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

Xie Jinchen keenly sensed Jiang Dusheng's stiffness and sudden, disordered breathing.

He immediately pressed his advantage, not letting go but instead tightening his grip on her hand, his fingertips unconsciously tracing her fingertips, his voice even lower:

"Jiang Dusheng, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said those things."

He paused, then looked directly into her flustered and evasive eyes, speaking each word clearly and distinctly, "I cannot remain unrelated to you. No matter what, I cannot."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Dusheng felt a surge of heat rush from his chest to his head, instantly engulfing his cheeks, ears, and even his neck.

She felt as if she had been thrown into a steamer, her whole body was burning up, and even her breath was scorching hot.

She had never experienced such a scene before, nor had anyone ever spoken to her so bluntly with such pitiful eyes and such a low, soft tone.

This was more overwhelming and frustrating than any attack from a vengeful ghost.

Jiang Dusheng shamelessly pulled his hand back, turned around abruptly, and faced away from him.

She took several deep breaths to try and calm her voice, though it was still a little strained. "Stop talking nonsense!"

Jiang Dusheng tried to make his voice sound fierce, "Tell me, what exactly happened between you and Shi Qinglian?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen walked to the table, picked up the tinderbox, and gently blew on it to light the oil lamp.

The warm, orange light spread out, dispelling the darkness in a corner of the room.

He sat down at the table, gesturing for Jiang Dusheng to sit as well, his gaze fixed on the flickering lamplight, as if lost in a distant memory.

"It was about three years ago," he said slowly, his voice calm but carrying a hint of melancholy. "I was ordered to guard Luoyan Pass, which is located at the border of Xicang and Dongling."

"That battle was brutal. I was ambushed and seriously wounded. I was also attacked by the overwhelming murderous aura on the battlefield, and I almost thought I was going to die."

Jiang Dusheng listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously curling up.

The battlefield aura is extremely violent and ferocious; even a trace of it can cause ordinary people to lose their minds, let alone be affected by it when they are already seriously injured.

"When I woke up," Xie Jinchen continued, his voice slightly dazed, "I found myself in a Taoist temple deep in the mountains. The one who saved me was a Taoist priest who called himself Xuan Chenzi."

Xie Jinchen shifted his gaze from the candlelight to Jiang Dusheng. "He told me that I was born with a malevolent aura, but because of this, if I were to practice certain Taoist techniques, I could achieve twice the result with half the effort, and the power would even far exceed that of ordinary people."

"At that time," Xie Jinchen's voice lowered, tinged with self-mockery, "I was struggling to find a reliable and capable person to help me track down my mother's remains."

"Although Xuan Chenzi's origins are shrouded in mystery and he is reserved in his words, I am not entirely without suspicion towards him."

He admitted, "But... in order to find my mother's remains, I still chose to become his apprentice and embark on that perilous path whose end I myself did not know."

Xie Jinchen paused, his eyes darkening slightly. "It was there that I met Shi Qinglian. He entered the sect a month earlier than me."

"Xuan Chenzi seems to look down on Shi Qinglian's Buddhist background, considering it hypocrisy. At first, I didn't understand why he would accept Shi Qinglian if he didn't like her."

"At first, Shi Qinglian took good care of me, his junior brother who came out of nowhere. He was thoughtful and had some foundation in Buddhism and Taoism. We even spent some time practicing together, and our relationship was alright."

His tone gradually took on a sarcastic tone, "But soon, Xuan Chenzi's bias became blatantly obvious."

"He started by teaching me the mental techniques and demonstrating the spells, and even gave me the secret method that was said to stabilize the mind."

"But towards Shi Qinglian, he became increasingly cold and distant."

"Gradually, Shi Qinglian's gaze towards me changed. Gone was the initial gentleness; replaced by scrutiny and a sense of distance that made me very uncomfortable."

"It didn't feel like we were from the same school, it felt more like we were rivals, or like I had unintentionally taken away something that should have belonged to him."

Xie Jinchen closed his eyes, then opened them again, his eyes filled with a heavy, cold light. "And as I delve deeper into the techniques taught by Xuan Chenzi, problems have arisen."

