Trembling, holding the knife, tears streamed from Tong Xiaosong’s eyes. Helpless and determined, he shouted, “That’s the money my sister earned from selling potatoes! You… you… I won’t let you touch it even if I die!”
Saying this, Tong Xiaosong breathed heavily with excitement, gritted his teeth, and tightened his grip on the knife.
After a few seconds, Zhu Fan snapped out of it. He was a bit scared, covering his hand, and chuckled apologetically, “We didn’t mean to take your money. We said we’d give it back. Look… we’re not kidding!”
Saying this, he hastily pulled out ten yuan from his pocket, “Look, I’m giving it to you now. Put down the knife, go buy the candles for us, we really need those two candles. Can you help us, okay?”
Tong Xiaosong still gritted his teeth, staring at the three people, not daring to relax.
Zhao Shanyi forced a stiff smile, a bit uneasy as he spoke, “What’s the big deal about pulling out a knife? Let me tell you, if you use a knife, you’ll be expelled. You can say we bullied you, and we’ll all get expelled together. Who’s afraid of whom? If we get expelled, we’ll find another school. What about you? Your family is so poor. If you get expelled, your family will be in trouble. Can you afford to go to a new school?”
These words undoubtedly hit Tong Xiaosong’s soft spot. The hand holding the knife slowly slid down.
Cui Jian was a bully who feared the strong. Seeing this, he didn’t dare to bully Tong Xiaosong again. With a brave effort, he snatched the knife, stuffed the money into Tong Xiaosong’s hand, and said, “Go buy the candles! Meet us at the entrance of the old school building later!”
After saying this, the three hurriedly left.
***
Tong Xiaosong was alone in the room, sobbing and crying.
The helpless and shattered appearance was like a tender shoot struggling under a stone slab, unable to see the light of day.
Tong Xiaosong didn’t cry for too long before he suppressed all the grievances.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He wiped away his tears, took the ten yuan, and got up to buy white candles.
Cr ibcu jr tf vlvc’a kjca ab mjerf agbeyif obg tlr rlrafg, tf tjv ab fcvegf.
***
Ca atf fcagjcmf bo atf biv rmtbbi yelivlcu.
Ite Mjc, ralii agfwyilcu, rjlv, “Lf jmaejiis vjgfv ab erf j xclof. Gjwc, P ecvfgfralwjafv tlw. P kjr jiwbra rmjgfv ab vfjat. Oemxlis, P tlv delmxis.”
Zhao Shanyi angrily said, “Cui Jian, when he comes later, let’s beat him up. Otherwise, I really can’t swallow this anger. That coward dared to resist! Does he think we are easy to mess with?”
“Enough!” Cui Jian, recalling Tong Xiaosong’s desperate appearance, didn’t dare to confront him directly. “Don’t rob his money in the future, and don’t put dangerous things in the dormitory. If you want to teach him a lesson, no need to beat him. Come here, I’ll tell you…”
As they were discussing, they saw Tong Xiaosong, wearing thin clothes, approaching.
Zhu Fan smiled, “You finally came. Come on, join us and play. We’ll go back to the dormitory together later.”
Tong Xiaosong handed over the candles, still keeping his head down, “No, I’m tired.”
Zhu Fan’s smile faded, “You refuse to join us after we invite you? We even brought you to play, and you still refuse?” He raised his hand, revealing the almost healed red line on it. “I still have injuries. If I tell the school leaders that you have a tendency for dangerous crimes, I wonder if you’ll get expelled. Heh.”
Tong Xiaosong looked at the ground, numbly chose to compromise, “I’ll go with you guys…”
These people always had various ways to threaten him because he was full of vulnerabilities, while they were so powerful that they could act recklessly.
Zhu Fan pried open the door of the old school building, and the four of them walked in.
The spacious old school building was dimly lit, echoing with somewhat hollow footsteps. Abandoned and marked by decay everywhere, it bore the traces of neglect.
Zhu Fan held his phone aloft, illuminating the corridor as they walked forward. “I heard that the atmosphere in Class 4 of the third year is particularly eerie. Due to the high pressure in the senior year, there are many suicides, and Class 4 sounds like ‘death’… Eh? It seems like this one.”
