See the Law of Deception

Chapter 4 Summoning Ghosts (3)

The room was quiet, with only Lin Shuyue's voice reciting the ritual procedures.

There was a slight musty smell emanating from the furniture; it wasn't unpleasant, but it was particularly noticeable in this atmosphere.

Lin Shuyue had already recited her lines four or five times, but the cup under her fingers remained motionless. No one was in a hurry; they were simply waiting silently for the "abnormality" to occur.

Because they were all convinced that this was not an ordinary little game, but a real ritual that could "see ghosts".

"Cup Immortal, Cup Immortal, please show yourself!"

Even without receiving any response, Lin Shuyue continued to call out, but her voice was no longer as strong as before, and gradually became lower and lower.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Lu Jinzhao felt that the air around her seemed to be thinning as Lin Shuyue called out, or perhaps the room was not well-ventilated and was crowded with too many people.
The smell of the old, vintage furniture seemed even stronger.

As Lin Shuyue called out again, the dim yellow light above suddenly flickered.

Like a harbinger of something unusual about to happen, Lu Jinzhao could hear the person beside him suddenly take a soft breath. Lin Shuyue's continuous voice paused for a moment, then resumed as usual, continuing to call out as if nothing had happened.

Lu Jinzhao couldn't help but admire her strong mental fortitude; he himself was already feeling suffocated by the tense atmosphere just by standing there.

No, it seems like it's not just her who feels a bit suffocated.

The breathing around me grew louder, from both sides; everyone seemed to be breathing heavily, trying to get more of the thin air.

--call
--call
The sounds of exhalation come from the left, the right, and...
Behind you?

No, that's not right.

There was no one standing behind her, only a wall. How could there be breathing sounds coming from behind her?

A chill ran down her spine, and Lu Jinzhao almost immediately wanted to turn around and look, but she held back.

Goosebumps rose on my arms. Even though I was mentally prepared, fear still welled up uncontrollably when the moment came.

calm down.

First, observe the reactions of those around you. What if you're just imagining things because you're too nervous?
Lu raised his eyes this morning, and then his breath hitched.

The person next to me had their eyes closed, their lips tightly clenched, and were even trembling slightly, looking extremely frightened.

Useless things!
But judging from his reaction, he probably also sensed that the sudden breath behind him was not an illusion.

If not, it means that something else has appeared in this room.

As if confirming Lu Jinzhao's guess, Lin Shuyue, who had been calling for the Cup Immortal, stopped.

"Cup Fairy, Cup Fairy"

"Are you male or female?"

Under the dim light, the woman who summoned the unclean asked a rather "safe" question.

Not far away, a group of people stood in a row, staring intently at her and the cup in her hand. No one spoke; only their wide eyes and rapid breathing filled the air.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Lin Shuyue slowly moved her finger against the cup, making a rustling sound as it rubbed against the paper, until her finger stopped on the character "女" (woman).

no problem.

Lin Shuyue, who was performing the ghost-seeing ritual, breathed a sigh of relief. The ghost had answered her according to the rules of the game, so as long as she followed the rules, asked the questions, and sent it away properly, it wouldn't be too dangerous.

After all, this is only the first ceremony.

With that in mind, Lin Shuyue asked her next question.

Will it rain today?

It remains a very conservative issue, within the safe zone.

A slight pulling force came from the bottom of the cup under her fingers. Lin Shuyue did not dare to resist it, but let it slowly pull the cup to stop on the word "no".

"Phew," she took another deep breath, asked two questions, and went through the necessary procedures. Now it was time to send this "cup spirit" off.

So Lin Shuyue spoke up: "Cup Immortal, Cup Immortal, all the questions have been asked, please return now."

After saying that, she held her breath and nervously looked at the cup under her fingers.

There was no movement.

Lin Shuyue's heart tightened, and she spoke again: "Cup Immortal, Cup Immortal, all the questions have been asked, please return!"

There was no response whatsoever, as if the source of the pull on the cup had vanished. Could it be that it had already left?

【No】

No.

It didn't leave. Lin Shuyue's breathing became rapid. She knew that it lingered on the word "no" and was unwilling to leave!

Don't be afraid, don't be nervous, isn't this what you expected? Lin Shuyue kept encouraging herself.

If you haven't broken any rules or performed any incorrect rituals, even if it's unwilling to leave, repeating the instructions a few more times might have an effect!
"Cup Immortal, Cup Immortal, please return."

"Cup Immortal, Cup Immortal, please return!"

She began repeating the phrase over and over, her voice growing faster and faster. The stifling atmosphere of the room caused beads of sweat to form on her forehead, but thankfully, the ghost did not actually appear, so Lin Shuyue was able to hold on.

just
She received no response.

Or perhaps, "no" is the response.

"Damn it, what do we do now?" Lu Jinzhao heard someone whisper beside him.

"do not know"

"What's the situation now?"

"Maybe they've already left?"

A soft murmur echoed in the room, but Lin Shuyue could not respond and could only repeat that sentence over and over again.

Even her fingers were trembling slightly from maintaining the same posture for so long, but she dared not press down on the bottom of the cup with any force, and could only continue to maintain this raised hand posture.

Anxiety, impatience, and fear of the current situation.

Different emotions spread through her heart. Beads of sweat had slid down Lin Shuyue's forehead and onto her cheek, but the cup on the table remained unchanged!
"How about we loosen it and try?" someone suggested in a low voice.

"Stop talking nonsense. It's your turn. Do you dare let go?"

The man stopped talking.

He dare not.

He only dared to say that because he wasn't the one being held up there.

"broken."

The worst-case scenario has occurred.

Lu Jinzhao pondered to himself that Lin Shuyue shouldn't have asked about the weather, or any question that could be answered with a simple "no" or "yes."

This would prevent her from determining whether the Cup Fairy had left or not. Even if she asked a different question, at least she would be certain of the situation if she asked to leave and was refused, instead of being tormented by the "unknown" as she is now.

For the next 11 hours, she will repeatedly doubt whether the ghost has left the cup. As long as the cup remains on the "No" sign, Lin Shuyue will be unable to remove her hand from the cup.

She's trapped here!
She had to contend with whether the ghost had actually left until the very last moment before the train arrived, at which point she let go and immediately fled towards the train.

Even if the ghost didn't actually leave and was trying to kill her because she broke the rules, she could still take a gamble.

That will be her only way to survive!
(End of this chapter)