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

Let's rewind to a few hours earlier.

Ye Chen stood on a protruding rock halfway up Longyin Mountain, looking down at the provincial capital where the lights were gradually coming on. The lollipop in his mouth had melted down to just a plastic stick.

His mind was filled with those eight words: "The dragon hides in the city, the jade appears in the sky."

The riddle left by Su Youdao must be related to Longyin Mountain, but where exactly is it hidden?

The phrase "a dragon hidden in the city" is not difficult to understand.

Longyin Mountain is located right next to the provincial capital, with a bustling downtown area at its foot. The mountain and the city are adjacent to each other, and the saying "Longyin in the city" mostly refers to the geographical location of this mountain.

But what about "jade appearing in the sky"? Does "jade" refer to that peace jade pendant, or some other kind of jade? And what does "appearing in the sky" mean? Does it mean it can only be seen at a specific time and under specific weather conditions?

Ye Chen mentally reviewed the terrain of Dragon Hidden Mountain.

Longyin Mountain is not very high, with its main peak reaching an altitude of over 800 meters. However, its terrain is winding and undulating like a dragon's spine, with dozens of scenic spots and historical sites of varying sizes distributed from the foot of the mountain to its summit. Most of these sites were built or renovated by the Qiao family.

At the top of the mountain is a pavilion overlooking the river, surrounded by sheer cliffs on three sides, offering a superb view overlooking the entire provincial capital.

Halfway up the mountain is the Qiao family's old residence, which occupies a very large area.

At the foot of the mountain on the south side is a cave called Canglong Cave, which is said to be a naturally formed karst cave. The entrance of the cave is always chilly and its depth is unfathomable.

Ye Chen's first thought was the Wangjiang Pavilion.

He had visited Wangjiang Pavilion during the day; it was just an ordinary stone pavilion with six stone pillars supporting a stone roof. Several couplets were carved on the pillars, and a flat stone slab the size of a chessboard was placed in the center of the pavilion.

If we're talking about hiding things, there's practically nowhere to hide them in that pavilion. You can't exactly stick the rubbings on the roof of the stone pavilion, can you?

Ye Chen walked up the bluestone steps one by one in the night.

The landscape lights on both sides of the mountain road were already on, and the warm yellow light shone on the stone steps, casting his long shadow into a blurry outline.

He walked slowly, each step firm and steady, his inner energy circulating slowly along his meridians. This was partly to restore the meridians in his right arm, and partly to maintain peak alertness so that he could act immediately if she sneaked up the mountain at night.

When Ye Chen arrived at Wangjiang Pavilion, he circled the pavilion three times.

He also checked the railings around the pavilion inch by inch, finding no hidden compartments, no mechanisms, and no signs of any human alteration.

Wangjiang Pavilion can be ruled out.

Ye Chen continued walking upwards until he reached the edge of the cliff at the northernmost point of the mountaintop.

There is a striking natural rock here, shaped like a giant tortoise looking up at the sky, hence the name "Divine Tortoise Asking the Heavens".

Ye Chen stood on the back of the giant tortoise, the night wind howling up from below the cliff, making his clothes flutter.

He looked down over the entire Longyin Mountain. Under the moonlight, the mountain's outline really resembled a giant dragon lying on the earth, winding its way from the outskirts of the city, with its head extending into the river and its tail swung into the primeval forest on the north slope.

"The dragon's head enters the river, and its tail hides in the forest," Ye Chen murmured to himself, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

If the shape of Longyin Mountain resembles a dragon, then perhaps the meaning of the phrase "Jade Appears in the Sky" should be derived from the image of the dragon.

What part of the dragon is related to "heaven"?

Ye Chen quickly searched his memory for the scenic spots at the head of Dragon Hidden Mountain.

I remember now, there is a narrow ridge between the north and south slopes of Longyin Mountain, known as Longjing Slope, which is the only passage connecting the main peak and the dragon head peak.

The slope of Longjing is flanked by sheer cliffs hundreds of meters deep, with only a narrow ridge no more than three meters wide for passage.

A three-story stone pagoda called Zhenlong Pagoda was built on Longtou Peak. It is an ancient building left over from the Ming Dynasty. In front of the pagoda is a huge blue stone with a smooth, mirror-like surface, called Longtoutai (Dragon Raising Its Head).

