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

The next morning, Jiang Dusheng woke up to find the bed beside him empty; Xie Jinchen had left sometime earlier.

Jiang Dusheng felt the abundant spiritual energy within her body, and she curled her lips in satisfaction.

It seems that Xie Jinchen's tonic is quite effective.

After washing up and changing, she went downstairs.

In the simple hall, Xie Jinchen and Wang Dazhuang were already seated below.

Xie Jinchen changed into a clean, dark purple casual outfit and was quietly eating congee and side dishes.

Wang Dazhuang, controlling his much more handsome new body, sat upright on the bench next to him, his face facing the few simple breakfast dishes on the table, showing no appetite whatsoever.

She even turned her face away slightly, looking a little disgusted.

Although he was gluttonous, after becoming a ghost, he became quite particular about the quality of food, and this kind of rural cuisine was not to his liking.

Hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Xie Jinchen looked up, his gaze lingering on Jiang Dusheng's face for a moment before he said indifferently, "Awake? Come and have some breakfast."

Jiang Dusheng walked over and sat down opposite him.

Wang Dazhuang immediately floated closer, trying his best to make an expression of "obediently waiting for orders" on his face.

Xie Jinchen pushed a bowl of still-warm porridge in front of her before casually asking, "Are we setting off directly back to Changling today?"

Jiang Dusheng picked up a spoon, stirred the porridge, and shook his head.

Her gaze swept almost imperceptibly over Chen Yu, who was hovering to the side looking somewhat uneasy, and her tone carried a hint of meaning: "No, send this one back to his hometown first."

Xie Jinchen's hand, still chopping food, remained still as he asked, "Where?"

"Qingwu City," Jiang Dusheng uttered these three words.

Xie Jinchen paused slightly in the hand holding the chopsticks.

He looked up, his gaze fixed on Chen Yu's ghostly figure. "Are you from Qingwu City?"

Chen Yu felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze. The ghostly figure shrank back and whispered, "Yes, yes."

Xie Jinchen didn't speak again, only humming in response, his tone revealing little emotion.

He then looked away and continued eating.

Jiang Dusheng scooped a spoonful of porridge into his mouth, then turned to Xie Jinchen and asked, "You... can leave Changling for so long at will?"

As far as she knew, the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was by no means a sinecure.

Xie Jinchen put down his chopsticks, took a cloth and wiped the corner of his lips, his movements unhurried.

He looked up at Jiang Dusheng and said in a calm tone, "I have asked His Majesty for leave."

"Oh? What reason could His Majesty have given you permission to leave Changling?" Jiang Dusheng raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious.

Xie Jinchen's expression remained unchanged, his thin lips parted slightly, but the words he uttered almost made Jiang Dusheng spit out his porridge:

"I said, I recently took a fancy to a woman, but unfortunately, my feelings for her are unrequited."

"My heart is heavy with grief, and I need to leave Changling to clear my mind, so as not to be reminded of the past and neglect my official duties."

"Cough! Cough cough cough..." Jiang Dusheng choked on the porridge and coughed several times, his cheeks slightly red, it was hard to tell whether it was from choking or something else.

She looked at Xie Jinchen, only to see that he had a calm expression on his face.

Xie Jinchen calmly reached out and pushed a glass of water in front of her, a glint of light flashing in his eyes so fast it was almost imperceptible.

Jiang Dusheng took the water and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls to catch her breath. She cleared her throat, trying to maintain a composed expression. "By the way, did you bring any help with you when you came out?"

"I brought bodyguards," Xie Jinchen answered crisply. "What is it?"

Jiang Dusheng's expression turned serious: "I'll trouble you to send reliable guards. Go straight for ten miles, and you'll find a deserted village."

"Deep in the village, there are the bodies of nine women. Although they have turned into mummies, it would be best to collect them and find a proper place to bury them."

"It would be best if their identities could be verified and they could be sent back to their hometowns. One of them is named Wen Yusui, a courtesan from the Changling Soft Red Pavilion."

