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

Ye Chen underestimated Jiang Ruoxi.

He originally thought Jiang Ruoxi would need to prepare for at least two more days, at least until Zhang Heng had given a result before moving on to the Mei family's old residence.

But Jiang Ruoxi arranged a car the next morning, brought a driver, and called Ye Chen and Ayiguli, heading straight to the old house where Jiang Ruoxi's mother had lived before her death.

That place wasn't in Jiangcheng, but in an old county town under the provincial capital called Meixi County.

The county town is situated along a narrow river, with old streets featuring blue tiles and white walls stretching from the riverbank all the way to the foot of the mountain.

Jiang Ruoxi said that her mother's surname is Mei, her name is Mei Ruxue, and she is a local from Meixi.

When she was a child, her mother would often bring her to stay for a few days during summer vacation.

After my mother passed away, the old house was left empty and was never sold or maintained.

"That house was left by my maternal grandfather. It's located at the end of an alley, with a particularly large magnolia tree at the entrance." Jiang Ruoxi looked out the car window at the receding street scene of the county town, her tone indifferent, but her fingers unconsciously twisted the red string on the jade pendant.

"My mom said that her grandfather planted that tree the year she was born. After her grandfather passed away, the tree was still there, blooming every year and its fragrance could be smelled throughout the whole alley."

The car stopped at the entrance of the alley.

The alley was narrow, and cars couldn't drive in, so the group got out and walked.

The stone path gleamed from years of rain, and the moss at the base of the wall stretched up to halfway up the wall.

Some elderly people live on both sides of the alley. When they see a stranger come in, they can't help but take a few more glances.

Jiang Ruoxi walked at the front, her pace slow, occasionally glancing up at the old doorplates on both sides.

Jiang Ruoxi suddenly stopped at the end of the alley.

The magnolia tree is still there.

The tree canopy was taller than two stories, enveloping half the alley in dense shade.

The flowers haven't bloomed yet, but the leaves and branches are still densely packed. When the wind blows, it sounds like someone is hiding in the tree, gently turning the pages of a book.

The old house under the tree had its iron gate tightly locked, and an old chain covered in green rust hung on the door knocker.

Ye Chen stepped forward, examined the lock, took out a thin needle from his waist, and opened it in a few moments.

Jiang Ruoxi didn't say anything.

Aygul stood guard at the door, while Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi pushed open the iron gate and went inside.

The yard was overgrown with weeds, taller than a person, covering the blue brick floor.

The windows and doors of the three main rooms were tightly closed, and the red paint on the window frames had peeled off and turned grayish-white.

The air was filled with the smell of old wood and damp earth, mixed with a hint of the distinctive bitter fragrance of magnolia trees.

Jiang Ruoxi stood in the middle of the courtyard for a while, as if greeting some old memories.

Then she walked to the easternmost room and reached out to push the door open.

The door creaked open, and a musty smell that hadn't seen the light of the sun for years rushed in.

"This is the room where my mother lives." Jiang Ruoxi's voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing the old things sleeping in the room.

She walked to the carved wooden bed in the corner, lifted the dusty old sheet, and bent down to look under the bed.

"When I was little, I always liked to hide here and make my mom look for me. Every time, she would pretend she couldn't find me and frantically search the yard before suddenly lifting the sheet and carrying me out."

Ye Chen followed behind her without disturbing her.

He walked to the old-fashioned dressing table against the wall and saw a broken peach wood comb and a fogged round mirror on it.

The mirror was mottled, reflecting a blurry and distorted image. Just as he was about to turn around, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

On the right side of the dressing table, there is a spot on the wall that looks off and the paint has peeled off. Instead of brick, there is a small piece of blackened wood underneath.

Ye Chen reached out and tapped it; it was hollow.

"Ruoxi, come here." Ye Chen lowered his voice.

Jiang Ruoxi walked over and looked in the direction he pointed.

The two exchanged a glance, and Ye Chen drew his short knife and carefully pried open a wooden board along the edge of the wall.

Sure enough, there was a hidden compartment carved out behind the wooden board, only about the size of a book. Inside, there was something wrapped neatly in a moisture-proof oilcloth.

Ye Chen took out the oilcloth bag, placed it on the dressing table, and opened it.

Inside the oilcloth was a tiny folded piece of paper and a brass key.

The paper was yellowed, and several lines of writing were on it in pencil, the handwriting childish, like a child's:

"Mom said that when I grow up, I should go to the magnolia tree to dig. There are things that Dad left for me there. I need to bring a copper key. Mei Ruxue, June."

Jiang Ruoxi looked at the piece of paper again and again, her eyes slowly reddening.

She remembered that her mother had asked her to write this when she was six or seven years old.

That day, my mother was very ill. She was lying in bed, and I held her hand, asking her to write down this sentence stroke by stroke.

After she finished writing, her mother made her fold the paper and stuff it into the crack in the wall behind the dressing table.

Ye Chen gently patted her back.

Aygul walked in from outside, glanced at the piece of paper, and whispered, "Under the magnolia tree. Dig."

The three of them walked to the magnolia tree in the yard.

Ye Chen and Ayiguli took turns digging in the soil with a short knife and a military shovel, while Jiang Ruoxi squatted down to help with her hands.

The tree roots were deeply embedded, and the soil was mixed with bricks and broken tiles, making it extremely difficult to dig.

After digging for almost an hour, covered in sweat, I finally found a hard metal object under a patch of intertwined tree roots.

It was a fist-sized copper box, buried not very deep, but in an extremely tricky location, wedged precisely between the two thickest tree roots.

If you didn't know there was something under the tree, you might not find it even after digging aimlessly for days.

Ye Chen took out the copper box and wiped off the wet mud on it.

The lid of the box is covered with a thin layer of rust, and the original patterns that were engraved on it are no longer clearly visible.

Jiang Ruoxi took the copper box, took out the copper key she had just received from her pocket, inserted it into the lock, and gently turned it.

With a soft click of the latch, the copper box opened.

Inside were neatly stacked parchment scrolls and a small fragment of a jade pendant wrapped in plain white silk.

The texture and color of the fragment were almost identical to the jade pendant around Jiang Ruoxi's neck.

Ye Chen's heart trembled slightly. He took the fragment and then had Jiang Ruoxi take out the jade pendant to compare it with.

Although the broken edges have been weathered over the years, they still fit together perfectly, like a jigsaw puzzle.

"This is not just a key. This jade pendant was originally a whole piece, but it was broken in two. The half that your father asked your mother to keep is the other half that is the real key to opening the third level. Ruoxi, your mother used this copper box to leave your father's most important thing to you."

Jiang Ruoxi looked at the half-broken jade in the box, and tears finally fell.

She had been waiting for this day for many years.

Her mother died early, and her father even earlier. She always thought that there were some mysteries she would never know in her lifetime.

But now, in this old house overgrown with weeds and with only one magnolia tree still alive, she finally touched the heavy memories left by her parents.

Jiang Ruoxi held the half-piece of jade in her palm and looked at Ye Chen again.

Ye Chen wiped away her tears and whispered, "When we get back to the Jiang family, we'll put the two halves back together, and the third level of the Dragon Heart Ancient Cave will open. It's our turn to walk the path that your father and your Uncle Ye didn't finish."

Jiang Ruoxi nodded.