The sage was determined to die.

Not right.

The old tortoise squinted its eyes, its four claws treading on the soft, fluffy black soil. The warm sensation under its feet made it feel that there were many strange things going on.

He looked around but saw no one else; he was all alone on the empty ground.

"It's too quiet. Could something be secretly plotting to harm me?"

Having lived a long life, the old tortoise's vision and mind were far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

He even raised his nose and sniffed, but apart from the indescribable smell of gunpowder in the air, he still couldn't smell anything else.

His eyes darted around wildly, and he raised his four paws, intending to look around.

Not far away, Chu Xi frowned, one hand resting on the sword at her waist, instinctively wanting to draw the sword, but was firmly held down by another hand.

He looked at Chu Ze and asked, "Brother, are you sure that turtle didn't spot us?"

"Probably not," Chu Ze replied.

Chu Xi was clearly someone who couldn't stand being alone. His legs were almost numb from squatting, and he was getting restless: "Brother, why do we have to stay here? Look at what that turtle is wearing around its neck, don't you want it?"

He seemed to have a unique perspective, and offered what he considered to be a very clever suggestion to Chu Ze: "Brother, strike first."

Chu Ze slapped his younger brother across the face, saying helplessly, "Don't you think this is a trap?"

"So what?" Chu Xi said with a hint of pride, "Wouldn't it be better if we just became stronger?"

Chu Ze shook his head slightly, his deep gaze sweeping over a few places before he said, "It's too quiet here, unusually quiet."

He continued to look at his younger brother's head with his hand, as if trying to wake him up.

"That tortoise must be the puppet incarnation of that old man from the Wang family."

He glanced at Chu Xi's face and said, "Aren't you afraid people will cause you trouble later if you just rush out like that?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xi indeed looked somewhat dejected: "Oh, it was him. But if he has such poor taste... how did he end up as a turtle?"

As he spoke the last three words, the corners of his mouth, which he had been suppressing, couldn't help but twitch upwards. He had to forcefully suppress the smile.

Chu Ze chuckled and said, "That old man must have been tricked. Instead of foolishly rushing in, we should just watch the show first."

"Anyway," Chu Ze's gaze drifted further and further away, finally settling on some unknown corner, "I think someone will take the bait."

……

The girl first looked calm, then incredulous, and then somewhat angry as she looked at Ji Ying.

She pointed to the turtles crawling all over the ground, and said in a tone that was both amused and exasperated, "You didn't call these guys here, did you?"

Ji Ying denied it decisively: "No."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "How could I possibly hang such a large fragment of Wenxin around a turtle's neck? I'm not that magnanimous."

"Yeah, I guess so." The girl lowered her eyes, a hilariously irritating image of someone flashing through her mind, and couldn't help but say, "That guy's got a screw loose..."

Hearing her say that, Ji Ying naturally guessed who she was cursing. He reached out and pressed his hand against his mask, the icy temperature running through his fingertips.

After a moment, he suggested, "Some people probably won't be showing their faces for the time being."

"Just a bunch of clowns who all want to watch the show." The girl sneered, turning her gaze to Ji Ying. "And you, you always beat around the bush."

"Really?" he said. "I'm used to pretending, please forgive me."