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

Jiang Dusheng nodded and said nothing more.

She stood up, walked to his side, and without any hesitation, simply reached out and grasped his hand, which was still clenched into a fist.

Xie Jinchen's hand trembled slightly, and finally, he slowly loosened his clenched fist and wrapped her hand in his palm.

In the candlelight, the cold lines between his brows seemed to soften slightly.

Although he knew that she was doing this mostly to restore her spiritual power, the warmth transmitted between their skin at this moment inexplicably dispelled a trace of the surging, bone-chilling coldness in his heart.

The two arrived hand in hand at the door of the room where Granny Zhou was being held.

However, when he was still a few steps away from the room, Jiang Dusheng suddenly stopped, his eyes sharpening. "Something's not right."

As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled Xie Jinchen forward and kicked open the flimsy wooden door with a "bang".

The view inside the gate was completely visible.

Only one of the guards who was originally on duty was slumped in the corner, his eyes closed, clearly unconscious.

As for Granny Zhou, who should have been firmly tied to the pillar inside the house, she had long since disappeared.

"I forgot that old man knows some unorthodox spells and incantations, which would be more than enough to deal with ordinary people," Jiang Dusheng said coldly, quickly walking to the unconscious guard.

She pointed her fingers together, gathering a point of purifying and dispelling spiritual light at her fingertips, and swiftly touched it towards the guard's brow, while simultaneously chanting:

"May your mind be clear and bright, and may evil spirits be banished! By imperial decree!"

As the light entered, the guard's body trembled violently, a hoarse sound came from his throat, and he coughed violently, exhaling a breath of foul air.

My eyelids twitched a few times, and I finally woke up slowly. My gaze was unfocused at first, but it quickly became clear.

Seeing Xie Jinchen's cold expression and Jiang Dusheng's frosty eyes, the guard's face turned deathly pale. He struggled to kneel on one knee, his voice filled with remorse and hatred:

"Your Highness, Miss Jiang! I have failed in my duty! The old woman had been listless and limp without any apparent abnormalities until just now when she suddenly begged for help, saying she was unbearably thirsty."

"Seeing that she was tightly bound, I carelessly moved closer. It seems that she flicked some powder while I was bending over..."

"I only smelled a strange fragrance, then everything went black and I knew nothing more."

Jiang Dusheng quickly deduced, his brows furrowed, "It's mind-control powder mixed with the ash of puppet grass, combined with a simple mind-control spell. At close range, it's enough to make an unsuspecting ordinary person faint for a moment."

She looked at Xie Jinchen: "After she escapes, the first thing she'll do is flee back to the Zhou family to report. Have you left anyone to protect Chen Daya?"

"I've kept it." Xie Jinchen's voice was calm, but a cold light gathered in his eyes.

He made a decisive move and ordered the guard who had just woken up: "Take my token immediately and go to the nearest city, Anping, to summon the garrison."

"Yes! Your subordinate will not fail in his mission!" The guard took the token with both hands, gritted his teeth and stood up.

"Wait." Jiang Dusheng suddenly called out to the guard who was about to rush out of the room.

The moment the other person looked back in confusion, she had already pulled out a triangular talisman, quickly stepped forward, and handed it over.

"Keep it close to your body and don't let it out of your sight." She said succinctly, "This talisman, though not omnipotent, will keep you alert and ensure your safe arrival when you go to mobilize troops."

The guard glanced at her gratefully, clutched the talisman tightly in his palm, and carefully placed it in the innermost pocket of his robe. He then clasped his hands in thanks again: "Thank you, Miss Jiang! I will certainly not fail your trust!"

Having said that, he vanished in a flash, completely disappearing into the night, and sped away.

Silence returned to the room. Jiang Dusheng turned to Xie Jinchen, "Are you worried that Magistrate Zhou might resort to desperate measures and attack us?"

Xie Jinchen's lips curled into a sarcastic smile. The candlelight cast a dim light on his profile. "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Here, he is the local tyrant."

He paused, his voice growing even colder: "If we knew too much that we shouldn't know, he might be willing to risk everything, accidentally killing a high-ranking official from the Court of Judicial Review and a passing sorcerer right here, then staging a bandit robbery and murder scene afterward..."

"With the vast distance and the evidence buried, who could easily trace it back to him?"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jiang Dusheng raised an eyebrow, showing no fear whatsoever; instead, a glint of eager anticipation flashed in his eyes. "Before he has time to prepare, let's storm the Zhou residence and catch him off guard!"

She was very interested in Granny Zhou's face-changing technique.

Xie Jinchen glanced at her, his gaze lingering on her still somewhat pale face, his tone hesitant:

"But your spiritual power has not fully recovered. The situation inside the Zhou residence is unclear; there may still be unseen evil sorcerers and other arrangements."

Jiang Dusheng raised his head proudly, his tone firm and confident, "That's enough to deal with that old woman and any demons she might conjure up."

"I've already figured out about seven or eight tenths of her skills. She's focused all her energy on studying insidious techniques for swapping lives and souls. When it comes to drawing talismans and breaking formations, she's quite mediocre."

Xie Jinchen remained silent for a moment.

Reason told him that this move was risky, the enemy was in the dark while he was in the light, and the Zhou residence was like a dragon's den and a tiger's lair.

But seeing the confidence and radiance in her eyes, and thinking of Zhou Wanning's face, which resembled her mother's, he finally nodded slowly.

"Okay," he agreed, but then added in a deep voice, his tone unusually serious, his gaze fixed on her:

"But you must promise me that if you find the situation to be far worse than expected after entering the Zhou residence, or if your spiritual power is insufficient, you must immediately leave without worrying about me and protect yourself first."

As if he hadn't heard the second half of his sentence, Jiang Dusheng turned around after receiving the nod and couldn't wait to walk out.

Xie Jinchen gripped her hand tightly, gave it a gentle shake, and called to her in a low voice, with unprecedented seriousness:

"Jiang Dusheng?"

The last syllable rose slightly, as if to confirm whether she was listening, or to emphasize something.

Jiang Dusheng paused, glancing back at him impatiently. "Jiang Dusheng when you need something, and Miss Jiang when you don't? Young Master Xie, aren't you annoying?"

Xie Jinchen didn't know what he had said that offended her, but he had to make things clear.

He tightened his grip on her hand, his gaze calmly meeting the anger in her eyes, each word clear and distinct:

"Jiang Dusheng, listen carefully. Our relationship is one of cooperation, where each of us gets what we need."

"So, no matter what, if we encounter an insurmountable danger, you must not put yourself in mortal peril to save me. Understand?"

His words were calm and rational, clearly defining the relationship between the two.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng abruptly stopped.

She stared at Xie Jinchen for a few moments, then felt a surge of inexplicable anger welling up inside her.

"Oh." A bright, innocent smile suddenly bloomed on her face.

But the next moment, she suddenly released Xie Jinchen's hand with a burst of force, and walked forward without looking back, her steps fast and heavy.

The dull thud of the boot soles echoing on the wooden floor reverberated through the quiet corridor, revealing the owner's bad mood.

When she reached Wang Dazhuang's room, she pounded on the door, her voice even carrying a hint of anger:

"Dazhuang! Get up and get to work!"

From inside the door came Wang Dazhuang's excited voice, "The master has arrived!"

Xie Jinchen stood there, watching her angry back. His palm was empty, still holding the force she had used when she threw him away and a trace of lingering warmth.

His eyes darkened, and his lips tightened.

He didn't chase after him to explain; he simply straightened his sleeves and silently followed.