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

The leader of the secret guards received the tiger tally with both hands, feeling its immense weight. His eyes reddened slightly, and he said in a deep voice:

"Your subordinate swears to fulfill the Duke's entrustment with his life! But... Your Excellency, you..."

Xie Dai raised his hand to interrupt him, a faint smile on his face: "In my life, I may have no regrets towards the country; but towards her, I ultimately owe her a great deal."

He gazed in the direction of Changling City, his eyes piercing through the heavy mist, as if he saw that bright yet sorrowful figure from many years ago:

"I couldn't give her freedom, and I couldn't even protect her. Now... at least, I can pave a path to freedom for Chen'er, so that he won't be trapped in a cage like his mother, unable to control his own destiny."

Xie Dai withdrew his gaze and focused it back on the leader of the secret guards, regaining his usual dignified demeanor:

"Go. Proceed according to plan. Remember, no matter what news you hear or what situation you encounter, your only task is to deliver the Tiger Tally safely to the Crown Prince."

"Your subordinate obeys!" The leader of the secret guards kowtowed heavily, carefully put the tiger tally away on his body, and without the slightest hesitation, his figure flickered and disappeared as if he had merged into the morning mist.

Xie Dai stopped looking in the direction he had left, mounted his horse, and galloped off towards Qingzhou City.

The guards delivered the tiger tally to Xie Jinchen the following morning.

The carriage stopped on the official road.

Xie Jinchen took the tiger tally and held it tightly in his palm, his knuckles turning slightly white.

His eyes churned with complex and unfathomable emotions, and his voice was somewhat strained as he asked the bowing guard, "Where is he?"

The guard lowered his head even further. "I didn't know. The Duke only ordered me to deliver the tiger tally to the heir apparent. Now that the tiger tally has been delivered, I'll take my leave."

Xie Jinchen knew the rules of these secret guards.

He obeys only one person's orders, never utters a word, and never lets anyone pry his teeth open.

He stopped asking questions and didn't bother to stop the figure, letting it disappear outside the carriage as it had appeared.

The carriage started moving again.

Xie Jinchen looked at the tiger tally in his hand, the icy touch traveling from his palm straight to his heart.

Just then, Jiang Dusheng, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, opened them.

Without asking any further questions, she took out a talisman from her sleeve, flicked her fingertips with spiritual energy, and transformed it into a stream of light that stuck to the outer wall of the carriage.

In an instant, the horses pulling the carriage seemed to be injected with an invisible force, their hooves became lighter, and their speed suddenly increased by nearly double, blurring the scenery outside the window.

Now that she has abundant spiritual power, she can use the speed-traveling talisman with ease and without any worries.

Xie Jinchen felt the carriage suddenly accelerate, turned his head to look at her, and said with a teasing laugh, "Jiang Dusheng, why are you always so considerate?"

Jiang Dusheng glanced at him, a wisp of lingering spiritual light still lingering between his fingertips: "Still have the mind to tease me?"

The smile on Xie Jinchen's lips faded.

He paused for a moment, then raised his hand and lifted a corner of the curtain on the side of the carriage, looking towards the direction of Qingzhou City.

"I understand him less and less." He said softly, as if to Jiang Dusheng, yet also as if talking to himself, "If he was so eager to die, why did he wait until today to join my mother?"

"But if he doesn't seek death..." He withdrew his gaze, landing on the half of the tiger tally in his palm, his fingertips tracing the cold tiger stripes. "What is his intention in handing me this half of the tiger tally that can mobilize the northern border troops?"

The tiger tally was divided in two, with the emperor holding one half and the general holding the other half; when they were combined, troops could be mobilized.

By giving him this half of the tiger tally, Xie Dai was essentially handing him the most difficult, yet perhaps only, path to survival.

The tiger tally is both power and shackles; it is a protective charm and a death warrant.

This double-edged sword, if wielded well, might just carve out a path to survival.

Jiang Dusheng gazed at his tense profile and suddenly spoke, asking softly, "Xie Jinchen, if he... really died, would you cry?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen's fingers, which were lifting the curtain, paused almost imperceptibly.

He lowered the curtain, blocking the view outside the window, and slowly turned his head, his gaze somewhat blank as he looked at a certain spot in the carriage, as if he were seriously considering this possibility that he had never thought about before.

After a long pause, he whispered, his voice filled with a confusion he himself couldn't quite grasp, "I don't know. Maybe yes, maybe no. My feelings for him... are just as complicated and hard to understand as his feelings for me."

"I've hated, I've doubted, and perhaps... I've even had a sliver of affection, but more than anything, there's been an unfathomable distance and scheming. When that moment truly comes, I don't know what will happen."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke, his tone as calm as if he were discussing whether it would rain tomorrow:

"If he really dies, and you feel like crying then, tell me beforehand. I might be able to try... summoning Meng Po (the goddess of forgetfulness)."

She paused, then added, "Although you are not biological father and son, if there are tears of fatherly love as a token, it may be possible to briefly open the gap leading to the River of Oblivion in exchange for a final meeting."

Xie Jinchen: "..."

His previously heavy and complicated mood was momentarily stunned by her suggestion, leaving him somewhat amused and exasperated.

"Do you think I'm like Yi Che, that kid who can just cry whenever he wants?"

Jiang Dusheng said "Oh," then suddenly leaned closer to him, tilted his head back, and slowly said:

"Really? I wonder who it was that, back in the mountain god temple, when they were holding me, shed a tear on my neck that was burning hot."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchen suddenly turned his head to look at her, his eyes deep, and remained silent for a long time.

Jiang Dusheng felt inexplicably guilty under his gaze, blinked, and asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Xie Jinchen suddenly sighed softly, a sigh carrying an indescribable emotion, and whispered:

"Jiang Dusheng, you really don't like me."

Jiang Dusheng: "?!"

She was stunned, her mouth slightly agape, completely unable to keep up with his seemingly disjointed train of thought.

How did things suddenly shift from tears to whether you like someone or not?

Looking at her bewildered expression, Xie Jinchen's eyes flashed with a faint smile as he continued his accusation, his tone surprisingly earnest:

"I just realized that you have never shed a single tear for me, and you have never... said the word 'I like you' to me."

Jiang Dusheng: "?"

She glared at Xie Jinchen. "You're being unreasonable!"

Seeing her unusually speechless expression, Xie Jinchen couldn't help but chuckle softly, a hint of triumphant pleasure in his voice.

"Well, I'm just unreasonable and petty."

The speeding carriage was still several miles from the gates of Qingzhou City when the chatter from the teahouses and taverns along the official road was already carried by the wind into the carriage.

"Have you heard? Shocking news! That Duke Zhenguo, Xie Dai, was ordered to suppress bandits, but on the way... he was ambushed and killed!"

"What?! How is that possible! That's Duke Xie! The man who can take the enemy general's head from the midst of a thousand troops! Who could kill him?" Another voice was filled with disbelief and horror.

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Are you out of your mind?" the man from before hurriedly stopped him.

"I have a distant cousin who works in the governor's office. I heard... it's the one above who wants to take back the tiger tally. Do you remember the edict left by the late emperor?"

"Hiss! Could it be..."

Fragmented, startling words, accompanied by gasps and silence, stirred up silent ripples in the carriage like pebbles thrown into a calm lake.