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

The intense headache completely overwhelmed Shen Aoxue's mind.

Her body went limp, her vision went black, and she fell straight forward.

"Proud Snow!"

Lin Ping quickly stepped forward and steadily embraced her soft body.

Everyone panicked instantly.

Adele's face turned pale: "Why the sudden change?!"

Alu clenched her fists tightly, her face full of worry.

Lin Ping didn't reply. He put his arm around Shen Aoxue and immediately probed her meridians with his fingertips.

A wisp of pure and warm golden true energy slowly flowed into her body, circulating through her limbs and bones.

The next second, a cold glint flashed in Lin Ping's eyes.

Shen Aoxue's body was already in a state of disrepair.

His meridians were blocked and shattered, his soul was covered in cracks, and his body still suffered from the lingering effects of his memories being forcibly extracted and his soul imprisoned over the years, as well as countless new and old hidden injuries.

Over the years, she may have appeared to be safe and sound, but in reality, she has been enduring excruciating pain that tears her soul apart every day, and has survived inhuman torment to this day.

Lin Ping's heart sank slightly. He spread out all his true energy in his palm, gently repairing her damaged meridians and soul, and soothing her restless and disordered blood and qi little by little.

After a few breaths.

Shen Aoxue's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, her rapid breathing gradually calmed down, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly woke up.

She leaned against Lin Ping's chest, her face still pale, her eyes filled with lingering pain and exhaustion, and her voice hoarse and weak.

"Ah Ping... I remember... I remember everything..."

Lin Ping gently patted her back and whispered, "Don't be afraid, speak slowly, I'm here."

Shen Aoxue bit her lip, forcing back the bloody images surging in her mind, and slowly recounted the long-buried past.

"That day, I went out into the deep mountains and found a thousand-year-old blood-red Ganoderma lucidum, intending to bring it back to prolong my grandfather's life..."

"But when I rushed back to the Shen family's old house that very night, it was too late."

"The once-great Shen family was now a scene of carnage, with rivers of blood and corpses everywhere. The entire family had been almost completely slaughtered."

Her body trembled slightly, and her voice was choked with suppressed sobs.

"I searched through the ruins and only found my grandfather and mother, who were barely alive. All my other relatives were nowhere to be found."

"Grandpa was still breathing then, gripping my hand tightly. He clearly wanted to tell me some earth-shattering secret, his lips kept moving, but in the end he couldn't utter a single word and just breathed his last."

"Not long after, a second group of strangers broke into the old house and arrested me on the spot."

"Their target was never the Shen family's wealth, it was me! It was the secret of the southern border's geological veins sealed in my mind!"

Those people were extremely cruel. Day after day, they used forbidden techniques to strip away her memories, forcibly probe her soul, and tortured her day and night, all in order to uncover the secrets of the earth's core.

For a full lifetime, she was trapped in a dark and hopeless prison, living in endless pain as her memories were torn apart and her soul was hollowed out.

"Just when they were about to drain my soul and completely destroy me..."

Shen Aoxue's eyes narrowed, and she revealed the key point.

"A girl with a prosthetic arm suddenly stormed into the cell, forcibly took me away, and escaped the control of that group of people."

Lin Ping's gaze suddenly deepened, and he said in a deep voice, "The mechanical prosthetic arm is Xiaoyuer's."

Shen Aoxue nodded gently: "It's her."

One sentence instantly connects all the clues.

A cold glint flashed in Lin Ping's eyes, and he instantly saw through the entire situation.

It was not Xiaoyuer who initially slaughtered the Shen family, captured Shen Aoxue, extracted her memories, and explored the secrets of the earth's veins.

Xiaoyuer intercepted Shen Aoxue halfway, stealing her away after she had lost her usefulness and only her soul remained as a secret.

This means—

The force that covets the southern border's ley lines and plots to destroy the Shen family is another mysterious force lurking in the shadows!

Moreover, this force is absolutely incompatible with the small fish that intercepted the deal halfway, and their interests are completely at odds!

Beneath the southern border, there has never been only one villain!

Hidden in the shadows is a group of terrifying enemies who are even more ruthless, more secretive, and have a longer history of planning than Xiaoyuer!

"So that's how it is..." Lin Ping felt a chill run down his spine.

He always thought that his biggest rival was Little Fish's Illuminati.

Only now do we realize that the one that has truly taken the deepest root, committed the most ruthless slaughter, and coveted the source of the earth's veins is a third-party force that has never shown itself.

Just then, Shen Aoxue suddenly looked up, her eyes darting around anxiously, as she remembered a crucial clue.

"Ah Ping! I remember you!"

"Back then, I was imprisoned by that group of people. They blindfolded me the whole time, so I couldn't see anything, but my sense of smell is never wrong!"

"The underground prison that held me captive was perpetually filled with the rich fragrance of peach blossoms!"

"Southern Xinjiang is covered in mountains and forests, but there's one place with a vast peach orchard! It's highly likely that the whereabouts of my missing Shen family members are hidden there, along with clues to the lair of that mysterious group!"

As she finished speaking, her tone became increasingly urgent, filled with deep anxiety.

"You must reclaim the ley lines in Southern Xinjiang as soon as possible!"

"Those people are extracting the earth's vital energy day and night. Once the earth's spiritual energy is completely drained, the entire southern border will collapse and suffer immense devastation!"

The situation escalated instantly.

It's no longer just a matter of personal grudges or factional infighting; it concerns the very survival of the entire southern border region.

Lin Ping nodded slightly, his expression calm: "I understand. I will handle this matter personally."

He turned to Zhu Xiaohan beside him and whispered, "The Peach Blossom Forest Secret Realm covers a vast area, and there aren't many hidden Peach Blossom Garden strongholds in the Southern Frontier. Let's sort through the clues, investigate them one by one, and find that underground prison."

Zhu Xiaohan nodded in agreement: "I will immediately compile a topographical map of southern Xinjiang and pinpoint the suspicious location as quickly as possible."

The two plotted in hushed tones, their thoughts clear, each step aimed directly at the enemy's lair.

Just then, the door was gently pushed open.

Ake strolled leisurely into the courtyard, her usual carefree smile on her face.

"I heard that you brought the real Shen Aoxue back? I came here specifically to see what was going on."

As she approached, her playful and languid gaze casually swept across Shen Aoxue's eyes.

But the moment their eyes met, Ake suddenly stopped in her tracks.

All the playful smiles on his face vanished instantly, and the nonchalant look in his eyes completely disappeared.

She stared intently into Shen Aoxue's eyes, her gaze flashing intensely, a tidal wave of emotions surging within her.

Something is wrong!

Something's really wrong!

The eyes before me were clean and clear, yet they held a deep-seated hatred and suppressed resentment—the true gaze of someone who had experienced life and death and witnessed the massacre of their entire family.

She is a completely different person from the gentle, harmless, flawed, and seemingly docile fake Shen Aoxue of the past!

At this moment, Ake was completely certain—

The Shen Aoxue that has been in the manor for so long has been a fake from beginning to end!

A deep sense of apprehension and suspicion flashed across her eyes in an instant, while at the same time, a secret calculation that went unnoticed by anyone quietly began to take shape.