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

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Dusheng was completely stunned.

She hadn't expected Xie Jinchen to ask so directly, even with a hint of competition.

She was speechless for a moment, but her ears felt slightly hot uncontrollably.

Xie Jinchen saw that she pursed her lips and didn't speak, but just stared at him with her clear eyes.

Instead of backing away, he took advantage of his height to move even closer, locking his gaze into her eyes and not giving her any chance to dodge, determined to get an answer.

Jiang Dusheng felt inexplicably uneasy under his gaze.

She coughed lightly, her fingertips unconsciously curling slightly, but she maintained a composed demeanor, her voice deliberately steady:

"They're evenly matched."

After saying that, she quickly withdrew her hand, turned around and walked out, her back view carrying a hint of barely perceptible panic.

Xie Jinchen's gaze followed her retreating figure all the way to the door.

When his gaze fell upon Wang Dazhuang, who had a face resembling Shi Qinglian and was peeking out from outside the door, his eyes suddenly darkened, and his jawline tightened.

An idea popped into my head uncontrollably: why not find an opportunity to accidentally destroy the paper figure's body?

But as soon as the idea came to him, he immediately shook his head and rejected it.

No.

Although Jiang Dusheng often disliked this silly paper figure, he was actually quite protective and caring towards him.

If it's really destroyed, given Wang Dazhuang's tendency to cry and wail at the slightest provocation, Jiang Dusheng will likely be even more soft-hearted, which will only make him angry.

Not worth the candle.

At this moment, Wang Dazhuang, who was outside the door, suddenly shivered for no reason, his body trembled, and he looked around warily.

Immediately, he quickly caught up with Jiang Dusheng, who had already walked some distance, his voice filled with fear:

"Master! Have you suddenly felt a chill in the air? Is some unclean spirit targeting me again? Could it be that the feng shui of my newly cut body is bad? Attracting evil spirits?"

Jiang Dusheng didn't even bother to lift his eyelids and walked straight ahead, treating it as if there was a buzzing mosquito next to his ear.

After Xie Jinchen finished handing over all the affairs of Pingqiao Town to the Zhechong Duwei who had rushed over from Anping City, he did not delay any longer and set off with Jiang Dusheng and a few secret guards to return to Changling.

With the carriage, Jiang Dusheng was much more comfortable and his journey was much faster.

The group finally arrived at the Xilin City Inn, which is adjacent to Changling City, at 3:45 PM.

Tomorrow is the night of the full moon, so Jiang Dusheng asked for a superior room to rest alone.

However, just after midnight, Jiang Dusheng was awakened by a sharp pain.

The familiar feeling of heaviness and cramping in my abdomen was more intense than ever before.

At the same time, an icy chill spread uncontrollably from his body, instantly engulfing his entire being.

She opened her eyes, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and her face was deathly pale.

damn it…

On ordinary days, menstruation is already difficult to endure, but it happens to coincide with the fifteenth of the month. The yin energy in the body is already stirring, and the combination of the two makes it even more painful and cold.

She forced herself to get up, hastily cleaned up the mess, grabbed a coat to wrap herself in, and moved unsteadily to the next room, knocking on Xie Jinchen's door with all her might.

Xie Jinchen quickly opened the door. He was wearing his nightgown with only an outer robe casually draped over his shoulders.

Upon seeing her pale face, his expression tightened, and he instinctively reached out his arm. "What's wrong?"

Jiang Dusheng immediately grabbed his wrist, and the chill made Xie Jinchen's heart tremble.

Her voice was so weak it was almost faint, "My period came early, clashing with the Yin energy..."

Xie Jinchen frowned and immediately helped her into the room, settling her down on the bed. He then quickly pulled the brocade quilt from the bed and wrapped her up tightly.

"Should I have my guards fetch a doctor immediately?"

He was not unaware of women's menstruation, but he had never seen anyone suffer so much pain.

Jiang Dusheng shook his head, gripped his hand even tighter, and greedily absorbed the purple aura emanating from him.

However, whether it was because the malevolent energy was too strong tonight or because her own blood and energy were extremely depleted, the warm current flowed into her body at an unusually slow speed, like a drop in the ocean, and could not resist the cold and cramping pain inside her body.

She curled up in pain, her forehead soaked with cold sweat.

Looking at the only source of heat in front of her, a vague yet intense thought took over all her thoughts.

Closer, even closer.

She raised her pale face, looked at Xie Jinchen sitting by the bed, patted the bed beside her, and her voice trembled with pain:

"Xie Jinchen, lie down here."

Xie Jinchen's hand, which was holding hers, suddenly stiffened, and his Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably.

In the dim light, a hint of surprise and restraint flashed in his deep eyes, and his voice was slightly hoarse, "Jiang Dusheng, I am a man."

Jiang Dusheng was so tormented by the churning cold pain in his body that he almost lost his mind. Hearing his answer, his remaining patience was instantly exhausted.

She abruptly looked up, her eyes flashing with a mixture of pain and anger, and gritted her teeth as she snapped, "Nonsense! I'm in excruciating pain! Who cares if you're a man or a woman!"

Seeing her pale face from the pain, Xie Jinchen's insistence on maintaining proper decorum crumbled instantly.

He finally gave in, lying stiffly on the outside of the bed, his body taut, trying to keep a fist's distance from her.

However, as soon as he lay down, Jiang Dusheng eagerly moved closer to him like a young animal seeking a source of heat.

The cold and pain made her instinctively seek more effective warmth, and she almost wanted to embed herself in Xie Jinchen's arms.

The moment their skin touched through the thin fabric, a warm current, several times stronger than when they shook hands, surged into Jiang Dusheng's body.

The warmth didn't just come from body temperature; it was more like the power of yin and yang complementing each other, beginning to dispel the rampant cold and malevolent energy in her meridians.

Just then, a passage his master had once spoken to him flashed through Jiang Dusheng's mind. The voice was ethereal and distant, yet incredibly clear at this moment:

"Everything is created by the mind. You must walk your own path and encounter your own experiences to find the answers."

At the time, she didn't understand why, but now, feeling the yang energy within her body that was completely opposite to the yin energy yet perfectly integrated with it, an amazing thought flashed through the fog like lightning.

Jiang Dusheng murmured unconsciously, "Master, I think... I've found the answer."

Xie Jinchen was stiff all over, trying to ignore the impact from the soft body beside him.

Hearing her mumbled whisper, he tilted his head slightly. "What's wrong? Are you still feeling really unwell?"

Jiang Dusheng suddenly looked up at him, almost breathing each other.

The flickering candlelight cast soft shadows on her pale face, and as the warmth returned, a touch of color finally returned to her cheeks.

Those bright eyes, which had been so lively, now shone with an astonishing light, as if they had discovered some earth-shattering secret.

Looking at Xie Jinchen's sharply defined profile, she suddenly said solemnly, "Xie Jinchen, I'm sorry, I must offend you."

Before Xie Jinchen could even figure out the reason for the apology, she leaned against him completely, her body that had been merely swaying slightly, and reached out to tightly wrap her arms around his waist.

In an instant, an even larger warm current, like a river that has finally broken through a barrier, surged in.

This isn't a tonic to relieve the cold; it's an antidote!