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

The inner courtyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Xie Jinchen walked straight to the main house in the courtyard where he and Jiang Dusheng lived.

The bright candlelight inside dispelled the chill of the winter night.

Everything was as usual; even on the soft couch where she usually leaned against to read, there was a half-read book of supernatural tales open.

However, there was no one there at the moment.

He paused slightly, then turned and went to the side courtyard where Wang Dazhuang lived next door.

The courtyard was usually quiet, with rustling noises or Wang Dazhuang talking to himself.

Xie Jinchen frowned slightly and summoned a maid who was on duty in the corridor: "Where did Madam and the two stewards go? When did they leave?"

The maidservant quickly bowed and respectfully replied, "Your Excellency, Madam went out this afternoon with Steward Wang and Steward Ruan, saying she was going out for a stroll. She didn't say where they were going or when they would return."

Xie Jinchen nodded, asked no further questions, and waved for her to leave.

He originally thought that Jiang Dusheng was bored at home and had taken the two ghosts to the street to find some new and interesting food, and would return later.

Xie Jinchen returned to his study, retrieved a military treatise, and went to the inner room. There, by the bright candlelight, he read and waited beside the soft couch where Jiang Dusheng often sat.

However, time slipped away quietly, little by little, between the pages of the book and amidst the flickering of the charcoal fire.

Hai hour, Zi hour...

The drumbeats sounded outside the window, but still no one was in sight.

Xie Jinchen hadn't turned the pages of the book in his hands for a long time, and his brows furrowed more and more tightly.

Just as he was about to lose his composure and send someone out to search, footsteps finally came from outside the courtyard, along with Wang Dazhuang's deliberately lowered but still excited whispers.

Xie Jinchen almost immediately put down his book, stood up abruptly, and strode out to greet him.

As soon as they reached the main room, they saw Jiang Dusheng, in the light and shadow under the eaves, slightly tilting his head, unfastening the hood of his fox fur coat, which was covered in snowflakes, revealing his cheeks, which were slightly red from the cold wind.

Wang Dazhuang and Ruan Guyan followed behind her, one still gesturing and saying something, the other quietly brushing the snow off her shoulder.

Xie Jinchen stepped forward and naturally took Jiang Dusheng's icy hand, feeling its biting coldness.

He frowned, his voice filled with concern: "Where did you go? Your hands are freezing cold. Why didn't you bring a hand warmer?"

As he spoke, he pulled her into his arms, wrapped her in his warm cloak, and held her red, frozen hands tightly with one hand, trying to transfer warmth to them.

Jiang Dusheng was wrapped up tightly by him, and the familiar, cool scent of him lingered around his nose.

She snuggled gently against him, absorbing his warmth, before slowly saying, "I didn't go anywhere, I just went out to catch ghosts."

"Catching ghosts?" Xie Jinchen raised an eyebrow, his fingertips unconsciously stroking her gradually warming hand. His tone was a mixture of confusion and amusement. "In this Changling City, are there any ghosts that you, Grand Master Jiang, can't catch? And that you need to catch one at this hour?"

Jiang Dusheng tilted her head slightly from his embrace. In the candlelight, her eyes were clear and bright, yet held a meaningful smile as she drew out her words:

"Yeah, that ghost is very cunning."

She blinked. "So, I plan to go check again tomorrow; maybe I'll be able to catch him."

Xie Jinchen sensed the hidden meaning in her words; it was definitely not about catching ghosts as it seemed on the surface, but he couldn't quite figure out what she meant.

Once inside, he untied the belt of Jiang Dusheng's fox fur coat, removed the snow-covered garment, and said, following her instructions:

"What kind of devil is so troublesome that even Grand Master Jiang failed to deal with it? I'll accompany you to meet it tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dusheng shook his head and stepped back half a step from his embrace, leaving only one of his hands still being held by him.

She raised her face, smiling sweetly at Xie Jinchen. That smile was pure and innocent, yet it inexplicably made his heart skip a beat.

"No need. If you go... you'll be even less likely to catch it."

She was looking for someone with a guilty conscience; if he went, he naturally wouldn't be able to catch him.

Xie Jinchen was hanging up her fox fur coat when he heard this and turned around, his eyes filled with confusion:

"Why can't I catch it when I try? Is the ghost afraid of me?"

He felt that Jiang Dusheng was speaking in a particularly roundabout way tonight, as if he was hiding a secret but refused to say it outright.

Jiang Dusheng stopped explaining, and simply moved closer to him, his face still bearing that smiling expression:

"Want to know? I'm not telling you."

After saying that, without waiting for his reaction, she turned around and slipped into the bathroom next door, closing the door from the inside.

Xie Jinchen stood still, but his brows gradually furrowed.

No… Sheng’er’s tone seemed the same as usual, but he just felt inexplicably that something was wrong.

Beneath that smiling face, there seemed to be a hidden anger.

Xie Jinchen turned and left the main courtyard, heading once again toward Wang Dazhuang's side courtyard.

The side courtyard was completely silent.

The paper lanterns swayed gently under the eaves, casting ever-changing light and shadow.

There were no candles in the room, and Wang Dazhuang's signature muttering could no longer be heard.

Xie Jinchen wanted to go to Ruan Guyan's courtyard to ask again, but he stopped as soon as he took a step.

Although Ruan Guyan is a spirit, she is still a woman, and it would be improper for him to go there so late at night.

Had to give up.

In Ruan Guyan's courtyard, Wang Dazhuang, having heard Xie Jinchen's footsteps fade into the distance, peeked out from behind the door.

He patted his chest and whispered to Ruan Guyan, who was sitting quietly at the table:

"That was terrifying! Young Master Xie really did come looking for us! The master's predictions were truly divine!"

The next day, the snow cleared and the sky brightened.

After a night of snow and wind, the sky was clear and blue, and the sun shone brightly without any obstruction. The snow piled up on the streets reflected a dazzling light, as if the whole world had been polished.

Xie Jinchen got up early to change his clothes and prepare to go to the palace for court.

Before leaving, he made a special detour to the kitchen, whispered to the cook to prepare several of Jiang Dusheng's favorite breakfast dishes, and instructed her to make the charcoal fire burn brighter before he hurriedly left.

No sooner had he left than Jiang Dusheng, accompanied by Wang Dazhuang and Ruan Guyan, reappeared in the private room on the third floor of the restaurant from the previous day.

Same location, same table of dishes ordered.

While sucking on a chicken leg, Wang Dazhuang asked indistinctly, "Master, are we still going to wait for them to come to us today?"

Jiang Dusheng leisurely picked up a piece of jade cake, saying in a relaxed tone, "No rush, we'll only know if there are rabbits after we've kept watch."

As noon approached, the restaurant gradually became lively.

Jiang Dusheng leaned casually against the soft cushion by the window, seemingly listening to the storyteller downstairs recounting ghost stories with great enthusiasm.

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced at the street scene outside the window.

At the end of the long street, two carriages approached one after the other, moving slowly and steadily until they came to a stop beneath the imposing main entrance of the Wenxiang Pavilion Restaurant.

The carriage in front, bearing the Xie family's insignia, is the one Xie Jinchen uses daily.

A slightly smaller carriage followed behind, its curtains drawn low, obscuring the interior.