Ch. 35 - A New Bug: The River God!

Everyone stared at the creek up ahead. They were nervous, but they had no choice—they had to cross the bridge.

Only by crossing could they reach Xilin. The bridge was narrow—no way for a truck to pass, but enough for people on foot.

They stepped onto the bridge. Sun Qian led at the front, Bai Wan and Su Yuening were in the middle, and Wang Jian and his girlfriend, Luo Ya, brought up the rear—still arguing nonstop since they got off the truck.

“Yaya, don’t you still have two of those skulls left? Could you give one back to me?” Wang Jian had been debating whether to ask the whole ride. The skulls he’d dug up from the graveyard had saved his life last time, but he had already used up the only one he kept. Now, headed to the haunted Xilin, he didn’t feel safe at all with nothing left to fall back on.

Luo Ya shot him a frosty look. “You know what kind of man I hate the most? The kind who goes back on his word. You gave it to me—so how dare you ask for it back? Wang Jian, don’t make me start to hate you.”

Wang Jian’s shoulders slumped. “Yaya… I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to. But I really need something to save my skin.”

Luo Ya looked him up and down, her tone dripping with disdain. “If you need a life-saving item, go earn one yourself. Begging a girl to give you hers? Really? You’ve got some nerve. You’re just a delivery boy, be glad I even bother to be with you.”

Wang Jian’s lips trembled. He had no comeback. After all, his girlfriend worked as a supermarket cashier… it wasn’t exactly nobility either. But he’d fallen for her the first moment he saw her—such a pretty girl! He’d give up anything for her.

Wang Jian tried one last time. “How about this, Yaya, consider this skull a loan, okay? Once this dungeon’s done, I’ll pay you back double. You know me—when have I ever broken a promise to you?”

Luo Ya hesitated, then pulled a skull from her pocket with a reluctant grunt. “Fine. Just remember what you said. Pay me back double. I’m only doing this because we’ve been together so long.”

She handed him the skull, but just then, the bridge gave a little shake. Luo Ya’s grip slipped, and the skull tumbled down.

“Ah!!”

Plop!

Both Luo Ya and Wang Jian looked down in horror as the skull splashed into the river below.

“That was our life-saving item!” Wang Jian’s face turned pale. “Yaya, be more careful!”

“My fault? If you hadn’t asked to borrow it, I wouldn’t have dropped it! Who knew the bridge would wobble like that?!” Luo Ya shot back, her voice sharp as ever.

Wang Jian clenched his jaw. He knew her temper well—there was no use arguing when she got like this.

Then—

Ripples spread through the water. A soft blue glow rose from beneath the surface.

Wang Jian, Luo Ya, and the rest of the group all stared, wide-eyed. A glowing blue light shot up out of the river.

A gentle-looking man with a harmless smile emerged, floating on the water. His eyes were half-closed as he pointed to three skulls floating in front of him and said kindly, “Dear ones, which skull did you drop? Was it this golden skull? Or this silver skull? Or this ordinary, broken skull?”

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

Wha…huh? A river god?!

Where the hell did this river god come from…in a ghost game?!

Luo Ya stood frozen, blinking at the three skulls—then her eyes glinted.

Well… who cares where this thing came from?

“Hehe~ River God, I dropped the broken skull.” Luo Ya put on a sweet smile and answered honestly.

The river god’s smile didn’t waver. He tossed her the beat-up skull and said, “You’re an honest human indeed.”

With that, he and the golden and silver skulls vanished back under the water.

Luo Ya: “…???”

Wang Jian: “……”

Luo Ya just stood there, dumbfounded.

Wait—that’s not how this story’s supposed to go!

She felt her heart break. If she’d known, she would’ve asked for the golden skull!

Meanwhile, Bai Wan got a new system notification:

[You’ve triggered the passive bug: ‘The River God Who Doesn’t Play By the Rules.’ By the power of your active bug skill Bug Exploiter, it has been converted into a temporary active skill.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained: ‘River God Who Doesn’t Play By the Rules (Temporary).’]

