The sage was determined to die.

"Are you here to deliberately sow discord between us?"

Yan Ming ignored the attitudes of the others. He suddenly took two steps forward and grabbed Ji Bai's collar, only to be slapped away by the other party indifferently.

Ji Bai remained calm, straightening his collar and ignoring Yan Ming's feigned anger, saying indifferently, "I didn't provoke anything, I just exposed it."

The people of Qi had considered what Ji Bai would be like if he miraculously survived and returned.

They just didn't expect that his appearance would expose their relationship with Yan Ming.

"Whether inside or outside the mountain of books, those with a literary mind and those without are always two different kinds of people. Don't you also look down on them, thinking yourself superior to others?"

Ji Bai said this with a particularly sarcastic tone.

"What exactly do you want?"

Yan Ming's instincts told him that Ji Bai's appearance was full of provocation, sarcasm, and ridicule. This different Ji Bai must have a purpose, but he couldn't figure out what the other party wanted.

"It's nothing." Ji Bai licked his lower lip. "I just want to expose your relationship so that you'll listen to me."

Yan Ming: "..."

Others: "..."

Is this guy always so irritating?

Why should we listen to you?

One of the scholars was about to launch into a tirade, but upon meeting Bai's sharp gaze, he suddenly remembered that the other man already had feelings for Wenxin. His tone softened involuntarily, and he awkwardly added, "Surely we should get something in return?"

Ji Bai put his arm around the scholar's shoulder, acting like they were buddies, and slightly raised his chin to Yan Ming, saying, "Didn't you bunch of people without any literary talent all have to listen to Yan Ming before?"

"Yan Ming's literary talent isn't very high, and besides, he's probably quite annoyed by you bunch of burdens."

As if he had X-ray vision, Ji Bai even appraised Yan Ming's literary talent, then shook his head with some regret and said, "As long as you listen to me, I can protect you if you encounter people from other countries."

The crowd seemed somewhat swayed by Ji Bai's words.

Yan Ming's teeth were grinding together. Just as he was hesitating whether to strike Ji Bai first to vent his anger or continue to endure it, the instigator walked up to him again and whispered in his ear, "Now that they know they can steal Wen Xin from someone else, can you guarantee they won't target you?"

Yan Ming suddenly looked at him, his eyes full of suspicion.

"I'm here," Ji Bai said in his usual joking tone, "At least I can take some of your attention away, right?"

Yan Ming couldn't help but scratch his head and said, "Isn't this all because of you?"

Ji Bai nodded and said with a smile, "How could it be because of me? Besides, don't you want to improve your literary talent level?"

He casually dropped another bombshell.

If Ji Bai had dared to say that before, Yan Ming would have thought he was joking.

But Ji Bai now... is really different.

Could it be that Ji Bai had some kind of extraordinary encounter while alone in the mountain of books these past few days?

"What exactly do you want?"

Yan Ming asked the question again, but he quickly shook his head and said more specifically, "Tell me your plans for the future."

Ji Bai's gaze swept over the crowd, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were thinking about something, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

"I have a plan."

"But with your qualifications... it probably won't be easy to do."