Chapter 68: The So-Called Pen Fairy Is No Different

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Chapter 68: The So-Called Pen Fairy Is No Different

“How exactly do you practice Fuji here?” Chen Yuan asked the Xuekui, ignoring Yu Shenliu’s internal monologue.

The Xuekui answered, “Well, actually, it’s not all that different from the way people play Pen Fairy elsewhere.

“First, you prepare all the necessary items. Paper, a pen, and people are obviously essential. Beyond that, our students tend to take it a little more seriously. They usually prepare incense, candles, and offerings as well. At night, or in a dark room, they light the incense and candles, set out the offerings, and then begin inviting the Pen Fairy. Oh, sometimes, those who are particularly serious about it will even put a board painted with a Taiji symbol underneath the paper they’re using. Before inviting the Pen Fairy, some especially particular people will bathe and change into fresh clothes, saying that it makes the ritual more formal.

“When playing, everyone usually starts by getting themselves into the right state of mind. You can’t be skeptical of the Pen Fairy. You have to be sincere and reverent. Then two people hold the pen between their fingers and place it on the paper. You can’t apply any force with your hand. You have to keep it relaxed and let the pen move freely across the paper. Once you feel that the pen is no longer moving freely as it normally would, but is instead being guided by some mysterious force, that means the Pen Fairy has arrived. If you aren’t sure, you can ask. If it has arrived, you can have it make a check mark, draw a circle, or something like that.

“Sometimes people decide what they want to ask beforehand and write the possible answers on the paper, then let the pen move over them. Or, when they ask their questions, they’ll specify which mark means yes and which one means no. I’ve heard that some people invite a Pen Fairy that’s incredibly responsive. They don’t need any of these methods at all. It can directly write out specific words, even poetry.

“Once you’ve finished asking all your questions, you have to send the Pen Fairy away. You have to be especially careful at this point. You absolutely can’t just throw the pen away or anything like that. Basically, you say something like, ‘Please leave,’ and only once you feel the force in your hand disappear can you consider it a success. The paper and pen you used also have to be destroyed afterward.”

There really wasn’t much difference between this and the usual way people played Pen Fairy. From the Xuekui’s description, Chen Yuan concluded that aside from lighting incense and candles, which made it easier to attract certain undesirable entities, there was nothing particularly sophisticated about their method. In theory, playing Pen Fairy this way at Shishi Academy shouldn’t have been enough to result in what they had heard about: a girl receiving an unfavorable answer from the Pen Fairy and immediately committing suicide.

So Chen Yuan asked, “Is there anything else? I heard the Pen Fairy at Shishi Academy is unusually accurate. Is there some kind of secret to it?”

The Xuekui shifted in her seat and thought for a while. After a long moment, she slowly shook her head, her eyes somewhat bewildered. “I don’t think so—ah! I remember now!”

She had only gotten halfway through her sentence when she suddenly changed her answer.

Her exclamation startled everyone in the room. Even Yu Shenliu and the others turned to look at her. Chen Yuan alone remained perfectly calm. He simply looked at the Xuekui and nodded, signaling for her to continue.

The Xuekui said, “I know a few people whose divinations are incredibly accurate. They seem to have some method that’s different from everyone else’s. Anyway, whenever they ask the Pen Fairy something, the answers are uncannily accurate. A lot of people have asked them to share their secrets. Um, I think the girl who committed suicide before was one of them, too.”

She deliberately emphasized the last point, pleased to see everyone around her immediately focus their attention on her.

A clue seemed to have emerged, but who knew whether it would actually prove useful? Yu Shenliu ultimately decided that they might as well investigate it first. So he said, “Then shall we go talk to those students?”

Chen Yuan nodded in agreement, as a matter of course. Since the two people sent down from above had both made the request, the headmaster had no choice but to reluctantly take Yu Shenliu and Chen Yuan to find the students who were supposedly exceptionally good at inviting the Pen Fairy.

“This actually has nothing to do with us at all.” The boy who had been questioned became somewhat agitated. “She was the one who recklessly went and killed herself!”

“We never said it had anything to do with you.” Yu Shenliu’s voice was cold. “We’re just asking about Pen Fairy. We’re not here to give you trouble.”

The boy plopped down onto a stool. Yu Shenliu’s words had eased his nerves somewhat, but he still said irritably, “Who knows how she played Pen Fairy? We even told her so many things, and she actually committed suicide over something like this.”

“You told her so many things? About the secrets to playing Pen Fairy?” Chen Yuan interjected.

As soon as Chen Yuan spoke, Xuekui, who was standing to the side, immediately introduced him to the others. “This is Master Chen, the one from Songxian Bridge!”

The boy froze for a moment before realizing who she meant. “Chen the Half-Immortal!?”

At that form of address, Chen Yuan’s expression immediately became somewhat awkward. Some nicknames were fine when used in private, but hearing them in a formal setting always made them sound rather teasing, even if the person saying them didn’t actually mean anything by it.

“If it’s Master Chen, then there’s no way you don’t know why our Pen Fairy is so accurate, right?” The boy’s next words left everyone astonished.

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