“Wuwuwu, is she really dead? Why hasn't she moved for so long...”

“Er Ge, I’m sca... scared... of dead people... What should we do? Why hasn't Da Ge brought Xiao Mei back yet?

“Er Ge, San Ge... will Da Ge and Xiao Mei be eaten by a fierce, big wild beast?”

Inside the dilapidated shack, three toddlers under the age of six sat hand-in-hand in the corner, staring in terror at the motionless woman on the floor. Although they were too afraid to go near her, they also dared not leave the room.

The three little ones whispered to themselves while fearfully whimpering softly. Their chirping sounds immediately woke up the irritated Mo Ruyue.

My head hurts so much!!!

The intense pain made Mo Ruyue frown. Without even opening her eyes, her hand instinctively lifted to touch her forehead.

Hot and sticky... Mo Ruyue abruptly opened her eyes and looked at the blood on her fingertips, her gaze becoming sharp and murderous: Had someone cracked her skull open?

Looking around... Where was this place?

Mo Ruyue pinched the corner of her brow. A rare trace of confusion surfaced on her cold, small face as her memories gradually became clearer:

She was an all-powerful assassin who had just received an urgent mission to assassinate a politician in Country M with her partner, but they ran into an ambush.

Thinking of this, Mo Ruyue suddenly sat up.

“Mo-mo-mo...” San Bao, who was missing a front tooth, stuttered as he looked towards Mo Ruyue, then suddenly screamed, hugged Er Bao, and burst into tears.

“Ba-ba-bad... Bad Mother... she got up!”

As soon as he cried, Si Bao, who was only five years old and timid as a mouse, also started wailing: “Bad Mother... is alive!! She's going to hit us... Wuwu, Si Bao is so scared!!”

Er Bao was stunned. After all, he was only a nine-year-old child who had just watched Mo Ruyue 'rise from the dead' and sit up.

The psychological fear from long-term abuse flared up, but he still stuttered while shielding his younger brothers: “D-d-don't be scared... Da Ge isn't here, I'll p-p-protect you...”

The little guy tried hard to act like a brave little hero, but his trembling limbs, voice, and pale little face betrayed his inner terror.

He shakily picked up the wooden stick in the corner and pointed it at Mo Ruyue, “You... Bad Mother, did you turn into a ghost... to seek revenge on Da Ge? You mustn't hurt Da Ge... You were the one who threw Xiao Mei into the mountain first, and wanted to sell us... Da Ge only hit you because he was angry!!”

“...Shut up! Stop crying.” Mo Ruyue found the little things' crying and fussing incredibly annoying. With a single roar, she made the little guys close their mouths, looking wronged.

She sat on the ground, her entire body aching as if a giant wheel had rolled over her ten thousand times.

Mo Ruyue looked at the three dirty, skinny toddlers. The tattered material they wore could hardly be called 'cloth'... As for the three children in front of her, the words they had just muttered, and this somewhat familiar scene... Mo Ruyue felt an ominous premonition—this plot was strikingly similar to a healing-themed farming novel she had read not long ago.

The original owner, the villainous stepmother in the book, shared her name. Right after the original owner married into the family, the male protagonist in the book reached the age where he had to join the army, and not long after, news of his death arrived.

In the ancient feudal era depicted in the book, the original owner became a newlywed widow and was rumored to be a husband-killer. Even the male protagonist's children were said to be freeloaders and were driven out. The original owner had no choice but to live with her five stepchildren in a dilapidated hut.

The original owner, who had initially hoped to live a good life relying on the male protagonist, became twisted in silence, finding various ways to torment the five children, nearly driving the little ones to death.

To avoid starving, the original owner decided to sell the three boys—Er Bao, San Bao, and Si Bao—and took the youngest daughter to abandon her in the deep mountains, hoping to use this opportunity to distract the immensely powerful Da Bao.

Unexpectedly, when Da Bao learned the truth, he accidentally killed the original owner in a fit of rage by striking her.

When Mo Ruyue first read this plot, she had scoffed at it.

She never expected that upon her death and resurrection, she would transmigrate into this book as the ultimate villainous and malicious stepmother!!

Just as she was immersed in thoughts of her past life, the door to the broken courtyard was suddenly forced open, and a middle-aged woman with a pockmarked face walked in.

She pretended to cover her nose and said, “Why is there such a strong smell of blood in this broken courtyard... Oh, Qin Xiaoniangzi, how did you end up with your head cracked open and bleeding like this?”

