It was already half past eleven at night, almost midnight.
Although the ancient city is a "city that never sleeps" tonight, only a few people choose to go out for fun in the middle of the night.
Most of the tourists who come to the scenic area go to the temples and Taoist temples to watch the excitement, and only a few watch the stage performances on the street.
You can still see crowds of people in the downtown area, but there are very few people on the "ghost street".
The so-called "Ghost Street" is a funeral street, also known as the Street of the Dead. The whole street is filled with shops selling funeral supplies. Neatly arranged paper money and wreaths, as well as paper figurines and paper carts, are lined up on both sides of the road.
The ground is covered with paper-made "Rolls-Royce" and "Bentley", which are exquisite in appearance, with complete car logos and license plates, and the details are handled very well.
"Ghost Street" is located on the edge of the downtown area, close to the temple and just around the corner. It is also a well-known tourist attraction in the ancient city, but everyone has only heard of it and not many people come here.
After all, it is the Double Ninth Festival, one of the four traditional sacrificial festivals. During the day, especially in the early morning, there are still many people coming to buy things. At night, except for the faint lights in the shops on both sides of the street, proving that the shops are open, the whole street is bleak and deserted, and few people can be seen under the street lights.
In the alley around the corner of the incense and candle shop, the street lamps have been in disrepair for a long time and none of them are on. All you can see is pitch darkness.
Suddenly, a beam of light shone into the alley, and the sound of messy footsteps approached.
...
...
Several furtive shadows were reflected on the mottled wall.
"Chen Zhiqiao, where is that mysterious place you mentioned?" A soft female voice asked, "I think the rooftop of the teaching building is pretty good. This place feels a bit scary."
A young man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a stud on his left earlobe, and dyed yellow hair came over and said impatiently: "Oh! There is no mood in school, so of course I have to come to the ghost street to play with the spirit of the pen!"
The young man who spoke was Chen Zhiqiao. When he heard the girl's words, he raised his eyebrows, as if he didn't care, and his face was full of rebelliousness.
"But...what if there really is a ghost?" another male voice hesitated.
"What bullshit you're talking about! Why play with pen spirits if there's no ghost? It's all about the excitement!" Chen Zhiqiao pouted, glanced at him and said, "Lin Qiang, you're not scared, are you?"
"I, I'm not afraid!" Lin Qiang held his head high and chest out. His legs were clearly trembling, but he pretended to be calm on his face. However, his trembling voice betrayed his inner feelings.
Chen Zhiqiao made a "tsk" sound and muttered quietly, "Coward."
Suddenly, his body shook, and he turned back and cursed, "Pig! Are you breathing with your eyes open? You stepped on my foot!"
Behind him was a fat boy who dared not breathe. After being scolded by Chen Zhiqiao, he said with a sad face and trembling: "Yes, I'm sorry, boss..."
Chen Zhiqiao waved his hand without even turning his head and said, "Next time before you step on someone, think about your tonnage. You're almost stepping off my heels!"
The four bought two short incense candles and a lighter from the incense shop.
Facing the suspicious gaze of the owner of the incense and candle shop, Chen Zhiqiao explained impatiently: "Hurry up, the handicraft class needs it."
The other three looked at the boss nervously, with guilty conscience written all over their faces.
Incense and candle shop owner: "..."
The handicraft teacher asked you to come here late at night to buy incense and candles?
——
Four young men were squatting on the ground. Chen Zhiqiao, the leader, stared at the white paper on the ground. A sharpened pencil was placed flat on the white paper, and a candle was lit next to it. The platinum flame emitted a flickering light.
"Why did you choose to come here?" The only girl among the four cried, "It's too dark, there's no one here..."
"Nonsense! What do you need people for? Ghosts are enough. People often died here before, so there must be a lot of earthbound spirits." Chen Zhiqiao glanced at her and said, "If you want to leave, you can leave anytime. No one will stop you."
The girl choked, her face turned red and white, and she stopped talking.
The other two boys watched this scene silently, thinking that the eldest brother was destined to be alone. This girl from another class obviously liked him, yet he was so impatient with her.
Chen Zhiqiao seemed unaware of this, staring at the incense and candles in front of him with great interest, urging everyone to recite the formula to summon the Pen Fairy.
