Today Nine, Tomorrow Thirteen?

Just as I stepped out of Na'er's dormitory, I ran into the melancholic heartthrob, Wu Zhangkong, who was out foraging for food.

Su Jiu sensed him carefully, his brows knitting together.

A level 75 Soul Saint. He remembered that in the original work, Kongzi was only at the Soul Emperor level at this point in time.

But considering Wu Zhangkong's ending in the original—the way he completely froze himself in a desperate, ultimate trade to perish alongside the Abyssal Emperor, Emperor Hua—it seemed his talent had already reached the threshold of the limit.

This minor deviation was still within a controllable range and nothing to worry about.

"Hello, Teacher Wu. My name is Su Jiu. We'll be colleagues from now on, so please take care of me!"

Su Jiu chose to initiate the greeting; after all, they would be working together for the next three years, and they were bound to run into each other constantly.

Furthermore, he was no longer Leng Wuduan, who bore the shame of betraying his master, but a perfectly ordinary Soul Saint named Su Jiu, a teacher dedicated to nurturing the youth, who had never met him before.

Wu Zhangkong's brows furrowed slightly, but his expression immediately returned to a state of stagnant water.

Director Long had just notified him that his teaching position had been demoted to assistant instructor.

Although this feeling of being intercepted was unpleasant, he was actually too lazy to lead the worst-performing Class 5 anyway. And look, hadn't he just run into the sucker who had secured him this precious time for cultivation?

Even though Wu Zhangkong was once a "Heavenly Dragon" from the Shrek inner court, he still had to maintain basic courtesy. After all, in his eyes, Su Jiu was clearly the victim of his current situation.

"Wu Zhangkong. Nice to meet you."

After he finished these few words, silence returned to the scene.

"Keep strangers at a distance," taciturn, and sparing with words—truly the life labels of Wu Zhangkong.

"Haha..."

"Teacher Wu, you won't be very popular with the students in our class like this. As teachers of the people, it's inevitable that we need to communicate more with others~"

"..."

"..."

The aura around Wu Zhangkong turned abruptly cold. He remained silent, ignoring Su Jiu, and his pace quickened and lengthened significantly.

"See you in class tomorrow then, Teacher Wu..."

Su Jiu watched Wu Zhangkong's retreating back, shook his head helplessly, and then a malicious smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Since you don't like to talk and want to play the mute, then watch helplessly as I poach the entire Eastsea F4 into the Spirit Pagoda!

(Tang Wulin is pending here)

Hehehe~

"Smack!"

"Old Su, what are you thinking about that's making you so happy?"

Gu Yue followed Su Jiu's gaze and, seeing that the person was a man, felt an immediate sense of discomfort. She subconsciously stepped back, putting two meters of distance between herself and Su Jiu.

"Old Su, I misjudged you. You're actually into this? How can you face my master!"

"Smack!"

Su Jiu's face darkened, and he raised his hand to swat Gu Yue's little bottom.

The touch was soft and resilient; the feel was exceptionally good. Now he finally understood why Gu Yue and Gu Yuena were always so fond of slapping him.

"Little girl, what are you thinking? My sexual orientation is normal. Speak up, what do you want with me?"

Gu Yue rubbed her sore bottom, her mind flashing to Gu Yuena's usual demeanor—awkward and tsundere. Even though she felt this was only natural, her cheeks slowly flushed with shyness as she reached her small hand out toward Su Jiu.

"Money. Where is my living allowance for this month? You gave it all to Na'er, but you haven't given me mine yet! You can't play favorites!"

"Old Su, you promised my teacher you'd take good care of me. Don't you dare welch on the debt!"

Su Jiu had almost forgotten about this, but with the Star Dou backing her, did Gu Yue look like someone who lacked money?

Her assets were likely even greater than those of his Leng Family!

Yet, he still habitually pulled out a stack of Federation Banknotes—not a cent more or less than the monthly allowance he used to give Gu Yuena.

By the time Su Jiu realized what he had done, it was too late. Gu Yue had already taken the money; he couldn't very well ask for it back.

Gu Yue, she shouldn't realize... right?

"Little Gu Yue, be obedient at the academy from now on. Especially in my class, don't call me Old Su; call me Teacher Su, understand?"

