Chapter 10 Pen Spirit Ritual
The passage of time saw Liu Haoyu and Qin Liu return to the master bedroom. They waited and waited until ten o’clock in the evening. Looking at the bright moonlight outside, Liu Haoyu pulled up the curtains. Qin Liu was still lying in bed, playing on his mobile phone, seemingly engaged in some game. There was a saying online that perfectly described the situation: “You never know if your teammate is human or ghost.” However, time was up, and Liu Haoyu said to Qin Liu, “You go to sleep first.” “Ah… okay.” Qin Liu reluctantly put down his phone. She lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, and prepared to sleep. The master bedroom had two beds; Qin Liu slept in one, and Liu Haoyu in the other. As soon as she lay down, Qin Liu began to feel a sense of unease. The voice in her mind became clearer, giving her a headache. Because of this, Qin Liu couldn’t fall asleep at all. Her nerves were on edge, and she kept her eyes closed, persisting until 12 o’clock. It took her a full hour for her eyelids to finally feel heavy. A soft snore could already be heard from the bed next to her; it seemed Liu Haoyu had fallen asleep. Qin Liu couldn’t help but want to complain about Liu Haoyu’s damned composure. How could he sleep in a place like this! The jumbled thoughts in her mind made Qin Liu take another half hour before she gradually drifted off to sleep. In a state of semiconsciousness, a “thud” sounded from somewhere in the room. It sounded like something was knocking on a wooden board, and it was precisely this “thud” that startled Qin Liu, who was just about to fall asleep. She dared not move, nor did she dare to open her eyes. Because this sound was very close to her, and it was the sound of knocking on a wooden board, Qin Liu’s first reaction was… is someone under her bed? Her body was a little stiff, and she struggled to use her peripheral vision to glance at Liu Haoyu on the bed next to her. This man was still sleeping; he seemed to be sleeping soundly and hadn’t heard this strange sound at all. “Calm down… calm down…” Qin Liu kept telling herself not to move and to remain calm. She tightened her grip on the lantern, thinking that if any demons or monsters appeared, she wouldn’t mind throwing the lantern at their faces. Moreover, having been with Liu Haoyu for so long, she knew that the more afraid she was in such a situation, the more rampant the unclean things hiding in the dark would become. “Thud…” Another dull, knocking sound on the wooden board. At this moment, Liu Haoyu, lying in bed, seemed to have also heard the sound. The man drowsily turned over in bed. With just this one movement, Qin Liu suddenly felt as if the portraits hanging on the surrounding walls had come to life, almost in unison focusing their gazes on this man. This greatly frightened Qin Liu. She was shouting inwardly, “Please stop sleeping! Something has really come!” But she didn’t dare to ask and could only shrink on the bed. “Thump thump…” It seemed that the thing in the room had already discovered that Qin Liu was awake. It intermittently knocked on the wooden board, stimulating Qin Liu’s nerves. Qin Liu already knew the identity of the Guide. Logically, ordinary fierce ghosts should be afraid when they encounter her. However, the dirty thing in the room not only wasn’t afraid but was continually knocking on the wooden board. In this situation, there were only two possibilities. One was that the fierce ghost in the room had already completely lost its mind; without reason, it had no fear. The other was that the fierce ghost in the room did not know the identity of the Guide. But no matter which possibility it was, it was not good news for Qin Liu. Now that her presence had been discovered, Qin Liu could only muster her courage and say tremblingly, “Who are you?” The way to eliminate fear is to face fear. This was Liu Haoyu’s usual style, and Qin Liu had imitated some of his methods. “Thump thump thump!!” The sound of knocking on the wooden board became louder. At this, Qin Liu seemed to understand something. She swallowed and continued to ask, “You… can’t speak?” “If so, please knock four times.” The dirty thing in the room seemed to understand Qin Liu’s words, and then there were four knocks on the wooden board: “Thump thump thump thump!” Qin Liu’s eyes lit up, and she felt a sense of relief. Although communicating was a bit difficult and complex, there was no doubt that the thing in the room was still rational and, in this situation, seemed to be asking for help. The little ghost sat up from the bed and placed the lit lantern on the nightstand. The faint light gave her a trace of courage. “How about this, since you can’t speak, I’ll use the Pen Spirit Ritual to ask you.” Qin Liu had witnessed the Pen Spirit Ritual before, so by following suit, she divided the paper into two sections and placed a pen on it. One side was marked “Yes,” and the other was marked “No.” After setting up the Pen Spirit Ritual, Qin Liu continued to ask, “Are you a ghost?” As Qin Liu’s voice fell, the pen on the paper suddenly moved and slowly landed on “Yes.” “It seems there’s no problem…” Qin Liu’s heart tightened slightly, and she continued to ask, “Since you are a ghost, you should be from this house, right?” There was no movement from the pen on the paper. “Suicide?” The pen moved to the “No” position. “Murdered?” The pen returned to the “Yes” position. Seeing this, Qin Liu guessed the origin of the haunted house. It turned out that because a murder had occurred here, a fierce ghost was haunting the place. “Do you need our help?” “Yes.” Seeing that the other party could still communicate, Qin Liu felt relieved and said, “However, we are not very capable people. At most, we can help you find the murderer and then call the police to arrest them…” Before Qin Liu could finish speaking, a very frantic knocking sound came from within the room. This sound was as if countless hands were slapping against the wooden board. Even the lights began to flicker incessantly, and a dense resentment spread into the room. At this moment, Qin Liu remembered what Liu Haoyu had said before. Even if some fierce ghosts seemed very normal, they could be consumed by resentment at any moment, turning into bloodthirsty and terrifying monsters. Thinking of this, Qin Liu quickly said, “Wait, wait! Don’t get excited, don’t get excited! I’m not very brave. If you scare me away, who will help you find the murderer?” Even such violent knocking did not wake Liu Haoyu from his sleep. Qin Liu didn’t know if this man was truly asleep or pretending to be asleep, but she could only grit her teeth and continue, “In short, if you want revenge, then honestly listen to me.” Qin Liu took the lantern into her hand, and with that, the thudding sound in the room finally disappeared completely.