The Slave Trader squat down sarcastically and poked Mo Ruyue's forehead.

The next moment, Mo Ruyue grabbed her wrist, making her let out a pig-slaughtering shriek: “Wh-wh-what are you doing! Let go, my hand is going to break...” Mo Ruyue expressionlessly wiped the blood from her forehead and said coldly, “Who allowed you to come in? Get out!”

“You ungrateful woman... Ow, ow, my hand...” The Slave Trader admitted defeat and cried out in pain repeatedly.

After finally shaking off Mo Ruyue, she immediately stamped her feet in anger: “Mo Ruyue, you've gotten bold! You were the one who begged me to come and help you sell these children! I finally found a buyer and negotiated a great price, and this is how you treat your benefactor?”

Her voice was extremely loud, and her shouting not only terrified the children in the corner but also drew in the neighbors, who crowded the doorway to watch the spectacle.

“Mo Ruyue still went after these children! Even though they are stepchildren, they are still the Old Qin Family's bloodline...”

“It's pitiful that the Qin Family's second son died, leaving behind only these five children... How could she be so cruel!”

Aunt Liu, the neighbor next door, couldn't bear to watch and couldn't help but step inside and curse: “Mo Ruyue, Qin Ming's death—”

“The news just came back, his body isn't even cold, and you're already trying to sell his sons! Aren't you afraid his ghost will come knocking to claim your life?”

The rest of the people also pointed fingers and cursed Mo Ruyue, calling her despicable.

Mo Ruyue frowned, finding their noise irritating: “All of you, shut up.”

At this moment, her face was covered in blood, and her large, clearly defined eyes were filled with chilling pressure. She looked completely different from her usual cowardly and bullying demeanor, making everyone momentarily afraid to speak.

San Bao and Si Bao huddled together, trembling, and cried softly: “Er Ge, when is Da Ge coming back? I don't want to be sold...”

Er Bao's face was also pale with fear. He forcefully raised the wooden stick and shouted at Mo Ruyue and the Slave Trader: “You two Bad Women, don't even think about selling us! When my Da Ge comes back, he will beat you up.”

Although his voice was fiercely childish, he was ultimately just an eight or nine-year-old boy. He lacked authority, which instead caused the Slave Trader to burst into laughter: “Look at this boy, so full of vigor! Much better than those two little weaklings... This boy will definitely fetch a good price from a good family.”

As she spoke, she reached out to grab Er Bao.

Er Bao bit his lip in terror and wildly swung the wooden stick: “Don't come near me... Don't touch me... I'll beat you to death!!!”

The Slave Trader was accidentally hit several times by the stick and was furious.

She lunged forward, using her massive body to pin Er Bao down, and snatched the wooden stick from his hand. “You little bastard, you dare to hit me?! Just watch me deal with you today...”

Saying this, she raised the stick to hit Er Bao, looking extraordinarily vicious, which terrified San Bao and Si Bao into silent sobs: “Er Ge! Don't hit Er Ge...”

Mo Ruyue's face turned cold. With lightning speed, she rushed over, launched a kick at the Slave Trader's crotch, sending her kneeling to the ground, then swiftly reached out and snatched the wooden stick from her hand.

Although Mo Ruyue was cold by nature, she had her own bottom line and principles, and she disdained using children for silver to survive.

"I'm not selling the children. You can get lost."

The Slave Trader's eyes widened. Kneeling on the ground, she cursed and ranted, "What nonsense are you spouting, you little wench! I've already found a buyer. You can't just call it off now. How am I supposed to explain it to them?"

Mo Ruyue narrowed her eyes dangerously, pressed the wooden stick horizontally against the Slave Trader's neck, and applied slight pressure. "I said I'm not selling! Do you have a problem with that?"

The Slave Trader was startled, nearly choked. She hurriedly said, "I-I-I... let's talk this over, Ruyue... This Slave Trader is only thinking of your good. You've just been widowed after marrying into the Qin Family, and the Qin Family heartlessly drove you out... You have no obligation at all to help Qin Ming raise these five burdens."

"You're so poor now. I was just trying to help you... If you sell these three extras, wouldn't you be able to eat meat and wear new clothes?"

Er Bao was still reeling from the news that 'Bad Mother wasn't selling them' when he heard the Slave Trader's words. Immediately alert, he rushed over.

His small fists pounded on her body: "How dare you try to sell me and my brothers! I'll kill you! We are not extras..."

