The sage was determined to die.

The screams coming from the entrance were indeed ear-piercing and desperate, sending chills down one's spine.

Before the group that followed them even entered, they were frightened by the sound, their steps slowed, their faces filled with fear, and their resolve wavered.

Ji Bai nodded, put his arm around Yan Ming's shoulder, and affirmed, "You acted well, but a bit too much."

"Acting?" Yan Ming couldn't help but roll his eyes, saying to Ji Bai, "Aren't you a little too insensitive?"

Caught off guard, Ji Bai struck Yan Ming's soft belly with lightning speed. Yan Ming immediately bent over and took a moment to catch his breath.

The person, settling a personal score, said calmly, "Do you understand?"

"Understand...my...mystery."

Yan Ming's face turned red and purple, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself that he had never seen such a petty and narrow-minded man.

"See?" Ji Bai waved his hand, as if to say, "I knew it." "It's hard to make a sound when you're really being beaten."

Upon hearing this, Yan Ming immediately straightened up, clearly indicating that his back and legs were not sore.

He wasn't stupid; he naturally understood the meaning behind Ji Bai's words: "This guy's scheming is so unpredictable; he was just faking it."

"Reduce competitors," Ji Bai nodded and said, "through legal means."

The two weren't speaking loudly, and no one dared to eavesdrop on them.

When the others who were not familiar with him heard Gongsun Yang scream so loudly as soon as he entered, some hesitated while others did not stop. Seeing that they would not get any answers in a short time, Ji Bai did not stay there any longer.

Seeing that Ji Bai had no intention of staying there, Yan Ming naturally followed closely behind, asking the question he had been pondering for a long time as they walked.

"So, what are you really thinking?"

Yan Ming looked around and whispered in Ji Bai's ear, "Why did you let someone else take Wenxin?"

Ji Bai nimbly moved aside, creating distance between himself and the man. He picked at his ear with his little finger and joked, "Perhaps it's because I don't need it?"

Yan Ming: "..."

He was often speechless when faced with this person, and now he had somewhat gotten used to being speechless.

Ji Bai shrugged slightly, his tone enigmatic: "Actually, I'm just stirring up the waters so I can fish in troubled waters."

Yan Ming scratched his head and asked a rather natural question: "And then?"

"And then?" Ji Bai thought for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "And then...maybe I'll become famous?"

……

The girl's face was pale. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding. For some reason, she felt a little palpitated.

"They should be fighting by now, right?"

The girl slowly curled the corners of her lips and said to Ji Ying beside her, "You can go and fish in troubled waters now."

Ji Ying nodded, covering the mask with one hand, and suddenly said, "What if the waters aren't muddied?"

The girl frowned slightly and said, "A single top-grade literary talent, surely that's enough to cause them to fight?"

"Humans are very greedy creatures." The girl's eyes seemed to recall something, and her tone was very firm. "Faced with huge profits, even brothers and sisters can fight to the death, let alone a group of strangers who are not related by blood."

Ji Ying didn't say much, she just smiled slightly.

"If a farmer finds a piece of ink, he might just throw it away as a stone and not know its value."

"I do have some concerns," he said.