The Child-Seeking Ghost Mother's voice was shrill and grating. Even through the phone, it made Wu Xian's eardrums ache.
But to Wu Xian,
that voice sounded like heaven.
The phone's ringing was too brief; there wasn't enough time to explain much.
If the Ghost Mother didn't answer, then after ringing for a while, the phone would simply reveal who the culprit was. But that would lack the necessary credibility.
As for trying to drive a wedge between them face-to-face?
Wu Xian didn't have that kind of nerve.
Wu Xian had no doubt that if he stood before the Ghost Mother and calmly laid out the truth of what happened back then, she would tear him into infinitely tiny pieces before he could finish...
"At the Door-Breaking Wraith's speed, we shouldn't have had this much time to talk. If he's moving this slowly, it means he's almost at his limit too!"
Crackling sounds came from the Ghost Mother. Her arms, legs, and neck all twisted in ways no living person could manage. She was stretching her limbs before attacking.
"Outside the blessed land, in this world already destroyed by evil spirits, there may be a hierarchy among them. Evil spirits run rampant, and the Ghost Mother could easily kill the Door-Breaking Wraith."
"Die!"
That was why she had continued searching for her daughter even after becoming an evil spirit. That was how the Clap Game had come to be.
As long as she believed Wang Zhiwu was the culprit, he would be hunted by her until he died. Besides, everything Wu Xian had said was true. Wang Zhiwu had no room to argue.
The Door-Breaking Wraith was certain to die at the Ghost Mother's hands, but now an unexpected factor had appeared.
"It must be the rules."
Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door again, drawing closer.
Wu Xian listened to his analysis.
Only by relying on them could Wu Xian meet the most important condition of his plan: telling the Child-Seeking Ghost Mother the truth and making the two evil spirits fight each other!
The pressure the Ghost Mother had brought vanished completely. Everyone realized at once that the Clap Game was over.
"There's one more thing. Yesterday, you killed a woman. You killed her because she had killed your child. But after that woman came here, she only killed one thing."
According to the original plan.
The two Greater Wraiths stood where they were, listening as Wu Xian rambled on about the case.
But there was one thing she could never forget: her daughter.
Only then did he realize that Wen Chao's words made sense.
It wasn't that.
The starting point of all this was her daughter's disappearance. This case had led her to become an evil spirit; it was an obsession buried deep in her soul, something she could never let go of.
Then she let out a piercing scream!
Shi Ji clenched his buttocks, his face full of panic and terror.
"The first clue I found was a Hanged Ghost in Room 406. She had once been the victim of a missing-person case..."
"But inside the blessed land, you have to follow the rules of the game. Until there's an outcome between the players and the plot boss, the plot boss can't be killed by anyone else."
The Breaking Door Wraith was listening too. His memories from when he had been human were gradually returning. With each recollection, he trembled a little more. His already-rotted heart began beating again as he anxiously awaited the Ghost Mother's judgment.
The moment the Ghost Mother agreed to listen to Wu Xian analyze the case over the phone, his plan had already succeeded.
His first thought was that this old man must have spent plenty of time playing games at work.
But the next second—
The Ghost Mother stood on the Door-Breaking Wraith's shoulder, her body bending backward as she faced him upside down, her face level with his.
"I learned your story from your husband, An Xin. I'm sorry for your loss. I'll try to keep this brief as I walk you through the case."
"Based on all this, I believe the person who abducted your daughter was Wang Zhiwu."
Wen Chao spoke slowly.
As Wu Xian's account unfolded,
Wu Xian's explanation reached its conclusion.
At last, the fierce battle stopped.
A sudden shriek.
This was the final sentence. Wu Xian's voice turned intensely persuasive.
Wu Xian frowned. The plan was getting out of hand.
It felt like you hadn't done your holiday homework, but the teacher was now checking it thoroughly. You knew you were doomed, but there was nowhere to run.
Crack!
Crack, crack!
Therefore.
"The thing in front of you is the evil spirit Wang Zhiwu became!"
A pale hand stabbed toward the Door-Breaking Wraith's eyes.
"Ah!"
Evil spirits were ultimately different from humans. They only communicated with other evil spirits; they didn't empathize with their prey. Even the few that could talk would only be doing so as part of the hunt.
After just a few days, Wu Xian had come to understand why Qi Zhiyong had killed An Xin without hesitation.
"Qi Zhiyong said that a so-called blessed land is a survival game."
That was how those survivors had managed to stay alive too.
The Ghost Mother's aura grew more and more dangerous.
"I understand. So, at least in this death game, the story can end only one of two ways: we kill the boss, or the boss kills us."
Su Huijin was uneasy too. "That can't be right. She's the first evil spirit in this world, and the Door-Breaking Wraith has repeatedly avoided her. How could she lose when she's this furious?"
"But... using someone else to kill your enemy works too!"
This wasn't because of love.
"The Wang Zhiwu in front of you abducted your daughter while she was alive. After she died, he even made her his slave!"
"Then I found that a man called Mr. Wang was being threatened by this Hanged Ghost..."
Wu Xian cleared his throat and began his account.
After a long while.
At last.
These two phones were the most important tools Wu Xian needed to carry out his plan.
The Ghost Mother was an evil spirit. She didn't need evidence.
"That White-Bodied Lesser Wraith in front of you was released by Wang Zhiwu!"
Her scream swept across the entire blessed land. Every survivor and every evil spirit hiding in a corner was struck by her immense resentment. The chains wrapped around her body snapped taut, trying to restrain her.
Wu Xian led the others away from the door and got them ready with weapons and talismans.
After becoming an evil spirit, she had long since abandoned everything from her life as a human: her husband, parents, job, and the conscience and empathy she had once possessed...
The sound made Wu Xian realize the two evil spirits had started fighting. He ended the call.
"Even the stronger Ghost Mother is bound by greater restrictions. The countless chains on her are proof."
"The Ghost Mother lost?"
Wu Xian and the others had no way of knowing how the two evil spirits were faring.
All they could sense were waves of icy, sinister energy, strange noises coming nonstop from next door, and meaningless roars from the evil spirits.
"This is our only chance."
"Everyone, use whatever you've got!"
Before you continue