I have a ghost diary

The two sides talked for a long time, from afternoon to evening.

In the end, the two agreed to pack up and leave the graveyard of Chu Mountain with Chu Jiang.

They were willing to believe Chu Jiang's words, but they also needed more time to get closer to him so that both sides could truly put aside their differences.

As he left, Chu Jiang took one last look at the eerie and ominous mountain. He murmured to himself, "Let the fate of the Chu Zang lineage end with my generation. From now on, there will be no more Chu Zang in this world."

After speaking, he left without looking back, leading his parents away.

After everything quieted down, in this secluded and eerie space, a low sobbing sound drifted from somewhere, echoing in the wind, settling in the earth, and reverberating beneath the water's surface, seemingly never ceasing...

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

After arranging accommodations for his parents at the company, Chu Jiang methodically began working on the next task.

It wasn't that he didn't have time to rest, but rather that his desire was growing stronger and stronger, and everything was within reach; the ghost that had disrupted his life's trajectory had led him astray onto this path of no return.

Let's end this with this ghost and let Chu Jiang return to his peaceful daily life.

The following day, Chu Jiang went to the headquarters of Research Institute No. 21.

Before he left, he informed several experts and asked them to meet in Expert Chen's office.

However, when Chu Jiang arrived at the headquarters, he found the atmosphere to be rather serious, and the staff seemed to be in a hurry, as if something had happened.

When Chu Jiang arrived at the office, the same was true; several experts sat silently in their office chairs, with a letter on their desks.

Upon seeing Chu Jiang arrive, Chen Yehua nodded. "Take a look at this letter first. Mr. Xu left it for you."

"Stay?" Chu Jiang frowned. "Where did he go?"

"He passed away. Well, he actually died a long time ago. Anyway, you'll understand after you read it."

Mr. Xu is dead?!

To be honest, even though he had always known that Mr. Xu was nearing the end of his life, Chu Jiang never expected that this mysterious old man, whom he had only met once, would leave this world so quietly.

And isn't Mr. Xu Xu Fu? If so, he has lived for at least 2,200 years, so how could he suddenly die at this point in time?

Furthermore, the research institute doesn't seem to be trying to cover up the news; even ordinary staff members know about it. It's estimated that the news will spread quickly and cause quite a stir.

Filled with doubts, Chu Jiang picked up the letter and examined it.

The first sentence of the letter was: "Seeing this letter is like seeing the person in person. The deceased is gone, and there will never be another Mr. Xu."

Chu Jiang looked down and saw Mr. Xu telling him a bizarre story in concise language.

In fact, Mr. Xu did not live directly from the Qin Dynasty to the present day. In his early years, he traveled to an island nation in the east. When he learned of the Qin Dynasty's demise after three generations, he felt only sorrow and lamentation.

Mr. Xu lived to the age of 96. Feeling that his time was up and not wanting to die far from home, he secretly took a boat back to the Central Plains.

It was now the Han Dynasty. Mr. Xu returned to his hometown with only a few close confidants and asked them to bury him in his hometown, and to do so while he was still alive.

After being buried underground, thousands of years have passed, and the world has changed. Xu Fu should not have reappeared in the world.

However, an unexpected event occurred during the last period of paranormal resurgence, which was during the Republican era in China, when Mr. Xu "awakened" from underground.

He didn't explain in the letter why he woke up, nor did he say whether he was a human or a ghost. He only said it might be related to the "elixir of immortality"; it was also related to his historical image being solidified in people's minds.

In short, Mr. Xu lived a second life, using the alias "Mr. Xu," and lived in that chaotic era, secretly doing his best to help the people of Kyushu.

Of course, Mr. Xu does not interfere in the struggles among mortals; let mortals be mortals. He only deals with certain vengeful ghosts that bring harm to the world.

After the last round of supernatural resurgence ended, Mr. Xu once again retreated into the deep mountains; later, it wasn't until the establishment of the Research Institute No. 21 that he was invited back out of the mountains to support this official force.

However, Mr. Xu said that he has no way to live forever, and his "second life" has its limits.

