Chapter 23

When he woke up, the Tang Family Manor was already in sight.

Tang Zheng instructed the carriage driver not to mention the minor incident of the robbery, then returned to his small courtyard. He put down all his belongings and immediately rushed to his bedroom.

Under the night sky, the opulent and enchanting Flower King swayed quietly on the windowsill...

Tang Zheng touched the deep wound on his neck.

Although the bleeding had stopped, the wound was quite deep, and Tang Zheng was unsure if there would be any aftereffects.

"Let's give it a try." Tang Zheng carefully plucked a petal from the Flower King and placed it over the wound.

The Flower King, a demonic flower that draws its power from other flowers, had its abilities greatly diminished when separated from the flower field.

A faint golden light emerged from the petal, instantly enveloping the wound on Tang Zheng's neck.

Sure enough, the wound quickly closed and healed, while the petal rapidly withered and turned into a pile of white powder.

Without the support of the entire flower field, the Flower King's effect was only about two to three tenths of what it was before. Although the wound on Tang Zheng's neck had healed, the scar was still very noticeable and a bit painful.

"It's good enough." Tang Zheng pulled the screen back, covered the Flower King again, and returned to the table.

On a small table, a pile of items was neatly arranged.

Tian Meng's Jade Seal of Soul, the ink used for predicting star patterns, a black and unknown pill, a fake identity badge, several silver coins taken from Xiaogui, and a book also taken from Xiaogui.

Bathed in the dim moonlight, Tang Zheng could just make out the words on the cover: "Mountain Axe Technique."

"Is this a skill book?" Tang Zheng flipped through a few pages. "It really is a skill book... No wonder that scum could break through in battle! It seems he was just one step away from breaking through to the first rank, and he had even planned to practice the axe technique after advancing to the first rank."

Ordinary star power is not extensible and cannot form martial techniques, so before Xiaogui advanced tonight, this axe technique book was useless to him. After tonight, it was even more useless because he was already dead.

However, Tang Zheng could use this axe technique book to understand the principles of extending star power in advance.

Apart from that, the book had no other use for him—he was an assassin and would never want to practice such an exaggerated weapon as an axe.

"Ink, pill..." Tang Zheng rubbed his neck and yawned widely. "I'll sleep first, and we'll talk about it tomorrow."

He had a good night's sleep.

Although he had killed two people, Tang Zheng, rather shamefully, still dreamed about the half-bowl of instant noodles he hadn't finished.

...

The next day, Tang Zheng woke up very early.

It wasn't that he wanted to wake up early, but because he had a nightmare just before dawn!

A very terrifying nightmare!

He dreamed about his star pattern!

"Instant noodles! How can it be instant noodles?! And it's even moldy after being left for over ten days! Green! Ugh!!" When Tang Zheng jumped up from his bed, his face was completely green.

Those Q-elastic, wavy objects seemed to have hands and feet, pinning his neck and making him unable to move.

Fortunately, he woke up.

When he realized that the instant noodle star pattern was just a dream, he suddenly felt that the sunlight on the Starlight Continent was so bright, and life on the Starlight Continent was so colorful.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to confirm his star pattern right now.

Because today was his first day of teaching at the Tang Family Manor!

After tidying himself up, he immediately headed to the lecture hall where the Tang Family Manor had arranged for his classes.

In fact, there was still about half an hour before the morning class started.

But Tang Zheng wanted to check the traps in the classroom in advance!

In his previous life, during his short school years, he had seen many traps like water basins on doors and glue on lecterns. Now that he was the teacher, he couldn't afford to fall for such tricks.

"Here I come, little brats!" Tang Zheng, carrying a few books, kicked open the wooden door of the lecture hall.

No water basin fell from the door.

But the moment he entered, Tang Zheng's face turned even paler than if he had been drenched by a water basin.

Inside the lecture hall, a middle-aged man turned his head stiffly and looked at him with effort.

That middle-aged man was none other than Tang Xiaotang's father, Tang Boyuan.

"Master... Master arrived very early." Tang Boyuan, with great willpower and cultivation, greeted Tang Zheng.

"Good morning, Uncle. Are you here to listen to the class?" Tang Zheng composed his expression, put on a smile, and greeted Tang Boyuan as if he hadn't just kicked the door open but was just a passerby.

"The weather in spring is nice, so I always take a walk in the morning..."

"Spring breeze brings the scent of flowers, and all is colorful in spring!" Tang Zheng casually added a couplet and smiled. "Unfortunately, the Tang Family Manor lacks flowers, and thus lacks the spring atmosphere."

"I heard from Xiaotang that Master asked her for a flower pot. I didn't expect that Master Tang is a lover of flowers..."

