"Little Kun, Yao Yao has a question!"
On the way back, Yang Yao hesitated for a moment before finally asking.
Xu Kun slowed down, pursed his lips, and said, "You want to ask whether I genuinely meant to return the Sage's Carving Knife, or whether I was just putting on an act?"
Yang Yao nodded.
Even with her unmatched intelligence, ever since Xu Kun had returned from Qufu Academy, she had felt that he had undergone a transformation. He was no longer the Xu Kun she had once known.
It was not that the old Xu Kun had been foolish. He had simply possessed the youthful immaturity expected of a young man. Unlike now, when even in conversation with the older generation, he could hold the upper hand throughout.
If she had to describe it, he was becoming more and more like her father.
Deeply calculating, with a faintly sinister... cough, cough, sort of aura!
Even she was starting to find him hard to read!
Xu Kun looked back and smiled, slowing his flight as he dotingly scraped Yang Yao's delicate nose.
"Both true and false. I think my nominal senior brother understood that perfectly well too."
Yang Yao blinked, looking adorably dazed.
Xu Kun pondered for a moment, organized his thoughts, and answered, "The Sage's Carving Knife was passed down by Confucius. Since Confucius fell, no one besides me has been able to use it!"
"If it remained with the Kong family, it would be called a sacred relic, but in truth, it would only become a decoration!"
"But if that happened, there would be no further ties between the Kong family and me. If they chose to keep the Sage's Carving Knife, they would be drawing a clear line between us. They would be rejecting Confucius's final wish.