After descending the mountain, my aloof fiancée became completely devoted to me.

Lin Ping casually placed the unconscious Xiaoyuer in the base's safe secret room, fed her a pill, and set up a simple protective spiritual energy barrier to ensure that no one could harm her in secret.

After carefully putting away the note containing information about Lingyun Mountain and the secret realm of Southern Xinjiang, and confirming that the clues in Zhu Xiaohan's text message were correct, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

The forces behind the scenes have meticulously planned and used Xiaoyuer to pass on clues, only to then ruthlessly kill him to silence him. This seemingly gives him a path to the truth, but in reality, it inevitably hides a deadly trap.

Strange events are occurring all over Lingyun Mountain, and the entire Shen family is trapped in the Southern Frontier Secret Realm. Shen Aoxue's safety is in imminent danger.

Without further delay, he darted out of the dilapidated underground base and headed straight for the southern border.

Lin Ping sped along, concealing his martial arts aura and appearing as an ordinary, agile young man, perfectly hiding his supreme cultivation level – a tactic he consistently employed to feign weakness and deceive others.

As we drove along a secluded section of the mountain road on the outskirts of the city, a burst of arrogant, mocking laughter, mixed with the timid sobs of a young girl, suddenly reached our ears.

Lin Ping paused slightly and looked up.

Under the shade of trees by the roadside, four or five street thugs with dyed hair of various colors and smoking cigarettes were surrounding an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl.

The girl's name was Ake. She was wearing a clean and tidy ordinary high school uniform, with a neat skirt and well-fitting trousers. She had a pretty and innocent appearance. At this moment, she was trembling with fear, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, her eyes red, and tears streaming down her face, but she dared not cry out loud.

"Little sister, don't hide. Play with us, and we promise no one will bully you." The leader, a blond thug, spat out his cigarette butt, rubbed his hands together, and approached step by step, his eyes frivolous and lewd.

"Dressed so cleanly, what are you pretending to be innocent for? You're definitely out here to seduce people on purpose!" Another thug sneered and reached out to pull at Ake's school uniform sleeve.

Ake was so frightened that she backed away, pressing her back against the tree trunk, trembling: "Don't touch me... I want to go home..."

"stop!"

A cold, deep shout suddenly rang out.

Lin Ping stepped forward slowly, his posture upright, his expression indifferent, and his gaze coldly swept over the group of thugs.

The group of thugs turned around at the sound and looked Lin Ping up and down.

Seeing that he was dressed in ordinary casual clothes, looked thin, and had no imposing presence, just an ordinary passerby, they immediately let go of their fear and looked at him with disdain.

"Where did this greenhorn come from? Daring to meddle in my business?" The blond thug raised an eyebrow and sneered, taking a step forward arrogantly. "If you know what's good for you, get lost, or I'll take care of you too!"

"You dare to interrupt when you're having fun with us? You must be tired of living."

The other thugs started commotion, rubbing their hands together, clearly not taking Lin Ping seriously, regarding him as an ignorant and meddlesome person.

Lin Ping's eyes were slightly cold, and he didn't bother with any more words: "This is the last time, get out."

"Ha, they even installed it on me!" The blond-haired man was completely enraged. He clenched his fist, swung his arm, and smashed it straight at Lin Ping's face with a strong wind. His attack was brutal and vicious.

The other thugs also surrounded him, ready to join forces to teach this troublesome outsider a lesson.

Just as the fist was about to reach him, Lin Ping lightly raised his wrist and casually slapped out a hand.

Snapped!

A crisp, loud slap echoed through the woods!

The seemingly light palm strike actually contained an extremely terrifying hidden force.

The blond-haired man was instantly spun around twice on the spot after being slapped, his cheeks swollen high, his teeth loose, and scarlet blood gushing from the corner of his mouth.

A sharp pain instantly swept through his body, and the powerful impact caused him to collapse to the ground.

The arrogant blond-haired man, who was so domineering just a second ago, couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears, his face covered in tears, snot, and blood.

"Ouch! It hurts like hell!"

The other thugs' pupils constricted, their mocking expressions froze instantly, and their bodies stiffened.

They didn't even see Lin Ping's movements before their boss was slapped to the ground and cried!

