The improved female villains regained their memories.

"Doctor, um, that does suit you quite well."

The girl with gray hair turned snow-white looked even more radiant. She didn't look at him, but rested her chin on her hand and stared blankly at the sky. Suddenly, a bright light and a loud bang came from the direction of the city lord's mansion, and colorful fireworks bloomed in the sky.

The moment the fireworks exploded, the light in the girl's eyes seemed to burst forth along with them.

The air had grown much colder. She huddled closer to Yang Pingsheng, exhaling cold air, her voice soft, as if floating in the clouds:

"I... have a very unrealistic idea."

"I want to build a very, very big house, that can shelter from the wind and rain, and prepare lots and lots of delicious food inside, so that all the poor people in the world can live there, and there will be no more pain or sorrow. Everyone can eat and drink their fill, and sit quietly around the fire."

As she spoke, she leaned her head slightly over and rested it on Yang Pingsheng's arm: "If that's the case, I'll be content."

Yang Pingsheng stared at her blankly.

The light from above flickered, and the girl reacted. When she realized Yang Pingsheng was staring at her, she quickly stood up and hit him: "What is that look? If I can't do it in reality, can't I just daydream?"

"..."

"Okay, okay! I know, I'm unrealistic, I'm childish, go ahead and laugh at me!"

She said this with shame and indignation, turning her head away and refusing to look at him in a huff.

The system said, "Never underestimate this female villain in front of you."

The Heavenly Dao defines her as a "shameless person who puts profit above all else," but even now, Yang Pingsheng has not felt this way about her after spending time with her.

He didn't underestimate her; he always valued her highly. But it was precisely because of this high regard that he felt something was amiss.

Is Su Murong truly a person who prioritizes profit above all else?

If that were the case, she wouldn't have treated him like this, or even approached him. That so-called innocent persona, in a sense, is just a huge victim of deception. If Su Murong were truly a person who prioritizes self-interest, she shouldn't have treated him this way.

No, I wasn't laughing at you.

Yang Pingsheng placed his hand on Su Murong's head and stroked it.

"That's a great idea. I hope you keep it up."

Su Murong looked at the hand above her head, then at him, his eyes glazing over.

"Hey, are you treating me like a child?"

Although she said that, she did not resist or show any disgust. She just waved her hand helplessly and said in an adult tone, "Actually, what I just said was all a lie. Look, my house is so shabby. If I really had a big house, I would definitely live in it by myself first. Why would I share it with others? To be honest, what do I care about others? Only a kind-hearted person like you would believe me."

"Uh-huh."

"Hey! What's with that half-smile on your face? It's really annoying! Don't you know you're asking for a beating?!"

Su Murong bared her little tiger teeth and lunged at Yang Pingsheng with her claws outstretched. Yang Pingsheng caught her, and the two of them fell down and started playfully wrestling.

"Dare to mock me? Take this!"

The cold snow was rolled into a ball and stuffed into Yang Pingsheng's clothes. He shivered from the cold, and seeing the other person's smug expression, he also rolled a snowball and stuffed it into her clothes.

"Damn, it's so cold!"

She yelled and threw more snowballs back, and Yang Pingsheng, not to be outdone, retaliated with snowballs of his own. And so, the two began a snowball fight in the yard.

thump.

A sound came from inside the room.

The snowball fell, and no more laughter rang out. Su Murong and Yang Pingsheng exchanged a glance subconsciously, then rushed into the thatched hut almost simultaneously.

"mother!!"

In the dimly lit room, Su Rouxue lay on the floor, panting. Her cheeks were flushed, her chest heaving rhythmically, and her whole body was burning hot.

"It's so hot!"

This was Yang Pingsheng's first thought upon touching Su Rouxue's skin. As for Su Murong, she was too anxious to think about anything else, and carried her mother back to bed, holding her hand and calling out:

"Mom, what's wrong? Are you alright? Don't scare me!!"

when--

The melodious chimes resounded throughout the entire Liuyun City.

On New Year's Eve, at midnight, the bells toll.

The new year arrived, but Su Murong's mother collapsed.

The red embroidered pouch fell to the ground, spilling out a few coins. It was a red envelope that Su Rouxue had prepared for Su Murong.

She embroidered for a long time, starting before she lost her sight, and continuing to embroider by groping her way through the process after she lost her sight. The coins inside were the ones she had been saving; she had only a few and had never been willing to spend them.

"mother!"

Yang Pingsheng took a few steps back and silently looked at Su Murong, who was nestled in Su Rouxue's arms. Despite the cold weather, he felt a burning warmth in his heart.

"system."

"Ok?"

"Whether Su Rouxue lives or dies doesn't affect the plan, right?"

