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

Xie Jinchen pulled himself out of that cold and bloody memory, the candlelight casting flickering shadows on his profile.

He picked up the tea that had long since gone cold from the table, took a sip, which brought a refreshing stimulation, and then continued:

"After escaping death from the Taoist temple that night, I was seriously injured. So I stayed at the border post under the pretext of needing to recuperate after the war and kept to myself, secretly suppressing the backlash of the evil energy."

His slender fingers traced lightly across the table, as if outlining the path taken back then. "Later, the border war temporarily subsided, and the situation stabilized somewhat."

"I was ordered to return to Changling to report on my duties. By then, Shi Qinglian had already secured his position as the Imperial Preceptor through his own means."

Jiang Dusheng, with his clear thinking, immediately grasped the key point: "After Shi Qinglian became the Imperial Preceptor, he learned from His Majesty the secret that you were not the biological son of Duke Xie, right?"

"That's exactly right." Xie Jinchen nodded, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes. "So, a delicate balance has formed between us over the years."

"He knew I wanted to find my mother's remains, and I knew he wanted revenge against Duke Xie. We each held leverage over the other, creating a stalemate of checks and balances."

He frowned slightly. "But there is one thing I have not been able to figure out. Why did His Majesty trust and appoint Shi Qinglian so quickly?"

"What exactly did he do for His Majesty, or what did he promise to gain such a position? I have a feeling that Shi Qinglian's ambitions are probably more than just revenge against the Xie family."

Jiang Dusheng tapped his fingertips on the table, making a soft tapping sound. "No wonder he wanted to leave the monastic life."

"By shedding his monk's robes and donning the robes of the Imperial Preceptor, he could leverage the prestige he had accumulated within Buddhism to establish himself in the court, while also being free from the constraints of Buddhist rules and regulations, which would make it easier for him to practice the techniques he had stolen from Xuan Chenzi."

"It also makes it easier for him to stir up trouble in the deep waters of the imperial court with a detached status and achieve his goals."

Xie Jinchen looked at Jiang Dusheng, his gaze frank yet tinged with self-mockery, "So, Shi Qinglian wasn't wrong to some extent when she said I wasn't a good person."

"I have indeed practiced evil arts, and my mind has teetered on the brink of complete loss of control several times."

Xie Jinchen's voice lowered, "If it weren't for this string of Buddhist prayer beads..."

He subconsciously rubbed the jade prayer beads on his left wrist with his fingertips, as if the cool touch could calm the surging memories in his heart.

"Later, I sealed away almost all the evil arts related to Xuan Chenzi. Unless it was a matter of life and death, I would never use that power lightly, lest it trigger a backlash of evil energy and lead to eternal damnation."

"If I hadn't met you..." Xie Jinchen looked up and gazed into Jiang Dusheng's clear eyes, "Perhaps in a few years, if I still can't find my mother's remains, I might really take the risk again, even if it means falling into the demonic path, just to give my mother freedom and peace."

His voice softened, becoming nonchalant, "Anyway, I'm already quite tired of this world that seems so splendid and prosperous but is actually cold and hypocritical."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Dusheng's face turn cold at a visible speed, and his lips pressed into a straight line.

Xie Jinchen's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was wrong. He quickly tried to smooth things over, softening his tone, "However—"

He drawled out his words, observing her expression, "Who told me I was so lucky to meet you? Suddenly, it feels like this seemingly unsolvable deadlock has found a crack."

"These repetitive, tedious days," a genuine warmth crept into his voice, "suddenly become interesting again. Suddenly, I don't really want to head towards that worst possible ending."

Sure enough, Jiang Dusheng's tense expression eased slightly. Although he still didn't smile much, the coldness in his eyes subsided a bit.

She frowned and thought for a moment, then asked a crucial question: "Then why don't you take advantage of your position as heir to recruit some truly capable and righteous individuals to seek the orthodox path?"

Xie Jinchen shook his head. "It's easier said than done. Truly skilled masters are extremely rare. In addition, although I haven't been practicing Xuan Chenzi's evil arts for very long, its methods are insidious and have already polluted my spiritual foundation to some extent."

"Once you try to use spiritual energy to cast other spells, even the most basic orthodox Taoist spells, it will immediately trigger a violent backlash from the evil energy that has been nurtured in your body. At best, it will damage your meridians; at worst, it may directly cause a backlash."

Jiang Dusheng nodded thoughtfully.

So that's how it is. The foundation is polluted, and the practice is rejected.

With a slight thought, the Yin Sha Qi within her body seemed to be able to attract and absorb the Zi Yang Sha Qi within Xie Jinchen's body.

Although the purple yang evil energy on Xie Jinchen's body was different from her yin evil attribute, it could still alleviate the chill brought by the yin evil in her body upon contact.

The two of them seemed to be each other's antidote?

However, Xie Jinchen's situation seemed slightly better than hers; at least he didn't have to suffer the torment of being burned by Yin Sha like she did on the fifteenth of each month.

While Jiang Dusheng was lost in thought, Xie Jinchen picked up the silver notes that had been scattered on the ground one by one, carefully folded them, and then gently stuffed them back into the purse at her waist.

His fingertips accidentally brushed against the fabric of her waist, bringing a slightly itchy sensation.

Startled by his action, Jiang Dusheng came to her senses and instinctively tried to stop him, but his attention was diverted by his next words.

"You should rest well first." Xie Jinchen straightened up, his expression returning to normal. "After tomorrow night, the cook in the neighboring house will probably be out of a job."

He looked at her slightly widened eyes and explained, "I'll go and tell Yi Che that starting the day after tomorrow, the cook will come over every day to prepare three meals for you."

Jiang Dusheng then suddenly remembered that tomorrow night would be Jiang Shuangjiang's night of revenge.

Only after Xie Jinchen's tall figure disappeared into the night outside the door did Jiang Dusheng belatedly realize that he had ultimately failed to return the stack of silver notes.

She glanced down at the slightly bulging purse at her waist, pursed her lips, stood up, and muttered under her breath, "Never mind, I'll wait for Master's reply before making a decision."