The improved female villains regained their memories.

Yang Pingsheng looked at his bowing posture and replied calmly, "Xiaoyun told me that she took on a long-term mission with you, so she can't go back to the sect for the New Year."

“Xiaoyun wasn’t lying.” Xiao Qitian remained respectful. “It was my suggestion that I spend the New Year with her in Yunxi City.”

Yang Pingsheng looked at him coldly, his smile gone.

He raised his head slightly, still maintaining a respectful demeanor: "Master?"

"In that case, you may go."

"Okay." Xiao Qitian nodded, and said before leaving, "Master, Happy New Year."

He said, "I hope you and your junior sister have a great time."

He left as soon as he finished speaking, without lingering or making any further entanglements.

Love numbs you, love causes you pain, love plunges you into an abyss. Apart from Yang Pingsheng, no one else knew Xiao Qitian's true purpose. Yang Pingsheng ate the glutinous rice balls, feeling the sweet taste slide down his esophagus.

Anger and sorrow, which arose only a second ago, were swept away by nothingness. His gaze was deep, he exhaled, and a smile reappeared.

"Xiao Mo, do you want to go see a play?" he asked, putting down his chopsticks.

Li Chumo withdrew her gaze from Xiao Qitian's departure, looked at Yang Pingsheng, and also showed a happy expression: "Good!"

The winter sun shines warmly, illuminating someone's fake smile, I wonder whose.

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

There were so many people, so many that it scared the girl who was visiting the city for the first time.

Lan Xiu found it amusing to see the girl clutching him tightly out of fear. He took her hand and comforted her, "It's okay, don't be afraid. No one here will hurt you."

The girl nodded, but her trembling hands betrayed her thoughts.

The outfit she wore for the parade was bought for her by Lan Xiu. It was predominantly red with bright yellow accents, and the most prominent embroidery was of peonies. Her purple hair had also been styled nicely, no longer the dirty, dyed color it used to be, but instead styled into pigtails that hung naturally down her back.

She looked quite good after dressing up, at least much better than before, and no longer looked like a beggar.

"The Empress is about to throw the marriage ball!"

A voice shouted loudly in the crowd, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Even Lan Xiu excitedly rushed forward, forgetting that he was holding her hand tightly. The girl was so frightened that she could only cling to his clothes and squeeze in with him.

"one two Three!"

"The embroidered ball is thrown, and a marriage begins!"

The crowd erupted in unprecedented excitement. Before she could see what was happening, she saw a fiery red embroidered ball hurtling towards her, like a falling sun or a golden crow shot down by Hou Yi.

She stood there, stunned, watching as the golden crow landed in her hand.

"Wow!" Lan Xiu exclaimed in surprise, "Little Wang, it was you who caught the embroidered ball!!"

The girl smiled awkwardly. Xiao Wang was a name given to her by Lan Xiu after she told him that she didn't have a name and that her tribe called her Xiao Gou (Little Dog). To be honest, she didn't think anything of it when Lan Xiu called her that at his house, but now, being called that in front of everyone made her feel a little embarrassed.

The two slowly walked away from the crowd. Once they were out of the crowd, Lan Xiu said shyly, "Um, although it's not very nice to say this, Xiao Wang, could you give me this embroidered ball?"

The Nine-Tailed Fox's embroidered ball represents a beautiful marriage. The people of Yunxi City are extremely superstitious about this, and Lan Xiu is no exception. She grew up here, but she has never caught an embroidered ball.

"Okay, here you go." The girl nodded decisively and handed over the embroidered ball in her hand.

"Huh!?" Lan Xiu was stunned for a moment, then said with surprise, "You really want to give me this embroidered ball!?"

"Yes, sister, you really want it, right? You've taken such good care of me these past few days. If this makes you happy, I'll give it to you."

"Thank you so much, Xiao Wang!"

Lan Xiu happily hugged her and spun her around.

The girl didn't think anything of it. This so-called Fox Tail Goddess was actually their fox people's ancestor. She had never heard of her ancestor having any ability to bestow marriages. Although she didn't know why her ancestor was regarded this way by humans, if it could make Lan Xiu happy, she would give him the embroidered ball.

Anyway, she doesn't need any marriage ball.

"As a token of my gratitude, let me treat you to some candied hawthorns!"

"Candied hawthorn?"

"Mmm, these candied hawthorns are even tastier than fruit! Wait for me here under this big tree, there are too many people, sister, hurry back!"

Lan Xiu ran towards the candied hawthorn vendor, where the place was also packed with people.

Seeing how desperately the other person was squeezing in for her sake, the girl sighed helplessly.

She doesn't absolutely have to eat it.

If she could, she didn't want to owe Lan Xiu too much. She had already repaid the kindness she had shown him. If she could, she hoped that Lan Xiu would stop dwelling on the matter of the dead and let her go back to live her own life.

That would be best.

As she was thinking this, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"!?"

She was startled and turned around to look. She then discovered that a hunched-over beggar had somehow approached her. His white beard covered half of his face, and his dirty clothes reeked of a sour stench. He was someone that everyone would find repulsive.

