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

It was already afternoon when we returned to the Jiang family villa.

Ye Chen threw himself onto the sofa, his feet propped up on the coffee table, lounging like a mud puddle.

Jiang Ruoxi walked over, covered his knees with a thin blanket, and poured him a glass of warm honey water.

Ye Chen squinted as he took the drink, sipped it, and sighed deeply: "Home is still the best. In this ancient cave, we couldn't even get a sip of hot water. Now, I think honey water is the finest nectar."

Jiang Ruoxi sat down next to him, turned on the TV, and turned the volume down very low.

The afternoon sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, landing at their feet, warm and cozy.

After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, Aygul came downstairs with her hair still wet, slowly drying it with a towel.

The ghost servant moved a chair and sat in the courtyard, squinting in the sun like an old cat.

Song Tiezhu didn't linger. After sending the people back to the company, he drove back to the provincial capital himself.

Things were finally about to get more comfortable.

But Ye Chen knew that the calmer the situation, the more vigilant he had to be.

Sure enough, news came from Qiao San's side two days later.

People from the provincial capital went to the Huitong Pawnshop area to inquire about the whereabouts of Ding Wanshan and Han Dong. The people who came all spoke with a southern accent, were generous, and did not ask about the price, but only looked at the accounts.

Qiao San's men pretended to be customers looking at the goods and went in to talk to the other party twice, but were driven back by the other party's eyes each time.

The leader was in his early forties, tall and thin, with a fleshy growth the size of a fingernail on his left eyebrow. He walked with his heels off the ground, as if he had practiced bone-shrinking kung fu.

"They're up to no good," Qiao San said on the phone. His tone wasn't panicked, but it sounded more cautious than last time.

"We've cut off 70% of Blackwater's roots in the provincial capital, but we can't stop the higher-ups from sending more people. This time, the people who are coming are not easy to deal with. I've asked Han Song to go to Jiangcheng in the next couple of days to meet up with you. Tell Jiang Ruoxi to stay home as much as possible."

Ye Chen hung up the phone and told Jiang Ruoxi the news.

Jiang Ruoxi, who was working on her computer, didn't even look up when she heard this: "You promised me two days to rest after we went into the tomb, and it hasn't even been forty-eight hours yet, and here we are again. Don't the people from Blackwater sleep?"

Ye Chen chuckled: "They're professional villains, more dedicated than us. That's why I say President Jiang, you're unlucky to have such a troublesome fiancé like me."

Jiang Ruoxi raised her eyes, shifting her gaze from the screen to his face, and said calmly, "I chose him, so be it. Arrange for Han Song to stay. Perfect timing, I have something to discuss with him."

Han Song arrived that very evening.

He came alone this time, driving an inconspicuous gray sedan with two suitcases in the trunk. One suitcase contained clothes, and the other contained all the things that Qiao San had asked him to bring.

Ye Chen opened it and took a look. Inside were several short blades, several packs of signal flares, and several pieces of soft armor that were said to be kept by the Qiao family patriarch.

Han Song said, "Wearing this, ordinary swords and knives cannot harm your internal organs."

But don't rely on your armor to directly block Qin Wuyi's sword strikes. Soft armor only protects against external injuries, not internal force.

Ye Chen nodded, accepting the instruction.

Han Song then looked at Jiang Ruoxi: "President Jiang, Qiao San asked me to pass on a message. The people Blackwater sent this time were transferred from the South China Sea headquarters. They're not taking the usual route. They might not necessarily try to take you by force; they might target people around you—business, connections, or even places you wouldn't expect. For example, a shareholder of the Jiang Group or an old client could become a breakthrough point. You need to pay special attention to any new partners that suddenly appear, especially those who come to you unsolicited."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ruoxi's eyes turned slightly cold: "What I fear least is business. You can reassure Qiao San that the Jiang Group is not going to be breached from within."

Han Song nodded and said no more.

In the following days, Ye Chen spent his time practicing swordsmanship and regulating his breathing, and wandering around the villa with his ghost servant.

Ye Chen instructed He Jianping to organize Zhang Heng's case materials and send them, along with the encrypted files recovered from Zhang Heng's computer, to Qiao San.

Zhang Heng confessed that the chief contact of the Blackwater in Jiangcheng was codenamed Uncle Shui, an old man who was in the tea business, but whose whereabouts were extremely elusive and who never showed up in person.

Zhang Heng had only seen him once, in the men's restroom of a highway service area outside the city.

He Jianping retrieved a recording from Zhang Heng's phone. In it, an old voice, as if phlegm was stuck in its throat, said, "After it's done, take a car south. After you cross the river, someone will pick you up."

The sound was extremely short, with a very faint gurgling sound.

After listening, the ghost servant said that the person's accent sounded like that of the Minjiang area, because the word "south" was pronounced very heavily, as if he were speaking with a mouthful of water in his mouth.

"Minjiang River." Ye Chen walked to the map and pointed to a spot in the south.

If the Blackwater headquarters is indeed in the south, then the group that came this time is likely just the vanguard.

The real big fish are hiding in the deeper waters.

He looked at the ghost servant: "Uncle Ghost, can your Wan Gu Zhai still get news from the south?"

After pondering for a moment, Ghost Servant said, "Boss Qiu used to operate on the outskirts of Blackwater. The furthest he went was to the mouth of the river. Further south, his reach couldn't extend that far. But I remember him mentioning a place called Wuyi Ferry. It's an old wharf in the south of Blackwater, a necessary passage for goods in the old days. If these people are from the main headquarters, then their first stop after landing would most likely be Wuyi Ferry."

Ye Chen wrote the three characters "Wuyi Ferry" on the side of the map and drew a line connecting the provincial capital and Jiangcheng.

The line was long, but the direction was very clear: Blackwater reinforcements were coming from the south.

"We can't wait any longer," Ye Chen said, looking at everyone.

"Once they've fully deployed, we'll be on the defensive. The best approach is to catch them off guard before they make contact with their old subordinates in the provincial capital. Han Song, go back to the Qiao family for me and ask the old man to investigate the vehicles and people who have come from the south in the past week. Iron Shield Logistics has informants at highway exits and major freight stations. Brother Song, help me spread out your men, and have Zhou Wantong's men keep an eye on all the hotels and bathhouses in the provincial capital. We don't need to arrest anyone, just find out where they're staying."

Everyone accepted the order and went their separate ways.

After Jiang Ruoxi and the others left, she walked to Ye Chen's side and whispered, "Are you thinking of running south alone again?"

Ye Chen turned to look at her, smiled and poked her cheek: "I promised you I wouldn't run away alone this time. We'll go together. But before we set off, I have to go back to Medicine King Valley to give the second part of the Heavenly Physician Creation Technique to my master. This thing can't stay on my person forever. If something happens to me, it can't be lost with me."

Jiang Ruoxi nodded, then asked, "Have you practiced that book?"

Ye Chen shook his head: "No, the things on there are too profound, and it's impossible to practice them in a short time. Moreover, some of the techniques conflict with the internal energy of Medicine King Valley. Forcing yourself to practice them will only harm your health. Master Su Qinghan knows more than I do, so it's safest to leave them to her."

As the two were talking, a strange wind suddenly blew through the window, making the sycamore trees in the courtyard rustle.

Jiang Ruoxi glanced out the window subconsciously, but there was nothing there.

Ye Chen slowly narrowed his eyes.

He always felt that this gust of wind came at just the right time.

It felt like someone was getting closer.