I have a ghost diary

If all three of them were to actually go down this path, it would indeed require a considerable expense. After all, finding a suitable replacement ghost is not an easy task, and one must also guard against being double-crossed.

“That’s no excuse for you to do this,” Zhou Hongyu said coldly.

"Don't tell me you're unaware of the dangers involved. The ghosts that were sealed away by the ancient ghost masters and were even recorded in detail—which one of them wouldn't cause immense chaos if released?"

"Like this time, you tricked a group of ordinary people into digging up your graves, but they ended up digging up an extremely terrifying vengeful ghost, rated at least A level or higher."

"If it weren't for Captain Chu's timely arrival to provide support, our Langchao City might have already been destroyed."

"Even now, this incident is not completely resolved. Not to mention the eerie and terrifying blood river we just saw, the ghost that was dug out is still lingering on Qingyun Mountain."

"You want it? Fine, go up the mountain now! As long as you can seal this ghost, I can apply to the research institute to have them drop the blame on you."

Xu Jinglun's face turned pale, and he waved his hands repeatedly, "Going up there would only be suicide. Even Captain Chu couldn't handle someone like that, so what makes us think we can?"

Chu Jiang pondered for a moment, "Tell me about the origins of the ghost bride first. Surely your family's ancestral secret book wouldn't be completely devoid of any information about it, would it?"

"Also, your book may need to be submitted to the research institute later."

"Why should we?" the man carrying the cross said indignantly. "That's Mr. Xu's family heirloom. Isn't this robbery?"

“Based on what you’ve done,” Zhou Hongyu continued, “we could easily kill you on the spot and then search this old man’s house.”

Chu Jiang waved his hand, "You seem to have misunderstood. I'm not asking for that book right now; I'm just mentioning this possibility to you."

“As long as the investigation continues, the research institute will inevitably demand this from you. I’m sure you, Old Man Xu, understand this very well.”

Xu Jinglun nodded somewhat somberly. Since he had decided to say these things, he had naturally considered the consequences.

Research Institute No. 21 will inevitably ask him for this item to examine, and that might be the best-case scenario. In more serious cases, they could be sentenced to death, not to mention losing all their possessions.

"If you're willing to cooperate, tell me the relevant information now. The research institute will investigate this matter according to procedures; I won't interfere with your family's secret records."

"Of course, you can also choose not to cooperate."

"I think you have some trump cards up your sleeve, Old Xu. If you're confident, you can try to escape now, or even turn the tables on us."

“But I have to remind you,” Chu Jiang pointed to his chest, “our conversation was recorded in the entire time by headquarters, so you can’t silence us even if you kill us.”

When Chu Jiang arrived, he had already reconnected with Chen Yuting, so the conversation was recorded.

Xu Jinglun gave an awkward smile. "Captain Chu is joking. How could we possibly defeat three people?"

Although Jing Ruoxue remained silent throughout and only observed, Xu Jinglun did not forget to bring her along.

Before answering your question, I'd like to ask: if we voluntarily confess and actively cooperate with the investigation, will we receive a lighter sentence?

"That's not something I can decide," Chu Jiang said calmly. "I can only guarantee that you won't die if you cooperate now."

Xu Jinglun hesitated for a moment, "What if I could provide some additional important intelligence?"

"Although we are low-level ghost masters, we are considered veterans because we got involved in paranormal events very early on. We have a wide range of connections and occasionally come into contact with some secrets."

"For example?" Chu Jiang didn't rush to give an answer.

"For example, some things related to the Ghost Hunters. The research institute seems to be cracking down on this underground criminal organization recently, right? We've also done business with them, and by chance, we discovered some unusual situations."

Xu Jinglun only touched on the topic briefly and did not elaborate, fearing that if he spoke out, he would lose his value and might even be killed.

Chu Jiang didn't care much when he heard that it had nothing to do with him; that was a headache for the research institute. "You can talk to the investigators at the research institute about the follow-up. Let's deal with the ghost bride issue first."

“Okay.” Xu Jinglun nodded honestly.

