Chapter 67: Group Transmigration?

Back when she was putting on a performance with Third Son, it had all happened so suddenly, and with so many eyes on them, she’d gotten completely absorbed in the moment. Her fighting spirit and professional instincts had kicked in all at once.

But after the Bai Family’s Second Sister-in-law left, Jiang Dai started to realize something was off.

Third Son had played along a little too well.

According to Bai Tian, who had inherited the original host’s memories, Third Son had always been a pretty honest and simple kid.

Could it be…

【It’s not just me and Bai Tian who transmigrated—could those three sons who fell off the ox cart with me have been swapped too?】

Jiang Dai’s imagination ran wild. After all, if Bai Tian could transmigrate, what’s a few more?

What if this was some kind of abstract twist—Group Transmigration?

When faced with her mother’s questioning, Bai Yun’an only responded with a harmless, innocent smile, looking all wide-eyed and simple.

“I learned it from Da Chui next door. He told me to be clever.”

Jiang Dai: Hm! Really? Highly suspicious!

But Bai Yun’an had nerves of steel. He met Jiang Dai’s gaze head-on, completely unflustered.

Jiang Dai stared at him, then suddenly blurted out in a probing tone, “I know you’re a transmigrator. You’ve been swapped!”

Even Bai Tian was startled by the sudden accusation.

【Whoa, that’s intense! No warm-up, just straight to the point!】

Jiang Dai figured, if you’re going to do it, go big. Forget subtle signals—just hit them with a zero-frame opener. No time to dodge.

As she spoke, her gaze swept over the three sons who had fallen off the ox cart with her and whose personalities had shifted slightly in recent days.

She carefully observed their reactions.

Under her scrutiny—

The eldest blinked and asked, with a clueless expression, “Huh? Trans-string? Like, stringing the moon together?”

The second son frowned slightly, as if he didn’t quite get what she was talking about.

And the third son, the one she’d directly confronted, tilted his head and asked, “What do you mean, swapped?”

Each of the three boys had a different expression, but all of them looked genuinely confused.

Jiang Dai grew uncertain. Watching their reactions, she quickly analyzed in her mind:

【The eldest doesn’t seem much different from before. That kind of answer? Definitely not a transmigrator.】

【The second one’s just been unusually quiet lately. Probably scared by everything that’s happened. Other than that, he still acts like a typical six-year-old.】

【But the third… he’s a little too sharp. And then there’s that weird silver coin or two, plus how Liang Tian’er and the others mistook him for someone else. Something just feels… off.】

【Am I overthinking this?】

Juanjuan, who could hear her brothers’ Inner thoughts and was on the verge of going deaf from the noise: …

She really wanted to say: No, Mama, you’re not overthinking it.

But her instincts told her to stay quiet.

At four years old, Juanjuan couldn’t grasp deep or complex reasoning.

She only knew that if someone could hear her innermost thoughts, she’d be scared of them.

And if her parents and brothers found out she could hear theirs, they’d probably start pulling away from her too.

She… had finally found a family she loved. She didn’t want them to hate her.

Besides, everyone has secrets. If you find out someone else’s, you’re not supposed to just tell the next person.

That wouldn’t be right.

Juanjuan tried her best to keep her mouth shut, lowering her head slightly as she endured the overlapping Inner thoughts of her brothers.

Bai Yunqi: 【I don’t really get what transmigration means, but how did Mama guess someone had been swapped?】

【Can’t let her trick me into admitting anything. Just deny everything. As long as her focus stays on Third Brother, I should be safe. I’ve worked hard to stay in character these past few days—shouldn’t be easy for her to see through me.】

【Honestly, I’ve been suspicious of Second and Third Brother too, but they haven’t done anything particularly strange. They still act like kids.】

Bai Yunxing: 【Transmigration… that’s a word I don’t quite understand. But in my case, it’s more like soul possession or resurrection. So I guess I have been swapped.】

【But how did Mama know? And with how she’s changed lately… could it be that she didn’t just regain her memories, but experienced something like I did?】

【Still, something doesn’t add up. The way she acts and speaks—she doesn’t seem like someone from any nearby kingdom or dynasty.】

Bai Yunqi and Bai Yunxing didn’t understand the term “transmigration.”

But Bai Yun’an did.

【I knew it. There’s something off about our parents. If I’m right, they must be from the era before the apocalypse.】

【In the apocalypse, people with eyes that clear and innocent would’ve died off during the second Great Purge.】

【Tch. So it’s your System that’s faulty, huh? A glitch caused a temporal rift, and now we’re all here? Trash!】

At almost the exact same moment, Juanjuan, after hearing all those Inner thoughts: …

Aaaaah! Her poor little brain!

So loud!

Standing in the back watching the show, Bai Tian noticed the tiny figure with her head down, her little head bobbing slightly.

He couldn’t help but think—how could this little one be so cute?

“Juanjuan, are you sleepy? Want Daddy to take you inside for a nap?”

Bai Tian bent down, hands on his knees, and asked in a soft voice.

“Okay! I’ll go sleep.”

Juanjuan was genuinely scared. It was too noisy, and she didn’t really understand most of it. The more she knew, the more likely she’d slip up.

Since Daddy offered, she wasn’t about to stick around. Time to make a run for it.

And so, everyone turned to look at the little girl who—

Had just said she was sleepy, but was now sprinting away like she was about to take off.

Bai Tian: “So… she’s sleepy?”

Jiang Dai: “Maybe she nodded off for a second and thought a ghost was chasing her?”

The three older brothers thought to themselves: As expected, no matter how hard they try to act young, they still can’t truly grasp what goes on in a child’s mind.

Breaking the silence, Bai Yun’an spoke up, taking the initiative to steer the conversation and clear himself of suspicion.

“Mom… just now, when you mentioned that thing about the moon, was it because you didn’t like how I acted this afternoon?”

“Then… then I won’t do that anymore. I only acted that way because I saw Da Chui getting beaten, so I copied him.”

Jiang Dai shifted her gaze slightly and saw her third son staring down at his toes, his whole body radiating unease and nervousness. It made her start to doubt herself.

Was she overthinking it?

What were the odds of someone else transmigrating too?

Besides, after all these days, the only person she’d sensed any trace of a modern soul from was Bai Tian.

As for the three boys in front of her, even if their personalities had shifted a bit, they hadn’t shown any consistent signs of modern behavior or habits.

And really, what modern person wouldn’t recognize a sweet potato?

Or “Journey to the West,” which Bai Tian had mentioned earlier—surely no modern person wouldn’t know that!

So now, Jiang Dai was pretty sure that only she and Bai Tian had transmigrated.

“Mom… should I stop playing with Da Chui from now on? I’ll read more books and stick close to Uncle Wang, okay? Please don’t be mad…”

Bai Yun’an spoke again, his words carefully chosen.

His face showed hesitation and pitifulness, but what he said suddenly reminded Jiang Dai of something.

Jiang Dai: Could this be the living embodiment of Mencius’ mother moving house three times?

The environment really does have a huge impact on a child.

————

Mencius’ mother moving house three times” (孟母三迁)

Mencius’ mother first lived by a graveyard, where young Mencius copied funeral rites. She moved near a market, and he mimicked traders. Finally, they settled by a school, where he imitated students studying. She stayed, seeing it was the right environment.

The moral is that a child’s character and learning are shaped by their surroundings, so parents should provide a good environment for growth and education.