"Master, the place where you play with the Ouija board is just through this door."

Xiaoyue leaned closer and said quickly, "But I didn't know there were several rooms. We went in blindfolded!"

"Just like now, you need to be blindfolded?" I raised an eyebrow.

She nodded and lowered her voice, saying, "It's like an escape room, deliberately creating a sense of psychological pressure. People who have played it before said that in the dark, the five senses are amplified, making it easier to 'see ghosts'."

I nodded thoughtfully.

This is not nonsense.

There are three lights above a person's head, and blindfolding is one of the ways to break the yang fire.

Just like the girls in "Puhuayuan" pluck out stray hairs from their sideburns, it's all to suppress the yang energy and give the yin spirits an opportunity to take advantage.

"When yang energy is weak, evil spirits can easily get close."

I lowered my voice: "They're using this method on purpose to scare you yourselves."

Xiaoyue shivered, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing her cuffs.

"Mengmeng said she saw a rotten face in the mirror before... Now that I think about it, maybe it was just a psychological suggestion. There really is something evil inside. Master, do you think... the evil that harmed Mengmeng is really inside?"

I looked at the tightly closed wooden door, where cold air seeped out from the cracks, mixed with the smell of incense ash.

"It's alright, just listen to me!"

I pinched the "Shenmen" acupoint on her wrist; it felt warm to the touch, and there was no sign of any evil spirits entering her body.

"remember."

I took out a mind-clearing talisman from my pocket and put it in her hand: "No matter what you see later, don't panic. Once your yang energy is stable, evil spirits won't be able to get close."

She gripped the talisman tightly and nodded emphatically.

The moment the blindfold was put on, the world was plunged into complete darkness.

Xiaoyue's voice was trembling with tears: "Master, I...I'm still a little scared...What should I do?"

"Don't be afraid."

I held her hand, my fingertips touching the mind-altering talisman in her pocket, which was already frighteningly hot.

"No matter what you see later, don't take off your blindfold. Just remember what I said and you'll be fine."

We lined up in a row.

I put my arm around Xiaoyue's shoulder, and her hand rested on the backpack of the girl with pigtails in front of us.

The girl's backpack charm clicked and clacked, sounding like a jarring bell in the silence.

"Lift your foot and step over the threshold."

Xia's voice came from ahead.

As soon as I lifted my left foot, I heard a "rustling" sound as the sole of my shoe scraped against the ground—like stepping on fine incense ash.

It also resembled crushing some kind of dried beetle.

As I walked forward, I noticed that the air on my left was significantly cooler.

It seemed as if a door was open, and a strange, eerie wind was blowing out of it.

It was a mixture of cheap sandalwood, candle wax, and a faint, almost imperceptible smell of rotting flesh.

No wonder so many people love coming here; the atmosphere is fantastic.

But the dirty stuff that drifted in earlier seems to be in this room.

But I was wearing an eye mask, so I couldn't see anything.

Did I guess wrong again?

Was that evil thing not targeting Xiaoyue, but rather randomly attacking the jungle?

However, I couldn't ask questions at that moment, so I had no choice but to continue following Xia's directions.

"stop."

Ten steps later, Xia's voice rang out: "You can take off your blindfold now."

The moment the blindfold was removed, the girl with pigtails suddenly screamed, "Oh my god! Why are these candles black?! This place is so scary!"

In the room before me, four black candles were placed in the four corners, and a desk was placed in the center.

The table was covered with a dark blue tablecloth printed with letters, and in the middle was a carved porcelain plate with a five-cent coin on it.

Yellowed talisman paper was pasted on the wall, and several plastic skulls were piled in the corner, one of which had half a red pen stuffed into its eye socket.

Xia, who led us in, had changed into a Taoist robe at some point.

Her hair was styled in a bun, and she held a wooden sword in her hand, solemnly explaining the rules.

"When the pen tip moves, it means the immortal master has arrived. You must not ask 'How did you die?' nor say 'Goodbye.' Instead, say 'Take care, immortal master...'"

The girl with pigtails remained curled up, looking very frightened.

The pink-haired girl was fiddling with a porcelain plate, coins rolling around in it with a "click" sound.

Xiaoyue gripped my sleeve tightly, her nails almost digging into my flesh.

"Oh my god, that's scary! Can we stop playing now?"

The girl with pigtails trembled as she clutched her school uniform skirt and backed away, accidentally knocking over a plastic skull behind her.

"What's there to be afraid of!"

The pink-haired girl tapped the porcelain plate irritably with her silver-gray nail polished fingers, causing coins to bounce and fall within the plate.

"You spent three hundred yuan just to play for a few minutes? You're such a coward!"

She turned to Xia and smiled, the fluorescent highlights at the ends of her hair gleaming eerily in the candlelight: "Sister, can you help us film a 'spirit appearing' video later? I want to post it—"

"no!"

Xia suddenly slammed her hand on the table, and the wooden sword struck the edge of the porcelain plate with a loud "clatter."

"The upgraded formation strictly prohibits taking photos or videos, and you must not directly call out the name of the 'Ouija board'!"

She suddenly lowered her voice, and the sleeve of her Taoist robe slipped down, revealing a red rope wrapped around her wrist, with a yellowed tooth strung on it.

“Last month, a girl filmed a video, and that night she dreamed that a shaman was standing at the head of her bed, holding her hair in his hand…”

The girl with pigtails suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes wide open.

The pink-haired girl's smile vanished abruptly, and her fingers, painted with silver-gray nail polish, began to tremble.

Xiaoyue trembled all over and shrank back behind me, her fingernails almost digging into my lower back.

"remember."

Xia's voice sounded like it contained shards of ice: "Whatever you see later, just pretend you didn't see it. If the Immortal Master feels offended..."

She paused deliberately, her gaze sweeping across each of our faces: "At best, there will be bloodshed; at worst..."

I sneered inwardly.

I've seen this trick many times; it's nothing more than using intimidation to prevent people from investigating further.

But the girl with pigtails was almost in tears, and the girl with pink hair was also glancing towards the door, clearly having second thoughts.

Xiaoyue gripped my clothes tighter and tighter, and I could even hear her teeth chattering.

"Don't...don't scare us..."

The pink-haired girl finally gave in, a piece of her silver-gray nail polish chipped off, revealing the pale nail underneath: "Can't we... can't we just have some fun?"

Who wants to go first?

Xia took out her pocket watch: "The time is almost up, the immortal master is coming."

"I...can I ask...ask..."

The girl with pigtails swallowed hard and raised her hand: "I want to ask... can I get into a university?"

"Yes! But remember the rules! Sincerity is key."

Xia nodded seriously: "Since you want to ask, then you can be the first one."

"No... I, I just wanted to ask..." Upon hearing that she was the first one, the girl with twin tails immediately wet herself in fear.

"Are you trying to use some kind of magic trick?"