"Every time I mobilize my spiritual power to cast those spells, I feel an uncontrollable surge of violence rising in my heart, and my emotions are very easy to lose control of. It takes a strong will to barely pull myself back."

His voice carried a belated chill, "The murderous aura within me has not only not been dispelled, but it seems to be nourished by these spells, becoming more and more active, more and more... craving to kill."

"I even started to wonder if, if this continued, one day I might completely lose my mind and become a monster who only knows how to kill."

Jiang Dusheng's heart tightened; this was clearly a sign that heretical methods were causing inner demons and leading people astray.

"So I started sending people to secretly investigate Xuan Chenzi's background, and unexpectedly discovered Shi Qinglian's secret."

Xie Jinchen lowered his voice, "Shi Qinglian is actually the illegitimate son of my nominal father, born when he was drunk years ago with a woman from a lowly music hall."

"After secretly giving birth to Shi Qinglian, the woman died soon after, consumed by grief. And Xuan Chenzi…"

Xie Jinchen gave a completely unsmiling smile. "Back then, he was infatuated with that woman from the music hall, but his love was unrequited."

"Watching her die tragically, I was consumed by resentment and went mad. I hated Duke Xie to the core, and... I also hated this child who carried Duke Xie's blood."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng gasped in surprise; the relationship was truly as described.

"Xuan Chenzi took Shi Qinglian as his disciple not to teach him any magic, but to use him as a pawn to fight and kill each other."

"Xuan Chenzi deliberately taught me those evil techniques that could easily catalyze evil energy, so that I would gradually lose my way in cultivation, eventually be completely controlled by evil energy, and become a monster who only knows how to kill."

"And the first target he chose for me to kill was my father."

"He hates my father for ruining his beloved, and he wants my father to die at the hands of his own son, plunging the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion into complete chaos."

"At the same time," Xie Jinchen's fingertips tightened slightly, "Shi Qinglian, this bastard child whom he has always hated but also has a complicated relationship with because of her mother, will also be affected when I lose control, and will not have a good end either."

"Kill two birds with one stone, use someone else to do the dirty work. I can use my own hands to avenge him, vent his hatred, and watch two people with the blood of the Duke of Xie kill each other."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent, with only the occasional crackling sound of the oil lamp.

Jiang Dusheng felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet.

Xuan Chenzi's schemes were incredibly vicious and profound.

"That Shi Qinglian..." Jiang Dusheng found his voice, and asked somewhat hoarsely, "Does he know his own identity? Does he know about Xuan Chenzi's plans?"

Xie Jinchen gave a self-deprecating smile, a smile full of bitterness. "I know."

He lowered his eyes, his voice regaining its calmness, yet sounding even heavier, as if every word was imbued with the struggles of the past. "After learning the truth, I immediately stopped practicing those evil arts and sought an opportunity... to kill Xuan Chenzi."

Xie Jinchen's narration pulled both of their thoughts back to that stormy night three years ago.

The Taoist temple, already in disrepair, teetered precariously in the fierce wind and rain, as if it could be torn apart by the power of heaven and earth at any moment.

Xie Jinchen had just killed Xuan Chenzi by mobilizing all the evil energy he could control in a way that almost led to their mutual destruction.

The look of shock and resentment in Xuan Chenzi's eyes before his death, mixed with the blinding lightning outside the window, was deeply etched into Xie Jinchen's mind.

However, the malevolent energy backfired, raging wildly through Xie Jinchen's meridians.

Xie Jinchen knelt on one knee, using his sword to support himself so he wouldn't fall. Dark red blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth, spreading across the ground.

Just as he gritted his teeth, struggling with the roaring murderous aura within him with his remaining willpower, he heard light footsteps behind him.

Shi Qinglian walked in.

At that time, he had not yet grown his current long, jet-black hair and still looked like a monk.

However, the plain white monk's robes stood out conspicuously against the dim light of the Taoist temple and the backdrop of lightning and thunder outside the window, exuding an indescribable eeriness.

His face still held a compassionate calm, but deep in his eyes churned something entirely different from that expression.

Xie Jinchen didn't turn around. He simply raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse and broken from the suppressed violence, "You want to kill me?"