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

Zhang Da is really in trouble.

Zhou Wantong's men found signs of a fight downstairs at his house.

There were several deep footprints on the muddy ground beside the flower bed, pointing towards the back alley. At the entrance of the back alley, a van with a fake license plate was parked diagonally, its door wide open, and one of Zhang Da's usual black leather shoes was left on the driver's seat.

The soles of the shoes were covered in wet mud and a few rotten vegetable leaves, indicating that they had been dragged onto the vehicle from the back door of the market.

Song Tiezhu's men checked all the available cameras along the back alley, but only managed to capture a blurry profile: of medium build, wearing a dark jacket and a black fisherman's hat pulled low, moving lightly and quickly, like a water spider gliding across the water.

"Is it the Five Shadows?" Ye Chen asked Han Song after looking at the surveillance screenshot.

Han Song squinted for a moment and nodded: "Most likely. This walking posture, with the heels not touching the ground and the toes landing first, is a practice of water-walking skills. Fang Zhe said that the Five Shadows are best at stealth, and he can't be wrong."

Ye Chen, with a grim face, sent the screenshots to Gui Pu and Song Tiezhu, instructing their men to focus their investigation on the vegetable market, teahouse, and dock area that Zhang Da frequented.

Zhang Da is fifty-six years old this year, in good health and with a clear mind.

He had no children, his wife passed away early, and he had lived alone in Jiangcheng for so many years, his biggest wish being to return to the Jiang family.

If he were captured by the Five Shadows, they would definitely use him to force Jiang Ruoxi to show herself, or use him as bait to lure Ye Chen to some place.

Sure enough, just after noon, Jiang Ruoxi received a video call from an unknown number.

In the video, Zhang Da is tied to a cement pillar, his mouth is covered with black tape, there is dried blood on his forehead, his eyes are half open, and he is still relatively conscious.

At the end of the video, a voice, which had been processed and sounded like someone had a mouthful of sand, said: "President Jiang, midnight, East Suburb Wharf, come alone. Don't call the police, don't bring your gang. If you come, this old man will live one more night. If you don't come, the rest of his days will be worse than death."

The sound stopped there, leaving only a black screen. Jiang Ruoxi was furious.

Jiang Ruoxi showed the video to Ye Chen three times.

With each reading, Ye Chen's expression grew colder.

The peeling paint on the wall in the background of the video, the oil drums on the ground, and the iron beam that flashes overhead all point to Warehouse No. 3 at the East Suburb Wharf.

They had been there before; it was the old stronghold of the Blackwater in Jiangcheng.

The fact that the other party chose this place is clearly a way of telling Ye Chen: We're back, and we're standing right where you stepped.

"You can't go alone," Ye Chen said, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

"I know, don't worry." Jiang Ruoxi put her phone in the drawer, her face expressionless.

"So I'm not going. I want them to think I'm going. You're in charge of fencing off Warehouse No. 3 in advance. When the fish are caught in the net, Zhang Da can't be hurt." She looked up at Ye Chen, her eyes shining brightly, as if a fire was burning inside them.

"Honey, you're amazing!"

"Ye Chen, Uncle Zhang watched me grow up. If anything happens to him, none of the Blackwater people will be able to leave Jiangcheng alive."

Ye Chen nodded.

He knows Jiang Ruoxi too well.

The more this woman hated, the calmer she became.

The fact that she held her phone so steadily shows that she had planned every step of the way.

After nightfall, Ye Chen and Han Song led their men to sneak into the East Suburb Wharf first.

There were hidden sentries both inside and outside Warehouse No. 3. Song Tiezhu's men blocked both the land and water routes, while Guipu led his men to eliminate several of the outer sentries.

Ye Chen and Ayiguli climbed over the ventilation vent at the top of the warehouse.

Han Song led a team to guard the back gate.

The crowd spread out like a net, waiting for the other side to make its move.

At 11:30, Jiang Ruoxi's car appeared at the dock.

She did indeed come alone, wearing a black trench coat. The car headlights shone into the fog, like two cold, white swords.

Jiang Ruoxi opened the car door, leaving the engine running, and called out towards the warehouse, "I'm here! Where's Uncle Zhang?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it traveled extremely far in the empty dock.

The warehouse door slowly opened a crack.

Two men walked out from inside, one on the left and one on the right. They weren't carrying any weapons, but they exuded a tense, ready-to-pounce aura.

Jiang Ruoxi stood still.

She stood with her back to the river, the wind blowing her hair wildly, like a flower blooming brilliantly in the dark night.

Ye Chen stared at her through the gap in the vent, his breathing becoming softer.

"Let her in." A voice came from inside the warehouse, not loud, but as cold as ice.

Ye Chen's ears twitched. This voice was different from the one in the video; it belonged to someone else, deeper and more steady, like a knife wrapped in velvet.

It's Wen Jiuhong.

Jiang Ruoxi strode toward the warehouse.

Two men followed behind her, like two shadows.

The warehouse was dimly lit, with only a chandelier at the far end shining, casting a pale light on Zhang Da, who was tied to a concrete pillar, and also on the middle-aged man sitting under the light.

The man was wearing a dark gray cardigan, had very short hair, and had a flat expression, like a junior manager waiting to leave work.

But Ye Chen only glanced at him once, and a layer of fine sweat broke out on his back.

This person has an exceptionally strong aura, as calm as a deep pool, where the surface is perfectly still, yet you never know what lies beneath.

"President Jiang, please have a seat." Wen Jiuhong gestured for him to sit, as if inviting someone for tea.

"I met you sooner than I expected. Sure enough, people like you are the most loyal and affectionate."

Jiang Ruoxi didn't sit down, but looked at him coldly: "I'm here, you can release the person now."

"No rush," Wen Jiuhong smiled.

"I heard there's a guy named Ye Chen next to you, he's really good at fighting. Did he not come tonight? Or is he already here, leaning against some beam listening to us talk?"

As Wen Jiuhong spoke, his gaze seemed to casually sweep towards the direction where Ye Chen was hiding.

Ye Chen felt a chill run down his spine, and Aygul's hand tightened around the hilt of her knife.

"If you want to negotiate, then negotiate properly. If you want to fight, I'm ready." Jiang Ruoxi took half a step forward, her whole demeanor becoming even more upright than when she came in.

She looked into Wen Jiuhong's eyes and said, word by word, "But remember this: no matter who it is, whether it's Blackwater or anyone from the main headquarters, if they dare to touch my people, they should be prepared not to leave Jiangcheng."

Wen Jiuhong clapped his hands lightly, as if he were applauding, but it also sounded like he was sneering.

He stood up, walked to Zhang Da's side, pulled out an extremely thin short knife from his sleeve, and held it against Zhang Da's neck: "President Jiang has quite the nerve. Let's see if the Blackwater will fall first, or if the Jiang family will be wiped out first."

Before he finished speaking, the ventilation vent on the top of the warehouse suddenly burst open, and Ye Chen swooped down like a falcon. The Ku Zhao sword drew an extremely thin, cold light in mid-air, aiming straight for Wen Jiuhong's wrist holding the knife.

Jiang Ruoxi dodged to the side at the same instant.

Gunshots, knife clashes, the sound of something cutting through the air, and footsteps blended together, tearing the night apart from the dock.