The sage was determined to die.

He must be hallucinating.

Seeing that Ji Bai didn't react for a while, the pale-faced jailer thought to himself that he was still just a young man, and it seemed that he had been blinded by joy. So he reminded him, "Why are you still sitting here, Ji Bai? Haven't you had enough of your prison food yet?"

Ji Bai asked in a rhetorical tone, "Did I kick the wrong person?"

Black Impermanence shook his head: "Young Master Wei is still recuperating at home. I heard he's been calling your name day and night."

Ji Bai pursed his lips, somewhat incredulously asking, "Could it be that the Imperial Advisor has suddenly changed his mind and decided to stop making things difficult for me?"

Bai Wuchang sneered, "The Imperial Preceptor's nature is naturally hard to change."

Ji Bai carefully observed the two men. These two were clearly not ordinary prison guards. Although their clothes were ordinary, their arm muscles were bulging, and their faces looked as if they were made of paper. Upon closer inspection, they had a somewhat creepy, fake-human appearance.

Recalling all the melodramatic dramas he'd watched involving the murder of loyal officials, Ji Bai, clinging to his last shred of hope, pleaded, "You two were sent by the Imperial Advisor to assassinate me, weren't you?"

He was, after all, a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and the Imperial Preceptor could not kill him in name only, so he let him "die of illness" in prison. Isn't that how it's always portrayed in TV dramas?

The two jailers' faces immediately darkened, as if they had heard some insult. Without responding, they reached out and grabbed Ji Bai, pulling him out of the cell.

Ji Bai quickly waved goodbye to his fellow inmates.

The fellow inmates beside him forced smiles. They had felt terrible when they heard that a scholar like Ji Bai was going to be beheaded, but now that he had been released without charge, they felt even worse...

Only the bearded man wore a relieved smile, as if to say, "Just as I expected."

.

Half an hour later, at Zhenlong Restaurant.

As the premier restaurant in Kyoto, Zhenlong Restaurant has always catered only to princes, nobles, and aristocratic families. Its exorbitantly priced dishes are beyond the reach of ordinary people. However, the extravagant "Burning Tail Banquet," held every three years for newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), is astounding. At the same time, it does not charge officials of the sixth rank or above, as well as Jinshi, a fee. Over time, it has become a place for newly appointed Jinshi to get to know each other.

The banquet has been held for three days, and more and more scholars are coming to attend, making the event increasingly grand.

On stage, the courtesan's face was veiled by a light gauze, and the delicate sound of her pipa was captivating. The table was laden with the aroma of delicacies, yet no one touched their chopsticks. The scene was deathly silent, with everyone looking, some directly, some indirectly, towards a certain spot where someone who should have been dead was sitting.

Not only were they surprised, but Ji Bai himself was also very surprised.

"The laws of Qi are truly dark," Ji Bai sighed.

The world is going to the dogs; even someone like him who attempted murder can be released.

On the way here, the two jailers had already told him the whole story. The reason he was able to get out of prison so quickly was because the Grand Scholar of Kui Xing Pavilion said that he had been pre-selected by Shu Shan and had been chosen by Shu Shan, thus possessing a life-saving charm.

This world is endowed with the sacred way, which is above all else. The Kui Xing Pavilion is similar to the education department in later times, but it also has the responsibility of studying the sacred way and managing the imperial examinations, giving it a transcendent status.

Although they were Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) of the State of Qi, the Emperor of Qi did not have the qualification to be selected in the palace examinations. Only by entering the Shushan (mountain of books) and acquiring literary talent could they truly possess a literary rank.

"Sigh, in the end, it's because my talent went too far." Ji Bai drank a glass of wine expressionlessly, the bitter wine making his heart ache as it went down his throat.

"I really envy you scholars; you can boast about yourselves without even blushing," the pale-faced jailer said while eating meat.

Since the food was served, the two of them hadn't stopped eating. They didn't hold any official positions, and if they hadn't come with Ji Bai, the newly appointed Jinshi, this meal would have been enough to make their wallets bleed.

The dark-faced jailer poured himself a full glass of wine and said with a hint of reserve, "Does student Ji know why we brought you here?"

Ji Bai took a sip of his wine: "So you could make it to this post-banquet feast?"

"No, it's because the innkeeper of the inn where you were staying heard that you had hit the Grand Preceptor's grandson. He was so frightened that he threw your luggage into the street overnight and burned all the bedding you had slept on."

The pale-faced jailer chimed in, "No inn in the capital dares to take you in now."

The dark-faced man nodded: "I've heard that you have no parents, you're not even from a poor family, you don't own any property in Beijing, and you have no relatives to rely on."

Ji Bai didn't care much about his luggage. The original owner of this body was penniless, with only a few old books as his possessions. But thinking about how he was about to sleep on the streets, he felt a little sad: "It seems that it's better to eat government food in prison, where food and lodging are provided."

