Chapter 97: The Runaway Pen
"This dorm room is different from the previous ones." Zhu Jianing stood at the doorway, looking ready to bolt back at any moment. "It feels a bit like an escape room. The clues to the exit are probably hidden in here, right?"
"No idea. This is the first time I've seen a haunted house with this much freedom. The owner's really bold, not worried about tourists getting into trouble." Fei Youliang walked over to the chair and casually picked up the few sheets of white paper. On them were written: When will I die? How will I die? Who will die next?
"Looks like it's set up for a Ouija board game, but..." Fei Youliang glanced at the pen wrapped in transparent tape on the chair. "This pen is way too weird, isn't it?"
"Could there be some kind of mechanism?" Zhu Jianing also came over, picked up the pen, and pressed it a few times, nearly crushing the barrel. "Seems like a pretty ordinary pen."
"Do you remember what the haunted house owner said before we came in?"
"The haunted house has four small scenes. You have to experience all of them to get clues about the exit."
"Exactly. The exit clues are hidden in those four scenes. Let's search carefully. Based on my experience, there should be something like a key or a note in this dorm."
The dorm was small, but after searching every corner, they found no hints.
"This haunted house is pretty tough, and the design is clever." Fei Youliang spread the white paper flat on the table. Three sheets had writing, and only one was blank. "Do we really have to play a Ouija board game to find the answer?"
"Playing a Ouija board game in a haunted house doesn't seem like a good idea." Zhu Jianing looked at the questions on the paper, feeling a bit uneasy.
"Among the four scenes, this one looks the simplest. If we don't use it as a breakthrough, are you planning to go back to that classroom to search for clues?" Fei Youliang waved his hand impatiently. "Besides, do you really think there's such a thing as a Ouija board spirit? Come on, let's try it once. If it doesn't work, we'll just leave."
He didn't know what was wrong, but he felt off, as if a suppressed negativity deep inside was stirring, giving him an urge to destroy everything.
Zhu Jianing reluctantly walked to the opposite side of Fei Youliang. The two stood on either side of the chair.
"But I don't know the process."
"Don't worry. I've seen plenty of movies about Ouija boards, and I tried it a few times at home a long time ago. It's all fake. This game can be explained scientifically." Fei Youliang held the pen vertically, hovering it over the only blank sheet. "Put your fingers between mine, grip the pen, and then don't worry about anything else."
"Okay." Zhu Jianing trusted Fei Youliang. He crouched beside the chair and held the pen in the middle. "What do we do next?"
"Just stay quiet." Fei Youliang wrote "yes" and "no" on the paper. When the girls' dorm fell silent, with no other noise, he whispered, "Spirit, spirit, you are my past life, I am your present life. If you want to come, draw a circle on the paper."
As soon as he finished, the half-open dorm door was pushed by a gust of wind.
The old, worn door slowly swung open, revealing the silent hallway outside.
Zhu Jianing shivered and shrank back into the room.
"Don't move." Fei Youliang stared at the pen tip, his body as still as a statue.
A chill wind lingered in the dorm, scraping scraps of paper against their calves like fingernails lightly grazing skin. The temperature dropped, and a cold sensation crept up from their ankles.
Maintaining the same pose in a state of high tension made their senses sharper—a torment for the two playing the Ouija board game.
The dilapidated girls' dorm seemed to darken. The stained bedsheet was nudged by something, as if someone was crawling out from under the bed.
After about ten seconds, their arms, suspended in the air, began to tremble slightly, and the pen left a series of disconnected dots on the paper.
"The spirit probably won't come, right?" Zhu Jianing finally asked after holding back for a while. He couldn't stand the oppressive atmosphere.
"In many movies, they say the time to summon the spirit is ten minutes. If there's no response within that time, it means failure. But this thing is made up by people. Most of the time, players think the spirit has appeared because of psychological effects." Fei Youliang signaled him to be patient. "This place is one of the four scenes the owner mentioned. Let's follow his instructions and see what new trick he has."
As soon as he finished, the pen in his hand twitched—a small movement, but both of them noticed it.
"Was that you?"
They said it at the same time, looking at each other with surprise on their faces.
"It wasn't me." Zhu Jianing quickly denied it. He hadn't even recovered from the fear of those eyeballs, and now this happened. His expression was tense. "Youliang, do you think the spirit really came?"
"Impossible. The Ouija board game uses the environment and the game method to create psychological suggestions. The game time is deliberately long. When your arm is suspended, it moves involuntarily with your breathing and pulse, so this happens." Fei Youliang seemed to be convincing himself and added, "Subconsciously, people imagine the pen moving on its own, and that subconscious affects their judgment."
Just as he finished, the pen moved again, this time very noticeably.
They exchanged a glance and looked at the paper. The scattered dots on the surface were now connected by a line, forming an irregular circle.
"Damn! It really seems to have come!" Zhu Jianing tried to pull his hand back, but Fei Youliang grabbed it at the critical moment.
"Whether it's real or not, we have to keep playing."
"Why?"
"If it's real, and we end the game without sending it away, it'll haunt us until we die. If it's fake, there's nothing to fear—it's just part of the haunted house owner's setup."
"Then what do we do next?"
"Ask questions, then send the spirit away." Fei Youliang managed to stay calm.
"Ask what? The questions on those other sheets?" Zhu Jianing pointed to the nearby papers.
"That's a trap. When playing the Ouija board game, never ask about death. We'll just ask something trivial."
"Trivial questions?"
"Let me handle it." Fei Youliang held Zhu Jianing's hand firmly. After a pause, he signaled Zhu Jianing to stay quiet and whispered, "Spirit, spirit, can you tell me what my future wife's name is?"
It was just a casual question, but to Fei Youliang's surprise, as soon as he said it, the chill wind in the girls' dorm stopped. An overwhelmingly oppressive aura emanated from behind him.
The pen in their hands trembled more violently, quickly writing three words on the paper.
"Go to hell!"