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

It rained all day and hadn't stopped by nightfall.

The tin eaves of the old sugar factory were pounded by raindrops, making a crackling sound, like countless tiny hammers hitting overhead.

Ye Chen and the ghost servant took turns keeping watch, and neither of them actually fell into a deep sleep.

Mei Changjin slept very soundly after taking the medicine, but he would occasionally wake up startled from his dreams. When he opened his eyes and saw Jiang Ruoxi beside him, he would slowly close them again.

Jiang Ruoxi was also exhausted, her face was pale, but she refused to rest.

Ye Chen knew he couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he could only let Ayiguli stay with her.

As dusk approached, Jiang Ruoxi suddenly came out from the inner room and whispered, "Someone is coming this way."

Ye Chen, who was wiping his sword, put it away upon hearing this and looked up at her: "Did you hear that?"

Jiang Ruoxi said, "I didn't hear it, but I felt panicked. The jade pendant your master gave me was constantly burning hot."

Ye Chen reached out and touched her collar; the jade pendant was indeed unusually warm.

This jade is inherently spiritual; it will generate warmth when the slightest killing intent approaches.

Ye Chen called Ayiguli over and then asked Han Song to gather the outer sentry posts in half a circle.

Just as the arrangements were made, the ghost servant returned, soaked to the bone and chilled by the wind.

He shook his sleeves and whispered, "There are people three streets to the west, at least five. They're walking in a scattered manner, sneaking along the base of the wall. The one in the lead is moving very lightly; he's Wu Ying."

Ye Chen's eyelids twitched.

The Five Kage did indeed come.

This guy is like a snake that's been soaked in water; even the heaviest rain can't stop him.

Ye Chen made a quick decision and had Jiang Ruoxi help Mei Changjin move to the small hut at the back where sugarcane residue was stored.

The hut was surrounded by earthen walls, and the door was so narrow that it was not visible from the outside.

Song Tiezhu and two veterans guarded the place, their weapons loaded.

Ye Chen, Gui Pu, Han Song, and Ayiguli waited in the main room.

The sound of rain is both the best cover and the worst cover.

Now that the other party has gotten close, they will not retreat.

Ye Chen drew the Ku Zhao sword from its sheath and placed it across his lap.

He closed his eyes, listening to the rain, and also to that extremely faint sound within the rain, a sound that didn't belong to the rain.

"Here I am." Ye Chen opened his eyes.

Almost simultaneously, two very short, muffled sounds came from the direction of the main entrance, as if someone had wrapped the door hinges with a wet cloth and was prying them open at an extremely fast speed.

The ghost servant had already darted to the side of the door, while Han Song and Ayiguli pressed themselves against the corners of the wall on either side.

Ye Chen remained seated, the tip of his sword touching the ground.

The door was suddenly blown open by a gust of wind, not smashed open, but made a sound like it was being slowly pushed open by a ghostly hand.

A very thin silver line shot in through the rain, heading straight for Ye Chen's face.

Ye Chen tilted his head, and with a flick of his withered sword, the silver thread was severed in two, like two severed snakes falling to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, two dark figures rushed in from outside the door, one above and one below, their coordination was superb.

Ghost Servant's iron ruler and Han Song's short sword met the attack simultaneously, and it was clear from the first glance that the newcomer was no ordinary swordsman.

Ye Chen wasn't idle either. He spotted a gray shadow that blended almost seamlessly into the night in the rain, rapidly approaching the back window with the help of the sound of the rain.

"Guli, protect the back!" Ye Chen shouted, and Ayiguli had already rushed out first.

Her knife clashed with an extremely thin short blade in the dim light, producing a sharp yet faint metallic clang.

The gray figure missed its target and immediately retreated into the rain. Aygul took a step in pursuit, then abruptly stopped.

She dared not leave the main room for too long.

Ye Chen made it clear: the priority tonight is to defend.

When the gray figure reappeared, it had already circled around to the front door.

Wu Ying no longer concealed himself; he stood five steps away from the door, as if emerging from the rain, holding a tiny black umbrella in his backhand.

Behind Wu Ying stood several men in black raincoats, who were his subordinates who had sneaked in earlier.

