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

Once the situation was out of control, everything outside had changed.

The river wind, carrying fine raindrops, lashed across the river, landing on my face with a cold, sharp gust.

Ghost Servant led two veterans to scout ahead, while Ayiguli and Han Song flanked Ye Chen on either side, their gun barrels and knife tips all pointed into the shadows.

Mei Changjin lay on Ye Chen's back, his whole body burning hot, like a piece of thin charcoal that had been roasted by blue flames for a long time, even his breath had a bitter taste.

The group dared not linger and retreated hastily by slipping through alleys and crossing dark ditches, taking the route they had come from.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the water in the alley was ankle-deep, making a loud splash with every step.

Ye Chen gritted his teeth, bounced Mei Changjin on his back a little more, and whispered, "Uncle, hang in there a little longer, we'll be there soon."

Mei Changjin did not respond, but only nodded slightly, his voice barely audible.

Back at their temporary lodging, Song Tiezhu and his men were guarding it.

As soon as Jiang Ruoxi heard the noise, she rushed out of the house and saw Ye Chen covered in mud and slurry, with a thin person on his back. She was stunned at first, but when she saw the person's face, she froze as if she had been electrocuted.

She opened her mouth, but her throat was so tight that she couldn't make a sound.

Aygul said, "Let President Jiang see this. This is Mei Changjin, your mother's brother-in-law."

Jiang Ruoxi stood there, tears streaming down her face.

She reached out her hand, wanting to touch Mei Changjin, yet as if afraid of breaking him.

Ye Chen said, "Help him inside first; he's still alive."

The group hurriedly carried Mei Changjin into the house and put him on the bed.

Song Tiezhu boiled water, and Jiang Ruoxi wrung out a handkerchief and wiped his face and hands little by little.

When she touched the chain wound on her ankle that was almost rotting to the bone, her tears flowed like the rain outside, unstoppable.

Ye Chen took Mei Changjin's pulse again, and then asked Jiang Ruoxi to bring the medicine box that Su Qinghan had prepared. He gave Mei Changjin half a bowl of warm heart-protecting soup, and then used silver needles to seal several of his acupoints to stabilize the rampant cold.

Mei Changjin remained in a daze, never truly awake. Jiang Ruoxi stayed by his side, holding his withered hand, and didn't close her eyes all night.

Ye Chen didn't sleep either. He went to the outer room with Gui Pu and Han Song to go over the events of the night.

"Wen Jiuhong probably already knows that we took the person away."

The ghost servant said, "He controls both the light and dark lines of the Black Water in this area of ​​Wuyi Ferry. When we went down, we startled the snake and broke the chain. Once that blue flame goes out, the headquarters will know soon. We have to move to another place before dawn and can't stay here any longer."

Ye Chen agreed with Gui Pu's suggestion and asked Song Tiezhu to prepare the car.

Ye Chen had anticipated that this rescue mission would not lead back the way it came, so he had Zhou Wantong's men set up two extremely remote houses on the south bank of the Yangtze River in advance.

Now it comes in handy.

The rain is still falling.

They evacuated in two groups.

Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi escorted Mei Changjin into the car, while Ayiguli followed in the car.

Guipu and Han Song led their men by water, taking a longer route along the riverbank.

Song Tiezhu left behind a cleanup, erasing all traces that could be wiped away.

Outside the old houses, only rainwater washed the footprints into a muddy yellow mess.

The second hiding place was even more remote, behind an abandoned old sugar factory.

There were three single-story houses, and several wild banana trees, several meters tall, stood in front of the door. Their leaves were as big as umbrellas, completely covering the entrance.

Mei Changjin was placed in the innermost room. Jiang Ruoxi stayed with him until dawn before falling asleep by the bedside.

Ye Chen gently draped a coat over her shoulders, then went to the outer room and stared blankly at the rain outside the door.

Wen Jiuhong must be searching for them all over the city right now.

But the most dangerous time is often when you are closest to the answer.

The ordeal has been resolved, and the person has been rescued. Once Mei Changjin wakes up, many things should come to light.

The location of the Blackwater headquarters, Wen Jiuhong's trump card, and the final whereabouts of his father, Ye Changfeng.

Perhaps this man already knew.

As dawn broke, the rain gradually stopped, and a sliver of grayish-white light peeked through the eastern horizon.

Ghost Servant and Han Song also arrived, without disturbing anyone, and simply stood outside the back door.