San Bao and Si Bao quickly ran over too, united in their hatred with Er Bao. They cautiously kicked the Slave Trader several times, then quietly hid behind Er Bao.

The Slave Trader was so angry she wanted to curse: "You little brats... uh..."

The moment she opened her mouth, the wooden stick at her neck suddenly tightened. The pain made her face flush crimson; she almost couldn't catch her breath: "No, no, no... I can't breathe."

Er Bao was stunned: Was the bad mother... protecting them?

San Bao and Si Bao poked out their grimy little heads, glancing at the furious Slave Trader, then at the cold Mo Ruyue, their expressions growing even more fearful.

Bad Mother was so scary. Was she going to hit someone again?

Mo Ruyue had no mind to care about the children's emotions. Her recent vigorous movements had caused the blood on her forehead to keep flowing. Dizzy and lightheaded, she could barely stand steady.

But even if she was about to faint, she had to drive the Slave Trader away first.

"Slave Trader, we have neither written a sales contract nor exchanged a deposit. This so-called deal was merely verbal. I'm backing out now. You can get lost..."

Mo Ruyue's expression was icy, "But if you continue to scheme against these children, I'll send you to meet your maker right now."

After speaking, she gripped the Slave Trader's neck fiercely, her eyes carrying a murderous aura, as if daring the Slave Trader to shake her head—Mo Ruyue would take her life immediately!

"N-no, I wouldn't dare... Even if the deal's off, let's part amicably!! Cough, cough... Ruyue, let me go. I'll leave right now, right now..." Seeing her blood-smeared, demon-like appearance, the Slave Trader didn't dare refuse.

As soon as Mo Ruyue loosened her grip, the Slave Trader scrambled away on all fours, not even daring to utter a single threat.

That little slut's temperament had changed drastically, as if she were a different person, no longer as easy to bully as before...

This kind of lunatic, she'd better keep her distance.

Seeing that even a troublesome shrew like the Slave Trader had been driven off by Mo Ruyue, the villagers were astonished, their eyes filled with shock: Had Mo Ruyue lost too much blood and turned foolish? Why was she suddenly showing such kindness, not selling the children?

Mo Ruyue looked at the chattering villagers, a flash of impatience in her eyes: "Close the door!! So noisy..."

The neighbors instantly fell silent. After shutting their mouths, they felt strange: Why should they be afraid of such an ill-omened, widowed wretch?

Er Bao was also both scared and surprised by Mo Ruyue's actions just now. But as long as Mo Ruyue wouldn't sell him and his brothers, he obediently went to close the door, shutting the neighbors out.

The courtyard gradually quieted down, but Er Bao still held his brothers' hands, quietly hiding behind the door watching Mo Ruyue, not uttering a word.

Afraid that saying one wrong thing would get them sold off by Bad Mother again.

Mo Ruyue couldn't be bothered with them. Only after all the riffraff had left did her legs give way, and she slumped down by the table. Her stomach growled with hunger again, and her head felt dizzy and swollen, as if about to explode.

So hungry... She urgently needed to replenish her energy right now...

Just as this thought crossed her mind, within Mo Ruyue's blood-blurred vision, an infinite space suddenly appeared, mingled with green and earthy yellow.

Within her visible range, the space contained a vast expanse of farmland. The field held only a few weeds, no crops yet. But in the middle of the farmland stood a large house resembling a mushroom hut. By the doorway was a dried-up spring, seemingly waiting for someone to dig out its clear waters.

Was this the portable space mentioned in farming novels?

Mo Ruyue was surprised for a moment but quickly accepted this miraculous 'golden finger' setting.

After all, even something as bizarre as her dying and transmigrating into a book had happened; a golden finger didn't seem that strange.

Mo Ruyue sniffed the air in the space and found her stomach didn't feel as hungry anymore, and some strength had returned. She walked towards the mushroom hut and discovered a large smart refrigerator in one corner, though it was still in an unactivated state.

Next to the refrigerator was clearly an open-style small kitchen. Steel knives, electric stoves, pressure cookers—all the basic modern kitchenware were there, but also in unopened packaging.

Mo Ruyue reached out to touch it and found she seemed to hit an invisible barrier. She could see the kitchen but couldn't enter.

Perhaps she needed to do something to activate this space?

Since it was a space for farming and cooking, maybe she needed to have something to plant in the outside field first, before the tools inside could be unlocked?

