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

Yi Che turned to Jiang Dusheng, his bloodshot eyes filled with an unprecedented clarity and earnestness:

"Miss Jiang, thank you for your kindness, but please let me live with these memories."

Looking at the resolute look in his eyes, Jiang Dusheng remained silent for a moment, then nodded. "Since it's your choice, I respect it."

Xie Jinchen walked over, his gaze sweeping over Yi Che before landing on Jiang Dusheng's slightly tired face. He said, "The matter is settled. It's not safe to stay here any longer. Let's go."

Jiang Dusheng shook his head, a cold glint in his eyes. "No, I still have to go beat someone up."

Xie Jinchen: ?

The Prince Chun's Mansion, with its carved beams and painted rafters, flying eaves and brackets, resembles a lurking beast in the night.

Most of the courtyards in the mansion had been darkened, with only the rhythmic footsteps of the night patrol guards echoing through the air.

The room of Chu Yanzhao was filled with the fragrance of a calming incense worth a fortune. The brocade curtains were drawn low, and he was drifting off to sleep.

Suddenly, he unconsciously shivered in his sleep, feeling the air around him suddenly turn cold, as if he had fallen from a warm spring day into the dead of winter.

He groggily opened his sleepy eyes, assuming it was just the night watch maid's oversight that the window wasn't closed properly.

He habitually opened his mouth, his displeasure at being disturbed, as if to call someone in to check.

However, the sight that came into view instantly froze all his sleepiness.

Beside the bed curtains, a person with a deathly pale face stood.

The man was facing him, a wide, eerie smile spreading across his face.

Then, in the reflection of Chu Yanzhao's wide pupils, the man stretched out his finger and pulled his tongue out of his mouth.

It was stretched out long, and even trembled slightly, with its tongue hanging in the air, only an inch away from Chu Yanzhao's nose.

The thing even pinched its tongue and swayed it gently from side to side, as if showing off a proud work of art.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he stuffed it back in.

But it's not over yet.

The man then used two fingers to gouge out his eye socket, forcefully prying out a clear black and white eyeball, even with bloodshot veins.

Those eyes seemed to be still moving, their pupils staring straight at Chu Yanzhao, who was frozen on the bed.

He even weighed it in his palm before pressing it back into his eye socket with a plop.

The entire process was silent, yet filled with a chilling visual impact.

Chu Yanzhao felt his blood rushing backward, and even his scream got stuck in his throat.

The next second, his eyes rolled back, his body stiffened, and he fainted from fright.

"Tsk, so easily frightened."

Wang Dazhuang, standing by the bed, withdrew his exaggerated and eerie smile, reverting to his usual somewhat timid yet smug expression.

Jiang Dusheng emerged from the shadows, flicking a talisman from his fingertip onto the door, instantly isolating all sounds from inside and outside.

"Okay, go ahead and call." Her tone was as calm as if she were just saying that the weather was nice today.

Ruan Guyan looked at Chu Yanzhao, who had fainted on the bed.

Memories of her past life flooded back, and hatred welled up in her heart, but due to her gentle nature, she only dared to approach cautiously and tentatively reached out to pat Chu Yanzhao's cheek.

Wang Dazhuang rolled his eyes at the sight. "Miss Ruan, look at me! Revenge needs to have some flair! Like this!"

As he spoke, he swung his slightly stiff paper arm and slapped Chu Yanzhao's rather handsome face hard.

"Snap!" A crisp sound.

A clear handprint immediately appeared on Chu Yanzhao's cheek.

This slap seemed to have lit a fuse.

Yi Che, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly walked up as well.

He looked at Chu Yanzhao, recalling the pain of parting from him tonight, and a surge of anger rose within him.

"You're out of luck!"

Yi Che let out a low growl and kicked Chu Yanzhao in the face, cursing as he kicked, "I'm in a bad mood tonight, you bastard who treats human life like dirt! You deserve to be beaten! You deserve to be killed!"

His kicks were haphazard, yet filled with grief and indignation.

Ruan Guyan was stunned by their actions, and then an unprecedented surge of courage welled up in her heart.

She also stepped forward and pinched and twisted Chu Yanzhao's arm.

