CHAPTER 262: CHAPTER 262: THE SECRET BEFORE NEW YEAR (2)_1

"The debt owed to me, the lives of my family that you covet—I will reclaim them one by one. I don’t care who they are or how powerful their backgrounds might be—let go." Shangguan You coldly snorted, shook off Ye Sanshao’s hand, and cast a Clairvoyance Spell. She clearly saw those beings locked in iron cages; injected with some kind of madness-inducing drug, they were relentlessly tearing at each other.

She also saw, in another passage, all the vehicles preparing to retreat.

"Thinking of escaping, huh? Well, let’s see if I’ll allow it," Shangguan You sneered. With a wave of her fingertips, the brown Earth Element joyfully appeared before her.

"Earth Power, divide for me! Water Chains, lock down everything!" As she softly commanded, the brown element charged out like a strong gust of wind, and the pale blue Water Element once again sprouted countless hands, tightly winding around everything in the room and suspending it in midair.

"Ice Seal," Shangguan You called out softly. The bloodied beings entangled by the elements within the iron cages were frozen into ice blocks once more, transforming the entire laboratory into a frozen, snowy expanse.

By the time Shangguan Hao, Yu Jiayong, and the others arrived, they found a world blanketed in white. In the other passage, those who had been attempting to withdraw found the earth around them endlessly sinking, burying everyone up to their heads.

The change was instantaneous, the shift utterly sudden. Shangguan Hao’s eyes widened as he watched his own body gradually freeze, yet his mind was eerily clear. In his eyes lay shock, and even more astonishment.

He saw his daughter, radiant and suspended midair, watching as she swept out like a gust of wind, instantly restraining all who tried to flee.

"Girl, I never expected you’d be able to maximize the power of both the Earth Spirit Bead and the Water Spirit Bead and use them simultaneously. That’s truly remarkable. No wonder you captured those creatures in one go." Ye Sanshao leaned against the ice with his arms crossed, a smile playing on his lips as he watched Shangguan You charge out like an avenging goddess.

"Thinking of running away?" Shangguan You sneered, casually plucked Li Wanying from the earth with one hand, and tossed her onto the ground. Her hands swiftly formed seals: an Obedient Seal, a Truth Seal, and a Submission Seal—hurling all three at once. She refused to believe anyone could resist these.

"Speak! Who told you to do this? What is your purpose?" Shangguan You coldly stared down at Li Wanying on the ground. With a wave of her hands, she released the Ice Seal from Shangguan Hao.

Shangguan Hao watched the ice on his body slowly disappear until he could move freely. Only then did he walk towards Shangguan You with a relieved expression. His daughter—she was two whole years ahead of schedule.

"Daddy, you can ask her any questions you have," Shangguan You said to Shangguan Hao with a nod, her voice soft.

"Li Wanying, what really happened sixteen years ago? Where is Mengjie? Why did you insist on marrying me?" Shangguan Hao stood tall and imposing over Li Wanying, his voice cold as he demanded the truth. After sixteen years, it was time to get answers from Li Wanying.

He had searched for sixteen years, waited for sixteen years, and finally, this day had come.

Shangguan You furrowed her brows. She really hadn’t expected Daddy to ask about Mommy. She was curious about her mother; although her mother had not appeared before her, she knew that one day she would meet her.

"Sixteen years ago... sixteen years ago... HAHAHA!" Li Wanying muttered, then suddenly became crazed, her eyes filled with ferocity. It seemed the events from sixteen years ago still deeply agitated Li Wanying, enough for her to break through Shangguan You’s three talismans.

"Leave this kind of woman to me," Ye Sanshao stepped in, dropping his idle spectator act. A special Spiritual Energy pulsed from his hands, pressing down on Li Wanying. Her maniacal laughter stopped, and she quieted down.

"Sixteen years ago... sixteen years ago..." Li Wanying continued to mutter, endlessly repeating these words.

"Whose daughter is Shangguan Rou? Why did you marry into the Shangguan Family?" Shangguan You asked lightly, with a gentle raise of her eyebrows.

"Shangguan Rou is my daughter. She’s mine and Shangguan Hao’s daughter."

"Bullshit! I never touched you, whether before or after marriage. I, Shangguan Hao, swear I never laid a hand on you! You know very well whose bastard child she is. Don’t you dare try to pin the blame on me now!" Shangguan Hao’s face turned ashen; now that he finally had the chance to learn the truth of the past, he was determined to know it.

As for Shangguan Rou, she was simply not his daughter. He would not acknowledge her, nor would he accept this false claim of paternity.

"Rourou... Rourou is my daughter, my daughter! I married into the Shangguan Family because I fell in love with Shangguan Hao! I wanted his heart, and I wanted the Shangguan Family’s Five Spirit Pearls. Only members of the Shangguan Family are naturally attuned to the Spiritual Pearls’ aura, and I had to obtain them!"

"Yes, yes, that’s it, that’s exactly it," Li Wanying murmured to herself. Shangguan You and Ye Sanshao exchanged glances. This sixteen-year-old memory... Li Wanying had been subjected to powerful hypnosis, ensuring that no matter her state or constraints, the memory would never be revealed. What she was saying now must have been drilled into her mind through countless hypnosis sessions and experiments—forced into her brain. That person was truly formidable to have conceived such a method.

"Why did you want to harm me? The kidnapping incident a year ago, hypnotizing Uncle Yu, and manipulating things behind the scenes—was that your doing?"

"As long as Shangguan You exists, Shangguan Hao and that old man Shangguan Zhi will never acknowledge Rourou. Only if Shangguan You is destroyed will my Rourou gain their attention, and only then can I find what I’ve been searching for these sixteen years."

"So, that day, I had all the attending Hidden Guards diverted. Furthermore, my master arranged for people to pose as kidnappers, taking you from school along with your three classmates, making them suffer humiliation before your eyes, tortured to death by men—which successfully drove you into autism."