The sage was determined to die.

Ji Bai opened his eyes and realized that he had already stepped out of the box.

The girl followed him, casually putting the box into her pocket. She pulled out a piece of fruit from somewhere, munching on it as she ate. After a moment, she suddenly felt a pang of melancholy.

"But how exactly do you use Wenxin?"

She held up two fingers, first pointing to her own eyes, then tapping the other person's heart in the air, and said, "You have two hearts, don't you?"

"It's not usable."

Ji Bai thought for a moment, then continued, "I can only borrow it. If you'd like, I can try to help you."

After saying this uncertain thing, Ji Bai couldn't help but tilt his head slightly, avoiding direct eye contact.

As he expected, the girl frowned and refused: "Wenxin? I'm not very interested in things that can't be explained by logic."

Ji Bai raised an eyebrow, looked at her without saying anything.

The girl didn't stop there. Instead, she tapped her head and said, "Obtaining a literary talent allows one to ascend to the heavens in one step and possess abilities unlike ordinary people. Is that right?"

Thinking of the abilities of the two literary hearts he possessed, Ji Bai nodded.

"You could say that," he thought for a moment and said, "like a superhero movie."

The girl slowly nodded, staring at Ji Bai's chest, and said thoughtfully, "This thing looks a lot like the parasite in my brain, except it doesn't manipulate the central nervous system, but rather changes the shape of cells?"

In the end, she couldn't help but ask a question mark.

"Do you really have to explain metaphysics from such a scientific perspective?"

"have no idea."

The girl opened her clear eyes, and Ji Bai found his own reflection in them, as well as a trace of barely perceptible worry.

"I always felt this thing wasn't that good."

After saying that, she muttered to herself, "We shouldn't be the ones guarding the good stuff."

Ji Bai did not speak again.

After hearing her words, it was as if a thread without beginning or end was running through his mind. He tried to reach out and grab it, but the thread broke.

Just then, the girl suddenly pulled out a box and hit herself on the head, then looked at Ji Bai and said, "I don't think I have much time left to be sober."

……

Wang Zhixuan remained silent for a long time.

He was somewhat disappointed when he opened his eyes.

He hadn't expected the assessment to be so simple. He stood alone in the pitch-black space, where there was no color, no sound, and no smell.

You can't see it, you can't hear it, you can't smell it.

He had undergone countless tests of patience since childhood, but this one was different. At first, he could talk to himself, but as time went on, he found that he could no longer make a sound.

Thinking about the fundamental difference between himself and that group of good-for-nothings, he took a deep breath and began to silently record the time in his mind.

A day passed. He didn't think much of it.

Seven days passed. He showed no signs of fatigue.

A month passed. He started to get a little irritable.

Five months have passed. His thoughts are beginning to become confused.

Wang Zhixuan took a deep breath, comforting himself that this was a necessary sacrifice to gain Wenxin, while he began to record the days again to keep himself clear-headed.

He knew perfectly well that even if a long time passed here, only a short moment might have passed outside.

Nine months passed while he was still conscious.

He tried to make a sound, but still couldn't utter a single word.

Wang Zhixuan closed his eyes again, since whether he opened them or not, all he would see was darkness anyway.

After countless attempts to reset the time, he finally heard a sound.

"You're pretty resilient."

The examiner's harsh voice rang in his ears.

"They haven't lost consciousness yet?"