After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

Xie Jinchen ignored Wang Dazhuang. With a single glance, his guards acted swiftly, subduing Zhou Xian, who was already powerless to resist.

At the same time, he warily surveyed the soldiers.

Upon seeing this, the team leader broke out in a cold sweat.

He looked at Zhou Feng, who had a knife to his neck, and then at Zhou Xian, whose fate was sealed.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, slowly raised his hand, and waved weakly at his soldiers, his voice hoarse:

"Retreat...retreat a bit. Put away your weapons."

The soldiers, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly sheathed their swords and retreated, clearing a space, but they still remained around the perimeter and did not truly disperse.

In the courtyard, only Zhou Feng's sobs could be heard.

Xie Jinchen walked steadily to Zhou Xian, who was bound hand and foot, and looked down at him as if he were a pile of filthy garbage.

"Zhou Xian murdered a young woman, abused evil magic, deceived the emperor, and arbitrarily mobilized troops. Every single one of these acts is a capital offense."

Zhou Xian's face was ashen, his lips trembled, and he just stared in the direction of Granny Zhou without saying a word.

Xie Jinchen had no intention of listening to his nonsense. He ordered, "Take Zhou Xian and Zhou Feng away and keep them under strict guard."

The guards responded and locked the limp Zhou Xian and Zhou Feng in separate rooms, leaving men to watch over them.

Jiang Dusheng then took this opportunity to eliminate the two puppets.

The captain and his soldiers remained anxiously in place, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Xie Jinchen turned to the group leader and asked, "What's your name and position?"

The squad leader immediately knelt on one knee, his forehead touching the ground: "Reporting to Your Excellency, I am Li Kui, currently the squad leader of the Pingqiao Town Patrol Division."

"Li Kui," Xie Jinchen said indifferently, "today you led your troops to trespass into my jurisdiction, engaging in armed conflict. What is your punishment?"

Li Kui trembled and said urgently, "Your Highness, please understand! This humble servant... this humble servant received an urgent dispatch from Magistrate Zhou... no, Zhou Xian, saying that a bandit has broken into the mansion and is in danger of death."

"That's why I rushed here! I had absolutely no intention of opposing the court or you, sir! I was deceived and used by him!" At this moment, he only wanted to distance himself from the situation.

Xie Jinchen knew perfectly well that Li Kui might not be entirely innocent, but now was not the time to investigate further.

"I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself," Xie Jinchen said firmly. "Immediately take your men and seal off all entrances and exits of the Zhou residence. No one is allowed to leave."

He paused, then continued, "Also, have your men search the mansion thoroughly and find the child surnamed Chen who is being held captive by Zhou Xian. Is that possible?"

Upon hearing this, Li Kui felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Yes! This humble servant can certainly do it! Thank you for your mercy, sir! This humble servant will go and do it right away! I will dig three feet into the ground to find that child! I will not let that child be harmed in the slightest!"

Having said that, he hurriedly got up, gave his still-shaken soldiers a stern lecture, and shoved them away from the courtyard, rushing off to carry out his orders.

The courtyard has temporarily returned to peace.

Jiang Dusheng then turned his gaze to Zhou Mama, who was trembling all over and almost collapsed.

She gathered a wisp of spiritual energy at her fingertips and drew a spirit-suppressing talisman in mid-air. "Go."

She flicked her finger, and the talisman transformed into a stream of light that entered Granny Zhou's body.

"This talisman seals the foundation of your spellcasting. For twelve hours, you will be no different from an ordinary person. Don't even think about using any evil or crooked methods."

Jiang Dusheng's voice was cold. "Speak, where did you get your relationship with Zhou Xian, and that method of exchanging lives and souls?"

Xie Jinchen, standing to the side, frowned as his gaze fell on Jiang Du's slightly pale profile.

He raised his hand and extended it in front of Jiang Dusheng, palm facing up.

However, Jiang Dusheng seemed completely unaware of the presence of the hand beside him.

Instead of responding, she seemed to deliberately avoid the situation, turning her head further away and focusing her gaze on the kneeling Zhou Mama.

He didn't even spare a glance for the hand that was so close at hand.

That posture was cold and resolute, carrying an air of keeping people at arm's length.

Seeing this, Xie Jinchen pursed his thin lips into a straight line, his eyes darkened, but he did not retract his outstretched hand, which stubbornly remained hanging beside her.

The guards nearby kept their eyes downcast, pretending to examine the soil on the ground, seemingly oblivious to the subtle tension between their masters.

Wang Dazhuang also shrank his neck, trying to make himself less noticeable.

At this moment, Granny Zhou dared not hide anything. Watching her son being dragged away, tears streamed down her face, and she knelt down with a thud.

"Young lady! My lord! I'll tell you everything! I beg you, I beg you, spare Feng'er's life! He knows nothing, he's innocent!"

Jiang Dusheng's gaze fell on Granny Zhou's tear-streaked face, his eyes remaining completely unmoved.

"Speak. If there is a single falsehood, you should know that since I can seal your magic, I naturally have other ways to make you speak willingly. But that feeling would be a thousand times more unbearable than what you are experiencing now."

As she spoke, she casually crossed her arms in front of her chest, naturally avoiding Xie Jinchen's hand that was trying to grab her again.

Xie Jinchen glanced at Jiang Dusheng's slightly pursed lips, his eyes darkening.

The outstretched hand paused for a moment in mid-air before slowly retracting, placing it behind its back, with only the fingertips slightly curled.

At this moment, Granny Zhou was utterly devastated and dared not play any tricks. She quickly blurted out, "I can't believe it!"

"Zhou Xian and I met when we were both struggling. At that time, he was just a poor scholar whose family had fallen on hard times, while I was just an orphan from a poor family."

"We...we developed feelings for each other, and even secretly pledged our lives to each other." Her voice choked with emotion, filled with distant memories. "But later, for the sake of his career, he broke his vow and married the only daughter of the former county magistrate."

"Before his father-in-law retired, he used his connections to get him the position of magistrate of Pingqiao County."

"And I..." She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, "heartbroken, I married an honest, simple peddler in town."

"But fate played a cruel trick on us... Later, his wife passed away from illness. We met again, and our old feelings were irresistible, so we had Feng'er."

"Zhou Xian can't bear to part with me, nor can he bear to part with the Zhou family child in my womb. And I... I can't let go of him either, can't let go of those past feelings, and want to give the child in my womb a bright future..."

Her voice suddenly became hoarse: "Later... I found an opportunity and used a little bit of slow-acting poison to kill my troublesome husband."

"Zhou Xian then took me back to his mansion under some pretext, saying that he pitied me as a widow who had lost my job and gave me food to eat. He made me a head nanny and even made Feng'er change his surname back to Zhou."

"Over the years, I've helped him with some shady dealings, gotten rid of people who were in his way, and used the little bit of skill I learned in my early years to help him solve his problems..."

Hearing this, Wang Dazhuang, who was floating to the side, revealed an undisguised expression of disgust and muttered under his breath:

"At your age, still engaging in these shady affairs? It harms both yourself and others, ugh!"