Young Noble Be Monster Slaying-Chapter 851: The Real Culprit

"Yang Shenlong?"

The mention of that name stunned every person in the agitated crowd.

There were many cultivators across the vast lands of the nine provinces, so it wasn't uncommon for ordinary folk to encounter them. However, top disciples of the Divine Nine like Yang Shenlong and Chu Liang were truly a rare sight.

Of course, they had no idea Lin Bei had given a fake name. The strength he had just displayed was enough to astonish them. There might even be a few cultivators in the crowd, but they were likely only dominant in the town. How powerful could they possibly be? When they saw Lin Bei's display of his cultivation power, no cultivators dared step forward.

Lin Bei didn't often get the chance to flaunt his might and appear this impressive, so he puffed up his chest and shouted, "To think you'd dare hold such wicked rituals here on the soil of the nine provinces, sacrificing innocent young boys and girls! You're unlucky to have met me today! Surrender at once, and I shall—"

But before he could finish his dramatic line, Chu Liang had already lost his patience. He stepped forward and yanked open the palanquin's curtain.

He didn't do that for himself. He was letting the scholar ghost see if the little girl in the palanquin was indeed his daughter.

However, the scholar ghost didn't dare emerge from the porcelain bottle to look. Fortunately, he had a decent amount of soul power—enough to perceive what was going on outside the bottle. The moment he saw the little girl, he responded to Chu Liang at once. "That's our daughter! Young hero, you must save her!"

"Don't worry," Chu Liang replied.

Then he turned to look at the surrounding townsfolk, and his gaze grew cold and dark.

The black-robed elder stepped forward and cupped his hands together in greeting. "Esteemed cultivators, this is a ritual we of the Lingguan Town have practiced for a thousand years. It is not some sinister human sacrifice ritual. We merely have two Spirit Children drift downstream with the current to pray for a year of favorable weather and no illness or natural disaster. You can see that all the townsfolk are gathered along both banks of the river. Once the raft reaches the lower stretch, someone will be there to save them."

Chu Liang glanced around. The townsfolk were all nodding, indicating that the black-robed elder spoke the truth.

The black-robed elder continued, "Lingguan Town lies within the Central Region. If we've truly been performing human sacrifice rituals, the officials of the Imperial Supervisory Bureau would've eradicated us long ago. How could we have been allowed to continue such a thing year after year?"

What he said made sense. If they were truly performing a human sacrifice ritual so openly in the Central Region, which was so close to the capital of Yu… members of the Imperial Supervisory Bureau would likely show up at Lingguan Town the next morning. There was no way such a practice could have gone on for so many years.

After hearing that, Chu Liang, Ye Yongxing, and Lin Bei fell silent, and Lin Bei's imposing aura immediately deflated.

The crowd began to close in on them, murmuring, "If the ritual is disturbed and the two spirit officials become angry, what are we going to do?"

"If there's a punishment next year, who will take responsibility for it?"

"We can't let them leave!"

Seeing the crowd grow increasingly agitated, Lin Bei awkwardly raised his hands and said, "Every injustice has its source, every debt its debtor. This matter is mine alone to bear. I, Yang Shenlong of Penglai, will take full responsibility. If anyone wants revenge, come at me!"

Watching the crowd surge forward, Chu Liang looked to the black-robed elder and asked, "Elder, if I may, who are you?"

"I am Xiao Youde, patriarch of the Xiao Clan in Lingguan Town. The Xiao Clan leads the six villages in this area, so the annual rites have always been presided over by our clan's patriarch," the black-robed elder, Xiao Youde, replied.

His tone wasn't hostile, but he made no effort to restrain the townsfolk around them. More and more people closed in on them, clearly trying to put pressure on Chu Liang's group.

As righteous cultivators, they couldn't simply lash out at common folk, and interfering with a seemingly ordinary ritual didn't exactly place them in the right. Xiao Youde clearly intended to let the crowd force them to leave.

Nevertheless, Chu Liang calmly turned the tables on Xiao Youde. "Patriarch Xiao, we came here today to help a couple find their missing child. It just so happens that the child they lost is currently being used as part of your ritual. That's why we intervened. If there's been a misunderstanding, we hope you'll forgive us. But you'll have to explain where you got this child."

