Chapter 38: The Second Clapping Game

The lobby of the Ping’an Hostel had been transformed into a dining hall for the survivors. A fire crackled in the center, heating a pot of bubbling, savory food.

If Wu Xian’s plan succeeded, this might be their final night in the Blessed Land. If it failed, they might never get the chance to eat a hot meal again. Because of the gravity of the occasion, Su Huijin had insisted that Shi Ji refrain from cooking his usual pork intestine. Instead, he had used newly scavenged ingredients to prepare a pot of braised stew.

Su Huijin was at a loss for words. She strongly suspected that this big-bottomed fellow was deliberately picking such questionable ingredients to feed them. She glared at Shi Ji as she ate, and he responded with a shy smile.

Aside from Su Huijin’s discomfort, the atmosphere during dinner was remarkably good. No one needed to pretend anymore, and despite the lingering fear, they were able to eat. Everyone did their best to relax, preparing to face the final showdown of the night in peak condition. In this environment, Wu Xian felt that the "family" dynamic within the Blessed Land had improved.

Night fell.

Wu Xian stayed alone in Room 401, while the other three waited in Room 404. The Clapping Game had to be performed again tonight, and Wu Xian’s plan was built entirely around its mechanics. The core of his strategy was to use the game to lure the Ghost Mother Seeking Her Child, forcing two major malevolent entities to clash and hopefully destroy the Door-Breaking Entity.

It sounded simple, but the conditions required to execute it were incredibly harsh. A single slip-up would mean they wouldn't be the fisherman reaping the rewards, but rather the cicada caught between the mantis and the oriole.

Seeing that the time was near, Wu Xian began tinkering with Zhao Juan’s mobile phone. He placed it in a secure spot, set an alarm, and recorded a custom audio clip to serve as the ringtone.

Everything was ready. Wu Xian took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and clapped his hands firmly.

After the clap, silence descended. A cold, eerie presence washed over the room, causing all four survivors to shiver simultaneously. Wu Xian remained alone in the darkness, waiting for the Ghost Mother. Without Shi Ji’s company, the surroundings felt even more desolate and chilling. Fortunately, drawing on yesterday’s experience, Wu Xian managed to keep his composure.

*Clatter, clatter...*

The Ghost Mother arrived quickly. Her freezing, ghostly hands touched Wu Xian’s face, flooding his mind with waves of negative emotion. Fighting against the urge to succumb to madness, Wu Xian flicked his fingers toward her.

An invisible ripple hit the Ghost Mother. He had just activated a talisman: the Breath-Concealing Art.

The moment the art took effect, the copper coin sword in Wu Xian’s hand stopped burning hot, as it could no longer detect the threat of the Ghost Mother. All four survivors suddenly felt a sense of relief. But this was not necessarily a good thing. The pressure had served as a warning that a malevolent entity was nearby; with that pressure gone, the source of danger remained, creating an even greater psychological burden for the group.

Wu Xian’s lips curled slightly. "The first condition is met."

To make the two major entities destroy each other, the most important prerequisite was forcing them to meet. However, other malevolent entities usually fled whenever the Ghost Mother was present. Only by masking her presence would the Door-Breaking Entity dare to enter the Ping’an Hostel at exactly 3:00 AM.

In Room 404, Shi Ji began to clap. Following the sound, Wu Xian navigated the pitch-black hallway, moving from 401 to 404 to complete the hand-off with Shi Ji.

In theory, ten minutes was plenty of time to cross between rooms. But if Yu Yinghua were still alive, she might have been wandering the hallway looking for the living because the Ghost Mother’s aura was masked. Meeting Yu Yinghua while blindfolded would mean certain death. Thus, eliminating Yu Yinghua was the second necessary condition for the plan.

Next, Shi Ji passed the turn to Wen Chao, and Wen Chao passed it to Su Huijin. Once it reached Su Huijin, she didn't go to find Wu Xian. Instead, she left the room to pass the "seeker" role to the Ghost Mother in 401. After blowing a breath of mint-scented air in front of the entity, she stepped back and immediately clapped. The Ghost Mother, who had been about to leave the room, turned back to find Su Huijin instead. This was the third critical point: the Ghost Mother had to be kept inside Room 401.

A full cycle of the Clapping Game had to include the Ghost Mother at least once. To keep her in 401, someone had to make contact with her twice in succession. Such contact was mentally devastating, so the four of them had to take turns.

As Su Huijin stepped out of 401, the second round of the Clapping Game began. Wu Xian had planned this round meticulously, and it proceeded smoothly. Time ticked away until it reached 2:40 AM.

At this moment, Wu Xian was in the Ghost Mother’s room, holding her head and using his fingers to locate her eyes. To avoid being rude, he had brushed his teeth with "18-Fold Extra Strength Mint" toothpaste found in the convenience store, ensuring that his breath was nothing but a refreshing scent of mint.

As the game reached its later stages, the visions projected by the Ghost Mother became increasingly twisted and frantic, with the intensity of the mental assault rising significantly. This hadn't happened yesterday. It meant the Ghost Mother was dissatisfied with staying in one place; if not for the constraints of the rules, she would have started a slaughter long ago.

*Buzz, buzz!*

As Wu Xian was blowing air toward her eyes, Zhao Juan’s phone, hidden in the room, began to ring. Though it only vibrated twice, Wu Xian’s heart skipped a beat. He felt the Ghost Mother’s expression distort beneath his hands. Fortunately, the alarm was brief and quiet, preventing her from lashing out.

The phones in both rooms vibrated simultaneously—the signal that the operation had officially begun.

Once the "seeker" role was switched, the Ghost Mother moved agilely toward the door, her chains clanking loudly. Wu Xian quickly clapped again to grab her attention.

Under the moonlight, the Ghost Mother stood in the doorway. Her hair was disheveled, and her body trembled slightly—a chilling sight. She stood there for a long time before turning back, stomping toward Wu Xian in a fury, the sound of her chains even louder than before. She grabbed his head with her sharp claws, opened her pitch-black lips, and let out a wail of resentment right into his eye sockets.

Despite her aggressive demeanor, the hand-off was successful. Wu Xian crept out of the room, not daring to make any sudden moves that might provoke her. Once he was out, he realized his back was drenched in cold sweat, and his legs felt like jelly.

"Good heavens," he whispered to himself. "Exploiting this loophole is truly no easy task."