2 Chapter 2: Buddha asks you, are you sincere?_1

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Under the shroud of dark fog, the entire Dragon Temple seemed ghostly.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

The sound of the wooden fish became more urgent.

Each beat seemed to strike right on Lin Baici and Kim Myungjin's chests, making their heartbeat frantic, almost causing cardiac arrest.

"Does your heart truly believe?"

This sudden, mysterious Buddha statue lowered its head, expressionlessly overlooking the two with eyes flickering with crimson light, reminiscent of hellfire.

Taboo things are here!

Kim Myungjin instinctively tried to flee, but a large hand suddenly grasped her right wrist forcefully. She turned her head and saw the Buddha statue raising the wooden fish toward her.

If she ran,

her head would surely be smashed by the wooden fish.

Cold sweat soaked her back, making her underwear damp.

Gulp!

Kim Myungjin trembled violently, swallowing hard. Her eyes fell on the face of the boy who could become a top idol with his good looks alone.

She knew that if it wasn't for his intervention, she would already be dead.

Lin Baici looked at the Goryeo girl and shook his head slightly.

You can't run, running means death!

That's what the mysterious voice said.

[You cannot run. Show your devotion to the Great Buddha, or your head will become a bloody firework smashed by the wooden fish!]

Kim Myungjin did not dare to speak and instead used her eyes to question Lin Baici,

What should we do?

Lin Baici lifted his head to look at the Buddha statue.

It was entirely dark reddish-brown, like the color of coagulated plasma, approximately three meters tall, carved out of a single huge stone.

Every detail was vivid to life; even the most esteemed masters couldn't create such a perfect masterpiece.

There was also the Buddha statue's expression, aura, and texture, which seemed almost like that of a living person.

It held a wooden fish in its left hand, placed in front of its chest, while its right hand held a large stone mallet, striking steadily, emitting a crisp sound.

The Buddha statue noticed Lin Baici's gaze and immediately stared back at him.

"Does your heart truly believe?"

This was the third time it had asked, and the Buddha statue's patience seemed to be wearing thin. As it asked, it raised its wooden fish high.

It appeared that if Lin Baici didn't answer or answered incorrectly, his head would be crushed.

"Asiba, I'm definitely dead!"

Kim Myungjin wanted to live, but her mind was a mess without any solutions.

[The delivery is here; thanks for the gift from the gods. Let the feast begin!]

'Delivery? This Buddha statue?'

Lin Baici wanted to curse; in this situation, it was clear he was at the bottom of the food chain.

[Why don't you eat? Is it not to your taste?]

"Even if I had iron teeth and copper jaws, I couldn't bite through it, could I?"

Lin Baici roared internally.

What exactly was this Buddha statue?

And what did that sentence mean?

Will I be able to survive if I prove my sincere heart?

Lin Baici looked toward Kim Myungjin, wondering if she had any ideas?

The Goryeo girl blinked her eyes, looking at Lin Baici with hope, as if he were the sturdiest straw to grasp for in her life.

Lin Baici took a deep breath.

This is it,

This woman is hopeless!

I'll have to rely on myself.

As Lin Baici prepared to pray to the Buddha as a last resort, that mysterious voice once again echoed in his mind.

[Bow to the Buddha, offer incense money, and don't be stingy, or it will get very angry.]

"You, whose heart is not sincere, deserve death!"

After the Buddha statue spoke, the stone mallet in its hand fell, aiming for Lin Baici's head.

"Buddha bless me, my heart is as clear as a mirror, visible to heaven and earth!"

In desperation, Lin Baici shouted, pulling out his wallet and offering everything inside—a hundred and fifty yuan, a meal card, an identity card: "Take it all!"

Whoosh!

The stone mallet halted in front of Lin Baici's forehead, its wind dispersing his bangs.

Kim Myungjin covered her mouth with both hands, eyes filled with panic, almost screaming out loud.

"Is that still not enough?"

Lin Baici felt his heart about to jump out of his throat, with his heart rate surely exceeding 200, he didn't dare delay and took out his phone.

"This too, take it!"

After Lin Baici spoke, he quickly started to remove his T-shirt and jeans.

The Buddha statue inspected Lin Baici's 'incense money' and its originally ferocious face displayed a satisfied smile.

"My Buddha knows, your heart is sincere!"

"You may live!"

The Buddha statue opened its mouth wide, drawing in a sharp breath.

Lin Baici's wallet, phone, and clothes were directly sucked into its mouth, chewed a few times, and then swallowed.

Whew!

Lin Baici let out a sigh of relief.

Are we in the clear now?

The Buddha statue did not leave but turned its head, looking at Kim Myungjin, its smiling face turning menacing.

"Does your heart truly believe?"

Kim Myungjin was clever; following Lin Baici's example, she took out her wallet, phone, removed her watch, hesitated for a moment, and then stripped off her denim hot pants and tight top, offering them to the Buddha statue.

Lin Baici couldn't help but glance over.

What a body!

This must be what they call a 'bombshell', right?

The Buddha statue opened its mouth and sucked away the incense money offered by Kim Myungjin, then, playing the wooden fish, vanished into the dark fog.

We're safe!

A relieved Kim Myungjin, who had narrowly escaped death, hugged Lin Baici tightly.

"We made it! We've passed the trial! Oppa, you're amazing!"

Mua!

Unable to contain herself, Kim Myungjin kissed Lin Baici on the cheek.

"Do you know what that was?"

Lin Baici referred to the bizarre-acting Buddha statue.

"Taboo things!"

Kim Myungjin explained, "These are things that appear in the Divine Ruins, and can't be explained by current scientific theories. The officials have labeled them 'taboo things,' meaning even the gods fear these forbidden objects!"

