A heart-piercing pain made Deng Youning suddenly open her eyes.
A middle-aged man with a lewd expression was walking toward her, holding several gleaming silver needles in his hand.
"Young lady, do not be afraid. You are injured, and your uncle is using acupuncture to treat you."
Who was he...?
Wu Tong, the junior director of the Imperial Hospital.
It was under his "diagnosis and treatment" that her martial arts had been entirely crippled in the past.
She quickly got up and kicked him away.
Yet to her astonishment, her internal energy was still there, and her martial arts had not been crippled!
Neither her hand tendons nor her foot tendons had been severed by Deng Yi!
What was going on?
Shouldn't she have already been beaten to death with cudgels?
Her martial arts were not currently crippled.
Could it be...
She had been reborn!
Reborn in her sixteenth year, just after she had recognized her grandmother, escaped from Ten Thousand Serpents Valley, and was being pursued and having her martial arts crippled by Wu Tong.
In her past life, she had actually thought that having her martial arts crippled was no big deal. Since her grandmother had come to find her, she would soon be able to go home and reunite with her parents.
When that time came, cherished by her family, she would only need to study the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, and embroidery every day—what use would martial arts be then?
Her internal energy had been completely destroyed, yet she had felt deeply grateful to her enemies.
"Ha—"
Deng Youning let out a laugh.
It seemed she had simply been too naive in her previous life.
And far too attached to a nonexistent familial affection.
If her martial arts had not been crippled back then, she would not have allowed Deng Yi to sever her hand and foot tendons, ultimately ending up beaten to death by the Crown Prince.
"I appreciate the good intentions, but I have always been a suspicious person."
"You saved me for no reason, so don't tell me it's because of a doctor's benevolent heart!"
While speaking, Deng Youning had already pressed his acupoints.
Clenching her fists, she wished she could kill him right on the spot.
However, she knew that Imperial Physician Wu was the Crown Prince's man, and that fake heiress Deng Xuexian, who had usurped the dove's nest, had long been secretly colluding with the Crown Prince.
Wu Tong coming to cripple her martial arts must have been instigated by that good sister of hers.
Since he held the rank of director of the Imperial Hospital, the Crown Prince surely wouldn't trust him to come alone to the enemy state of Nanxin. The surrounding area was likely filled with secret guards sent by the Crown Prince, lurking in the shadows.
Killing him would be as easy as turning over her hand, but these eyes would report the matter to the Crown Prince.
Having just been reborn with neither power nor influence, she still had to give the Crown Prince some face.
Yet letting Wu Tong off so lightly was something she could never do either!
The corners of her lips curled up in a smile resembling a dark rose in the night.
Wasn't he hoping to use acupuncture to cripple her martial arts?
Then she would first cripple his hands, leaving him with no ability to ever practice acupuncture again.
Deng Youning gripped his wrist tightly, and the sound of cracking bones rang out crisply.
That rich internal energy flowing through her body—what a long-awaited sensation.
Raising her hand slightly, she merely flicked her sleeve, and the tightly closed, dilapidated wooden door shattered into pieces.
Swishing her red skirt, she strode out of the ruined temple.
Using lightness kung fu to dash through the valley, Deng Youning felt an unprecedented sense of freedom as she looked at the familiar surroundings.
The people of Ten Thousand Serpents Valley were skilled in poisoning and Gu worms; she wondered if her grandmother was doing well over there.
She had to find her grandmother and reunite with her as soon as possible.
Before she had gone far, the people from Ten Thousand Serpents Valley caught up with her again.
"The traitor is here! Catch her!"
Just as Deng Youning prepared to make a move, countless short arrows flew with the precision of piercing a willow leaf from a hundred paces, shooting toward those men.
The newcomers were a squad of women who, despite their gender, all possessed formidable martial arts skills.
The elderly matriarch leading them was over sixty, with gray hair and a youthful complexion, yet she moved with agility.
It was she who had fired that very short arrow.
At this sight, resilient though Deng Youning was, she could no longer hold back the tears welling up in her eyes, letting them spill over unhindered.
"Grandmother~~"
Meeting her grandmother again felt like crossing lifetimes.
A surging wave of longing filled her heart.
"Ningning, why are you so heavily injured?"
Han Qiongyue asked with deep concern, her heart aching terribly when she saw that her granddaughter's clothes were nearly dyed red with blood.
This was the very granddaughter of her blood whom she had traveled through countless hardships to find!
The entire State Protector Estate was cold and heartless. When Deng Youning, the true heiress, "died" in the enemy state for sixteen years, not a single person asked after her.
Only she, advanced in years, would travel thousands of miles to Nanxin State every three to five years to look for her at the ancient battlefield of that era.
As a medicinal human in Ten Thousand Serpents Valley for sixteen years, Deng Youning had finally managed to escape this time.
Along the way, she had casually saved an old woman who was bitten by a poisonous snake.
