The sage was determined to die.

"That's it?"

Ji Bai picked up the jade compass and examined it closely. The compass was not particularly special in appearance. It had a smooth texture and a circular piece carved out in the middle, covered with a layer of crystal.

At this moment, the compass emitted a faint glow.

This design does resemble a compass, Ji Bai thought to himself.

Ji Tianyuan looked at Ji Bai with some disbelief and pondered, "You're quite something, kid. You solved it so quickly. I was originally planning to use my second brother's reputation to help you if you couldn't use this compass."

"Second Brother, Second Brother," Ji Tianyuan looked at Ji Ying, "Are you still going into the Book Mountain this time? If not, how about we borrow your compass for a few days?"

Ji Ying propped his chin up on the table, his face expressionless. He turned to Ji Bai, his tone still icy: "Fine, but in exchange, you have to give me another question to activate the compass."

Ji Tianyuan scratched his head, winked at his second brother, and said, "Second brother, when the Grand Scholar gave you the compass, didn't he mention a problem to you? Don't make things difficult for Ji Bai. Your younger brother is planning to make money with him."

This statement accurately hit Ji Ying's sore spot.

"hehe."

The Second Prince sneered, "I entered the Book Mountain three times, but I still couldn't find the Wenxin that could heal the wound. That old man made such a solemn promise on the surface, but who knows what kind of wicked scheme he was actually plotting."

Ji Tianyuan stood by, furious but unable to speak out.

His second brother was a madman. He entered the Book Mountain three times and each time he could find a high-grade literary heart. However, as long as it was not a literary heart that could heal all wounds as legend had it, no matter how high the grade, he could crush it with his own hands.

But Ji Tianyuan could also understand his second brother. His second brother was a madman and a patient. He couldn't cure the half of his face under the mask. Ji Ying would rather let himself go completely insane.

Ji Bai was unaware of the details. After pondering for a while, he said seriously, "Suppose someone obtains a Wenxin (a magical heart) that allows them to travel back in time, and kills their grandparents before their father is born. But since their grandparents are dead, there is no father, and without their father, there would be no them. Since they cannot be born, how can they travel back in time to kill their grandparents?"

The compass flashed with an intermittent light, clearly troubled by the two problems in succession.

Ji Bai thought to himself silently.

The grandparents paradox is one of the ten classic logical paradoxes. Since it is a paradox, how could it be answered so easily?

Ji Ying remained silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "This person is quite bold; very few people would actually lay a hand on their own grandparents."

.

The three of them climbed over the wall to get in, but were forced to leave through the main gate.

Ji Bai put away the compass, put his arm around Ji Tianyuan's shoulder, and asked, "Is your second brother's face injured? I saw that the mask he was wearing looked like it was made of gold. Metal masks like that aren't good for the skin, and wearing them for a long time is actually bad for wounds."

Ji Tianyuan lowered her head, as if she had thought of something sad.

He clenched his fists, a hint of barely perceptible anger flashing in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "It's because... well, it's not exactly a secret anyway, so telling you won't hurt."

Ji Bai indicated that he didn't really want to hear it, but before he could even say no, Ji Tianyuan grabbed his hand and forcefully interrupted him:

"My second brother is so handsome, and he also possesses a rare talent for literature. Things that others need three or four days to learn, my second brother can always grasp immediately. Everyone likes him, and Father Emperor also values ​​him highly."

"When my second brother was thirteen, the young master of Baiyujing came to our Qi Kingdom for a tour and took a liking to my second brother at first sight, wanting him to return to Baiyujing with him..."

The three walked along a deserted night road. As Ji Tianyuan spoke at a slow pace, Ji Bai seemed to see a once spirited prince gradually descend into madness.

"My second brother has always been sincere to others. Baiyujing is a sacred place in the hearts of many scholars. My young second brother naturally wanted to go there to further his studies. He didn't understand why our father kept stopping him from going to Baiyujing until later—"

Later, Ji Ying discovered that the high and mighty young master of Baiyujing was interested not only in him as a person, but also in his innate literary talent.

The other person looked at him with disdain, their condescending attitude as if bestowing a gift upon him, demanding that he give him the literary heart.

Of course, the thirteen-year-old boy could not agree to such an absurd request. He immediately attacked and injured the other party. This young master was also a good-for-nothing. Even though he was three years older than him, he was no match for him at all.

"In the end, it was my second brother who suffered the most."

Ji Tianyuan sighed, "That young master is the villain who filed a false accusation, saying that my second brother attacked someone for no reason and wants my second brother to pay with his life."

"Of course, my father would never agree to such an absurd request. As a result, that bastard had his scribe burn half of my second brother's face. It was a fire that burned his heart. As long as my second brother's literary heart is still there, that fire will burn his literary heart every day. My second brother has to endure the pain of having his heart burned by the fire every day."

Senior Brother Qiao, Senior Sister Chen, and even the Second Prince of the current dynasty...

One genius after another goes from being full of youthful vigor to being half-dead and insane.

The Jade Palace in the heavens.

Ji Bai looked up at the sky, which was dark and heavy, like a dense, airtight net waiting to devour everything.

"Is that all?" Ji Bai suddenly asked.

"Killing the scholar who set fire to my second brother would solve the problem. But that might bring even greater disaster. After all, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog. My second brother is a prince of Qi. Even if he has the ability to kill, he would rather the fire burn him than spread to the whole of Qi."

Ji Tianyuan looked into the distance and said, "So my second brother can only place his hopes on one place, which is to find the literary heart that can heal all wounds in the mountain of books."

But no one in this world has ever possessed such literary talent.

Ji Bai suddenly understood.

Why did everyone tell him when he first transmigrated to this world that it was better to offend the royal family than the imperial advisor?

He didn't understand why Wei Zhiyuan could believe him so easily.

After learning these inside stories that were not told to outsiders, he understood something.

Someone of Wei Zhiyuan's noble status is naturally surrounded by good people. He's like an ant living in a greenhouse, unaware that snow falls outside.

"Ji Bai, once you're in the mountain of books, be sure to protect yourself."

Ji Tianyuan looked at the compass in Ji Bai's hand with a somewhat deep expression.

"Sometimes being too outstanding isn't necessarily a good thing."