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

After returning from Rongcheng, Ye Chen rested at home for two days.

Su Qinghan took his pulse and said that he had some dampness in his meridians, which was caused by the hot and humid weather in the south and the constant travel.

Ye Chen said he was fine, but Jiang Ruoxi kept an eye on him and made him stay in bed for a day and a half.

On the morning of the third day, he couldn't stay in bed any longer, so he slipped out into the yard to practice boxing before dawn.

Jiang Ruoxi opened the window and saw him shirtless, sweating in the morning breeze. She was both angry and amused, but ultimately didn't call him back.

Just a few days into their good fortune, good news came from Baizhi Valley: the first batch of medicinal herbs had sold out, and the second batch was growing even better than the first.

Seventh Uncle called from the valley, his voice as loud as banging a gong: "Little Chenzi, your master wants you to come over right away! There's a meeting in the valley to decide on next year's expansion."

Ye Chen agreed and said he would come after breakfast.

Jiang Ruoxi was going to the company for a board meeting today, so she didn't go with him.

Ye Chen rode an old motorcycle alone towards Baizhi Valley.

Wildflowers bloom along the mountain paths in April, and the air is filled with the fragrance of grass and fresh earth.

Ye Chen hummed an off-key song all the way, feeling as relaxed as a field after a rain.

Upon arriving in the valley, Su Qinghan was indeed already waiting in the hut.

Several hand-drawn planning maps were spread out on the table, and a pot of freshly brewed herbal tea was placed next to them.

Seventh Uncle sat beside him, peeling peanuts and popping them into his mouth as he peeled.

When Su Qinghan saw Ye Chen come in, she raised her hand to gesture for him to sit down, and then pushed the planning map toward him: "Next spring, I want to clear out that wasteland on the south slope and plant astragalus and angelica. The medicinal herb market has been doing well these past two years, so let's strike while the iron is hot."

Ye Chen picked up the diagram and examined it carefully. He nodded and said, "Okay, but we need to recruit people in advance. Seventh Uncle, do you have any suitable experienced people on your side?"

Seventh Uncle chewed on a peanut and said, "There are a few. They all used to grow medicinal herbs elsewhere. They are honest and hardworking. I'll make a list for you later."

As the three were discussing, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the valley.

Ye Chen put down the drawing and went outside to take a look. He saw a young woman arguing with the gatekeeper about something.

The girl was in her early twenties, with her hair tied in a ponytail. She carried a faded canvas bag and looked travel-worn, as if she had traveled a long way.

When she saw Ye Chen come out, her eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "You must be Ye Chen! I've come from the south, I have urgent business with you!"

Ye Chen walked over and asked her what was wrong.

The girl took a letter out of her bag and handed it to him.

The letter was handwritten, with neat handwriting, and was written on rough-edged paper commonly found in the south.

The letter read: Mr. Ye Chen, my name is Shen Jingqiu, and I come from Nancheng.

My grandfather, Shen Bo'an, was a descendant of the Shen family of Anhetang.

He is old and suffers from leg problems. Recently, he has also developed a cough and asthma, and many medications have been ineffective.

He had received kindness from Medicine King Valley in his youth, and before his death, he wished to meet the successor of Medicine King Valley and return something to them. He earnestly requests that you make a trip to Nancheng.

The letter was signed "Respectfully presented by Shen Jingqiu," and included an address and phone number below.

After reading the letter, Ye Chen asked the girl, "How is your grandfather now?"

Shen Jingqiu's eyes reddened as she said, "It's not good. The doctor said he has something growing on his lungs, and he's too old to have surgery. He coughs every day and can't sleep at night. I wanted to bring him to Jiangcheng, but he refused. He said that people from Anhetang can't die on the road."

Ye Chen remained silent for a moment, then folded the letter and put it in his pocket.

He asked Shen Jingqiu to go into the valley first, drink a bowl of water, and then asked his seventh uncle to serve her a bowl of hot porridge.

Shen Jingqiu held the bowl, her hands still trembling.

She said she took a train for more than ten hours, then transferred to two buses after getting off the train, asking for directions along the way.

