After hearing Su Su's story, I really did feel that something was quite unusual about the matter.
If it had just been bad dreams, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but if the same nightmare persisted for a period of time, it became intriguing. Furthermore, her clothes were mysteriously hanging on a tree after she had gone to bed fully dressed, which was even more unusual...
Could the problem be related to that tree?
Thinking about this, I couldn't help but say, "Let's go! Take me to see that tree first!" I pleaded with Su Su.
Hearing this, Su Su's heart lit up and without any hesitation, she hurriedly took me and Wang Yulin towards the direction of the female dormitory.
"A Chinaberry tree?"
Arriving at the front of the female dormitory, I couldn't help but furrow my brow. A Chinaberry tree! Yet another ancient Chinaberry tree! Chinaberry trees belong to the category of five ghost-attracting trees (along with willow, mulberry, poplar, and catalpa). All of these trees belong to the yin category, with the Chinaberry tree being the most yin. They are favored by all kinds of ghosts and monsters, which is why Xia Xiaoyi had made ghost cards for me using Chinaberry wood.
Yin trees, especially old trees, have a great nourishing effect on ghosts. Spirits that stay on the Chinaberry tree often grow especially fast!
Seeing the ancient Chinaberry tree in front of the female dormitory, I almost subconsciously thought that this matter was related to the tree.
But what I couldn't comprehend was that the ancient Chinaberry tree had been growing here for hundreds of years. Even if there was a ghost living on the tree, why hadn't there been any incidents before, and why did this bizarre thing happen to Su Su?
Logically, even if it were an evil spirit, it would rarely haunt people for no reason, often because the human provoked it first. Then it would keep haunting that person. So I asked, "Think carefully, have you done anything special recently? Or encountered any strange incidents? Such as picking up money for several consecutive days, or seeing someone burning paper at a crossroads?"
If you pick up money for several consecutive days, and the amount keeps increasing, you should start paying attention because a ghost is likely trying to buy your life. And if someone is burning paper at a crossroads, you should turn around and walk away, as they are sending off a ghost. The reason for choosing a crossroads is to prevent the ghost from coming back. If you foolishly go up to them, then I can only congratulate you...
"No, nothing like that!"
Su Su shook her head in confusion and said, "Just before this happened, it was during the time we were preparing for exams. We were all busy studying and hardly ever left the dorm..."
"That's strange..."
I carefully examined Su Su and found that she didn't have any special constitution. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would attract restless spirits... How did she end up with such a problem out of nowhere?
"Wait!"
Suddenly, Su Su seemed to remember something and said uncertainly, "Does playing pen fairies count?"
"Pen fairies?"
As soon as I heard this, I was suddenly struck with a thought and asked instinctively, "When did this happen?"
Su Su thought for a moment and then said, "It was probably the first night when I had the nightmare. I hadn't intended to play, but one of my roommates dragged me into it, saying that we could ask pen fairies many questions, and then I..."
"That explains it!"
After hearing about Su Su's experience, I was almost certain that this matter was definitely related to her playing pen fairies!
The so-called pen fairies, referred to as "fairies," are actually the free-roaming wandering spirits and ghosts. Nowadays, this game is widely circulated among college and high school students. I had previously watched a movie related to this topic, and as Lao Zhang was present at the time, I asked him a lot of questions about it.
According to Old Zhang, this is not actually a new modern game, but one of the oldest Chinese sorceries, a variant or simplified version of "Fuji".
"Fuji" originated in the Tang Dynasty and later gained popularity among the literati during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In his "Yuewei Caotang Notes", Ji Xiaolan once said: Generally, illusion techniques are skilled, but the matter of "Fuji" does have its foundation. However, they are all ghostly writers. Those so-called gods and immortals are actually fabricated.
This game may sound exciting and fun, but in reality, it involves playing with one's own life, with wandering lone souls and wild ghosts, which originally only occasionally harm people. But once you use this sorcery and establish a connection with the ghost, it will recognize you and follow you until it drains your vitality!
From the looks of Su Su, it is evident that she has been entangled by that ghost, which is why it comes to her every night.
However, when I carefully inspected the ancient locust tree in front of me, I did not find any clues. It seems that the ghost did not appear on this locust tree.
Since I couldn't find the ghost, I naturally couldn't get rid of it, but I didn't have much time to delay in this place, so I said to Su Su, "Find a place, and we'll play 'Fuji' again!"
"Huh? Play again?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yulin was immediately dumbfounded and instinctively said, "Isn't everything caused by it? Aren't you courting death?"
"Idiot, if I don't draw it out, how can I eliminate it?"
After saying that, I paid no attention to them, and straightaway went to the car to get a burning stick. To expel evil spirits, this Thunderstruck Wood was the most suitable weapon.
By the time I got back with the burning stick, Su Su and Wang Yulin had already found a place to play "Fuji". The location was chosen in their dormitory, which is where they had played before. This way, the probability of calling the "Fuji" is relatively high.
However, I was curious about something; in addition to Su Su, there was another student in her dormitory. How could she agree to let the two of us, big men, go to their dormitory to play "Fuji"?
When I raised this question, Su Su immediately looked at Wang Yulin with displeasure, and Wang Yulin chuckled awkwardly and said, "I called Su Su's roommate."
"Huh? You called?"
Did I hear it wrong? It wasn't Su Su who said this, but it was Wang Yulin who told her roommate?
"Precious Li has liked Wang Yulin for a long time!"
Su Su said with some sarcasm, then went to the front of the dormitory to open the iron gate. Both Wang Yulin and I naturally couldn't follow her inside, so we could only wait outside Su Su's dormitory window.
Shortly after, a hemp rope was thrown down from the second-floor window. It was fortunate that it was only the second floor; otherwise, it would have been really risky.
First, I pulled the rope to check its strength, and then I suddenly pulled the rope and jumped up to the second floor effortlessly.
Of course, this couldn't compare with Xie Feiyan's skills at all. After all, I used a rope to help me up by sheer force. But despite that, both Su Su and her roommate were surprised and dumbfounded, staring at me in amazement.
"Wow! Are you Spider-Man?"
Down below, Wang Yulin was also equally stunned, so he grabbed the rope like me. Before he could exert his strength, I quickly pulled the rope and pulled him up from below.
"Bro, what have you been doing for the past six months? Why do I feel like you've changed?"