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

After returning from their honeymoon, Ye Chen noticed that Aygul was acting strangely.

I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong.

She still gets up early every day to practice her swordsmanship, still doesn't talk much, and still sits in the yard polishing her short sword.

But Ye Chen always felt that she was quieter than before.

She used to be quiet out of habit, but now she's quiet as if she's carrying something on her mind, something she can't process on her own and doesn't want anyone else to help her with.

Jiang Ruoxi also noticed it.

One night after the two lay down, Jiang Ruoxi said, "Has Guli been preoccupied lately? I've noticed she's eating less than usual."

Ye Chen rolled over, thought for a moment, and said, "Why don't you talk to her? She always seems distant when she talks to me, but she can talk more with you."

Jiang Ruoxi agreed, saying she would find an opportunity tomorrow.

The next afternoon, Jiang Ruoxi carried two cups of freshly made herbal tea to the backyard.

Aygul was sitting on the steps, a knife across her lap, her eyes fixed on the sycamore tree outside the courtyard wall.

Jiang Ruoxi sat down next to her and handed her a cup of tea.

Aygul took it, but didn't drink it; she just kept looking at the tree.

After a while, she suddenly said, "My cousin wrote to me saying that the pharmacy over there is short-staffed and wants me to go and help her."

Jiang Ruoxi didn't rush to reply, but simply gave a soft "hmm".

Aygul added, "The road my adoptive father took me on back then came from that direction."

He told me that whenever I felt like going back, I could go back and visit. There are mountains and rivers there, wild mint, and the river he named after me.

She paused, looking down at the teacup in her hand. "But I've been here a long time, and I've gotten to know you, Uncle Gui, He Jianping, and Da Huang. It's a little hard to leave."

Jiang Ruoxi understood.

Aygul has found her roots here, but there lies the old path of her adoptive father and the call of her relatives.

Holding onto both ends, unable to let go of either.

Jiang Ruoxi thought for a moment and said, "Your cousin's side is short-staffed, we can take our time to find someone. You can also go and stay there for a while to see if it's the kind of life you want. If it is, then decide whether to stay or not. If not, come back. There will always be a place for you here."

Aygul raised her head and glanced at Jiang Ruoxi.

There was gratitude in his eyes, but also a hint of surprise.

She probably didn't expect Jiang Ruoxi to be so straightforward.

Jiang Ruoxi smiled and said, "Your adoptive father passed the knife to you so that you could protect yourself, not so that you could imprison yourself."

You can go wherever you want.

"Just remember to come back for dinner." Ayiguli lowered her head and smiled very softly.

That was the first time in days that she had any expression on her face.

That evening, Aygul took the initiative to find Ye Chen.

She stood at the study door, clutching the letter in her hand, and said, "I want to go to Central Asia to see my cousin and also to see the places my adoptive father used to go. I don't necessarily want to stay there, I just want to visit."

Ye Chen put down his teacup and looked at her.

He looked around for a while before asking, "When are you leaving?"

Aygul said, "Next month, my cousin said that spring is the best there, the grass is all green."

Ye Chen nodded: "Okay, I'll take care of the formalities for you and have Han Song book your plane ticket. Once you get there, let me know you're safe every day. If you don't like it, you can come back anytime."

Aygul hummed in agreement and turned to leave.

Ye Chen called out to her, "Guli."

She turned around.

Ye Chen said, "If your adoptive father were still alive, he would have let you go too."

Aygul's lips moved, but she didn't speak. She just nodded vigorously and then walked out quickly.

For the next two weeks, Aygul was busy preparing for her trip.

Ye Chen got her a passport and visa, and Jiang Ruoxi bought her warm clothes and common medicines.

Shen Jingqiu sent several packets of Anhetang's prepared medicines from Nancheng, saying, "Take them with you on the road."

He Jianping made a special trip to an outdoor equipment store to buy her a sturdy backpack.

Even Big Yellow seemed to know she was going on a long trip, following her around every day, its tail rustling the fallen leaves in the yard.

