"Pen Spirit, huh... Isn’t that just a silly game played by middle schoolers?" Chen Ke sighed, feeling that Ozawa was pulling his leg.
Every student who has ever stayed at a boarding school has heard more or less of such things, whether it’s a senior high school, a boarding school, college, or vocational school, the students’ dormitory buildings are never short on a variety of ghost stories.
Those students who are normally eloquent and good at spinning tales would spend the long sleepless nights vividly and seriously telling their bunkmates about the mysterious stories involving "the upperclassmen" and "the underclassmen".
On hot summer nights, these stories would send chills down the spines of all listeners, and any slightest sound outside the door would send shivers through everyone in the dormitory.
"You’re not joking with us, are you?" Shen Yun also found the whole thing absurd.
"I have no reason to lie to you. I can tell you how to find Qian Chunye, whether you do it or not is up to you," Ozawa said.
"You mean to say that all I have to do is hold a pen, and I can summon Qian Chunye? That seems way too easy. If it were true, Sleery would probably have met her by now," Chen Ke shook his head.
"Mr. Chen, he’s stalling for time," Shen Yun said.
"I have no need to lie to you. You can try my method, and if you can’t meet her, you can still come find me; I’m not going anywhere," Ozawa sighed.
"Who knows if you’ll slip away? Maybe the moment we leave, you’ll take off," Shen Yun challenged.
"I’ve got too big of a business here, where would I run? Besides, I am a Yakuza! It’s not like I’d abandon everything and run just because I’m slightly bullied by a couple of Spiritual Ability Users," Ozawa laughed.
"Then let’s hear it, how can we meet this Ms. Qian Chunye?" Chen Ke leaned forward.
At this moment, Shen Yun tugged at the corner of his clothes and said, "Mr. Chen, we haven’t assessed the danger level of Qian Chunye, and... we’re here to find Ms. Sleery, right? There’s no need to provoke her."
"It seems like your little sidekick is scared. If you’re not prepared, I’m not at liberty to tell you... after all, I’m taking a risk too," Ozawa said.
"Scared of what? If this Qian Chunye is willing to communicate, we will talk; if she attacks as soon as she appears, then we will fight back. I’m not someone who’s never been in a tight spot before," Chen Ke said.
Hearing Chen Ke say this, Shen Yun felt a bit relieved.
"Okay, since Mr. Chen is prepared, I’ll tell you how to do it, but the process is complicated. You’d better take something to write it down so you don’t forget. Missing a step could result in a failed summoning and trouble for me," Ozawa said.
Chen Ke instantly pulled out a black leather notebook and a pen from the inside of his suit and flipped it open on his lap.
Actually, he pulled it out from a Dimension Pocket, but he still made a slight show of reaching inside his suit.
"Oh, you always carry a little notebook with you... that’s really rare," Shen Yun commented, somewhat surprised.
"Let’s get to the point, tell me how this Pen Spirit game is played," Chen Ke urged.
"It was just a metaphor, there’s some difference from Pen Spirit," Ozawa said.
"At least there aren’t rules like having to do it at midnight, right?" Chen Ke said.
"First off..." Ozawa began to describe the method for summoning Qian Chunye.
The whole ritual required two people to perform, one male and one female; this was a necessary condition, which Chen Ke and Shen Yun happened to meet.
Once the participants were in place, they needed a wooden pencil and a piece of white paper at least size A5. They would place the paper on the table, a man and a woman sitting opposite each other, each holding the pencil with the man on the left and the woman on the right, the man above and the woman below. Neither wrists nor arms could touch the table, and the pencil tip had to be pointed at the center of the paper.
The steps above are almost identical to those of the Pen Spirit ritual, but aside from that, summoning Qian Chunye required many other parts.
Some additional requirements were rather acceptable, such as the room environment. There couldn’t be any light, no one other than the practitioners could be present, the doors and windows of the venue must be tightly closed, and the surroundings had to be quiet without noise.
Other additional requirements were not so easy to prepare for...
For instance, the room had to be smaller than 30 square meters, the floor had to be covered with human blood, a female corpse with an open abdomen must be hung in the air over the entire tabletop. The woman could not be wearing clothes and had to be in a spread-eagled position, with meat hooks piercing through her limbs, and she also needed makeup.
The last, most important point was the potential cost of summoning Qian Chunye...
The woman participating in the ritual could die, and the man could become a vegetable.
And what was the meaning behind summoning her? One could only know by seeing her once.
"Where am I supposed to get a corpse? Are you asking me to become a homicidal maniac?" Chen Ke frowned.
"That’s your problem to solve, I’ve already told you everything I know. How to proceed is up to you," Ozawa said.
Chen Ke was silent for a while, feeling was a dead end. Did Sleery know the price to face Qian Chunye? What exactly was her purpose in finding Qian Chunye?
"These prerequisites are twisted. Perhaps Miss Sleery is also stumped by these problems?" Shen Yun looked at Chen Ke.
Chen Ke did not reply. He had no answer. The Illusion Creation Witch had the ability to create the required objects, but would the ritual recognize things fashioned from magic power?
Ozawa smiled at Chen Ke, as if waiting for his reaction the next second. Chen Ke stood up, said "I take my leave," and walked towards the door.
Shen Yun followed Chen Ke. Seeing him looking heavily preoccupied, she figured he was also at a loss.
"Hey! Get up! How long are you going to lie there!" After Chen Ke and Shen Yun left, Ozawa stood up from the sofa and shouted angrily.
In the streets of Shinjuku, Chen Ke and Shen Yun sat in front of a street food stall, eating and drinking.
The stall owner was a middle-aged woman, plump but agile. Chen Ke had little appetite and didn’t need to eat anything, so Shen Yun was the one heartily enjoying the food.
Originally, Shen Yun had suggested going to a more upscale restaurant, but Chen Ke declined. The purpose of coming to Sunrise wasn’t for enjoyment or tourism, nor could he be bothered with unnecessary detours. Finding Sleery to bless the Holy Diamond was what mattered most.
"Mr. Chen, maybe after we finish eating, we can think of another way. Are you really not going to try this pork ball?" Shen Yun held a skewer of pork balls, flicking her chopsticks with her left hand, with a pile of sticks already placed beside her.
"Aren’t there other clues? We might need to visit a few more places. If we’re really out of options, then we can try this method," Chen Ke said.
There were other customers at the stall so they couldn’t speak too directly, so they just spoke in general terms.
"You’re right. So, after we finish eating, let’s go check out that place," Shen Yun said.
"That place...?" Chen Ke was puzzled.
"Yes, that place." Shen Yun smiled mysteriously.