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

The woods at midnight resembled a black ocean, silent except for the rustling of the grass.

A young man hurried past, followed by a girl wearing a veil.

The boy was agile and his steps were steady. The girl followed closely behind, her eyes filled with trust, without the slightest hesitation.

They walked through the grass toward the small cabin deep inside.

The wooden cabin seemed to have been waiting for a long time, its light standing out starkly in the darkness.

Duan Li stopped a few steps away from the wooden house. Xiao Ran, who was standing next to her, walked up to the door without hesitation and gently knocked on it a few times with her slender fingers.

"I'm coming!"

Inside came Old Deng's booming voice, which sounded particularly loud in the quiet midnight woods.

As the door slowly opened, Xiao Ran bowed respectfully and said softly, "Elder Deng."

"Alright, alright, no need for such formalities, come in quickly." Old Deng waved his hand, his voice hearty.

After entering the room, Old Deng warmly gestured for Xiao Ran to sit on a slightly rough wooden stool.

"You should already know, it's all explained clearly in the letter," Old Deng said while boiling water.

Xiao Ran thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Xiao Yang... is he alright?"

"Here, take a look for yourself," Old Deng gestured to the couch beside him.

Xiao Yang's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and the dried tears left faint streaks on his cheeks. He lay in the corner, his body occasionally twitching slightly, as if he were sobbing in his sleep.

Xiao Ran felt heavy-hearted.

Xiao Yang definitely didn't read the note he gave her that day...

Because it mentions that his great-grandmother had passed away, and he couldn't bear the sudden death of Old Wang.

Deng Lao had been trying his best to hide it, but now he could no longer conceal it.

Poor Xiao Yang lost two of his closest relatives in a short period of time, and from then on, he was all alone in this world.

"This isn't a long-term solution for me. Although you checked my pulse, this body..."

Old Deng suddenly coughed heavily a few times.

"I mean, my body will gradually age, and I don't have many days left." Old Deng's words were straightforward and cruel.

"You probably don't want Xiaoyang to experience the pain of being separated from loved ones by death again, do you?"

Xiao Ran pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. Before I leave, I will find him a place to stay. It's also a way of..."

"To fulfill Old Wang's dying wish."

"Yes, that's more like it!" Old Deng said as he poured Xiao Ran a cup of tea, then slowly said, "Alright, I've made myself very clear in the letter. I can tell you something you want to know."

Xiao Ran glanced at Old Deng with a hint of doubt.

Old Deng stroked his beard calmly, a profound expression on his face, and said, "Young lady, don't doubt me. There's nothing in this world that I don't know."

"If you've made up your mind, then ask your question now."

So, with a mixture of belief and doubt, she voiced her question.

Do you know whose men the men in black who came to the mountains belong to?

Deng Lao: "Let me think about it first."

Then, Old Deng was seen staring blankly in a strange posture.

But he quickly said, "There are many men in black who come to the mountains. I wonder which time you are referring to?"

Xiao Ran thought through all the big and small things that had happened in the mountains.

In terms of timing, it should have started with the group of men in black that Duan Li encountered in the second-in-command's room.

After all, Duanli had tracked those men in black to Yindu Temple and discovered the suspicious Qiangzi and his companion.

That's why they were killed.

It was during that incident that Xiao Ran witnessed the process, which is why she used it to impersonate Qiangzi's subordinate and infiltrate Liuyun Village.

Another group is...

The group of men in black who killed the Fifth Master.

However, when the leader interrogated the third leader, they already knew that he was a subordinate named "Yuan" from the mountain.

But based on what Elder Deng just said... these two groups of men in black weren't sent by the same person?!

Xiao Ran broke out in a cold sweat.

Who else will get involved?

Xiao Ran suddenly recalled that before she fell off the cliff, a person wearing a blue-faced, fanged mask had appeared. That person had also led a group of people and killed all the black-clad men who were chasing her and Chen Zijing.

Could it be him? But who is he?

"Have you thought it through yet? If you keep hesitating like this, I won't answer anymore."

Old Deng's loud voice immediately pulled Xiao Ran back from her thoughts.

The first thing Xiao Ran looked at when she came to her senses was Duan Li beside her.

A hint of concern was subtly revealed in Duan Li's indifferent expression. His gaze seemed to be asking softly why Xiao Ran had been thinking for so long.

"I..." Xiao Ran felt her throat was extremely dry, so she picked up the cup of tea that Old Deng had just poured for her, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

After a long while, she slowly spoke, "I want to know, who instructed those men in black who broke into the second-in-command's room on the night of June 11th?"

Old Deng fell into a daze again, but this time it lasted an unusually long time.

Fortunately, before Xiao Ran could ask any questions, Old Deng came to his senses.

He coughed lightly twice and said slowly, "As for this person, I really can't reveal too much. But what I can tell you is that you'd better not have too much involvement with him."

"That's all?" Xiao Ran frowned, her eyes filled with disappointment and doubt. The expectation that had been there before had vanished without a trace.

Old Deng seemed a little embarrassed, his face turning red. After a moment, he continued, "Let me tell you something else. He is from the northwest."

"The Northwest?" Xiao Ran thought for a moment.

Does "northwest" mean the small countries in the northwest?

But didn't they submit to Jingyang Kingdom? And what is their purpose in getting involved in Liuyun Village's affairs?

Xiao Ran was completely confused.

"Alright! I won't utter another word." Old Deng said, standing up.

Then he groaned twice, "Ouch, ouch," muttering that he was getting old and his back pain had flared up again, so he needed to rest. As he spoke, he shooed Xiao Ran and Duan Li out of the house.

Before leaving, she reminded them to come pick up Xiaoyang tomorrow.

It wasn't until the sound of the door slamming shut echoed in her ears that Xiao Ran snapped out of her reverie.

Duan Li took a few steps forward, looked up, and noticed that the moonlight seemed exceptionally bright tonight. But after a while, he realized that Xiao Ran hadn't kept up with him, so he turned around to look at her.

Under the cold moonlight, Xiao Ran's face was as pale as if it were covered by ice and snow, completely devoid of color.

This was a sight Duanli had never seen before.

"What's wrong?" Duan Li quickly walked to her side, asking with concern in his eyes.

"It's him, it must be him!"

Xiao Ran suddenly remembered something from her past life.