I have a ghost diary

However, seeing that Lin Mohua and Chu Jiang had already presented their birthday gifts, they also spoke up and presented the old man with the gifts they had prepared in advance.

The old man gathered his sleeves and accepted all the items.

Upon seeing this, Lin Mohua immediately said, "Grandpa, no, Grandfather, could Mr. Chu stay at our Lin family a little longer? His granddaughter has a lot in common with him."

The old man looked at Lin Mohua, remained silent for a while, and then looked at Chu Jiang.

Chu Jiang simply responded with a calm gaze, neither saying yes nor no.

Just as Lin Mohua was feeling uneasy, the old man nodded slightly and said, "Then let my nephew stay a little longer."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Lin Mohua immediately stood up to express her gratitude, her tone filled with joy. This was the first time Chu Jiang had seen her show such obvious emotional fluctuations in recent days.

Others were somewhat surprised by the result, but most were not opposed to it. As for the marriage alliance, it was still far from certain, so there was no rush.

After Lin Mohua sat down, the First Madam said softly, "This girl is willful. It's only because you, the Old Master, love her that you let her do as she pleases."

"There is another matter that I would like to discuss with the old master."

The old man continued drinking his wine, seemingly urging her to continue.

The First Madam was very good at reading people's expressions, and she quickly added, "Fifth Sister is still young. I'm afraid she'll get sick from staying in our courtyard all the time."

“Our Lin family owns several properties in the neighboring county, which are quite important. I’m not comfortable entrusting them to those distant relatives. How about we let her go there and take care of them?”

The fifth concubine lowered her head slightly upon hearing this, but her fists clenched under the table. That wretched woman, so quick to try and get her transferred out of the Lin family…

The others, upon hearing this, roughly understood what it meant. However, no one spoke up. After all, with the master's passing, the first wife's authority in the Lin family was arguably second only to the old master.

However, the fifth concubine did not refute anything at this moment. She knew that she had no say in front of the old master and would ultimately have to rely on Chu Jiang.

"What do you think?" the old man asked Xu Lan.

Fifth Concubine was somewhat surprised, but still nodded and said, "I will follow the old master's orders."

"Then let's go, let's go tomorrow."

"Yes." Fifth Concubine readily agreed. She knew very well that now was not the time to make a scene, as that would only leave a bad impression on the old master.

As long as Chu Jiang is still in this "world", Xu Lan believes she still has a chance.

Chapter 178 The Power of Thought Among All Beings

The birthday banquet proceeded as scheduled. After Lin Mohua and the First Madam started the conversation, the other members of the Lin family also cautiously exchanged a few words with the old master.

The old man seemed to be in a good mood today, and he agreed to most of the requests from the younger generation, as long as they were not excessive.

It is worth mentioning, however, that there was not a single word exchanged between the old man and Chu Jiang.

When the birthday banquet ended and the young masters saw the guests off, the old master stood up and looked at Chu Jiang, "Come with me."

Chu Jiang nodded, carrying the heavy coffin on his back, and walked step by step behind the old man.

During this process, the other members of the Lin family were obviously also paying close attention to this scene. They had realized that there was some tacit understanding between the old master and Chu Jiang, and that they must have some special topics to discuss in private.

Of course, even if they had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to eavesdrop, because they couldn't possibly hide from the old man's senses.

As Chu Jiang walked past her, the Fifth Concubine gave him a pleading look. If it weren't for the First Madam watching her closely, she probably would have grabbed Chu Jiang's arm.

Lin Mohua was annoyed by the Fifth Concubine's actions; on the other hand, she was worried as she watched Chu Jiang leave, so she stepped forward and took his hand.

"Please don't go, okay?" she pleaded.

Chu Jiang simply smiled and withdrew his hand, saying, "I'll be back soon."

After he finished speaking, he quickly caught up with the old man.

And so, the ladies, concubines, young masters, and young ladies of the Lin family, with a peculiar mix of emotions, watched Chu Jiang and the old master walk deeper into the Lin mansion...

-------------------------------

The old man did not take Chu Jiang back to the courtyard where he usually lived. Instead, he walked with a slightly unsteady gait into an empty side room.

As the two entered, the door to the side room creaked shut automatically.

Sitting down at the table in the room, the old man seemed much more tired than when he was outside. In Chu Jiang's eyes, he looked as if he had aged more than ten years in an instant.

"Sit down. Ask me anything you want to ask, and I'll answer what I can."

Chu Jiang sat down, carrying the coffin on his back. "Is this your ghost realm? Are you still alive?"

"I suppose so. As for me, I'm long dead. I'm a human, not a god. It's impossible for me to live for two hundred years."

This made Chu Jiang even more cautious. "Then are you a ghost?"

“A ghost…” The old man looked bewildered. “Perhaps so. I don’t know if I am a human or a ghost now.”

"But one thing I'm sure of is that this situation cannot last forever."

"On the one hand, I'm tired. I don't know when my humanity will be swallowed up by my evil nature. On the other hand, the number of descendants is decreasing, and they are becoming less and less sincere."

"I reckon that within the next twenty or thirty years, I will completely lose my mind and become a ghost."

"Of course, if the situation outside continues to deteriorate, and all the descendants of the Lin family die out and no one comes to the ancestral hall to worship anymore, then within one or two years, the cycle and order I have built will completely collapse."