Mo Ruyue frowned: The problem was she was injured... and about to faint from hunger, yet there was nothing in this space to fill her stomach... Without strength, how could she feed herself and then solve the problems?

Puzzled as she was, Mo Ruyue wasn't one to wallow in self-pity. She was just about to leave the space and return to reality to think of a solution when, as soon as she stepped out the door, a drop of blood from her forehead suddenly fell onto the dried-up spring.

The next moment...

The spring erupted with a dazzling burst of watery light. Then, the bloodstain was magically absorbed. The next moment, gurgling sweet water, cool and fragrant, tinged with the scent of flowers, bubbled forth from the spring.

A flash of inspiration struck Mo Ruyue. She crouched down, drank a few mouthfuls of the spring water, and felt as if her whole body had been cleansed—refreshed and clear-headed. The wound on her head hurt less, her stomach didn't feel as hungry, and her lost strength gradually returned...

This space was somewhat useful after all.

Mo Ruyue stood up satisfied, glancing at the vast expanse of whiteness not far in the space. Perhaps once she developed the existing space, that distant white area might hold even more surprises!!

Since she had already transmigrated into this book, leaving behind her life as a killer braving wind and rain, she might as well settle down and live a farming life here...

Wasn't this, after all, what she had longed for in her previous life?

Mo Ruyue opened her eyes and was back in this dilapidated little room, only to hear San Bao and Si Bao whimpering softly, “Er Ge, I’m so hungry, my tummy keeps rumbling…”

Er Bao also touched his empty stomach, looked fearfully in Mo Ruyue’s direction, and whispered, “Shhh, don’t wake the bad mother, she’s hungry too… What if she tries to sell us for food again…?”

Before he could finish, he saw Mo Ruyue slowly open her eyes and stare at him expressionlessly, instantly scaring him into sitting on the ground.

Seeing Er Bao like this, San Bao and Si Bao were even more terrified. They looked at Mo Ruyue fearfully, crying out, “Mother… don’t sell us, we… we’re not hungry anymore… we won’t eat anything…”

The Children’s cries made Mo Ruyue incredibly annoyed.

“Cry one more time, and I’ll throw you to the Slave Trader!” Mo Ruyue said coldly, making the three little ones immediately cover their mouths, eyes wide with terror.

She had just experienced the feeling of hunger and knew it wasn’t pleasant. Since Mo Ruyue had decided to stay and live a good life, she couldn’t just watch these little brats starve to death…

She stood up, finding that her body had indeed recovered a bit. So, she would go get some food first.

Mo Ruyue walked around the small mud house and found that these rooms were indeed very dilapidated, especially the tiny kitchen, only a few square feet, where a glance upwards revealed shafts of light leaking through the roof.

She suspected that this part of the roof would leak when it rained, and the kitchen was even more empty. On the chopping board, there were only a few coarse grain steamed buns, which smelled sour.

The vegetable basket only contained a few vegetable leaves, more than half of which had turned yellow…

This little bit of food definitely couldn’t be eaten!

Mo Ruyue glanced at the empty room and the three hungry boys behind the door, eventually deciding to go hunting. This was the fastest solution.

These skinny little boys really needed some meat to supplement their diet…

Otherwise, if they got sick, it would be even more troublesome.

Having made up her mind, Mo Ruyue pulled a roll of rope from the wall and strode towards Er Bao, scaring the three Children into screaming, thinking she was going to tie them up.

“No shouting!” Mo Ruyue snapped, directly grabbing Er Bao by his collar and blocking them at the door, saying coldly, “Are the other two in the mountains?”

Er Bao trembled with fear: “You, are you talking about Da Bao?… Are you going to tie Da Bao up? I won’t let you!”

With that, the timid yet brave little fellow, suppressing his fear, hugged Mo Ruyue’s leg, holding her back and saying, “Don’t you dare hurt Da Bao.”

San Bao and Si Bao saw this and also cried as they hugged Mo Ruyue’s legs, imitating him and shouting, “Don’t you dare harm Da Bao!”

But Mo Ruyue’s beautiful eyes turned cold, scaring San Bao and Si Bao into trembling and falling to the ground, no longer daring to hug her!

Only Er Bao was still struggling, but his eyes dared not meet Mo Ruyue’s sharp gaze…

Mo Ruyue couldn’t really hit a little brat, so she just said with a dark face, “I’m going to bring them back. You take care of your younger siblings and wait for me to return.”

