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

Just as the two brushed past Abbot Hong'an.

Jiang Dusheng raised his hand, seemingly unintentionally tucking away the strands of hair that had been ruffled by the wind behind his ear. As he did so, his sleeve slipped down a bit, revealing the string of emerald green Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist.

The style and color of those prayer beads were almost identical to the ones Xiao Zhuang had been wearing on his wrist.

Abbot Hong'an's pupils shrank sharply, and in a flash, he was already blocking Xie Jinchen and Jiang Dusheng again, his finger pointing directly at Jiang Dusheng's wrist:

"Wait a minute! Benefactor Jiang, why is the string of Buddhist prayer beads on your wrist exactly the same as the one worn by that woman who called herself Xiao Zhuang earlier?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng seemed to be taken aback for a moment and raised his eyes.

Instead of panicking and trying to hide it, she raised her wrist and rolled up her sleeve, fully revealing the string of jade prayer beads to everyone's view, and even gently shook it.

"Does the abbot mean this string of pearls?" She blinked, her tone even more innocent. "It's a token of love given to me by the young master."

As she spoke, as if afraid of having her hand snatched away, she quickly withdrew it and snuggled closer into Xie Jinchen's arms, adding:

"That won't do. There are plenty of good things in this world. If the abbot likes them, he can find a woman he likes and have her give them to him. Stealing someone else's token of love... is not something a virtuous monk should do."

"You...!" Abbot Hong'an had never seen such a unreasonable and distorted woman.

His beard trembled with anger, and his last bit of patience ran out. He slammed his nine-ringed staff into the ground.

"Buzz!"

An invisible wave of Buddhist power suddenly spread out from the point where the staff landed, heading straight for Jiang Dusheng.

Xie Jinchen's eyes turned cold. He put his arm around Jiang Dusheng's waist, tapped his foot, and retreated gracefully, instantly moving more than ten steps away, easily avoiding the impact of the Buddhist power.

After standing still, he looked coldly at Abbot Hong'an, his voice dropping to freezing point:

"What does the abbot mean by this? Unable to find the missing disciple and unable to uncover the truth, are you trying to use this as an excuse to kill my people?"

He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over Chu Jingyu. "And this is all in front of His Highness the Crown Prince. Is the Abbot planning to disregard the law and arbitrarily attack the families of nobles and officials?"

Upon seeing this, Chu Jingyu immediately feigned anger, his voice changing from its usual gentle tone:

"Abbot, please stop! How can you attack Miss Jiang without any evidence? There are countless similar items in the world; how can you be sure they are from the same string?"

"Even if there is a connection, the truth should be investigated. How can we be so reckless?! If this matter gets out, it will damage the reputation of the imperial court and the Huguo Temple, and will also cause criticism from the people!"

However, while Abbot Hong'an was able to suppress his anger, his disciples could not bear it.

In particular, one of the monks, named Huihai, had the most fiery temper and was closest to the missing Huijing.

"Witch! Cease your arrogance! Give me back my junior brother's life!"

Huihai roared, disregarding all etiquette and the presence of the Crown Prince.

He unleashed Buddhist power from within his body, and his fist, accompanied by a whistling sound, hurtled straight towards Jiang Dusheng's face without any fancy moves.

Abbot Hong'an did indeed intend to use this opportunity to test Jiang Dusheng's abilities, so he did not immediately rebuke Huihai for his recklessness.

He wanted to see just how capable this woman, rumored to possess extraordinary abilities, really was.

However, Jiang Dusheng simply let out a soft cry and nimbly stepped back half a step from Xie Jinchen's embrace.

Instead of taking action, he pointed at Huihai, who was charging towards him, and shouted in a clear voice towards the direction of the Crown Prince and the Imperial Guards:

"Oh no! The monks of Huguo Temple are killing someone! In broad daylight, right in front of His Highness the Crown Prince, they're trying to kill me, a helpless woman who can't even kill a chicken!"

As she shouted, she shrank back in fear, but her eyes were clear and bright, showing no sign of fear whatsoever.

Hiding in the bushes not far away, Wang Dazhuang, who was possessing the woman's body, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Damn it! The master has learned my essence!"

