The sage was determined to die.

The two conspired loudly in front of the person in question.

Ji Tianyuan wasn't deaf, so of course he could hear it.

"Hey, that's enough."

Ji Tianyuan kicked Xie Bi'an, fearing that if he had been any later, Xie Bi'an would have exposed all his secrets.

"Why don't you tell him how much you've benefited from Wenxin?" the chubby boy snorted.

Xie Bi'an instantly reverted to his nonchalant attitude, his change of expression as swift as a professional actor. He put his arm around Ji Bai's shoulder and patted him hard: "Ji Bai, seeing your brother suffering like this, you must feel sorry for me, right?"

Ji Bai nodded: "I can bear it."

Xie Bi'an pretended not to hear what he said and invited, "Actually, even if you didn't come, we were planning to come to see you in a couple of days anyway. However, we originally planned to sneak into your room while you were asleep at night..."

Ji Bai took a few steps back, instantly creating distance between himself and Xie Bi'an. He crossed his arms and looked at Xie Bi'an with suspicion and wariness: "Xie Bi'an, I consider you a friend. You wouldn't be thinking about something you shouldn't, would you?"

Xie Bi'an looked completely bewildered.

Ji Tianyuan sighed and shoved Xie Bi'an aside, saying politely, "We were originally planning to talk to you in a couple of days about whether we could beat you up under the cover of darkness and record it with a recording device. After all, you're the victim, so we had to let you know first."

Ji Bai was utterly speechless: "...I have no grudge against either of you, do I?"

Ji Tianyuan grinned wickedly, "But you have a grudge against Wei Zhiyuan and Yan Ming. Those idiots are easy targets for exploitation. Ji Bai, could you cooperate and let us beat you up? In a couple of days, Xie Bi'an and I will take the photo-op to scam those fools out of their money. How about we split the profits 50/50?"

"Brother, I've been to the Book Mountain before. It's really not easy to survive there. You have to stock up on things like nutritional pills. These things aren't cheap, and if you don't have enough, you'll be starving and have to eat grass once you get to the Book Mountain." As if recalling some unpleasant taste, Xie Bi'an's face showed a bitter expression.

Thinking of the three hundred taels of silver notes he had left in his pocket, which he had just borrowed from the chief minister, he realized that although he planned to die a glorious death in the mountains of books, a glorious death itself required money.

However, Ji Bai felt that as a normal person, he should avoid contact with these two mentally unstable individuals in the future.

Ji Bai frowned slightly and added to the plan, "It's too hasty to just beat me up like this. After all, I'm going to the Book Mountain in a few days. Who would be stupid enough to attack me at this time?"

"You guys bring the photo tube first, then pretend to poison my cup. I'll pretend to drink it unintentionally, and then lie on the ground convulsing in pain," Ji Bai emphasized. "Make sure to take lots of pictures of my profile; I look more handsome in profile."

Xie Bi'an: "..."

Ji Tianyuan: "..."

.

Two days later.

Ji Tianyuan swaggered into the Imperial Preceptor's residence. Having once been a prince, no servant dared to stop him, and he met Wei Zhiyuan without any hindrance.

The once arrogant Wei Zhiyuan now lay on the bed in agony, his eyes fixed on Ji Tianyuan with a gloomy gaze, his lips dry and chapped: "What are you doing here, you madman? Did you come here just to mock me?"

Ji Tianyuan dodged the broken porcelain shards on the ground. The magnificent bedroom had been completely destroyed by Wei Zhiyuan. Any one of the broken vases could be used as food for an ordinary family for ten years.

He stared at the swollen, broken leg and clicked his tongue, saying, "Isn't the Grand Preceptor far too cold-hearted? It's just a minor injury; didn't he go to the Kui Xing Pavilion to find a scholar to heal you with incantations of words?"

Wei Zhiyuan sneered, "Grandfather said to let me suffer for a while to teach me a lesson. Can you shut up, you deposed prince?"

Ji Tianyuan touched his nose, took out the recording ball, and started playing the video.

Although the recording ball was a product of the Grand Scholar's Word of Power, it could only be used a limited number of times. The recorded images were small and the quality was not very clear, but they clearly captured the face that Wei Zhiyuan could not forget day and night.

Wei Zhiyuan straightened his back, gritting his teeth as he stared at Ji Bai. He watched as Ji Bai collapsed to the ground shortly after drinking the water, writhing in agony, his face gradually turning pale. He looked like he was in great pain until a familiar, plump figure came over and helped him up.

"Have you finished watching?" Ji Tianyuan put away the recording ball.

"I've finished watching it."

Wei Zhiyuan glared at him, saying sarcastically, "You seem to have a pretty good relationship with this bastard, even going so far as to help him up. What, you even took a picture to show off to me?"

Ji Tianyuan: "..."

How is this person's brain structured? No wonder he got his leg broken by someone he'd only known for a few days.

"What I mean is—"

Ji Tianyuan pointed her chubby finger at herself and shouted, "I'm the one who poisoned him! I'm the one who killed him! I'm wicked, don't you understand?"

Wei Zhiyuan's expression changed, and he asked strangely, "You have a grudge against him too?"

Ji Tianyuan thought Ji Bai was right. The only way to deal with Wei Zhiyuan was to go straight, because if they went around in circles, the other party wouldn't understand them.

He plopped down on the edge of the bed, spreading his hands gloatingly at Wei Zhiyuan, and said, "What grudge could I possibly have against him? But I'm short of money. The poison I gave him is a kind of 'word magic,' which increases his chances of dying in the mountain of books, but I can cancel it at any time. It just depends on how much money you're willing to spend to save his life."

If any other prince said he was short of money, Wei Zhiyuan would just take it as nonsense.

Although Ji Tianyuan still bears the surname Ji, he has long been removed from the family genealogy.

His literary talent destined him to be a poor man who lacked money.

"You didn't conspire with Ji Bai to deliberately deceive me, did you?" Wei Zhiyuan naturally knew that Ji Bai was currently living in the Imperial Academy, and that the fat man in front of him had been living there for six years.

"Don't believe me if you want."

Ji Tianyuan didn't tolerate him. He got up and headed straight for the door, but he deliberately slowed down his pace.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Seeing the fat man's unpredictable mood, Wei Zhiyuan couldn't help but say, "Wait a minute."

Meanwhile, the Yan family...

Yan Ming did not recognize Xie Bi'an as the pale-faced jailer. He had met Xie Bi'an a few times, and although they were not close, he knew that Xie Bi'an had been working for the Kui Xing Pavilion.

"Are you sure you have a way to get me to follow Ji Bai through the mountain of books and then steal his literary talent?"

Yan Ming sneered, "Xie Bi'an, my father is the Minister of Rites, he's not someone you can easily fool."

Xie Bi'an calmly sipped his tea and ate his pastries, saying between chews, "I'm just here to deliver a message. Anyway, I've got the message. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

He glanced at the sky as if preparing to leave: "Talking to me costs money. If you don't pay a deposit, I have to go to the next place."

"etc."

Yan Ming slowly took out a stack of silver notes, his tone proud: "Your wording is wrong. What do you mean by stealing? If Ji Bai gained nothing in the mountain of books, but I obtained the Heart of Literature, it can only mean that the Heart of Literature was originally destined for me."