That's right.

"In that case, I will save her."

My heart, which had been gradually growing cold, suddenly became burning hot in this cold winter.

Yang Pingsheng thought that after experiencing the second life, he became indifferent. He let things take their course and entrusted everything to the system and the will of Heaven. The reason for this was that he did not want to repeat the tragedy of the second life because of his own cleverness.

So he didn't want to do anything.

But now, as he looked at the scene before him, the words Su Murong had just spoken to him still echoed in his ears.

she says:

"I want to build a very, very big house, that can shelter from the wind and rain, and prepare lots and lots of delicious food inside, so that all the poor people in the world can live there, and there will be no more pain or sorrow. Everyone can eat and drink their fill, and sit quietly around the fire."

A cold wind blew in through the cracks in the thatched hut, tearing at his clothes.

"I must save Su Rouxue."

He was determined to save Su Rouxue just because of those words she said.

It has nothing to do with the laws of nature, and nothing to do with the system.

It was Yang Pingsheng who wanted to save Su Rouxue.

Chapter 137 Reminiscence

Zhuque, dressed in black, rushed back from the capital overnight. Upon her return, she went straight to the top floor of the inn, which was just the right size to accommodate the four of them.

She hurriedly pushed open the door. Su Murong had just finished the meeting with the other three guards and was sitting there alone. Her clothes had long been thrown aside, and she was only wearing a thin garment. She was rubbing her temples and looking worried. When she saw Zhuque come in, her expression didn't improve much. She just raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you back?"

"Is the lord angry?"

"Damn it, I don't know which guy has fallen in love with me or what, but suddenly he's spending a lot of money to investigate me." Su Murong said irritably, "The worst part is, one minute he's investigating me, and the next minute he's investigating the Tongchen Light in my possession. I don't know if he loves me or my stuff."

"What did Qinglong and the others say?"

"Damn it, just thinking about it makes me furious! Three complete useless idiots!" Su Murong cursed. "One's head is full of dirty thoughts, one's always talking about killing, and the other does nothing but eat and sleep. I asked them who sold our information, and none of them could answer!"

"Let's not talk about them, let's not talk about them." Su Murong waved his hand, deciding to skip the topic. "Let's talk about you. Didn't I tell you to lie low in the capital? Why did you suddenly come back?"

"I have very important news to report to the Lord."

"Why didn't you just have someone pass on the message? Why did you have to come all the way back yourself? Don't let this cause any major problems. Never mind, you're already back, so tell me what's going on."

"We've made progress on the person you're looking for!"

Time suddenly stopped.

The sound stopped, and so did the tumultuous emotions. Zhuque looked up, surprised to find that her master had turned his face to the side, looking out the window.

"Lord?"

"Understood. Good job. You'll get credit for this. Go back and keep an eye on him. Raise that person's priority again and have him contact me privately via flamingo."

"Yes."

Zhuque respectfully withdrew.

She knew her Lord's character clearly. Each of them had some flaws, but the Lord was able to tolerate them because they were more useful than others.

Don't ask questions, don't interfere, just faithfully carry out the orders without thinking, that's enough.

That's exactly what Suzaku did, but this time, she suddenly thought subconsciously: "It's truly rare to see my lord like that."

If it were like the previous mistress, if she delayed that so-called important matter because of other things, she would definitely give herself a "feather-plucking service".

The sound gradually faded away.

Su Murong sat on the bed.

She took out a sachet and looked at it quietly.

A sachet, a memory.

She took a deep breath, her eyes filled with lingering longing—a memory that belonged only to her.

That was the story of the boy and the girl.

--------------

After New Year's Eve, the woman's condition worsened.

In the entire city of Liuyun, there was only one pharmacy owned by Old Qiantou. When the boy brought the girl to find him, the old man was sitting in a chair, puffing on his pipe. When he saw the two of them standing in front of him, he glanced at the money they had placed on the counter and lowered his eyelids.

"Not enough money."

Without even glancing at the two of them, he put down his cigarette, exhaling smoke rings: "What's the point of doing business? It's money! Exchanging money for things is only natural. Kid, don't say I didn't teach you. With this little bit of money, you can't even buy the dregs of medicine, let alone have me come to your door for a consultation."

"But Master, lives are at stake..."

"Human life is at stake, my foot!" the old man suddenly cursed. "If you're my apprentice, you have to follow my rules. You traitor! What, you're going to disobey your master for such a trivial thing? You try it!"

"You old bastard!"

Just as the girl was about to lash out, the boy pressed her down, straightened up, took the money back from the table, bowed, and led the girl out of the pharmacy.

Amidst the heavy snow, the two walked in silence on the street.