The improved female villains regained their memories.

There was a shadow puppet show playing, telling the story of a fox spirit and a scholar. Yang Pingsheng had just been pestering Luo Benmo to buy him a candied hawthorn, but he was immediately drawn to the story.

The story was told vividly, captivating passersby. Yang Pingsheng's eyes sparkled as he looked at Luo Benmo and asked, "Sister, do you like foxes?"

“I don’t like it,” Luo Benmo replied, who was watching from the side.

"why?"

"Because foxes are the animals that least keep their promises."

Just as Yang Pingsheng was about to ask why, Luo Benmo pointed to a spot and asked, "Shall we eat here?"

Following the direction Luo Benmo pointed, there was a restaurant.

"It must be very expensive..."

Yang Pingsheng shook his head and tugged at Luo Benmo's clothes: "How about we forget about it and go back to eat with everyone?"

In his previous life, Yang Ping's family was very poor, so he was already conscious of thrift. The dishes in the restaurant were small in portion but extremely expensive.

Yang Pingsheng knew the background of this world: there was a war going on, and many people couldn't even get tree bark, let alone food. The peaceful and prosperous Lingquan City was, in the end, just a facade of peace.

Luo Benmo glanced at the restaurant, then at him, and said nothing.

The Gu residence is right across from the restaurant. The system knows this, but it doesn't say anything.

The play ended, and the crowd dispersed. Yang Pingsheng was still immersed in the story, sharing his views with Luo Benmo along the way. Luo Benmo simply listened, occasionally responding.

Suddenly, Yang Pingsheng fell silent. Luo Benmo looked at him and found that he was looking elsewhere.

Not far away, but not close either, on the opposite bank of the river, in a place where the lights don't reach, people who are barely clothed sit there.

"Sister, can you give me some money?"

Luo Benmo had never seen Yang Pingsheng like this before. He stared at him intently, his expression indifferent, revealing neither joy nor sorrow.

As if possessed, she nodded.

Every city has another side.

Behind the glitz and glamour lies hardship and filth. The people are from the same place, but live in different worlds.

Luo Benmo watched without making a move. She watched as Yang Pingsheng took the money, bought a lot of flatbreads, and then ran to the other side of the river to distribute them one by one. She just watched, without doing anything.

She was just walking with Yang Pingsheng, but now they're in two different worlds.

He looked at the poor and felt compassion. But she looked at the Gu family mansion and thought of murder.

Chapter Twelve My Heart

In my heart, a thunderous roar shook my very soul, as if the dark clouds had been shattered into pieces by a thunder dragon.

Yang Pingsheng ran back, panting, and looked up at her: "Sister."

The sound, along with the thunder dragon, tore apart Luo Benmo's emotions.

Luo Benmo looked at him, his eyes completely unmoved.

"Could you give me some more money?"

He was a little embarrassed and touched his nose: "I mainly gave them to the children, but there are also some elderly people... If my sister doesn't have any, then forget it."

"I have."

As Luo Benmo spoke, he took out some money and placed it in Yang Pingsheng's hand: "Here you go."

Yang Pingsheng took it, smiled, and said with crescent-shaped eyes, "Thank you, sister."

"..."

Her dark eyes were as calm as an abyss, reflecting the child's smile, which seemed to be embraced by the abyss.

Yang Pingsheng tilted his head: "Sister?"

The pain in her soul arose sooner than she had imagined.

"...Don't wander off, something's come up."

Her words were concise and to the point. Yang Pingsheng looked at her with a puzzled expression. Just as he was about to say something, lightning flashed, and Luo Benmo's figure disappeared from his sight.

"?"

He was stunned and somewhat confused, unable to react for a moment.

boom!

Fireworks burst in the night sky.

Multicolored lights swept across the city, and Yang Pingsheng stood obediently in place. After three bursts of fireworks, the person who had left returned.

He immediately smiled again: "Sister, you're back."

"Ah."

The response was low and somewhat ambiguous.

"Sister, are you feeling unwell?"

"...No, you can go."

He glanced worriedly at Luo Benmo, then at the people on the other side of the bridge, and shook his head: "Sister, let's go back."

Luo Benmo's current state is very abnormal.

