The sage was determined to die.

Gongsun Yang was surprised that the red-faced examiner was so trustworthy.

They said they'd let him go, and they actually did.

Considering that both Chen and Chu would target him, the examiner even specially chose an alternative route for him.

Gongsun Yang was extremely cautious, but he still chose the path recommended by the examiner.

It wasn't that he trusted the other party that much, but rather that he didn't have a national team to rely on, and being alone in the mountains of books was inherently dangerous. No matter which way he went, the risks were the same.

At that moment, he didn't know that Ji Bai, who was giving him directions, was also terrible with directions. He was just avoiding the directions of the people from Chen and Chu and randomly pointed him in one direction.

In other words, Ji Bai was actually pointing randomly.

Gongsun Yang was quite lucky. He walked alone for an unknown amount of time and stood on the scorched earth, a land called the Mountain of Books, which in reality had nothing to do with books except for intrigue and backstabbing. He was so tired that his head was spinning and his mouth was dry.

When he emerged from the Puppet Forest, he was penniless except for the tree branch he used as a walking stick.

I should have drunk my fill of water before leaving.

Gongsun Yang licked his chapped lips, his throat burning as if he had swallowed charcoal, making it difficult for him to even speak.

Just then, he encountered a small group of people.

When you encounter a foreign team amidst a mountain of books, the outcome is often summed up in one word—death.

Gongsun Yang carefully held his breath, sizing up the foreign team as he moved his feet, ready to leave the area.

The other party did not seem to have noticed him.

Gongsun Yang first slowly took a few steps back, then turned around and started running.

Just as he was about to succeed, a hand silently pressed on his shoulder, causing the dehydrated Gongsun Yang to drip cold water instantly.

"Why are you running away? Stay and have a drink of water." The man said very gently.

Gongsun Yang's body stiffened instantly.

……

Gongsun Yang hadn't expected that this was a Qi state team.

Not long after, Gongsun Yang, who had been forcibly detained, came back with a bamboo tube filled with clean water.

The person who called out to him was a handsome young man. He was tall and had an overly gentle demeanor. After saying only a few words, he would turn his head away, cover his mouth with his hand, and cough a few times, as if he had just been injured.

For some reason, this person felt somewhat familiar to him.

"Drink it, this water isn't poisonous."

When the boy handed him the water, he took a sip first, as if afraid the boy would worry, before giving it to him.

Gongsun Yang held the bamboo tube and drank a few mouthfuls.

He certainly didn't believe there would be such a kind-hearted person among the scholars, but since the other side had a large number of people, it wouldn't be too difficult for them to gang up on someone like him who had no literary talent.

After finishing the water with a frown, Gongsun Yang's parched throat was moistened, and he said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Excuse me..."

Before he could finish speaking, a scholar from the State of Qi, who looked menacing, walked over and punched the boy hard in the chest twice.

Yan Ming said angrily, "Ji Bai, it's one thing for you to be a pushover in Qi, but now that you're in the Book Mountain, you're picking people out for you? Don't you know how wicked people are outside?"

As Yan Ming spoke, he didn't forget to glare fiercely at Gongsun Yang.

"If you want to be a pushover, fine, but please don't cause us any trouble!"

Yan Ming raised his fist, almost landing it on the kind-hearted boy, but in the end he had to grit his teeth and reluctantly lower it.

"Don't be so kind."