Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!

Chapter 1460 - 207: Blood Jade Bitter Cress

Xu Shu’s performance in the Penglai dialect was not ideal.

Fortunately, when this couple spoke, it was a mix of official language and local dialect. Xu Shu had already made corresponding guesses and preparations through some keywords, and there was occasional help from Xiao Ya outside, transmitting and assisting with translations.

Finally, after spending more than twenty minutes, Xu Shu figured out the ins and outs of what happened in the village. He also understood why the villagers disliked that obviously beautiful widow Yang Su so much.

It turns out her status was not ordinary. She wasn’t just some defenseless widow but a witch chosen by the "Holy Envoy Team" specifically to conduct blessing rituals for the "Holy Mother."

Every month, during a minor sacrifice, the entire county collectively offers a pair of children for worship, but everyone thought it wouldn’t be their own children.

However, once a year during the grand sacrifice, each village was required to contribute a pair of young boys and girls.

Yang Su, being a witch, was responsible for the monthly sacrificial rituals and for submitting the list of eligible children from the village. She also enjoyed benefits given by the town.

The villagers, not daring to resist the big shots above, naturally vented their anger on the witch in the village, harboring hatred in their hearts and cursing her behind her back.

"Other children were chosen as offerings, and she said nothing. Now that it’s her child’s turn to be an offering, she refuses and wants my siblings to replace them! I’m so angry at her!" the man said bitterly, cursing vehemently.

The woman’s temper was slightly better, and she quickly explained the remaining half of the story to Xu Shu.

Actually, a decade ago, things weren’t like this.

At that time, the entire Luling County survived by relying on the mountains and rivers. Although the outside world was chaotic and full of disputes, the county could be self-sufficient and was considered a place where "since ancient times, Luling people have lived off fishing, oblivious to the existence of Han, Wu, or Jin." The people lived peacefully and prosperously. (Note 1)

Until that day, when the group claiming to follow the orders of the "Holy Mother" came and changed everything.

Initially, the members of the Holy Envoy Team said that the regional veins here were special, harboring an immensely terrifying and free ultimate demon that had to be quelled by building a Holy Lotus Altar to request the Holy Mother’s blessing to suppress the evil spirits and protect the people.

No one believed it at first, but that same night, monsters crawled out of the mountains and devoured several families, which was only quelled thanks to the intervention of the Holy Servant Team.

Most people hadn’t seen this, so they didn’t know if it was true or not, but the talk spread, especially after the county magistrate himself promoted it.

From then on, once the altar was established, a monthly sacrifice rule was set up, without which the Holy Mother could not protect.

The entire Luling County, consisting of one city, eight towns, and sixty-four villages, had to comply.

Anyone chosen who was unwilling to cooperate, within three days, would be found dead on the streets, and their children would be taken away.

Moreover, the wrongdoer’s relatives and friends would also be arrested, paraded through the streets, and executed together.

Claimed as "disrespecting the Holy Mother, facing divine retribution, endangering the entire clan," it highlighted the concept of punishing one to teach a hundred and implicating nine generations.

Under such bloodthirsty, brutal suppression, no one dared resist anymore.

The people were miserable, and those who lost their children were desperate enough to wish for death.

But as the saying goes, a living dog is better than a dead lion.

So, in order to survive, they not only had to strive to live but also had to work tirelessly to have children.

According to the Holy Envoy Team’s rules, those without children were also desecrating the deities, prone to "divine retribution," leading to frequent incidents where single old bachelors were dragged out, beaten, and paraded through the streets as a warning.

"Master, you must speak for the people of Baishi Town, no, for the civilians of the entire Luling County! Speak for my Lele and Fangfang!"

"Please, sir!"

As the couple spoke, they were in tears, and brought in the two children, all four of them kneeling on the ground, kowtowing loudly.

Such a scene, even the most cold-hearted person, could hardly sit by idly.

However, Xu Shu touched his chin and did not answer directly but transmitted, "Advisor Jiang Chengzi, come quickly, I think there’s something fishy here."

Xiao Ya’s mouth twitched.

What on earth was this Jiang Chengzi Advisor! What kind of nonsense title is this?

And why involve me? Can’t you talk through the wall?

She rolled her eyes at Xu Shu with annoyance but still leaned over to ask, "What’s going on?"

Xu Shu, lost in thought, said, "I think I’ve figured it out. In this ghost place, giving birth is a suffering. A village has to produce a pair of boys and girls every year, the performance pressure is too great. It seems that children born here are destined to be picked for sacrifice."

Listening, Xiao Ya, also in contemplation, said, "You mean why don’t they just not have children, give up?"

Xu Shu shook his head, "No, no, no. Not having children is also suffering. You heard it, even single men without descendants are pulled out for beating, sometimes even beheading. I think if the members of the Holy Envoy Team were sent outside, they’d definitely get a deputy director position at the family planning department, right? Many of our lower-safe zones actually have pretty severe population pressure."

"Cough, cough, careful with your words, kid. What deputy director?"

Ouyang Suxian, a senior member of the Judgement Department, unconsciously touched her nose, forcibly swallowing the last three words back down.

Xu Shu Dao said, "Giving birth is suffering, not giving birth is suffering, failing to give birth is even more suffering upon suffering... It turns out this is the ’suffering of non-existence’ after all! Hey, what if I bring in a ’Fallen Apostle’ here, wouldn’t it explode?"

"Wouldn’t the sacrifice rituals have to happen every hour? Could this method exhaust that Holy Mother to death?"