In fact, after forcibly taking action to eliminate the S-class vengeful ghost [All Beings] that had escaped from the old house and possessed the ability to multiply infinitely, he completely exhausted his last bit of strength.

Chu Jiang realized at this point that the two key clues he had obtained from the research institute had actually connected...

During the psychological testing process when Chu Jiang joined the research institute, psychologist Zhou Wenshan mentioned a special vengeful ghost.

This ghost was the first S-class vengeful ghost that Chu Jiang knew.

It possesses the property of "proliferation" and can forcibly possess the bodies of living people; theoretically, without any obstacles, it can complete the feat of destroying the entire world in just thirty-four days.

At that time, Chu Jiang always suspected that this was not just an example, but that the ghost and the old house that trapped it should actually exist.

But as he encountered more and more ghosts, Chu Jiang became embroiled in a series of dangerous supernatural events, forgetting to ask Zhou Wenshan where the ghost was.

Another clue is that during the Black Sun incident, Chu Jiang was reminded by Ghost Diary and immediately called headquarters for help, even suggesting that Mr. Xu could step in to help.

At the time, Liu Xuewen, the deputy head of the Paranormal Department, replied that Mr. Xu's lifespan was nearing its limit; moreover, an S-level incident had already occurred in Kyushu before that.

The S-class vengeful ghost in that incident was dealt with personally by Mr. Xu, but outsiders were unaware of it.

Chapter 448 Hunting the Slender Man

Now, the two clues combine to show that the infinitely multiplying vengeful ghost does indeed exist; and Mr. Xu only began his journey to death after dealing with this ghost.

This is also mentioned in the letter. It does not mean that Mr. Xu was killed by "all living beings", but that after sealing all living beings, Mr. Xu had exhausted the last bit of strength to maintain his survival.

Logically, Mr. Xu should have died at that moment, but at that time, the land of Kyushu was in turmoil, and a new round of supernatural revival had just begun, with all sorts of ghost masters making their appearances.

They include new ghost masters of this era as well as old ghost masters of the past. At the same time, various forces, both domestic and foreign, are eyeing them with their own agendas.

At this critical moment, Research Institute No. 21, as an official force, urgently needs someone who can keep things under control; even if he doesn't take action, just his presence alone is a deterrent.

Therefore, Mr. Xu was unwilling to die at that time because he knew that no one in the country could replace him and provide that ultimate deterrent.

He kept holding on, stubbornly holding on, until yesterday.

Why yesterday? Because Mr. Xu realized that Chu Jiang had finally regained his peak power.

With this, a successor has been found. Regardless of whether this supernatural resurgence ends or whether the future becomes better or worse, the emergence of a new leader allows Mr. Xu to finally depart in peace...

Chu Jiang fell silent at the end. Had Mr. Xu really been so sure that he could take on the heavy responsibility after only meeting him once? Had he already seen back then that he was a combination of a human and a Chu monster?

At the same time, Chu Jiang also recalled what Xu Shengtian had told him before.

Xu Shengtian said that when he met his ancestor, he didn't see the person, but only a set of clothes.

Perhaps that was Mr. Xu's true appearance; he no longer even possessed the most basic physical form...

Seeing Chu Jiang put down the letter, Expert Chen continued, "That's right, the news of Mr. Xu's death has been decided to be released today."

"At the same time, the dean hopes that you can become the [chief captain] of the research institute, which is the position that Mr. Xu has been declining in the past."

"Perhaps he foresaw this day would come, which is why he insisted on not accepting it."

“No problem,” Chu Jiang agreed immediately. “We need to be optimistic. The supernatural resurgence will end soon.”

"No matter how rampant the vengeful ghosts become, it will only be a battle between the vengeful ghosts and us ghost masters. Normal humans will be excluded from this battlefield, so this title is not that important."

Chen Yehua smiled. "Hopefully. Have you already reached your combat power limit?"

"Yes, Mr. Xu was able to sense it from such a distance, which surprised me a bit."

Ning Miaowei and Expert Liu exchanged a glance, and then Ning Miaowei asked, "Now that Mr. Xu is gone, are you confident you can take care of Slender Man on your own?"

