I woke up to find myself as the villain's older sister.

Ruan Qi first walked to the shop owner next to the artificial hill. The shop owner, who had fainted due to the strong water elemental energy, was now gradually waking up.

The moment he opened his eyes, Ruan Qi was walking towards him.

The shop owner wouldn't be foolish enough to believe that Yun Qingyi and her group were interested in Yu'er's potential and wanted to take her back to the Xuanmiao Sect.

All of this could very well be because of Shang Qi!

The shop owner looked at Ruan Qi, feeling both fear and a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing feelings, thoughts, and reflections).

The little girl who was once so thin she was skin and bones and only dared to peek at him and Yan'er from the corner has now grown into a beautiful young woman.

He used to look down on Shang Qi, thinking she was dirty, timid, and unpresentable, unlike Yan'er who was soft and cute. But now he sees that although his eldest daughter is still not as good as Yan'er, she still has her merits.

The shop owner didn't believe that Ruan Qi would really kill him. After all, he was her only family member. Who in this world doesn't yearn for family?

Besides, it wasn't him who killed her mother, it was Gao Ru. If his eldest daughter was to hate anyone, she should hate Gao Ru.

So, although she was inexplicably scared, she still smiled and said to Ruan Qi, "Little Qi, you've been fighting for so long, your anger should have subsided by now, right?"

I know you're angry that your father didn't save your mother back then, but your father had his reasons, Father..."

"What's your predicament?" Ruan Qi interrupted the merchant, her eyes revealing no emotion, and said indifferently.

Upon hearing this, the shop owner was even more certain that his eldest daughter was only angry for a moment and did not really want to kill him, and he couldn't help but feel a little smug.

He said that children like Ruan Qi are more attached to what they lacked in their childhood. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had never given her any fatherly love.

"What's your predicament?" Seeing that the shop owner didn't speak, Ruan Qi continued to repeat, a hint of impatience in his tone.

“Oh…” The shop owner stopped his inner monologue and said to Ruan Qi, “Little Qi, don’t forget, your surname is Shang.”

After saying that, he glanced at Ruan Qi a few times and saw that she had no emotional fluctuations. He felt relieved, sighed, and continued earnestly, "Your maternal grandfather's family was powerful and influential back then, and he knew how to win people's hearts. Although he was not one of the four great families, he was showing signs of catching up."

I think you should know, Xiao Qi, that the four major families of the Northern Spirit Continent only have so many resources at their disposal. If another family joins, it means they'll have to take a bigger slice of the pie, which is something nobody wants to see.

"So you married your mother back then to use her to suppress the Ruan family?"

"No." The shop owner smiled mysteriously, his smugness no longer concealed. "How can it be merely suppression? Little Qi, your father has never taught you anything, but today I will teach you a lesson through this incident."

"The worst thing you can do when dealing with an enemy is to be merciful." The merchant's expression was sinister, but his voice carried a hint of nostalgia. "I actually liked your mother a lot back then, but if I hadn't treated her that way, your maternal grandparents wouldn't have relented out of pity and handed over half of the Ruan family's resources to my Shang family."

It was precisely because of that half of the resources that the Ruan family declined so quickly under the pressure from merchants.

"But later, when the Ruan family fell, you didn't treat Mother well either." Ruan Qi's voice was cold.

Upon hearing this, the shop owner suddenly burst into laughter, a hint of pain and resentment on his face. "I wanted to treat her well! But she keeps talking to me about the Ruan family! She's already married to me! What does the Ruan family's decline have to do with her!"

"She even said she hated me?! How dare she!" Recalling Ruan Jin's words that she would never forgive him, the shop owner still couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that a woman could be so fierce.

At that time, he thought that if someone could teach her a lesson, she would realize how good he was.

Therefore, he later married Gao Ru and made everyone in the household respect Gao Ru as his second wife, thinking that with Gao Ru around, she would get jealous and come to beg him for help.

However, it seems he miscalculated. No matter how much Gao Ru humiliated her, she never came to him once.

It wasn't until he heard the news of her death that he realized what had happened. He saw the woman he had admired since his youth lying in a dirty ditch, her clothes tattered, her face sallow, and her body emaciated. No one would believe that this was the once famous eldest daughter of the Ruan family in the Arctic region.

He didn't believe it either, so that day, he glanced at it and left without looking back.

The person he loves is not like this.

Looking at the ever-changing face of the Ruan family head, Ruan Qi smiled coldly in her heart. She had nothing more to say to this person in front of her. His eyes were full of disdain and disgust when he looked at the Ruan family head.

Not only did her mother dislike this person, but she also disliked him.

The shop owner was stunned for a moment when he saw that look, then realized what he meant and said in a somewhat agitated tone, "You, you can't look at me like that! I order you! You can't look at me like that!"

"Ha, you're still struggling with your eyes."

"I think you don't understand the current situation." Ruan Qi said coldly to the merchant, "Today, I will make all of you merchants pay with your lives for my mother."

"You...you mustn't forget, your surname is Shang!" Although the Shang family head still couldn't believe it, seeing Ruan Qi's disgusted eyes, he suddenly lost his confidence and could only continue to emphasize, "You are my daughter, Shang Shou. By destroying the Shang family, you are destroying your own clan! You...you are unacceptable to the world!"

"Oh," Ruan Qi replied casually, "But I don't have the surname Shang anymore, I have the surname Ruan."

"My name is now Ruan Qi. As for Shang Qi, she has already been killed by your wife's men."

Ruan Qi was not wrong. She looked coldly at the merchant. If she hadn't awakened the Nine Heavens Profound Fire back then, which allowed her to live from the brink of death, she would be nothing but a skeleton now.

The shop owner didn't care who was chasing Ruan Qi; instead, he was filled with rage. "You unfilial daughter, how dare you change your surname without permission! Who gave you the audacity... ah!"

Before he could finish speaking, the shop owner cried out in pain, clutching his severed right arm, his face turning from anger to terror.

"You...you...ah!"

With another cry of pain, the shop owner's left arm also fell to the ground.

Because he had been stabbed by Yun Qingrou before, although his dantian was not shattered, his meridians were severed. At this moment, he could only watch helplessly as Ruan Qi used his knife on him, powerless to resist.

"What's wrong? Merchant, you seem to have a problem with my name." Ruan Qi said expressionlessly, his long sword falling swiftly. With a few more slashes, the merchant's legs were severed.

"Ahhh! Ahhhh!" The merchant screamed in pain. Having grown up in luxury and never suffered any injury, he could not bear the pain of losing a limb.

Just then, Madam Shang slowly woke up. She looked at the miserable state of the Shang owner next to the rockery and turned pale with fright, screaming out in alarm.

She looked around and realized her daughter was nowhere to be seen. Overwhelmed with grief, she cried out, "Yu'er! Yu'er! Where are you?!"

She didn't understand why things had turned out this way after she woke up. She clearly remembered that the master had told her at the beginning that an elder from the Xuanmiao Sect had taken a liking to Yu'er's talent and had come to her door to recruit her.

Her sharp gaze locked onto Ruan Qi, as if she had found the answer.

Yes, it's her!

She brought all of this upon herself!