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

The next morning, Ye Chen had just finished practicing half a set of boxing in the courtyard when Song Tiezhu returned, looking travel-worn.

He went to the provincial capital's South Freight Yard last night, but the news he brought back wasn't good.

Song Tiezhu threw his hat on the stone table, took the water Jiang Ruoxi handed him and drank more than half a bowl before wiping his mouth and saying, "The people ran away. When we got there, the accounting office was already empty. In the room behind the warehouse, the tables and chairs were crooked, and account books and receipts were scattered all over the floor. A batch had been burned, but not completely, and a few were left. The people climbed out through the back window. Judging from the marks, they left in less than an hour. Someone must have kept watch near the old house. The Blackwater side reacted faster than us."

Ye Chen frowned, took the few tattered books that Song Tiezhu brought back, and flipped through them.

The paper was yellowed and the edges were charred black by the flames, but the numbers and names on it were still legible.

The ledgers mainly recorded the flow of goods and loans, with the name "Old Ji" appearing frequently, followed by some difficult-to-decipher symbols.

Ye Chen turned to the next few pages, and his eyes suddenly stopped.

On one page was a line of extremely small, illegible writing that read: "On the island in the middle of the river, between the characters of 'sky' and 'heaven,' there is a guest."

"Jiangxin Island," Ye Chen murmured.

Qin Wuyi revealed that the iron box had been taken to the island, and now Accountant Ji had also fled in that direction.

Just how much of the Black Water is hidden on this island?

"I've been to Jiangxin Island once. It's a small sandbar on the river in the provincial capital. When the water rises, it's just a small patch, but when the water recedes, dozens of acres of land are exposed. There are people living on the island, but they are all small-scale fishermen and duck farmers. They don't usually interact much with the mainland."

Ghost Servant walked in from outside and continued, "If Blackwater really is hiding people and goods on the island, most of those scattered households likely have their people among them."

Ye Chen pondered for a moment, then walked to the stone table in the courtyard and spread out the map.

Jiangxin Island is located downstream from the provincial capital, surrounded by wide waters with gentle currents.

At the highest point of the island, there is a cluster of old-style stilted houses, built by fishermen in the early years. Later, they were bought by a seafood business owner and renovated into several two-story buildings.

The ghost servant said that the boss's name was Ji Changming, also known as Ji the Accountant.

"It's Ji again. This old man is both the accountant and the island lord. The accountant Lao Ji that Qin Wuyi mentioned is probably him. We didn't catch him, but his hideout is still there. His return to the island means there are still things he can't bear to lose. The iron box might also be in his hands. We have to go to Jiangxin Island."

"How do we get there?" Jiang Ruoxi asked.

Song Tiezhu added, "The people on the island are extremely wary of unfamiliar faces. The fishermen at the dock all have exceptional hearing. Once your car passes by, the island will know within ten minutes."

"Don't go through the dock. Find a deserted, wild shore, rent a small fishing boat, and go there at night. There will definitely be people patrolling around the island, but that won't stop Uncle Gui from leading a team from the north. Guli and I will go around from the south, and Lao Song will stay on the shore to provide backup. Remember, find Accountant Ji first, then find that iron box. If you can't catch the man, catch him alive. If you can't catch him, pry his mouth open."

Everyone went off to prepare.

Jiang Ruoxi came out from the inner room and hung a small black handbag around Ye Chen's neck: "Inside are some emergency medicines, a flashlight, a waterproof phone case, and an old map of the island's government that I borrowed from Old Wu. You can use it."

Ye Chen opened it and saw that there were two chocolates inside.

He smiled, bent down and kissed her on the cheek: "President Jiang is very thoughtful."

Jiang Ruoxi gave him a push, but not with much force.

After nightfall, a thin mist rose over the river.

Ye Chen and his group left the old house in the dark, boarded a small fishing boat that Song Tiezhu had obtained, and drifted downstream along the reeds on the north bank.

The island in the middle of the river appears and disappears in the fog, like a giant black fish lying on the surface of the water.