River God Who Doesn’t Play By the Rules

Note: This bug is temporary. You can pay paranormal coins to keep it after the dungeon ends.

A river god who doesn’t play by the rules? This bug skill was getting weirder and weirder…

Bai Wan glanced at the river, tempted to toss a coin in to test it, but he held back. If it didn’t trigger, it’d just be a waste. Better to test when no one was around.

By now, the group was halfway across the bridge. Everyone had heard Wang Jian and Luo Ya’s whole exchange—most of them secretly decided: this girl’s character was… not great, and Wang Jian was a bit of a hopeless simp. Nobody bothered to say anything.

They were still crossing when bubbles appeared in the water.

Gurgle gurgle…

Everyone turned—faces paling.

A black shadow glided through the river, giving off a chilling aura.

“Run! It’s a drowned ghost!” Sun Qian shouted.

They’d heard from an old widow during their info gathering that this river was cursed—drowned ghosts lurked here, killing for fun.

The group bolted, but the drowned ghost moved too fast.

In a blink, it surfaced right in front of Luo Ya.

Terrified, Luo Ya tried to grab her skull item—but she was a second too slow. A purplish-blue hand grabbed her leg and yanked her into the river.

“Jian! Help me!” she screamed.

Wang Jian lunged, grabbing her hand—but the drowned ghost’s strength was overwhelming. He could only watch helplessly as it dragged her under.

“Yaya!!!” Wang Jian howled.

The rest of the group watched Luo Ya disappear beneath the water…and let out a collective sigh of relief. Ghosts usually only kill one at a time—so they were probably safe.

Only Wang Jian was left weeping, unable to accept that his girlfriend had just died before his eyes. He sobbed, pleading with the others.

“Please—somebody help her! Go in after her—please! I can’t swim—one of you must know how! You’re just going to watch her die?!”

Everyone just looked at him in silence. What a hopeless simp… After all she’d said to him, he was still like this? Nobody knew what to say. Besides, who would jump into haunted water for a stranger?

Wang Jian sobbed harder as they stood in awkward silence.

“Waaaah! Yaya! Bring Yaya back to me!!”

And just then, the water churned.

Whoosh.

A soft blue light appeared again. That same gentle-looking man rose from the river, half-lidded eyes calm as ever. He pointed at three forms in front of him and asked kindly, “Young man… which one is your girlfriend? This golden girlfriend? This silver girlfriend? Or this bloated, half-rotten, waterlogged corpse girlfriend?”

Wang Jian: “……”

Wang Jian froze, momentarily forgetting to cry. He looked where the river god was pointing. When he saw his girlfriend’s bloated, water-ruined corpse, he let out a fresh wail.

Because of the drowned ghost’s rotting curse, Luo Ya now looked like she’d been dead for days.

“Waaaaaah! Yaya! You died so horribly!”

Sun Qian and the others exchanged glances. Logically, someone dying should be tragic—but for some reason, they were barely holding back laughter.

Bai Wan walked over, clapped Wang Jian on the shoulder, and said earnestly, “Bro, trust me. Don’t pick the rotting corpse. This river god loves to break the rules. Pick the golden girlfriend—you'll get the best deal.”

Sun Qian shook his head. “No way. Golden’s too risky—might get called a liar. Better to pick silver. Not as good, but safer.”

Su Yuening rolled her eyes at these heartless spectators. 

“Seriously? His girlfriend just died and you’re cracking jokes…” She glanced at the three choices, then muttered, “But honestly…the rotting corpse is probably safest. Low risk.”

Wang Jian stared blankly at them—then sobbed even harder.

“Waaaaaah! Yaya!!”

But the river god only waited, patient as ever, and Wang Jian’s impossible choice loomed over him…

Which girlfriend should he choose?

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