Bai Shen led the way as they walked through the trail out back behind the school. It seemed the school was relatively isolated; so most likely, it was a private school somewhere. From the current information, Xiang Chen had deduced that the plot probably centered around the old school building which was most likely haunted, and this was going to be like those stereotypical movies where a group of kids do a courage test at night or something. 

 

It wasn’t long before they arrived at a dilapidated building. The front entrance of the old school was boarded up, and the visible windows seemed to be in a state of disrepair. Some had empty frames with jagged glass remains, and others had grime and dirt smeared across them. Bits and pieces of the building seemed to have been chipped away by the weather over the many years of neglect. It seemed like the nature had reclaimed the building as its own, with vines reaching up from the bottom of the walls. The sight of it gave Xiang Chen a rather eerie feeling. 

 

A group of students stood outside the front. Some had flashlights in their hands, and others only carried their phones. 

 

“Took you guys long enough!” One of the other male students said. “It’s already getting dark, so we gotta head inside soon.” 

 

Xiang Chen looked up. The sun had already dipped past the horizon, casting a strange golden glow as its shadow. However, in the opposite direction, murky blackness crept across the sky, mixing in with the golden glow. 

 

“Alright, alright, let’s hurry up and go!” 

 

It was a relatively large group of twelve students which included himself; Xiang Chen counted an even number of boys and girls. 

 

They made their way to the entrance. The wood had already rotted from the years of wind and rain, so it was relatively easy to break through and enter. A few of the guys pushed through, breaking the rotten wood that fell to the ground easily. The fallen wood kicked up some dust, causing the front people to cough as they entered. 

 

The inside of the building was even just as run down as the outside; the first floor had a rather spacious entryway. A little further up ahead was a door to what looked like the front office. Then the building was split off into two parts, the left and right side. As Xiang Chen stepped inside, he observed his surroundings carefully. He broke away from the rest of the students and peeked his head out to observe up and down the long corridor. 

 

“Xiang Chen, stop wasting time! Come over and sit down!” One of the other students called out.

 

Just as Xiang Chen was about to look away, his eyes spotted something peculiar down the hallway. The lack of light caused Xiang Chen to dismiss it, thinking that it was probably just the trick of his eye. But suddenly, as he was about to turn away, the dark shadow seemed to dart away, disappearing behind a wall. Xiang Chen froze, trying to process what he had just seen. 

 

“Xiang Chen? Are you okay?” It was Bai Shen’s voice beside him. 

 

He finally tore his eyes away from the corridor, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m fine.” There was no doubt about it. It seemed that when Xiang Chen was looking around, someone or something had peeked out its head to watch him as well. 

 

Everyone gathered around in a circle and sat down. It seemed like they were going to play some sort of ghost-calling game.

 

“What is this?” Xiang Chen turned to ask Bai Shen as a large piece of string was passed around. 

 

“This is JianJian, don’t you know?” 

 

Xiang Chen shook his head.

 

Bai Shen looked surprised but continued to explain. “JianJian is ghost-calling game. We all sit in a circle, holding onto this long piece of string that’s tied in a loop. One big candle is put in the middle of a bowl of uncooked rice. Then four smaller candles surround it. Doing this, we’ll be able to call a ghost to answer our questions ah.” 

 

“Did we have to do it in this stinky old building?” One of the female students whined. 

 

“O’course! The later the night and more haunted the place, the higher the chances of calling a ghost!” A male student laughed. He winked at one of his other friends, obviously enjoying the fact that the girls were getting freaked out. 

 

Xiang Chen held the red string between his fingers, sitting quietly as the candles were setup and lit. The sky had darkened quickly, and it was already night time now. So the only source of light was a few flickering candles, lightly illuminating the faces of the students around them. 

 

“Okay, is everyone ready? All together, we’ll chant ‘Jianjian, Jianjian, Jianjian, Jianjian’ four times, then ‘We call upon you in the darkest of night to answer our questions. For a yes, please flicker the candle flame once. For a no, please flicker the candle flame twice.’” Bai Shen explained the game simply to everyone. “Then I’ll start asking the first question and we’ll go around. Xiang Chen will be last. Remember, don’t let go of the string no matter what! And after we’re done, we’ll repeat the four ‘Jianjians’ and then wish him a good night to let him return.”

 

Everyone nodded their understanding. 

 

“Jianjian, jianjian, jianjian, jianjian. We call upon you in the darkest of night to answer our questions. For a yes, please flicker the candle flame once. For a no, please flicker the candle flame twice.” The chorus of voices sounded rather loud in the quiet night, seeming to almost echo a bit inside the empty school. 

 

“I’ll go first.” Bai Shen said, looking a little excited. “Jianjian, will I fail the upcoming math exam?”

 

Everyone was quiet and still as they waited with bated breath to watch the candle’s response. A few seconds pass by, and still nothing happened.

 

But then suddenly, the air around them seemed to drop a few degrees. Xiang Chen could feel shivers up his arms develop into goosebumps. The only thing that felt strangely hot was the red string in the palm of his hand. 

 

Xiang Chen’s eyes remained on the large candle’s flame. The flame was still undisturbed, however.

 

“Bai Shen, try again.” One of the other guys said.

 

“Jianjian, will I-” 

 

Suddenly, a large gust of wind swept past, blowing out all the candles and immersing them in pure darkness. A few of the girls screamed.

 

“Don’t let go of the string ah!” Someone shouted.

 

During the commotion, the candles suddenly reignited with the flames burning a dark blue. The flames were oddly still, and it seemed like the ambient noise around them disappeared. The air became freezing, and Xiang Chen watched with surprise as cold breath escaped his lips in smoky wisps. 

 

“One more time, Bai Shen.” Xiang Chen said quietly.

 

“J-Jianjian, will I f-fail the upcoming math exam?” Bai Shen said with a nervous stutter.

 

A few girls beside Xiang Chen whimpered in fear, but all around them was still silent. 

 

Then the large candle’s flame flickered once in response.