The medicine used to save the person required her blood—which could neutralize a hundred poisons—as a catalyst.
That particular snake loved to feed on the blood of living beings.
It was especially fond of drinking blood from the same bloodline during a meal.
When Deng Youning shed her blood to save the woman, that snake, having tasted the old woman's blood, could not resist the temptation and fearlessly appeared again, trying to feed on Deng Youning's blood as well.
Because of this, she was able to recognize her bloodline with Old Madam Han.
Looking at her grandmother's tear-stained face, Deng Youning clutched her fists tightly.
Since Heaven had given her a chance at rebirth, it was time to settle some old scores!
Living this life anew, she was determined to protect the people around her and would never allow the tragedy of her past life to repeat itself.
Everything was still in time.
"Mammy Dou, Yingshi, the two of you escort the Young Miss and leave first."
Han Qiongyue gripped the long sword in her hand, glaring angrily at the enemies opposite them.
Mammy Dou was an old sister who had followed her for the better part of her life, and her martial arts skills were no less than her own. Entrusting her granddaughter to her brought peace of mind.
Although the maid Yingshi was young, she was also the most skilled in martial arts among all the maids brought along on this trip.
With the two of them protecting Ningning by her side, she could rest in peace even if she laid down these old bones here today.
"No, Grandmother, how can I flee alone and leave you here to cover my rear?"
Deng Youning naturally disagreed with Han Qiongyue's arrangement.
"My injuries are fine, I can still fight."
As she spoke, Deng Youning had already drawn her sword from its scabbard.
"Ningning, why are you so disobedient?"
"If anything else happens to you, this old woman will die with her eyes open in regret!"
Hearing this, Han Qiongyue roared in bitter remorse.
She was advanced in years and already had one foot in the grave; if she could trade her own half-life for her granddaughter's survival, how completely worth it would it be?
Deng Youning remained unimpressed.
"Grandmother, Ningning knows all the kindness you have shown me in her heart, which is why I want to protect you too!"
Watching her die of illness in her past life, Deng Youning vowed that no matter what, she would never let her grandmother meet a violent end in this life.
She had been without her martial arts for far too long; let this imprisoned dragon fight a hearty battle and make a clean break with this master of hers!
Besides, she also wanted the Valley Master's token.
The disciples in the valley were all controlled by poison, and the formula for the antidote was kept on the token.
She knew they were orphans and pitiable people just like her, and she wanted to give them a way out.
The token was also the only key to open the Pavilion of Scriptures. That place held records of the world's Gu poisons and medical arts, and every single book stored there was a priceless treasure.
Could an evil cult like Ten Thousand Serpents Valley stand tall in Nanxin for decades without falling precisely because of their formidable skills, which left no one daring to cross them?
In her past life, she had looked down on these things, believing they were not upright.
She neither knew how to poison nor how to use Gu, yet she had been branded a "wicked woman" by others her entire life.
So in this life, she would truly become a wicked woman, a tyrannical madman. Whoever dared to provoke her would be executed without mercy!
Swords clashed, and amidst sparks flying, sword Qi erupted, capable of piercing clouds and splitting rocks.
Han Qiongyue was still vigorous despite her age.
As a member of the Han family, Han Qiongyue had accompanied her father and brothers onto the battlefield in her youth, serving as a heroine who was second to none among men.
She had even met Deng Youning's deceased grandfather on the battlefield.
The maids and matrons serving by her side were all fierce warriors possessing formidable martial arts.
"Disciple, come back with your master. You know that master is unwilling to take your life!"
She was someone she had personally cultivated to be immune to a hundred poisons; she absolutely could not let her escape.
"Hmph, Master? You have the nerve to call yourself that!"
"It is indeed true that you raised me and taught me skills, but whatever grace you showed was paid in full long ago through the countless times you drew my blood!"
"Tonight, I invite you to your death!"
The Valley Master hurled a piece of hidden weapon, grazing Deng Youning's arm.
"Thinking you can kill this Valley Master with just this? You're still too green!"
Deng Youning's plain dress, already nearly stained red with blood, now looked even more brilliant.
Like a red peony blooming in an instant.
Giving her no time to catch her breath, the Valley Master struck a fierce blow to her stomach.
It shook her internal organs to the verge of shattering; a mouthful of blood spilled out, and she lost all her strength entirely.
Yet this also allowed her to successfully seize the token.
At that very moment, the sound of hooves thundered as a squad of soldiers clad in silver armor arrived.
Those men possessed exceptional martial arts, slaying the Valley Master and rescuing them.
Seeing that help had arrived, Deng Youning finally allowed herself to lose consciousness in peace.
"This is... Li Tianzhuo's Silver Dragon Guard!"
Han Qiongyue was extremely shocked upon recognizing their uniform.
"Li... Tian... zhuo..."
Before losing consciousness, Deng Youning murmured this name.