FEG | Chapter 9

Chapter 9, Where Are There Ghosts in This World

“Did the voltage get lower?” Bald Guy grumbled. “Don’t let the power go out later.”

The temperature on the mountain was already low. Without anyone noticing, a chill of yin cold rose from the ground.

“Pen spirit, pen spirit, may I ask if you’re from Shijing Village?” Ning Xiaomeng asked as if she were merely curious.

The pencils in the two people’s hands moved to the character “yes” and circled it.

“It really is...” Ning Xiaomeng looked astonished. “Pen spirit, pen spirit, may I ask when my true destiny lover will appear by my side?”

Anisocoria was secretly delighted. He aimed for “now” on the paper and secretly exerted force, only to find the pencil pushed by an even greater force to the number 2 on the other side, where it circled it. Anisocoria secretly regretted it. It seemed Ning Xiaomeng had no feelings for him. Being able to push back against him, Ning Xiaomeng’s strength seemed quite considerable.

“2? Within two years?” Ning Xiaomeng guessed. “Could it be saying I’m really dumb?” Self-mockery usually wins fan goodwill.

“Mengmeng is really funny.” Anisocoria took over the conversation. “Pen spirit, pen spirit, besides you, is there anyone else in Shijing Village...” After hesitating for a moment, Anisocoria also wasn’t sure how to describe it.

The pencil suddenly moved, and circled the character “have.”

Anisocoria and Ning Xiaomeng exchanged a look, both sensing that something was wrong. The suspicion on Ning Xiaomeng’s face became much more genuine.

“Pen spirit, pen spirit, you are my past life, I am your present life. If you want to leave, please take the pen tip off the paper...” Anisocoria hurriedly recited the incantation.

However, the pencil stubbornly circled the character “have.”

Sweat appeared on Anisocoria’s forehead. “Pen spirit, pen spirit, you are my past life, I am your present life. If you want to leave, please take the pen tip off the paper...”

The pencil remained unmoved.

Ning Xiaomeng had tears in her eyes, her voice trembling. “Pen spirit, pen spirit, you are my past life, I am your present life. If you want to leave, please take the pen tip off the paper...”

After the two of them recited it more than ten times, the pencil slowly moved off the paper.

Pangye Zuiheng sighed inwardly. If you were going to talk about who had a lot of fans, just look at this acting, “Calm under pressure, steady!”

Anisocoria forced a smile. “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at your door, and the pen spirit has no grudge against me...”

Ning Xiaomeng was still shaken, sitting in her seat with lingering fear.

Sun Fangchi noticed that something was off. “I think if we invite the pen spirit again, the pen spirit should get annoyed. How about we forget the third round?”

Bald Guy was displeased. “What do you mean, forget it? Are you scared? Are you even a man!”

Anisocoria looked coldly at Bald Guy’s complaints. “Being scared is normal. Can’t a man be timid? But for us horror streamers, it’s actually rare to see someone timid. Since Gui Chi is scared, then for the third round, let Li Tianshi and Bald Guy do it. We’ll count Gui Chi as forfeiting the pen spirit task.”

Sun Fangchi glanced at him and felt his teeth itch. This guy was trying to cut off his path as a game streamer.

Damn it, this pretty boy was really sinister.

“I never said I was forfeiting. I’ll take part in the third round.”

Li Tianshi, Bald Guy, and Sun Fangchi each wrapped their right hands around one another clockwise, with the pencil held in the middle and the tip lightly resting on the paper. The three of them chanted in unison, “Pen spirit, pen spirit, you are my past life, I am your present life. If you want to continue our fate, please draw a circle on the paper...”

A chill of yin cold burst outward from the pencil as the center.

Everyone felt the invisible wave. The temperature inside dropped, and goosebumps rose in patches on the skin exposed to the air.

“Is it... my illusion?” Ning Xiaomeng’s voice trembled, her tone extremely unsteady.

Of course not.

In Sun Fangchi’s eyes, a figure stood with its head lowered above the pencil, toes pointed in the air, wearing a gray, indistinct outfit of the same style they had seen in the daytime. It bowed its head and looked down, its eyes all white.

At the foot of the mountain, in Shijing New Village, He Baichang and several other streamers’ managers were watching the livestream together.

The internet set up by the organizers was very fast, completely free of lag, and the camera switches were controlled by professionals, cleverly capturing the slightest expressions on everyone’s faces.

——Goodness, exciting, when has there ever been such an exciting program in the country?
——What brand of pencil is that?
——Going to Shijing Village to court death, nobody can compare
——Playing pen spirit in the middle of the night, they must be tired of living
——Bold, followed

The livestream room’s viewership kept climbing, and the online discussion was extremely heated.

He Baichang’s feelings were mixed, his head throbbing in waves. He didn’t know whether it was from excitement or anger.

The program’s ratings were high, so of course he was happy, but damn it, Ghost Pool, he had even built the ladder to heaven for him, yet he never would have guessed that he would just lie down on the spot?

The whole afternoon, not livestreaming for even one minute was one thing, but now that they were jointly streaming, he was actually slacking off. From the beginning until now, there had been no movement from him, and the only sentence he had said was a dispirited one.

At this point, not to mention gaining fans, not becoming a target for hate would be impossible!

——Streamer Ning Xiaomeng looks so cute when frightened, I want...
——No, you don’t
——Anisocoria is manly enough
——Pangye is mighty
——Does anyone know what background Ghost Pool has?
——This guy is just here to make up the numbers

Look, look, He Baichang had a terrible headache. That hard-won opportunity was clearly about to be wasted by Ghost Pool.

“Boss He, your streamer is pretty aloof.” Anisocoria’s manager said lightly.

