Chapter 30: The Clapping Game

Wu Xian had been scared for a long time; after reaching his hand in, he yanked it back several times in quick succession.

But the thing he had been worried about did not happen. There was no trap inside the integrated stove, and the idol could be moved easily. Wu Xian dragged the idol out without trouble, a smile spreading across his face.

Plop—splat!

Wu Xian's smile froze.

"We're done for!"

Sure enough, things weren't that simple. There was something else that came out along with the idol!

It was a clump of something warm and sticky. One end of it was tied to the idol with a thin cord, so when the idol was pulled out, this thing was dragged out from deep inside the integrated stove as well and landed on the floor with a wet slap.

"Have you ever heard a prayer like this?"

The method to summon the Child-Seeking Ghost Mother had long been known to everyone.

"Praise the Ghost Mother, I offer my flesh and bone, blind my eyes to save my life, clap my hands to honor my lord!"

Next, while the Ghost Mother waits, she keeps clapping. In every round of the game, the Ghost Mother must appear at least once.

"How can you guarantee that once we lure the Ghost Mother here, we won't be killed by your Ghost Mother?"

He suddenly understood what Yue Mei meant. Just as every predator has its own territory, in the face of a stronger predator, other predators usually retreat far out of its way.

It seemed this male-corpse evil spirit's mode of movement was to crawl on its hands and feet, dragging its torso along the ground.

Although he had already studied the rules of the game thoroughly.

On the very first night, she encountered a terror beyond measure.

So Wu Xian found a box in the room, packed this Fortune-Karmic-Master idol along with the incense burner, candles, and other items into it, and dragged the box as he quickly left the room.

Hearing this familiar prayer, Wu Xian's pupils dilated.

This shape and design...

Within one minute, a second person must clap. The first person must, with eyes closed, find the second person within ten minutes. After that, the second person becomes the seeker...

No wonder that male corpse was hung in such an obvious place. This was a trap. The moment someone tried to use the idol in this room to worship, the male corpse would be released at once, drawing the male-corpse evil spirit's attention!

Roles are divided into seeker and the one being sought.

The remaining six people split into pairs, each pair staying in a different room.

Yue Mei struck the pose for clapping, her expression devout.

After the meal.

After stepping outside, Wu Xian observed carefully.

The way to keep the Door-Breaking Greater Evil from attacking at night is to lure an even more powerful evil spirit over!

But a more powerful evil spirit is also far more lethal to them.

"It's very simple. Everyone plays the game with the Ghost Mother together!"

But on the second night, amid the terror, she found a rare sense of security since entering the blessed land, a feeling that made her happier than ever before.

Yesterday had been too rushed, and everyone had only just made do. Today, seeing the steaming hot food, they couldn't be bothered to be picky and all dug in with huge bites.

Su Huilan asked Yue Mei, "You were being evasive this morning. Now's the time to come clean. What do you plan to do to solve the problem?"

It was that male corpse with its abdominal cavity hollowed out!

"Cao!"

Besides, tonight's situation was different from before. He had to head back a bit early to discuss with Yue Mei a plan to safely get through the night.

The sun sank below the horizon.

He noticed a clear human-shaped imprint on the ground, presumably left when the male corpse had fallen, along with hand and footprints trailing off into the shadows and marks from being dragged.

All the survivors gathered in the first-floor lobby of the Peace Inn.

The city was dim, with only a few scattered billboards still flickering with light. The atmosphere was eerie and terrifying, and every now and then a twisted shadow could be seen flashing past.

Throughout the entire game again, no one is allowed to open their eyes, and they must also keep relatively quiet, not making any loud sounds other than clapping.

After the seeker changes, the information will be transmitted to the ears of everyone nearby.

If the game proceeds smoothly, then the Child-Seeking Ghost Mother is just an ordinary player within the game, and no evil spirits will appear during the entire round.

Although his line of sight was blocked, Wu Xian knew perfectly well in his heart what had fallen down.

"I just hope this thing finds me sooner or later, but please, please don't interfere with tonight's operation..."

Everyone was silent for quite a while, until Wu Xian asked the question they were all thinking.

Looking carefully, one could tell that this clump of things was human internal organs—heart, liver, stomach, lungs, intestines, and brain—mixed in among them, staining the floor red and yellow.

The sun outside had already slanted to the west. If he wasted too much time out here, he would be facing those strange and sinister entities directly, with no shelter.

The rules of the game are very simple.

Wu Xian irritably grabbed at his curly hair. He realized he had drawn bad luck again.

But keeping one's eyes closed still makes one's heart uneasy and afraid, especially with the room door still open, where an evil spirit could come in from outside at any moment.

The doors of the only three remaining rooms—404, 401, and 403—were opened.

First of all, the timing absolutely cannot be wrong.

She was a kind-hearted girl.

Of course, such good news had to be shared with everyone.

The dishes had changed from large-intestine rice to stuffed-pork-stomach rice; no matter what, this group's cooking could never stray from offal and innards.

"Do you know about the Child-Seeking Ghost Mother!"

To survive the game, there are ironclad rules that absolutely must not be violated.

"Don't be impudent. You must address the Ghost Mother with respect!"

Not from wild beasts or livestock, but from a human!

Before Wu Xian could figure out what was happening, a heartrending scream rang out from outside, the cry saturated with the anguish of pain and a hint of release and exhilaration.

The fourth floor of the Ping'an Inn.

This cycle of repetition is the basic rule of the game.

But once the Ghost Mother is drawn in, there is only one way to avoid being harmed—and that is to play a game of "Clap Hands"!

Wu Xian and Shi Ji, eyes closed, stood on the left and right sides of Room 403 respectively—this was the position they had arranged in advance.

But he had no time to deal with the hidden danger.

The sudden change cast a shadow over Wu Xian's heart.

Crash!

Accompanied by the clanking of chains, the light and shadow behind the billboard shifted, and something dropped from the billboard with a dull thud.

It was not yet dark.

Yue Mei rebuked sharply; when speaking of the Ghost Mother, her eyes were filled with a strange gleam—the day before yesterday she had been forced to go to the natives to seek a way to survive.

……

The first seeker is the Ghost Mother; she will treat the first person to clap as her target. Once the first person is found, that person will take over from the Ghost Mother as the new seeker, and the Ghost Mother will stay in place.

So she returned to the Ping'an Inn and delivered the Ghost Mother's gospel to the outsiders like herself.

But there was no choice—this game had to be played.

Today, as always, Shi Ji was the one cooking.

……

Just clap your hands.

Yue Mei described the appearance of the Child-Seeking Ghost Mother, and everyone instantly understood—this was the very first evil spirit of this world that Wen Chao had once spoken of!

Shi Ji asked in confusion, "This evil spirit can help us avoid that door-breaking great evil?"

But if any rule-breaking behavior occurs—

The Child-Seeking Ghost Mother will transform into a terrifying nightmare, making the rule-breaker pay the price of death……

(End of this chapter)