The sage was determined to die.

"They actually admitted it."

Ji Bai raised an eyebrow, paused for a moment, and then said knowingly, "Looks like the time is up."

He looked up at the sky, but the stick figure had vanished like smoke, leaving the air in a chaotic state.

Ji Bai squinted his eyes. He felt inexplicably that the sky at this moment was like a hook, lying in wait, just waiting to pull something down completely.

What are you trying to pull down?

He turned to look at Chu Ze, whose expression was calm. Ji Bai suddenly said, "You've been waiting for this moment from the very beginning, haven't you?"

It's not a question, it's a statement of certainty.

"You guessed it," Chu Ze said softly. "And the reason?"

Ji Bai frowned slightly. Was this person too lazy to pretend after being exposed?

He shook his head and said, "I've always felt that you're not the kind of person who would willingly settle for only a mid-grade literary talent."

"But with your caution, you naturally won't give others a chance to take advantage and steal your things."

"I believe your inner conflict is real," he said, "but you are certainly not willing to accept this."

Ji Bai took a few steps forward, his eyes dark and unfathomable, yet also hiding a hint of excitement: "This is interesting. Could it be that our Second Prince came up with this idea for you? You actually believe him?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Ze smiled enigmatically: "You're overthinking it."

"Are you underestimating it?"

Chu Ze nodded. Judging from his appearance, he was exactly the demeanor of a young nobleman.

But Ji Bai knew perfectly well that this young nobleman, apart from his appearance, might even have black blood.

"Ji Bai, you know me very well."

Chu Ze clenched his fist, and a bone skewer was crushed in his palm. The faint smell of blood disappeared in an instant, and he looked at his hand with some regret.

"How can one wolf trust another?" he said, staring at his fingers. "Someone like me is naturally incapable of fully entrusting my trust to others."

"Are you saying this because you're not afraid I won't cooperate with you anymore?" Ji Bai asked.

Chu Ze looked up at the sky and shook his head slightly: "You won't."

"The foundation of cooperation is mutual benefit," Chu Ze said, looking at him. "Isn't that right?"

Isn't that right?

Ji Bai followed his gaze and looked up. A huge vortex had formed in the sky at some point, the clouds were churning, and rain was about to fall, but the vortex at the center of the storm was quiet yet dangerous.

If it weren't for its untimely timing, it would look exactly like the eye of a typhoon.

Ji Bai's outer robe was tossed aside by the wind, the hem fluttering in the breeze, as if he were genuinely wondering, "Is Wen Xin about to appear?"

Chu Ze stared for a long time, until the clouds were tinged with a faint blood-red hue, then said with a hint of surprise, "It seems someone is going to be disappointed."

Disappointed?

Ji Bai felt a burning sensation in his chest as a thin, resilient layer of armor covered his entire body. He felt his blood boiling, and many tiny cracks appeared on the armor, only to disappear quickly.

...Could it be that the air itself is harmful?

He looked at Chu Ze in disbelief. Apart from his clothes being ruffled by the wind, Chu Ze was completely unharmed.

"Are you alright?"

Chu Ze was clearly not surprised by his literary talent. He stroked his chin and pondered, "Perhaps it's because I don't have literary talent. Since you do, the test will naturally be much more difficult."

This is an unreasonable form of differential treatment.

Ji Bai was speechless for a moment. The wind blades in the air kept attacking his armor. He tried to retract the armor, but it was extremely unintelligent and did not understand his hints at all.

"Um," Ji Bai pointed to his armor and said to Chu Ze, "do you know how to store this thing?"

Chu Ze was silent for a moment before speaking, "You're showing off quite blatantly."