Strange things happen, and I drive the evil god mad by chasing debts.

Shen Qingchan chuckled softly, raised her hand, and shook the bronze bell on her fingertip.

The crisp sound of the bell echoed on the empty dirt road. The three strange, burly men covered in blood immediately stopped, turned around woodenly, and obediently stood in front of her.

"Listen carefully." Shen Qingchan pointed to the largest courtyard, "I just had a wedding ceremony with the Cave God, so I'm practically a half-master of this mountain. According to mortal customs, a bride has to return to her parents' home to visit them after getting married."

The three monsters turned their necks blankly, trying to process what they had just said.

"Now that I'm returning home, these villagers are refusing to let me in. This isn't just disrespecting me; it's completely disregarding the Cave God." Shen Qingchan crossed her arms, her tone highly inflammatory. "If the wedding procession can't even get through the gate in this situation, where will your master's face be?"

Monsters have extremely simple minds; they only follow rigid rules.

Anyone who dares to disrespect the gods or break the rules shall die.

A deep, rough growl rolled down their throats.

Three enormous figures strode forward and walked straight to the heavy wooden door, raising their fists, each the size of a clay pot, and slamming them down.

boom! boom! boom!

The loud banging on the door caused the entire mud wall to crumble and shed plaster. The wooden door swayed precariously, clearly on the verge of collapse.

The villagers' piercing screams immediately erupted from inside the house. Several people huddled behind the door, desperately bracing themselves against it, wailing in terror.

"Don't be afraid, folks, I'm just dropping by," Shen Qingchan said leisurely through the door. "However, my wedding procession has a bit of a temper. If you keep keeping your guests out, they might get angry and tear the house down, and I won't be responsible for the consequences."

Upon hearing this, the crying and shouting inside the house stopped.

Then came a commotion of rolling and crawling.

The heavy wooden bolt was frantically pulled open, and a villager, his hands trembling, opened the door. He then knelt down beside it with a thud, kowtowing frantically, not daring to lift his head.

He opened the door himself to save his life, which perfectly aligns with the rule of voluntary opening of the door.

Shen Qingchan dusted off her clothes, swaggered across the threshold, and chose the most spacious bench in the room to sit down.

Pei Wuwang stood outside the door, his whole body like a statue.

He had entered countless bizarre dungeons, seen those who risked their lives and those who broke through using unparalleled Taoist techniques.

I've never seen anyone try to reason with a ghost while simultaneously trying to sow discord and get the ghost to bang on the door.

This woman's methods are wildly unconventional.

The two entered the house without incident.

The villagers inside the house all huddled in a corner.

The couple looked at each other, whispering to each other, too afraid to move.

"Why did we just open the door and let them in? What if they were monsters..."

"But we'll die anyway if we don't let them in, but what if we survive if they do..."

Shen Qingchan ignored them; once she was inside, she could spend the night safely.

In the middle of the night, the red moon rose, its crimson light enveloping the entire room, waking Shen Qingchan from her dream.

She walked to the window, poked a hole in the paper window, and crouched down to peek outside.

A cold wind howled outside, and black fog spread, obscuring everything.

Where's the boss?

As Shen Qingchan was watching, suddenly, a thick fog rushed towards her. Just as she was about to tilt her head back to dodge, the fog slipped through the hole in the paper window and went straight towards her—

At the critical moment, Pei Wuwang held his sword hilt horizontally, blocking the attack.

Are you alright?

"It's alright." Shen Qingchan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Pei Wuwang explained, "This black mist can drain a person's life essence and turn them into a monster. Be careful."

Shen Qingchan frowned, feeling a strange familiarity with the black mist, but what exactly was it...?

After a night, the red moon in the sky gradually faded, and the pale sunlight shone into the village of Fallen Souls.

The crisp system notification sounded in Shen Qingchan's mind right on time.

[Congratulations, host, on completing the main quest!]

[Reward issued: Obtained the Fallen Soul Mountain Pass.]

[With this item, you can freely enter and exit this scene regardless of area obstacles.]

Shen Qingchan stretched and casually pushed open the heavy door.

The scene outside the courtyard made her stop in her tracks.

Hundreds of villagers knelt densely on the dirt road, stretching from their courtyard gates all the way to the foot of the mountain.

Those who were wielding hoes and shouting for battle last night are now keeping their heads pressed firmly to the ground.

Their exposed skin had a grayish hue that didn't belong to the living.

Upon hearing the sound of the door creaking, everyone raised their heads in unison, their eyes terrifyingly empty.

"Welcome, Maiden of Falling Flowers Cave."

Hundreds of mouths opened and closed simultaneously, uttering the same words.

His voice was completely devoid of emotion, sending chills down one's spine.

Overnight, these villagers had been completely distorted by the rules of the mountains.

They regarded Shen Qingchan, who held the token, as a living deity who replaced the cave god in the human world.

Shen Qingchan didn't even give them a second glance.

She walked to the large armchair in the center of the courtyard, sat down steadily, and thought that of all things, eating was the most important.

"Go, get me some good wine and food," she ordered, pointing at the old woman at the front. "I've been starving all night, so hurry up."

The old woman scrambled to her feet and stumbled into the kitchen.

Before long, a sumptuous feast of roast chicken and meat was laid out in front of Shen Qingchan.

Pei Wuwang leaned against the courtyard wall, watching her tear apart a chicken leg without any regard for her image; her posture was more like that of a female bandit collecting debts in the countryside.

"..."

After eating and drinking her fill, Shen Qingchan wiped her hands and looked at the villagers outside again.

"Go and call that big guy down from the mountain, and the ones who carried the sedan chair too, make sure none of them are missing."

Several villagers immediately started walking up the mountain like wandering ghosts.

Not long after, the ground began to vibrate rhythmically.

A cave god covered in black scales emerged from the forest. Its massive body, over three meters tall, carried an aura of crushing power with every step it took.

But when it reached Shen Qingchan, it resembled a wronged stray dog, hunching its massive shoulders and lowering its ferocious head.

Three strange, burly men carrying a tattered red sedan chair also stood obediently behind it.

"According to the terms of the IOU, you have to do three things for me unconditionally." Shen Qingchan tapped her fingers on the table.

So what if it's a Grade B? Grade B still has to fulfill the IOU.

The cave god blinked twice with his blood-red eyes and nodded obediently, because he couldn't afford the bride price.

"First thing, from now on, you and these three men will be my personal bodyguards and sedan chair bearers." Shen Qingchan patted the wooden table in front of her. "Wherever I go, you will follow. If we encounter anything blocking the way, you are responsible for cleaning it up."

The dignified B-grade monster, who usually devours people without spitting out the bones, can only whimper to indicate its agreement now, and even extends its claws to fawn over the fallen leaves on the red sedan chair.

Shen Qingchan stood up with satisfaction and walked to the old woman who had delivered the vegetables earlier.

"Do you know which way to the Memorial Day Hall?"

The old woman raised her withered fingers with trembling hands and pointed to two large mountains to the west.