did not stop you from taking it out. That, too, was part of the research strategy.
"We were trying a possibility...
"Whether there might be a way to 'form a bond' that could make A-Jie—the First-Generation Heavenly Mechanism Puppet, a puppet cast adrift onto Void Island because it lost control and knew only brutal slaughter—controllable through emotion.
"This was something Elder Qiao had tried for decades without success. Though he likes A-Jie very much, it cannot be denied that his experiments have, to some extent, harmed A-Jie... Well, that was unavoidable.
"And because of that, it has become difficult for Elder Qiao to interact normally with A-Jie."
Ye Xiaotian suddenly shifted the subject. He looked deeply at Xu Xiaoshou and said, "Fortunately, you