Chapter 105: The Old Patriarch
Chu Jiang wasn't surprised. Today wasn't the day for the Lin family ancestors' worship, someone just came privately to pay their respects.
On the six-tiered steps of the shrine, there were plaques placed on each tier. At the bottom tier, there were nine wide plaques, each with a name written from top to bottom, representing the five elements.
The fifth tier had twelve plaques, the fourth tier had nine, the third tier had six, the second tier had three, and the first tier had one.
At first glance, it might not seem right, but the truth is, only the sixth tier has wide plaques with multiple names. The other five tiers have narrow plaques, with only one name on each.
So, actually, there are forty-five people enshrined on the six tiers, twelve on the fifth tier... and so on.
This ancestral hall enshrines a total of seventy-six ancestral spirits, each representing a Lin family ancestor, who have been worshipped by their descendants for hundreds of years.
The plaques are all black with golden letters, but as you go higher, they become more intricate and elaborate, with gold carvings on the corners and patterns like bats and longevity seals.
The plaques at the bottom tier are written, "The divine guardian of the 18th generation ancestor, Mr. Lin" or "The divine guardian of the 18th generation ancestor, Mrs. Lin."
The first one is for males, and the second one is for females.
But one thing that made Chu Jiang feel very surprised happened again. It should be from bottom to top: The 18th ancestor, the 17th ancestor, the 16th ancestor, the 15th ancestor, the 14th ancestor, the 13th ancestor.
Although the arrangement in front was in good order, when it reached the top layer, where the 13th ancestor should have been, there was a plaque of the 16th ancestor placed instead.
From the fifth layer onwards, various posthumous names appeared on the plaques, so this plaque of the 16th ancestor had a total of 23 characters.
Leaving aside honorifics like "Gao De" or "Fu Jun," this gentleman should be called Lin Daosheng.
Could this be the old man? Chu Jiang said to himself in his mind.
This matches with the prayer of the old woman before, the plaque of the old man is indeed positioned above the ancestors. Obviously, his status within the Lin family clan is very superior, even to the point of violating common sense.
Keeping this matter in mind, Chu Jiang decided to investigate thoroughly when he returned.
Everything was normal afterwards, Chu Jiang didn't go crazy and touch the ancestral tablets, he just wandered around inside the ancestral hall, hoping to find something special or a clue.
Unfortunately, just as Luo Yifeng reported, Wang Lei came in multiple times but found nothing, so naturally, Chu Jiang couldn't find anything either.
Besides the main hall, there were some locked rooms. Chu Jiang looked through the crack in the door, and inside were old wooden tables and chairs, as well as wooden windmills and rice mills used to remove rice husks. They were almost abandoned.
......
After realizing that it was impossible to find the source of the paranormal activity in a short time, Chu Jiang decisively retreated and climbed over the wall along the original path.
This trip was not completely without gains. Firstly, Chu Jiang confirmed that this temple was not simple, it was very complex, and he had to treat it with great caution.
Secondly, this old Lin ancestor might be the key to all the problems. Maybe he, or it, is still lingering in the Lin Ancestral Hall, just not coming out like usual.
Chu Jiang could only hope that this ancestor would stay peacefully in the temple, enjoying the incense of his descendants, and never come out.
Otherwise, the day it steps out of the temple may be the day when Luohe City is destroyed, and Chu Jiang would also die in this city...
When he climbed over, of course, no one saw Chu Jiang.
He checked himself and didn't find anything wrong or cursed. He just felt much more relaxed, as if he had just surfaced from an unseen deep pool.
As for Wang Lei's death... it still needs to be investigated, we can't just say it was Mr. Lin who killed him.
......
Back in Chen Keai's car, this girl wasted no time and started flipping through her phone album, hoping to make a final big profit from her boss before resigning.
When Chu Jiang returned, Chen Keai immediately put away her phone and cautiously asked, "Boss, how many people did you deal with?"
And her eyes secretly glanced at Chu Jiang, as if she wanted to see if there were any bloodstains on him.
Chu Jiang paused when he heard this, "Deal with? What people do I deal with?"
Chen Keai nodded immediately, "I understand, I won't ask anymore, it's not something I should know. Where should we go next?"
Chu Jiang was speechless, what kind of act is this again.
"Let's go to a deserted place, teach me how to drive, I'll treat you to lunch, and in the afternoon we'll go back to the company."
"Okay, boss."
And so, Chen Keai drove a dusty car and took Chu Jiang towards a distant place.
......
When the two returned to Tianfeng Mansion, it was already evening. Chen Keai had been driving for half a day and sitting for half a day, feeling completely worn out.
Of course, it must be said that this new boss has a bit of a freakish learning ability. Just like that, after half a day of learning, they actually learned quite a bit. At least there won't be any problems on the road.
"You should go back first, consider yourself off work."
Chu Jiang greeted and then entered the building with a serious expression. Just a moment ago, the assistant received a call. There were two deaths in the city, possibly related to the game of ghost chess.
Watching the boss's figure getting further away, Chen Keai's expression froze. She thought there would be extra bonus... oh well, never mind. She'll go back and continue looking for clues.
By the time Chu Jiang returned to the office, Luo Yifeng was already waiting for him.
"There are two cases of death, one in the North City District and one in the South City District."
"In the case of the North City District, the body has been dead for at least five or six days. It was only after the body started to smell that nearby residents discovered it and called the police."
"In the case of the South City District, the time of death should not exceed twenty-four hours."
"The two victims have very similar characteristics of death, and the way they died is almost identical to the driver named Mr. Chu that you asked me to investigate."
"The victims had no injuries anywhere on their bodies, suggesting that they died suddenly."
"Another case of sudden death?" Chu Jiang frowned, "Do you think it's related to Wang Lei's death?"
Luo Yifeng pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly, "There are too few clues, and the victims seem to be ordinary people, so it's impossible to determine whether their ghosts will disappear after they die."
"What about Lin Yun? Did anyone contact him after the mission was issued?"
"Yes, we have already discussed it earlier. There is a local Ghost Master who claims to have encountered that ghost and even took a photo of it."
"But the Ghost Master refused to directly send the information to Lin Yun and insisted on having a detailed conversation with the supervisor."
Chu Jiang had a blank expression, "What kind of conversation? Do I have to go and meet him?"
Luo Yifeng waved his hand, "No need, I asked him already. He said a video call with you would be enough to get acquainted with the new supervisor."
