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

Lin Ping looked at Shen Aoxue's terrified and determined expression, his eyes filled with coldness, but his face remained gentle and unyielding.

He gently raised his hand and put away the Tianshan snow lotus in his palm, his tone doting and gentle.

"Since you don't want to use it, I'll keep it for you and take it out when you need it later."

The huge weight that had been hanging over Shen Aoxue's heart suddenly lifted, her tense nerves completely relaxed, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Just moments ago, she had nearly exposed the flaw in her evil divine soul, and she was still shaken. She became even more determined that she had to maintain her feigned weakness and innocence in order to continue to lie in wait by Lin Ping's side and cooperate with Xiao Yu'er to complete the deadly plan.

As night deepened, twilight enveloped the entire Lin family manor.

At dinner time, all the bowls and chopsticks were set out on the table, and everyone took their seats in turn, except for A-Lu.

The food on the table gradually cooled down, but Ah Lu still hadn't returned.

Adele repeatedly rubbed her fingertips against her phone, dialing several times in a row, only to be met with a cold, unanswered tone. Her worry deepened, and she became increasingly restless.

"Alu went out to chase after Xiaohan, and hasn't returned for so long. We can't get through to her on the phone either. Could something have happened to her?"

Ake, standing to the side, slowly ate her food, looking languid, and casually uttered a few sarcastic remarks, her tone playful and teasing.

"Sister Dai, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Alu is a martial arts master with formidable skills. Ordinary cultivators and thugs in the Southern Border would all avoid her. Who could possibly harm her?"

"Maybe she caught up with Sister Xiaohan and the two of them went for a walk to relax, or maybe she ran into other friends and went out to have fun with a guy, and forgot to go home because she was having so much fun."

A few casual words, yet each one piercing to the heart, deliberately smearing Alu's character.

Adele's anger surged instantly. She raised her eyes and glared fiercely at Ake, her tone full of rage.

"Ake! What time is it? How can you still be saying such sarcastic things! Alu is honest and upright; she would never do such a thing!"

Upon seeing this, Ake immediately dropped her playful expression, the cunning in her eyes faded, and she put on an innocent and aggrieved look, lowering her head slightly to show weakness.

"I was just joking, why did you take it so seriously and get angry, Sister Dai?"

Looking at Ake's deliberately feigned innocence, Ade felt utterly disgusted and said coldly, "Our manor is already chaotic enough with just one person harboring impure thoughts and twisting the truth. There's no need for another one who stirs up trouble and speaks sarcastically!"

The atmosphere between the two instantly became tense, and undercurrents were swirling around the dining table.

Adele had no heart to continue arguing; her mind was filled with thoughts of the missing Alu and the runaway Zhu Xiaohan. She suddenly stood up and grabbed her coat from the table.

"I'm going out to look for them."

Lin Ping, who had been silently observing, slowly raised his eyes, put down his chopsticks, and spoke softly:

"I'll go with you."

He watched coldly as Ake stirred up trouble and Shen Aoxue feigned compliance, already understanding everyone's intentions. Now that Alu has gone missing, it is no accident; it must be Xiaoyuer or some hidden force taking advantage of the situation to try to break up those around him one by one and disrupt his plans.

Adele paused for a moment, then nodded, feeling somewhat at ease.

Without further delay, the two quickly left the manor and entered the dark streets and alleys of southern Xinjiang.

The suburbs of southern Xinjiang are underdeveloped, lacking proper commercial streets. Instead, the streets are lined with open-air vendors, their stalls creating a noisy and bustling atmosphere filled with smoke and chatter. Passersby come and go in an endless stream, making the streets crowded and chaotic.

The night breeze carried the whispers of passersby, which drifted clearly into their ears.

"Have you heard? Lin Ping has completely lost his mind this time! To please a woman, he blew up the entire Tianshan Mountains!"

"That's not all! I've also heard that in order to monopolize the divine medicine, he didn't hesitate to slaughter his fellow martial artists who came up the mountain; his heart is utterly vicious!"

"I used to think he was a grandmaster who protected the southern border, but now it seems he's just a lecherous, selfish, and reckless madman who would do anything for a woman!"

"He destroyed the Tianshan Mountains' geological veins, and now the fortunes of Southern Xinjiang are damaged, and we will all suffer as a result!"

The outrageous rumors piled up, becoming more and more exaggerated, with every word deliberately smearing Lin Ping's reputation.

Adele was filled with indignation, her fists clenched, and she was about to step forward to argue.

"These people have no idea what happened; they're just spreading rumors! It's clearly a trap set by Xiaoyuer!"

Lin Ping raised his hand to gently stop her, his face showing no anger whatsoever, but instead a faint smile, his eyes filled with clarity and coldness.

"There's no need to argue."

"It's obvious without even thinking that no one but Xiaoyuer has the resources to spread rumors throughout the entire southern border overnight."

He knew perfectly well that this was Xiaoyuer's scheme.

First, ruin his reputation, making him a public enemy in the martial arts world, so that everyone is hostile and suspicious of him. Then, while he is busy dealing with public opinion and distracted by searching for someone, secretly erode everyone around him. Finally, find the right opportunity to turn the tables and strike back.

Little Fish thought he was scheming and plotting, but little did he know that everything was under his control.

He feigned being troubled by love, unable to judge people, and muddle-headed and stubborn, allowing rumors to fester and people's hearts to turn away, all in order to completely paralyze all the enemies lurking in the shadows.

Adele looked at Lin Ping's calm demeanor, and her indignation gradually subsided. She whispered, "Sir, they've gone too far. They've made you bear such a bad reputation for no reason."

"It's alright."

Lin Ping walked leisurely through the bustling crowd, his voice clear and melodious.

"It's just a bad reputation, no need to take it to heart."

"The more you make a scene now, the more excited you are, the worse your fate will be when the reckoning comes."

He appeared relaxed and nonchalant, seemingly unconcerned, but his internal meridians were already surging with hidden energy, and his divine sense swept across the entire street, probing the movements in all directions.

Alu's cultivation level is not weak; ordinary cultivators simply cannot trap her.

Having been out of contact for so long without any news, it is definitely not an accidental disappearance; they must have been targeted and imprisoned.

Just as Lin Ping's divine sense spread out, a faint wisp of blood-red malevolent energy flashed by in the dark alley at the end of the street.

This aura is of the same origin as the forbidden evil energy in the Tianshan ley lines and the body of the fake Shen Aoxue!

Lin Ping suddenly stopped, all the gentleness in his eyes vanished, and a bone-chilling coldness instantly swept over him.

He finally realized it.

Xiaoyuer's blatant manipulation of public opinion and the creation of a bad reputation were her open moves to attract his attention; but her real killer move was to secretly kidnap Alu and control the safety of those around him!

A scout dressed in black strode in, knelt on one knee, and plastered a fawning smile on his face.

"Young Master, rumors slandering Lin Ping are everywhere in the city. All martial arts families and independent cultivators believe them and everyone is spitting on Lin Ping. The plan has worked perfectly!"

Little Fish rubbed its fingertips against the mechanical right arm, its scarlet mechanical eyes flashing brightly, and it tilted its head back to let out a hearty laugh.

"Very good, this step was not in vain. Lin Ping's reputation is ruined, everyone in the Southern Frontier will be alienated from him, and he will find it difficult to move forward in the future."