"Pen Fairy, Pen Fairy, you are my past life, and I am your present life. If you want to continue your relationship with me, please draw a circle on the paper..."
The four of them recited the formula in unison, waiting fearfully for the arrival of the Pen Fairy.
After waiting for a long time, the flames on the incense and candles did not go out.
"Will this work?" Lin Qiang swallowed nervously and asked carefully, "Should one of us hold the pen?"
Chen Zhiqiao was silent for a moment, then suddenly pushed the fat boy next to him and urged, "You hold the pen."
"Me, me, me, me?" The fat boy pointed at his nose in disbelief and stammered.
"You have thick skin and tough flesh. If a ghost really came to possess you, it would definitely not be able to hurt you!"
Chen Zhiqiao analyzed self-righteously, and seeing that he was hesitant and did not dare to take the pen, he directly took the pen from the paper and stuffed it into his hand.
The fat boy held the pen at a loss, his palms were sweaty with nervousness, and the smooth pencil kept slipping in his hands.
No one noticed that the moment Chen Zhiqiao picked up the pen, a strange air flow rose around him for no reason, and the flame on the incense candle trembled slightly.
"What a waste!" Chen Zhiqiao sneered.
The fat boy's face turned red, and he cursed in his heart, then ordered people around, "Why don't you take a pen?"
If they had the ability to see through the Yin and Yang world, they would have noticed that a translucent figure suddenly appeared and stuck closely behind Chen Zhiqiao.
Chen Zhiqiao touched his neck unconsciously and felt an inexplicable chill there.
The fat boy followed Chen Zhiqiao's request, crossed his hands and held the pencil, tensed his arms, and recited the formula again, as if he had used a lot of strength. After finishing, he said breathlessly: "Pen Fairy, are you here?"
There are two words on a piece of white paper, one above and one below: "Yes" and "No".
The pencil stood upright between the two words and did not react.
The fat boy breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the ghost of the pen was indeed fake.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed that the three people around him were staring intently at his hands, and suddenly a bad idea came to his mind.
So he closed his eyes and pretended that he was possessed by the spirit of the pen. Suddenly, his whole body trembled violently, and even the pen in his hand trembled. He suddenly opened his eyes and shouted hoarsely: "It's moving! My hand is moving by itself!!"
After a while, the tip of the pen fell on the paper and slowly drew a twisted circle on the word "yes" on the paper.
His acting was so realistic that the three people nearby gasped when they saw the scene.
"Really...really coming?" Lin Qiang's hair stood on end. He rubbed his arms and found that the temperature there seemed to have really dropped. Thinking of this, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back again.
Jing Cheng walked over at this time. The alley was pitch black. He landed silently and none of the teenagers squatting on the ground noticed him.
Jing Cheng had sharp senses and had heard the noise here long ago. He was standing behind a few young men with a strange expression... Was this little fat guy lying?
The girl was the first to react and quickly asked, "Pen Fairy, can I ask you a question?"
The fat boy circled the word "yes" again.
The girl shuddered instinctively at first, and then asked timidly: "Pen Fairy, does the person I like like me?"
After she finished speaking, she seemed to become shy belatedly and cautiously glanced at Chen Zhiqiao beside her.
Chen Zhiqiao frowned, and his face clearly showed "What a bullshit question!", "Waste of time", "Girls are trouble", etc.
The fat boy trembled and hesitated for a long time before circling "yes".
A hint of joy flashed in the girl's eyes, and she immediately looked radiant.
The "ghost" who hadn't had a chance to possess me yet: "..."Are you still addicted to pretending to be me?
Jing Cheng, who was standing silently behind and watching the fun: "..." Young man, you will suffer retribution for matching people up at random.
"Have you finished asking questions? It's my turn now." Chen Zhiqiao pushed the girl aside and stared at the white paper on the ground, with a strange light flashing in his eyes.
Cold sweat began to appear on the fat boy's forehead.
Chen Zhiqiao looked at him for a moment, and then he said something shocking: "When will my father die?"
Everyone present: “???”
