Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 45 Dead Fire

Feng Xuedie opened her eyes wearily, but felt dizzy and her vision was blurry. She heard a buzzing in her ears, followed by a sound like a tidal wave rushing into her eardrums, like the cheers of the crowd when they saw acrobats performing at a temple fair.

Ying Chengji stood above the crowd, constantly stirring up their emotions. He manipulated the desires of these believers, elevating himself above the ignorant masses who regarded him as an ant. Without Feng Xuedie, there was no doubt that he would have become the sacrifice to be manipulated at will.

"Please take your seats, everyone, and raise your glasses to drink this divine blood." Ying Chengji instructed the waiters to spread out Feng Xuedie's limbs, and the bunny girls used knives to cut open the skin of the offering, allowing the honey-like blood to flow out.

Pure and beautiful flowers bloom with exquisite colors, a mixture of blood and splendor that makes one's heart tremble. These self-proclaimed celebrities and nobles have always pursued the notion of nobility and the extraordinary.

Feng Xuedie's stunning beauty, coupled with her blood that symbolizes extraordinary power, captivated these guests.

They took their seats, trying not to appear too hasty, and slowly picked up their glasses. But the messy way they caught the blood in their glasses betrayed their despicable nature. Some people, seeing this, simply stopped pretending and abandoned their glasses, opening their mouths to lick the bloodstains on the round table.

Phalaenopsis Orchid sat at the farthest point from the head of the table. The table was divided into two parts: a small circular table in the center and a circular dining area on the other. Chu Deng was seated to Phalaenopsis Orchid's left. The two of them were the least conspicuous people at the table.

To match the eerie atmosphere, Phalaenopsis picked up her wine glass and caught the blood flowing like threads on the table. The scarlet liquid did not have the rusty smell of human blood; instead, it seemed to carry a heat, and even before it entered her mouth, it had a burning and numbing sensation.

Chu Deng looked at the contents of the cup, gently swirled it, and the viscous blood clung to the cup's walls, casting a bloody shadow over the transparent glass.

"This blood is incredibly sweet! It truly deserves to be called supreme divine blood!" Some people went mad after just one sip.

"Delicious! I want to be young again, I want to live forever!"

"Extraordinary power!"

Chu Deng put the cup down with her left hand, while her right hand was still being held tightly by her fake father, Phalaenopsis Orchid.

This blood is normal human blood. Before the fourth level, superhumans haven't broken out of the category of normal people. Blood is just blood. It's just that someone smeared something special on the cup wall, and mixed it with the blood to make it unique "divine blood".

She looked up at the pitiful woman struggling on the round table, as if she saw the figures of countless struggling women in the apocalypse, reduced to the point of being at the mercy of others. The sacrifice had not given up struggling. She twisted weakly, trying to get rid of the servants who held her limbs, like a fish on a chopping board.

As the saying goes, "Man is the butcher, and I am the fish."

Having fallen to this point, Feng Xuedie's mind went blank, and all her emotions had been completely exhausted during this hellish period.

She was used by a ruthless man, but all she thought about was being a pair of lovebirds. When her boyfriend was in dire straits, he not only wanted to fly away, but also wanted to kick her into the tiger's mouth to buy him some time.

As her blood drained away, Feng Xuedie, caught in a revolving lantern of memories, recalled her entire life without the slightest surprise.

In my next life, I hope I can live a different life.

As Feng Xuedie thought this, her tired eyes finally succumbed to the invisible force and closed under the backdrop of those ferocious smiling faces.

Fire, an overwhelming fire, an inextinguishable fire, a scorching, boiling fire.

"on fire!"

"Fire extinguisher, quick!"

"It can't be put out! This fire can't be put out! Help! Help!"

"Help me, I don't want to die... I don't want to die!!!"

The piercing screams of the person engulfed in flames sent shivers down the spines of everyone present, and the distinguished guests, watching helplessly as the burning figure hurtled toward them, were so terrified their legs went weak.

"It's divine punishment, it's our punishment for plundering divine blood!" someone knelt to one side, crying out in repentance, only to be trampled to death by the panicked crowd.

"Shut up! This isn't divine punishment, everyone calm down!" Ying Chengji's face darkened, but the scene was chaotic. People at the round table ran around frantically. Faced with death, no one listened to his words as the cult leader. They crowded together to pull open the banquet hall door.

When the thick fire element filled the banquet hall, Feng Xuedie was like a fish that had been thirstily given rain. All her strength was mobilized, and those who grabbed her limbs were either burned to death or scared away.

Having lost too much blood, Feng Xuedie gasped for breath and rolled over, falling off the conspicuous round table.

With a loud "thud," the wound from the knife cut her body caused her to feel dizzy with pain. Feng Xuedie gasped for breath and almost fainted. She closed her eyes to catch her breath and then hid on the table to conceal herself.

Seeing that the fire was growing larger and larger, and that his condensed water could not extinguish it, and that everyone was piled up in front of the inward-opening door and would be burned to death sooner or later, Ying Chengji quickly hid in the shadows and prepared to react to the situation.

As Chu Deng was engulfed in flames, Phalaenopsis Orchid held her tightly in her arms. Because they were sitting in the closest spot to the door, although there was still some distance between them, Phalaenopsis Orchid had ample time to react.

Holding Chu Deng, the orchid couldn't open the door easily, so it retreated to a corner behind it, waiting to rush out with the child as soon as the door opened. But to its utter dismay, the door opened inwards!

Flames spread outwards from the round table, and everyone retreated to the door. To maintain secrecy, the entire banquet hall was sealed off, and the door was locked tight. The only way to open it was for the person behind the door to back up, but behind them were raging flames, and touching them meant certain death. No one was willing to go back and let others escape while they themselves perished in the fire.

Those in front pushed those behind them aside, while those behind grabbed the robes of those in front to pull them away and squeeze in themselves. Butterfly Orchid never imagined that less than a hundred people could create such a scene in a life-or-death struggle, with everyone screaming and their faces full of ferocious will to survive.

The orchid, nestled in a safe corner, carved out a small, safe space for Chu Deng amidst the crowd. Even as she was jostled and her expression became uncontrollable, she still managed a smile, "Baby, don't be afraid—"

Chu Deng looked up at the man and said softly, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

The man sitting next to her knew best where the flames had first started.

"I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid." The man's eyes were filled with tears, yet he spoke words completely contrary to his expression. He reached out to wipe away the tears that had fallen on Chu Deng's forehead, his arm, squeezed out of shape, twisted and pressed against the wall, his voice weak and feeble. "P-Please, please save my son..."

He is going to die.

The flames consumed the thin air, and the crowded, unpleasant environment, combined with the thick black smoke, was taking the lives of these people.

Chu Deng's eyes flickered slightly as she met the gaze of the Phalaenopsis Orchid.

The man brought his sick son to Shangyuan Villa seeking medicine, and the moment he took Chu Deng's hand, he realized that this was not his child.

"Why don't you..." expose me?

Why leave your child in unknown dangers?

Why do you need to protect me?

They were complete strangers, and I hadn't even seen their faces.

Chu Deng didn't understand, but the owner of the answer closed his eyes, breathed his last, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.