It's time to become an evil god.

But Bai Ge sensed that beneath this calm night, undercurrents were surging.

Bai Ge noticed that the silver-haired old man's expression was becoming increasingly solemn, and he kept checking his watch, as if he had something on his mind.

It was still early, but drowsiness gradually crept into her eyelids. Unable to resist the sleepiness, Bai Ge leaned back in her seat and fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a chilling gust of wind pulled him back from his dream. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he turned his head and found that the car window had been opened at some point, and strands of hair on his forehead were fluttering in the cool night wind.

It was pitch black outside the window, not a single star could be seen, and the entire deep mountain forest was eerily dark.

A sudden slam on the brakes nearly threw several passengers off their seats, who all stood up cursing. The bus driver, however, remained seated, saying nothing.

Bai Ge left her seat and walked over. She saw that the bus driver's facial muscles were trembling uncontrollably from tension, and asked curiously, "Sir, what's wrong? My second uncle didn't look as pained as you when he passed away."

"Go back and sit down, and don't make a sound."

The bus driver bit his lip, staring straight ahead, not daring to turn his head, and said with a pale face, "What bad luck! I've been driving for so many years without any problems, and today I'm being stopped by Daqing Temple."

Bai Ge asked curiously, "What is the meaning of stopping a carriage at Daqing Temple?"

The silver-haired middle-aged man behind him appeared calm and explained, "There is a kind of monster recorded in the 'In Search of the Supernatural' by Gan Bao, a scholar from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Wherever they appear, people will die. The more miserable they cry, the more people will die. Moreover, if you encounter the Daqing Temple blocking your way, you must not talk to them or let them travel with you, otherwise they will capture you and make you a scapegoat."

Bai Ge looked through the car window and saw a woman dressed in white mourning clothes, as if she were holding a funeral, standing in the middle of the road, sobbing softly.

The cawing of crows in the distance ceased, and the entire wilderness fell into a deathly silence. Bai Ge returned to his seat and prepared to close the window, but then he heard faint, mournful opera singing coming from the misty, deserted mountain path outside, which sounded particularly desolate and eerie.

"When my love is filled with joy, I am heartbroken..."

"The moon knows my grievances..."

"Meeting is difficult, parting is easy..."

"The abandoned woman now regrets her actions too late..."

On the dimly lit street, one could vaguely see a white figure dressed in mourning clothes, next to a woman with disheveled hair wearing a loose opera robe, dancing and singing softly.

The whole scene was terrifying and eerie.

The passengers in the carriage held their breath in fright, afraid to make a sound or move. Even the experienced driver, who had driven many night roads, had never seen anything like it.

The scene grew increasingly eerie and bizarre, with only drivers inside the car.

A burst of applause suddenly broke out on the deathly silent highway.

The singing and sobbing abruptly stopped.

"She cried so hard! But she sang so well!"

Bai Ge stuck his head out of the car window, shouted at the two ghostly figures, and cheered loudly, "I won't watch the next season of The Voice of China without you two!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Then don't blame me for being ruthless.

The lights inside the carriage began to flicker and change, and the woman who was originally standing at the end of the bus lights began to gradually appear in the light.

What are you doing?!

Everyone's expression changed. The driver, sweating profusely, frantically pressed the accelerator, but the bus broke down at just the right moment, stopping completely in place. A cold wind howled past, like a death knell, making him even more anxious, his forehead covered in sweat.

Click.

The car door, which had been tightly closed, was opened.

Several passengers behind them immediately shouted, "Close it! Close it now!"

"The door seems to be broken; it won't close."

No matter how hard the driver pressed the button, the door wouldn't close. The driver was frantic, pacing back and forth like a cat on a hot tin roof, and finally stood up to try and force the door shut with his hand.

As soon as he reached the door, a strong, pungent, and extremely putrid smell, accompanied by the cold night wind, hit him like a long-sealed jar of pickled vegetables, suffocating him and forcing him to take several steps back.

The professor also lowered his head, constantly flipping through the notebook in his hands, seemingly trying to find a solution.

Bai Ge remained silent, his gaze fixed on the two female ghosts outside the car window. According to the team's script, defeating any strange entity appearing within the script's scope could be exchanged for experience points and regular mission rewards upon completion of the mission. Therefore, Bai Ge wasn't about to let this opportunity for experience points slip by.

The bus lights flickered briefly before going out. The entire bus fell silent in darkness; it was pitch black outside the windows, and the scenery outside was completely obscured. Those inside held their breath, only hearing footsteps echoing outside, eventually fading away near the door.

A few seconds later, the lights inside the car came back on. The two terrifying ghostly figures were no longer outside the windows, and the car doors slowly closed at that moment.

The passengers breathed a sigh of relief, and even the driver took out a towel to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead. However, the next moment he was stunned.

In the rearview mirror, the woman in theatrical robes and the woman draped in white silk were sitting upright behind the young man from before, their heads bowed.

The bus driver frantically pressed the switch, but the door wouldn't open. He silently swallowed, then turned to look at the young man behind him.

As if noticing the bus driver's gaze, Bai Ge asked with a puzzled look, "Sir, what's wrong?"

"Young man, listen to my advice: whatever you do now, never look back."

Upon hearing this, Bai Ge's expression instantly changed, and he clenched his fists. "Could it be..."

The driver stammered, "You, if you have anything you want to say or any unfulfilled wishes, you can tell me."

After a moment of contemplation, Bai Ge said seriously, "Could you please make a phone call and tell my friend to delete the study materials folder and computer browsing history from my F drive?"

"..."

The bus driver's expression changed. "You're about to die and you're still in the mood for jokes?"

Then Bai Ge blinked, took out a pair of gloves with ribbed fingers from his backpack, smiled, and suddenly turned his head back.