Thus, the conversation between the two was deftly steered by Tang Zheng to the topic of flowers.

Actually, he wasn't a lover of flowers at all.

His entire knowledge of flowers came from the life skills in the game from his previous life. Apart from that, he knew nothing.

However, Tang Zheng could tell that Tang Boyuan didn't know much about flowers either. Two people who didn't understand the topic could chat happily, and if Tang Boyuan really knew about flowers, he would have probably kicked the nonsense-talking Tang Zheng out of the Tang Family Manor by now.

As they chatted, the Tang Family Manor's disciples for the morning class gradually arrived.

Tang Zheng, seeing this, quickly steered the conversation back: "Actually, raising flowers and nurturing people are the same..."

"Oh?" Tang Boyuan subconsciously looked at the Tang Family Manor's disciples.

"Love, patience, and responsibility." Tang Zheng pointed to the first row of little kids. "Love for the seedlings," he pointed to the middle group, "patience for the growing flowers," and then to the last few adults, "and responsibility for the blooming flowers with countless futures..."

"..." Tang Boyuan was shaken.

Using flowers as a metaphor for people, was this the principle?

Tang Zheng smiled. "A teacher, as long as he has love, patience, and responsibility, can teach his students everything he knows, even if he is not very knowledgeable. But without love, patience, and responsibility, no matter how knowledgeable he is, his students will learn nothing from him!"

This last sentence was a way for Tang Zheng to cover his own shortcomings, as he belonged to the less knowledgeable category...

He couldn't help it; he was a poor child who hadn't even finished nine years of compulsory education.

But after hearing this, Tang Boyuan felt enlightened and bowed deeply. "Then, I entrust the Tang Family Manor's disciples to Master!"

Tang Zheng waved his hand and smiled. "Sure."

Then, under the watchful eyes of over thirty Tang Family Manor disciples, he threw a few books onto the redwood table at the front.

Tang Boyuan had retreated outside the lecture hall but was still standing by the window, watching...

"Today is my first official day of teaching!" Tang Zheng, with a headache, scanned the students from kindergarten to older, realizing he hadn't thought about what to teach this class.

All the students were very quiet, and there were no troublemakers as he had expected. The few children who had approached him in the training ground last time were also keeping quiet.

Tang Zheng cleared his throat. "Let me tell you a story first."

Tang Boyuan outside the window "hmm"ed and continued listening.

"Once upon a time, there was an innkeeper who made excellent soup. Her soup was made with the best lamb bones and over a dozen precious herbs, along with some spices and seasonings, carefully simmered. Every day, when her soup was ready, many guests would come to taste it. But one day, when her soup was ready, no one could drink it. They asked why, and she said, 'When my soup was ready today, a rat's droppings fell into it... Just one rat's droppings ruined the entire pot of soup...'"

The few students who had approached him last time to discuss the overtime issue lowered their heads in embarrassment.

Tang Boyuan outside the window smiled, said nothing, and left.

Shortly after Tang Boyuan left, Tang Zheng continued, "So, this story is the first lesson I want to teach today—never underestimate your own power!"

"Huh?" The older students in the lecture hall were stunned by this sudden twist.

"Is a rat's droppings small or not?" Tang Zheng asked.

"Small..." a few clear voices answered.

"Compared to a pot of soup, is a rat's droppings big or not?"

"Big..." the same clear voices answered.

"But one rat's droppings is enough to change the future of the entire pot of soup!"

As he spoke, Tang Zheng picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and turned to write three words on the white paper hanging on the lectern.

Me. Tang Family Manor. Starlight Continent.

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Thank you to Raist2 for the generous reward.

Thank you to Jia Xiaoqi, Xue Ye Xingchen, Chen Bin, and Lan Sheng for the 588 starting coins, and to Zhu Jujie, Kong Long Ling, Cangming's Watcher, Tian Di You You ~ Xin Yi Jiu, Shenhua Yufeng, Shuyou 150118214058131, Mo Lu, Xue Shang Chenxi, and Shuyou 150118214058131 for the 100 starting coins.

Thank you to Xuegao Wudi for the bowl of Laba porridge, Tang Xiaotang for the 5 branches of plum blossoms, Jia Xiaoqi for the 3 branches of plum blossoms, Situ Xiaoxiao, Azhihe, Zhu Jujie, Wo Yiwei Zeng Jingguo, Yuwen Yimao, Shui Cai, Xukong Yu Jiu Jian, Wo Shi Wo, Xue Shang Chenxi, Shui He Zhi Wu, Ban Fengyu, Shimo, Jia Zhou Xiaoniu Rou, Mo Li Yan Shang, Lan Meng Feng Ling, Rouqing · Sakura for the 1 branch of plum blossoms.

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