"Child, do you believe in fate?"

The old beggar continued talking to himself, holding the girl's hand tightly, so tightly that she couldn't struggle.

"What we call fate is like a pond. The fish in the pond swim freely, thinking they control the direction of the flow, but little do they know that the area where they swim has already been marked out."

"It thought everything it encountered was fate, but little did it know that it was because everything was in this pond that the encounters became destiny."

"What is called destiny is just this simple."

The girl had a keen sense of smell, and the stench made her tremble all over. She desperately shrank back, asking in a trembling voice, "What do you want to do?"

The old man ignored him and continued talking to himself:

"No two people have the same fate in this world, whether in a horizontal or vertical direction, in space or time, in the past or present."

"But you, child, are an exception."

"You and another person in this world share the same fate."

"You are all in the same pond; sooner or later, you will meet."

"The same fate leads to different choices. You will eventually fight each other because of your differing ideals, but the one who will ultimately fail and die is you."

"Because this is your fate as a sacrifice."

"Man is a creation of heaven and earth, and man cannot kill himself. Therefore, the fate of the sacrificer is to die by his own hand."

"Fate defines the boundaries; it delineates the boundaries of the pond through your eyes."

"Child, do you believe in destiny?"

"The purpose of sacrifice is for growth, and you and she share the same destiny. However, your destiny will eventually die, in exchange for the growth of her destiny. Your meeting with her is today. Wolf and fox, gratitude and resentment, the clash of ideals brings about a collision of fate. This is the price to pay for growth."

"Believe in fate, for this is your greatest value in this life—to kill yourself and thus become a true [Supreme Creation]."

The terrifying force nearly crushed the girl's wrist, and the words he spoke filled her with immense fear. She struggled desperately and roared, "Let go!"

The force disappeared, and she fell to the ground with a thud.

She opened her eyes in confusion, but the old beggar was nowhere to be seen.

Lan Xiu walked over with a candied hawthorn, looked at the bewildered girl sitting on the ground, shook his head with amusement, and held out his hand to her:

"Why are you sitting on the ground? Get up quickly."

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

There are indeed many parades to enjoy in Yunxi City.

There were operas about slaying demons, stories of Zhong Kui searching for demons, puppet shows, shadow plays, and cotton candy that children love to eat. Li Chumo had never seen any of these before. She had endless energy and was no longer afraid of crowds as she played. She dragged Yang Pingsheng around the streets.

And so, before they knew it, evening had arrived.

Light snow began to fall again, and the weather turned cold, but it couldn't dampen people's growing enthusiasm. Restaurants were packed with guests, the aroma of cosmetics mingling with the smells of food. The stars shone brightly, and even the usually shy moon joined in the fun. The sunset stretched for miles, like a thin veil.

As night deepened, the high ground and arched bridge in the town center were crowded with people watching the fireworks, all carrying their day's spoils and waiting for the final, perfect ending.

The system also wanted to join in the fun. It originally wanted to transform into something, but after climbing up and seeing so many people, it abandoned the idea and obediently returned to Yang Pingsheng's body.

There were just too many people on the arch bridge. Because of Li Chumo's gluttony, there was no room left when the two arrived. They had to settle for something else, but they didn't expect that not only there, but also the upper part of the restaurant and both sides of the riverbank were packed with people. Even the boats in the river were crowded together. Everyone was waiting for the fireworks. After all, they had been working hard all day and wanted a good ending.

At the crossroads of the street, where there were few people, the two finally chose to stand there. Although it was a bit far, there were hardly any people around.

"Master, the waiter at the restaurant just said that if you make a wish at the moment the fireworks light up, you can receive the blessing of the God of the Year. Is that true?"

Yang Pingsheng thought to himself, "Is there really such a thing?" But after looking into Li Chumo's bright eyes, he swallowed his doubts and nodded, "Perhaps."

"I want to make a wish that my master won't leave," Li Chumo continued.

“It won’t work if I say it out loud,” Yang Pingsheng said. “Let’s try something else.”

"No, this is it!"

Once a child has made up their mind, no one can persuade them otherwise.

Why bother? Yang Pingsheng sighed softly.

He wanted to say something more, but the voice in front of him interrupted him.

"Fireworks are on!"

call out--

Bang! ! !

The pitch-black night sky burst into dazzling brilliance. A loud bang resounded crisply in the darkness, and the fleeting fireworks outshone the moonlight in that instant. Flames filled the sky, illuminating the night sky along with the starlight.

At this moment, Yunxi City was quiet.

People make quiet wishes, whether for their family, their loved ones, or themselves. At this moment, everyone's wishes are expressed to the night sky, to be recorded by the stars.

The fireworks were so beautiful that Yang Pingsheng was mesmerized.

"It's so beautiful, Xiao Mo, you..."

As Yang Pingsheng spoke, he looked at Li Chumo, only to find that the latter was not looking at him.

The light from the fireworks illuminated her face, but her eyes were fixed elsewhere, staring blankly.

"?"

Yang Pingsheng was puzzled and was about to speak when he heard a voice behind him.

"My benefactor, is that you?"