Chapter 5: Summon Ghosts
“We can’t wait here any longer.”
Time was pressing, and the others still had see a ghost rituals to complete, so they could only leave this room and head to the next see a ghost location.
This also meant they had to leave Lin Shuyue here alone.
Leave her in this house that very likely had a ghost’s existence, alone for at least 11 hours.
No one could be sure that when the train returned, she would still be among the people boarding.
But no one raised any objections at a time like this.
“Sister Lin has at least gone through three platform missions, she probably won’t fail in a place like this, right?”
Lu Jinzhao saw unease flickering in some people’s eyes, but she still tried her best to comfort them, not knowing if these words were meant to reassure others or herself.
“It feels like it. As long as we follow the see a ghost rules, we can at least hold out until the end, and with Sister Lin having that thing… surviving should definitely be no problem!”
Someone affirmed, their tone shifting from initial uncertainty to growing firmness.
That thing?
Lu Jinzhao took note of the phrase, but now was not a good time to ask questions, so she could only temporarily suppress the doubt in her heart.
Before leaving, she took one last look at this leader who had left a decent impression on her. Her expression was not very clear under the slightly dim light, but it was evident she had already put away her panic and was doing some kind of mental preparation for herself.
After they stepped out of the room door, Lu Jinzhao could still vaguely hear the faint sound from inside: “Cup Spirit, Cup Spirit, please return.”
“Perhaps… this is the most dangerous part of drawing the Cup Spirit mission.”
Clearly, no ghost figure had been seen yet, but the oppressive feeling it brought was already like dark clouds looming over everyone’s hearts.
But fortunately, precisely because the ghost had not “truly” appeared before the group, even the newcomers could still maintain their reason.
The second one to perform the see a ghost ritual was newcomer Cen Duo.
Originally, except for a few missions, the other missions were supposed to be done at night, but when they walked out of the building, they found that even though it was not yet five in the afternoon, the sky was already dark as if it were night.
—As if providing convenience for their see a ghost ritual.
“This is good too. If it were all at midnight, not only would time be tight, but everyone would have to split up to act.”
The see a ghost conditions in the book mostly did not specify exact times, but it was clear they were meant for nighttime.
The current sky made it convenient for them to act early.
The see a ghost mission Cen Duo drew also seemed very simple: headstand. Lu Jinzhao remembered the book described it like this:
[Is there a shortcut to another world?
You may not remember how you came into this world, but you must know you came out from between your mother’s legs.
Bend your body forward at the waist, look back through your legs, and you will see the passage to another world.
But when you attract the attention of any “passenger,” you must immediately stop the action.
The ghost will think you are a baby about to be born, inviting it to reincarnate…]
The book then clearly stated that one needed to find a dead end alley, take off shoes and face the wall, light incense and candles under the legs and inhale as much fragrance as possible, then hold breathing, bend at the waist, and look toward the back wall from between the legs.
This was not a difficult ritual, but the statements depicted in the book made one feel uneasy.
The dead end alley was not hard to find. As expected, all locations needed for see a ghost rituals could be found here.
Before entering the dead end alley, everyone except Cen Duo stopped.
This alley was not long; standing at the alley entrance was enough to see the end. Even with the current sky dark as night, the dim yellow streetlight at the alley entrance could barely illuminate the entrance area.
“Just in case, we’ll wait a bit outside the alley.”
No one was willing to accompany Cen Duo into this small alley. Cen Duo realized this, and her complexion turned pale.
“Weren’t we all fine in the same room earlier?”
“If only I do the ritual, it should be fine even if you’re nearby, right?”
Cen Duo tried to persuade the group to accompany her into the small alley. Although only she would perform the ritual, having people nearby at a time like this would bring at least some sense of security.
But no one answered her.
“If you won’t go with me… then I won’t go in!”
In her desperation, Cen Duo said this.
Hearing this, Lu Jinzhao shook her head.
Too hasty, to the point of saying something with no threatening power.
Sure enough, no one was swayed by Cen Duo’s words.
“If you don’t go, we’ll head to the next ritual location first. Go by yourself whenever you want.”
A male voice spoke coldly from the crowd.
Reminded by this voice, Cen Duo realized her “threat” was completely useless. Her complexion worsened, but she could only quickly say: “No, don’t go!”
Standing at the alley entrance was better than doing this damn see a ghost ritual alone.
“I… I’ll go right now.”
Her trembling words and pitiful expression made Cen Duo seem extremely pitiable. Lu Jinzhao looked at the expressions of those around her and found not a single person showed reluctance.
It seemed the passengers on this train were already accustomed to such things. As Jiang Yingzhi had said, they would not show any undue pity or help toward newcomers.
Not even just newcomers—even someone like Lin Shuyue, who seemed to have some rapport with the others as a temporary team leader, they would not hesitate if something happened to her.
Self-preservation, staying away from danger, seemed to be the only rule for survival on the train.
Cen Duo had already entered the alley, taking three steps and pausing at each one. Every few steps, she would look back at her “teammates” behind her. Only seeing their figures allowed her to continue forward a few more steps. Fortunately, this dead end alley was indeed very short, and she soon reached the end.
When looking from outside, even in the dim sky, with the streetlight, the alley’s end could be vaguely seen. But once really inside, Cen Duo realized it was… really too dark.
Even looking back at the alley entrance from here became blurry.
This realization made her heart jolt. She quickly took out a lighter to light the incense and candles. The firelight from the incense and candles slightly illuminated the dead end alley, but it did not bring Cen Duo much sense of security. Instead, it made her feel even more uneasy.
She was now very close to the wall surface of the dead end alley. The candle flames flickered slightly, making the wall surface seem as if shadows were floating on it.
“Don’t be nervous, don’t be afraid. There’s nothing here.”
“Just five seconds. I’ll look for about five seconds and immediately stand up. Such a short time, nothing will happen.”
She kept encouraging herself, did mental preparations, then positioned herself as required in the book, deeply inhaled the fragrance of the incense and candles, held her breathing, bent at the waist, lowered her head, and looked toward the back wall from between her legs.
