I have a ghost diary

As soon as these people left, Zhou Hongyu, who was hiding among them, also left.

......

With Chu Jiang leading the way, the others, led by Jing Ruoxue, quickly ran down the mountain along the fog-free path.

Finally, they reached the foot of the mountain and escaped the ghostly mist. Although everyone was panting, most of them showed expressions of relief.

Then Chu Jiang looked at Xu Shengtian and said, "I'm giving you a task. Take these ordinary people away and use your phone to locate the direction of Langchao City. Head in that direction, and someone will come to pick you up in a car."

Still panting, Xu Shengtian immediately saluted, "Understood!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately chickened out, "What if that Go-playing monster comes running back to challenge me to a game halfway through the journey??"

Chu Jiang remained unfazed. "Then let's play against it. Anyway, you two are terrible chess players. You could play one game all night. I'll come and deal with it later."

“Okay,” Xu Shengtian agreed, and urged Zhang Dafu and the others to run away with him.

To be honest, he still felt a lot of pressure facing Chu Jiang's "ghostly" appearance, and even his calves would tremble involuntarily.

After these ordinary people left, Chu Jiang used his satellite phone to inquire about Chen Yuting's situation.

As expected, Chen Yuting had already prepared the backup personnel without his instructions, so the captain didn't need to worry.

Only then did Chen Yuting dare to ask Chu Jiang how the situation was; before that, she had just been listening nervously.

Chu Jiang thought for a moment and then gave a brief explanation of the current situation.

"So it's very troublesome. I wonder if the ghost bride will go crazy and spread everywhere with the ghosts she controls."

"Therefore, I will not leave now, and will continue to observe in this area."

"The best outcome would be that the ghost bride can't find her target and just keeps wandering around this Qingyun Mountain."

"Then, all we need to do is seal off this area and prevent any living person from entering."

This approach isn't particularly novel. Research Institute No. 21 often adopts this solution after assessing some powerful and troublesome ghosts and concluding that they won't be roaming around for the time being.

While this isn't a good approach, and can only be considered a poor choice, the situation around the world is becoming increasingly dire. If a direct confrontation were to occur, the research institute wouldn't have enough manpower to sustain the effort.

Chen Yuting nodded in agreement, saying she would report the details and the research institute might send reinforcements to the site to assess the feasibility of the plan.

Chapter 282 The Great Master of Fate and the Lesser Master of Fate

If this plan is actually implemented, simply prohibiting living people from approaching will certainly not be enough.

Chu Jiang had read the internal documents and learned that there were some special ghost masters in the research institute who could artificially create a sealed zone. Even if ghosts were mobile, they could trap them in this area to a certain extent.

Of course, this method is not effective against all ghosts; it depends on the specific abilities of the ghost master and the level of terror of the vengeful ghost lingering within.

After temporarily ending the call with the operator, Chu Jiang dialed Zhou Hongyu's number.

But the other party did not answer the phone, only sent a short message: They have moved to the other side of Qingyun Mountain and are not far away yet. I will continue to keep an eye on them.

Upon seeing this, Chu Jiang put down his phone. He observed the area around Qingyun Mountain; the ghostly mist was still there, but no sound came from it.

The ghosts seemed to have calmed down for the time being and did not appear to be about to rush out.

Chu Jiang then looked at the female ghost master standing silently beside him since they came out.

"Hello, I'm Chu Jiang, what's your name?"

“Jing Ruoxue, the Jing as in scenery.” Jing Ruoxue said, taking off her straw hat.

Chu Jiang had assumed she was about to reveal her true face, but to his dismay, she was wearing a white mask under her bamboo hat...

Wait, something's not right. Upon closer inspection, Chu Jiang realized that the mask seemed to be growing out of the other person's face, which looked rather eerie.

Chu Jiang didn't ask too many questions about this point; it was probably caused by the ghost inside his body corrupting him.

He simply asked, "Are you Xu Shengtian's friend? What's this about the bride kidnapping he mentioned?"

Generally speaking, in that situation, Xu Shengtian should be described as "saving people," rather than using a word with such a special meaning.

Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang. Chu Jiang glanced at it and saw that it was Chen Ke'er calling. What time was it? Why was she calling him instead of sleeping?

Since the paranormal events were not yet over, Chu Jiang originally intended to just turn it off.

But after hesitating for a moment, he still picked up the phone and answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, boss, I've hesitated for a long time but I've decided to say a few more words to you before you leave." Chen Ke'er's voice was a little timid.

"I don't know if your fiancée is with you, but please tell her not to misunderstand; I'm just worried that you won't even have the chance to say these things again."

Chu Jiang frowned. "What are you talking about? I may indeed be going on a business trip in the next few days, but why are you making it sound like I'm never coming back?"

"Besides, I don't have a fiancée. Who are you talking about as a fiancée?"

"Huh?" Chen Ke'er was a little confused. She had been struggling with this for so long, but how come the boss's story was different from what Xu Shengtian and his fiancée said?

"Boss, weren't you... going back to inherit your vast fortune? Xu Shengtian even said that after you get married, you might not come back."

"I'll deal with that kid later. As for now, I have things to do. If you have anything you want to say to me, we can talk about it at work tomorrow. Go to sleep now."

After Chu Jiang finished speaking, he hung up the phone amidst Chen Ke'er's "Huh? Huh?" sounds.

Then he looked at Jing Ruoxue opposite him, "What's going on here?"

Jing Ruoxue apologized to Chu Jiang first, "I'm sorry, I lied to your company people before in order to see you, and I lied that I was your fiancée."

"The main reason is that I don't want to tell them about the heritage of Chu, or about the Grand Master of Fate and the Lesser Master of Fate."

