Chapter 156: How About We Change to Another One?

"Brother Jiang."
"Master Kong."
"Teacher Kong."
Outside the Sun and Moon Teaching Hall, Jiang Lin descended on his flying sword. Little Niannian, being sent to school by her daddy for the very first time, happily hopped down from her daddy's head. She cutely cupped one hand over the other and bowed to Kong Baba, looking utterly and explosively adorable.
"Good morning, Niannian."
Kong, the scholar standing at the courtyard gate to welcome the children, returned the bow, looking to be in fine spirits.
"Niannian, good morning."
"Niannian, my bento box has octopus meatballs today."
"Niannian, I want to sit next to you today."
Before Jiang Lin and Kong Baba could exchange further pleasantries, soft and sweet voices drifted over from not far away.
Since it was the time for school to start, Jiang Lin was not the only one; parents were arriving one after another to drop off their children.
Several little girls caught sight of Niannian and came running over, happily taking her little hands.
A group of little girls gathered around, their cute voices mingling together, creating a lively scene.
"Yaya, Biluo, Ruhua, this is Niannian's daddy."
Little Niannian happily introduced her friends to her daddy.
"Daddy, they are all my friends."
"Hello there." Jiang Lin smiled and pulled several colorful lollipops from his storage pouch, handing them out to Niannian's friends with practiced ease. "Niannian will be in your care at the school."
"Don't worry, Uncle. Niannian is very popular at our school."
Yaya, a flower sprite, Biluo, a human girl, and the little girls of other races happily accepted Jiang Lin's lollipops.
Looking up at Jiang Lin, a few of the girls around the age of thirteen or fourteen felt their pretty faces flush slightly.
Oh heavens, is this Niannian's daddy? So young and so handsome!
"Brother Jiang, I heard long ago that you were back in the Sun and Moon Sect. Why haven't you been coming out?"
"That's right, Brother Jiang. Have you stocked up on any new goods lately? Without you around, the stuff that guy Fang Chaoqun brings in is mediocre at best."
"Brother Jiang, fancy going chicken-stealing this afternoon?"
"Or how about going to stage a fraudulent accident?"
Following behind the girls were their parents, most of whom were Jiang Lin's regular customers.
Although they occasionally gathered for tea, Jiang Lin had never actually been a guest at their homes.
Jiang Lin had once suspected that they were worried he would cuckold them if he were invited inside.
There was no helping it; being extraordinarily handsome was also a kind of fault.
"Brother Ji, Brother Jiateng..."
Jiang Lin greeted them one by one.