Wu Ying didn't cover his face, but kept his head down, with the brim of his hat and the umbrella completely obscuring the upper half of his face.

He suddenly spoke, his voice like wet paper stuck to stone: "Ye Chen, Mr. Wen asked me to pass on a message: hand over those two people, and you can leave. If you don't, this rain won't wash it away."

Ye Chen stood up, walked to the door, and casually kicked out a dead branch that had been blown in by the rain.

The withered branch flew towards Wu Ying, who gently brushed it away with their umbrella, as if chasing away a small insect.

Ye Chen said, "Go back and tell Wen Jiuhong that I, Ye Chen, don't deal with the living or the dead. If he wants to come, let him come in himself. I want to see how many years he's been burning his blue flames and whether he's roasted himself into a ghost."

Wu Ying let out a "heh," and with a slight turn of his umbrella, the men behind him pounced on him like water ghosts.

Ye Chen took the lead and met the attack head-on, his sword strikes matching the rain's force, each strike like a cold glint drawn from the rain.

Han Song and Gui Pu also attacked at the same time, engaging the group in battle.

Aygul is like a black swallow, rising and falling in the rain, her every move perfectly sculpted, her shadow barely three inches from her body.

The Five Shadows' movements were extremely strange, like half a shadow drifting in the rain.

He didn't confront anyone directly, but instead circled around the crowd, occasionally throwing out a short, insidious slash that was impossible to defend against.

Ye Chen decided not to wait any longer.

He ordered Ghost Servant and Han Song to force his men into the rain, while he himself took three steps and chased after the Five Shadows.

The two chased and fought in the yard, splashing the puddles on the ground as if they were being plowed back and forth by two invisible knives.

Suddenly, Wu Ying drew an extremely thin umbrella-rib sword from the umbrella handle and thrust it at Ye Chen's ribs.

Ye Chen had anticipated this move. He pressed the Kuzhao Sword against the umbrella-shaped sword, and the blade slashed towards the opponent's wrist.

Wu Ying swiftly withdrew his wrist, and the umbrella-shaped sword fell into the mud. He flipped backward and retreated to the courtyard gate.

Just as Ye Chen was about to give chase, he suddenly heard Jiang Ruoxi's very short exclamation from behind.

A chill ran through him, and he no longer cared about chasing after the person; he turned and rushed towards the back house.

At the back door, Jiang Ruoxi and two veterans were entangled with two men in black who had sneaked in from the side wall.

Mei Changjin was still leaning against the wall in the inner room, his expression calm. Ye Chen rushed over and forced one of them away with a single sword strike.

Aygul also returned and quickly took down the other one.

Jiang Ruoxi retreated to the corner, still holding a wood-chopping knife she had picked up from somewhere. Her face was pale and she was panting, but her eyes were extremely hard.

Ye Chen pulled her behind him, glanced around to make sure Mei Changjin was alright, and then looked towards the courtyard gate.

The five shadows had vanished, leaving only a black umbrella trampled into the mud.

The umbrella was still gently swirling in the rain.

"He backed down." The ghost servant walked back from the rain, his chest and arms covered in mud, clearly indicating that he had also been serious.

Ye Chen nodded: "He didn't come to kill anyone tonight. He came to scout things out. He knows we're here and how many of us there are. Next time he comes, it will be Wen Jiuhong himself."

He turned to Jiang Ruoxi: "It's not safe here anymore. Let's leave tonight and find somewhere else."

Jiang Ruoxi asked, "Where to?"

Ye Chen wiped the rain off his face, his eyes deep and cold: "Go to Medicine King Valley. My master is on the mountain. No matter how arrogant Wen Jiuhong is, he won't dare to run wild in Medicine King Valley. Besides, only Master Su Qinghan can cure Mei Changjin's condition. After settling him in, I'll go down the mountain to meet him."

Jiang Ruoxi didn't ask any more questions, but simply squeezed his hand tightly.

The rain outside was still falling, as if it were trying to pour the entire river over their heads.

After packing up, the group quietly left the old sugar factory under the cover of night and rain, heading north.

They walked in the rain, like a few embers scattered by the wind, silently burning in the boundless darkness.