"Let go of my son! I beg you, please spare my son!"
"Mother, I don't want to go. Mother!"
As Xu Ming walked through the village, sensing the unsettling quietness, the cries of a woman and a young boy caught his attention.
Looking ahead, he saw villagers gathered in front of a house. A mother clung desperately to her son's hand, but amidst the struggle, she was pushed aside, falling to the ground.
The woman tried to rush forward again, but her husband held her back tightly.
"Let go! Let go! Don't take my child! Give him back to me!" the woman screamed, her hair disheveled and her face soaked with tears.
Xu Ming frowned and stepped forward.
He never considered himself a hero. There were things beyond his capabilities that he wouldn't meddle with. But if there was something within his power to address, he wouldn't turn a blind eye.
"May I ask why you're forcing this mother and child apart?" Xu Ming asked as he stepped into the crowd.
Hearing his voice, several villagers turned to look at him. Realizing he was an outsider, one of the men snapped, "What's it to you, outsider? Mind your own business and leave!"
A burly man shoved Xu Ming, but it was like trying to move a mountain—he didn't budge an inch. Instead, Xu Ming effortlessly pushed the man to the ground.
Ignoring the startled crowd, Xu Ming swiftly retrieved the young boy and returned him to his mother.
The woman hugged her son tightly, whispering, "It's okay, it's okay..."
"You, outsider, know nothing!"
An elderly man stepped forward, his trembling finger pointing at Xu Ming.
"We're taking her child to offer as a sacrifice to the Yellow Sand River Dragon King! Every year, we must give that dragon a pair of children—one boy and one girl. It's been this way for years!
"Ask anyone here—who hasn't lost a son or daughter to the dragon? And now it's the Wang family's turn. Do they think they're special and can refuse? How is that fair to the rest of us?
"Looking at you, you seem to be some kind of wandering swordsman, right? You so-called warriors always talk about justice, don't you? If the Wang family's son isn't sacrificed, then another family's child will have to take his place. If no children are offered, the dragon will get angry, and the entire village will die!"
Xu Ming was silent.
Hearing the elder's words, he could already piece together what was happening, even without further explanation.
The elder turned to the woman behind Xu Ming. "Madam Wang! You're part of this village. You should've prepared for this long ago! We're all in this together. Does your family think it's exempt?"
"I... I..."
Madam Wang bit her lip tightly, tears streaming down her face.
Her husband sighed heavily, pried her hand away from their son, and stepped forward. "Village Chief, I apologize. It's my wife who was being unreasonable."
"Hmph, as long as you understand." The elder snorted. "Let's go! Next, we head to the Luo family!"
"Mother! Father! Mother!"
The boy cried as he was taken away. Madam Wang fell to her knees, covering her mouth as she wept.
"Luo family..." Xu Ming repeated the name under his breath, watching the direction they headed.
If his guess was correct, Luo Sanniang's daughter was likely the girl chosen as this year's sacrifice.
He planned to follow and see for himself, but first, he needed to understand the full situation.
"Thank you for stepping in, brother, but this is something beyond your ability to interfere with," the man said with a dejected look. After all, who could watch their own child being taken away without grief? Yet, over the years, every family had gone through the same. What made his family any different?
"What's the deal with this Yellow Sand River Dragon King?" Xu Ming asked.
Only a true dragon would dare to call itself a Dragon King. In such a small place, with such a minor river, how could something so insignificant assume the title of Dragon King?
"The Yellow Sand River Dragon King is nothing more than a water serpent," the man explained. "Years ago, it made its way to the Yellow Sand River, where it eventually transformed into a flood dragon and decided to settle down, calling itself the Yellow Sand Dragon Lord.
"Twenty years ago, there was a drought. The village chief and others prayed for rain, and the Dragon Lord granted it. In return, he demanded we build a temple in his honor and worship him. Not only that, but on his birthday, we are required to slaughter chickens, cows, and ducks as offerings—and we must also sacrifice a pair of children, a boy and a girl.
"After the drought ended, we thought about breaking free from his control. Or at least, we figured we could keep worshiping him with livestock, but sacrificing children was just too much. However, the Dragon Lord refused. He insisted that the sacrifices were non-negotiable, or else he'd flood the entire village."
Hearing the man's account, Xu Ming frowned.
Sacrificing children wasn't exactly a requirement for survival or power for most creatures. Why was this Yellow Sand Dragon Lord so fixated on it?
"The Wu Kingdom court has explicitly forbidden private worship of rogue deities. This Yellow Sand Dragon Lord is quite bold. Hasn't the court done anything about it?" Xu Ming asked further.
The man sighed heavily, his expression even more despondent.
"Sir, how could the court possibly intervene? This village is under the jurisdiction of Huangye County, but the magistrate there is in cahoots with the Dragon Lord. It's not like we haven't reported this before, but what good has it done?"
Xu Ming's brow furrowed. "The magistrate is corrupt—what about the prefect?"
The man let out another heavy sigh. "Ah, sir... This Chenxiang Prefecture is under the governance of Prince Qing, one of the Wu Kingdom's autonomous feudal lords."
Xu Ming remained silent.
Now he understood.
In the Wu Kingdom, the power of feudal lords was immense. While it wasn't as extreme as the enfeoffed states of the Zhou Dynasty on Blue Star, it wasn't far off from the semi-autonomous states of the early Han Dynasty. Feudal lords held both administrative and military power.
This was precisely why the central court constantly pushed for the reduction of feudal powers.
If Prince Qing's territories were rife with corruption, any reports from the people would only reach him. Whether or not the prince even cared was another matter entirely.
As for leaving the village? The Wu Kingdom strictly regulated the movement of its populace. Their farmland and household registrations were tied to this place. At most, some villagers could move to the county seat if they had relatives to rely on. But for most, leaving would render them refugees.
Those who could leave had already done so. The remaining villagers had nowhere else to go.
"Do you know the cultivation level of this Dragon Lord?" Xu Ming asked. He didn't expect a villager to know such specifics but decided to ask anyway.
The man hesitated, then said, "Last year, the dragon held some kind of banquet, inviting many guests. It seemed to be celebrating reaching some... Core level?"
"Golden Core Realm?"
"Yes, yes! That's it, Golden Core Realm!"
"I see."
Xu Ming nodded.
In that case, it wasn't impossible to kill.