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

Jiang Dusheng raised an eyebrow, took two steps forward, and came straight to Xie Jinchen, with only half a step between them.

He was tall and imposing, and Jiang Dusheng had to tilt his head slightly to meet his gaze.

The sunlight cast a hazy outline on his face.

"Let me off the ship?" she repeated, her tone slightly playful, but her eyes were clear and piercing.

"Xie Jinchen, do you think my abilities are inferior to those demons and monsters under your father's command?"

"Or do you think... I, Jiang Dusheng, am the kind of person who would withdraw to protect myself if things went wrong?"

There was one more thing she didn't say—

The two were already bound together by karma, and even if he wanted to sever it, he couldn't.

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen did not answer immediately, but simply looked at her quietly.

There was no fear or hesitation in her eyes, only displeasure at being questioned.

A gentle breeze stirred her hair and clothes, making her appear slender, yet her back remained ramrod straight, as if nothing could bend her back.

After a long pause, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his voice was so low that only the two of them could hear it, as if every word had been carefully considered:

"I'll ask you one last time. Jiang Dusheng, do you want to get off the ship?"

Jiang Dusheng suddenly raised his hand and rubbed his earlobe with his fingertips, the action carrying a hint of disdain.

Then, she turned around decisively, and while walking towards the inn, she said slowly in a volume loud enough for those behind her to hear:

"Dazhuang, did you see that? This is what you call having a decent-looking face but unfortunately, your ears and brain aren't working very well. You can't listen to what I say, and you can't think clearly."

She stopped, turned half her face to the side, and glanced at the motionless figure out of the corner of her eye:

"Stay away from people like that in the future, lest you catch their inability to understand human language."

Wang Dazhuang quickly followed beside her. Although he didn't fully understand the situation, he whispered:

"But Master... I... I don't want a brain, I just want a more beautiful appearance..."

Jiang Dusheng: "..."

She paused for a moment, then gave Wang Dazhuang a disgruntled look.

He was indeed short-lived and ignorant.

As Xie Jinchen stood there, watching the two figures disappear into the distance, the cold, icy expression on his face seemed to melt away slightly.

The corners of his lips curved slightly upwards.

The smile vanished in a flash, so quickly that one might mistake it for an illusion.

Wang Dazhuang's voice drifted over almost imperceptibly, tinged with hesitation: "Master, what about...that skeleton? Are we just going to leave it alone?"

He was referring to the skeleton that had been dug out from under the tree.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng did not stop walking, but chuckled lightly, his tone carrying a hint of coldness, "Those remains? They are not Chen Yu's at all."

She had already noticed something was wrong when she squatted down to check.

There was no trace of yin energy or resentment on the skeleton that matched Chen Yu's soul; it was as clean as if it had been deliberately treated.

This is simply an innocent skeleton being exploited.

Wang Dazhuang seemed to understand, but he grasped the key point: "Then... what should we do with this bone? Shouldn't we help it find an owner?"

Jiang Dusheng's tone returned to calm. "Bury it back. It was innocently dragged into this; it has nothing to do with Chen Yu, nor with us. It should go back to where it came from."

"As for who its true owner was and why it was buried here, that's another story that may never be known."

As she spoke, she paused slightly, turned to look at the tree, and gazed into the distance.

"Dazhuang," she began slowly, her tone both persuasive and teasing, "remember, I worship Buddha, not become Buddha."

She paused, as if enlightening a clueless ghost:

The Buddha said, "All sentient beings suffer, all things are impermanent, and the arising and ceasing of conditions are governed by their own number."

"The karma between this skeleton and us, and Chen Yu, has been severed. Its own karma is not connected to ours, so we should not force it to be taken over."

"If you insist on getting to the bottom of everything and carry the burden of every nameless skeleton on your shoulders, then that is not spiritual practice, but rather burdening yourself with endless karmic debts."

She withdrew her gaze and continued walking: "The world is entangled in cause and effect, like a tangled mess of hemp. For us cultivators, it is already difficult enough to save souls that can be saved, resolve calamities that can be resolved, and sever sins that must be severed."

She withdrew her gaze, looked at Wang Dazhuang, and concluded, "Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Letting it rest here is the greatest compassion we can offer at this moment. Do you understand?"

Wang Dazhuang listened with a blank expression, seemingly understanding but not quite.

But the idea that "the master is always right!" was deeply ingrained in him, and he nodded quickly:

"Oh, I understand, Master! I'll go bury it right away and make sure it's restored to its original state! I won't let it be disturbed!"

As he spoke, he walked back to the tree and began to carefully fill in the soil.

Xie Jinchen had just taken a few steps closer when he overheard Jiang Dusheng casually sighing towards the direction where Wang Dazhuang was buried:

"No wonder Dazhuang died young; he was so easily fooled."

Xie Jinchen paused almost imperceptibly: "..."

He suddenly realized that he and Wang Dazhuang were not that different.

The carriage that the secret guards had found arrived in the afternoon; it was a sturdy but unassuming blue-canopied carriage.

Xie Jinchen looked at Jiang Dusheng, "Are you in a hurry to continue your journey, or would you like to rest here for the night?"

Jiang Dusheng looked up at the sky. Although it was past noon, there were still several hours before it got dark.

A sharp glint flashed in her eyes: "Let's get going." There was a hint of urgency in her tone. "I can't wait to see just how many of these monsters that so-called Duke Xie is keeping."

She paused, then continued, "This Chen Yu is clearly someone who has been carefully raised. His cultivation is not low, but compared to the vengeful ghost I encountered yesterday, he ultimately lacks some wildness and foundation."

Xie Jinchen nodded, offering no objection.

The guards deftly harnessed the horses and became the coachmen.

Wang Dazhuang refused to get into the carriage, insisting on enjoying the scenery along the way.

Although Jiang Dusheng didn't understand why a ghost wanted to just enjoy the scenery, he let him be.

Inside the carriage, Jiang Dusheng leaned lazily against one of the carriage walls, closing his eyes to rest.

Xie Jinchen sat beside her.

The wheels rumbled, and the carriage swayed slightly along the official road.

In the silence, Jiang Dusheng suddenly spoke, his eyes still closed, but his voice came through clearly:

"Young Master Xie, does His Majesty know that your father switched your mother's remains?"

Xie Jinchen seemed surprised that she would suddenly ask this question. He paused for a moment before saying, "I don't know either, whether he knows or not."

His tone was calm, yet tinged with complexity, "The royal family has many eyes and ears, and His Majesty is a man of deep thoughts. Perhaps he knows, but chooses not to reveal it."

"Perhaps you are unaware, kept in the dark. But one thing is certain: the connection between your martial uncle and my father... is definitely not simple."

Jiang Dusheng opened his eyes and looked at him with clear eyes.

Since we've already boarded this pirate ship, we might as well get to the bottom of things.

She decided to be more direct, "Then...Does Duke Xie know that you are not his biological son?"

Xie Jinchen was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting her to be so direct.

A self-deprecating smile tugged at the corner of his lips: "I think... he probably knows."

His gaze drifted into the void, as if he could see the distant Duke's mansion through the carriage. "But all these years, he has pretended not to know, putting on a show of filial piety with me every day."

"Sometimes, I really can't tell whether he does this to disgust the one in the palace, or... he even deceived himself and really treated me like his own child."