The improved female villains regained their memories.

"The story of gods fighting monsters is about to begin, let's go quickly!"

The crowd surged forward, and she felt her mind was a complete blank, unable to recall any memories from before.

"Thump thump thump thump!"

Suddenly, the crowd erupted into a frenzy, as a new procession approached, dedicated to the Fox Tail Goddess.

Upon seeing the Fox-Tailed Lady, the girl was reminded of something, and memories of the past flooded back. She looked down abruptly and realized that her body had shrunk.

Eleven years old, that's me at eleven!

She stared blankly, when suddenly someone in the crowd shouted, "The Empress is going to throw the marriage ball!" In an instant, as if a drop of water had been thrown into a pot of oil, the crowd exploded, waves of cheers rising to the sky. People in front cheered, and people behind tried to push forward. The crowd surged like a runaway wave.

She was jostled and humiliated, and the next second, the figure picked her up and hoisted her onto his neck.

"Master!?"

"Wouldn't this be better?" Yang Pingsheng said with a smile, "Didn't you want the embroidered ball? This way it'll be easier for you to snatch it."

"I......"

She wanted to say something, but for a moment, she couldn't say anything.

"The Empress is about to toss the embroidered ball!"

The person walking in front shouted loudly. On the parade vehicle, the woman playing the Fox Tail Goddess calmly stood up, holding a flower basket for throwing embroidered balls.

"Time to throw it!" Yang Pingsheng said with a smile. "Go, Xiao Mo, you have to catch it!"

As soon as Yang Pingsheng finished speaking, the embroidered ball flew high into the air.

The girl raised her hand in a daze, and the embroidered ball landed right in her hand.

Yang Pingsheng grabbed her leg: "Alright, we've got the embroidered ball, let's go!"

The crowded people were no obstacle for the master. Yang Pingsheng only put her down after they walked out and reached a stall not far away.

The girl was still dizzy: "Master..."

Yang Pingsheng assumed she was still excited, smiled and patted her head, then invited her to sit down. He then said to the owner, "Two bowls of sweet fermented rice balls, please."

"okay!"

The sweet rice wine contained glutinous rice balls filled with black glutinous rice. Under Yang Pingsheng's expectant gaze, the girl ate one.

It's sticky and so sweet it'll make your teeth fall out.

But she likes to eat it.

"I knew you liked to eat that," Yang Pingsheng said with a smile.

The girl froze, and for some reason, a huge sadness welled up in her heart, but she held it back and just groaned.

"Oh, have you started eating yet?"

"It was Xiao Mo who got the embroidered ball, Master, did you cheat?"

"Haha, Master still dotes on his junior sister."

Three voices sounded from behind her. The girl turned her head and saw Ye Chufei, Bai Nanrong, and Xiao Geyun.

Xiao Qitian is not here.

There is no other Li Chumo.

She was in a daze when another voice came from beside her: "It's all over the place that your elder dotes on his youngest disciple."

She immediately turned her head and saw Lan Xiu and Zhi Xinghan talking. Lan Xiu saw that the girl was looking at her, smiled slightly, and stepped forward to pat her head: "But that's only right, after all, Xiao Mo is so cute."

"Everyone," said Yang Pingsheng, the most senior member of the group, "please sit down."

Where is this place?

Is this place real?

The people around were talking excitedly. Ye Chufei laughed at Xiao Geyun for not catching the embroidered ball. Xiao Geyun was so angry that she wanted to scratch him, but was finally appeased by Bai Nanrong with a toy. Zhi Xinghan asked Yang Pingsheng for advice on cultivation. Yang Pingsheng answered and praised him for his recent merit in capturing members of the Demonic Cult. Lan Xiu scooped up the glutinous rice balls in his bowl while secretly glancing at Zhi Xinghan.

Everything is normal.

She's the one who's not normal.

Memories of the past returned, and everything came flooding back.

She is not Li Chumo.

She was a little dog from the fox tribe, that poor little thing.