Chu Jiang nodded, "It should be fine. If even I can't handle it now, then I doubt there are many people in the world who can deal with this ghost."

After discussing the matter, Chu Jiang instructed the three experts to prepare contingency plans, and also instructed several team leaders on duty at headquarters to be ready to be deployed at any time; even if Chu Jiang felt that failure was impossible, he still had to prepare for the worst.

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

Half an hour later, news came from the institute's official channels that Mr. Xu had passed away peacefully and that Chu Jiang had officially become the captain of the No. 21 Research Institute.

This immediately drew the attention of the global paranormal community.

After all, the mysterious Mr. Xu was a figure who had intimidated many people; although few people had actually fought against him, everyone was deeply impressed by the aura he exuded, a power that could subdue the enemy without a fight.

It can be said that Mr. Xu, as the ace of the research institute, has always been one of the reasons why many people are wary of him.

Now that this old man has passed away, countless people have breathed a sigh of relief.

However, at the same time, Chu Jiang's strong rise made them shake their heads repeatedly.

After all, Chu Jiang's record is solid, which is the opposite of Mr. Xu's, but both are equally powerful.

Not to mention that yesterday someone broke the latest news that, judging from the [Moonlit Ghost Domain] that Chu Jiang displayed by the Luo River, he may have already reached the peak strength of the previous Chu family heads.

Furthermore, the research institute released both good and bad news at the same time, and it's safe to say that the message they wanted to convey was self-evident: Mr. Xu has successfully retired, and now it's Chu Jiang's era; anyone who's not afraid of death is welcome to come forward and give it a try.

Nevertheless, some people who were tempted by the research institute's wealth and status decided to test the waters. After all, they had finally waited for Mr. Xu to die, and now they had to wait for Chu Jiang to die too? How many years would that take? Chu Jiang was far too young...

Of course, a decision is a decision, but things don't happen so quickly. A plan needs to be made; people need to be chosen to die; and considerations need to be made on how to avoid being attacked by Chu Jiang if things go wrong, etc.

Therefore, it will take at least half a month to a month before the official operation takes place.

On the other hand, on paranormal forums, many people lamented that Mr. Xu's departure was too sudden, and some even started memorial threads for him.

Although many people have never met Mr. Xu, his contribution to the stability of Kyushu is undeniable.

Meanwhile, some people look to the future, believing that the alternation of the old and the new is a constant principle in the world.

......

Chu Jiang ignored the rumors and gossip outside. He simply took his classmate Zhang Haoran to the Silent Mountain Range where he had sent off the ghost bride last time and took out the tin box containing the Two Realms Bell.

Zhang Haoran opened the box as he had done last time, then gave Chu Jiang a "good luck" look and left the scene on his own, letting the ghost masters waiting on the outside send him away first.

Although Zhang Haoran is immune to paranormal phenomena and theoretically wouldn't be killed by Slender Man, he was worried that his presence would interfere with Chu Jiang, so he chose the safest approach.

Chu Jiang looked at the bronze bell lying quietly in the box in front of him. After confirming that there were no living people within a hundred miles, he reached out to pick it up.

But before he could even pick it up, just as his fingertips touched it, a strange, yet incredibly familiar sound suddenly rang out.

Then the surroundings immediately underwent a dramatic change, and the sky darkened in an instant, as if night had fallen.

The sounds of wails, cries for help, bells, chewing, eating, and swallowing filled my ears...

The air was thick with the stench of blood, the nauseating stench of corpses, and a musty, lingering smell of decay...

An endless chill surrounded them, accompanied by a dark and foul aura. A tall, thin figure, with arms hanging down and a hunched back, appeared, standing at least three meters tall.

Its body was completely withered, with no hair or facial features, except for three black holes—two small and one large—where its eyes and mouth were located.

Seeing this figure he could never forget, Chu Jiang's lips curled into a smile, the fear of those days gone by.

In an instant, Chu Jiang, who was holding the bell, transformed into an ancient, bluish-black zombie; a new ghost realm appeared within the ghost realm, darkness fell, and a crescent moon rose in the sky...