The sage was determined to die.

Do those who cheat deserve to receive literary praise?

Ji Bai deeply despised people like himself.

Faced with the elderly woman who was bullying him despite his age, he sighed and asked, "Has anyone successfully been given a new lease on life?"

The mother-in-law, suddenly feeling like she'd been doused with cold water, gave a wry smile, but ultimately said honestly, "There will always be some."

That means there isn't any left.

Ji Bai scratched his neck and comforted him, "Look on the bright side, in a way, they are also a new generation."

The old woman threw a sharp glare at Ji Bai, as if to say, "You're really good at comforting people."

To be honest, this result was not unexpected by Ji Bai.

The number of people allowed to enter the Book Mountain is extremely limited, making it incredibly difficult for guards to leave.

After all, if it's easy to get in but hard to get out, that's called pyramid selling.

But why was he able to become a guard as soon as he entered the Book Mountain?

He was both a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and a guard; it was as if a special back door had been opened just for him.

Ji Bai looked at the old woman who was having a heart-to-heart talk, and thinking about the identity he was currently impersonating, he frowned slightly and said thoughtfully, "Do you think we can really get out of here?"

His statement contained no extra information; it was purely a ploy to elicit information from the other party.

Fortunately, the mother-in-law who talked to me was still the same old sieve.

The old woman didn't answer the question directly. She took a few puffs of her cigarette and pondered, "Don't give up. We're all people whose pasts have been severed. I still vaguely remember that I went out to buy groceries and was hit by something. When I opened my eyes again, I was in the Book Mountain and assigned to be a guard here."

She covered her head with one hand, her features gradually contorted, and her expression became extremely confused and pained.

"I've also spoken with other guards, but none of us remember our past."

"but--"

The old woman slowly turned her cloudy eyes and said to Ji Bai, "I always remember that in my hometown, it seemed like people could fly in the sky?"

"No, no, that's not right."

She shook her head, held up her fingers to make a rectangle, and said, "Anyone who sits in a metal box can not only fly on the ground, but also fly in the sky."

Ji Bai slowly opened his eyes.

In that instant, goosebumps rose all over his body.

Although the old woman's gestures were extremely messy, he still recognized the general outline she had drawn—an airplane.

"I can't remember anything else."

The elderly woman regained her arrogance, looked at Ji Bai, and waved her hand: "I suppose the place I lived before must have been the legendary Immortal Realm. Among the many guards of the Book Mountain, few can compare to me. You don't need to feel inferior in front of me."

She had hoped to see Ji Bai's surprised expression, but the effect far exceeded her expectations.

The other person suddenly stood up from the ground, grabbed her hand, and made a vivid expression, with the corners of their mouth opening and closing.

"Was the place you originally lived in modern times?"

"I never imagined you were a time traveler too. Do you remember which city you're from?"

But she couldn't hear a single word of these words.

"What are you babbling about?" the old woman frowned. "Are you deliberately insulting me without saying a word? What, trying to show off in front of me?"

Ji Bai shut up.

It seems the other party couldn't hear what he was saying.

However, he seemed to know why he could become the guardian of the mountain of books.

"Could the guards of the Book Mountain all be time travelers?" He couldn't help but think of this chilling possibility.

As Ji Bai thought to himself, he looked at the old woman in front of him and thought about how she had been trapped in the mountain of books for countless years and had lost her memory as soon as she traveled through time.

But he possesses his own memories, and he wasn't born here. He not only became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the State of Qi, but also had the opportunity to travel back in time.

Am I a lucky time traveler, or am I stuck in a bug?

Ji Bai wanted to exchange a few more words with the other party, but Wen Xin, hidden in his heart, suddenly burned, the scalding heat almost burning through his heart.

The countdown is accelerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ji Bai's face turned pale, and he instinctively clutched his chest.

The old woman, however, paid little attention to him; her gaze was now completely drawn to the sapling.

In an instant, the sapling sprouted roots and grew, bearing a green fruit.

The fruit was exactly the same as the one seen in the illusion.

Gongsun Yang and the others quickly ran towards the saplings, their faces first showing disbelief, then almost unable to hide their ecstatic joy.

"How come this literary talent has matured so quickly this time?" the old woman murmured.

Meanwhile, outside the Puppet Forest.

The states of Chen and Chu were not far apart, yet the atmosphere between them was already tense. Chu Xi gripped her sword, ready to charge at Chen Ji at any moment, and said with disgust, "Chen Ji, everything has its order of arrival. Don't be so arrogant."

Chen Ji chuckled dismissively.

He stood there with his arms crossed, looking at Chu Xi as if she were a dead man: "You are not worthy to speak to me."

Just as Chu Xi was about to explode, Chu Ze reached out and stopped his younger brother.

He turned to Chen Ji, who had clearly gained Wenxin's favor, and said, "Chen Ji, before entering the Book Mountain, our two countries had already agreed not to interfere with each other in the Book Mountain."

Chu Ze lifted his eyelids and glanced at Chen Ji's chest, saying, "The Wenxin you possess now has considerable killing intent. Even if you were to break the agreement and try to steal another one, do you think you could control it?"

Chen Ji pressed the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth and said sarcastically, "Chu Ze, aren't you tired of pretending to be a grandson all day long? If you keep pretending to be a grandson, you'll really become one."

"I'm going to steal it, what can you do about it?"

Chen Ji's words of humiliation were tantamount to slapping the Chu people in the face.

Chu Xi made a move to rush towards the other party, but was stopped by Chu Ze. His expression was completely calm, as if he wasn't the one being scolded.

"Then let's see who has the best skills." Chu Ze smiled. "If you win, you'll get to see a genius die from being overwhelmed by two Wen Xin. That wouldn't be bad either."

Chen Ji immediately prepared to take action.

Just then, a cold system voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

The "Iron Wall" test of Wenxin has officially begun.

Without a moment's hesitation, the two groups immediately rushed into the puppet forest. Chu Ze, who was leading the group, had a calm expression, while Chen Ji's expression was extremely crazy.

As Chen Ji ran, he threatened Chu Ze, who was a few steps behind him, saying, "So what if you're a prince of Chu? You're just waiting to die."

A while later.

Outside the Puppet Forest, Yan Ming and his companions emerged from the ground once more.

"Brother Yan, they've all gone in. Should we go in too?" The person who spoke wiped the dirt off his face and looked at Yan Ming.

Yan Ming, however, thought of Ji Bai's face.

"Do you think Ji Bai might be inside?"