"At that time, this place will become the most terrifying and dangerous area within a radius of thousands of miles, and countless ghosts will escape from here."

"In the midst of a hundred demons roaming at night, the patterns of killing are no longer so important, because with countless patterns superimposed, you could be killed even if you move or blink."

Upon hearing this, Chu Jiang felt somewhat heavy-hearted. Was it really related to incense offerings? However, he hadn't expected that even the insincerity of those burning incense and paper money would have such an impact on the old man's side.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Maintaining humanity by relying on the power of incense is essentially relying on the power of the thoughts of all beings, rather than just a few ordinary sticks of incense or a few ordinary pieces of paper.

If the worshippers don't believe in these ancestral spirits at all, then naturally they won't put in much effort.

This is an inevitable consequence of continuous modernization.

"So that means you would have intervened even if I and the Lin family descendants hadn't called on you for help?"

After all, if they don't take action, all the descendants of the Lin family in Luohe City will die, and probably not many people will come to pay their respects in the future.

The old man shook his head slightly. "The Lin Clan Ancestral Hall has already reached its limit in terms of the number of ghosts it can contain, seal, and suppress. I even had to rack my brains to barely maintain this precarious, life-or-death balance."

"This balance is very fragile, so when the black sun was raging outside, I didn't take action immediately."

"Because if I bring that ghost in, it might disrupt this balance."

"But later, your resounding words reminded this old and decrepit man of some past events."

"Furthermore, the descendants of the Lin family pleaded for help, so I took action."

"After that, I suppressed the black sun for the time being, preventing it from being sealed underground; on the other hand, I threw you into this Lin family compound and let you live here for a few days."

Do you know why?

Chu Jiang nodded, "You want me to experience firsthand what this place is really like. That's more useful than just words. I promise you, I will never let ghosts into this place again."

The old man waved his hand, "Not only that, although I've always stayed in this ancestral hall, I'm not entirely ignorant of what's happening outside."

“I can’t keep going like this forever. If possible, I’d like to hand it over to you so you can take on this responsibility.”

"Of course, this is not coercive. You have no obligation to take on this burden for a dead man like me."

"It's not even the right time yet. If you don't grow up and die halfway through, then this won't happen. I'm just saying it in advance."

Chu Jiang pondered for a moment, then said, "I..."

The old man raised his hand. "Don't give me an answer now; it's meaningless. When you have the ability in the future, I will gladly accept your answer, whether you accept or refuse."

Chu Jiang nodded. "Do you know about the existence of Research Institute No. 21? Perhaps it would be better for you to share this pressure with the institute."

The old man shook his head. "I don't trust them. Call me stubborn if you want, but in our time, there were similar large organizations both domestically and internationally."

"When there are a lot of people, the unpredictability of human nature is even more terrifying than ghosts. Sometimes, some people are willing to sacrifice a lot for their own benefit. I have seen too many examples."

"So I've been observing you these past few days, and at least for now, I think your character is acceptable."

"If we really reach a desperate situation in the future, for the sake of the common people, I might hand over the Lin Clan Ancestral Hall to that research institute. But before that, as long as I have a choice, I will not do it."

Chu Jiang remained silent and offered no further advice.

One reason is that the old man has experienced too much, so it's normal for him to have his own judgments and ideas.

Another point is that Chu Jiang's understanding of the research institute is only superficial. He is not sure if handing over the Lin Clan Ancestral Hall to the research institute would be a better choice.

Chapter 179 The Dead Resurrected

"What is the current state of the Lin family? Are they dead or alive? Are they human or ghosts?"

This question was one of the biggest doubts Chu Jiang had after entering this ghost realm.

“A dead man, in a similar state to mine.” The old man’s voice became even more subdued when he mentioned this.

"Then why would they...?"

Before Chu Jiang could finish speaking, the old man waved his hand and said, "I know what you want to ask."

“Back then, in an extremely dangerous supernatural event, my entire Lin family was wiped out, including everyone you’ve ever met. Only I survived.”

Although the old man didn't show any obvious emotional fluctuations when he talked about it, Chu Jiang could imagine how grief-stricken he must have been back then, with his entire family of more than a dozen people all dead.

"After they died, I wanted to defy fate and resurrect them."

"Moreover, the ghosts that our Luohe Lin family has accumulated over the past few hundred years have reached a limit, and the previous sealing measures are becoming increasingly weak."

"So I thought, why not take this opportunity to implement a long-held idea?"

"This idea begins with the method of maintaining humanity by using the power of incense and prayer."

"I believe you are well aware that all living ghost masters face the risk of being corrupted by ghosts and the danger of vengeful ghosts gradually reviving within their bodies."

"This is an age-old problem that has plagued the community of ghost masters in every resurgence of the supernatural."

"Throughout history, there have been many brilliant ghost masters who have pioneered various paths to solve this problem. For example, the method you are using now, which involves creating balance within your body by having multiple ghosts inside you."

"But throughout history, there has never been a fundamental solution; they are simply different in terms of advantages and disadvantages."

"I won't go into the methods I used during my lifetime, as they weren't much different from the methods of your time, and I don't want to mislead you."

"What I'm going to talk about is the method I will use after I die."