Although Shannon had never come in contact with these foreign practices, she could somehow identify the similarities in her usual practices. Upon confirming it, she began asking about their spirit-summoning ritual.
Hank's roommates were puzzled but answered the question as told.
Shannon nodded, then unfurled the spirit-summoning diagram and placed a cup of water on the paper.
Using a red string as a guide in the water, she held the other end with one hand and silently recited the incantation to summon the female ghost. Her roommates watched in surprise as she was about to summon a ghost without warning.
Just as they were about to speak up to stop her, Hank, who was nearby, stopped them. He gave them a warning look, signaling them not to make a sound and disturb her.
Although unsure of what Shannon planned to do, he knew not to disturb her.
The group watched as she finished reciting the incantation. The once calm surface of the water seemed to stir for a moment, and a faint ripple appeared in the cup.
Hank's pupils trembled, and he instinctively looked around. However, he didn't see the female ghost's figure.
Shannon's expression grew serious as she raised the hand holding the red string. The other end of the string, hanging in the cup of water, seemed to be pulled by some unseen force, and the red string became taut.
Then, following her direction, the red string moved slightly and finally stopped in a specific position.
She followed the direction the string pointed, and it led straight toward the direction of the dormitory balcony. Without saying much, she casually snapped the red string and, holding the remaining half, quickly headed outside.
At that, Hank followed suit.
The three roommates glanced at the two who had hurriedly left, then at the half-cut red string still in the cup. Unable to hold back, one asked, "How did she just… cut the string?"
"Is the ritual over? Do we start tidying up?"
…
After digging for quite a while, he finally, with the help of the light from Shannon's phone, unearthed… a piece of paper string.
It was a white paper string that seemed to be deliberately buried under the soil. Attached to the string was a plain talisman paper. It was buried deep under the soil, yet neither the paper string nor the plain paper talisman showed any traces of dirt.
Hank reflexively reached out, but Shannon quickly shouted to stop him. "Don't touch it."
The next second, she pinched a talisman with her fingers and quickly recited, "Above the deep purple, the stars align. The heavens and earth burn with fire!"
With a flick of her hand, the talisman flew out as she chanted the incantation. The moment the talisman touched the white paper string, it immediately transformed into a fiery tongue, scorching the paper string and the white talisman into ashes.
A cloud of white smoke rose from the ground, forming a circle centered around the white talisman Hank had unearthed.
As the circle of white smoke dissipated, the female ghost's figure finally appeared within the circle.
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