Chapter 174

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Chapter 174: Seventieth Birthday

Chu Jiang’s words gave Fifth Aunt a glimmer of hope.

She nodded repeatedly, "Then I won’t disturb Mr. Chu. Also, if Mr. Chu needs anything, he can come find me anytime these days. I’m willing to do anything."

After Xu Lan finished speaking, she wanted to leave behind a handkerchief she had embroidered herself, saying it could be used to contact each other.

But Chu Jiang firmly refused.

After finally sending away this woman, oh no, female ghost, with great difficulty, Chu Jiang helplessly lay back on the bed.

It’s troublesome. Before the issue of the incense was confirmed, some people from the bureau woke up and started seeking his help.

Now the only thing Chu Jiang can do is to meet the old patriarch as soon as possible.

……

In the next two days, Chu Jiang stayed in his room and declined all invitations from the Lin family’s young masters and misses. He patiently waited for the old master’s birthday banquet.

Lin Mohua wanted to take Chu Jiang out for a walk to relax, but when she realized she couldn’t convince him, she could only come and sit in his room from time to time.

She talked to Chu Jiang about life, ink paintings, and her experiences and observations outside. In short, she acted like she was attached to Chu Jiang.

Of course, Chu Jiang also knew that this was not love at first sight. Lin Mohua was more like someone who could fill the emptiness in her heart.

If Chu Jiang were a girl, Lin Mohua would also be enthusiastic about coming to chat with him.

During these two nights, Fifth Aunt also sneaked in once or twice. She even tried to seduce him by wearing new-style underwear from the West, but in the end, Chu Jiang threatened to call for help and scared her away.

In this torment, the third day finally arrived. It was the Lin family patriarch’s 70th birthday, and the mansion gradually became lively.

……

Chu Jiang originally thought that with the current situation of the Lin mansion, the birthday banquet would be held during the day.

However, to his surprise, it was still arranged for the evening, even late at night. And the location was in the outdoor garden of the Lin mansion, not outside.

When Chu Jiang accompanied Lin Mohua to the garden, there were about thirty to forty banquet tables set up, all made of dark red wood. Red lanterns were hanging everywhere, with colorful decorations, creating a festive atmosphere.

There were also many guests, including influential figures from the local area and even the provincial capital, such as warlords who controlled armed forces, chief of police, and head of the military identification department.

In addition, some underworld figures also showed up, showing respect for the elderly master. Mob bosses, gang leaders, wealthy merchants, and tycoons all brought their birthday gifts.

Finally, there were several tables occupied by people with eerie and gloomy auras, clearly followers of the Ghost Master.

Of course, after Chu Jiang took a few glances and realized that all these people were "dummies" who seemed lifeless, he didn’t pay much attention to them.

Lin Mohua also seemed uninterested in these guests and just pulled Chu Jiang to sit at the table with the Lin family.

Tonight, the Lin mansion seemed different in a special way, as Chu Jiang didn’t notice anything strange. It felt safe here, unlike the eerie and supernatural atmosphere that used to lurk everywhere.

And at the feast, there were also many servants and maids coming and going, obviously it was not their restricted time.

This time, the Fifth Young Master sat on Chu Jiang’s left side, and he curiously asked, "Brother Chu, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing, I just feel that the atmosphere in the mansion is different from the previous few nights; besides, I want to see when the old master will come out."

Lin Xinghe smiled and said, "The old master will come out in a while, and the feast will officially begin when he comes out."

"As for the atmosphere, it’s normal. You’ll understand later." He teased Chu Jiang a little.

Looking at this shy young boy, Chu Jiang suddenly remembered something.

The five brothers of the Lin family, the last character in their names are: sky, wind, rain, smooth, and harmony.

Did they get the order wrong? If we follow the order of "sky and wind, rain and smooth, land and bountiful crops, people and prosperous businesses, house and successful everything," then shouldn’t "harmony" be the second brother?

Although he couldn’t quite understand, Chu Jiang patiently waited for the appearance of a certain old man.

At this moment, several young masters of the Lin family are greeting guests at different tables. Only a group of women and the Fifth Young Master, who is younger, are sitting at this table.

It’s worth mentioning that there is a red palm print on Fifth Aunt’s face, but no one knows who slapped her and it hasn’t gone away yet.

However, when they saw the other ladies and aunts subconsciously keeping their distance from Xu Lan and moving closer to Madam, Chu Jiang had a rough idea of what was going on…

Despite having a palm print on her face, Fifth Aunt remained calm and didn’t show much distress. She just looked towards Chu Jiang from time to time.

And now, Chu Jiang, Second Young Lady, and the Fifth Young Master are all bothering him, asking him to tell a story.

Seeing no other choice, Chu Jiang picked some foreign fairy tales to tell them. After all, they knew more about domestic history stories than Chu Jiang did.

At this moment, Lin Mohua surprisingly didn’t "claim" Chu Jiang. She just drank her wine expressionlessly, probably thinking that these two little ones wouldn’t pose a threat to her.

……

When the moon was high in the sky, approaching midnight, all the guests at the banquet suddenly heard a faint echo of "squeak~" coming from the depths of the Lin residence.

As soon as the sound was heard, everyone who was laughing became quiet; the young masters of the Lin family also returned to their seats at the head table.

Oh, by the way, it seems like Fourth Young Master’s hostility towards Chu Jiang has disappeared, at least there are no visible clues… Actually, nobody knows for sure.

Shortly after the sound of the door opening, everyone heard heavy footsteps coming from the depths of darkness, along with the sound of a cane hitting the ground.

It was only at this moment that Chu Jiang suddenly realized that before Black Sun was sucked into the mysterious vortex, he heard a sound of wood hitting the ground.

Now that he thought about it, it was probably the old master using his cane to tap the ground…

The footsteps grew closer and closer, and everyone became more and more excited, including Chu Jiang.

However, in the end, the person who walked from the depths of the Lin Mansion to the garden was just an ordinary, tall old man. At first glance, he didn’t give off any eerie or mysterious feeling, unlike what many people imagined of a Ghost Master.

The old man appeared to be around seventy or eighty years old, wearing plain clothes, with white silver hair. Although his face was wrinkled and covered in age spots, traces of his former dignity could still be seen.

He leaned on an old bamboo cane with a length of six feet. The second to last section of the cane was tied with a slightly blackened red string.

The old man slowly walked closer, and everyone unconsciously stood up together.

Among them, the young master, Lin Xingtian, spoke first, "We respectfully welcome the esteemed old master, wishing him longevity like a mountain, hill, mound, or hillside, like a river, like the constant moon, like the rising sun, like the shade of pine and cypress, and a life as enduring as the South Mountain!"

The others also raised their hands and congratulated in unison, "Wishing the esteemed old master a long life, surpassing the South Mountain!"