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

Jiang Dusheng felt a burning sensation on the tips of his ears, but he pretended to be calm and glanced at him.

She quickly flung Xie Jinchen's sleeve away, took a half step back, and gave him a disdainful look, saying, "You're just giving me things nobody wants."

Upon hearing her words, Xie Jinchen gave a cryptic smile and remained silent.

Just then, Jiang Dusheng's eyes suddenly sharpened, and his gaze shot towards a guard who had just passed by them not far away.

The guard was bowing his head, seemingly preparing to lead the horse; his movements were natural and without any sign of anything amiss.

Almost at the same time, Xie Jinchen also sensed something. The smile in his eyes vanished instantly, his gaze darkened, and although he did not release his aura, it carried a hint of imperceptible coldness.

"stop."

The guard who had been called paused, turned around somewhat blankly, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Young Master, what are your orders?"

Jiang Dusheng's gaze fell on the guard's left shoulder.

To outsiders, it might seem normal, but to her and Xie Jinchen, there was clearly a ghostly shadow wrapped around that shoulder.

With a flick of her finger, she had somehow managed to hold a talisman, on which thunder patterns faintly appeared.

Jiang Dusheng spoke slowly, his voice carrying a sense of pressure, "Are you going to come down yourself, or..."

She paused, and the talisman on her fingertips moved without wind, making a soft crackling sound. "Should I ask you to come down?"

Upon hearing this, the guard's expression became even more bewildered. He even subconsciously looked around before pointing uncertainly at himself:

"Are you talking to me? I... I came down what?" He was clearly completely unaware of the abnormality in his body.

Seeing this, Xie Jinchen's gaze also fell on the guard's shoulder, and he explained in a calm tone:

"I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about the person perched on your shoulder."

"Wh...what?!" The guard's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and all his muscles tensed up instantly.

He abruptly turned his head to look at his left shoulder, but naturally couldn't see anything. However, the feeling that had been inexplicably sending chills down his spine lately was now revealed, instantly transforming into a bone-chilling fear.

"Your Highness, you mean I have... I have..." His voice trembled.

As a well-trained bodyguard, he was not afraid of swords and spears, open or hidden attacks, or bloodshed and sacrifice. But this unseen and intangible thing that could be placed on his shoulder was enough to break down anyone's psychological defenses.

The other guards also instantly became alert, their gazes falling on their companions' shoulders with suspicion and uncertainty.

Jiang Dusheng paid no attention to the guards' fear; her gaze remained fixed on the gray, misty ghostly figure invisible to ordinary people.

The figure in the mist seemed to flinch, but clung on tightly, showing no intention of leaving. Instead, it exuded an even deeper resentment.

The talisman held between Jiang Dusheng's fingers shone even brighter, its purplish-gold color emitting a powerful crackling sound.

"If you have any grievances or unresolved obsessions, you can reveal them to me in your true form. This may help you fulfill your wishes and enter the cycle of reincarnation."

Her voice was cold and authoritative, "If you are just a lost ghost, leave now. Considering that you have not yet taken any lives, I can give you a wisp of light of rebirth talisman to help you go to where you are meant to go."

Jiang Dusheng paused, his tone turning stern, lightning flickering at his fingertips: "If you continue to be so stubborn..."

Before he could finish speaking, the ghostly figure seemed to be stunned, and the mist churned violently.

The guard was so frightened he could barely stand, and cried out with a mournful face, "Madam! Young Master! Help!"

"Recently, I have been feeling a chill on my left shoulder, and at night I often feel like someone is breathing on my neck. I thought it was because I was tired..."

Looking back now, all the strange feelings came together, and it was all because of this damned thing!

The thought of something constantly resting on his shoulder sent a chill down his spine, soaking his undershirt instantly.

The wisp of gray mist detached from the guard's shoulder and churned in mid-air, as if it were struggling to condense into a shape.

Under the light of Jiang Dusheng's talisman, the mist gradually outlined a clear silhouette: the figure of a woman dressed in an ordinary cloth dress.

She had delicate features and long, flowing hair.

Seeing that the creature had left the guards and its aura was weak, Xie Jinchen waved to the still-shaken guard, "Alright, it's over, you can go now."

"Yes!" The guard felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He immediately felt the cold, heavy feeling that had been pressing down on him for many days disappear without a trace. He felt light all over and quickly bowed and retreated to his companions. He still touched his shoulder with lingering fear.

Seeing that the female ghost had appeared and had no intention of attacking, Jiang Dusheng put away the talisman.

She stepped forward, her gaze fixed on the ghostly figure, and asked bluntly, "Speak. Why are you haunting him?"

The woman remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking:

"I have no grudge against him. It's just..."

She paused, seemingly confused, "It's just that he... has an aura I hate. Whenever I get close to him, I can't help but want to follow him, making him uncomfortable, and that makes me feel good."

This answer made both Jiang Dusheng and Xie Jinchen frown slightly.

There was no grudge between us, and we don't know the reason?

How can a living person be entangled by just an unpleasant aura?

"Tell me in detail. When, where, and how did you catch up with him?" Jiang Dusheng pressed, while secretly channeling his spiritual power and using the art of microscopic observation to examine the female ghost's soul state more closely.

The ghostly figure seemed to be trying hard to recall, and the fluctuations of her soul appeared somewhat disordered.

"I... I don't remember very clearly. Many things are blurry; I only remember that my head hurt a lot, I felt dizzy, and my vision went black..."

She raised her hand, as if to cover her head, her movements filled with confusion: "When I became a little more lucid, I was already very close to him. Wherever he went, I followed. I didn't want to kill him, I just didn't want him to be comfortable..."

Jiang Dusheng used his microscopic observation skills to discover that the female ghost's body was indeed abnormal.

Although her yin energy wasn't particularly mixed, her memory area was blurry, as if she had suffered a severe injury.

Jiang Dusheng frowned slightly and quickly exchanged a glance with Xie Jinchen.

Xie Jinchen immediately understood and turned around to call the still-shaken guard back in a deep voice.

The guard trotted forward, his face still showing lingering fear and confusion, and nervously bowed.

"Young Master, Madam, but... but I still have... something on me that I haven't cleaned off?"

He subconsciously wanted to turn his head to look at his shoulder again.

Jiang Dusheng did not answer directly, but instead gave him a sharp look from head to toe:

"Take out all your personal belongings, except for weapons and clothing, and place them here."

She pointed to a relatively clean open space in front of her.

"Yes!" Although the guards were confused, seeing Jiang Dusheng's solemn expression, they dared not delay and immediately began to carefully search their belongings.

He first untied the leather water pouch, fire tumbler cover, and a small bag of dry rations from his waist. Then he took out a few pieces of silver and copper coins from his pocket. Finally, he took out a small bag carefully wrapped in oiled paper from his inner pocket, which contained emergency wound medicine and antidote pills.