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

Zhang Heng ultimately did not escape.

The following evening, Song Tiezhu's men caught him red-handed in a small inn in a town north of Jiangcheng.

The guy thought they were checking the rooms, so he was wearing a drab gray down jacket and was barefoot, trying to climb out of the back window. He was tripped by an old soldier guarding the back alley and fell into a pile of honeycomb briquettes, his face as black as if he had crawled out of a coal mine.

After being brought back, He Jianping only asked Zhang Heng one question, and Zhang Heng confessed everything.

Two days ago, Blackwater contacted him, asking him to copy some documents from the company. They promised to arrange his departure after the task was completed. He installed a Trojan on Jiang Ruoxi's computer, but the actual target documents were discovered before he could finish copying them.

"They ran away before they finished copying, which means they had something more urgent to do." After hearing He Jianping's report, Ye Chen became even more vigilant.

After settling things at the company, Ye Chen instructed his ghost servant to upgrade the security at the Jiang family villa.

Once everything was arranged, he called his master, Su Qinghan, and said he needed to return to Medicine King Valley.

Su Qinghan didn't say much on the phone, only instructing him to bring Jiang Ruoxi along as well.

Upon hearing that it was Su Qinghan's idea, Jiang Ruoxi got into the car without saying a word.

Aygul also went along.

The three of them traveled light and simply, driving for more than two hours towards Yaowang Valley. When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, the sun was just beginning to set.

Medicine King Valley remains the same.

The bamboo leaves rustled in the wind, and Big Yellow came out from afar, wagging its tail, circling around Jiang Ruoxi's feet. Su Qinghan brewed tea in the main hall.

As soon as Ye Chen entered, he noticed something was wrong. A huge oilcloth was spread on the floor of the main room, covered with various medicinal herbs. Some were whole raw herbs, some were cut into extremely thin slices, and some had been processed to the point that their original shape was no longer visible.

The main room was filled with an extremely strong medicinal fragrance, mixed with a very faint spiciness similar to menthol.

"Did you even turn up the entire medicine storehouse?" Ye Chen walked in, his nose twitching, secretly amazed.

Among these medicinal herbs, there were several that he hadn't seen many times in the more than ten years he had spent in Medicine King Valley. One of them could only be harvested for a very short period of time each year, and Su Qinghan wouldn't even let him glance at it on ordinary days.

"The third level of the Dragon Heart Cave is a place where the air is sealed off year-round, and miasma has accumulated for hundreds of years. Ordinary people would collapse within half an incense stick's time. Among you, only you can hold on, and Ghost Servant can hold on for half of that time. Jiang Ruoxi and Ayiguli both have to rely on medicine to stay afloat. Having martial arts skills is not enough; you have to protect your lives first."

As Su Qinghan spoke, he beckoned to Jiang Ruoxi: "Ruoxi, come here, let me see that closed jade pendant."

Jiang Ruoxi took off the jade pendant and handed it over with both hands.

Su Qinghan took it, first smelled it under her nose, then turned it upside down in the light, and finally gently placed the jade pendant on the table, taking out an extremely thin gold needle from her sleeve.

The gold needles glowed red under the light, their tips looking as if they had been burned.

She slowly brought the gold needle close to the crack in the jade pendant. Before she even touched it, a very faint halo appeared in the crack, like someone had lit a small candle inside the jade.

"Just as I thought. This jade pendant contains half a wisp of the true essence of the Medicine King's teachings."

Su Qinghan put away the golden needles and looked at Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi: "This thing can protect Ruoxi as she enters and also guide us in the third level. Your uncle only made it to the second level back then because this jade was incomplete. Your father had only entered the first level even earlier. Now that you have the complete jade pendant, plus Jiang Yuanshan's notes, you finally have everything you need."

After Su Qinghan finished speaking, she turned and went into the side room. A moment later, she came out carrying a long wooden box wrapped in yellow silk.

The wooden box wasn't heavy; she held it with one hand and placed it in front of Ye Chen.

"This was left behind by your father. It's not his knife, but his most reliable weapon." Su Qinghan slowly unveiled the yellow silk and opened the wooden box.

Inside lay a short, jet-black sword. The blade was not long, about two feet long, and the hilt was wrapped in old cloth. The blade was dark and dull, without a trace of light, yet it seemed to absorb all the light.

Ye Chen froze, feeling as if something was blocking his throat.

Ye Chen reached out to touch the sword hilt, and the instant he touched it, it felt as if something vibrated gently from within the sword, like a heartbeat.

"This sword is called Kuzhao. Your father found it on the first level of the ancient tomb. He later gave it to your mother for safekeeping. Before your mother passed away, she entrusted it to me, saying that when you grow up and can take care of things on your own, she would give it to you." Su Qinghan's voice was low and slow, with a softness that Ye Chen rarely heard from her.

"Your father said that Ku Zhao is not an ordinary sword. It was brought back from an outer realm by an ancestor of Medicine King Valley. It can sense your inner energy. After recognizing its master, it is more handy than any divine weapon. Take it, but don't rush to use it. Nourish it with your qi every day. In three days, you will be able to master the sword."

Ye Chen took the sword out of the box.

The short sword felt cool to the touch, yet it wasn't heavy, as if it had been tailor-made for him.

Ye Chen drew his sword from its sheath. The sword was dull, but Jiang Ruoxi glanced at it and felt that the sword seemed alive, as if it were breathing.

"Master, you should have told me all this a long time ago." Ye Chen gently placed the sword back into the box, his voice choked with emotion.

"I told you so, you couldn't sit still. You went to try to conquer the third level before your injuries had even healed, just like your father." Su Qinghan closed the wooden box and pushed it to his side.

"It's not too late for you to know now. Three things: your father's sword, Jiang Yuanshan's notes, and the complete Peace Jade Pendant. Plus what you and Ye Chen have accumulated over the years, that's enough for you to make the trip. But before you go into the tomb, you need to get your bodies in top condition, especially you, Ye Chen. The Dragon Heart Power is still chaotic in your body. I didn't let you carry it around because I was afraid it would cause you problems. This time I came back to help you sort out that power."

Ye Chen didn't say anything more, he just nodded heavily.

He sat in the main room for a long time, holding the withered sword in his hand, as if he were having a silent conversation with an old friend he had never met before.

Jiang Ruoxi sat next to him, quietly keeping him company.

Aygul leaned against the door, with Big Yellow lying on the back of her feet, snoring soundly.

A mountain breeze blew in from outside, stirring up the aroma of herbs that filled the room, making it both rich and warm.

Su Qinghan went to the kitchen.

She put several freshly picked medicinal herbs into two earthenware pots, added water, and started a fire, her movements methodical and orderly.

Jiang Ruoxi watched for a while, then went over and squatted down by the stove to help her fan the fire.

Su Qinghan glanced at her and suddenly said, "Jiang Ruoxi, you might die this time going into the mountains. Are you afraid?"

Jiang Ruoxi's hand didn't stop; her fanning motion remained steady.

She looked up at Su Qinghan, her eyes clear: "I'm afraid. But I'm even more afraid of doing nothing, and in the end, I'll lose him too."

Su Qinghan smiled, a rare occurrence, and said calmly, "You have a bit of my stubbornness from when I was younger. Since that's the case, starting tomorrow, I'll teach you a few life-saving skills, not for fighting, but so that if anything unexpected happens in the tomb, you can hold out until Ye Chen comes to rescue you."

Jiang Ruoxi nodded and put a handful of firewood into the stove.

The firelight shone on her face, warm and comforting, as if melting away any uncertainty about the future.