Chapter 170

Chapter 170: So It’s Not Unkillable

“Let go of my son! Please, spare my son, I beg of you!”

“Mother, I don’t want to go. Mother…”

As Xu Ming walked through the village and began to feel how desolate it was, he heard the cries of a woman and a little boy.

Xu Ming looked up ahead and saw that the villagers were gathered in front of a house.

A mother tightly held her son’s hand.

But after relentless tugging, the mother was pushed away and fell to the ground.

This mother tried to rush forward but was tightly held back by her own husband.

“Let go! Let go! No! My child, give him back to me…” The woman’s hair was disheveled as she continued to cry.

Xu Ming furrowed his brow and stepped forward.

Xu Ming didn’t consider himself a good person.

There were things beyond his ability that he wouldn’t attempt. But there were some things within his reach that he would try to manage.

“What reason do you have for separating this mother and son?” Xu Ming asked as he entered the crowd.

Upon hearing Xu Ming’s voice, many people turned to see an outsider: “Why do you care so much, outsider? Just leave!”

A big man shoved Xu Ming but found him immovable like a mountain.

Instead, Xu Ming effortlessly pushed the man to the ground.

Xu Ming easily snatched the little boy away and returned him to the woman.

The woman tightly embraced her son, whispering “It’s okay,” “It’s okay.”

“What does an outsider know?”

An elder stepped forward, his trembling hand pointing at Xu Ming.

“We take their child for the sacrifice to the Yellow Sand River Dragon King.

Every year we must offer a pair of young boys and girls to the Yellow Sand River Dragon King. This happens every year!

Ask anyone here, who hasn’t lost a son or daughter?

What? Now it’s Wang family’s turn, and they refuse? Is that fair to others?!

Judging by your martial arts practice, you must be a wandering swordsman, right?

You knights always talk about righteousness. If Wang family’s son isn’t sacrificed, someone else’s will have to step in! Without the sacrifice, the Dragon King gets angry, and everyone in the village dies!”

Xu Ming: “…”

Even without asking in detail, Xu Ming had a rough idea of what was going on from the elder’s questioning.

The elder turned to the woman behind Xu Ming: “Lady Wang! As one of our villagers, you should’ve been prepared! Everyone is the same; why should your family be special?”

“I… I…”

Lady Wang tightly pursed her lips, tears streaming down her face.

“Alas,” Lady Wang’s husband sighed, pulling his wife’s hand away and personally leading his son forward, “Village Chief, sorry, my wife doesn’t understand.”

“Hmph, you should know better,” the elder called Village Chief scoffed, “Move! To the Luo family!”

“Mother… Father… Mother…”

The little boy was carried away.

The woman crouched on the ground, covering her mouth and crying.

“Luo family…” Xu Ming softly repeated these two words, looking at the direction they went.

Without a doubt, Luo Sanlang’s daughter would be the girl chosen for the sacrifice alongside the boy.

He definitely planned to check it out later, but first, he needed to clarify the situation.

“Thank you for your help, Brother, but this kind of thing isn’t something you can interfere with.” The man’s expression was very dejected; after all, who wouldn’t see their own son being taken away?

But over the years, other families faced the same fate. What made his family any different?

“What is the origin of this Dragon King of the Yellow Sand River?” Xu Ming asked.

Only a true dragon dared to call itself a Dragon King. In such a small place, this river—how dare it call itself a Dragon King?

“Replying to Master, this Dragon King of the Yellow Sand River is actually a water serpent that transformed into a jiao when it reached our Yellow Sand River and decided to stay, calling itself the Yellow Sand Dragon Lord.”

“Twenty years ago, during the drought, the Village Chief and others prayed for rain, and the Yellow Sand Dragon Lord brought rain, demanding a temple to be built for worship.”

“Not only that, on his birthday, we must slaughter chickens, cattle, and offer pairs of young boys and girls.”

“After the drought improved, we thought we could avoid relying on the Dragon King’s protection, or at least just worship him with offerings of livestock and poultry. But offering children, that’s really unacceptable.”

“But the Yellow Sand Dragon Lord refused, insisting that the young boys and girls were necessary, or he would flood the entire village.”

Listening to the man’s description, Xu Ming frowned.

Young boys and girls weren’t exactly great nourishment.

Why was this Yellow Sand Dragon King so obsessed?

“The Wu Kingdom’s imperial court prohibits private worship of wild gods. This Yellow Sand Dragon King certainly has guts. Can the court not intervene?” Xu Ming asked again.

“Alas…”

The man sighed heavily, his expression filled with despair.

“Master, how can the court intervene? Not to mention other things, our village belongs to Huangye County’s jurisdiction, but the county magistrate is in league with the Yellow Sand Dragon Lord.”

“We haven’t failed to report it to the authorities, but what use is reporting if nothing changes?”

Xu Ming: “If the county magistrate is corrupt, what about the governor?”

“Alas, Master… Our Chenxiang Prefecture is under the rule of Prince Qing, a parallel king of the kingdom.”

Xu Ming: “…”

At this point, Xu Ming understood.

In the Wu Kingdom, the power of feudal lords was significant. Although not as independent as the fiefdoms in the Zhou Dynasty of Blue Ocean Star, they weren’t too different from the early Han Dynasty’s fiefdoms—basically autonomous, with administrative and military authority.

That’s why the court kept shouting “reduce the power of the feudal lords.”

Corruption under Prince Qing meant that no matter how much the commoners complained, it would still end up in Prince Qing’s hands. Whether Prince Qing would even bother dealing with it was another matter.

But seeing the collusion between the county magistrate and the evil jiao gave a clear picture of the governance under his rule.

As for moving away…

The Wu Kingdom strictly restricted the movement of its people.

Their farmland and household registration were tied here.

At most, they could move to the county town; going to another county would make them vagrants.

Those who could move and rely on relatives in the county town naturally left.

Where could the remaining villagers go?

“Big Brother, do you know what level this Dragon Lord is at?” Xu Ming asked, though he didn’t expect a villager to know the level of the evil jiao.

“This…” The man thought for a moment. “Last year, that evil jiao seemed to hold a banquet, inviting many guests, celebrating entering some… Danzi Realm?”

“Golden Core Realm?”

“Yes, yes, exactly, Golden Core Realm.”

“Ah, I see.”

Xu Ming nodded.

So it’s not unkillable.