Although the physical contact with the spirit is limited, the resentment it carries can still cause the other party pain and chill, making them cry out in accusation as they attack:

"You dare to humiliate a woman! You dare to ruin someone's reputation! Give me back my honor! Give me back my life! You beast! You scum!"

In an instant, fists, slaps, feet, and ghostly claws flew all over the soundproof barrier.

Jiang Dusheng stood aside with his arms crossed, calmly observing, neither intervening nor stopping the situation.

Only when Wang Dazhuang tried to choke her with a paper arm did she calmly speak up to remind him:

"Be careful. You can hit the face, but avoid vital organs. Don't actually kill him."

Xie Jinchen stood beside her, his gaze thoughtful as he looked at the somewhat chaotic scene before him.

Then, his gaze fell on Jiang Dusheng's profile.

Jiang Dusheng noticed his gaze, tilted his head slightly, and asked in a low voice with a hint of confusion, "What's wrong? Do you feel something's amiss?"

Xie Jinchen turned his head to look at her. His thin lips moved slightly, but what he said made Jiang Dusheng choke for a moment, which was rare for him: "I'm thinking... should I go up and throw a punch too?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Chu Yanzhao's rapidly swelling face, and added in a flat tone, "After all... he was betrothed to you since childhood, and I'm also very uncomfortable about it."

Jiang Dusheng: "..."

She turned her head away expressionlessly, but a faint blush rose to her ears. Fortunately, the night was deep and no one noticed.

After a busy period, Chu Yanzhao's once handsome face was swollen like a pig's head, and his body was covered in bruises. Fortunately, it was all just physical pain and did not endanger his life.

"Alright, let's go." Jiang Dusheng estimated that it was about time and removed the anti-silencing spell.

Wang Dazhuang walked over, still feeling unsatisfied. Looking at Chu Yanzhao's miserable state, he chuckled twice. Before leaving, he couldn't resist going to the bed and giving Chu Yanzhao's backside a final kick: "Pah! You got off easy!"

The next day, as dawn broke, Changling City gradually awoke amidst the morning mist and cooking smoke.

"Have you heard? Something big happened last night!" The breakfast stall owner said in a low voice to a regular customer while skillfully steaming buns.

"What is it? Is there another fire at one of the shops?" The customer took the steaming hot soy milk.

"This is even rarer than a fire!" The stall owner's eyes widened. "It's the Prince Chun's Mansion! The Prince Chun's Mansion is guarded like an iron barrel, yet someone managed to sneak in last night without anyone noticing."

"What?!" The customer nearly dropped the bowl of soy milk. "This...how is this possible? Are the guards at the Prince's mansion all useless?"

"Absolutely true!" another porter chimed in, his face beaming with excitement at sharing this secret.

"My brother works as a night watchman in the back alley of the Prince's mansion. Although he didn't see it with his own eyes, he heard a commotion inside before dawn this morning. Later, he quietly inquired and found out that something had happened in the young master's room!"

"Prince Chu? What happened to him?" Passersby were also drawn to the question.

"I heard," the porter lowered his voice, glancing around, "that Prince Chu was attacked by unknown assailants! Although he wasn't seriously injured or killed, he got a good beating, his face is all bruised and swollen."

"Wow! This is truly..." The audience gasped. "With so many guards in the Prince's mansion, patrolling at night, and guarding the gates, how could not a single one notice? Did that thief fly in?"

"That's why it's called a strange tale!" the stall owner concluded. "Either they're top-notch martial arts masters, or... there's something truly inexplicable and hard to explain."

"Anyway, the Prince's mansion is keeping a tight rein on this matter, but we can't keep it from the higher-ups."

"I also heard," someone else interjected, "that when Prince Chu woke up, he was furious! He's already announced a reward of one hundred taels of silver for any clues about the intruder from last night! Anyone who can provide useful information will be richly rewarded!"

"A hundred taels of silver!" the crowd exclaimed, then shook their heads. "That money isn't so easy to get. Someone who can come and go freely in the Prince's mansion isn't someone an ordinary person can easily catch a glimpse of."

Rumors spread like wildfire, growing ever wider and more bizarre in detail.

Meanwhile, the real culprit was sitting in a carriage, leisurely heading towards Willow Village.