Chapter 4: Summon Ghosts
Inside the room was very quiet, only the sound of Lin Shuyue silently reciting the ritual process could be heard.
A slightly stale smell emanated from the furniture, not unpleasant, but particularly noticeable in this atmosphere.
Lin Shuyue had recited the lines four or five times, but the cup under her fingers showed no movement, yet no one was anxious, just silently waiting for the moment when the “anomaly” would appear.
Because they all firmly believed that this was not an ordinary little game, but a real see a ghost ritual.
“Cup Spirit, Cup Spirit, please appear.”
Even without any response, Lin Shuyue continued to call out, though her voice was no longer as strong as before, gradually becoming lower.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Lu Jinzhao only felt that the surrounding air seemed to be thinning with Lin Shuyue’s calls, or perhaps this house was stuffy and too many people were crowded in?
That stale smell from the old-style furniture seemed even stronger.
Accompanying Lin Shuyue’s another call, the dim yellow light overhead suddenly flickered.
Like a preview of some anomaly about to occur, Lu Jinzhao could hear the person beside her suddenly gasp lightly, Lin Shuyue’s continuous voice paused for a moment, then resumed as usual, as if nothing had happened, continuing to call out.
Lu Jinzhao couldn’t help but sigh at how powerful her mental fortitude was; just standing here, she herself was already feeling some suffocation from the tense atmosphere.
No, it seemed not just her feeling a bit suffocated.
The breathing sounds beside her grew louder, from both sides, everyone seemed to be breathing hard, trying to get more of the thin air.
——Hoo
——Hoo
The sound of exhaling came from the left, the right, and.
Behind her?
No, that’s not right.
There was no one standing behind her, just a wall—how could there be a breathing sound coming from behind?
A chill came from the top of her head, and Lu Jinzhao almost immediately wanted to turn around to look, but she held back.
Large patches of goosebumps rose on her arms; even though she had mentally prepared herself, when the moment came, the emotion of fear still uncontrollably grew.
Calmness, calmness.
First, look at the reaction of the person next to her—what if she was too nervous and had an illusion?
Lu Jinzhao looked up, and then her breathing stalled.
——The person beside her had her eyes closed, lips bitten tightly, even trembling slightly, with an appearance of being extremely frightened.
Useless thing!
But from his reaction, it could be seen that he probably also sensed that the sudden breathing behind was not an illusion.
If not, that meant something extra had appeared in this room.
As if confirming Lu Jinzhao’s guess, Lin Shuyue, who had continued calling the Cup Spirit, stopped.
“Cup Spirit, Cup Spirit”
“Are you male or female?”
Under the dim yellow light, the woman summoning the unclean thing asked a quite “safe” question.
Not far away, the people standing together stared at her and the cup under her fingers without blinking, no one spoke, only widened eyes and rapid breathing.
Under everyone’s gaze, the cup under Lin Shuyue’s finger slowly moved, rubbing a rustling sound on the paper, carrying her finger to stop on the word “female”.
No problem.
Lin Shuyue, conducting the see a ghost ritual, quietly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. This ghost had followed the game rules to answer her, so as long as she followed the rules, asked the questions, and properly sent it away afterward, without accidents, it wouldn’t be too dangerous.
After all, this was only the first ritual.
Thinking this way, Lin Shuyue asked the next question.
“Will it rain today?”
Still a very conservative question within the safe line.
A slight pulling force came from the bottom of the cup under her finger; Lin Shuyue didn’t dare to resist it with force, only letting it slowly pull the cup to stop on the word [No].
“Hoo”
She took a deep breath again; having asked two questions, the process to follow had been done, now it was time to send this “Cup Spirit” away.
So Lin Shuyue spoke: “Cup Spirit Cup Spirit, all the questions have been asked, please return.”
After speaking, she held her breath, tensely watching the cup under her finger.
No movement.
Lin Shuyue’s heart tightened, and she spoke again: “Cup Spirit Cup Spirit, all the questions have been asked, please return!”
No response at all, as if the source pulling the cup had disappeared—could it have already left?
[No]
No.
It hadn’t left; Lin Shuyue’s breathing became rapid. She knew it was staying on [No], unwilling to leave!
Don’t be afraid, don’t be nervous—this wasn’t a situation she had anticipated? Lin Shuyue kept encouraging herself.
She hadn’t violated any rules, hadn’t done the ritual wrong; even if it was unwilling to leave, saying it a few more times might work!
“Cup Spirit Cup Spirit, please return.”
“Cup Spirit Cup Spirit, please return!”
She began repeating this sentence over and over, her tone getting faster and faster; the stuffy room made sweat appear on her forehead, but fortunately the ghost hadn’t really appeared, so Lin Shuyue could still hold on.
But
She got no response.
Or perhaps, [No] was the response.
“Damn, what now?” Lu Jinzhao heard someone beside her whisper.
“Don’t know”
“What’s the situation now?”
“Maybe it already left?”
Low murmurs rustled inside the room, but Lin Shuyue couldn’t respond, only repeating that sentence over and over.
Even, because of maintaining the same posture for a long time, her fingers were trembling slightly, yet she didn’t dare to press down with any force on the bottom of the cup, only continuing to hold her hand in that lifted posture.
Anxiety, urgency, fear of the current situation.
Different emotions spread in her heart; the sweat beads on Lin Shuyue’s forehead had slid to the side of her face, and the cup on the table still showed no change!
“How about letting go and trying?” someone suggested in a low voice.
“Don’t fart, if it were you, would you dare to let go?”
That person stopped talking.
He didn’t dare.
He only dared to say that because he wasn’t the one stuck there now.
“It’s bad.”
The worst situation had appeared.
Lu Jinzhao thought in her heart: Lin Shuyue shouldn’t have asked about the weather, shouldn’t have asked any question that could be answered with [No] or [Yes].
This would make her unable to judge if the Cup Spirit had really left; even if it were other questions, at least the answer refusing to leave would make the situation certain, rather than being tormented by “unknown” like now.
She would spend the next 11 hours repeatedly doubting if the ghost had left the cup; as long as the cup stayed on [No], Lin Shuyue’s hand couldn’t be removed from the cup.
She was trapped here!
She had to struggle with “whether the ghost had left or not” until the moment before the train arrived, then let go and immediately flee to the train.
Even if the ghost really hadn’t left and wanted to kill her for violating the rules, she could still take a chance.
That would be her only way to survive!
