Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Among these ideas, the one that left a deeper impression was suggested by an aunt. She even asked Li Zhaodi to give it a try, saying that Mu Jingzhe might have been harmed by a ghost or an old grandma who had died in the village.

  The old grandma seemed to have passed away because of a lung disease or some other illness. It was said that she had coughed out blood, so this auntie suspected that Mu Jingzhe had been targeted by this ghost.

  Such a theory had been circulating in Great Eastern Village for a long time. Therefore, whoever suddenly fell sick would think along the same lines if they weren’t cured after taking medicine. They would try to place an egg or coin in a bowl and see if it would stand upright. If it did, it would be true.

  Next, they had to send this ghost away. After sending the ghost away, one would recover from their illness.

  In the past, Mu Jingzhe had never heard of such a thing before. She had only heard of it in Great Eastern Village. At first, she hadn’t quite believed this and had thought that it was a superstition. Later on, for some reason, that really happened two or three times. She didn’t know if it was a coincidence or something else.

  Mu Jingzhe felt that this wasn’t the case for her, but Li Zhaodi had already taken action. To her, as long as something could make Mu Jingzhe well, it was worth a shot.

  Li Zhaodi immediately tried it, but the result wasn’t good. The coin didn’t stand, so she had no choice but to give up.

  However, everyone still helped them think of other ways. Before she had fallen sick, Mu Jingzhe had had no idea that she was so popular. This was completely unimaginable in the modern era, where even neighbors didn’t know each other. There was no difference even between some relatives in the same village. Some of them were even worse than strangers, as they were afraid that you would do better than them.

  In the modern era, the people who had the best relationship with her were the younger ‘siblings’ she had brought up in the orphanage. However, in the end, not many of them had kept in touch. They used to be close when they were young, but when they’d grown up, their feelings for each other had faded. Even if they had feelings for each other, everyone had to live their own life and work hard. They didn’t have that much time and effort to spare.

  It was already good enough if they called and asked after one another usually. Very few people visited.

  On the other hand, the people from Great Eastern Village came to see her from afar.

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  From the looks of it, her rebirth had been quite successful. Mu Jingzhe was very touched, but despite feeling touched, she only wanted to say that she didn’t want their love to be proven like this.

  Shao Qihai, Mu Han, and Ji Buwang had asked around about doctors and hospitals, but after going over for a checkup, they still couldn’t find out what was wrong with her.

  Mu Jingzhe’s condition didn’t improve either. She was very weak, and her previous strength, which had been as powerful as that of an ox, seemed to have been sucked away bit by bit.

  Ever since Mu Jingzhe could remember, she had been as strong as an ox. Now that this strength was suddenly gone, she wasn’t used to it and her body felt increasingly weak.

  Mu Jingzhe was very panicked after losing her strength. She kept feeling like she didn’t have a sense of security anymore. In the past, no matter what she had done or whether she had acted bravely for a just cause, she would always think that she had the strength to defeat ten people all by herself. Therefore, she had been very confident and unafraid. Now that she had suddenly lost her strength, she felt like she was finished.

  She refused to give up. While no one was paying attention, she couldn’t help wanting to give this a try. It was the same today. While Xiao Wu wasn’t paying attention, Mu Jingzhe tried to secretly raise the table but to no avail.

  After Xiao Wu went out, Mu Jingzhe felt terrible. “I used to be strong as an ox, but now I’m so weak and frail… Will my strength really not come back? Is it related to my illness? Will I regain my strength when I recover?”

  Everyone close to Mu Jingzhe felt bad while seeing her sick. However, there were also a few people who said some pretty nasty things.

  “Why did she fall sick? It’s because she despises the poor and loves the rich. She could’ve lived well with her ex-husband, but she insisted on getting a divorce. Isn’t it because she felt that he wasn’t as rich as that Ji guy?”

  “An insatiable person is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. This is her retribution. Serves her right for getting a divorce and leading the women in the county astray. The moment she got a divorce, she fell sick. It’s totally retribution.”

  After eating, Mu Jingzhe took the opportunity to stroll around while she still had some energy. While taking a stroll, she heard two sloppy men gossiping, claiming that this was her retribution.

  Mu Jingzhe was no stranger to hearing sour words in the modern era. Many people would say that women despised poor men and loved rich guys. She didn’t mind it too much. What she cared about were the words of a woman who was standing with them and laughing.

  “That’s right. It’s retribution. Serves her right for sabotaging other people’s money-making means. It’s her turn to die now, huh. Hahaha, I didn’t curse her in vain. Now, the curse is finally working. Even if I die, I’ll drag her down with me. This is terrific.”

  The two men had only drunk a little and bragged about it to feel superior to others. They hadn’t expected a woman to answer. When they understood the meaning behind her words and realized that she had a grudge against Mu Jingzhe, their eyes lit up.

  “How did she sabotage other people’s money-making means?” The two men felt that there was an indescribable smell about the woman, but they were kind of drunk and busy talking, so they didn’t mind.

  “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. Anyway, this is her retribution. I specifically came back to see her miserable state. It would be best if I could see her off at her funeral. Where is she?”

  Her words were getting increasingly unpleasant. Infuriated, Shao Dong went up to her to chase her away. Mu Jingzhe didn’t stop him. As she watched the indignant woman leave due to being scolded, her mind rumbled.

  At first, she hadn’t recognized the woman. But when she saw her messy curly hair and combined it with what she’d said, she remembered. Wasn’t this the curly-haired woman who had duped the original Mu Jingzhe and the other girls into going away to work but had actually been trying to coax them into prostituting themselves? The curly-haired woman who had gone to jail after she had exposed the truth?

  Back then, Mu Jingzhe had asked around and found out that this woman had been sentenced to many years in jail. Why had she been released so quickly?

  She had undergone a huge transformation, aging so much that it was almost impossible to recognize her.

  As Mu Jingzhe was feeling puzzled, someone quickly came to look for the curly-haired woman. It turned out that she was still in jail, but she was severely sick. So much so that she had been granted medical parole.

  Unexpectedly, the curly-haired woman had run away while no one had been paying attention and run straight to Mu Jingzhe’s village. It was unknown where she had heard the news, but she wanted to see Mu Jingzhe die.

  The curly-haired woman really hated Mu Jingzhe to the core. She had led a good life previously, but later on, it had ended up being very miserable. Her family had long severed ties with her, and there was no hope for her at all.

  Previously, because of the line of work she was in, she had already been sick. She hadn’t been treated in jail, so her condition had worsened.

  The prison was afraid of a possible infection, so they could only let her visit a doctor. According to the doctor, she likely wouldn’t live much longer.

  The curly-haired woman was dragged away. Mu Jingzhe looked at her hatred-filled face and suddenly understood. She sighed in her heart. Only when she saw her did she feel that she had transmigrated a long time ago.

  Upon seeing her, she felt that this transmigration was actually quite meaningful. After all, she had also helped some girls escape the abyss of hell.

  But… But when Mu Jingzhe saw her, she finally realized there was a problem, or rather, she remembered the plot of the original novel.

  It wasn’t written in the novel exactly when the original Mu Jingzhe had died, but when she recalled the plot, it seemed to be around this time.

  She had fallen sick for no reason and the cause of the illness had been impossible to determine. Was it because this body had reached its end?