He Baichang knew he was implying something. “Not at all, not at all, Ghost Pool is just a bit introverted.”

“Look! Something seems off!”

Everyone shifted their attention to the screen, and sure enough, the streamers’ expressions were not good.

Inside the livestream room.

“Is it... my illusion?” Ning Xiaomeng said shakily. “I’ve felt very cold since just now.”

This cold was not the cold of room temperature alone, but a flowing cold, a psychological cold unrelated to how many clothes they were wearing. The streamers all understood that this cold carried a frightening meaning.

Anisocoria said, “...The mountain temperature is low.”

Ning Xiaomeng forced herself to calm down and nodded, taking his explanation as accepted.

The three people holding the pencil felt it most deeply. Sun Fangchi felt that the hand gripping the pencil had gone numb. He moved his gaze to Li Tianshi and Bald Guy’s faces, and the two of them were ashen, no longer relaxed as before.

“What do we do now?” Spirit Young Master was the calmest one besides Sun Fangchi.

“One person asks one question, then send the pen spirit away.” Anisocoria said.

Li Tianshi’s expression was ugly. “Pen spirit, pen spirit, may I ask if my son will be able to get into Qingda in the future?”

For some reason, the few people watching all let out a sigh of relief in unison. The question was very safe.

The pencil moved the three people’s hands across the paper, and the tip circled the character “no.” Li Tianshi was somewhat disappointed.

It was Bald Guy’s turn. Bald Guy’s eyes had been fixed on the pencil the whole time. He felt as if he could see a pair of shoes in midair! How was that possible? Bald Guy thought blankly. It had to be a dream. Right, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.

Thinking that way, the fear deep inside him blurted out: “Can we get out alive?”

As soon as the question came out, everyone in the livestream room changed expression in unison.

“Idiot!” Anisocoria squeezed out two words through his teeth.

Pangye Zuiheng’s scalp went numb. He growled, “What kind of question did you ask! Ask again, quickly!”

Bald Guy seemed to wake from a dream. “No, I...”

The pencil did not give him a chance to ask again. It began to move slowly and irresistibly, circling the character “no.”

“Don’t...” Ning Xiaomeng couldn’t help crying. Anisocoria, Pangye Zuiheng, and Li Tianshi all looked utterly desperate.

Bald Guy stared at the pen tip, clearly still unable to accept reality.

In Shijing New Village, the people watching the livestream were trembling in their hearts. “This... isn’t this acted a little too much?”

——I was almost convinced
——The atmosphere is built really well, the details are excellent
——You can still leave now
——High-energy warning ahead, unrelated personnel please avoid
——I believe your ghost

No matter how the outsiders discussed it, the few people inside the livestream room had no mind to pay attention.

“It’s over... could it be that the few of us are going to...” Pangye Zuiheng sat down dejectedly in his chair.

“No!” Anisocoria cut him off. Some things seemed as if they would come true the moment they were said.

Sun Fangchi had been watching the one in midair, and felt more and more that its purpose was not to wipe them all out, that it had another goal. Bu Xiling suddenly said, “It’s absorbing the fear of the few people!”

What?

Sun Fangchi raised his eyebrows at Bu Xiling in question.

“I can see it, the tangible fear emanating from those few of them. It’s absorbing it, but I don’t understand its purpose in doing so.”

Absorbing?

No matter what its purpose was, stopping it was the right thing to do! Sun Fangchi made his decision. He had always believed that whatever target the opponent had should be strangled in the bud.

“Pen spirit, pen spirit...” Sun Fangchi began to ask a question.

The others all looked at Sun Fangchi in shock. At a time like this, he still had the mind to ask questions!

“May I ask, is there no ghost in this world?”

...What was that? The few of them doubted their ears.

Wasn’t the premise of playing a supernatural game supposed to be believing in the existence of the supernatural?

And after personally experiencing the changes just now, he could still ask this kind of question. Was this person really that bold, or was he insane?

The pencil trembled, then began to move.

Sun Fangchi sneered. It wasn’t that simple! Bu Xiling had already understood his plan. She reached out and gripped the pencil, using her own strength to contend with its force.

And so everyone saw the pencil engaged in a tug-of-war between the characters “yes” and “no.” It moved a few millimeters to the left, then trembled and moved a few millimeters to the right. The people’s fear was worn away by this joke-like tug-of-war.

“I feel like I still know far too little about the world...” Pangye Zuiheng’s face was full of confusion.

“...Mm.” Ning Xiaomeng had the same feeling.

Bu Xiling was deadlocked with it. Sun Fangchi gradually regained control of his arm. He used all his strength to twist the pencil, wanting to drag the two of them toward “yes.” However, the pencil suddenly exploded.

The pencil in the three of their hands could no longer withstand the force of the struggle. Starting from the pen tip, it shattered into powder inch by inch.

Tiny wounds were blown open in Li Tianshi’s palm, and the hands of the three who had been holding it together separated.

Sun Fangchi shook off the pencil dust all over his hands. “The pencil’s quality is way too poor.”

Everyone: ...

“Alright, we’ve played the pen spirit game too. It’s time to rest, right?” Sun Fangchi clapped his hands and stood up, stretching.

Anisocoria was very shaken. “The pen spirit hasn’t been sent away yet. Nothing bad will happen, right?”

Sun Fangchi said sternly, “We have to look at the world with a scientific eye. How could there be ghosts in this world? Go to sleep.”

In Shijing New Village, people stared blankly at the screen, not knowing what feelings they should express.

——I guessed the beginning, but not the ending
——Comrade, please sit down
——Same nine years of compulsory education, why are you so outstanding
——Hahahahaha, I laughed like a pig, Pangye’s expression is too funny