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

The moment the words left his mouth, the surging crimson-black aura around Xie Jinchen, like a ferocious beast breaking free from its cage, was no longer under the control of his remaining consciousness and poured out wildly.

Jiang Dusheng hugged Xie Jinchen tightly, calling out, "Xie Jinchen!"

She shouted sharply in his ear, her voice trembling with unprecedented anxiety:

"Don't let the evil energy consume you! I don't want you to be a ghost forever, I don't want you to be sealed away by me! I want you..."

Her words suddenly stopped, as if a thousand words were stuck in her throat.

What does she want from him?

Do you want him to live, to stand peacefully in the sunlight, to see all the mountains and rivers, and to enjoy tranquility, or... do you want him to stay by her side?

The thought had never been so clear and intense, breaking through all the shackles of reason and startling even herself.

Before Jiang Dusheng could even process what was happening, Xie Jinchen struggled violently in her arms, his eyes bloodshot.

"Your Highness!"

The guards cried out and tried to step forward, but were forced back by an even more violent aura.

Seeing this, Jiang Dusheng freed one hand and swiftly drew a rune in the air, imbued with the aura of the netherworld.

"The Yin and Yang realms borrow a path, the netherworld is temporarily opened!"

She let out a low shout, expending most of her spiritual power to tear open a temporary passage.

Holding Xie Jinchen in his arms, Jiang Dusheng leaped into the passage.

Space distorted, and the two figures were instantly swallowed up.

Nanchansi Temple, under the Bodhi tree on the back mountain.

The moonlight was like water, and the shadows of the trees swayed gently.

Huiming was sitting cross-legged on a futon, dozing off while looking at the half-finished chess game he had just started on the chessboard.

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the space in front of them.

Jiang Dusheng, carrying Xie Jinchen who was surging with murderous aura, fell out and crashed heavily onto the grass.

"Master! Master!"

Ignoring the excruciating pain from being burned by the evil energy, Jiang Dusheng's voice was filled with unprecedented panic, "Quickly save him! He's being attacked by the evil energy on his body, and he can't hold on much longer."

Huiming woke up instantly, his white eyebrows lifted, and the lingering sleepiness in his eyes was replaced by clarity.

He flashed forward and arrived in front of Xie Jinchen. After only one glance at Xie Jinchen's condition, his expression became extremely solemn.

"Such domineering murderous aura, it has already invaded the heart meridian."

Huiming's face was more solemn than ever before. He suddenly threw out the Bodhi prayer beads in his hand, which floated on Xie Jinchen's body.

The prayer beads instantly emitted a soft golden light, attempting to suppress the violent baleful aura emanating from Xie Jinchen.

At the same time, Huiming placed his hands in front of his chest in a mudra, chanting Buddhist mantras in a solemn and dignified manner.

"Amitabha."

As he chanted the Buddhist prayer, a faint golden halo swirled around him.

"The Buddha's light shines everywhere, cleansing away all evil influences!"

"Prajna wisdom subdues the demons of the heart!"

The chanting spread, mingling with the golden light of the Bodhi beads to form a protective shield that slowly enveloped Xie Jinchen and his surrounding malevolent aura.

Xie Jinchen groaned in pain as the Buddhist light clashed with the malevolent energy. His eyelashes trembled, as if he were regaining consciousness, but the malevolent energy was still instinctively resisting.

"Carry it into the Great Buddha Hall and place it before the Three Buddhas, then use the Vajra Subduing Demon Formation," Huiming said in a deep voice.

Jiang Dusheng's two senior brothers had already been alerted. Upon hearing this, they immediately stepped forward, carefully lifted Xie Jinchen, who was temporarily bound by the Buddha's light, and hurried towards the main hall.

Jiang Dusheng wanted to follow without thinking.

"To have a son."

Huiming blocked her way, his gaze sweeping over her scorched arm and pale, panicked face:

"At this moment, your heart is in turmoil, your mind is clouded, your spiritual energy is in disarray, and your aura is subtly intertwined with the malevolent energy within him."

"Entering the main hall at this moment will not only be of no benefit, but may also provoke his evil energy to resist more fiercely, disrupting the pure and suppressive pressure of the Vajra Subduing Demon Formation."

"But Master, I..." Jiang Dusheng's usually calm eyes were now filled with utter confusion, only reflecting the direction of the palace gate.

"Trust your teacher." Huiming left only these words before turning and hurriedly entering the main hall.

The palace doors slowly closed in front of Jiang Dusheng, blocking out the golden light and faint chanting emanating from within, as well as her view.

She stood frozen outside the palace gate, staring blankly at the tightly closed door.

The night wind rustled through the temple, the leaves of the Bodhi tree whispering, as if Huiming's third question, which had struck so hard yesterday, was echoing in my ears once more:

"If his life were hanging by a thread right now, and you were asked to sacrifice your cultivation to save him, would you hesitate?"

At that moment, the teacup overturned, hot water splashed onto her hands, and her mind went blank, filled only with instinctive fear.

At this moment, standing outside the main hall where Xie Jinchen's fate was uncertain, the answer seemed to be as if the heavy fog that had been covering his heart had been suddenly blown away by the night wind, revealing the deep-rooted emotions beneath.

She will.

Why is that?

Was it because of his seemingly shameless yet meticulous care time and time again?

Or perhaps it was his persistent questioning, over and over again, about who was more attractive, him or Shi Qinglian?

Or was it because of... that scalding tear that fell on her neck in the mountain god temple?

From as far back as she can remember, she always seemed to be the one left behind.

The so-called family chose Jiang Wanqing, leaving her, whose fate was considered special and ominous, at Nanchansi Temple.

The temple is a place of quiet cultivation. Although the master and fellow disciples are good, they each have their own karmic connections.

She spends most of her time alone with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp, experiencing a warm sense of detachment in the silence.

Later, as he traveled the world, helping people and ghosts, he witnessed countless joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, and the impermanence of gatherings and separations.

She was always that sober observer, offering a helping hand, then turning away and taking with her a karmic connection, but never truly letting anyone cross the boundaries she set for herself, nor ever truly staying for anyone.

Until Xie Jinchen appeared.

He was like a walking blazing fire, domineering, obsessive, full of murderous aura and secrets, yet he gradually walked into the safe distance she had set.

He saw through the aloofness beneath her smile, but he never backed down because of it.

He knew her concerns, but he frankly expressed his feelings.

"I will be a ghost forever, sealed by you."

This is not a romantic love confession, but it is more profound, more passionate, and more...real and moving than any vow of eternal love.

Inside the hall, chanting filled the air, and the light of Buddha seeped through the cracks in the door, casting warm shadows on the cool stone steps.

Jiang Dusheng stood alone outside the palace gate, the lanterns under the eaves casting a long, slender shadow of her.

She looked up at the solitary moon on the horizon, her lips parted slightly, as if making a vow to some unseen law:

"May the moon be my witness, and my heart my proof."

"May I thank the ashes... and may my primordial spirit be forever imprisoned, escaping the impermanence of life."

"The form may be scattered, but the spirit remains; the calamity may end, but the consciousness endures."

"None of the gods and demons can take it away. Their end and their demise are entirely in my hands."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle breeze seemed to swirl through the temple, and the rustling of the Bodhi tree leaves seemed to pause for a moment.