"Morning study is about to begin, lovely maidens, hurry inside."
"Alright, Niannian, go to school. Daddy will come pick you up this afternoon."
"Mm-mm."
Niannian carried her little backpack and ran into the courtyard, waving her little hand at Jiang Lin from outside the teaching hall.
"Goodbye, Daddy."
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Uncle."
"Thank you for the lollipop, Uncle."
"Uncle, can you come to my house for dinner tonight?"
Outside the teaching hall, farewells echoed endlessly. The younger girls knew nothing of such things and simply thanked Jiang Lin for the lollipops.
The older maidens, already blooming into youth, looked at Niannian with entirely different gazes.
Perhaps Niannian would never have imagined that while she considered them friends, they were already starting to think about becoming her mother.
The other parents also exchanged brief pleasantries with Jiang Lin before leaving. Although they would have loved to chat with Brother Jiang a bit longer, they needed to hurry home and properly prepare countermeasures.
After all, Brother Jiang had laid eyes on their daughters, and Brother Jiang's notorious reputation as a flower-picking scoundrel was widespread—word even had it that he wouldn't spare an unhumanized fox spirit. It was enough to cause sleepless nights.
They had better rush home and set up some protective arrays first.
"Master Kong is looking quite well."
Since half an hour of morning reading was required, Kong Baba did not need to teach just yet, so Jiang Lin sat in the courtyard with him to brew some tea.
Looking at the rosy and radiant Kong Baba, Jiang Lin nodded. Back in Donglin City, he had still been deathly pale.
"Hahaha, not bad, not bad. Though I accidentally slipped to the early stage of the Golden Core realm, I've managed to stabilize myself at least."
"Stabilized your head." If Kong Baba hadn't been sitting down, Jiang Lin would have given him a Thousand Years of Death technique on the spot. "Out there, I fought your old flame in Donglin City for an entire night, flattening countless houses."
Seeming to sense Jiang Lin's intent, Kong Baba hurriedly shifted his backside further into the chair.
"Brother Jiang, do not be upset. Hasn't your villain ranking risen to the 250th spot? Entering the top three hundred comes with rewards from the Mission Hall, you know. I am quite envious myself."
"Ah, I tell you..." Seeing Kong Baba's cheerful demeanor, Jiang Lin didn't know what to say. "Did the Confucian Academy give you a hard time?"
The Vast Brilliancy World was led by Confucianism. Kong Baba had violated the rules laid down by the Confucian Sage of Rites; logically speaking, even after surviving the heavenly tribulation, the Confucianism faction would have sent someone to invite Kong Baba to the academy for a cup of tea.
"Give me a hard time? It's been alright. Though those old fogies are usually quite stubborn, they can still be rather lenient in certain matters."
"And Mo Xiaoye? I didn't ask last time—can she be reincarnated?"
"Mm, there shouldn't be any problem with that. However, according to Buddhist doctrine, she still committed quite a heavy karma. Her soul will likely suffer punishment from the Heavenly Dao, and only after that can she be reincarnated. As for whether her next life will be human, demon, or something else entirely, that remains unclear."
"And what about you? Have you figured things out?" Jiang Lin sighed softly. "Let me phrase it differently: if Mo Xiaoye is reincarnated, will you go looking for her?"
Kong Baba turned his head, smiled at Jiang Lin, and asked, "How does Brother Jiang interpret the word 'love'?"
Jiang Lin rolled his eyes at Kong Baba. "Inexplicable."
Kong Baba gave a thumbs-up. "Brother Jiang's profound scholarship is truly remarkable."

"Wait! Brother Jiang, calm your anger." Seeing Jiang Lin narrow his eyes into two slits, Kong Baba quickly added, "Actually, you see, I don't know either. Look at the fox clan—they study 'love' every single day and never figured it out. I certainly don't understand it either."
"Forget it."
Jiang Lin stood up and dusted off his backside.
"As an outsider, it's not my place to say much. But if you want to find someone in the future, go find them yourself. If I ever agree to help someone else find a wife again, I'll be the zz250 machine built by Xiao Hei!"
Thinking of Xiao Hei's zz250, Jiang Lin suddenly felt as though he had forgotten something.
That's right.
What had he forgotten?
"Holy crap! Schrödinger!"
Remembering that his dog was still trapped inside the box of the zz250, Jiang Lin stepped on the gas pedal and blasted away on his flying sword!
"Brother Jiang, care to come with me to the Confucian Academy after the sect grand competition? There are plenty of literary maidens there..."
Kong Baba shouted toward the direction of Jiang Lin's departing flight.
"I'm going!"
From the distant sky, Jiang Lin's vague reply drifted back.
"As expected, Brother Jiang is the reliable sort."
Having received his answer, Kong Baba sat back down in his chair, crossed his legs, cracked melon seeds, and flipped through the new derivative fan art册 brought by Jiang Lin.
The more he looked, the more Kong Baba felt that Jiang Lin shouldn't be a sword cultivator; he ought to enter the path of a painter.
When the time came, he could bring ink to life just like the painting sage Ma Liang—how thrilling would that be?
"Master Kong, Master Kong."
Just as Kong Baba was admiring the illustrations, a matron walked into the courtyard. Kong Baba hastily closed the booklet, shoved it into his bosom, stood up, and cupped his hands in a bow.
"Madam Zhao."
"Didn't Master Kong mention earlier that he wanted to keep a cat? The female cat at my home just gave birth yesterday, so I picked one out to bring over. See what you think of it, Master."
"Hahaha, Madam is too kind. I was merely speaking offhand, but I thank you all the same."
Cupped in Madam Zhao's hands was a tiny, blind kitten with a dark coat, obediently curled into a ball.
"Is it a bit too black? Shall I fetch a different one?"
"No need."
Looking at the little black cat, Kong Baba pinched its tiny ears and smiled.
"Black is quite nice."