The ghost servant didn't say anything, but before leaving, he took her short knife, carefully sharpened it with a whetstone, oiled it, and handed it back to her, saying, "Don't leave your side, knife." Ayiguli took it and nodded.

The day we set off was a bright and sunny day.

Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi took her to the airport.

At the security checkpoint, Aygul carried a large bag on her back and clutched her boarding pass in her hand.

She turned around, looked at Ye Chen and Jiang Ruoxi, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only managed to squeeze out four words: "I'm leaving, take care."

Ye Chen waved to her: "Take care, write to me when you arrive."

Jiang Ruoxi stepped forward and gently hugged her.

Aygul paused for a moment, then raised her hand and hugged her back.

When she loosened her grip, Jiang Ruoxi noticed that her eyes were a little wet, but before she could see the wetness clearly, she turned and walked into the security checkpoint.

His back was straight and thin, like a knife sheathed.

After Aygul left, the courtyard seemed to be empty.

For the first two days, Da Huang was still lying at her door, but after Ye Chen took it to the yard to sunbathe, it gradually stopped looking for her.

Sometimes when Ye Chen sat on the steps in the backyard, he always felt that something was missing.

Aygul used to sit in that spot and wipe her knives.

She didn't speak, but with someone sitting there, the courtyard felt more peaceful.

Jiang Ruoxi also noticed it.

One day she said, "Guli is gone, but we still have to keep the house for her and not put away the bedding, just in case she suddenly comes back one day."

Ye Chen said, "Okay, keep it."

Two weeks later, Ye Chen received Ayiguli's first email.

It wasn't long, just a few lines: We've arrived. My cousin's pharmacy is on an old street. There's an apricot tree in front of it, and the angelica root has survived.

My cousin said we can expand the planting next spring. She then attached a photo.

In the photo, Aygul stands in front of the row of angelica, wearing a local robe and with her hair braided.

She didn't smile, but standing on that unfamiliar land, she seemed to have found something she had lost for a long time.

Ye Chen showed the photo to Jiang Ruoxi.

Jiang Ruoxi looked at her for a while and said, "She's more relaxed than before."

Ye Chen nodded.

He saved the photo to his phone, then opened the email and replied: Received. The angelica is planted well. I'll keep the yard for you. Send me a photo of the apricot tree when you have time.

That evening, Ye Chen sat in the courtyard enjoying the cool air.

Big Yellow lay down at his feet and snored.

Jiang Ruoxi brought out two bowls of mung bean soup and sat down next to him.

Neither of them spoke; they just sat there.

The stars overhead were huge and bright, like scattered silver coins.

Ye Chen suddenly remembered what Ayiguli looked like when he first met her.

On Mount Longyin, she was dressed in black, with the tip of a knife pointed at his throat.

Later, she followed him down the mountain and moved into this courtyard. She learned to eat with everyone, laugh occasionally, and even learned to bathe Dahuang.

Then, she left.

I went to a very far place.

But Ye Chen knew she would come back.

Because in this courtyard are her house, her knife, and the person waiting for her.

No matter how far she goes, this is always her home.

Jiang Ruoxi leaned on his shoulder and whispered, "When she comes back, let's take her to Baizhi Valley. The medicinal herbs there are growing exceptionally well this year."

Ye Chen agreed.

He then remembered something and said, "Oh, right, she asked me to tell you thank you before she left."

Jiang Ruoxi asked, "What are you thanking me for?"

Ye Chen said, "Thank you for what you said to her that day: 'Go wherever you want, just remember to come back for dinner.'"

Jiang Ruoxi paused for a moment, then smiled.

She said, "I just said that offhand."

Ye Chen said, "What you say casually is the most believable."

The two sat for a while longer, until the mung bean soup was finished and the stars were even more numerous, before getting up and going back inside.

The yard quieted down again, with only the rustling sound of Big Yellow turning over and the occasional chirping of insects in the distance.