Blood-Fueled Lamp

"Why aren't you lighting the wicks?"

Old Aunt looked at Jiang Hong and Sima Mu, who hadn't lit their wicks, and stared at them in surprise.

Weren't they afraid of dying?

"Look! It's getting smaller! Smaller!"

Someone in the crowd of tourists shouted excitedly.

Lin Baici turned and saw a bespectacled young man who had lit his wick.

The dim yellow light wasn't hot, but the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant on his back began to shrink as if it had encountered the blazing sun.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

There was hope.

The male tourists with lighters began lighting their wicks.

"Wait!"

Lin Baici shouted, grabbing Sima Mu by the wrist. "Don't rush. Let's see what happens first!"

"What's there to wait for? That thing is shrinking in the light. Doesn't that prove the oil lamp works?"

Someone looked puzzled.

"Shrinking doesn't mean it'll disappear!"

Lin Baici's words made everyone's hearts sink again. "And there's another problem. There's only one wick in the lamp, and no lamp oil. How long can it stay lit?"

The bespectacled young man's hand shook, and he nearly dropped the lamp.

He looked down and saw that the wick was indeed burning up fast.

Cold sweat instantly broke out all over him.

"Th-this is bad!"

"Why didn't you say that sooner?"

"Why couldn't I keep my hand still?"

Around forty men had been too quick on the draw, and far too afraid of dying. When they saw the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant on the bespectacled young man's back shrink, they had hurried to light their own wicks.

Now they were dumbfounded.

"Brother Lin, you really do think things through!"

Sima Mu wiped the sweat from his forehead, still shaken.

Jiang Hong looked at the lighter in his hand and felt as if it were burning him.

"Y-you're just trying to scare me. Th-there's no need for lamp oil!"

The bespectacled young man was so flustered he stuttered, but he didn't give up. He tried using the lamp to scorch the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant, hoping to scare it away.

But it didn't work.

The wick burned out in less than a minute, right before their eyes.

Whoosh!

When the flame went out, the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant seemed to grow in retaliation. It instantly swelled several times over, like a middle schooler clinging to the young man's back.

"Help me!"

The bespectacled young man panicked.

"Go get another lamp!"

Lin Baici urged him.

"Oh! Right!"

The bespectacled young man came to his senses and hurried toward the Purple Lacquered Wood Shelf.

The forty-odd tourists who had been quick to light their wicks also rushed frantically toward the shelf, hoping to grab another lamp and stay alive.

The bespectacled young man lit another oil lamp.

But it didn't work.

The Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant on his back grew even faster.

"Wh—"

The bespectacled young man was about to ask Lin Baici what to do when—

Suddenly,

The Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant on his back opened its fanged maw and bit into his throat. Then it ripped hard, tearing away a section of his windpipe, still attached to a piece of flesh and skin.

Thud!

The bespectacled young man fell over. With his neck torn open, he couldn't make a sound.

The Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant crouched beside him like a wild dog, gnawing at his body.

The forty-odd unlucky men who had acted too quickly didn't survive either. When their lamps went out, the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infants on their backs began to grow wildly, then attacked, tearing into them and devouring their flesh.

The horrific, bloody scene made everyone shiver from head to toe.

"Everyone, hurry and look for lamp oil!"

Jiang Hong shouted.

Chaos erupted.

Watching this, Jin Yingzhen suddenly understood why Lin Baici hadn't taken out his lighter.

If someone took out a lighter but didn't light the wick, choosing to wait until someone else acted first, it would make him seem far too calculating.

Like now, Lin Baici still seemed to the others like a harmless student with a little kindness in his heart.

Only Jin Yingzhen knew how meticulously this oppa thought things through.

He not only considered every possible consequence of his actions, he was even shaping the image people had of him.

By now, even Boss Jiang's words probably carried less weight than Lin Baici's.

He had money,

But Lin oppa could keep everyone alive!

"We can't find any lamp oil!"

The tourists had searched everywhere, but found nothing. As the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infants on their backs grew larger and larger, they were terrified.

Lin Baici had already considered the possibility that there was no lamp oil. They'd have to find a substitute.

"Could we be supposed to use human oil?"

Jiang Hong suddenly spoke, startling Hua Yueyu.

"What did you say?"

Hua Yueyu had heard him clearly. She just couldn't bear to think about the consequences.

"Human oil. Lighting a human lantern. Haven't you heard of it?"

Jiang Hong covered his mouth and lowered his voice. "Maybe this trial requires human oil!"

Jiang Hong couldn't think of anywhere else they could get lamp oil.

Jin Yingzhen, Old Aunt, Sister Xiao Li, and the others turned pale just imagining the horrific scene.

"Y-you're only guessing. What if human oil doesn't work?"

Hua Yueyu argued.

"If it doesn't work, we'll think of something else. That thing keeps growing. We don't have much time!"

Jiang Hong would kill to stay alive. He looked at Lin Baici. "What about you?"

"No."

Lin Baici refused outright.

If he killed someone to harvest their oil, he'd live with the trauma for the rest of his life.

"Fine. If my method works, don't come begging me later!"

Jiang Hong was decisive. He immediately went to gather a group of people.

