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

The flames in the thatched hut flickered twice before going out, and the surroundings were plunged back into deep darkness.

But to Ye Chen, this darkness was no different from daytime.

Ye Chen grew up in the deep mountains and forests, and hunting at night was a common occurrence for him.

Not to mention that he was now truly enraged, and his ability to discern directions by listening to the wind was pushed to its limit.

The man closest to him lunged at him with a machete, but before the blade even reached him, Ye Chen had already sidestepped, his sword sheath flashing out as he precisely stabbed the man in the right rib.

The man groaned and collapsed as if his bones had been removed. Then the second and third attacked together. Ye Chen only pushed the Ku Zhao Sword out halfway. Wherever the blade passed, a chilling aura emanated, as if an invisible thread was moving through the darkness.

The two men didn't even see the blade of the sword before they were struck in the wrist and calf, respectively, and fell to the ground screaming in agony.

Aygul is faster.

She was like a black fish, fed by the night, silently darting between the beams and pillars of the thatched hut, her short knife never missing its mark.

Someone tried to climb out through the back window, but she hung upside down from the beam and kicked him on the back of the head, sending him tumbling into the mud.

Ye Chen glanced around and saw that most of the seven or eight people in the thatched hut had already collapsed. The remaining two, seeing that things were not going well, turned around and ran towards the ferry.

Ye Chen didn't chase after them. He took out two silver needles from his pocket, flicked his wrist, and the needles, like two cold stars, pierced into the backs of the two men's legs.

The two fell to the ground as if their Achilles tendons had been severed, without even having time to utter a scream.

Ghost Servant and Han Song also arrived.

Han Song immediately dislocated the jaw of one of the guys who wanted to bite his tongue and commit suicide.

The ghost servant led his men to search the area around the thatched hut, confirming that no one had escaped.

Ye Chen walked up to the man whose voice sounded exactly like a piece of iron grinding clay and squatted down.

The man was in his forties, with very high cheekbones, chapped lips, and eyes that looked like those of a wild dog cornered in a corner—both fierce and panicked.

Ye Chen gently lifted his chin with the tip of his sword and asked, "You just said you wanted to take action against Jiang Ruoxi first. How? Who's in charge? How many people are coming? How many groups are entering Jiangcheng?"

The man turned his face away, his lips twitched, and he remained silent.

Ye Chen wasn't in a hurry. He took out a silver needle from his pocket and gently pricked a spot below Ye Chen's left ear.

The man's face instantly turned bright red, the veins in his temples looked like they were about to burst, a strange "gurgling" sound came from his throat, and his whole body convulsed uncontrollably.

Ye Chen pulled the needle out and asked again.

The man was panting like a dog pulled from the water, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth: "It was...it was Master Tu from the main headquarters who ordered us to kidnap Jiang Ruoxi first, and then force you to hand over your things. He...he's already arrived at Jiangbei with three groups of men, a total of nineteen. Our boat is here first to scout the waters. The rest of you will cross the river in batches tomorrow night and meet at the junkyard in the south of the city!"

Ye Chen put away the needles and stood up.

Han Song gagged the man and kicked the others a few times to tell them not to move.

The ghost servant leaned closer and whispered, "I've heard of the name Master Tu. He's the second-in-command of the outer hall of the Blackwater headquarters. His skills are no less than Qin Wuyi's. He's extremely bloodthirsty and has countless lives on his hands. If he really comes in person, we can't stay in Jiangcheng to fight. We must make our move before he crosses the river."

Ye Chen nodded.

He glanced back at Jiang Ruoxi, who was being protected by Han Song's men, standing on the bank not far away.

Her expression was obscured by the darkness, but she stood very straight.

Ye Chen smiled at her, then said to the ghost servant, "Stop the boat. They're not leaving tonight. Didn't they want to cross the river tomorrow? Then we'll turn this Wuyi Ferry into their gate to hell."

The ghost servant understood and led his two brothers onto the flat-bottomed boat to dismantle the rudder at the stern.

Ye Chen called Han Song over and said a few words. Han Song then led his men to tie up the prisoners in the thatched hut and drag them into the depths of the reeds.

Aygul wiped the knife clean again and asked, "What am I doing?"

"You stay with Ruoxi, never leaving her side," Ye Chen said, his voice soft, but every word sounded like it was struck.

"What happens next might be even more chaotic than what happened inside the cave; she can't afford to get hurt in the slightest."

Aygul gave him a deep look, then walked to Jiang Ruoxi's side, like a silent black wall.

Before dawn, the ghost servant dismantled the rudder and threw it into the river.

The white lantern at the stern was also removed and thrown into the reeds.

Deathly silence returned to Wuyi Ferry.

Ye Chen instructed everyone to disperse to several abandoned thatched huts upwind of the ferry crossing, like spiders spinning webs, waiting for their prey to come to them.

As night fell the next day, fog began to rise over the river.

Ye Chen squatted in the reeds, a half-eaten blade of grass between his teeth, his gaze piercing through the mist, fixed on the direction of the ferry crossing.

Around ten o'clock, a very faint splashing sound came from upstream, rhythmic and steady, like several oars paddling at the same time. They had arrived.

Three small, awning boats, with very shallow drafts, each had three or four dark figures standing on it, and as usual, only a tiny white lamp, like a will-o'-the-wisp, lit at the bow.

The boat suddenly stopped about twenty meters from the shore.

A tall man in a black jacket stood up at the bow of the boat, looked towards the shore, and then whispered something to someone behind him.

The three boats then stopped moving forward and instead dispersed to both sides, as if they were changing their landing location.

Ye Chen cursed inwardly, "What a seasoned veteran! This Master Tu has clearly noticed something amiss at the ferry crossing and doesn't intend to land the same way he came."

Ye Chen mimicked two very faint bird calls towards the ghost servant, who understood and led his men around from the side.

Ye Chen leaped out of the reeds like a black stork skimming the water's surface, and in a few leaps he approached the rightmost boat.

The people on the ship had spotted him; some raised crossbows, others drew their daggers.

Ye Chen didn't give them a chance to fire their arrows. He leaped and landed on the bow of the enemy ship.

The boat suddenly sank, and the men were thrown about.

Ye Chen swept his sword sheath horizontally, knocking one person into the water, and then kicked another person who had just raised his crossbow into the river.

The crossbow tumbled twice in the night sky before falling into the water without a sound.

Aygul also moved.

She entered the water from the other side, swimming along the surface like a black line. Suddenly, she emerged from the stern of the middle boat, flashed her blade, and dragged the helmsman into the river.

The boat lost its rudder and spun around in the middle of the river.

Han Song and the ghost servant simultaneously lunged at the leftmost boat, their attacks consisting of fists, kicks, an iron ruler, and Han Song's iron fists.

Suddenly, the river surface was filled with the glint of swords and the splashing of water, the mist even dispersing due to the murderous aura.

Ye Chen stood at the bow of the boat, his eyes fixed on the people on the middle boat who remained motionless.

The man stood in the center of the boat, his figure extremely burly, like half a black tower.

He was shirtless, with a very long scar across his chest, and was carrying a large, ghost-headed sword in his hand.

Everyone else panicked, but he seemed unconcerned, simply raising his triangular eyes and coldly looking over.

"Ye Chen?" His voice was like a broken gong.

"You've got some nerve, daring to block my boat," Tu Er retorted angrily.

"Are you Tu Er?" Ye Chen slowly drew the Ku Zhao Sword half an inch out, his tone colder than the mist on the river.

"Tonight, this river will be your grave," Ye Chen said casually.