Unparalleled medical and martial arts skills, saving the CEO's fiancée at the start.

By the time Ye Chen reached the street corner, the black figure had already vanished without a trace.

Ye Chen stood at the empty alley entrance, his gaze sweeping over the old residential buildings on both sides, the sheets hanging on the power lines, and the crooked locust tree deep in the alley.

Ye Chen found nothing.

The figure disappeared so quickly, as if it had never existed.

If it weren't for the faint, cool fragrance lingering in the air, Ye Chen would have almost doubted whether he had just imagined it.

Ye Chen did not continue the pursuit.

Chasing a master whose agility is no less than Du Qiansui's, and blindly following him into the alley when he has already gained the upper hand, is the most unwise choice.

Instead of being led by the nose, it's better to figure out what the other party's goal is first.

Ye Chen leaned against a utility pole at the alley entrance, took out his phone, and dialed Ghost Servant's number.

"Uncle Gui, let me ask you something. Is there a woman in the provincial capital's ancient martial arts community who is incredibly fast, wears black, and has a... how should I put it, a scent like the kind of flower that blooms in the snowy mountains?"

The ghost servant on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds before replying in a hoarse voice, "A woman? Fast-moving? Are you sure she's not Du Qiansui's accomplice?"

"No, Du Qiansui's aura is cold and sinister. This person is different. She only glanced at me from afar and left. There was no murderous intent, but she is definitely not an ordinary person. She was extremely fast, and she went in the direction of Qing Shi Lane."

"Bluestone Alley? Kid, you just went to Wu Qingyuan's place?"

Upon hearing the name "Blue Stone Alley," the ghost servant's voice changed slightly.

Ye Chen replied directly to the ghost servant: "I went, we chatted for half an hour, and I asked about some things from twenty years ago."

"Then you might be being targeted. Wu Qingyuan was one of the few people who knew the inside story back then. Although he never told anyone, the people of the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce might know that your uncle had met with him. If you talked with Wu Qingyuan for half an hour just now and mentioned that ancient tomb, then you have become a target. The person targeting you may not be after the jade pendant, but after the questions you asked."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, his mind racing through the words he had spoken in Wu Qingyuan's courtyard.

Su Youdao, Jiang Yuanshan, Tianyi Zaohua Jue, Ping'an Yupei, Longyin Yushi Yuxian Yutian.

If someone overheard this, wouldn't Mr. Wu Qingyuan be in danger now?

"Uncle Gui, I'm not talking to you anymore, I have to go back."

"Be careful..."

Ye Chen hung up the phone and turned to run towards Qing Shi Lane.

Ye Chen pushed his Ghost Shadow Steps to their limit, the bluestone pavement beneath his feet cracking slightly as he left a blurry shadow in the narrow alley.

Passersby only felt a gust of wind pass by, and could not even see the figures clearly.

In less than three minutes, Ye Chen arrived at the entrance of No. 17 Qing Shi Lane.

The courtyard gate was still ajar, exactly the same as when he left, but Ye Chen noticed a new scratch on the door frame, as thin as a hair, definitely not from natural wear and tear.

Ye Chen pushed open the door and entered, his right hand already gripping the silver needle in his sleeve. His internal energy surged into the meridians of his right arm like a tide, ready to strike at any moment.

In the courtyard, Wu Qingyuan was sitting on a stone bench under the osmanthus tree, slowly sipping his tea.

Xiaofeng was standing to the side with a feather duster, tiptoeing as she swept away the spider webs from the osmanthus leaves.

Upon hearing the door open, the old man and the young man simultaneously turned to look at the doorway. One wore a calm and composed expression, while the other looked utterly bewildered.

"Young friend Ye? Why are you back again? Did you forget something?" Wu Qingyuan put down his teacup.

"Old Wu, someone is following me. After I left Qing Shi Lane, someone was watching me from behind. It was a woman, and she was very fast. She was dressed in black." Ye Chen quickly scanned the courtyard to confirm that there were no signs of outsiders infiltrating.

"Young friend Ye, that's impossible! We didn't notice anything amiss just now. What is her purpose?"

"I suspect she's not just following me; she might be targeting you too. You know far too much about what happened twenty years ago."

Upon hearing this, Xiaofeng almost dropped the feather duster, but he reacted quickly, catching it with a somersault, his face full of tension.

Wu Qingyuan merely frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, then stood up and patted off non-existent dust from his knees.

"Come with me, Xiaofeng, you come too. Some things have come at the right time."

Wu Qingyuan led Ye Chen to the deepest part of the courtyard.

There was an unremarkable storage room with cobwebs hanging on the door frame and a thin layer of dust on the door, which looked like no one had been inside for at least a few years.

The storage room was filled with old furniture, old books and newspapers, and several dusty cardboard boxes. In the corner, there was an upside-down rattan lounge chair with a missing leg.

Wu Qingyuan walked to the innermost wall and pressed his hand on the blue bricks on the wall a few times.

The technique was extremely fast, like some kind of complex hand gesture, or like acupressure, with three long and two short strokes plus a rotation, the rhythm was distinct.

A slight sound came from behind the wall, and the blue brick wall silently slid open to both sides, revealing a stone staircase leading underground.

Ye Chen gasped.

He had seen many traps and hidden doors in Medicine King Valley, but he had never seen one hidden in a place like this.

From the outside, No. 17 Qingshi Lane looks like an ordinary old house. Who would have thought that there was a secret room hidden in the storeroom?

"This is a secret chamber that I built twenty years ago, specifically to store things related to your martial uncle. Apart from me and Xiaofeng's father, absolutely no one else knows about this place."

Wu Qingyuan took an oil lamp from the wall, lit it, and took the lead in walking down the stone steps. His steps were steady, and he did not look like a man in his seventies at all.

Grandpa Wu paused for a moment, then continued walking and explaining to Ye Chen the truth.

"Young friend Ye, the letter your master sent back back then is also here. I promised your uncle that if there is an opportunity one day, I would give these things to the descendants of Medicine King Valley. The fact that you are being followed today means that the people of Qingyun Chamber of Commerce have noticed you. Hiding it will only harm you."

The stone steps are not long. After descending about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), a stone chamber of about ten square meters comes into view.

The stone chamber did not smell damp or musty; instead, it had a faint, pleasant camphor wood fragrance.

In the corner of the stone chamber stood a stone table and two stone stools. On the stone table were several wooden boxes of different sizes and a locked iron box. Everything was kept in a state of careful preservation and was spotless.

There is also a yellowed landscape painting hanging on the wall, with a small medicine gourd drawn at the end, which is the symbol of Medicine King Valley.

Wu Qingyuan walked to the stone table, picked up the top wooden box, and opened it.

Inside, there were more than a dozen letters neatly stacked. The handwriting on the envelopes was neat and powerful, and each stroke of the characters carried a lively spirit.