Following closely.
Amidst the crowd's gaze, the Ghost King Gu Shi, after spewing white foam, began to roll its ghastly zombie eyes outward.
Witnessing this.
The onlookers were even more stunned, their expressions a mixture of utter bewilderment.
After a long while, someone finally spoke. It was the couple who had been customers earlier. The woman murmured:
"Rolling its eyes? This isn't... food poisoning, is it?"
Her words.
Everyone turned to look, their faces a picture of unanimous agreement, as if silently conveying, "Holy cow! I'm not the only one thinking this."
Beside them, the owner stood dumbfounded, staring at the Ghost King Gu Shi, which was convulsing violently, foaming at the mouth, and rolling its eyes as if on the verge of collapse. He thought to himself in shock:
"...My Crossing Bridge Noodles... poisoned a ghost???"
At the same time.
Just as everyone was thinking, the Ghost King Gu Shi felt terrible. Its stomach felt as if Sun Wukong and Nezha were inside, one wreaking havoc in the Dragon Palace, the other causing chaos at the sea. In short, two primate-like beings were causing a commotion in its stomach.
[Ding! The Ghost King Gu Shi's stomachache is so severe it wants to scream, but it's too painful, so painful it can't even make a sound.]
[Host gains System Points +150]
Finally.
The Ghost King Gu Shi, enduring the agony, managed to utter a sentence:
"You, you... you... what did you feed me————"
Its voice was weak and dying.
Zhang Wei, who was still eating the remaining Crossing Bridge Noodles, took a sip of the broth and let out a slurping sound. He looked up and replied:
"I told you it was Crossing Bridge Noodles. Didn't you see? The shop owner made it for me. Are you stupid? Do you think I switched it? Do you think I had time to switch it after you appeared?"
[Ding! The Ghost King Gu Shi fell silent. You have a point. There really wasn't time. So... I was defeated by a bowl of Crossing Bridge Noodles... Ah! It hurts so much!!]
[Host gains System Points +160]
The Ghost King Gu Shi's face was etched with pain.
This was the first time since becoming a ghost that it had wanted to call an ambulance. It never imagined that even as a ghost, it would one day wish to go to the hospital.
[Ding! The Ghost King Gu Shi strongly desires, 120! Call an ambulance for me quickly, I can't take it anymore, I'm going to the hospital to have my stomach pumped...]
[Host gains System Points +170]
The intense pain.
The Ghost King Gu Shi felt like it was nearing its end. As time passed, it stopped foaming at the mouth, but from its increasingly weak appearance, everyone knew this wasn't an improvement, but rather a final burst of energy before death.
Seeing this.
Including He Qiao and Lin Tong, everyone looked at the owner in unison, their eyes filled with undisguised shock.
"Boss, your Crossing Bridge Noodles..."
He Qiao looked shocked.
As a ghost exorcist, and the captain of the Guard Department, how could he not know how powerful a Ghost King-level fierce ghost was? Moreover, he had been eating the Crossing Bridge Noodles from this shop for over ten years, and he knew very well how delicious, clean, and hygienic these noodles were.
However.
The two things he was familiar with, when they met today, felt so alien.
So...
Are Crossing Bridge Noodles like glutinous rice or chicken blood, having a restraining effect on ghosts? And more importantly, effective against Ghost King-level fierce ghosts.
It wasn't just He Qiao; Lin Tong had similar thoughts. The two exchanged glances, and even without speaking, they understood each other's current thoughts.
Ghosts die after eating Crossing Bridge Noodles?
Is this why Crossing Bridge Noodles are called Crossing Bridge Noodles? Is the bridge they cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness?
Besides the two of them.
The owner and other customers had similar ideas.
The owner stared blankly at the dying Ghost King Gu Shi, his mind in a daze as he murmured:
"I've been making Crossing Bridge Noodles for over ten years, and today I learned that Crossing Bridge Noodles cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness? Oh my heavens."
"My 10 yuan bowl of Crossing Bridge Noodles can kill ghosts?"
"Did I sell them too cheap?"
"Is this why you always wanted me to inherit the ancestral Crossing Bridge Noodles, Dad? Dad, Grandpa, I understand now. I finally understand your good intentions."
In his words.
The owner seemed to sense something and looked at the customers. He saw them looking at him strangely and quickly said:
"Don't look at me like that. My Crossing Bridge Noodles won't kill people, really. Look, that young man finished his Crossing Bridge Noodles, and he's fine. And He Qiao has been eating my Crossing Bridge Noodles for over ten years, and he's fine."
He Qiao: "..."
He Qiao's mouth twitched. He suddenly felt as if he had been walking on the edge of death for the past ten years.
Just as everyone was lost in their thoughts.
On the other side.
The Ghost King Gu Shi persisted for a long time. Its corpse-spotted face turned pale. In everyone's eyes, it couldn't withstand the 'food poisoning' and rolled its eyes, exhaling its last wisp of corpse energy.
Before death.
It used its remaining strength to look at the bowl of Crossing Bridge Noodles in Zhang Wei's hand, glaring fiercely at Zhang Wei.
[Ding! The Ghost King Gu Shi let out a tragic, dying laugh. To think that after years of being formidable, I, a native of Xishuangbanna, died from eating Crossing Bridge Noodles! Hahahaha!]
[Host gains System Points +180]
At this moment.
Watching the Ghost King Gu Shi die.
Zhang Wei also raised his hand, holding the empty bowl of Crossing Bridge Noodles in one hand and waving the other. A long sword made of yellow talismans flew from his hand. With a sweep of the blade, he severed the head of the Ghost King Gu Shi nailed to the cross:
"Another Ghost King head."
Everyone watched.
Lin Tong, who knew Zhang Wei, raised an eyebrow, feeling a sense of admiration. Zhang Wei was truly a Ghost King harvester.
The customers and owner, who didn't know Zhang Wei, were also emotionally stirred. They were all confused. What was that young man doing? Weren't the ghosts already dead? Why was he still cutting off heads? Was it because he was a Taoist priest? Was he trying to chop off 'Jesus's' head from the cross?
At the same time.
After severing the Ghost King Gu Shi's head, Zhang Wei didn't linger. He turned and walked back.
He handed the Ghost King's head to He Qiao, intending to trade it with the Guard Department, and then checked the time:
"It's getting late, Captain He Qiao. We should leave soon, or we'll miss our flight."
"Oh, right."
As Zhang Wei spoke, he placed the bowl of Crossing Bridge Noodles on the table. As he got up to leave, he smiled at the owner:
"Boss, your Crossing Bridge Noodles are as delicious as Captain He Qiao said. I'll come back to eat here when I visit Xishuangbanna again."
...
Afterward.
Zhang Wei and his companions left.
They didn't know that not long after they left, the owner replaced the signboard outside his shop with a new slogan:
[Delicious and Ghost-Repelling Crossing Bridge Noodles, don't miss out. Buy one bowl for a delicious meal, buy two bowls and keep one at home for warding off evil.]
Although this slogan made people chuckle.
However.
With the help of other customers' social media posts, his Crossing Bridge Noodles quickly became a viral sensation.
The reason was simple.
Among those customers, the couple also had another identity besides being customers... they were influencers.
Upon returning, they immediately did a live stream and posted a video – [The Origin of Crossing Bridge Noodles: It Crosses the Bridge of Forgetfulness].
Instantly.
This Crossing Bridge Noodle shop became famous.
Even.
Many ghost exorcists came to try it, buying two bowls, one to eat on the spot and one to take home for research.
...