The sage was determined to die.

The group walked towards Wulibi in a cluster. Looking at Ji Bai at the front, Yan Ming couldn't help but ask:

"What happened to you inside?"

"So curious?"

Ji Bai hooked his arm around the other's neck, his tone gentle yet laced with a hint of threat, "So curious? Why didn't you come in with me before?"

Yan Ming felt somewhat embarrassed.

He thought to himself, who knows how this person will trick him? His trust in Ji Bai is as thin as paper.

Yan Ming explained somewhat stubbornly, "Look, I already have Wenxin... I'm actually quite content."

"Yeah?"

Ji Baichong nodded and said, "Your Wenxin is indeed quite safe now."

"What do you mean?"

Ji Bai lifted his eyelids, his gaze briefly sweeping over the direction of Chu, then discreetly returned to Yan Ming, saying:

"Tell me, what's the difference between superior and lower-grade literary talent?"

Yan Ming, confident in his exceptional talent, naturally picked up on the sarcasm in Ji Bai's words. He said, "Alright, stop showing off your superior literary talent."

He muttered under his breath, "I admit that superior literary talent is better than inferior or middle-grade, but that doesn't mean inferior or middle-grade is necessarily worse than superior, right?"

Ji Bai shook his head, his expression turning serious: "You still don't understand."

Yan Ming pretended to roll his eyes twice.

"Don't rush to refute."

Ji Bai smiled and pointed to the sky. "You yourself understand how difficult it is for a mid-to-lower grade literary talent to surpass a high grade one later on. It's practically impossible."

Ji Bai pointed at Yan Ming, then at himself, and said, "Even the best literary talent is a target; it's not guaranteed to be preserved. In the long run, all the scholars of the various states will be mediocre, of inferior caliber. What difference is there between that and someone who has lost their legs?"

Yan Ming, who was labeled a "mediocre person," shook his fist, the veins on his arm bulging.

But this time he didn't rush to refute.

"I don't need to say much about this; you already understand it yourself."

Ji Bai sighed, his gaze sweeping over the two brothers again, his eyes devoid of any extra emotion.

"There are always some smart people who want to hide themselves, thinking that by turning themselves into ordinary people, they can avoid trouble."

"It's a pity that if you pretend for too long, you'll just become a mediocre person."

Ji Bai looked at Yan Ming, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!" and said, "I didn't mean you're a smart person."

Yan Ming: "..."

.

At the same time, Chu Ze was also looking at Ji Bai.

The more you look at it, the more familiar it seems.

"Brother, what are you looking at?"

Chu Xi followed Chu Ze's gaze and saw Ji Bai's smug face, instinctively feeling displeasure.

"Brother, why is he the only one who came out?"

Chu Xi lowered her voice and speculated, "Those two who went in with him, could it be...?"

"No way," Chu Ze quickly denied. "If only members of the Wang family's collateral branch went in with him, there might be a chance."

Chu Xi scratched his head, finding his earlier thought somewhat amusing.

"Yeah, where would he get the guts to do that..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Ze interrupted him again.

"It's not that I lack the courage," Chu Ze denied, "it's that there's no need."

"He's a smart man."

After saying those three words, Chu Ze couldn't help but sneer: "Smart people are always exceptionally confident in themselves, believing that only the path they choose is correct."

Chu Xi didn't speak. He swallowed hard, feeling that his brother's words, though seemingly a compliment, sounded like a sarcastic remark.

At the same time, it seems like... I'm somewhat denying myself.