Ye Chen went out and whispered a few words to them.

Han Song said that Wen Jiuhong's men searched the old city and ferry area all night, like ants whose nest had been overturned, but they couldn't find this place.

Ghost Servant frowned and said, "Last night, besides us and Mei Changjin, there were several old marks in the gourd. They didn't seem to be recently left. It's possible that someone entered that compartment half a year ago. That person neither saved him nor killed him, but only left a few very shallow knife marks on the wall, like the Five Shadows' technique."

"The Five Shadows entered the inverted gourd, but did not touch Mei Changjin."

Ye Chen pondered these words, his eyes growing cold. "There's only one possibility: either the Five Shadows aren't Wen Jiuhong's men, or the Blackwater headquarters isn't a monolithic entity."

The ghost servant said, "That night at Wuyi Ferry, the Five Shadows clearly had the ability to kill, but they only defended and didn't attack. Don't you think that this person was testing us and didn't really want to kill us?"

Ye Chen didn't speak.

Wu Ying is like a wisp of fog without a shadow.

The more you try to hold on, the less you can see clearly.

But he knew that the next time they met, things had to be settled.

Just then, Jiang Ruoxi's very soft voice came from inside the room: "Ye Chen, he's awake."

Ye Chen turned around and walked into the house.

Mei Changjin did indeed wake up, his eyes half-open, his lips chapped, but his gaze was clearer.

He looked at Jiang Ruoxi, then at Ye Chen, his eyes flickered, and finally settled on Jiang Ruoxi's face. He said in a very low voice, "Ruoxi... looks like your mother."

Jiang Ruoxi held his hand, and tears fell again.

Mei Changjin wanted to raise his hand to wipe her tears, but he didn't have the strength. He just gasped for breath and said, "Don't cry. If your mother were here, she wouldn't like to see you cry either."

Jiang Ruoxi nodded vigorously, holding back her tears and forcing out a very faint smile.

Ye Chen moved a chair to the edge of the bed and asked in a low voice, "Uncle, how long were you locked up?"

Mei Changjin closed his eyes, as if he were calculating, or as if he were enduring pain.

After a long while, he said, "I was arrested by Wei Qing's men three months after your father died. At that time, I was investigating your father and your father-in-law's affairs. I found out about Wuyi Ferry. They locked me up here. When they couldn't get anything out of me, they boiled me with blue fire. I can't remember how many years it has been."

Ye Chen felt a pang in his heart.

Wouldn't that mean he was imprisoned for nearly twenty years?

He lived for twenty years, locked in an extremely cold and dark cellar, yet he was still alive.

He simply couldn't imagine how this person had managed to endure it. Jiang Ruoxi was trembling all over.

Mei Changjin seemed to want to comfort them, but instead smiled and said, "I was able to hold on because I kept dreaming about your mother and your aunt. In my dreams, they said, 'Changjin, don't die. Your fathers' revenge hasn't been achieved yet.'"

After he finished speaking, he coughed, and his whole face turned dark red.

Ye Chen quickly patted him on the back to help him catch his breath and fed him half a spoonful of warm water. After Mei Changjin recovered, he looked at Ye Chen and said, "I knew you would come. Your name is Ye Chen. Your mother gave you this name. She said you were born at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), and she was afraid you wouldn't live long. I even laughed at her, saying that Ye Changfeng's son must have a tough life."

As Ye Chen listened, his throat felt like it was choked by a stone.

He never knew that his name was given to him by his mother.

He had no idea that his mother had worried so much about him.

Jiang Ruoxi gently took Ye Chen's hand. Mei Changjin looked at the two of them, his eyes filled with deep satisfaction: "Good, good, you two are together. If your father knew that Jiang Yuanshan's daughter and Brother Changfeng's son had gotten together, he would be laughing in his grave."

After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes again, as if he wanted to pick up the words he hadn't said over the years, one by one.

Ye Chen knew that now was not the time to interrogate him.

He stood up and said to Jiang Ruoxi, "Let Uncle rest a little longer. We'll ask him slowly when he's feeling better."

Jiang Ruoxi nodded and tucked the blanket around Mei Changjin.

Outside the window, it was already bright daylight.

The banana leaves after the rain were so shiny they looked as if they had been coated with oil. A few birds landed on them and then fluttered away.

The world seemed to come alive again in this corner of the old factory.