This is no ordinary passerby; he's clearly a ruthless individual who's been hiding his true strength!

Fear gripped everyone's hearts instantly, and no one dared to be arrogant in the slightest.

"Run! Run!"

Someone shouted, and the group of thugs scrambled to their feet, helped up the wailing blond-haired man, and fled in panic without looking back, disappearing into the end of the mountain road in the blink of an eye, not daring to linger for even a moment.

The forest instantly fell silent.

Ake stared blankly at the scene before her, still shaken, tears still streaming down her face, her eyes filled with gratitude and lingering fear as she looked at Lin Ping.

"Thank... thank you for saving me, brother."

Lin Ping's expression softened slightly, and he said calmly, "What's your name? I'll take you home."

"My name is Ake," Ake said timidly, and followed Lin Ping away from the mountain path.

Before long, the two arrived at an old residential courtyard.

As soon as she entered, a dark-skinned, mean-looking middle-aged man greeted her; he was Ake's father.

He glanced at Ake's tear-streaked face, but instead of feeling any pity, he frowned deeply and snapped, "What are you crying for! Getting into trouble again?"

Ake choked back tears, feeling wronged: "Dad, some thugs were bullying me just now, and this brother saved me..."

Before he could finish speaking, the middle-aged man rudely interrupted, his gaze sweeping over Ake's school uniform, his face full of impatience and anger: "Why do these thugs specifically target you? It's all because you're so indecent! Why don't you wear your school uniform properly? Why do you have to dress so flashy? Isn't that just trying to seduce others?"

These distorted and misleading words instantly turned Lin Ping's eyes cold and brooding.

His gaze fell on Ake, who was wearing a standard loose-fitting school uniform, conservative and clean, with no exposed parts, extremely ordinary.

"Uncle, this is a regular high school uniform, neat and conservative. How can it be considered revealing?" Lin Ping retorted, his tone somewhat impatient. "It was the thugs who deliberately provoked trouble. The children are not at fault."

To everyone's surprise, the middle-aged man not only didn't appreciate it, but also suspiciously scanned Lin Ping and A Ke, a malicious smirk playing on his lips. He shouted, "I bet you're all in cahoots! She's not being a good student, she's secretly flirting with other women outside, she's probably already having an affair with you! Otherwise, why would you be so kind as to save her and personally take her home?"

"At such a young age, she's already doing bad things and messing around outside. She's really disgraced me!"

The malicious rumors and slander have no bottom line; every word is extremely malicious.

Ake trembled all over, her face turned deathly pale, and tears of grievance welled up again. She was so angry that she was shaking, but she couldn't defend herself.

Lin Ping's face darkened completely, and he was speechless.

He had traveled the world and seen many evil people causing trouble and villains being treacherous, but he had never seen a father who was so unable to distinguish right from wrong and so callous and cold-hearted.

Instead of questioning right and wrong, and showing no affection for her daughter, she distorted the truth and wantonly spread rumors to slander her own daughter.

"Watch your mouth." Lin Ping's voice was icy and chilling, a faint but palpable martial arts pressure emanating from his body, causing the air to suddenly turn cold. "I intervened to help someone in need, that's all. You slander my daughter without any regard for right or wrong, spreading rumors and causing trouble. You are not fit to be a father."

A faint pressure enveloped the courtyard, and the middle-aged man instantly stiffened, his spine turned cold, and an extreme fear shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, causing his legs to tremble uncontrollably.

Even though he was just a young man, he felt a suffocating sense of facing a monstrous beast, making even breathing difficult.

His previous arrogance and meanness vanished instantly. He dared not utter another curse word and could only purse his lips tightly, his face turning pale and then red.

Ake looked up at Lin Ping, who exuded a commanding presence and stood up for her, her eyes filled with admiration and adoration, and a seed of affection was quietly planted in her heart.

From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever protected her or stood up for her like this. This mysterious and powerful young man was now deeply imprinted in her heart.

Lin Ping was too lazy to argue with such a mean-spirited person. He looked at Ake, whose eyes were brimming with tears, and said in a deep voice, "Stay home and try to travel in groups in the future, and stay away from remote areas."

After he finished speaking, he didn't linger and turned to leave the courtyard.