The boat docked at a rocky beach on the south side of the island, and the group split into two.

Ghost Servant led two veterans to sneak over from the north, while Ye Chen led Ayiguli up the island slope from the south.

The stilted houses were built on the island's ridge, and it was pitch black except for a dim yellow light coming from the second floor of the easternmost building.

The wind blew up from the river, carrying a heavy dampness and a fishy smell.

Ye Chen and Ayiguli hunched over as they walked through the tall grass, like two nocturnal raccoons.

When they were still a dozen feet away from the lit-up building, Ye Chen suddenly reached out and stopped Ayiguli.

"There were people talking in the building, more than one. I smelled smoke, it was from Northeast China. Accountant Ji liked to smoke this, Qiao San's men said so."

Aygul gripped the knife, her eyes fixed on the small building: "I'll go around to the back. You wait here. If they come downstairs, they'll run right into your knife."

Ye Chen nodded, and Ayiguli, like a shadow, glided along the grass towards the back of the building.

Ye Chen waited for another quarter of an hour and saw that the smoke in the building was even stronger, and there were also a few faint coughs.

Without further hesitation, he held his breath and approached the small building. With one hand, he vaulted over the railing and landed silently on the second-floor veranda.

The window was half-closed, and the light inside was dim.

Ye Chen turned to look inside and saw a thin old man with gray hair sitting by the window smoking, with a pile of notebooks spread out in front of him.

A young man was dozing nearby, holding a long knife in his arms.

Several strings of dried fish hung from the roof beams, blackened by smoke.

Ye Chen didn't go through the window, but instead went around to the door from the outer corridor, gently pushed the door open, and went inside.

The old man was writing something with his head down when he felt a breeze coming in, and then he looked up at the door.

Then he saw Ye Chen. The pipe on that thin face fell onto the table with a thud, sparks flying everywhere.

"How...how did you get to the island?" Ji Changming's face was pale, and his voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of his throat.

The man who was dozing nearby was startled and jumped up. His long sword was only half-drawn from its sheath when Ye Chen's silver needle pierced his tiger's mouth, and the sword clattered to the ground.

Aygul then climbed in through the back window, pressed the tip of her knife against Ji Changming's back, and said coldly, "Don't move."

Ye Chen walked over, pulled one out of the pile of notebooks in front of Ji Changming, opened it, closed it, and threw it back on the table.

Ye Chen pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at the old accountant who was sitting on pins and needles. He slowly said, "Old Ji, your men ran away quickly, leaving me with a mess of accounts. I'm here for two things: an iron box and your mouth. Which one will you give me first?"

Ji Changming trembled all over, and cold sweat poured out of his forehead.

He glanced at the knife tip behind him, then at the silver needle that Ye Chen hadn't yet put away, and finally slumped his shoulders, his voice sounding as if all his strength had been drained: "The iron box... is behind the shrine. You can take it. The money is all down there too. I just beg you not to set it on fire. There are still many fishing families on this island, and they can't withstand a big fire."

Ye Chen asked Ayiguli to open the hidden compartment behind the Buddhist shrine, and sure enough, they took out a slightly worn iron box.

The box was covered in rust, and the lock had been pried open.

Ye Chen opened the box, inside was a notebook with an indigo cover, the pages were brittle and the edges were yellowed.

Ye Chen picked it up and flipped through a few pages, his gaze suddenly sharpening.

That was Jiang Yuanshan's notebook, which not only recorded the route and mechanisms of the ancient tomb, but also contained a folded and wrinkled piece of paper with a cross-section of a cliff face in Longyin Mountain marked with several red dots.

"I'll take the things." Ye Chen closed the metal box, stood up, and said to Ji Changming.

"You, come with me. Write down all the ledgers, sentries, and people who have dealings with Blackwater. If you miss even one, I'll come back to you."

Ji Changming felt as if his spine had been removed, and he knelt down on the crack in the floor with a thud.

He knew that after hiding for so many years, he had finally been unable to escape.