Two female corpses, one in white and one in red, sat obediently behind him, their long black hair obscuring their ashen, stiff faces.

A chilling wind blew, carrying a stench of decay.

As Bai Ge dipped his spiral finger cot in Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, he sneered, "Since you dared to get on the bus, don't blame me for being ruthless."

A loud crash came from inside the car, and Bai Ge, holding the two female corpses, jumped out of the car.

For Bai Ge, a player, there is no vengeful ghost that cannot be dealt with by catching it and beating it up.

If so, then give them another beating.

Before the two female ghosts could react, they crashed heavily onto the asphalt road. Their heads smashed a large hole in the solid asphalt road, as if they had been hit by a solid cannonball, with gravel and asphalt flying everywhere.

Bai Ge pressed the back of his head to the ground and rubbed it forward for several meters, leaving two clearly visible marks of damage.

The fishhook that emerged from between the fingers pierced through the ghost's eyelids, hanging them alive.

Two ghosts were caught on fishhooks by their eyelids, dangling in mid-air and struggling. Several other fishhooks pierced their lips, tearing their faces until they were covered in blood.

The group of passengers huddled by the window were stunned by what they saw.

Holy crap, which of you two is the real vengeful ghost?

Bai Ge pulled a small knife from his backpack, held it to the necks of the two vengeful spirits, and said coldly, "Hello, Justice League."

"Robbery."

"Hand over all your valuables."

This actually works?

Everyone on the bus was stunned.

Bai Ge also spoke with great conviction, saying, "Faced with such evil forces, we righteous people don't need to talk to them about chivalry and morality."

Bai Ge endured the stench of decay and groped the two vengeful ghosts, taking all their belongings out of them. In the end, he found a stack of blood-stained underworld paper money.

Bai Ge frowned in displeasure, scanning the female ghost up and down with his gaze. "Are you two poor bastards when you're alive, and poor ghosts when you're dead? You dare to rob people with this little bit of money to buy your lives?"

"Forget it, let's just be poor."

Bai Ge reluctantly put away the money to buy his life. The two trembling ghosts were overjoyed, thinking they had escaped a calamity. But then the other party added another sentence.

"Just be more careful in your next life."

Bai Ge snapped his fingers, and instantly countless thin threads bound the two fierce ghosts tightly, giving them no chance to move. He then kicked them off the cliff.

The people on the bus watched Bai Ge's handling of the situation in utter astonishment.

The notification sound of the mission being completed rang in his ears. After finishing, Bai Ge returned to the bus. Everyone else stared at the young man in front of them as if they had seen a ghost, but he sat down again as if nothing had happened.

The bus driver whispered, "Young man, who exactly are you? Are you a cultivator from Longhu Mountain?"

"You mean me? No, no."

Bai Ge smiled slightly and flatly denied it, "I went on a blind date alone."

The bus driver was stunned when he heard this answer.

"A blind date?"

Bai Ge nodded. "Yeah, I met a woman in a WeChat dating group yesterday. She talked to me about Nietzsche, philosophy, life and death, and her unfortunate childhood. Today she messaged me saying she wanted to see my dick. I thought it was rare to see such a direct, simple and unpretentious girl, so I just bought a train ticket and came to meet her in person."

"..."

What the hell is this innocent and unpretentious young man? Looking at the smug young man, the bus driver wanted to complain after hearing this: "Is your blind date a shill for circumcision at the hospital's reproductive department?"

"Young man, who exactly are you?"

The middle-aged scholar, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, his gaze fixed intently on Bai Ge, a hint of wariness in his eyes. He even sat down next to Bai Ge and whispered, "Are you also here to find the Nuo God's Suspended Palace?"

Chapter Twenty-Three: An Unexpected Turn of Events

"The Suspended Palace of the Nuo God? What is that?"

Bai Ge immediately became interested. The team's scripted mission only provided the first stage of the task; the rest remained unclear. The more information he gathered, the greater his advantage would be in the dungeon mission.

Upon discovering that Bai Ge was unaware of the situation, a hint of disappointment flashed in the middle-aged scholar's eyes. However, out of a desire to help, he still began to tell Bai Ge about his experiences at the Nuo God's Suspended Palace.

The middle-aged scholar is a professor in the History Department of Xushi University, specializing in the study of folk culture, and is very knowledgeable about the local history of Xushi.

"The mountains surrounding Tianbin Town were actually called Longmenshan Pass before the Qin and Han dynasties. When Qin Shi Huang toured the east, he carved roads through the mountains and destroyed temples. He performed the Fengshan ceremony to worship Heaven and the great rivers. Mountain spirits and wild gods who were willing to accept the Qin state's bestowal were recorded, given official positions, and guaranteed for generations to come. Mountain and wild gods who were unwilling to accept the bestowal were immediately exterminated. According to archaeological records, the Nuo god worshipped by the locals of Longmenshan Pass for generations was beheaded because he refused to accept the Qin emperor's bestowal and was forever suppressed in the Nuo god's hanging palace in the deep mountain valley."

“Since the Tang and Song dynasties, local mountain residents have been worshipping the Wugou Bai Niangniang, whose origins are unknown. That is why the area around the Han River was later renamed the Seventy-Two Niangniang Mountain.”

When Qin Shi Huang made his eastern tour, he abolished illegitimate worship and established righteous gods.

In the past, Bai Ge might have thought it was nonsense, but after the Evolution Game appeared, he began to suspect that the game had appeared more than once, and that the exaggerated rhetoric in history books was actually true.

Could it be that in the many evolution games that have appeared throughout history, those familiar mythological figures were all... player hunters?

"Actually, there's another theory..."

The middle-aged scholar pushed up his glasses and said with a serious expression, "The Nuo god who was beheaded is not dead."