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"These Taboo things all possess supernatural rule Strength, which can result in rule pollution. Take the Buddha statue just now, for example, I think if we hadn't been able to prove our sincerity, we would have been beaten to death!"

Kim Myungjin, still frightened by the thought, shivered with fear.

She had been panicking to death just before, already incapable of thinking.

All thanks to this boy!

Cool-headed enough to come up with the idea of offering 'Incense money' just in time to prove our sincerity.

Otherwise, we would have been dead without a doubt.

"Oppa, you are my Superman!"

Kim Myungjin's eyes were worshipful as she gazed at Lin Baici.

Although she was only left in her underwear now, Kim Myungjin did not complain, and she had even thought about stripping off even that to offer it up.

After all, no one knew how much the Buddha statue would consider as the minimum for Incense money!

If it wasn't enough,

We would have been killed.

"How many Taboo things are there in a Divine Ruins?"

Lin Baici felt a headache coming on, feeling like he was going to lose it.

"I don't know!"

Kim Myungjin suddenly realized that Lin Baici, besides his good looks, also had an incredibly fit body, with muscles well-defined, very tempting to touch: "Do you often work out?"

This was clearly a man of extreme self-discipline!

Kim Myungjin had discovered yet another good quality about this Oppa.

"I don't like exercising!"

Lin Baici shook his head, looking around.

"Ah?"

Kim Myungjin's gaze had landed on the eight-pack abs of Lin Baici's belly, feeling surprised, surely those abs didn't just grow on their own?

Lin Baici knew what Kim Myungjin was wondering about, because he was also perplexed.

From childhood to adulthood, his body had always been healthy, especially after entering high school, his body began to look like it had gone through extensive training.

"Looking at the situation, are we going to run into other Taboo things?"

Lin Baici changed the subject.

"Definitely!"

Kim Myungjin looked pitifully at Lin Baici: "So Oppa, it's all on you!"

Honestly, the girl was very pretty, and her figure was incredibly striking, even better looking than the top Goryeo girl group members that his childhood friend, Li Wei, liked, but Lin Baici felt no ripples in his heart.

Because he was hungry.

[Take her with you, she can be used as emergency food. For cooking method, grilling is recommended!]

The fog had cleared a bit, the visibility now was around twenty meters.

"Oppa, shall we quickly go look for God's bones?"

Kim Myungjin felt dizzy and nauseous, as if she had been on a roller coaster for half an hour: "With the way things are, we won't last long, even if we don't lose our sanity and go crazy, our bodies will break down!"

"Let's go!"

Lin Baici didn't want to wait any longer either.

Otherwise, he felt he would starve to death before the contamination by God's bones turned him into a senseless heap of dead flesh.

"Is that the Daxiong Treasure Hall over there?"

This was the largest building in Dragon Temple, and Lin Baici decided to try his luck there.

"Not necessarily, a Divine Ruins born after the fall of a meteor can cause changes in the original landscape and environment, creating incredible places!"

Kim Myungjin answered without any reservations, answering all questions.

"Hmm!"

Lin Baici had barely taken three steps when that voice in his head suddenly reminded him.

[Over there is a feast, but judging by your appetite, you won't be able to eat it, it's best to avoid it.]

"What exactly are you?"

Lin Baici stopped in his tracks, the voice although inexplicably mostly talking about eating, did indeed help him out just now.

No reply, the voice fell silent.

"Can you tell me how to get out of these Divine Ruins?"

Lin Baici didn't give up.

[Turn right, this is your jungle area, your appetite has long been desperate to start feeding.]

"Right, huh?"

Lin Baici turned around, deciding to give it a try.

Kim Myungjin followed.

The two of them cautiously moved forward through the mist.

Lin Baici's calmness gradually affected Kim Myungjin, steadying this blonde girl considerably.

"Be careful!"

Lin Baici suddenly crouched down.

Kim Myungjin didn't stupidly ask why but immediately crouched down, following Lin Baici's line of sight.

About a dozen bodies, lay there dispersed in different directions, not far away.

"Run!"

Kim Myungjin quickly grabbed Lin Baici.

[Look, a bunch of unlucky ones who died at the hands of the Merit Buddha, were they all unwilling to donate Incense money to the death?]

It seems that it was that Buddha statue that killed these people.

Is that monster called the Merit Buddha?

Lin Baici figured it wasn't that these people were stingy with their money, but they simply didn't know how to prove their sincerity.

[Lucky for you, first door and you're in luck, you can start looting!]

"Let's go!"

With the voice saying that, it should be safe.

Lin Baici boldly walked over.

Nine men and seven women, all had their heads smashed.

"Search around, look for anything we can use!"

Lin Baici went to a young man's body, about his own height, and stripped off his Manchester United jersey.

The jersey was stained with blood, which made Lin Baici uncomfortable, but wandering around in just a pair of underwear was even more unpleasant.

After all, Lin Baici wasn't a pervert.

The personal belongings of these bodies had not been touched by the Merit Buddha, it seems that it didn't accept Incense money unless it was offered willingly by the visitors.

Lin Baici found a Rolex watch.

He wasn't after the small advantage, but rather to check the time and make sure how long he had stayed in these Divine Ruins.

In addition, he picked up a backpack, with two lighters, over six hundred yuan, and three cell phones in it.

If they encountered that Merit Buddha again, they could offer these to it.

"Oppa, there's no weapon!"

Kim Myungjin had put on a pure cotton skirt and a white sun protection shirt.

"Let's go!"

The two continued to move forward, after about ten minutes they saw a moon gate that, like a beast's eye socket after the eyeball had been gouged out, stood not far away.