In front of the house, Ning Wan’er’s smile seemed somewhat forced, even stiff.

    Clearly, giving away so many spiritual herbs all at once was a painful ordeal for this greedy green tea.

    But she still brought them out...

    Staring at Ning Wan’er in front of him in shock and speechlessness, Li Muyang was momentarily in a daze.

    What the hell... This must be some kind of trick.

    I can’t still be dreaming, can I?

    The green tea b*tch Ning Wan’er, who was always taking but never giving, not only did not swindle his money this time, but she also took the initiative to bleed herself dry in such a situation...?

    Li Muyang’s expression was one of shock.

    Ning Wan’er gave him a glare and said, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving these to you for free, I’m just lending them to you temporarily.”

    “You’ll have to pay me back in the future.”

    The girl tried to emphasize this point.

    Li Muyang sighed and said, “I understand. These are borrowed from you, and I will definitely repay you.”

    Saying this, Li Muyang welcomed Ning Wan’er into the house.

    Just a loan, not a gift, that did fit his impression of this little green tea b*tch... as if!

    The Ning Wan’er he remembered was always the one to take advantage of others, never the other way around.

    He roughly estimated the value of these spiritual herbs, and it was even more than the money he had been swindled out of before.

    It’s a publicly known secret within the city that the Ning family of Jiuyuan City had long been in decline.

    Li Muyang also believed that Ning Wan’er’s father, the head of the Ning family, couldn’t produce so many spiritual herbs.

    Unexpectedly, this little green tea b*tch turned out to be a hidden little rich girl hoarding a fortune.

    Most of that fortune, of course, came from Li Muyang.

    He welcomed Ning Wan’er into the house with mixed feelings.

    As the two girls began to talk, Li Muyang sat in a corner, took out his medicinal cauldron, and started refining medicine.

    Li Yuechan’s condition was getting worse.

    Although half of the demonic energy had been extracted, the corrosion of her body by the demonic energy continued.

    She now often fell into unconsciousness, spending a third of her day trembling in pain.

    The time she could spend awake and resting was not much.

    Ning Wan’er softly comforted Li Yuechan, talking with her for a while, but it wasn’t long before Li Yuechan fell into a weak slumber again.

    Ning Wan’er became nervous after seeing Li Yuechan, who had been talking just a second ago, suddenly close her eyes and fall asleep.

    “Mu... Muyang, Yuechan, she...”

    Ning Wan’er stood up in a panic and called for Li Muyang.

    But Li Muyang, busy refining medicine in the corner, shook his head and said,

    She wanted to leave Jiuyuan City, that backwater place, to go to places her parents had never been, to become a real person of high status, to see the sights unseen by everyone in Jiuyuan City.

    Such a person should not have lent out her long-accumulated spiritual herbs to Li Muyang.

    After all, who knows how long it would take for Li Muyang to repay her?

    She shouldn’t have taken such a risk.

    Still...

    “I guess I can’t really be a true villain after all.”

    Ning Wan’er laughed at herself mockingly.

    The sense of relief she felt in the house made her finally see her own heart clearly.

    Although she had been hypnotizing herself for years, swindling a lot of money, and becoming a gold-digger in the eyes of outsiders.

    She always thought she didn’t care about the disdain of those outsiders.

    But at that moment, she was completely certain—she did care, and more than she had imagined.

    So the change in Li Muyang’s attitude towards her was a huge relief for her.

    Ever since she arrived at the Demon Refining Sect, she had been afraid of one thing.

    She feared that the now sensible and mature Li Muyang would come to his senses and despise her...

    That’s why, at the critical moment when Li Yuechan was injured, she gritted her teeth and brought the spiritual medicine she had saved up to give to Li Muyang.

    This act was like atonement, as if she was deliberately trying to please Li Muyang.

    “I really am ridiculous.”

    Having finally figured everything out, Ning Wan’er laughed at herself mockingly.

    “I’ve always wanted to go further, climb higher, and didn’t hesitate to be a villain. Yet, deep down, I despise such behavior.”

    “The real me actually wants to be above others, to climb to the top by stepping on everyone else, but at the same time, I don’t want to dirty my hands or tarnish my feathers. What a fool.”

    “...It’s naively laughable!”

    In this world, under the rule of the demonic path, how could one climb higher and become superior without dirtying their hands?

    But...

    The girl on the mountain path let out a soft sigh, a glint of cold light flashing in her eyes.

    At this moment, she finally understood her heart.

    If she really wanted to be a villain, then she should be the kind that is utterly evil and full of sin.

    As for the previous deceitful and small gains that would dirty her hands, if she was unwilling to do it, then she wouldn’t.

    Those petty benefits weren’t worth sullying her hands for!

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