They had to be strong and able to fight.

"That guy's a complete scumbag."

Hua Yueyu thought Jiang Hong was heartless.

Lin Baici didn't give up. He studied the oil lamp.

The patterns on it were beautiful.

[An exquisitely crafted bronze oil lamp. But what use is it if you can't eat it?]

Lin Baici was so angry at God of Gluttony's words he could have died. Eat, eat, eat. All it ever thought about was food. Couldn't it say something important for once?

[The bleak winter night is silent. Add blood to the lamp, and the Buddha's light will shine forever. It would be quite an experience to enjoy a vegetarian meal in such a setting!]

God of Gluttony's musing stirred something in Lin Baici.

"Add blood to the lamp?"

Lin Baici had caught a key phrase.

Could it be that the lamp used blood instead of lamp oil?

With that thought, Lin Baici drew the Firewood Chopper from where it was tucked behind his waist, sliced his finger, and began dripping blood into the lamp.

Drip! Drip!

Bright red blood fell into the bronze lamp, sending ripples across the surface.

"What are you doing?"

Hua Yueyu didn't understand.

Besides her, Sister Xiao Li, Jin Yingzhen, Xu Xiu, Old Aunt, Sima Mu, Zhang Ju and her daughter, and around fifty others were following Lin Baici.

No one noticed that when Lin Baici added blood to the lamp, the Dark Great Buddha seated on the altar abruptly opened its eyes and glanced at him.

"Sir, can I borrow your lighter?"

Lin Baici saw that the blood had covered the bottom of the lamp and was about to stop when a voice sounded in his mind again.

[Fill it completely in one go, and it will burn for three years.]

What did that mean?

Lin Baici furrowed his brow.

He didn't want to bleed any more. This lotus-shaped lamp wasn't big, but filling it would probably take two hundred milliliters of blood.

But if he didn't fill it, what if the lamp went out before that thing disappeared?

Lin Baici turned to look at the dozens of corpses mangled by the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infants and suddenly gritted his teeth.

Better safe than sorry!

It was only blood. Once he got out, he'd find a chicken and make up for it.

"Brother Lin, what are you—"

Sima Mu wanted to say, if you've figured something out, don't try it yourself. Test it on a cannon fodder first. What would they do if he died?

Lin Baici took the lighter and lit the wick.

Whoosh!

The tiny flame was pitifully small, but its light warmed the heart.

Lin Baici immediately felt much more comfortable.

"It's shrinking! It's shrinking!"

Old Aunt cried out happily.

"Jiang Hong, blood can replace lamp oil!"

Lin Baici shouted. If he didn't tell Jiang Hong, the man would kill someone and use their oil for the lamp.

A commotion broke out!

The tourists crowded around.

"Really?"

Jiang Hong shoved through the crowd and came to Lin Baici's side.

He had already persuaded eight people to join him.

"See for yourself!"

Lin Baici held the oil lamp in one hand and the Pine Torch in the other. Unlike the panicking crowd, he looked completely calm.

The wick burned steadily. The Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant on Lin Baici's back had shrunk until it was completely hidden behind him, avoiding even the slightest ray of light.

Even so, its body continued to shrink.

"Looks like it really works!"

A young man with a hooked nose stood behind Jiang Hong and spat. "Does it have to be your own blood?"

Everyone tensed at his question.

"You saw for yourself just now. Each person can only take one lamp. What if using someone else's blood taints it, and the wick won't light?"

Lin Baici asked in return.

Jin Yingzhen silently praised Lin Baici's quick thinking.

The Hook-nosed Man looked like a ruthless sort who wouldn't listen to reason. If Lin Baici tried to persuade him not to hurt anyone, it would be difficult. But putting it this way made him hesitate.

After all, no one dared to gamble with their own life.

Besides Jiang Hong and the Hook-nosed Man, some others had also wondered whether they could use someone else's blood as lamp oil. But Lin Baici's question made them abandon the idea.

His words had saved quite a few people.

"Forget it. Better to play it safe!"

The Hook-nosed Man pulled out a Spring Knife, snapped it open, and cut his finger to bleed into the lamp.

"Try to fill the lamp in one go!" Lin Baici called out.

"Do I really have to fill it? It hurts!"

Hua Yueyu's eyes welled with tears.

"Don't you do this once a month? Haven't you gotten used to it?"

Sima Mu teased.

The threat of death from the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infants kept everyone moving quickly. Some even fought over the lighters and knives.

After all that effort, everyone had added more blood and lit the oil lamp.

"Quick, take a look! Has that thing on my back gotten smaller?"

"It works! This method works!"

"Young man, you're amazing!"

"Don't call him 'young man'—that's rude. Call him handsome!"

Seeing the Shoulder-Riding Buddha Infant shrink and realizing they might survive, the tourists finally relaxed a little.

Lin Baici paid no attention to their chatter. All he wanted now was to find God's Remains as quickly as possible and destroy it, bringing this God Ruins to collapse.

Otherwise, at this rate, even several lives wouldn't be enough.

"Looks like nothing else will go wrong!"

Sima Mu had barely finished speaking when a girl cried out in alarm.

"Why is my blood burning so fast?"