After her transformation and rebirth, she manipulates the innocent and ruthless to overthrow the wor

The boy heard the crackling sound of flames burning, and after struggling to open his eyes twice, he finally did.

The cave he had come from was enveloped in a fiery red glow. He was about to get up when something was suddenly thrown at him, interrupting his thoughts. He had no choice but to reach out and catch it.

"Awake? If you're awake, eat this." A girl's voice came, and her tone didn't sound friendly.

He looked down and saw a wild fruit that was commonly found in the mountains.

But he didn't eat; he just looked around inside the cave.

"I've already put your sword away, just in case you hurt me again." Xiao Ran was just fiddling with the reeds, trying to make the fire bigger.

Noticing the sudden chill in the boy's eyes, she wasn't afraid and looked up to meet his gaze.

"You wake up so energetic, don't you feel any discomfort in your body?"

The boy then remembered that he had been wounded by a hidden arrow from a tree before he came here. Although he had taken the man's life directly, the arrow was poisoned after all. He had only been in the cave for a short time when he collapsed to the ground.

Did she save him?

Just as he was about to get up to thank them, he felt weak all over and fell back to where he was.

"Feeling powerless? That's to be expected, after all, I haven't given you the last dose of medicine yet." Xiao Ran looked at him maliciously.

“What do you want?” he asked.

The tiny creature on the ground slowly stood up, calmly dusted itself off, and then walked over and squatted down beside him.

She poked the wound on his chest hard with her finger, and the boy couldn't help but groan.

"I want—"

"you."

Seeing the boy's pale face freeze, she chuckled and explained, "It's not what you think. I just need you to do me a favor."

"what's up?"

"Take me out of the valley."

She had already thought it through. Once the three-day agreement was fulfilled after tonight, it would be considered a breach of contract. While the young man in front of her wasn't the main culprit, he was still somewhat involved, and she'd heard from others that he seemed to be very skilled in martial arts, so…

He should help her get out of the valley.

She clenched her fists, trying to appear fierce, and gritted her teeth, saying, "If you agree, I'll give you the last dose of medicine; otherwise, you can die in this cave."

Fortunately, she carried with her a jade marrow sunflower plant belonging to her master. She originally intended to test the effects of the fertilizer she had found, but unexpectedly, it saved him by sheer chance.

However... he also needs to experience what it feels like to have his life and death in someone else's hands.

The boy stared at her for a long time, so long that she thought he really wanted to die in that stone cave.

"……it is good."

She nodded in satisfaction. "You're smart! But I can't give you the sword yet. Consider it... consider it..."

"It should be used as collateral."

Then, she muttered under her breath, "Anyway, you're so badly injured, you probably won't be able to get up anytime soon..."

The boy asked, "What did you say?"

She was somewhat surprised that he could hear her, then composed herself and said, "I said I will come again tomorrow evening and return these two swords to you. Also, please keep your promise and take me out of the valley."

The boy gave a casual "hmm".

After feeding the medicine to the boy, she didn't care about him anymore. Then she collected the ashes from the burnt reeds and wrapped them in her cloth bag.

"What are you doing?" As the boy opened his mouth, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

He recalled how the girl had forced some unknown liquid into his mouth, which initially tasted somewhat sweet, but unexpectedly left a bitter aftertaste.

"Get treatment!" she said irritably.

If it weren't for needing to brew medicine for him tonight, she wouldn't have burned these reeds here. But she was going to use wood ash anyway, so collecting even a little bit would be good. As for the rest still burning...

She remembered the boy's cold body temperature.

...Let's just be good people to the end.

After wrapping it in a cloth bag, she walked to the cave entrance, turned back and made a fierce face at him, looking like a naughty child who would eat him if he didn't behave.

Then the boy heard a sound of something hitting the stone wall. It wasn't loud, but luckily his hearing was very good.

He smiled slightly.

After quietly putting down a sword, Xiao Ran retraced her steps.

Fortunately, this is the last bit of the way down the mountain, and there are usually patrols nearby, so there are no wild animals around.

She was now quite familiar with the route, unlike when she first arrived in the valley and needed her senior brother to lead the way. So, taking advantage of the moonlight, she arrived at Baicaoyu in no time.

As soon as I arrived at the mountain gate, I saw a person pacing back and forth, looking around.

I don't even need to think to know who it is.

"Senior brother!" she waved.

Mo Ping immediately stepped forward, took the basket from her back, and said with some worry, "Dali! You're finally back! I thought... I thought..."

"What did you think?" she laughed.

"I thought you'd been eaten by wild beasts in the mountains..." Mo Ping said in a low voice, his head lowered, while he kept rummaging through his basket for alfalfa, as if trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Oh yeah,” she said as if thinking, then startled him, “Senior brother, I almost got eaten!”

"Really!?" Mo Ping immediately looked up, then saw the mockery in Xiao Ran's eyes and knew it was fake. He grumbled angrily:

"Great, now even the junior brother knows how to tease his senior brother."

She giggled, but after this commotion, most of the lingering fear in Mo Ping's heart dissipated.

"But what are you doing collecting so much alfalfa? Is this how you revive the Chalcedony Sunflower?" Mo Ping asked, pulling on a stalk of grass as he looked up at her.

"Yes, not entirely, because I needed my good senior brother's help." She blinked and looked at him.

Mo Ping immediately straightened his chest and said smugly, "If you need any help, just tell your senior brother! Your senior brother will certainly not fail in his mission!"

"The key is to separate the flowers and leaves of these alfalfa plants. Grind the leaves into a paste and the petals into a mud. Most importantly, don't mix in the fruit seeds, otherwise they will sprout and ruin Master's medicinal herb field!"

Mo Ping scratched his head, suddenly regretting showing off in front of his junior brother.

He didn't expect it to be so troublesome. He wasn't interested in processing herbs to begin with, and with so much alfalfa, how long would it take to pick it all out?

"I want to finish it tonight, and by tomorrow morning it can be ground into a paste. After fertilizing, we should see results the day after tomorrow at the latest," Xiao Ran said, then tugged at Mo Ping's sleeve and said coquettishly, "Wouldn't it be nice if we gave Master a surprise?"

Seeing the bright, expectant look in his junior brother's eyes, he had no choice but to agree, "Okay, alright."

Xiao Ran was very satisfied; this could be considered repayment for the Fourth Master's kindness in taking her in.

She's the kind of person who always repays both kindness and vengeance.

Tomorrow night, she will sneak away and have the boy lead her out of the valley. Then everything in Flowing Cloud Valley will come to an end.

She has very important things to do.

With that in mind, she peeled the alfalfa leaves much faster.

However, Mo Ping in front of him seemed a bit listless and lacked energy.

Suddenly he saw a finely crafted sword in the basket, picked it up, drew the blade, and brandished it a couple of times before asking, "Hey, where did this sword come from?"

Xiao Ran looked at the sword blade, which gleamed with a cold, sharp light under the moonlight.

Just like its owner.

"Pick it up."