LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 10 Worldly Trends
The girl looked at Lu Qingshan with big, clear, and limpid eyes that resembled two clear springs, her gaze filled with sincerity.
Facing Zang Xiaojian's request, Lu Qingshan thought briefly before agreeing to it.
Currently, the information he possessed about the Three-Feet Edge was too scarce, and he was not very confident about finding the Mo Family Head before March.
If he could add the information known by Zang Xiaojian, the likelihood of finding the Mo Family Head would indeed increase, and he had no reason to refuse Zang Xiaojian's suggestion.
As for the issue of the ownership of the Three-Feet Edge by then,
the same phrase applied—if they could not find the Mo Family Head, everything was void, and thinking more was useless.
"I'll go first," seeing that Lu Qingshan agreed to exchange information, the young girl generously began, "My dad told me that this Sword Artifact has appeared more than once. He sensed it seven years ago when he left, and again five years ago on his way back, while passing through the South Sea, he sensed this Sword Artifact once more.
Moreover, the locations where the Sword Artifact was sensed both times were on this Jiaolong Island."
Lu Qingshan was shocked. If what Zang Xiaojian said was true, combined with the information he already knew, it was easy to deduce that the Mo Family Head had not just arrived at Jiaolong Island during the Tianyuan Year, but had always been in hiding there!
Lu Qingshan pondered for a moment and then fully disclosed his deductions about the Mo Family Head and the Three-Feet Edge.
"Even knowing that he is hidden on the island, Jiaolong Island is vast, and with just the two of us, it's hard to begin searching; we need the help of local powers," Lu Qingshan said solemnly.
"According to what the innkeeper said, the Sea God Sect dominates the island and is the largest cultivator force, so should we seek help from the Sea God Sect?" Zang Xiaojian asked.
Lu Qingshan shook his head, "Not the Sea God Sect. With their overwhelming power, how would they care about two outsiders like us?"
"Then?"
"Didn't the innkeeper also mention that there might be a second force of cultivators on the island?"
"You mean the one trying to overthrow the Sea God Sect…" Zang Xiaojian hesitated.
"Exactly, that's the one," Lu Qingshan confirmed, "Moreover, if this force intends to overthrow the Sea God Sect, they surely need resources desperately. We might only need to spend some Spirit Stones to get them to help."
"But if this force is hidden in the shadows and even the Sea God Sect, a local strong force, hasn't been able to find and eliminate them, how can we, who are unfamiliar with this place, find them?"
"There are things the Sea God Sect can't do, but that doesn't mean I can't," Lu Qingshan's gaze deepened, he lightly tapped his fingertips on the table, deciding, "Next, we will go to Dragon City to see what this sacrificial ceremony is all about and...look for this mysterious force that stands against the Sea God Sect!"
"Alright, then I'll listen to you!" Zang Xiaojian had no objections.
…
The sky was clear and bright, and two rainbows created by Flying Swords swept across the sky.
It was Lu Qingshan and Zang Xiaojian, leaving the port and heading to Dragon City using Sword Control.
However, as they traveled, Lu Qingshan suddenly stopped, frowning as he looked down at the ground, where a chase was taking place.
More than a dozen men in cloth shirts were chasing a woman who was desperately running along a path while carrying a child.
The woman, naturally weaker than the men and burdened with the not-so-light weight of a child, was significantly slowed down.
Soon, the woman was caught.
The woman looked at the men surrounding her with fearful eyes.
"Erniu's mom, you took Erniu and ran, this is breaking the rules."
The woman, holding her child, knelt down and kept kowtowing to the crowd, "Please, spare my child, I beg of you, please..."
The crowd, faced with the woman's pleas, all remained silent.
Moments later, an old man riding a mule caught up from behind.
"Village chief," the crowd called out.
The old man known as the village chief jumped down from the mule's back and walked into the circle formed by the men.
Upon seeing the village chief appear, the woman hurriedly crawled over from the ground, clutching at the hem of the village chief's trousers while desperately pleading, "Village chief, my child's father died early, and Erniu is the last of our family's bloodline. Village chief, please spare us…"
The village chief's aged face wrinkled deeply as he looked at the woman kneeling on the ground, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes.
Human hearts are made of flesh. In the past two years, since Erniu's father died by the jaws of wild beasts, leaving behind only the mother and her orphaned child dependent on each other. Now another priceless possession of a mother is about to be taken away, how could he not feel a pain in his heart!
Some spotted the village chief's hesitation and stepped forward, shouting at the woman, "Erniu's mother, the Sea God Sect requires our village to sacrifice a child each year to worship the Sea God. These are the rules, and we cannot defy them. If we do not offer up Erniu, the entire village will suffer.
It's a matter of trading the life of one for the lives of all the villagers – understand what's more important."
With tears streaming down her face, the woman didn't know what to say, and kept bowing her head, begging, "I just want my child… I just want my child…"
Soon, the woman's forehead was already covered in blood.
"Village chief!" Another person began to urge the village chief.
The village chief hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, gritted his teeth and helplessly waved his hand, "Take Erniu away!"
Upon receiving the order, a dozen strong men immediately surged forward.
The woman hurriedly clung tightly to her child, but how could a woman withstand the strength of a dozen men? Soon, her hands holding her child were pried apart, and the child was snatched away from her.
"No—my child—" the woman cried heart-wrenchingly.
The child was also extremely scared, crying out for his mother.
With a cry of anguish, the woman was so heartbroken that she fainted on the spot.
"It truly is a sin…" murmurs of sigh filled the crowd.
Looking at the woman who had fainted, the village chief sighed, "Put Erniu's mother on the mule and take her back."
Immediately, villagers came forward and carried the woman onto the mule the village chief had ridden.
"For over two hundred years, this cannibalistic world, when will it ever end!" the village chief exclaimed, his tone both frustrated and desolate.
...
Although Lu Qingshan had already heard about this matter from the innkeeper, witnessing it firsthand had a far greater impact than merely hearing about it.
Even though Lu Qingshan was usually calm, at this moment, he felt a surge of nameless anger rise in his heart.
Zang Xiaojian, who usually had a smile on his face, now looked as if a layer of frost had covered it; he gritted his teeth and cursed, "This damn Sea God!"
"Damn, am I starting to think of myself as human?" standing on Lu Qingshan's shoulder, the Great King of the Western Rats couldn't help but mutter, quickly shaking his little head to cast off the thought.
As a member of the Demon Clan, he was supposed to be devoid of empathy for such a scene, but for some reason, he felt somewhat depressed involuntarily.
...
"Let's go." After a moment of silence, Lu Qingshan sighed softly and then moved forward through Sword Control.
He was trying hard to stop remembering this incident.
With his ability, it would have been easy to save a child from the hands of those dozen or so mortals, but the consequence would be that all the villagers would have to pay with their lives.
These actions of the villagers, seemingly cruel and merciless, were in fact the best choice for them.
While it was pitiful to think of the children, saving these children wasn't something he could achieve with just his passionate blood and a sword.
Because his sword was not sharp enough yet.