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

After returning from the Old Ferry Temple, Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi didn't go anywhere else and went straight back to Medicine King Valley.

Su Qinghan could tell from their expressions that the trip had not been in vain.

She didn't ask any further questions, but simply asked Ye Chen to take out the sheepskin map and bamboo whistle from his arms.

Su Qinghan looked at it by the light of the lamp, then walked to the corridor and looked up at the stars in the sky.

Su Qinghan looked at the sheepskin map and said, "This is half a destiny map, which determines the water veins, not the star map. In three days, during the water sacrifice, Elder Jiu will definitely use the fog on the river to his advantage. If you want to enter that place, you must first learn to control your water vapor. The Cold Yin Fire, the Listening Water Cave, and the three sacrificial boats for the water sacrifice are all evil formations passed down from the elders of the Black Water. With your current martial arts skills, you may not lose in a head-on fight, but you are still half a step behind when it comes to fighting those people on the water."

Ye Chen nodded.

He grew up in the mountains and didn't have much experience in water-based skills.

Aygul, however, is extremely adept at swimming.

Hearing Su Qinghan say this, she replied, "I know the way in the water well. I can dive over and explore the area around the sacrificial boat first."

Ye Chen refused: "Wu Ying said that there is water on all sides. If you go alone and get entangled by spies, you won't even have anyone to help you."

Jiang Ruoxi chimed in, "So if we're going this time, we'll go together. We're not going to fight them in a water battle; we're going to observe, to see what Elder Jiu looks like, how big the sacrificial ship is, and where everyone is. After the water sacrifice, we'll figure out how to fight."

Su Qinghan glanced at her and nodded, saying, "Ruoxi is right. Don't think about defeating the enemy in one blow. First, find out the way. Wen Jiuhong is the bait in the open, but Elder Jiu is the turtle that's sunk to the bottom. You have to make him think that you've taken the bait, but you can't take it away. Make him sleep soundly in the water."

For the next two days, Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi practiced holding their breath in the pool behind the mountain with Su Qinghan.

The pool was not large, but it was extremely deep, and the water was icy cold year-round.

Ye Chen initially could only hold his breath for a little over two minutes, but after practicing for two days, he was able to dive to a depth of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and move slowly using the underwater rocks and currents.

Although Jiang Ruoxi was not as good as Ye Chen, she was light and her swimming skills were better than expected. She could hold her breath for longer and longer each day.

Aygul taught her how to draw her sword in the water and how to use the bottom of the boat for leverage. The moves weren't pretty, but every single one was a deadly move.

Jiang Ruoxi studied very diligently, her wet hair sticking to her face and her lips turning white from the cold, but she still refused to go ashore.

Ye Chen felt sorry for Jiang Ruoxi, but he didn't stop her in the end. He knew Jiang Ruoxi's personality; she was a woman who never gave up.

On the evening of the third day, the five knights indeed sent a message.

The bamboo whistle was blown at the mouth of the valley, and the ghost servant chased after it, only to pick up a small stone wrapped in oilcloth.

A note was stuffed among the pebbles, which read, "At midnight tonight, the boat is crossing the river to the west."

Ye Chen showed the note to his master, Su Qinghan.

Su Qinghan pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Xidu is very close to Tingshui Cave. It's quite reasonable for him to let you board the boat from there, but you can't just take his boat. Guipu and Song Tiezhu will take another boat and stay far away. Han Song will stay on the shore to provide support. Guli will go with you. Ruoxi, have you thought it through?"

Jiang Ruoxi tucked the jade pendant into her collar and said, "Ye Chen, I've made up my mind."

As night fell, fog indeed rose again on the river.

Ye Chen and his group arrived at Xidu in the dark.

The five figures were already waiting there, still wearing their old, drab gray clothes, crouching at the stern of an extremely narrow awning boat, as if they had grown out of the water.

Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi boarded the boat, while Ayiguli lay on the bow.

Wu Ying didn't say much. He tapped the bamboo pole on the shore stone, and the boat silently glided into the fog.

The ghost servants' ship was dozens of feet away, and they could barely make a sound.

The boat moved extremely slowly, as if inching forward inch by inch in the fog.

It was extremely quiet all around, with only the sound of water and the intermittent low chirping of some kind of bird in the mist.

Jiang Ruoxi leaned against Ye Chen, her hand always resting on the hilt of the short knife on her wrist.

Ye Chen placed the Kuzhao Sword across his lap, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, Wu Ying lowered his voice: "We're here. That circle of lanterns ahead is the altar."

Ye Chen looked up.

Sure enough, a very faint yellow light floated in the fog; it wasn't an electric light, but rather about a hundred fist-sized white lanterns.

The lanterns were hung at varying heights on several wooden boats side by side, forming a semicircle.

In the center of the semicircle is a large ship covered with white cloth.

Several men in black robes stood at the bow of the boat, holding long poles with unlit banners hanging from them.

The stern of the ship is raised high, like a dragon raising its head and spitting its tongue.

The scene was extremely bizarre; Ye Chen had never seen anything like it before.

There were no gongs or drums, no scriptures, only the sound of the river wind blowing the white cloths, making a rustling sound, like someone patting the boat planks with wet hands.

Ye Chen counted at least six or seven small boats around him, each with people standing on it, each carrying a knife or crossbow.

In the very center of the large ship, there was an extremely wide black wooden chair.

There was someone sitting in the chair.

The man was extremely thin, wrapped in an old, dark red robe, his face obscured by the white mist and lantern light.

Ye Chen felt a chill run down his spine after just one glance.

The man didn't need to speak or move; he just sat there quietly, as if the entire river revolved around him.

Old Master Jiu? Is that the legendary figure?

"We can't get any closer," Wu Ying whispered as he moored the boat behind a patch of reeds.

"Thirty paces outside the altar, there are hidden hooks and iron nets in the water. If you get any closer, you will be discovered. Do you see clearly? Tonight, they are not offering sacrifices to the river, but opening Wen Jiuhong's eyes. According to the old rules of the Blackwater, any newly selected outer hall master must receive the order of life and death during the water sacrifice. Elder Jiu gave the order to Wen Jiuhong, and Wen Jiuhong has the right to mobilize all the Blackwater secret halls in the six southern provinces. After he receives the order, it will be really difficult for you to touch him."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen sneered, "He certainly knows how to pick his time, but tonight, I'm not going to let him take the job."

Jiang Ruoxi asked softly, "Ye Chen, what are you planning to do? Don't be reckless!"

Ye Chen didn't answer immediately, but stared at the increasingly bright lantern lights on the large ship, as if counting the gaps between the lanterns.

After a long pause, he replied, "Honey, don't worry. When they get to the point of slaughtering the animals, everyone will be looking at the middle of the river. That will be our chance to get on the boat."

Wu Ying glanced at him, said nothing more, and simply hid the boat deeper into the reeds.

The river breeze parted a corner of the fog, revealing the altar on the large ship, which was covered by a white cloth.

Someone threw paper money into the river, and the paper money landed on the water and was swallowed up by the black water in an instant.

Ye Chen lowered his head very low, but his eyes were brighter than ever.

Ye Chen wasn't waiting for a killing, but for an opening, or rather, an opportunity to strike.

As long as Wen Jiuhong extends his hand to receive the order, Ye Chen will turn this river upside down.