My Demon Friends

"You two really have some guts," the Club President said as he looked at Brother Nan and Zhou Li, a hint of envy in his voice. "Anyone else? If not, then let us demonstrate it first!"

"We sit together like this, and clamp the pencil between our hands," the Club President said, placing the candle in front of the paper and beginning to show everyone the proper technique.

"Like this?"

Two club officers, Zhou Li and Brother Nan, along with the Club President who was both hosting and participating—a total of five people—held the tiny pencil clamped between their hands in a somewhat awkward position.

"Don't be scared. The Immortal Pen is the safest and most gentle spirit. As long as we don't break any taboos, nothing will happen."

"Then I'll start."

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, please come out."

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, please come out and draw a circle."

...

The Club President repeated the chant over and over.

Zhou Li's expression remained calm. His hand was touching Brother Nan's. This wasn't particularly unusual; any pair of close friends of the opposite sex would have many opportunities for physical contact during their interactions.

But today, he felt a bit strange.

Was it because the Club President had just called them a "little couple"?

Zhou Li sneaked a glance at Brother Nan, only to see her staring intently at the pencil and the paper beneath it, completely focused.

Through the dim candlelight, one could faintly see words such as 'Yes,' 'No,' 'Male,' and 'Female' on the paper, along with numbers and English letters. As the Club President continued his chanting, everyone grew increasingly nervous. The pencil-holding position itself was awkward, and since everyone was applying uneven pressure, the pencil naturally began to wobble.

"It moved! It moved!" someone said nervously, while the onlookers held their breath.

The pencil shakily traced a circle.

The Club President said intently, "It's here!"

Zhou Li looked at the irregular shape, which wasn't even a closed loop. Dark lines appeared on his face. This is what they call a circle?

"Let's each ask a question. Remember the taboos I mentioned earlier, but don't be too nervous. If your questions aren't phrased perfectly, I'll help refine them," the Club President said, then paused. "I'll go first."

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, may I ask if you are male or female?"

The pencil had been moving from the start, making twisted, winding lines, and now it moved to the right.

'Male' was on the left, 'Female' on the right.

Although it hadn't even reached the word 'Female,' the Club President, well-versed in the art of autosuggestion, immediately declared, "She's female!"

Next up was a club officer.

They were demonstrating the correct way to ask questions, sometimes having the spirit choose between 'Yes' and 'No,' and other times using a check mark or a cross to indicate the answer.

Simply put, anything remotely resembling a check mark was considered a check mark, and anything slightly resembling a cross was considered a cross.

What if it didn't look like either?

The conclusion? The Immortal Pen didn't want to answer the question!

Zhou Li felt a bit bored. He kept an eye on the figure in the corner of the classroom. Fortunately, the figure hadn't moved at all, seeming to be there merely to observe and join in the excitement.

Then it was Brother Nan's turn.

Brother Nan thought for a moment and said, "Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, what is the digit in the 46,825th decimal place of pi?"

After speaking, she looked expectantly at the pencil.

The pencil, which had been moving from the start, slid towards 'No,' tracing a crooked curve...

A moment later, the Club President said, "Alright, the Immortal Pen does not want to answer your question."

Brother Nan looked disappointed.

Then it was Zhou Li's turn.

Zhou Li pondered for a moment and then asked, "Then what about the digit in the 46,824th decimal place?"

The Club President was speechless. "..."

The Club President coughed. "Can you two stop asking such strange questions? Why don't you ask if you'll successfully get married after graduating from university?"

Huh? Both of them suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.

Zhou Li wanted to explain, but seeing the pencil tip slowly moving towards 'No,' he looked at Brother Nan.

Brother Nan looked utterly confused. ???

SWISH! The pencil moved to 'Yes'!

The paper was torn!

After one round like this, the demonstration was considered complete.

The Club President reverently thanked the "demanding" Immortal Pen and sent it away. Then he announced to everyone, "Very simple and safe, right? Next, I'll have our experienced officers split up and act as hosts for your groups."

The freshmen were somewhat more courageous after the first round and eager to try, but not many dared to step forward yet.

Many, it seemed, were there just to watch.

Finally, a few people stood up and formed a new group with one of the senior club members.

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, please come out."

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen..."