She hadn't been gone long, but her appearance had completely changed. Her hair was disheveled, her face was pale, and her once rosy lips were now ashen and colorless. Her dark eyes were bloodshot, making them appear from a distance as if they had turned crimson.

"it is good."

Luo Benmo nodded, grabbed Yang Pingsheng's hand, and transformed into lightning once more.

The scene shifted, and he returned to the familiar wooden house. Before Luo Benmo could even speak, he vanished again.

Yang Pingsheng walked to the window and stared intently at the scenery outside.

"system."

"Ok?"

"Will there be any side effects if Luo Benmo doesn't absorb spiritual roots?"

The system was slightly surprised that this guy had actually thought of that.

It only told him that Luo Benmo's talent allowed her to strengthen herself by absorbing the spiritual roots of others, but it never mentioned that this talent had any side effects. However, since its host had asked this question, the system honestly answered, "Yes, it does."

"what?"

"pain."

How painful is it?

"A pain that penetrates to the very soul."

"I see."

Yang Pingsheng stopped asking questions and continued his cultivation.

What's this guy up to?

The system wondered, but it didn't ask. After all, it had been agreed that before she turned fifteen, Yang Pingsheng would be free to change the female villain according to his own ideas.

Fine, whatever.

The system didn't say much, but in the end, it would eventually return to the plan.

Letting Yang Pingsheng do things his own way before he turns fifteen—isn't that part of the plan?

---

On New Year's Eve, everyone got drunk.

However, a group of people, led by Lone Wolf, secretly slipped out of the mountain stronghold.

The Hengduan Mountains are the territory of villains, located east of Lingquan City, while their destination is a hillside northwest of Lingquan City.

Luo Benmo escorted Yang Pingsheng back, then proceeded to the meeting point. The fireworks display in Lingquan City was still ongoing; the sky ablaze with light briefly illuminated the darkness, revealing the faces of a group of extremely wicked individuals.

"Boss."

"Are the people ready?"

"We're ready. There are eighteen people in total, most of whom can use the power you granted. The intelligence was correct; Gu Tianran really did bring people to the refugee camp in the western suburbs."

The world is at war, and the price of war is a surge in the number of displaced people and refugees.

New Year's Eve is not necessarily a day for family reunion. A group of refugees came from the north and were settled in the western suburbs by Gu Bixuan, the lord of Lingquan City. His son, Gu Tianran, did not choose to spend New Year's Eve at the Gu residence, but instead led people to comfort the refugees.

"Gu Tianran must be out of his mind. He should be celebrating the New Year, why did he go there?" Lone Wolf sighed, then noticed that Luo Benmo seemed unwell and cautiously asked, "Boss, are you alright?"

"fine."

Its scarlet eyes glanced at him, startling him so much that he took a half step back. Then, its master said, "I've been to the Gu residence. Gu Bixuan is there, so I didn't dare to go any further."

"That's alright, the monkey gave us a message: Gu Tianran's bodyguards don't include any Earth Immortal Realm experts." Lone Wolf suppressed his fear and forced a smile. "Boss, this can be done."

Luo Benmo remained silent, gazing into the distance.

Lone Wolf immediately understood and pointed, saying, "That one in the yellow shirt is Gu Tianran."

Amidst a group of refugees, Gu Tianran took the lead. He proactively distributed food to everyone, a smile on his face. At fifteen or sixteen years old, he already possessed a certain imposing presence.

He didn't care at all that the refugees had soiled his clothes, nor did he care about his social status compared to them. He was so humble, and the radiance of his kindness seemed brighter than fireworks exploding in the sky. A little girl followed behind him, imitating him, personally handing food to each refugee.

That's Gu Tianran's younger sister, Gu Tianzhen.

"Pah, hypocrite!" a bandit nearby cursed.

"These people love to engage in this hypocritical stuff," another cursed. "They haven't even solved their own problems in the city, yet they have time to deal with those outside."

"Alright, that's enough," Lone Wolf snapped, then turned to Luo Benmo, "Boss, what do you say?"

As Luo Benmo looked around, he vaguely saw Yang Pingsheng.

"Do it," she said, her voice hoarse.

An arrow pierced the air and struck.

Before Gu Tianran could react, someone rushed out from beside him and blocked the arrow.