The sage was determined to die.

Wang Zhixuan remained silent for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, he said in a hoarse voice, "Why do you hate him so much?"

Ji Ying maintained her nonchalant attitude, looking at him with a hint of doubt, and said directly, "It seems you know something."

Wang Zhixuan's arrogant demeanor softened somewhat, and he forced a smile, saying, "Why do you have to hate him so much? Can't you just let it go? He actually has his own reasons..."

Before he could finish speaking, a cold hand suddenly gripped his throat tightly. The suffocating feeling of his life being cut off made him instinctively tear at the other person's hand.

That hand remained completely still.

When Wang Zhixuan looked up into the other person's eyes, to his surprise, there was not much anger in those eyes, but a cold killing intent burning within their calmness.

Just before Wang Zhixuan felt dizzy, the man released his grip.

"You're very lucky," the man said with a smile. "It's not your time to die yet."

……

"Died once, then died again. How pathetic."

Ji Bai clasped his hands together, sighed at the charred corpse, and forgot his words as he prayed for the deceased's soul to be reborn.

He looked at Chu Xi standing to the side and decided to humbly ask, "Do you know how to perform a ritual to help someone pass on to the afterlife?"

Chu Xi looked at him as if he were a fool, and after a long while, she uttered four words: "Hypocrisy".

"How can this be feigned?" Ji Bai retorted. "This is clearly someone who did something wrong, feels uneasy, and is trying to atone for their sins."

"What's the difference?" Chu Xi was clearly too lazy to waste words with him.

Ji Bai was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. He slowly said "Oh," and then said, "Actually... there's not much difference."

Chu Xi gave him a strange look. Ever since he met Ji Bai, he had always thought that this person was strange. He seemed to be quite smart, but he often said things that were incomprehensible to people, like a madman.

He lifted his foot and increased the distance between them.

However, he didn't go far because Chu Ze came over.

"How's it going?" Chu Ze asked. "Any other discoveries?"

Ji Bai raised an eyebrow, his gaze unabashed as he scrutinized him with interest.

Chu Ze followed the other person's gaze to his own hands. He wiped them with a handkerchief for a while, but his clean fingers were still bright red, looking as if they had been painted on.

"Don't you dislike getting your hands dirty with blood?"

Ji Bai said, "Who made you do it yourself, without even asking your brother to do it?"

Chu Xi frowned, about to speak, but was stopped by Chu Ze.

He still maintained his gentle demeanor, but made no attempt to hide his true nature. He said to Ji Bai, "You may have some misunderstandings about me."

"Misunderstand?"

Chu Ze nodded, his gaze shifting from intense to indifferent, revealing a faint chill.

"While I don't particularly enjoy killing, that doesn't mean I won't."

"There are some things you have to do even if you really don't want to, right?"

Chu Ze's words clearly had another meaning behind them. Ji Bai didn't react much, only curling the corners of his lips as usual, pretending that he hadn't heard it.

Chu Ze wiped his fingers as usual, a smirk playing on his lips, and continued, "It's no wonder you misunderstood. I do usually leave these kinds of things to Axi, but I had no choice but to take action against those people just now."

"Who is it?" Ji Bai asked, following his answer.

Chu Ze looked over with his dark eyes, smiled, and said, "Actually, I did help you out."

A question mark appeared on Ji Bai's head.

Chu Ze said, "It has something to do with your second prince."