The improved female villains regained their memories.

Perhaps this is a joke to me, but what will it be like if it falls into the hands of future generations?

If future generations are not good enough, then what about their descendants?

Family, love, future—all gone.

But, but!

If there is a descendant who can carry forward and develop my research, then I, Ghost-Fearer, will not have lived in vain!

My sacrifice, Ghost-Fearing Sorrow, was not in vain!

After laughing, Gui Jianchou lost all expression and sat there motionless.

The old man passed away as if he had fulfilled all his mission.

He had already put the explanation of the popularity talisman and his own insights, along with the black-covered ancient book, into the wooden box. If what the mysterious man said was true, once Su Murong read it, she would understand what he had been subtly instilling in her over the years, and truly achieve soaring success.

The secret to creating popular talismans lies with her.

He has already completed his own journey ahead of time; the rest is for those who follow.

-

Yang Pingsheng stood quietly in the backyard of the tavern.

After Guijianchou was arrested, the place was sealed off by government troops, and after a series of smashing and looting, there was nothing left.

Following Gui Jianchou's instructions, he found the wooden box and some silver notes.

"That's right, this is it."

The system's excited voice rang out, but Yang Pingsheng remained expressionless and opened the wooden box.

Inside were all of Guijianchou's research efforts and insights over the years, and next to these notebooks was an old black book.

Huhu——

The night wind blew the glow of the match, and Yang Pingsheng threw everything into the haystack, then dropped the match.

The firelight illuminated his face; he stared blankly, his lips moving as he slowly spoke:

"Respect for your life."

Chapter 145 Little People

Another grave has been added to the mountainside.

Gui Jianchou claimed to the outside world that he died of illness in prison. The people searching for him found a lot of evidence of his affair with the barbarians in his shop, but before they could interrogate him, he died of illness.

The city lord was too lazy to deal with this troublesome matter. In his opinion, it wasn't a big problem. He knew exactly what his subordinates were up to. He was just an old man; if he died, he died.

The soldiers simply dumped his body outside the city and that was it. In the middle of the night, Su Murong slipped out and erected a new grave for the old man.

Right next to her mother's grave, on the wooden plank, there are still a few large, crooked characters: "Benefactor who even ghosts fear."

A gentle evening breeze blew as Su Murong stood before the grave, letting the wind whip her gray hair.

“Old ghost, although you barge into widows’ homes, water off their drinks, and don’t give your guests enough food, you are still my benefactor.”

"Thank you."

Ten-year-old Su Murong displayed a maturity beyond her years. After thanking him, she turned and left.

"When the Qi flows, it accumulates when deep, extends when accumulated, descends when extended, settles when descended, solidifies when settled, sprouts when solidified, grows when sprouting, recedes when growing, and returns to the heavens. The heavens are above; the earth is below. Following the natural order brings life; going against it brings death."

She recited it, word by word, as she descended the mountain.

She can recite it now, but she hasn't had a chance to tell him yet.

The mnemonic rhymes that she used in her daily life had become ingrained in her very being.

The darkness of night concealed her figure, and no one knew what kind of seed lay buried beneath that deep earth.

But the night was still very deep.

A series of booming sounds, like thunder, exploded in his chest. In his dream, something was roaring. The nightmare came like a tidal wave, shattering all of Yang Pingsheng's emotions.

He woke up with a start, gasping for breath.

There was no one around; Su Murong was nowhere to be seen.

"system?"

He called out softly, and soon, the system's voice rang in his mind.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"I guess so. I'm a little uneasy. Where did Su Murong go?"

"Outside the city, they went to collect the corpses for Guijianchou."

"Is that so..."

He lay down again, but tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He stared at the wooden door in the darkness and spoke again: "System."

"What's wrong?"

Are you sure this is really okay?