She paused, then added, "Those women... were all harmed by that vengeful ghost. I have already performed a ritual to release their souls. Letting their bodies rest in peace is a fitting end to the story."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen nodded without any hesitation or question, saying, "Alright."

Then, he tapped his fingers very lightly on the edge of the table twice in a specific rhythm.

In a short while, two people whose auras were almost completely concealed appeared silently at the entrance of the inn and bowed slightly in Xie Jinchen's direction.

Xie Jinchen succinctly explained the location and mission.

The guard accepted the order and, without further ado, turned and vanished outside the door like a ghost.

After finishing breakfast, Jiang Dusheng suddenly ordered, "Dazhuang, go and rent a carriage."

She really didn't want to relive yesterday's torture, which felt like having her inner thigh skin being ground apart with a knife.

She would rather lie down than sit, and rather ride in a car than ride a horse; this was her simplest wish at that moment.

Wang Dazhuang scratched his head, looking troubled: "Master, I went out for a walk this morning, and this is a desolate place with no village or shop in sight. There's only this one inn that's keeping things afloat."

"Forget about decent horse-drawn carriages, there wasn't even a single donkey cart for hauling goods in sight."

Jiang Dusheng: "..."

She pursed her lips and didn't speak, but the faint melancholy between her brows and the lingering soreness in her legs made her overall demeanor seem to drop a bit.

Xie Jinchen took in her expression and the instructions she had just given him, put down his teacup, and looked at her, asking, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Dusheng glanced at him, then looked away, staring at the patterns on the rough pottery bowl on the table. His tone was flat, but it conveyed an unspeakable frustration:

"It's nothing. It's just... I only realized yesterday that I might not be suited for horseback riding."

She didn't elaborate on why it wasn't suitable, but Xie Jinchen's gaze swept over her slightly stiff posture, even while sitting, and he already understood.

He didn't press for details, but simply nodded and calmly said, "It's alright. I'll have my guards find a carriage in the next slightly larger town."

Jiang Dusheng hesitated for a moment. She actually wanted to get going as soon as possible, but looking at her legs, which might not even be able to mount the saddle, she nodded and said, "Alright, thank you."

While the guards were searching for the carriage, they took advantage of the moment.

Jiang Dusheng stood up, turned to Chen Yu who had been hovering anxiously to the side, and said in his usual calm tone, "Take me to where your remains are."

Chen Yu quickly agreed and led them out.

Walking eastward for no more than a hundred paces from the inn, one indeed sees a rather old locust tree.

Chen Yu's ghost stopped under the tree, pointing to a slightly soft patch of ground beside the tree roots, "This is where I died."

Jiang Dusheng gestured for Wang Dazhuang to make his move.

Wang Dazhuang is now much stronger and his hands are more powerful. Upon hearing this, he squatted down and began to quickly dig into the slightly damp soil.

Before long, a skeleton wrapped in a fine brocade robe was exposed to the sunlight.

Jiang Dusheng squatted down, his expression focused, and carefully examined the skeleton.

The skeleton was fairly well preserved, but... her gaze lingered on a few key joints and the skull for a moment, and her fingertips twitched.

She looked up at Chen Yu, who was floating to the side with a seemingly sorrowful expression, and asked calmly, "Is this your remains?"

Chen Yu nodded vigorously, the ghostly figure swaying with excitement, his voice trembling with a deliberately suppressed sob, "Indeed. I beg the master's mercy to help me return home..."

Before he finished speaking, Jiang Dusheng remained in a squatting position, but suddenly flicked his right hand, which was hanging by his side, sending two talismans flying straight at Chen Yu.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yu's expression changed drastically. The sorrowful look vanished instantly, replaced by a cold and sinister aura.

He floated back several feet, narrowly avoiding the talisman.

His original gentle and weak demeanor vanished, and he began to exude an undisguised sinister aura.

He raised an eyebrow, a strange smile playing on his lips. "Oh? When did you start to suspect me?"