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

As soon as Wang Dazhuang finished speaking, the light at the courtyard gate seemed to dim subtly for a moment.

Immediately, a figure emerged as if slowly stepping out of a traditional Chinese ink painting, so solid it was almost indistinguishable from a living person.

She wore an elegant light blue dress, her long hair cascading down her back, loosely tied up with a single white jade hairpin. Her face was gentle and beautiful, but she was enveloped in a faint aura of coldness.

Jiang Shuangjiang entered the courtyard, bowed gracefully to Jiang Dusheng, and said softly, "Miss Jiang, I apologize for disturbing you, but Shuangjiang has something to ask of you."

Jiang Dusheng looked up at the bright sunlight overhead, then at the two people in front of him.

She didn't say much, but turned and walked into the house, saying simply, "Let's talk inside."

Ruan Guyan looked at Jiang Shuangjiang with curiosity.

As fellow ghosts, she could sense that the other's cultivation was far deeper than her own, and that the other could even manifest in broad daylight without fear of sunlight.

After entering the room, Jiang Shuangjiang bowed respectfully to Jiang Dusheng. When she straightened up, a black bead appeared in her outstretched, pale palm.

The bead floated in her palm, slowly rotating, emitting a cool aura.

"Miss Jiang," Jiang Shuangjiang's voice softened, yet remained incredibly solemn, "after tonight, I may completely vanish into nothingness."

Jiang Dusheng paused slightly, looked up at her, and saw the sorrow on her face reflected in his clear eyes.

Jiang Shuangjiang held the black bead up to Jiang Dusheng, her gaze earnest and filled with reluctance.

"This is the Forget-Dust Pearl. I used a wisp of my original soul power and all my emotions about Yi Che as a guide, and fused it with my blessings for him. It took me a long time to condense it."

She looked at the bead, her eyes glistening with tears. "I would like to trouble Miss Jiang to find an opportunity after tonight to insert this bead into Yi Che's body."

Jiang Shuangjiang's voice trembled slightly, but she still tried her best to remain calm. "This bead will not harm him in the slightest. It will only make him slowly forget everything related to me."

"Those joys and entanglements... will eventually evaporate quietly in the sunlight, like morning dew, leaving no trace."

"In the years to come, he will only vaguely feel that there is an insignificant blank space in his life, but he will not feel any pain or regret because of it." Her last words were as light as a sigh.

After hearing this, Jiang Dusheng remained silent for a moment.

She didn't immediately take the bead. Instead, she looked up at Jiang Shuangjiang with a questioning gaze and asked, "Why?"

She walks between the realms of the living and the dead, and has seen too many who, after death, remain fixated on their past lives, haunted by resentment, and wishing that their loved ones would remember their souls for all eternity.

It is extremely rare for someone like Jiang Shuangjiang to actively request, and even at the cost of expending her soul power to condense a rare object, just to make the other party forget her.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuangjiang smiled gently.

"Because... I love him."

"Love is not about possession, not about binding, not about trapping him with memories and pain even after you've parted ways, preventing him from finding release."

Jiang Shuangjiang's voice was gentle yet firm, as if it were an enlightenment that had pierced through the long years and the boundary between life and death: "Love is hoping that he is well, hoping that he is safe and happy, hoping that he... can regain inner peace in the days without me."

"May I even be able to genuinely fall in love with someone else someday in the future and experience a simple, warm happiness."

Her gaze drifted to the window, as if it could penetrate the wall and see the figure that tugged at her heartstrings:

"After my death, I came back to life because of him. My hatred, my resentment, my bitterness should be borne by those who should pay the price. And Yi Che should start anew."

"Remembering me, remembering everything between us, will only make him live the rest of his long life in endless pain and remembrance."

"That's not love, it's punishment, the cruelest curse." Jiang Shuangjiang's voice choked slightly. "I love him, so... I can't bear to punish him like this."

She withdrew her gaze and looked at Jiang Dusheng, her eyes clear and firm. "So, Miss Jiang, please help me. Make him forget me. This is the last thing I can do for him, and it is also my final act of fulfilling my feelings for him."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Ruan Guyan stared blankly at Jiang Shuangjiang, as if she were truly understanding the word "love" for the first time.

Even the usually lively Wang Dazhuang fell silent, all the vivid expressions on his face vanishing, leaving only silence.

He didn't understand love, but such pure sacrifice and selflessness were enough to touch any sentient being.

After a while, Jiang Dusheng reached out and took the bead.

"Okay." She only uttered one word, but it carried immense weight.

Not long after Jiang Shuangjiang left, Xie Jinchen arrived.

Yi Che followed behind him, his eyes showing obvious dark circles, and his expression revealing undisguised anxiety, clearly indicating that he had not slept well.

Xie Jinchen naturally walked to the empty seat next to Jiang Dusheng and sat down. His gaze swept across the table, but he didn't see the expected food box, so he turned his head and asked, "Was breakfast to your liking?"

Jiang Dusheng glanced at Wang Dazhuang, who was trying to shrink into the shadows of the wall, and said calmly, "He was eaten by a greedy ghost."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen's gaze instantly locked onto Wang Dazhuang's figure. His eyes were devoid of emotion, yet they made Wang Dazhuang feel as if he were being placed on an invisible fire.

Wang Dazhuang's soul jolted, and he quickly sprang to his feet, exclaiming, "Oh dear! Look at my memory!"

"Just before Miss Jiang arrived, I said I'd immediately go out and buy the most fashionable breakfast for the master, but after listening to Miss Jiang's story, I felt so sad that I forgot! I deserve a beating! I deserve a beating!"

"Please wait a moment, Master, I'll be right there! I'll be right there!" he said, and then tried to slip away.

"No need," Xie Jinchen said calmly, his voice not loud, but it made Wang Dazhuang freeze in place.

"It's time for lunch. I've already had someone reserve a table at Zuixianju, and it will be delivered shortly."

Yi Che stood to the side, his gaze repeatedly drifting towards Jiang Dusheng since he entered the room, his lips moving and his face filled with complex emotions.

At this moment, he seemed to have finally made up his mind. He took a step forward, stood in front of Jiang Dusheng, and bowed deeply to her, his waist bent extremely low, his posture almost humble.

However, the words he uttered stunned everyone in the room, including the ghosts.

"Miss Jiang!"

Yi Che's voice trembled slightly with nervousness, but he forced himself to continue, "I know Ah Chen is cold-hearted and might not be very good at...serving people. But... his looks and talents are both top-notch!"

He steeled himself, closed his eyes, and cried out, "I... I can make him your gigolo! As long as you're willing to help Shuang'er!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Jiang Dusheng: ?