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

That evening, Ye Chen had Fang Jiuzhi brought out of the room where he was being held.

Fang Jiuzhi looked even worse than Qin Wuyi.

He had already been thoroughly beaten up by Ye Chen on the auxiliary road, and Song Tiezhu and the other veterans had taken very good care of him. At this moment, his eyes were sunken, his mouth was cracked, and his arms were limp and hanging down. He was supported by two people to keep from collapsing to the ground.

Ye Chen stood on the steps at the entrance of the courtyard, looking at him with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.

"Take him to the East Suburb Wharf," Ye Chen said.

Song Tiezhu drove himself, Guipu sat in the passenger seat, and Ayiguli squeezed into the back with two veterans, sandwiching Fang Jiuzhi in the middle.

Jiang Ruoxi didn't go, but Ye Chen persuaded her to stay, saying that there were some things he had to do himself.

This time, Jiang Ruoxi didn't insist. She simply straightened his collar and said, "Don't do anything you'll regret."

Ye Chen smiled, said he understood, and got into the car.

The car stopped outside the East Suburb Wharf.

The river wind was strong, blowing the corners of people's clothes.

The tin warehouses on the dock remained the same as always: desolate, damp, and filled with the salty smell of rust and river water.

The sky had darkened, and the last ray of light in the west sank into the river, turning the entire river surface into a huge, dark ribbon, undulating slowly.

Ye Chen grabbed Fang Jiuzhi by the back of her collar and half-lifted, half-dragged her to the stone embankment of the dock.

There are no boats in this area, the wind is strong, and the waves crash against the stone embankment, breaking into patches of white foam.

Fang Jiuzhi trembled all over, unsure whether it was from the cold or fear.

Ye Chen threw him on the ground like a bag of rotten cotton.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" Ye Chen asked.

Fang Jiuzhi lay on the ground, panting heavily, his lips turning blue.

He glanced up at Ye Chen, then quickly looked down again, not daring to speak.

Ye Chen squatted down, took something out of his pocket, and slowly placed it in front of Fang Jiuzhi.

It was a very small jade pendant, of poor quality, with rounded edges, as if it had been touched by many people.

When Fang Jiuzhi saw the jade pendant, his pupils shrank dramatically, and he seemed to have lost his soul. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"This pendant belongs to my mother," Ye Chen said.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was colder than the river wind: "My father left this to me back then. I brought it here today so you could see for yourself the woman you poisoned twenty years ago. She had a son, and he's standing right here today."

Fang Jiuzhi slammed his head down, his forehead hitting the stone embankment with a dull thud.

His throat felt constricted, and his voice began to tremble: "I... I was young back then, and I only knew how to obey orders. My superiors told me to poison him, and I dared not disobey... I don't even know your mother. I was forced to do it..."

"Who forced you?" Ye Chen asked.

"It was Wei Qing and Qin Wuyi. They threatened me with my family. The poison your mother was given was something called Cold Jade Powder. It was a prescription given by the Blackwater Steward. I added it to her usual mountain food in the dosage they instructed. I thought it would only make her sick, but I never imagined it would kill her... Later, when I heard she was gone, I was so scared that I couldn't sleep well for half a year. I... I haven't had a good time these past few years either. I have nightmares every day, dreaming that she comes to take my life..."

Ye Chen suddenly smiled.

When he laughed, the river wind blew his hair into disarray, obscuring half of his eye.

The smile was faint, yet it was so captivating that one dared not look directly at it.

"Are you having a hard time?" Ye Chen repeated softly.

"Ye Chen, stop talking nonsense and just throw him into the river to feed the fish." Aygul couldn't help but say.

"You feel punished just because you had a nightmare? My mother spent three years in the hospital, ending up as skin and bones. My father died in the Dragon Heart Cave trying to save her. I've never even heard them call me their son in my entire life, and you're telling me you're having a hard time?"

Fang Jiuzhi was speechless, and he lay on the ground trembling like a leaf.

Ye Chen slowly stood up, took out the short knife he never parted with from his waist, the blade reflecting the last rays of the sky, cold and blue.

"If it were up to me, I should throw you into the river to feed the fish right now, but I can't. You're a member of the Blackwater faction, and your master is still alive. I'm going to keep you here until I uproot the Blackwater faction, and then I'll send you down to apologize to my parents. I called you here today so you can see clearly and know that from today onwards, every day you live is because I think you're still useful. You'd better pray to God every day so I don't think you're useless."

After he finished speaking, he turned around, faced the dark river, took out three incense sticks from his pocket, and lit them in the river breeze.

The wisps of smoke were scattered by the wind. Ye Chen stuck the incense sticks in the cracks of the stone embankment and bowed three times with his hands clasped together.

I bowed to my father, Ye Changfeng, first, to my mother, and then to my uncle, Su Youdao.

Song Tiezhu and the ghost servant stood behind him and also bowed down.

Aygul stepped forward and scattered a handful of wild chrysanthemums she had brought back from Yaowang Valley into the river.

The petals floated on the black water like a few faint lights, only to be swept away by the waves in the blink of an eye.

Ye Chen did not cry.

His face was calm, almost too calm. But when he straightened up, the ghost servant saw a very thin glint of light at the corner of his eye, which quickly disappeared into his temple like a shooting star across the night sky, leaving no trace.

"Let's go," Ye Chen said, his voice returning to normal.

Fang Jiuzhi was dragged back into the car.

The car turned around and left, and the dock quickly became empty again.

Only the three incense sticks were still burning in the river breeze, their flames flickering like three eyes watching over the river that had swallowed up so many old stories.

It was already late at night when we returned to the old house.

Jiang Ruoxi stood at the gate and saw Ye Chen get out of the car. She ran up and grabbed his cold hand. Without asking any questions, she led him into the house.

Ye Chen followed her into the courtyard, then suddenly stopped, hugged her from behind, and buried his face in her shoulder.

Ye Chen's body was trembling slightly, as if he was trying his best to suppress something.

"Ruoxi," he called her name in a muffled voice.

"Ye Chen, I'm here." Jiang Ruoxi knew that Ye Chen was very vulnerable at this moment, having just learned some bad news about his parents.

Without saying anything more, she just patted his back gently, like she was coaxing a child.

"After we take down the black water, I want to take you to offer incense to my parents." Ye Chen's voice was a little hoarse.

"OK."

"They left too early; I didn't even have a chance to offer them a cup of tea."

Jiang Ruoxi responded softly, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist: "I'll go with you then. I'll pour you tea and visit you on behalf of your parents. I want to tell them that you're doing very well, better than most people in this world."

Ye Chen didn't say anything more, but just hugged her tighter.

The shadow of the old locust tree in the yard fell on the ground, like a huge, gentle net.

A night breeze blew by, and Ye Chen felt a chill.