"No." Chen Zhiqiao frowned and considered his words. Just when everyone thought he had said something wrong and wanted to take it back, he said again, "It should be... Can my father die tonight?"
“…”
The cold sweat on the fat boy's forehead finally rolled to the ground.
At the same time, Jing Cheng, who was standing behind them, finally couldn't help but cough lightly to announce his presence: "Why aren't you going home so late? What are you doing here?"
In the deserted streets late at night, a voice suddenly came from behind, which would terrify anyone!
The four teenagers squatting on the ground suddenly jumped up in anger. The fat boy also stopped pretending and threw the pen in his hand away with a "whoosh".
"ah--!!"
"Who is it?"
"Fuck... am I going to scare people to death? Who is coming?!"
“I was scared to death!”
The four teenagers screamed, cursed, and jumped around for a while before they spotted Jing Cheng standing behind them.
Chen Zhiqiao saw that Jing Cheng was very young and it was obvious that he was only a few years older than them. He took advantage of his large numbers and said to Jing Cheng with a dark face, "It's none of your business! You come here to scare people!"
Jing Cheng raised his eyebrows and saw the ghost lying behind the other person. He thought, I'm just getting started. Why don't you stay at home and sleep well in the middle of the night? You run to the ghost street to play with the Ouija board, which is just scaring people, okay?
Putting his hands in his coat pockets, Jing Cheng raised his chin and said in a leisurely tone: "It was dry and I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk. I didn't expect to catch a few little mice."
"Why can't you sleep?" Chen Zhiqiao raised his head slightly. Jing Cheng was a few centimeters taller than him, which made him frown unhappily. When he heard the second half of his sentence, he widened his eyes and said angrily, "Who do you call a rat?!"
"I haven't finished yet, why are you so anxious to admit it?" Jing Cheng patted his shoulder and hooked his finger lightly. The ghost behind him seemed to be strangled by the neck, with two bloody eyeballs bulging out, and was unwillingly hooked over by Jing Cheng.
"You are a person——"
Chen Zhiqiao became furious upon hearing this and raised his fist to hit him.
Jing Cheng held his fist with one hand and kicked him lightly. Chen Zhiqiao immediately felt as if he was being crushed by a mountain. He fell to the ground with his legs unable to support him.
The other three were dumbfounded when they saw this, and after they came to their senses, they hurried forward to help him up.
It is instinctive for children to be afraid of adults. Even though Jing Cheng did not look like an adult, the aura he exuded was very intimidating. Lin Qiang and the fat boy originally wanted to take action, but with just a light glance from Jing Cheng, the two were nailed to the spot.
Chen Zhiqiao was so angry that his eyes turned red. Knowing that he could not beat Jing Cheng, he began to curse. The obscenities he used were extremely unpleasant, and some English was mixed in.
Because he was speaking in dialect, Jing Cheng couldn't understand what he was saying. He just knew that the other party was definitely not saying anything nice, so his face darkened and he was about to step forward and give him a shocking lesson.
"Little brother!" the girl suddenly said, "We know we are wrong, we will go home immediately!"
The delicate voice of "little brother" made Jing Cheng's body tremble, his feet slipped, and he almost stumbled. After stabilizing himself, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't try to get close to me, I'm not your brother!"
The girl looked embarrassed and said, "I'm sorry."
Jing Cheng looked at them and suddenly said seriously: "The Pen Fairy is not a fairy, but a wandering ghost. Being possessed by a ghost is not a good thing. If you are not careful, your body will no longer be your own."
The teenagers didn't expect him to suddenly say such a thing and were slightly stunned.
"You are all safe this time because of me. If I had come a step later, one of you would have been possessed by a wild ghost." Jing Cheng looked directly at Chen Zhiqiao who was being supported by someone. His clear and sharp gaze pierced people's hearts.
Chen Zhiqiao couldn't say the dirty words that were on the tip of his tongue. His eyes flickered and he didn't dare to look him in the eye. He felt his cheeks starting to burn.
"That's all I have to say. You guys take care of yourself."
Jing Cheng left after he finished speaking, bringing with him a gust of cold wind.
The four young men stood there in a daze, silent.
-----
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Next, I will start updating daily.
There are still a few small copies, I will try to finish them as quickly as possible.
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