"This ghost is indeed called the 'Ghost Bride' in the secret book, but there aren't many records about it, and there are quite a few strange things about it."

"The gist of it is: In the third year of Jianye, on the day this woman was to be married, before she had even entered the family, her father, an official, committed treason, and all sixteen members of her family were executed by the court."

“The execution was carried out in a very hasty manner. It was carried out without trial by the Dali Temple, and the prisoners were not taken to jail. It was a team of elite crossbowmen who entered the mansion and killed everyone they saw, leaving no one alive.”

"It is said that the bride was still wearing a bright red wedding dress before she died, and she had never even seen the groom."

Chapter 286 The Origin of the Ghost Bride

"Then the strangest part came: everyone was dead, but afterwards it was discovered that the woman's father was innocent?"

"In short, the whole family was given a grand funeral. It is said that the emperor at the time even wrote a funeral couplet for them, which contained many expressions of self-reproach."

"Of course, the bodies were buried, and the funeral couplets were burned along with them, so they were not preserved for posterity."

"After this woman was buried, everything was peaceful for more than ten years."

"However, in the eighteenth year of Jianye, the court was in turmoil, with war breaking out everywhere, and rebels even declared themselves kings, claiming they would change the dynasty."

"In short, during that chaotic era, the Ghost Bride resurrected. She emerged from underground and invaded a nearby county, causing numerous innocent deaths and injuries."

"The ghost master at that time also spent a lot of effort and paid a heavy price to send it to a specific location to be sealed, saying that with the help of the mountain and earth energy, it could at least ensure that there would be no future troubles for five hundred years."

At this point, Xu Jinglun seemed a little hesitant to look at Chu Jiang and the others. He lowered his head slightly and said, "Actually, if I could, I wouldn't really want to dig up this ghost. Just hearing the description is terrifying."

"However, many of the locations where the demons were sealed, as recorded in the secret manual, can no longer be found. After all, so many years have passed, and both the place names and the actual terrain have changed drastically."

"It was the location where the ghost bride was sealed that involved some feng shui terms, which allowed me to follow the clues and find Qingyun Mountain little by little based on my family's knowledge."

"Just then, the Zhang family came through their connections again, asking me to try my best to find a good burial site around Langchao City. So I went along with it and took advantage of them."

Zhou Hongyu sneered upon hearing this, "More than that. According to my understanding, the higher the level of terror of a ghost on the black market, the higher the price it can fetch, and sometimes there is simply no market for it."

Xu Jinglun lowered his head, remaining silent and not daring to respond.

He did harbor a bit of wishful thinking; if the seal was intact, they only needed to take a coffin to obtain things they never dared to dream of before, including some extremely powerful, life-saving sealed artifacts.

Chu Jiang pondered for a moment upon hearing this, "Does the secret manual mention the Ghost Bride's murder patterns?"

"It was mentioned that she was searching for a husband, but to no avail, and would kill anyone she saw."

Chu Jiang was momentarily alarmed. If he couldn't find his beloved, would he start indiscriminately killing people? Wouldn't it be very dangerous to leave the ghost bride on Qingyun Mountain?

Xu Jinglun continued, "Of course, based on the records and some of my personal deductions, I think it's not that simple."

"The bride who died never even saw the groom's face. It was mostly an arranged marriage by her parents and a matchmaker, which may have been mixed with some of the fantasies of a young girl."

"So, after it revives, is the person it's looking for still the same groom from back then?"

“Logically speaking, only fifteen years had passed since the bride’s death, and her family was quickly exonerated. This misfortune should not have affected the woman’s husband’s family.”

"Furthermore, since the emperor has expressed remorse, he should treat the woman's husband's family well and grant them wealth and honor."

"Therefore, the groom should still be alive after the ghost bride is resurrected and begins killing people."

"Since the groom is still alive and I know that the ghost bride is looking for her husband, I don't believe in the original ghost master and I didn't try to find him to solve this paranormal event."

"But the secret book doesn't record anything about this, not even whether the groom is alive or dead. He's probably just an insignificant person, not worth wasting ink on."

"So my understanding is: it's not that they didn't find a groom, but the ghost bride didn't recognize him at all."