"Of course, it's possible if you're willing. Our two families have a long tradition of intermarriage, but it's not mandatory. It depends on whether the current heir has the corresponding willingness."

Chu Jiang's expression turned solemn. "You are the current Shao Siming?"

Jing Ruoxue nodded.

"Then what you called the Great Master of Fate..."

“It’s you, the Chu Zombie of this generation,” Jing Ruoxue said with certainty.

Chu Jiang took a deep breath. He hadn't expected to meet someone related to Shao Siming so soon.

He had originally planned to visit this Ghost Master family in Chu at some point.

"First of all, I'd like to clarify that I'm not very clear about my origins. I was abandoned by my biological parents when I was young and grew up in an ordinary family."

Hearing Chu Jiang's words, Jing Ruoxue was somewhat taken aback. "Why would this happen... Although the Chu family severed ties with us more than a hundred years ago, it's not like they would abandon their current heir to be raised by someone else, is it?"

"I'd also like to know the answer to that question," Chu Jiang said, glancing at Qingyun Mountain.

"We can discuss this in detail when we get back. Right now, I just want to ask, you came to see me? And what is your purpose? Do you really want to marry me?"

Jing Ruoxue nodded and then shook her head, "I come here representing the legacy of [Shao Siming]."

“After you released that video showcasing Chu Zhan’s power to the world, our Jing family took it very seriously and is eager to reconnect with the current Chu family.”

"However, due to the lack of communication for over a hundred years, the current head of our Jing family and the current head of your Chu family are no longer acquainted."

"Furthermore, since you did not contact us proactively, but only sent a video, which gave an ambiguous signal, we have decided that the current successor should personally visit you. This would show more sincerity."

At this point, Jing Ruoxue paused for a moment, "But because I'm so useless, I only managed to integrate the ancestral ghost into my body a few days ago, which is why I only came to find you today."

"As for marriage alliances, that's just a means, not an end."

"The Chu Jiang and Jing family have a long-standing cooperative relationship. The purpose of my trip here is to help Shao Siming and Da Siming rekindle this relationship, so that our two families can join forces again to deal with the increasingly serious global resurgence of the supernatural."

Chu Jiang nodded thoughtfully, "I understand."

"Then how did you know I was here? Did you follow Xu Shengtian?"

"No, the [Chu Zombie] in your body and the [Chu Mei] in mine are related. I control fortune and misfortune, and you control life and death. One is fate, and the other is destiny."

“When you use the power of Chu Zhan, as long as we are not too far apart, I can sense your location.”

"Correspondingly, when I use the power of Chu Mei, you will also be able to sense my location."

Chu Jiang nodded again. When Jing Ruoxue attacked the ghost bride earlier, the ghost inside him did indeed react.

As for Chu Mei, the "Mei" in this context should not be the meaning of the word "charm" as it came into use in later generations; rather, it refers to its original meaning, the "Mei" in "chimei wangliang" (魑魅魍魉), the "Mei" in "ghostly" or "ghostly," and it also means a beautiful ghost.

Chapter 283 The Peacock Flies Southeast, Lingering Every Five Miles

While Chu Jiang and Jing Ruoxue were talking, the vast ghostly mist on Qingyun Mountain suddenly began to shrink inward, as if it had been sucked back by something.

Chu Jiang immediately shifted his attention to the area halfway up the mountain.

As the fog dissipated, a blood-red, murky river appeared on the mountainside.

The river encircles the entire mountain like a belt. A cold wind howls over the river, and blood-red waves surge within it. Visible black death energy rises from the river's surface, while bones and corpses float and sink in the water. Howls and cries echo endlessly.

Moreover, even from a great distance, Chu Jiang and his companions could still smell a pungent, fishy odor and the stench of rotting corpses, a smell that made them want to vomit.

The ghost bride and a group of vengeful spirits stood beside the eerie river that had appeared out of nowhere.

Moreover, the thick, dark ghostly mist didn't seem to have been collected by the ghost bride, but rather absorbed by something within that blood-red river...

Chu Jiang's expression changed slightly. "What's going on now?"

This river reminded Chu Jiang of the Naihe River or the Wangchuan River from ancient mythology. Legend has it that all the reincarnated ghosts in the underworld must cross the Naihe Bridge.

This bridge has no handrails, and below dwell vengeful spirits and evil ghosts. A poem in *Journey to the West* describes it: "At times, the cries of ghosts and the wails of gods are heard, and the blood-soaked waters rise ten thousand feet high. Countless bull-headed and horse-faced figures, ferociously guard the Naihe Bridge."

Chu Jiang and his companions have not yet seen the Bridge of Helplessness, but they have encountered a mysterious river that resembles the River of Helplessness.

The ghost bride stood indifferently in place, but the ghosts around her actually began to board the boat. It was a small sampan moored at the shore, without a boatman, and in theory, it couldn't possibly accommodate so many ghosts.

But one ghost after another boarded the ship, and there was still room for them all, with even empty spaces between them.

Soon, all the ghosts boarded the ship, including the Go-playing ghost, not knowing where they were going.

Only two ghosts remain by the Blood River: one is the Ghost Bride, and the other is the Ghost Wedding Ceremony.

Of course, the wedding procession behind the ghost bride was still there, but they didn't board the boat.

At this moment, the ghost seemed to have broken free from the control of the ghost bride, or rather, the ghost bride no longer controlled it.

So the ghost bride continued her wicked ways, putting an old red wedding dress on the ghost bride in an attempt to possess her.

This time, the ghost bride did not burn her clothes; instead, they floated silently to the ghost bride's door.