"No problem. Heaven gave us three tasks: first, prevent her from obtaining the Popularity Technique; second, prevent her from gaining such deep insight into human nature; and third, eliminate Su Murong's entire team in the original storyline. We've completed the first one, and progress is going very smoothly."

"But didn't you find out before that she was learning alchemy from Old Master Qian?"

Because Yang Pingsheng was really curious about what Old Man Qian had asked Su Murong to do, he asked the system to investigate. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be learning alchemy.

"Oh, you mean this?"

The system remained completely unconcerned.

"The art of alchemy is nothing special. Without spiritual energy, Su Murong will never be able to refine an immortal pill in his lifetime. Mortal pills have no effect on immortals, so there is no need to worry."

"Is this...is that so?"

"Relax, relax. If there are any problems, Heaven will speak up. The net of Heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it!"

Since the system had already made its point, Yang Pingsheng couldn't say anything more.

However, he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

The image of Gui Jianchou would appear in my mind from time to time, his maniacal laughter before his death, and his composure when accepting the wine glass.

Would someone like that really trust themselves at the last minute?

That was, after all, the culmination of his life's research. On his deathbed, he entrusted it to someone who worked as a handyman in the shop. Was he really at ease with that?

Yang Pingsheng couldn't understand it; something was churning inside him that he couldn't get out.

Suddenly, the system spoke again: "Coming."

"What's here?"

"The plan, the plan is here."

"So fast?"

"Ah."

The system's voice carried a hint of seriousness.

"The barbarians are coming."

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

Grasslands are not uniform.

The various tribes were constantly in conflict and annexing each other, so no tribe on the vast grasslands was ever truly unified.

Until the rise of Iron Ball Bone.

The night was already deep enough.

The cavalrymen's horses galloped on, showing no sign of stopping.

The leader was a burly man with a broad back and a thick waist. He carried a sword and a bow on his back. He had a barbarian hairstyle, but his appearance also had features of people from the Central Plains.

Iron Ball Bone - Barhu.

His father was from the Central Plains, and his mother was from a barbarian tribe.

Strictly speaking, he is Su Murong's half-brother.

The key to Su Murong's father's ability to seek refuge with the barbarians lay in his early romantic history—during frequent contact between the barbarians and Liuyun City, he seduced a woman from the Tiewangu tribe.

It was at that time that Bargut was born.

He grew up with his maternal grandfather, who was the chief of the Iron Ball Bone tribe. His grandfather often took him along and taught him by example. The sentence he said to him most often was: "Women are like wild horses. Before you go to find a woman, remember to bring your whip."

He added, “A wild horse will only obey the whip. Don’t be like your mother; she is even weaker than a wild horse.”

When dealing with women, all you need to do is make them obey. If they don't obey, use violence. That's how his maternal grandfather tamed the princess who came from the Central Plains for a political marriage.

But Bargut also heard another version, which said that the princess refused to submit and committed suicide.

Anyway, he never met the princess, but that's not important. What's important is that his grandfather had many women, and he always used this method to tame them.

Bargut learned this, and so he often looked down on his mother.

In his eyes, his mother was deceived by the sweet talk of the Central Plains people, and was even more despicable than those women who were tamed by violence. In addition, his cheap father came from the other side to seek refuge, which further convinced him of his idea.

So during his coming-of-age ceremony, he killed his father and took his own mother as his wife.

Grandpa was very pleased and personally bestowed upon him the title of Warrior. This was not only because Bargu was strong, brave, and fierce in battle, but more importantly, because he had a heart that could tame the weak.

Even if that person is his mother.

The cavalry charged silently, and soon a city came into view.

Barghule tightened the reins and stopped, raising his hand, and all the cavalry behind him stopped as well.

"You guys, go and scout out the situation."

Dozens of barbarian cavalrymen dispersed and patrolled the vicinity.

Bargu dismounted, stood on the high ground, and looked out over the city.

Liuyun City, a city in the Yan Kingdom, is located on the border between the Yan Kingdom and the grasslands.