I manage female characters in all the heavens.

She closed the file, leaned back in her chair, and fell into deep thought.

Since Lanruo Temple is still standing, Nie Xiaoqian should still be alive.

She remembered that in the original movie, Nie Xiaoqian was a young lady from an official family. She died far from home at the age of 18 and was buried near Lanruo Temple, where she was then controlled by the Tree Demon Granny.

Her current identity, Nie Yaoguang, comes from a family of officials whose father is the prefect of Jinhua. Moreover, she is not a native of Jinhua; she was brought here by Nie Yan when he came to Jinhua to become the prefect. If she dies here, she will naturally be considered to have died far from home.

"Hey, really? Could I be Nie Xiaoqian?" she muttered to herself. "But that's not right. My name is Nie Yaoguang, and I'm already 20 years old."

She shook her head, banishing the guess that she was Nie Xiaoqian from her mind.

She's a lively 20-year-old daughter of a prefect, with 5,600 years of cultivation. There's no way she could have turned into that weak and delicate female ghost.

Just because someone has the surname Nie doesn't mean they'll become Nie Xiaoqian.

She continued to peruse the files. Jinhua Prefecture had some remarkable people; the records of various supernatural events were so vivid and captivating that she became engrossed in reading them. Before she knew it, the sky outside the window was already turning a pale white.

He looked up at the sky, stretched, and stood up.

Not sleeping all night is certainly unhealthy, but with her current cultivation level, this kind of exertion is nothing.

She put the files back on the bookshelf exactly as they were, blew out the oil lamp, and quietly left the files room.

Then she went back to her room and pretended that she had just gotten up.

Qingluo arrived at her mistress's courtyard still half asleep, yawning incessantly along the way, clearly not fully awake.

She got up half an hour earlier than usual today, thinking that she should be able to get up earlier than her mistress and help her get dressed.

When she arrived at the young lady's courtyard with the basin of water, she realized that she was still not early enough.

The young lady was already dressed and was scolding the servants at the door who were supposed to stay up all night to watch over her and prevent her from going out, but instead had fallen asleep on their own.

“Your father provides you with money, food, clothing, shelter, and even free early education for the children in your family.”

"He only ordered you to stay here and watch me so I wouldn't go out. How can you all fall asleep like this? I don't even want to think about what you'll do when it's time for you to draw your swords and step forward. Are you going to lie on the ground and pretend to be dead?"

The two servants blushed with shame and couldn't lift their heads.

The young lady used to speak gently and had never cursed anyone. Today they realized that she could be quite powerful when she did curse.

Moreover, that overbearing aura was truly terrifying, giving one the illusion that they would wipe out the entire family at the slightest provocation.

That was terrifying! I didn't dare to talk back at all! Of course, the young lady's words were justified, and there was indeed no reason for me to talk back.

"..." Qingluo was stunned for a while, and her spirits visibly dropped even further.

The young lady was so energetic in her cursing that she had obviously been up for a long time; even her hair was combed, making it seem as if she hadn't slept at all.

And she, on the other hand, wasn't getting enough sleep, had no energy, and no job...

Despite waking up early, I still couldn't get to do the few tasks I was supposed to do.

She couldn't see any reason in her mistress for having come so early in the morning; the mistress had already done everything herself.

Qingluo silently placed the now-useless basin on the shelf in her room, already planning in her mind to get up half an hour earlier the next day.

Otherwise, if the young lady always arrives before her, what purpose would there be for her as a maid?

If she were driven out, in this chaotic world, she, a helpless little girl, would either starve to death, be eaten by demons, or be sold by human traffickers to a place where no one could see her…

This is terrifying, I have to participate!

To everyone's surprise, she had been arguing with the other maids before, and now she even had to argue with the young lady.

Miss, can't you sleep in a little longer?

"Qingluo, let's go." The young lady waved her hand and strode out of the door that she was not supposed to leave through.