"Mm! Old—Teacher Su."

Gu Yue gave Su Jiu a sweet smile and ran off toward the school gate without looking back.

Su Jiu couldn't help but smile at Gu Yue's retreating figure. She was so much like that girl Gu Yuena; it was highly likely that the big glutton Gu Yuena had instigated her to go on a spending spree.

As for Gu Yue's safety, Su Jiu wasn't worried.

With his puppet A-Jiu, a single Needle-Bee Sentry clone possessed 70% of his strength, which was likely at the level of a level 98 Super Douluo.

Even if "Old Gu" had the worst luck, in this Eastsea City where even Titled Douluos were rare, she couldn't possibly run into one of the Holy Spirit Cult's one Emperor, two Sovereigns, or one Heavenly King, could she?

After walking a few dozen steps, Su Jiu suddenly stopped and called out to the little tail behind the phoenix tree:

"Tang Wulin, right? Come out. If you have something to say, let's sit down and chat slowly. Teacher Su has plenty of time today."

Seeing that he had been discovered, Tang Wulin poked his head out and scratched it with an awkward smile.

"Teacher Su, I really do have something to ask you."

"There are too many people here; it's not convenient. Let's go over there and talk."

The two walked side by side to a wisteria pavilion, where the lush purple flowers and green leaves layered over one another, shielding them from the midsummer heat—a perfect spot to cool off.

"Speak, what is it? I'll help if I can."

Tang Wulin took a few deep breaths, gathering the little courage he had in his heart, and tried his best to suppress the inferiority he felt upon first arriving in a big city.

A moment later, as if he had finally made up his mind, he spoke with a solemn and respectful expression:

"Teacher Su, I would like to borrow 34,000 Federation Currency from you. I can write an IOU, and I will work hard at forging to earn money and pay you back as soon as possible!"

So, it was for the compensation fees for those unscrupulous public facilities he had broken in the student dormitory.

Since Tang Wulin had taken the initiative to seek help from him, Su Jiu, this was a fair transaction made under the condition of 'mutual willingness' between both parties.

This money had to be lent (given), and it couldn't be refused!

Nine today, thirteen tomorrow?

He, Su Jiu, was a good person; how could he engage in usury?

Thinking of Tang San as a staunch supporter of feudal ideology, he must surely keep the concept of "a drop of water in need shall be returned with a gushing spring" firmly in his heart.

As the only seedling of the Tang family, Tang Wulin should naturally be the same, perfectly inheriting this fine traditional virtue.

As a firm practitioner of helping others achieve their goals, Su Jiu would inevitably accept Tang Wulin's gushing return!

The essence of the Golden Dragon King was destined for him, Su Jiu, and he would gladly accept it.

"Teacher Su, is my request too..."

34,000 Federation Currency was undoubtedly a huge sum for Tang Wulin.

After all, it had taken Tang Wulin three years of blacksmithing to save up 100,000, and he didn't dare tell his family about this matter either.

"No, no, no, money is a trivial matter, and I don't need an IOU."

As he spoke, Su Jiu immediately took a thick stack of Federation Currency from his soul storage ring and placed it neatly on the stone table; it looked like much more than 34,000.

"Ah? You're just lending it to me like this? Aren't you going to ask for the reason, Teacher Su?"

"No need. I believe in you, Tang Wulin; that is enough."

Tang Wulin felt a sudden warmth in his heart. Meeting such a 'kind and understanding' teacher in this strange city was no different from the bond between the Sea God Tang San and Yu Xiaogang twenty thousand years ago. Perhaps this was also Tang Wulin's own stroke of luck!

"In fact, you don't even need to pay it back."

Su Jiu paused, raised his hand to point at Tang Wulin's forehead, and his eyes grew deep. The essence of the Golden Dragon King lay within his spiritual sea.

"You have something on you that I need. I require it, and you will know why later."

By now, Tang Wulin, moved to tears by Su Jiu, had completely lost his reason. Without any hesitation, he agreed to Su Jiu's terms.

The Needle-Bee Sentry in the shadows recorded this ironclad evidence.

"Yes, I agree, Teacher Su!"