"Well... you don't really need to worry too much."

The dark-faced man took a sip of wine, a sly smile playing on his lips. He said, "You are the only Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) selected by the Book Mountain in this year's examination. In ten days, you will be chosen for the final imperial examination at the Book Mountain. All Jinshi who survive the examination will become high-ranking officials and nobles in the future. Even if all the inns in the capital refuse to accommodate you, the Zhenlong Restaurant will provide you with food and lodging."

"Aren't they afraid?" Although Ji Bai had only been in the world for seven days, he knew of the prestige of the Grand Preceptor Wei Huan. It was no exaggeration to say that he could control everything in the Qi Kingdom.

Although Ji Bai broke his grandson's leg, he also slapped him in the face to some extent.

"I'm afraid, but this is His Majesty's decree." The pale-faced man smiled mysteriously. "If it weren't for His Majesty's bestowal of the name, how could a restaurant dare to use 'Zhenlong' as its signboard?"

Ji Bai suddenly realized.

The three of them talked as if no one else was around, and Ji Bai was completely oblivious to the intense gazes around him. However, this nonchalant demeanor was seen as bullying others by those with ulterior motives.

The banquet at Shaowei Banquet was always extravagant in its dishes and elegant in its setting, resembling a flowing stream with wine cups. Not far away, beside a rockery and separated by several screens, a scholar in white robes gripped his wine cup tightly, watching Ji Bai's every move. Then, with a "bang," he slammed the wine cup onto the table and said angrily, "Shameless! Utterly shameless!"

"I have lived in the capital for over twenty years and have never seen such a despicable and treacherous person. It was all for naught that Young Master Wei treated him with such sincerity, yet this villain broke Young Master Wei's leg for no reason the day before yesterday. Today, I don't know whose connections he has to get out of jail, but instead of apologizing to Young Master Wei, he is here swaggering around drinking and eating meat, completely disregarding us."

The scholar in white, named Yan Ming, relied on his father's position as Minister of Rites, so the scholars from humble backgrounds who were invited by him dared not refuse. The Yan family had always been close to the Imperial Preceptor, and the other scholars at the table knew this perfectly well, but they all echoed his sentiments.

"Young Master Yan is right. To be a fellow newly appointed scholar with this person is truly despicable to me."

"To injure someone in the street and then dare to attend a banquet for burning tails—such shamelessness is truly astounding!"

"Alas, to sit at the same table with such a despicable person is such a waste of such delicacies."

"Gentlemen, you are all so discerning in your judgment of right and wrong; you truly are pillars of our Qi state." Yan Ming smiled smugly and called out, "In that case, I will go with you all to meet this Ji Bai and teach him what the true path of sainthood is."

Upon hearing that they were really going to confront Ji Bai, the scholars who had been talking incessantly just moments before immediately fell silent. Those who could pass the imperial examinations were certainly not fools; ordinary people who offended the Imperial Preceptor would only be waiting to die. Ji Bai must have something to rely on to get out of prison so quickly.

They hadn't officially entered the court yet, so naturally they didn't want to take sides at this time. The crowd looked at each other, some stammering, some taking a swig of wine and pretending to get drunk, and others slowly covering their faces with their hands...

Yan Ming's face immediately darkened: "My father once said—"

The other scholars at the table immediately sobered up, realizing they had almost forgotten that Yan Ming's father was a high-ranking official, a second-rank official who could crush them like water.

Everyone stood up and said they were willing to go.

.

"It would be great if we could choose voluntarily."

Ji Bai sighed, thinking that if the system allowed suicide, he would want to immediately put on a show that he was no longer in the world.

Ji Bai wasn't deaf, of course. Hearing the commotion nearby, he suddenly smiled and said to the two people in front of him, "The three of us are sitting here eating so openly. Do you know what usually happens next?"

The pale-faced jailer let out a burp, picking his teeth with an extremely fine needle: "What happened?"

Ji Bai cleared his throat and said jokingly, "The most clichéd development would be that a group of people suddenly rush out, point their fingers at me, and say, 'Young Master Wei has been beaten up like that by you, how dare you eat here!'"

The pale-faced jailer burst into laughter at his amusement: "How could that be? This is Zhenlong Restaurant, the most expensive restaurant in the capital. How could so many idiots come here to make a fool of themselves?"

No sooner had the words been spoken than a white-robed scholar raised his chin high and led a large group of scholars over in a grand procession. Unfortunately, their steps were too disjointed, making them appear somewhat comical.

Several people crowded around their table, their sharp gazes fixed on Ji Bai. The leader coldly said, "You're Ji Bai, aren't you? You beat Young Master Wei up like that, and instead of visiting him, you're here drinking and eating?"

The pale-faced jailer: "..."