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

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses was originally named Fang Zhe, and he was indeed a prominent figure in the headquarters.

He was neither as brave and ruthless as Tu Er, nor as cunning and treacherous as Qin Wuyi.

His real talent lies in business, in the dirty work of laundering black money into white money and infiltrating legitimate industries with illicit funds.

Blackwater's publicly known businesses in several southern cities are almost all related to his cleaning business.

When Ye Chen interrogated him, he was much more pragmatic than Tu Er.

Perhaps it's a businessman's nature; when faced with dire straits, he becomes the most calculating, and he managed to spit out everything without much effort.

"The headquarters sent more than one group this time." Fang Zhe took off his tie and threw it on the table. His once neatly combed hair was now disheveled, and he looked like a fox whose tendons had been pulled out.

"Tu Er only brought the outer gang of swordsmen, responsible for clearing the way and probing. The real person in charge is surnamed Wen, named Wen Jiuhong. You probably haven't heard of him. He rarely shows his face at the headquarters and is in charge of internal affairs. Qin Wuyi fell, Wei Qing died, and the headquarters lost two supervisors. Wen Jiuhong was sent to clean up the mess. Like me, he operates in the open. However, he never trusts his subordinates, so he will bring a shadow with him when he goes to Jiangcheng."

"Shadow?" Ye Chen leaned against the table, twirling a pen in his hand.

"There are several senior elders at the top of the Blackwater headquarters. One of them is nicknamed Mr. Mirror. He never shows his true face. He has six disciples, all called Shadows. The one next to Wen Jiuhong is the fifth one, nicknamed Five Shadows. He is top-notch in lightness skill, disguise, and stealth. I advise you, this person will not fight you head-on. If he wants to kill someone, he always makes that person see their own death in the mirror first."

As Fang Zhe spoke, his gaze unconsciously drifted to the decorative mirror in the corner, as if he was wary of something.

Ye Chen and Han Song exchanged a glance.

These venomous snakes that lurk in the shadows are the most troublesome.

Qin Wuyi was relatively open about his attacks, but Wen Jiuhong, along with the Five Shadows, had both overt and covert methods.

What's more troublesome is that Fang Zhe also revealed that after Wen Jiuhong arrived in Jiangcheng, he first went to the commercial area under development in the south of the city, saying that he wanted to meet someone.

Fang Zhe overheard a few words on the phone call he made to that person: old dock, reconciliation, and a boat for sending people off.

Based on these few words, Han Song judged that Wen Jiuhong likely still had old connections in Jiangcheng and was involved in smuggling in Jiangshang.

"A boat for giving away people," Jiang Ruoxi repeated softly.

She went through the Blackwater connection and suddenly said, "They want to use the same trick again. First, they want to kidnap me and then use the Jiang Group's channels to smuggle a group of people or goods. If Wen Jiuhong is really in charge of internal affairs, then he must be very good at mixing Blackwater's business with legitimate commerce. The Jiang Group has several logistics transit stations along the river. One of them has already rented out half of its warehouse to a company in the south. I haven't looked at the information in detail, but it is very likely that this is the line they planted to pave the way."

Ye Chen frowned: "Who's in charge of your warehouse now?"

"Old Zhang, Zhang Da," Jiang Ruoxi said.

"The old man who has been with me for many years won't cause any problems, but the people below him are a mixed bag, and there's no guarantee that someone hasn't been planted there yet. I had Secretary Wang investigate, and we should get a reply tonight."

Just then, Secretary Wang called.

Jiang Ruoxi answered the phone and listened for a few minutes. Her expression changed slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.

After hanging up the phone, she told Ye Chen, "The tenant information for that warehouse is fake. Zhang Da said he hired a temporary worker named Mao Xiaoan six months ago, but his ID card doesn't exist. This person only received three days' wages last month and hasn't shown up since. The warehouse has been inventoried twice and nothing is missing. But Xiao Zhou said that the window of one of the warehouses was locked from the inside, and there are signs of prying on the lock cylinder on the outside. You can't see it unless you look closely."

"I can't wait any longer. I'm going to the warehouse tonight." Ye Chen tossed his pen onto the table and looked at the ghost servant.

"Uncle Gui, you come with me. Han Song, you continue questioning Fang Zhe. Squeeze as much information as you can out of Wen Jiuhong, including his habits, contact information, phone number, and license plate number. Ayiguli and Brother Song stay here to protect Ruoxi. I want to see what tricks he can pull in my territory."

Jiang Ruoxi didn't stop him, but took out a spare key for the warehouse from the safe and placed it in his palm.

Ye Chen held the key in his hand and found that it still carried her body heat.

He smiled at her: "Wait for me to come back. By dawn at the latest."

After saying that, he left with his ghost servant.

Ye Chen drove south along the river embankment. There was a thin mist on the river, and the lights of the dock in the distance looked like a yellow moon immersed in the water.

The warehouse is located five kilometers downstream from the Jiang Group. It consists of a row of gray-white bungalows with several old trucks parked in front.

Ye Chen parked the car outside, and the two of them sneaked in through the side door.

The reservoir area was pitch black, with only a motion-sensor light in the northwest corner that would flash intermittently, as if it had a faulty connection.

The ghost servant sniffed and whispered, "There's a living person. The smell is very faint, like ink mixed with the smell of old leather. Someone is hiding in the shadows; they didn't just leave."

Ye Chen nodded, gripped the Kuzhao Sword, and bent down to approach the unlocked storeroom.

The door was closed, the lock was newly replaced, but the dust on the floor showed clear signs of having been swept. He took out his key, gently unlocked the door, pushed it open a crack, and slipped inside.

The warehouse was filled with cardboard boxes and shelves, and there was a very faint smell of tung oil in the air.

Ye Chen walked further in, and suddenly saw a series of very shallow muddy footprints on the ground at the very back. The footprints were very small, like those left by a woman or a child.

He followed the footprints to the end of the shelf and found that there was a brick at the base of the wall that was a different color from the surrounding bricks.

The ghost servant stepped forward and knocked, but there was no sound.

Ye Chen gently pried open the brick with his sword sheath, revealing a very narrow hidden compartment in the wall. Inside was a black waterproof bag.

Ye Chen took out the bag and unzipped it. Inside were a stack of account books, several old cell phones, and an envelope.

There were no words on the envelope, but a tiny dried plum blossom was pressed under the seal.

Ye Chen's heart tightened.

It's plum blossoms again.

He opened the envelope, and a folded piece of paper fell out. When he unfolded it, he found it was a photo of Jiang Ruoxi's mother.

The photo has yellowed, and there is a line of text written on the back, in neat handwriting, like a woman's: "Ruoxi, don't be afraid, Mom is here."

Ye Chen was stunned.

How did Jiang Ruoxi's mother's photo end up here?

This warehouse belongs to the Jiang Group, and Zhang Da is an old man whom Jiang Ruoxi trusts.

Could it be that Jiang Ruoxi's mother's death was also related to Heishui?

Ye Chen repacked the items and quickly walked out of the warehouse.

The ghost servant followed him out and asked in a low voice, "What did you find?"

Ye Chen didn't say anything, but just turned the photo over and showed it to the ghost servant.

The ghost servant's expression changed, and he lowered his voice to a whisper: "This isn't a warehouse. This is something someone left specifically for Jiang Ruoxi. Perhaps it was something her mother hid here before, and it was discovered by the person who rented the warehouse later."

Ye Chen clutched the photo, his expression changing slightly.

The fangs of the Blackwater were not only aimed at him and Jiang Ruoxi, but also at the unresolved old stories of the previous generation.

Those who hide in the shadows never intend to let any secrets sink to the bottom.