Chapter 31: Footsteps in the Dark

In this clapping game, the order of clapping is crucial.

To avoid chaos caused by multiple people clapping simultaneously and violating the game's rules, the six survivors each have a number.

Wu Xian is one, Shi Ji is two.

Yue Mei is three, Wen Chao is four.

Su Huilan is five, Su Huijin is six.

The order was determined by drawing lots in the room; Wu Xian drew for Room 403 and unfortunately drew number one—number one claps once, number two claps twice…

The next clapper must clap within ten seconds after receiving the signal.

The male corpse crawled through Rooms 401 and 402, finally stopping at the door of Room 403.

The footsteps drew closer; Wu Xian clapped again to let the Ghost Mother know his location, so the Ghost Mother moved toward Wu Xian.

The prayers outside the window ceased, and the occasional demonic shrieks vanished; all Wu Xian could feel was absolute silence and darkness.

Each time the palm touched Wu Xian, countless images flooded into his mind—mostly faces, men and women, young and old, faces at the moment of death.

Wu Xian swallowed hard.

In just two seconds, it stood before him, two faces separated by only the length of a tongue.

…

Clap-clap, hiss…

Wailing, raging, screaming…

If the next clapper fails to clap within ten seconds, it means something has gone wrong; the one after must clap within the next ten seconds to keep the game from halting.

Time is a strange concept.

Rustle-rustle, rustle-rustle…

Often, when people wish time would slow to prolong a pleasant experience, time races away like a mad horse.

This was not footsteps—it was more like hands slapping the ground, dragging the body along.

A puff of air on the eyelids is the signal to switch the seeker.

At this moment, every second felt like a year!

In absolute silence, Wu Xian's hearing became sharper—he could hear his own heartbeat, the ticking of the clock, and the restless agitation from other rooms.

Just as he turned around, a pair of pale palms smeared across its face.

One clap, and the entire world fell silent.

The original demon of this world—the Lost Child Ghost Mother!

So many chains clashing—imagine how severely the Blessed Land restrains the Lost Child Ghost Mother; compared to her, that broken-door demon seems almost free.

Yet even this mindless demon…

Skin on his arm split open, bones sprouting a blood-slicked bone blade aimed at Wu Xian's abdomen—he could already imagine how sweet and satisfying it would feel to have new organs fill his body.

The male corpse grinned.

Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead; his mind was torn.

The male corpse's voice vanished.

The male corpse had no internal organs, so its movement was laborious; only now, as Wu Xian stopped moving, did it slowly arrive here.

He could only pray that when the male corpse touched him, he would have a chance to activate the Golden Crow Feather and repel it with fire.

Suddenly.

Besides Wu Xian, the other five survivors all simultaneously felt a cold, rotting stench blow across their eyelids.

"Found… my organs."

As the Ghost Mother approached, it was overcome by inexplicable fear, causing Wu Xian, right before it, to lose all allure—it turned to flee.

It was that hollow-bellied male corpse!

It had come for him!

It had come for Wu Xian at this damned time!

…

A cold hand groped over Wu Xian's body, the male corpse's bloody eye sockets smearing onto him.

Conversely, when people wish time would hurry past a tormenting moment, time crawls like a snail.

After roughly five minutes, Wu Xian heard other sounds.

A new sound emerged—a dense clattering of chains, mingled with the rhythmic tapping of a woman's footsteps.

It was not a normal demon; its internal organs had been hollowed out, its skull an empty shell—driven only by demonic instinct, which is why it dared enter the Ghost Mother's domain.

The Lost Child Ghost Mother stepped over the corpse, waving her blood-stained pale palms, groping forward until she touched the source of the clapping—Wu Xian.

Wu Xian kept his eyes shut but sensed the male corpse's presence through sound.

The crawling noise of the male corpse sent all six survivors into heart-pounding terror, adding another dangerous variable to the already perilous clapping game.

As long as contact continued, these negative emotions kept flooding in.

This minor demon—if he could open his eyes, with his copper sword still holding eighty blades, he could easily chop it into mincemeat!

But the deadliest thing was that he was waiting for the Lost Child Ghost Mother.

She had come.

Despair and terror, madness and regret—countless negative emotions battered Wu Xian's mind; he even considered opening his eyes just to end it all.

Wu Xian tightly shut his eyes and gritted his teeth to endure.

For Wu Xian…

So it must find Wu Xian to become whole again!

Since Wu Xian dropped its organs, its hollow abdomen shall be filled with Wu Xian's organs.

Now, Wu Xian had become the new Seeker.

It dared not move, staring fixedly at the thing before it, then watching those two pale hands pierce into its own eye sockets!

Splash!

But at that moment, the male corpse froze in motion.

Under the dim yellow light.

So Wu Xian could only quietly clench his fists.

A hollowed-out male corpse climbed to the fourth floor of Ping'an Inn; its limbs were powerfully strong, its ruptured abdomen dragging on the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

He hated this version of himself.

He rubbed his numb hands, crushed from excessive force, waiting in absolute darkness for the malevolent spirit to find him.

After receiving the signal, Shi Ji immediately clapped twice.

He didn't dare open his eyes at all!

He didn't even dare use the copper-coin spear for defense—the copper-coin spear would heat up upon contact with a spirit, and it was far too long; if the Child-Seeking Ghost Mother found Wu Xian and accidentally struck him with it, she might perceive it as an attack.

Snap!

The clapping was crisp.

The male corpse immediately grew agitated.

The Ghost Mother quickly found Wu Xian's eyes; she measured the position of his eyelids with her hands, leaned in, and blew a breath toward his eyes.

Wu Xian closed his eyes, braced himself mentally, then suddenly clapped loudly.

The time was nearly up.

He shifted from crouching to hunched standing, his speed suddenly accelerating, yet making not a single sound; his horrifying face was smeared with greedy longing.

The male corpse collapsed to the ground, its body beginning to rot at a rate hundreds of times faster than normal.

Since the male corpse had no lungs, it could not breathe; Wu Xian had not sensed its approach and was still waiting for it to crawl closer, seeking an opportunity to swing a punch.

Wu Xian knew Shi Ji's position; after groping in the darkness for two seconds, he found Shi Ji, traced his eyes with his fingers, and then blew a breath toward his eyes.

Because Wu Xian had thoroughly brushed his teeth, what everyone smelled was the fresh scent of toothpaste.

(End of Chapter)