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

Since the incident with the third leader, the village seemed much quieter, just like this sudden downpour, washing away the fine dust on the ground and bringing a faint fragrance.

Xiao Ran continued to stroll through the village wearing a veil, just as always.

Behind her stood a tall, black-clad young man with a high ponytail, his hair fluttering slightly in the gentle breeze. He held up an umbrella and followed the girl walking briskly ahead.

Xiao Ran knocked gently on the door, and soon a woman opened it a crack, watching them warily.

"Old man, I am the new doctor in the village."

Soon, the door opened wide, and the woman suddenly realized who it was, saying, "Oh, it's Miss Xiao... Please come in quickly."

Upon arriving outside the room, Duan Li put away his umbrella and waited outside the door, while Xiao Ran followed the woman into the room.

The room was simple and unadorned, but there was an incense burner with three unburnt incense sticks on it.

It doesn't smell good; it seems to be a cheap, low-quality fragrance.

Xiao Ran followed the woman into the inner room, where she saw a man on the bed with a pained expression and a pale face. Xiao Ran immediately went up to take his pulse.

Before long, the woman saw Xiao Ran stand up and asked, "Miss Xiao, my poor son... could he have contracted some terminal illness?"

Xiao Ran did not answer her, but asked, "Grandma, do you have paper and pen in your room?"

The woman was taken aback, but quickly searched the room and found some yellowed hemp paper and some half-new, half-old ink and brush.

As the woman spread the items out, she said, "These were left behind by my poor husband, and they haven't been touched yet..." As she finished speaking, her eyes slowly reddened.

Before coming here, Xiao Ran had learned about this woman from the village doctor. Her husband was the only scholar in a village in Jiangbei, but he was unlucky and never passed the imperial examination. He died of drinking in a brothel after failing the exam.

The mother and son instantly lost their pillar of support and were forced to become refugees. Fortunately, Liuyun Village took them in.

"Please accept my condolences," Xiao Ran said.

The woman hastily wiped away her tears and said, "Please forgive my embarrassment, young lady..."

"It's alright." Xiao Ran focused on writing something, then looked up and asked the woman, "Has your son been anywhere lately?"

The woman pondered, "It seems I haven't gone anywhere... I've been doing everything as usual, helping with farm work during the day and making straw crafts to sell at night."

Xiao Ran asked again, "Is there anything strange about it?"

"Something strange?" The woman pondered for a moment, then exclaimed, "...There is something!"

"The first half of the year was a severe drought, and the second half was plagued by continuous heavy rains. As a result, our harvest was poor. I complained at the dinner table, saying that God was not letting us live and that we might not even be able to afford food in the future!"

“I never imagined my son would take this to heart. From then on, he ate very little at each meal, sometimes not at all, just to save money for the family…” After saying this, the woman looked at the man on the bed with heartache.

Xiao Ran was startled. She had initially thought it was just a common stomachache, but upon closer reflection, she realized that this was an adult who not only had to farm during the day but also do handicrafts at night. Moreover... how could he have the energy if he didn't eat?

But when she looked at the man on the bed, his face was ashen and weak, but his body was still very strong...

She walked straight to the bedside and, to the woman's astonishment, yanked back the covers.

The man was clutching his abdomen, which was slightly swollen, making him look like a pregnant woman!

"What's going on?!" Xiao Ran turned around and questioned.

The woman's face immediately turned red, and she reached past Xiao Ran to grab the bedding, trying to cover up the matter.

But Xiao Ran did not let the woman take away the corner of the quilt; instead, she threw the quilt inside.

But the woman suddenly turned fierce, gritted her teeth, and forcefully pushed Xiao Ran down, then covered her with the blankets, angrily saying, "Don't bother with this, young lady! This illness is better left untreated! Please leave!"

Xiao Ran was puzzled, so she shouted loudly, "Severance!"

The boy rushed in quickly and, seeing Xiao Ran pushed to the ground, immediately grabbed the fierce-looking woman.

The woman struggled fiercely, but she was no match for the boy's strength and soon ran out of energy, being pinned to the ground.

Xiao Ran used the couch next to her to get up and turned her head to look. She saw that the man on the couch had no reaction to what had just happened. He seemed to be in so much pain that he had lost all feeling.

She immediately lifted the mattress, unbuttoned the man's shirt, and ran her hand over it to examine it closely.

Duan Li was taken aback by Xiao Ran's actions; this was a man!

A short while later, Xiao Ran turned to the disheveled woman and asked, "Did he eat something he shouldn't have?"

"No! I said no, and that's final!" The woman glared angrily at Xiao Ran.

"In that case, let it be." Seeing that the woman didn't want to tell her, Xiao Ran said, "Duanli, let her go."

Duan Li had some doubts, but she did as instructed anyway.

Xiao Ran patted the dust off the floor and said, "I'm afraid even a great immortal couldn't cure your son's illness. Please prepare for his passing as soon as possible." With that, she pulled Duan Li out of the inner room.

As soon as I stepped outside, I smelled that pungent, cheap fragrance again.

It seemed the incense was about to burn out, and the cheap, pungent smell became even stronger.

Xiao Ran covered her mouth and nose, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.

But soon he heard a noise behind him and stopped in his tracks.

"Miss Xiao, please wait!"

Xiao Ran turned her head and saw Duan Li holding back a woman who wanted to step forward with one hand, while his other hand was gripping the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment.

His complexion wasn't very good either, seemingly affected by the fragrance in the room.

“Miss Xiao, my son, my son became like this after eating that damn Guanyin clay…” the woman said, her face covered in dust.

"Kaolin clay?"

“Yes! It’s Guanyin clay. It’s sold on the back mountain every night at midnight. Many people in the village know about it…” the woman replied.

Xiao Ran then asked, "Then why did you stop me from checking on your son?"

"This, this..." The woman looked awkwardly to the side, but couldn't say a word for a long time.

"Fine, I see you don't want to punish your son. Let's go." Xiao Ran then walked out the door without looking back.

But this time the woman did not chase after her.

As Xiao Ran stepped outside, she saw that the rain was getting heavier and heavier, just as the woman had said.

She stood there for a while, and seeing that Duan Li hadn't raised his umbrella yet, she turned to look at him with a puzzled expression.

Only after the separation did he realize what was happening, and immediately opened and raised the umbrella.

……

"Do you think my actions are wrong?" Xiao Ran asked without turning her head after walking out of the courtyard.

Duan Li was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "No, Miss must have her own plans."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran frowned slightly, stopped walking, and turned around to look at him.

"You smelled that incense too, but have you ever thought about why a family that can't even afford to eat would have extra money to burn incense and worship Buddha every day?"

Duan Li immediately recalled the scene from just now. When he smelled that scent, he realized it was coming from the incense burner on the table.

The incense burner was filled with ash, clearly indicating that it was frequently lit.

"Superstition?" Duan Li asked after careful consideration.

Xiao Ran gave a soft "hmm" and looked at the mountain peaks not far away, which were now shrouded in thick clouds and mist, perhaps because of the rain.

"So tonight at midnight, let's go explore the back mountain."