Qingluo silently looked at the two servants who should have stopped their mistress, but had been scolded by her for dozing off and were too ashamed to stand up and stop her. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, I wasn't at the bottom.

Nie Yaoguang swaggered out of the courtyard, rendering Nie Yan's stay-at-home order ineffective.

Anyone who dared to stop her would be defeated by her words, and the enemy would collapse without a fight.

This skill was shared with Yue Lingshan after she had been enlightened and embarked on the path of reasoning, following the completion of Yue Lingshan's trusteeship.

Yue Lingshan had served as a princess in the most prestigious city for two years and had also studied reasoning for two years. She had become quite skilled in this art, and her words flowed like lotus flowers. Zhu Houzhao was almost persuaded to actually pass the throne to her, which shows her ability.

"Nie Yaoguang" only slightly borrowed their power, yet managed to subdue the enemy without a fight and move freely within the government office.

She originally wanted to go to Nie Yan to ask if there was a relative named Nie Xiaoqian in the family, but after going around in circles, she learned that Nie Yan had gone out last night and had not returned yet, and she didn't know where he had gone.

She had no choice but to return to her own courtyard first, where Qingluo prepared some breakfast for her, which she ate slowly.

Nie Yan didn't return until nearly noon.

As soon as he entered the government office, he summoned "Nie Yaoguang" to his study.

"Yaoguang, pack your things, we're getting ready to move."

"move place?"

Nie Yaoguang was taken aback. "Where are we going? We've only been living here for two years."

Nie Yancai came to Jinhua Prefecture as the prefect two years ago, and Nie Yaoguang has only lived in this place for two years.

“My father has been promoted and is going to the capital to take up his new post, so naturally we have to move.”

"The imperial edict will arrive this afternoon if all goes well, and you will immediately be heading to the capital to take up your post. Your daughter has a lot of things, so pack them in advance to avoid any chaos."

When Nie Yan spoke of his promotion, his face showed no joy, but rather a hint of heaviness.

"You've become an official in the capital! That's wonderful!" She blinked. "But seeing your furrowed brow and heavy heart, could it be that the price you paid was high?"

Tell me, how much money did you bribe, and how many clans will be exterminated after this happens?

Speak boldly! I'll handle the people you can't deal with and the things you can't bear. I'll act first and report later. With my 5,600 years of cultivation, I'm here to grant you special permission. Just speak boldly!

"You scoundrel! Who taught you to talk like that? You're so frivolous and unruly, you have no manners whatsoever of a lady from a respectable family!"

Nie Yan first scolded him, then remained silent for a moment before sighing softly, "Don't ask anymore, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. Go pack your things."

"All you need to know is that no matter what happens, Dad will protect you."

Seeing his solemn expression, Nie Yaoguang did not ask any further questions.

Of course, she could tell that things weren't that simple.

In the imperial court, one can never rise to the top simply by merit. Moreover, she knew that Nie Yan had not achieved anything remarkable in the two years he had served as the prefect of Jinhua.

If someone is suddenly promoted to a high-ranking official position in the capital, and it's not something they orchestrated themselves, it often means they're forced into getting caught up in even bigger troubles.

But she doesn't understand the political landscape of the world yet, so asking her questions would be pointless.

That afternoon, the imperial edict arrived as scheduled.

Nie Yan knelt to receive the imperial edict, officially stepping down as the prefect of Jinhua and being promoted to vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, jumping directly from the fourth rank to the third rank.

The handover was very rushed. The new prefect was still on his way, so Nie Yan entrusted the affairs of the prefectural office to the assistant prefect for temporary management and hurriedly began to prepare his luggage.

The Nie family's group set off early the next morning.

Nie Yan is going to the capital to take up an official post, and it will be almost impossible for him to return to Jinhua Prefecture in the future. Naturally, he will take his whole family with him, as well as his belongings.