"It's quite ridiculous, really. Ghosts aren't human; they don't have human thoughts or reason. Although they still have obsessions after death, what they're looking for isn't the groom from back then, but a 'soulmate' who only exists in their imagination."

"After searching high and low and finding nothing, the ghost bride began to go on a killing spree."

"I don't know what the criteria were for choosing a groom. It wasn't written in the secret book. It was probably very strict. Anyway, no one could meet the requirements of the ghost bride at the time."

“As for now, it’s probably quite troublesome,” Xu Jinglun said with a worried expression. “If it really fully recovers, we must not let it go down the mountain or even to crowded places.”

"If it fails to select a suitable candidate, it may very well create another disaster."

Zhou Hongyu shook his head repeatedly. He didn't know much about the situation on the mountain. He just said, "Who knows what kind of person a ghost will take a liking to? Maybe the other party will only take a liking to ghosts. It's no use whoever comes."

Jing Ruoxue, who was standing to the side, looked surprised upon hearing this.

Of course, no one could tell from behind the mask that she was looking at Chu Jiang, seemingly wanting to know what he was thinking at that moment.

Chu Jiang's face remained as ghostly as ever, but his thoughts were quite complex. The ghost bride had likely already found her target, which was why she hadn't started indiscriminate killing.

That target was himself, and he had set his sights on him even when the other party was not fully recovered, back in the castle.

Even if Chu Jiang hadn't come to handle this incident today, the ghost bride would probably have gone to find him after she escaped from the coffin.

Chu Jiang still can't figure out how he met the other party's "mate selection requirements," which can only be described as very mysterious.

As for the current situation, it is still quite tricky. I wonder if the ghost bride will try to come down the mountain after repeatedly failing to find her people.

In short, let's wait for the research institute's reinforcements to arrive before making any decisions.

During the time that followed, Chu Jiang waited while discussing some paranormal issues with Xu Jinglun.

He didn't hide the fact that the ghost bride had taken a liking to him, which surprised not only Xu Jinglun and the others, but also Zhou Hongyu.

Zhou Hongyu never expected that Captain Chu would be chosen by a ghost after just one stroll around here. Is he truly an exceptional individual? Even a ghost is drawn to him, though such favor might not necessarily be a good thing...

Besides the ghost bride, Chu Jiang also talked to Xu Jinglun about the connection between "ghosts" and "gods". Although this guy is a cunning old fox, it has to be said that he is indeed quite knowledgeable.

According to Hsu Ching-lun, perhaps the earliest gods were simply rational ghosts. Of course, this is just his opinion, a conjecture, and should not be taken as fact.

Just as dawn was breaking, the first batch of reinforcements from the research institute finally arrived. This included some Level 1 and Level 2 researchers, and several Ghost Masters with special abilities.

As for the experts, they were not present. They also had many things to deal with, and it was impossible to send them to the front line for every incident.

Chapter 287 Chu Zhi Perhaps Shouldn't Exist

Led by Chu Jiang, the research institute's support staff observed the ghost bride's situation from a distance.

In addition, Xu Jinglun and the other two obediently followed them, or rather, they had no choice but to follow.

It took the group about two days to finalize the lockdown plan. During those two days, they were able to confirm that the ghost bride was unlikely to descend the mountain for the time being.

Then, the Ghost Master from the research institute demonstrated some special abilities to Chu Jiang.

Although they cannot change the world or move mountains, one of the ghost masters can bury a certain kind of supernatural thread that he spits out into the ground.

These threads have the ability to make ghosts avoid them, but of course, they don't work when the killing pattern is triggered; they can only be used as an auxiliary means.

Another sorcerer wrote words on wooden plaques that served as a warning, causing living people who saw them to spontaneously stay away.

Combining these two elements can artificially create an isolated zone.

That alone is certainly not enough. The research institute will come to build an isolation fence; there will also be people observing here regularly. If the ghost bride shows any signs of coming down the mountain, the headquarters will know immediately.

......

Chu Jiang returned to Luohe City with Jing Ruoxue three days later.