Er Bao was incredulous: “You’re not going to hit Da Bao or abandon Xiao Mei anymore?”

“No.”

Mo Ruyue frowned, her face cold, “But if you don’t let go, they’ll be eaten by wild beasts once it gets dark, and they’ll never come back.”

Er Bao was still young, and hearing such a threat, he immediately let go, his eyes brimming with tears as he pitifully pleaded, “Bad… Mother, you have to save Da Bao and Xiao Mei…”

“Understood.”

Mo Ruyue felt a slight softening at the sight of those misty, wide eyes. The next moment, she scowled, picked Er Bao up, and tossed him aside, “Don’t run around.”

With that, she grabbed the rope and quickly left the house.

Mo Ruyue followed the route described in the book and found her way to the back mountain. By this time, the sun was setting, and the sky gradually darkened, shrouding the forest in a dangerous aura.

In her previous life, Mo Ruyue was an assassin, and tracking and counter-tracking were essential skills. Following the Children’s footprints and some small clues, she quickly chose the southwest direction and headed towards a steep slope.

Before long, she heard a wild beast’s howl, similar to a pig’s squeal, but with an added ferocity and bloodlust.

Mo Ruyue’s eyes narrowed, and she immediately rushed down the slope. A dark brown beast shadow leaped down from the slope, crashing into a not-so-thick Sophora tree.

It was an adult male wild boar, with two curving tusks gleaming coldly, as if eager to find prey to sharpen its teeth…

With a crack, the Sophora tree snapped.

A dusty figure fell, accompanied by a child’s clear cry of alarm!

“Look out!” Mo Ruyue’s expression changed. seeing Da Bao fall under the wild boar’s claws, she immediately picked up a stone and hurled it fiercely at the wild boar’s hoof.

Her eyesight was extraordinary, and her accuracy was naturally evident.

The wild boar let out a pained squeal, instinctively releasing Da Bao due to the intense pain, but the next moment, it erupted with even stronger rage, opening its tusks and biting towards Da Bao.

A moment of life or death!

No matter how brave and calm Da Bao was, he was still just an eleven-year-old child. Seeing the wild boar open its fierce tusks, he instinctively closed his eyes in fear…

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slender figure pounce forward, directly colliding with the wild boar.

“bad mother!”

Da Bao recognized her at a glance; the one who saved him was actually the wicked stepmother, Mo Ruyue… How could she be here?

And why had she suddenly become so powerful, not even afraid of a wild boar?

Before, this woman

was delicate and would scream loudly even if she saw a snake…

A dark line appeared on Mo Ruyue’s forehead. She lifted Da Bao with a stern face, casually hung him on a tree, and warned coldly, “If you don’t want to die, stay put.”

No sooner had she spoken than the wild boar, which had been knocked off course, returned with murderous rage, wishing it could bite this frail human, Mo Ruyue, to death!

Da Bao’s face changed, and his eyes instinctively filled with tension: “Be careful…”

But Mo Ruyue was not flustered, nor did she run. She even stood her ground. Just as the wild boar was about to pounce on her, she suddenly struck, grabbing the wild boar’s front hooves with both hands and tearing them apart fiercely!

Wild boars have thick skin and tough flesh; ordinary sharp weapons cannot injure them. So Mo Ruyue could only gamble on a burst of instantaneous power, combined with combat skills, to beat the wild boar as a formidable opponent.

When the wild boar could no longer attack at close range, Mo Ruyue suddenly flipped over and rode onto its back.

Then she pulled out the sickle from her pocket, brutally gouged out the wild boar’s eyes, found an old wound on its body, and plunged the sickle deep into it.

After a high-pitched squeal from the wild boar, this troublesome creature finally collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust that covered Mo Ruyue’s face.

Da Bao stared at Mo Ruyue, his body stiff, as if he didn’t recognize her: “You… you actually killed a wild boar by yourself?!”

Is this still an ordinary farm woman?

An adult male wild boar—even the strongest hunter in the village wouldn’t dare to fight it alone. Usually, several strong men would go together, combined with trap designs, to hunt a wild boar…

Mo Ruyue was previously lazy and foolish, with a weak constitution, falling ill every three days and gravely ill every five… Every day, besides ordering the Children around at home, she would wander through the village, stirring up trouble. When people came knocking on her door, she would cry and beg for forgiveness…

This kind of stupid woman, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, had long reached the point where even dogs disliked her and people abandoned her!

She actually… personally killed an adult wild boar to save him!!!