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

After returning from Longyin Mountain, Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi both drank quite a bit.

Jiang Ruoxi was a little drunk, but Ye Chen acted as if he hadn't drunk anything. He sat down next to Jiang Ruoxi.

Han Song drove them back to Jiangcheng. On the way, Jiang Ruoxi opened the car window a crack, and the cool night breeze blew in, dispelling some of the alcohol on her face.

Ye Chen leaned back in the back seat, his eyes half-closed, and suddenly reached out to hold her hand.

Jiang Ruoxi didn't dodge; instead, she intertwined her fingers with his.

Neither of them spoke, and they quietly made their way back to the Jiang family villa.

The ghost servant was still awake, sitting in his usual spot at the courtyard gate, observing the surroundings as always.

When they returned, he merely raised his chin and then closed his eyes to rest.

The light was still on in Aygul's room, and her silhouette as she wiped her knife was cut out on the window.

Ye Chen helped Jiang Ruoxi upstairs. When they reached the bedroom door, Jiang Ruoxi suddenly said, "Ye Chen, I want to sit in the yard for a while. It feels too stuffy inside."

Ye Chen then helped her down, and the two sat on bamboo chairs under the eaves.

The night was cool and still, and the osmanthus blossoms had long since faded, but a faint fragrance of magnolia drifted in from somewhere on the wind, as if it had traveled all the way from Meixi to Jiangcheng.

"Ye Chen, what do you think of what Old Master Qiao said today?"

Jiang Ruoxi rested her head on his shoulder, her voice languid.

Ye Chen said, "Wife, he's an old hand at this. He just didn't say it outright, but he's already used those hillsides of Longyin Mountain as compensation to Yaowang Valley. From now on, no one in the provincial capital will cause trouble for the base. This might be a good thing."

Jiang Ruoxi agreed with Ye Chen's analysis, replying, "I understood that too, but he mainly wants to build a long-term good relationship with you. You have Medicine King Valley under your control, and you have skills that no one else can replace. He has a longer-term vision than anyone else."

Ye Chen smiled and said, "Then President Jiang, you'd better give me some pointers, or I'll get tricked by those old foxes."

Jiang Ruoxi pinched him lightly: "Stop it, you should be grateful you don't confuse others."

It was sometime during the night when the two of them went upstairs to rest.

Ye Chen, however, was having trouble sleeping.

He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind replaying the events of the past few days.

From coming down the mountain, to meeting Jiang Ruoxi, and now.

It felt like I had an extremely long and chaotic dream.

The dream contained blood, fire, ancient caves, and blue flames, and the protagonist experienced one life-or-death crisis after another.

But in the end, it was this person by his side that made Ye Chen willingly give up everything and risk his life to protect her.

Ye Chen knew that Jiang Ruoxi was his one and only, his destined nemesis, and that having her was enough for him in this life.

Ye Chen shifted his body, thinking about what Jiang Ruoxi looked like while she was asleep.

His breathing was light and even, and there was a very faint smile on his lips.

Every time Ye Chen saw the stray hairs on her forehead, he suddenly felt that the best ending in life is being able to fight for someone and also live a long life with that person.

The weather was excellent on the day the Yaowang Valley planting base broke ground.

Ye Chen led a few brothers from the security department down the mountain to help.

Jiang Ruoxi also arrived, dressed in a neat tracksuit and wearing a sun hat, and looked at the blueprints with the project team's engineers.

Su Qinghan didn't come, but sent someone with a basket of wild tea that she had roasted herself as a congratulatory gift.

Mei Changjin also arrived, sitting under the makeshift shed, watching everyone work with a smile.

Ye Chen poured him a bowl of tea and said, "Uncle, why didn't you tell me beforehand? It's such a long way."

Mei Changjin said, "I came in the Qiao family's car. You know what, that car was really stable."

Ye Chen smiled and said, "You're living the life of a landlord ahead of time."

Mei Changjin waved his hand, but there was a hint of smugness in his smile.

The groundbreaking ceremony was very simple; there was no ribbon-cutting, and no reporters were invited.

Jiang Ruoxi said that they would hold a proper celebration after the first batch of medicinal herbs were grown.

Ye Chen thought this was a good idea, since it would be easier to talk things over after achieving results.

At the foot of the mountain, dozens of workers were methodically turning over soil and building fences.

Song Tiezhu also brought a few people to help repair the road nearby.

Zhou Wantong brought a truckload of building materials, and before he even got out of the truck, he was already clamoring for Ye Chen to treat him to drinks that night.

Ye Chen smiled and agreed. These people who had once risked their lives together were now all on this hillside, as if planting a new hope together.

Aygul also came.

She didn't say much, but walked around the slope once and came back to Ye Chen, saying, "This place has good feng shui, even better than Longyin Mountain."

Ye Chen looked at her and suddenly said, "Guli, you should stay here from now on. Your adoptive father's revenge has been avenged, and Medicine King Valley is related to you. Don't go wandering elsewhere alone."

Aygul was silent for a moment, then looked up at him: "I'll stay. Will you feed me?"

Ye Chen smiled and said, "I'll take care of it, for life."

Aygul smiled faintly, like a small flower suddenly blooming in the mountains.

As he finished work in the evening, Ye Chen stood at the top of the slope and looked down.

The setting sun bathed the entire valley and the newly cultivated fields in a golden-red hue.

Jiang Ruoxi walked over and stood next to him.

The wind blew a few strands of hair under her hat brim.

She said softly, "This place will be full of medicinal herbs in the future. After the herbs are harvested, I want to involve the villagers in the mountains. I will teach them how to grow herbs and give them work to do. In this way, Medicine King Valley can truly help more people."

Ye Chen turned to look at Jiang Ruoxi.

Her face glowed in the sunset, and her eyes were filled with a gentle yet resolute light.

Ye Chen suddenly realized that he loved this woman to death.

It's not because she's particularly beautiful or capable, but because she has the capacity to embrace both the mountains and people.

"Ye Chen," Jiang Ruoxi called to him.

"Um?"

"No matter what happens in the future, let's never be apart." She said it softly, as if afraid the wind would hear it.

Ye Chen raised his hand and gently touched the red rope and copper lock on his wrist. Then he took her hand and said, "We'll never be apart. We'll be together in life and in death. In the next life, I'll still work as a security guard at your company."

Jiang Ruoxi chuckled, but her eyes were a little wet.

She looked at the newly turned land in front of her, at the distant layered mountains and the lights that were gradually coming on, and slowly nodded.

The wind blew up from the valley, carrying the fresh scent of earth and wild grass.

They stood there, like the most ordinary couple in the world.

But only they know how many extraordinary days were exchanged for that word "ordinary."

From now on, through mountains and rivers, they will walk step by step. Leaving behind the bitter, painful, and old, they will plant the sweet, warm, and new, one by one.

Next year, the mountains will be covered with angelica and astragalus, and the whole city will be filled with the fragrance of herbs.

Their story will eventually become a legend passed down from person to person in this land.

But Ye Chen didn't care about any of that. He only cared about this moment, that she was right beside him.

The wind is warm, but the road ahead is long.

They are still here.