The sage was determined to die.

Gongsun Yang was clearly taken aback.

He asked instinctively, "Why didn't you laugh at me?"

Ji Bai stood there with his arms crossed, his gaze clear, yet he seemed rather unserious. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Why would I mock someone who works hard?"

"you--"

Gongsun Yang hesitated for a moment, then suddenly revealed a somewhat relaxed smile: "You really are different."

He spread his hands, avoiding Ji Bai's gaze, but his tone quickened: "Isn't it always like that? Poor people want to make deals with rich people, even if they give up everything, the rich people just treat it as a joke."

He paused, then said in a joking tone, "No, the rich don't have time to listen to that; they'll just drive the poor away without hesitation."

After saying this, he looked into Ji Bai's eyes but saw that the other man remained expressionless. He then said, "Isn't this normal?"

Gongsun Yang's face stiffened.

Ji Bai smiled and said, "The rich have everything, while the poor have nothing. What do you think the poor have that's worth trading with the rich?"

Gongsun Yang did not speak, not because he did not want to answer, but because he could not answer for the time being.

Ji Bai sighed, feeling a sense of helplessness, like someone trying to answer a question that seemed like a free point but the other person couldn't.

He said, "Time is the most precious and fairest thing. Whether rich or poor, scholar or beggar, everyone can only share the twelve two-hour periods of each day."

He extended his hand to the other person with a bright smile.

"So, how much time are you willing to spend to obtain a literary heart that won't be stolen by the five great families?"

Gongsun Yang's heart began to pound violently.

He had never felt his heart so weak; it seemed as if every blood vessel in his body was rushing into his heart at that moment, his eardrums were pounding, and he could only hear the echo of his heartbeat.

He didn't understand why the other person was so confident.

He heard himself say in a very discouraging voice, "Don't you know? During famine years, a bag of rice could be exchanged for several lives. Their time wasn't that precious."

He saw the other person frown, then reach up and cover his own forehead, cursing, "Those scholars are really just wasting their time."

He heard himself swallow hard, deeply regretting his words, and tried to salvage the situation: "If I could obtain such a literary heart, I would certainly be willing to give up the rest of my life, but—"

The other person interrupted his "but," still with that smiling face, and said, "Hey, actually, all that buildup was just to trick you into saying that."

The curve of Ji Bai's lips gradually disappeared, his pursed lips no longer held any emotion, and his bright eyes momentarily lost their focus.

He said, "I will help you, but you also need to spend all your time doing one thing."

"What is it?"

Gongsun Yang made a gesture of swearing an oath, which, once made, would bind him to the sacred path.

This was a bold decision, but as long as he could gain enough benefits, Gongsun Yang did not regret it.

He has always been a ruthless person. Coming from a small country, his bottom line is much lower than that of those self-important people from large countries.

"Do your utmost to ensure your country never suffers another year of famine," Ji Bai said. "That's it."

Gongsun Yang's smile turned slightly bitter: "I thought it was something serious. I would have done this myself, even though it's difficult..."

Are you sure you want me to do this?

Gongsun Yang pursed his lips and said, "This doesn't seem to be worthwhile for you. Even if I could do it, it wouldn't benefit you much."

"It doesn't matter."

Ji Bai glanced at him and said, "There's a story from my hometown: the waves washed thousands of small fish into the shallow pools on the beach. If left unattended, the fish would die from the sun."

"A kind little boy, disregarding what others thought, went to collect these small fish and then threw them back into the sea. No matter how others mocked him, saying that there were so many fish, he couldn't possibly collect them all, and no one cared."

"Anyway, this little fish cares," Ji Bai relayed. "The little boy looked at the fish in his hand and said, 'This one cares, this one cares too...'"

Gongsun Yang stared blankly at Ji Bai, not realizing what the other party meant for a moment.

After Ji Bai finished speaking, he laughed for a while, then said to Gongsun Yang, "Why don't you say anything?"

"This story is quite special," Gongsun Yang said dryly after reading it. "It's really unique..."

"I thought you could guess that I was homesick?" Ji Bai joked.