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

On the day the third rain fell after the beginning of spring, a rare guest arrived at Baizhi Valley.

That day, Ye Chen was in the greenhouse helping Ayiguli cultivate moonflower seedlings.

The greenhouse was warm and the humidity was just right. The newly sprouted tender shoots were green and velvety, spreading out in the seedling trays one by one.

Aygul squatted down beside them, counting and drawing tally marks in her notebook, filling one mark for every fifty plants counted.

Ye Chen laughed at her, "Your method is too primitive. Let Shen Jingqiu make a spreadsheet for you."

Aygul asked without looking up, "Can you see buds in a spreadsheet?"

Ye Chen was speechless for a moment, then lowered his head and continued placing the seeds into the plate.

Seventh Uncle came in from outside, holding a handful of wet mud in his hand, and said, "Little Chenzi, an old man came outside. He said he was looking for you. He was dressed quite well, not like a local. I told him to wait at the door."

Ye Chen stood up, dusted off his hands, and walked out of the greenhouse.

Sure enough, there was a person standing at the entrance of the valley.

The man was in his fifties, wearing a dark gray Zhongshan suit, with his hair neatly combed and a pair of clean black cloth shoes on his feet, as if he had walked a long way but the shoes were not covered in much mud.

He was carrying an old-fashioned briefcase, its leather worn smooth and shiny.

Standing there calmly and steadily, like an old tree planted in a pot.

Ye Chen walked over, and the man spoke first: "Mr. Ye Chen? I'm from the provincial capital, my surname is Gu, Gu Huaishan. I apologize for disturbing you."

His voice wasn't loud, but his enunciation was clear, carrying a touch of old-fashioned politeness.

Ye Chen glanced at him and felt that this man did not have the shrewdness of a businessman, nor the fierceness of a martial artist. He seemed more like a teacher or someone who worked in a government office.

Ye Chen asked, "What does Mr. Gu want with me?"

Gu Huaishan opened his briefcase, took out a letter, and handed it over.

The envelope was addressed to "To Ye Chen" in neat handwriting.

Ye Chen opened the letter and saw that it was written by Qiao San.

The letter said that Gu Huaishan was an old friend of his, and someone in his family had contracted a strange illness. They had been to several large hospitals but had not been able to get a cure, so they eventually found the Qiao family.

The letter ended with the sentence: "This person is reliable and has nothing to do with Blackwater. Whether you help him or not is up to you."

Ye Chen folded the letter and looked at Gu Huaishan again.

Ye Chen said, "Mr. Gu, the letter said someone in your family is sick. What's wrong?"

Gu Huaishan remained silent for a few seconds, as if he was carefully considering his words.

Finally, he said, "It's my daughter. She's seventeen years old this year. Starting last autumn, she would get a fever for no reason around the full moon, reaching 40 degrees Celsius. She would tremble all over and talk nonsense. The fever would subside after dawn, and she would seem fine. But it happened every month, and it got worse and worse. We've seen doctors all over the provincial capital, but they can't find the cause. Later, someone recommended that I go to see Master Qiao. Master Qiao said, 'Maybe you can cure her.'"

Ye Chen did not answer immediately after hearing this.

He had a fever around the time of the full moon, which subsided by dawn, and the cause could not be found. He had seen this symptom before.

There is a volume in the ancient medical books of Yaowang Valley that records "epidemic diseases", and one of the entries is very similar to this.

But he didn't say it aloud, only asking Gu Huaishan, "Where is your daughter now?"

Gu Huaishan said, "I've asked a friend to look after her in the provincial capital. If you're willing to treat her, I'll bring her here tomorrow."

Ye Chen thought for a moment and said, "Don't bring her yet. You go back first and discuss it with your daughter to see if she is willing to come. If she is, she should come to Baizhi Valley before the full moon next month. I need to prepare some medicine in advance."

Gu Huaishan nodded, asked no further questions, put the letter back into his briefcase, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Ye Chen, and turned to leave.

His car was parked on the dirt road outside the valley entrance; it was an old black sedan, spotlessly clean.

Ye Chen stood at the valley entrance watching the car drive away, seven or eight thoughts already racing through his mind.

Back in the greenhouse, Ayiguli was still counting the seedlings.

Ye Chen recounted what had just happened to her.

After listening, Aygul paused in her writing and said, "The full moon brings heat; my adoptive father mentioned this in his notes."

Ye Chen said, "You remember too?"

Aygul said, "I remember he called this 'tidal disease,' saying it was related to the moon and that it was caused by disordered qi and blood in the body. There is a book in Medicine King Valley that specifically talks about this."

Ye Chen said, "That scroll is with my master. I need to go back to Medicine King Valley."

Aygul stood up, patted the dirt off her hands, and said, "I'll go, you stay here and start raising seedlings."

Ye Chen shook his head: "I'll go, and I'll also discuss a prescription with Master. You just need to keep an eye on the seedlings."

That afternoon, Ye Chen drove back to Medicine King Valley.

Su Qinghan was rummaging through herbs in the medicine shed when Ye Chen came in, but she didn't even look up.

Ye Chen told Gu Huaishan about it.

Su Qinghan stopped flipping through the medicine and looked up at him: "Full moon fever? Tidal illness?"

Ye Chen nodded. Su Qinghan stood up, walked to the bookshelf, and took down an old book wrapped in oilcloth from the top shelf.

She turned to one of the pages and pointed to a passage of text whose ink had faded, saying, "This is your grandmaster's notebook. He treated three cases back then. This disease is not caused by external evils, but by internal disorder. The medicine needed is 'Yinyue Decoction.' I remember the prescription, but one ingredient is missing."

Ye Chen asked, "What medicine?"

Su Qinghan said, "Moonflower, fresh, not dried. Dried ones can only stop coughing, but fresh roots, when crushed and used in medicine, can guide qi and blood back to their proper channels."

Ye Chen paused for a moment, then smiled.

He said, "Ayiguli just started cultivating the moonflower seedlings. The batch in the greenhouse will be ready to use when the moon is full next month."

Su Qinghan looked at him, a rare smile curving her lips, and said, "What a coincidence, the things that girl planted can save lives."

When Ye Chen returned to Baizhi Valley, it was already dark.

He went straight to the greenhouse.

Aygul was squatting in front of the seedling tray, spraying water on the seedlings with a small spray bottle.

Ye Chen walked over, squatted down next to her, and asked, "How big will your batch of moonflowers grow before the next full moon?"

Aygul thought for a moment and said, "The seedlings are still small, and there definitely won't be enough before the full moon next month. But if you need them urgently, I can go to the south of the city to dig up that wild clump. They grow faster there than in greenhouses."

Ye Chen said, "No rush. Gu Huaishan's daughter won't arrive until before the full moon next month. You can nurture her for now, and she'll grow as much as she can. If she's not big enough, I'll go to Nancheng to find more."

Aygul nodded and continued spraying water.

Looking at her intently squatting in front of the seedling tray, Ye Chen suddenly realized that some things really do come full circle.

Aygul successfully cultivated moonflowers in Central Asia and discovered wild ones in Nancheng. The seedlings she is now cultivating are intended to treat a young woman from the provincial capital.

And all of this began with the phrase "tidal disease" in her adoptive father Su Youdao's notes.

Like an invisible thread, it connects these people, these medicines, and these places one by one.

He patted Aygul on the shoulder and said, "Take good care of them. When these seedlings grow up, the first thing they'll do is save the patients."

Aygul hummed in agreement, the mist from the spray bottle shimmering under the light.