Ye Chen returned to the cabin and showed the letter to Su Qinghan.

Su Qinghan read it very slowly, and after finishing, she didn't say anything, but simply placed the letter gently on the table.

After a long while, she finally spoke: "Anhetang, your father used to recite the medicine classics under that plaque when he was a child. Shen Bo'an's grandfather saved your grandmaster's life back then. Medicine King Valley has remembered this favor for three generations."

Su Qinghan nodded: "Go, take the medicine box. His legs are chronically cold, and his lung problems are mostly caused by accumulated cold. Treat it if you can, and bring him back if you can't. People from Anhetang can't die outside."

Ye Chen set off that afternoon.

After Jiang Ruoxi finished the board meeting and heard about this, she packed her bags without saying a word and rushed to the highway entrance to meet him.

The two headed south overnight.

On the way, Ye Chen called Han Song and asked him to check on the situation in Nancheng.

Han Song replied that there was nothing unusual in the south of the city. Shen Bo'an had a very good reputation in the area. He was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor in his early years and has been living in his old house since retirement, rarely going out.

Ye Chen was slightly relieved.

The next day at noon, the two found the Shen family's old house.

It was a small courtyard hidden deep in the alley of the medicine shop, with an old locust tree planted at the entrance.

Shen Jingqiu was already waiting at the door. When she saw them arrive, she hurriedly welcomed them into the house.

Shen Bo'an was leaning back in his rattan chair, an old blanket covering his legs, coughing.

He coughed for a while before stopping, and when he looked up and saw Ye Chen, his cloudy eyes slowly regained their light.

He said, "You look like Ye Changfeng. I've met him before. That year, he came to Nancheng with your master to deliver medicine. He ate a meal at my house. He was young then and ate very fast. My grandfather said he looked like a starving ghost reincarnated."

Ye Chen smiled and squatted down in front of the old man, taking his hand in his.

The hand was cold and withered, yet it was clenched very tightly.

Shen Bo'an then said, "I wrote to call you here not to ask you to cure my illness, but to return something to Yaowang Valley. You wait here."

He had Shen Jingqiu bring out a long box wrapped in blue cloth from the inner room.

Inside was an old wooden plaque, most of the paint had peeled off, but the characters "Anhetang" were still legible.

Ye Chen reached out and touched the three characters. The wood had been polished smooth by time, as if it had been touched by many hands.

Shen Bo'an said, "This plaque was carved by my grandfather. After Anhetang closed down, he kept it. He said that one day someone from Yaowang Valley would come to take it. I waited for decades, but I didn't see your master. Instead, I saw you. Take the plaque with you. There is also something else."

He then had Shen Jingqiu take out an extremely thin handwritten booklet from the bottom of the box.

The cover is gone, and the inner pages are curled at the edges, but the text inside is still clear.

Ye Chen opened it and found it was a notebook specifically about the processing methods of southern medicinal herbs. It shared the same origin as the techniques of Medicine King Valley, but had its own unique features.

His heart warmed, knowing what this meant for Su Qinghan.

The roots of Yaowang Valley, severed in the south for decades, have finally been reconnected.

Ye Chen took Shen Bo'an's pulse and then used silver needles to insert several needles into his knees and lung meridian.

The old man's cough and wheezing had lessened somewhat, and the swelling in his legs had gone down a bit. Ye Chen said, "Come back to Jiangcheng with me. My master is there. She's stronger than me."

Shen Bo'an thought for a moment and finally nodded.

He said, "Okay, I'll go with you, but the plaque has to be hung up somewhere I can see it."

On the way back, Shen Bo'an sat in the back seat with a blanket covering his legs and a angelica leaf he had picked from the yard clutched in his hand.

Jiang Ruoxi drove, and Ye Chen sat beside the old man.

The mountains and fields on both sides of the highway are turning green layer by layer in the spring sunshine.

Ye Chen suddenly remembered what Su Qinghan had said: The gate of Medicine King Valley opens outwards, and now this gate has welcomed another old friend who has returned late. And that old plaque will be hung under the eaves of Baizhi Valley again in a few days.