The jade appearing in the sky, could it be the Dragon-Suppressing Pagoda on Dragon Head Peak?

Having made up his mind, Ye Chen turned around and headed towards Dragon Head Peak.

Just then, his ears caught an extremely faint sound: a dead leaf was crushed in the bushes about thirty paces behind him.

The sound was very soft, almost drowned out by the mountain wind, but it did not escape Ye Chen's ears, which had been honed by his master through various means.

Ye Chen did not turn around or stop walking. He simply changed his pace and route at a leisurely pace, pretending to continue walking forward, while subtly increasing the speed of his internal energy circulation.

The meridians in his right arm were still somewhat stagnant, but he could still mobilize more than 70% of his core internal energy. As long as he didn't encounter a mid-stage Transformation Realm expert like Du Qiansui, he was confident he could escape unscathed.

Ye Chen stopped when he reached the Dragon Neck Slope between Dragon Head Peak and the Main Peak.

The ridge was indeed precipitous, with near-vertical cliffs on both sides. The night wind blew in from both sides, carrying the unique chill and dampness of the valley.

He stood in the middle of the ridge, the road in front of him bathed in a silvery moonlight, while the road behind him was hidden in the shadows of a few crooked old pine trees.

"I've been following you for so long, let's meet up." Ye Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it carried exceptionally clearly in the night breeze.

Ye Chen slowly turned around, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, a signature relaxed smile on his face, as if he were inviting an old friend over for tea and a chat.

There was a moment of silence in the shadows of the trees, and then a slender black figure emerged from behind the old pine tree.

It was a woman, who looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She was dressed in a black, tight-fitting night outfit, which outlined her slender and well-proportioned figure as if she were a silhouette cut out from the night.

Her face was covered by a black veil, revealing only her eyes—those eyes were long and bright, gleaming with a cold sharpness in the moonlight, like two short swords drawn from their sheaths.

She had a short knife, about a foot long, tucked into her waistband. The scabbard was dark black and engraved with intricate patterns.

"When did you find me?" Her voice was as cold as a spring, as if she was very confident in her lightness skill. She was somewhat surprised that Ye Chen saw through her on the spot.

"You've been following me since the entrance of the Martial Arts Association. You ran away when I chased you to Qing Shi Alley, but you were still there when I came back." Ye Chen took the plastic stick out of his mouth and casually stuck it into a crack in the roadside stone.

Ye Chen continued, "The cold fragrance on you is very unique, like snow lotus from the mountains, mixed with a hint of bamboo. Next time you're following someone, remember to cover your scent. Now, tell me, whose side are you on? The Qingyun Chamber of Commerce, or Qiao San?"

The woman's tone carried an undisguised contempt as she coldly snorted, "The Qingyun Chamber of Commerce is not worthy of me. As for Qiao San, he is not qualified to have me run errands for him."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by the woman's answer: "Oh, so what's your purpose? You're not just bored in the middle of the night and want to come with me to climb a mountain and admire the moon, are you? I may be obviously handsome, but I'm not the kind of person who would fall in love at first sight and chase after someone."

The woman's gaze turned slightly cold, and she placed her hand on the hilt of the knife at her waist: "You smooth talker, I've been asked to come and retrieve something."

"What is it?"

"Hand over the Medicine King Valley token you have, and I'll leave immediately. I don't want to hurt you. Your right hand hasn't recovered yet, and if we really fight, you'll be the one who suffers."

Ye Chen looked very surprised. He had only received the Medicine King Valley Token from Wu Qingyuan that afternoon, and the news had already reached this woman's ears in just a few hours.

Moreover, she noticed at a glance that his right hand was still not healed, which shows she has good eyesight.

What's more troublesome is that she knew he had an injury to his right hand, yet she still dared to come up the mountain alone to demand it from him in person, which means that her strength is at least no weaker than Du Qiansui's.

"I will not give out the token. It is a relic of my uncle Su Youdao, and moreover, it belongs to our sect. I don't care who sent you or who is behind you. It belongs to Medicine King Valley. Whoever takes it will die."

Under the moonlight, the woman's eyes narrowed slightly, and her fingers gripping the hilt of the knife slowly tightened.

The atmosphere became extremely tense at that moment.