Just then, a fierce gust of wind suddenly blew in through an open window.

"Ah, this wind is a bit chilly..."

The Old Monster finally grew restless. Muttering to himself, his eyes darting around, he stood up. He slowly shuffled to the window and, under Zhou Li's astonished gaze, closed it.

CREAK... BANG!

The sound of the window closing wasn't loud, but it made everyone in the classroom shudder.

Especially a few of the freshmen.

The windows kept closing automatically, one after the other.

The Club President quickly shouted, "Don't let go of the pencil! The Immortal Pen that has come this time seems quite powerful, hold on tight!"

He was panicking too, badly.

"Calm down!"

"Calm down!"

The Club President kept shouting.

Huai Xu, however, explained to Zhou Li, "The night wind *is* a bit cold. Look, both you and Li Daimao are thinly dressed..."

Zhou Li glared at him.

Huai Xu looked up at the ceiling, pretending not to notice Zhou Li's glare. He shuffled over to the central table, carefully reached out, pinched the pencil tip, and drew a circle.

A perfect circle!

The Club President, the officers, and the onlookers all widened their eyes.

This time, it seemed real trouble had arrived!

Too terrifying!

The club officer asked in a trembling voice, "Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, are you female or male?"

The pencil moved straight to 'Female.'

And drew a circle.

Then it moved to 'Male.'

And drew another circle.

The style was completely different from before.

GULP!

The club officer swallowed hard and tactfully explained to everyone, "It seems this spirit is an ancient one."

Huai Xu grinned, turned his head to Zhou Li and said, "See? I told you this game is only fun with me around. Look how excited they are now!"

Zhou Li stayed silent.

Most of those who came to play were seeking a kind of thrilling sensory stimulation; now, Huai Xu was just satisfying them. It was like going to a horror-themed amusement park and encountering someone dressed as a ghost.

There was no real harm in it.

Brother Nan, beside him, glanced at Zhou Li's expression and immediately understood. She propped her chin on her hand and watched with an amused grin.

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, will I become the wealthiest person in the world in this lifetime?"

"Get lost!"

"Wow, Lord Immortal Pen can even write simplified characters!"

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, do you have a good temper?"

"Good!"

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, can you tell me the lottery numbers for the next draw?"

"Get lost!"

"Alrighty!"

"Immortal Pen, Immortal Pen, I like a girl in our class, and I want to know if she likes me too."

"Yes. Be brave."

"WAAAH..."

Everyone felt this was truly a divine Immortal Pen.

Other lousy Immortal Pens would only draw lines, making choices from pre-written words, and any simple patterns they drew were nine-tenths imagination. But this Immortal Pen didn't just pick from the existing options—it wrote words directly! And it even offered encouragement after answering!

Although the handwriting was crooked and distorted...

Gradually, the crowd became more and more excited, and the questions they asked got weirder and more outrageous.

The five or six people holding the pencil were applying more and more force. Suddenly, the pencil slipped from their grasp and, due to the uneven pressure, fell to the ground.

TAP! The pencil landed with a soft sound.

The classroom, which had been noisy just a moment ago, became deathly silent!

The club officer's face turned deathly pale. He noticed that one timid student had unconsciously let go of the pencil for a split second, though the student had immediately gripped it again, desperately trying to act as if nothing had happened.

However, that student's lips were quivering.

"Damn it!"

"It's over, it's all over..."

"Everyone, don't panic! Don't run!"

"Lord Immortal Pen, I'm sorry!"

Huai Xu was also a bit stunned at this point. He hadn't planned to do anything, but seeing everyone's expressions...

The pencil began to wobble and move again.

"You've gotten yourselves into trouble."

"Unless..."

"Unless what?" the officer asked urgently.

"Unless you send me money..." The words appeared slowly, one by one, keeping everyone in suspense.

"My Alipay account is 17..." Huai Xu quickly glanced in Zhou Li's direction and saw dark lines appear on Zhou Li's forehead.

"Forget it. I don't want it."

"I'm going back."

Huai Xu then went to open each classroom window. He also ran to the front door and jiggled the light switch, not pressing it fully, which made the lights in the dim classroom flicker once. Satisfied, he nodded.

He returned and sat down.

In Zhou Li's eyes, his actions seemed quite comical.