Apart from Nie Yan and his daughter Nie Yaoguang, there was no one else in the Nie family. In an era where humans, demons, and ghosts ate each other, even Nie Yan, the head of a prefecture, was unable to guarantee the safety and well-being of his relatives and friends.

However, besides the Nie family members, there were also many servants, guards, maids, etc., totaling several dozen people. Various valuables, books, calligraphy and paintings, supplies, etc., filled more than a dozen carts, all of which needed to be taken away, making the group quite large.

At the same time, knowing the dangers of the chaotic world, in order to ensure the safety of himself and others, Nie Yan unprecedentedly used his power to mobilize an army of more than 100 people from Jinhua Prefecture to escort them, making the team even larger.

As soon as the group left the city, Nie Yaoguang, inside the carriage, sensed the pervasive, eerie aura spreading throughout the world.

Even at midday under the blazing sun, this aura is only much weaker than at night, but it cannot be completely eliminated.

Even the brightest sunshine cannot dispel the filth in the world; there is no hope to be found in this world.

If ordinary people live in such an environment for a long time, they will not only be prone to illness, but their own yang energy will also be gradually reduced, making them vulnerable to demons and monsters.

Moreover, such an atmosphere can easily incite the darkness in people's hearts, leading to sins. The resentment of the dead is added to the gloom between heaven and earth, further inducing evil. This vicious cycle will eventually lead to the decline of humanity.

Such an environment is hell for good people, and not much better for bad people either; everyone is food for demons and monsters.

If this situation is not reversed, the world will eventually become a paradise for demons.

But what does this have to do with "Nie Yaoguang"? Even if the world really falls into depravity, she can simply become a demon.

If we're really talking about killing and committing atrocities, about cannibalism, what demon in this world can compare to her?

The matter of advocating for the people and reshaping the world should be left to learned scholars and great heroes with such intentions. She personally only wants to obtain some information on cultivating immortality and seek to achieve unparalleled longevity.

Inside the carriage, Nie Yaoguang sat by the window, using her supreme power to isolate herself from the filth of the world, maintaining her own purity and clarity.

She glanced at Nie Yan, who had seemed preoccupied the whole way, and finally couldn't help but speak:

"You've been promoted and you still have that expression? People will think you're being exiled."

"Don't worry, no matter what difficulties you encounter, don't be afraid. Face them with a smile. Even if the emperor issues an order to kill you, I will take a knife and break into the palace, put it to the emperor's neck, and 'beg' him to rescind his order."

Your daughter, who possesses 5,600 years of cultivation, is precisely the reason for you to hold your head high as an official.

Nie Yan glared at her: "You're getting more and more outrageous."

However, his daughter's statement truly warmed his heart.

Nie Yaoguang leaned against the carriage wall and changed the subject: "By the way, Dad, I have a question for you."

"explain."

"Do we have a relative named Nie Xiaoqian?"

Nie Yan's body jolted, and he almost dropped the teacup in his hand.

He turned his head and looked at his daughter with an extremely complicated expression. After a long silence, he slowly asked, "How do you know this name?"

"I heard it in a dream," she made up a reason on the spot. "What, judging from your behavior, it really is true, and you're being very secretive about it?"

"What kind of distant relative is this, and what did they do that they've done that I've never even met before?"

Nie Yan lowered his head, looking at the tea leaves floating in the teacup. After a long while, he said softly, "The one you saw wasn't your relative... that was yourself."

Nie Yaoguang's body trembled. What the hell did you say?!

"Before you were two years old, your name was Nie Xiaoqian. That was the name your deceased mother gave you." Nie Yan's voice carried a hint of reminiscence.

“When you were two years old, you fell ill with a strange disease. I consulted many famous doctors, but none of them could cure you. Later, I met a wandering Taoist priest who said that your fate was cursed and that the name Nie Xiaoqian had a yin energy that could not suppress your fate. If you did not change your name, you probably wouldn’t live more than three days.”