She looked at the wine floating in the bowl, and the face of the beggar from that year appeared in her mind's eye.

"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]."

She screamed, knocked over the bowl, and covered her head.

The people around her stopped and looked at her with concern.

"Junior sister, what's wrong?"

"Junior sister, are you feeling unwell?"

"Xiao Mo, is there something in the bowl?"

The words of concern came one after another, so gentle, yet so insincere.

She looked up and saw Yang Pingsheng looking at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

The phantom flashed by, then transformed back into the corpse that had been swaying in the wind in the square that day.

The girl screamed in despair, overturned the table, and ran away.

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

night.

A light snow began to fall from the horizon, 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 scent 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.

Yang Pingsheng found the girl on a hillside outside the city.

She ran all the way here, sat down against a big tree, her eyes vacant.

Yang Pingsheng stood in front of her with an umbrella and asked, "Why did you run here? You ran away without saying a word during the day, and everyone was very worried about you."

The girl looked up and asked in a hoarse voice, "Master, do you love me?"

Yang Pingsheng raised his eyebrows: "Why ask that question?"

The girl didn't answer, persisting in asking, "Do you love me?"

"Nature is love."

"Then, what is love?"

"Good question. Why ask this?"

"I would like to know."

The wind blew, and snow fell on Yang Pingsheng's shoulders.

He was dressed in white, and the snow on his handsome eyebrows gave him a cool and aloof air. Perhaps thinking of something, he chuckled softly.

“Greed and love are two ways of saying the same desire,” he replied.

"Is that so?" the girl murmured to herself. "Is this Master's answer?"

Yang Pingsheng's tone when answering the question was like snowflakes falling from the sky, chilling her to the bone.

It was no longer the warm feeling in his heart, but a lonely chill that came from being at the top. He answered her question with a single sentence, but it also brought her new troubles.

Yang Pingsheng suddenly asked, "Don't you like it?"

The girl froze: "You like... what?"

Yang Pingsheng pointed to himself, then to the bustling Yunxi City beside him: "Me, everyone, and everything here."

"I......"

She stared blankly, not saying a word.

Yang Pingsheng continued, "Actually, happiness is very simple: the food you like, the clothes you like, the friends you like, the lover you like. These are all things that humans pursue. I say that greed and love are two ways of saying the same desire, and that is true. People want the love of their family, the love of their friends, and the love of the person they love. In essence, these are all manifestations of greed."

"If you satisfy both material and spiritual needs, then you can reach the other shore called happiness." Yang Pingsheng asked, "Don't you want good food, fun things, friends, or family?"

A series of questions left the girl speechless.

Her eyes darted around as she said, "But this is fake, it's really not like that."

Yang Pingsheng put down the umbrella and slowly squatted down in front of her.

The girl panicked and desperately tried to shrink back.

Yang Pingsheng reached out, wanting to stroke the girl's head, but the girl pushed his hand away.

"If it's not true, why are you avoiding me?" Yang Pingsheng asked with a smile.

"Because you're fake!" the girl shouted, blushing.

"Are the truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, really that important?" Yang Pingsheng asked with a smile. "Like I said, love is a way of saying desire. As human beings, it's enough to satisfy our own desires. Does it really matter what the world is like, what other people are like, or what the truth is?"

"But it's fake!"

“But it’s true that I’ll fulfill your desires,” Yang Pingsheng said. “Everything you want is here. The material things you lacked, the love you lacked—everything is here. You’re no longer that pitiful little thing; you’re the protagonist of this world. Everyone’s eyes will be on you, they’ll care about you, love you, revolve around you, and even…”

He pointed in a direction where the girl's grandmother was smiling and waving at her.

The girl's pupils contracted as she looked at Yang Pingsheng in disbelief.

“Even the people you care about can have a happy ending; your selfish love will find a place to flourish,” Yang Pingsheng said. “Isn’t that good?”

The girl was struck dumb and remained silent for a long time.