On the other side, Xie Jinchen had already met Huihai's attack the moment Jiang Dusheng retreated.

A dark red aura gathered at his fingertips. He twisted his body to the side and pointed at Huihai's wrist joint.

Huihai felt a sharp, tingling pain in his wrist, as if he had been stabbed by a red-hot iron rod, and most of the force in his fist dissipated instantly.

However, Huihai was also one of the best among the younger generation of Huguo Temple. He was extremely brave and did not back down when he was defeated, which instead aroused his ferocity.

He twisted his waist forcefully, his left fist sweeping horizontally towards Xie Jinchen's ribs, while his right leg, accompanied by a whistling sound, lashed out at Xie Jinchen's lower body.

Xie Jinchen dodged the attacks from above and below, and transformed his right hand from a finger into a palm. Dark red evil energy surged from his palm, and without the slightest sound, it lightly struck Huihai's chest.

This palm strike appeared slow, but it was actually faster than visually striking, and carried a chilling and terrifying aura.

Huihai's expression changed drastically. He felt a bone-chilling cold instantly envelop his entire body, and his movements froze. It was too late to dodge.

"stop!"

Two sharp shouts rang out almost simultaneously.

The sound came from Abbot Hong'an.

His expression finally changed, and he abruptly stopped his staff, a golden light appearing like a shield in front of Huihai.

Another voice came from beside the crown prince.

A burly Imperial Guard appeared at the edge of the battle, his long sword still sheathed, wielding a powerful aura as he blocked Xie Jinchen's palm strike.

"Boom! Boom!"

Several muffled thuds exploded almost simultaneously.

Xie Jinchen's palm strike clashed with Abbot Hong'an's golden light and the Imperial Guards' sword sheath energy.

The shockwave churned up, stirring up dust and gravel from the ground, forcing several nearby imperial guards to take a step back.

Huihai was jolted back seven or eight steps by the residual force, his face turning pale and his chest feeling tight and nauseous. He had clearly suffered internal injuries and was quickly supported by the other two monks.

Xie Jinchen remained motionless and slowly withdrew his palm.

His gaze first swept over the shocked and furious Abbot Hong'an, then over the Imperial Guards who had attacked, and finally settled on the Crown Prince, his voice calm:

"Your Highness, are your men aiding these arrogant scoundrels who disrespect the emperor and dare to kill the families of nobles and officials in order to deal with me?"

Meeting Xie Jinchen's gaze, Chu Jingyu's expression turned solemn. He looked at the man who had intervened, his voice authoritative:

"Ling Han," he spoke slowly, "Although you are the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards appointed by the Emperor, and have duties to perform, you acted against Prince Xie without my orders... Do you know what your punishment is?"

Ling Han immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed his head, readily admitting his guilt:

"This humble servant is guilty! Please punish me, Your Highness!"

He paused, his tone neither humble nor arrogant, "However, it is my duty to ensure Your Highness's safety."

"The situation was critical just now, and the two sides were fighting, which could have endangered Your Highness's health. Therefore, I dared to intervene in order to separate the two sides and quell the conflict. I had absolutely no intention of disrespecting the Crown Prince, nor did I intend to favor either side!"

He raised his head, his gaze frank: "However, it is indeed my fault for acting without Your Highness's explicit orders, and I am willing to accept any punishment!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Jingyu said coldly, "Your eagerness to protect the emperor is understandable, but the rules cannot be disregarded. Considering this is your first offense and there was a reason for it, the death penalty can be waived."

He glanced at the imperial guards behind him, raised his voice to make sure everyone could hear him:

"But... as the deputy commander, you should set an example, yet you disobeyed orders and arbitrarily got involved in the conflict. If you are not punished, how can military discipline be upheld and rules clarified? A six-month salary deduction and thirty strokes of the cane! As a warning to others! Any objections?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Han's lowered eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he hesitated for a moment, almost imperceptibly.

His Highness the Crown Prince is clearly biased towards Prince Xie…

Just then, Abbot Hong'an, who had been observing coldly, suddenly stepped forward, completely removing the mask of compassion from his face.

He looked directly at Chu Jingyu and slowly said, "Your Highness, do you still remember what His Majesty said to you before you went to Qingzhou?"