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

Jiang Dusheng had no interest in these old grievances. She interrupted Granny Zhou's weeping and asked directly:

"Was Zhou Wanning's face after her resurrection something you changed with evil magic... or was that how she always looked?"

"It was I who used magic to restore her original appearance." Granny Zhou dared not conceal the truth, her voice growing increasingly low and trembling:

"Chunhua is a healthy child, but her appearance is only pretty, quite different from the young lady's original looks."

She licked her dry, chapped lips and continued, "The young lady was used to her original face. When she woke up and looked in the bronze mirror, she complained that Chunhua's face was not worthy of her status as the eldest daughter of the Zhou family, and she cried and made a fuss."

"Zhou Xian felt guilty towards his wife and always doted on this legitimate daughter, so he secretly begged me to give her back her face..."

"I..." Granny Zhou closed her eyes, as if she could still see the scene at that time, "I softened my heart for a moment, and I was also afraid that the matter of exchanging lives would be exposed, and I couldn't resist Zhou Xian's pleas..."

"I had no choice but to take a risk. The first time, I used the technique of 'painting skin and melting bones,' and to my surprise, it actually succeeded."

She opened her eyes, her gaze filled with lingering fear. "This method requires taking the skin of the person being replaced and combining it with special medicine and incantations to integrate the originally dead skin and bones into the new body."

"The process is extremely painful and depletes the energy of both the practitioner and the recipient. Even if successful, it is not a permanent solution; it requires regular application of ointments made from specific herbs to maintain the results..."

"Painted skin melts into bones..." Jiang Dusheng repeated the phrase in a low voice, his eyes filled with a chilling intensity.

This is no longer a simple case of resurrection through possession; it is an evil practice that forcibly alters the physical body and confuses yin and yang.

Suppressing her anger, she coldly demanded, "Who taught you these insidious spells? And where is your master now?"

Granny Zhou trembled, lowered her head, and said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, "I really don't have any proper teacher!"

"More than fifty years ago, when I was working as a maid in the countryside, I went to the back mountain to collect herbs and met an old Taoist priest who had collapsed in a dilapidated temple. He called himself Xuan Yinzi."

Granny Zhou was lost in memories, her tone tinged with a hint of bewilderment: "He was already at the end of his life then."

"When he saw me, he gave a strange smile, saying something about some kind of preordained cause and effect, and that he never expected his meager skills to be completely lost..."

"They insisted that I had a connection with magic, and then, regardless of whether I wanted to or not, they forced me to take a booklet with missing pages and words, and then, forcing themselves to stay awake, taught me the most basic techniques of inducing qi and the incantations for drawing talismans for a few days."

"Later, he sat on the prayer mat in that dilapidated temple and never woke up again. I was terrified, so I hastily buried him and secretly ran away with the book."

"Over the years, I've memorized the contents of the booklet and burned it. As for the parts I don't understand, I just figured them out myself."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng nodded thoughtfully.

Xuanyinzi?

I've never heard of this person. He sounds like a wicked Taoist priest who has gone astray, or even a scoundrel who has been expelled from the righteous path.

If the incomplete legacy left by such a person falls into the hands of someone with evil intentions and practices it recklessly, the consequences are predictable.

According to Zhou Mama's crimes, each and every one of them was an unforgivable sin, and she probably wouldn't survive.

Let this insidious and evil art, which should not exist in this world, disappear completely along with the source of this evil.

Granny Zhou suddenly raised her head, crying and pleading, "Miss, everything I just said is true. Please, release Feng'er!"

Jiang Dusheng looked at Granny Zhou, whose only concern was her son's safety, and suddenly spoke:

"Granny Zhou, you used your own daughter's life to save someone else's. As a mother, have you ever felt even a sliver of regret?"

Even if...it's just for a moment?

Upon hearing this, Granny Zhou trembled violently.

Her eyes darted away in a panic, her lips trembled, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out broken words:

"I never intended to kill Chunhua, I only wanted to save Miss. Everything was forced upon me by circumstances; I had no choice!"

"Heh." Jiang Dusheng couldn't help but sneer, his laughter devoid of warmth, filled only with mockery.

She leaned forward slightly, her voice low, yet each word struck Zhou Mama's heart like a heavy hammer, echoing in the silent courtyard:

"As Buddhist scriptures say: The kindness of parents is as deep as heaven and earth. They protect the unborn child, suffer during childbirth, forget their worries after giving birth, swallow bitterness and spit out sweetness, cleanse the child from wetness and dryness, breastfeed and nourish, and wash away impurities..."

With each sentence she read, Granny Zhou's face grew paler.

"But your maternal heart, first for love and wealth, willingly hid in the shadows. Later, for your son, and to consolidate the Zhou family's glory, you actually treated your own daughter as a sacrifice!"

Her voice suddenly rose, carrying a chilling edge:

"How can someone who doesn't love their children, doesn't protect their lives, and shows no compassion for their deaths, but instead uses their own flesh and blood as sacrifices to gain illusory power, be worthy of the title 'mother'?!"

"Do you still have even a shred of maternal conscience in your heart?!"

Granny Zhou collapsed to the ground, her face drained of color, and she couldn't even cry anymore.

All the questions that needed to be asked have been asked. All the things that needed to be said have been said.

Jiang Dusheng lowered his arms from his chest, too lazy to even glance at Granny Zhou again.

She silently stepped back two paces and found a shady spot under the eaves to lean against.

Almost simultaneously, a warm hand, with an irresistible force, grasped her hand that was hanging by her side.

Xie Jinchen did not turn to look at her; his gaze remained fixed on Granny Zhou, as if holding Jiang Dusheng's hand was a matter of course.

Jiang Dusheng's fingertips twitched slightly, but he didn't pull them back.

After all… it was he who took the initiative to hold her hand, not the other way around.

The Buddha said: Go with the flow, but do not cling to things.

She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath them, concealing the fleeting emotions in her eyes, as the continuous flow of energy gradually dispelled the chill in her fingertips and even her heart.