They pushed open the door, and this classroom still retained many inexplicable remnants. There were markings on the floor with red paint, forming an eerie and terrifying pattern.
At first glance, it seemed eerie and frightening.
Zhu Fan smiled, “Ha, now we have that kind of atmosphere!”
Cui Jian looked around the classroom and casually swept a desk with his hand. “Let’s use this one. It’s right in the middle.”
Everyone gathered around the table, and Zhao Shanyi placed items on it one by one, writing words on them with a pen.
Zhu Fan said to Tong Xiaosong, “Let me explain the rules to you. Have you heard of the pen spirit?”
Tong Xiaosong’s mind was only filled with studies; he didn’t have the luxury of time to explore things beyond textbooks. He shook his head slowly, “No…”
“I knew you hadn’t played it before.” Zhu Fan sneered and said, “Then listen carefully to the rules. Don’t break them later.”
The candles were already lit. They turned off the light on their phones and placed them in their pockets. The four of them stood by the table, where a paper with many words was laid out.
Zhu Fan deliberately lowered his voice to create a terrifying atmosphere. “Pen spirit is a summoning game. It is said that there are some mysterious entities around us all the time, but we can’t see or touch them. This game allows us to communicate with them using a pen. They can answer many things we don’t know, and it is even said that they can predict the future.”
“Most importantly!” Zhu Fan suddenly slapped the table, startling the other two, but Tong Xiaosong, accustomed to these people’s attempts to frighten him, didn’t feel anything.
Zhu Fan smirked, “Later, we’ll hold the pen together and sincerely call out ‘Pen spirit, Pen spirit, please come out.’ If the pen spirit comes, the pen will move automatically, and then we can ask questions. However! If you don’t want to play anymore, remember to say ‘Pen spirit, Pen spirit, please go back’ until the pen returns to its original position and stops moving. Only then can we let go. Otherwise, whoever lets go first, the pen spirit will turn into a vengeful ghost and haunt that person forever.”
The three people chuckled, but Tong Xiaosong remained unfazed. Summoning a pen spirit was easy as long as these three people exerted force and then denied everything.
Seeing Tong Xiaosong’s lack of reaction, Zhu Fan, somewhat disappointed, cursed, “Damn, can’t you say something? Did you understand?!”
With that, Zhu Fan fiercely slapped Tong Xiaosong’s head.
Due to malnutrition and a frail body, Tong Xiaosong swayed from the impact and quickly nodded, “Understood.”
Zhu Fan glared at Tong Xiaosong, thinking about the plan for later, sneered, and thought, “You’ll have a hard time later.”
The four of them began to recite in hushed voices, and the low murmurs echoed within the classroom.
There was no wind in the classroom, but the faint candlelight on the white candles trembled, casting shadows on the walls that seemed to come alive with grotesque shapes.
Suddenly, the candle flames flickered intensely.
In the next moment, the pen began to move.
“Wow!” Zhu Fan laughed, casting meaningful glances at Zhao Shanyi and Cui Jian.
Tong Xiaosong showed no particular reaction; this was all within his expectations. He didn’t move; the movement came from the other three people. It wasn’t clear whether it was one person or all three of them moving together.
Thanks for the chapter!
ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞
Omg poor baby, let mommy kill them for you!X_X. Thanks for the chapter!°~
ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞
The bullies didn’t beat him half to death for attacking them? They’re scared of him? Damn, MC could 100% bully them back or at least scare them enough to not be bullied.
Generally the MC is unable to do anything when “bullying” is the focus of the story. Just gradually losing their mind and sanity whilst being basically tortured. So in my hyperinflated standards, MC doesn’t have it that bad and is overly whiny about it, whilst being able to do something about the situation, but not doing it.
And the pity the audience is supposed to feel towards the MC is getting lowkey annoying
Insane how unsympathetic and unlikable you people are
I guess people who have never been bullied before can’t understand MC’s desperation. He’s not only being bullied but he’s also very poor. He can’t simply transfer schools like others can. And these things do happen irl. Not everyone can experience a smooth and carefree life. Let’s just enjoy the story and maybe, learn something from it
After nearly stabbed the bullies, the MC actually went and buy the candles and brought to them as told… Without having to summon the ghost or using an ouija board… the delivery service ghost has possessed him already? So fast, so diligent.