Chu Liang didn't argue with the Xiao Clan over the nature of the ritual. He knew that even if it was improper, they couldn't unveil the truth in a short amount of time. It was smarter to shift the focus and seize the initiative to turn the tables in this fight.

"That's impossible." Xiao Youde shook his head firmly. "Our ritual has always required the child to be of Xiao blood. The six villages of Lingguan Town take turns offering Spirit Children to take part in the ritual. Outsiders have never been allowed to participate."

"Oh?" Chu Liang asked. "Then may I ask, which family this little girl belongs to? Could we call out the family to verify?"

"This year's children should be from East Mountain Village, yes?" Xiao Youde said as he turned to look at a middle-aged man standing behind him.

The middle-aged man was likely the head of the East Mountain Village.

Xiao Youde asked, "Where are the Spirit Child's parents?"

The middle-aged man turned to look behind him and called out, "Ershan[1]! Step forward!"

A timid couple, trembling in fear, squeezed out of the crowd.

The man was skinny and tanned. The woman was just as tanned and petite. They looked like humble farmers.

Speaking to his clansmen, Xiao Youde wasn't so polite. He asked sharply, "This child—is she yours?"

"Yes… yes… uh, no…" the man named Ershan stammered, nodding and then shaking his head. Under Xiao Youde's piercing stare, he ultimately admitted, "M-my daughter's sick, and I… I happened to find this little girl… so… I let her take my daughter's place."

Ershan had intended to lie since Xiao Youde didn't know his daughter. However, the other members of his village certainly did, so there was no way he could lie and get away with it.

"How dare you!" Xiao Youde flew into a rage. "It is an ancestral rule that only direct descendants of our clan may take part in the ritual, and you brought in an outsider!"

Terrified, Xiao Ershan dropped to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly to Xiao Youde. "Patriarch! I was wrong, I was wrong!"

"Well, since it's all a misunderstanding, there's no need to escalate the situation further," Chu Liang said with a small smile. "I'll return the girl to her parents. As for this ritual…"

"The time for the ritual has already passed, and her bloodline is impure. If we proceed with the offering, the spirit official may become enraged. Let's end the ritual here for today and complete it tomorrow," Xiao Youde announced. He cupped his hands together and added, "Young heroes, we must thank you for your intervention. Had this gone on, the consequences could've been disastrous!"

"No need to mention it. It was merely by chance," Chu Liang replied with a wave of his hand.

With that, Chu Liang, Ye Yongxing, and Lin Bei turned to leave with the little girl.

Meanwhile, the parents of the little boy, the other child that was used in the ritual, quickly stepped forward to reclaim him. They held him in a tight embrace and then returned to their village.

The other townsfolk gradually returned to their villages as well. The ritual had ended abruptly, and they all seemed displeased.

As for Xiao Ershan and his wife, their fellow villagers pushed and scolded them the whole way home. Yet, it didn't seem to bother them much. Instead, they kept turning back to look in the direction that Chu Liang's group had left. There was something they were deathly afraid of.

Chu Liang appeared to walk away without a backward glance. However, he had actually spread his divine sense across a vast area and seen the way Ershan and his wife had reacted.

Chu Liang, Ye Yongxin, and Lin Bei stopped at a quiet mountainside nearby to discuss the matter. By then, the little girl in Chu Liang's arms had already fallen asleep. She had most likely been drugged with some kind of sleeping pill.

The little girl was rather adorable, with fair and delicate features.

"I thought this ritual was meant for the two Human-Faced Xiaos," Lin Bei said. "If it's not a live human sacrifice ritual, then where are we supposed to find the Human-Faced Xiaos?"

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

"There's no need to rush," Chu Liang replied with a smile. "Regardless of whether there's anything wrong with the ritual itself, there is definitely something wrong with Lingguan Town."

Just moments ago, the scholar ghost had become so agitated that he had nearly burst out of the porcelain bottle.

Now that they were away from the townsfolk, Chu Liang let the scholar ghost out. The first thing the scholar ghost did was kneel before Chu Liang.

"My wife and I were passing through this place with our young daughter. We sought lodging at Xiao Ershan's home, but he drugged our food and murdered us in the night. Esteemed young heroes, if the laws of the heavens and justice still exist in this world, I beg you to avenge us!"