Chapter 6: Missing Children

General-in-Chief, this Princess Su Zhi is very formidable!

A general whispered beside General-in-Chief Tu Feiyuan of Chen Tang Pass.

A formidable princess is not what they wish to see.

"Yes, General-in-Chief, the annual Dragon King Grand Sacrifice is coming up soon; we boys and girls have quietly prepared everything. If Princess Su Zhi finds out, we'll be in trouble!"

Another general spoke softly.

Facing his subordinates' complaints, General-in-Chief Tu Feiyuan of Chen Tang Pass also wore a grim expression.

After all, the matter somewhat exceeded his expectations.

More accurately, it was the strength of that mysterious prince consort beside Princess Su Zhi that made him feel a hint of apprehension.

"It seems we must contact that side; otherwise, letting these two ruin my plans would not be good!"

General-in-Chief Tu Feiyuan of Chen Tang Pass secretly thought to himself.

At the same time, Ao Yifan walking ahead, as if casually, said to Lady Yin beside him: "Lady, do you feel that something is off about Chen Tang Pass?"

"Huh?"

Lady Yin, doubtful in her heart and silently grieving over the hard lives of Chen Tang Pass's commoners, turned her head to look at Ao Yifan beside her.

"Prince consort, have you discovered something?"

"Hehe, not really a discovery; I just feel that in such a large city, there seem to be too few children."

Ao Yifan said with a smile.

As soon as he said that, the atmosphere in the air instantly became somewhat solemn.

At the same time, Li Jing in the crowd also reacted instantly.

Because he had been fending off demon tribe attacks day after day, he had hardly any mind to spare for people's livelihood.

Now, after Ao Yifan's reminder, Li Jing also realized that the children in the city seemed to be far too few!

The war with the demon tribe causing deaths, Li Jing can understand.

But those who die are only military soldiers and some volunteers who came to resist the demon tribe; children and women have always been the protected targets, so without something happening, it is absolutely impossible for their numbers to greatly decrease.

The next moment, the hot-tempered Li Jing grabbed a middle-aged man who looked like a civil official from the crowd.

"Speak, what exactly happened in the city, and where did the children go?"

Li Jing, his eyes red, shouted sternly.

"Li Jing, you are being insolent; do you intend to rebel? Before the Princess's Phoenix Demeanor, how can we allow you to act recklessly toward your colleagues?"

Several generals immediately surrounded Li Jing in the middle.

"Hurry up and release Official Zhang!"

But facing the threats of those generals, Li Jing had no intention of letting go.

Only seeing him tightly grip Official Zhang's collar, he said: "He is the clerk in charge of the city's population registry; the city's children have innocently disappeared—could this not be his fault?"

"This..."

For a moment, several generals were at a loss for words; they never expected that the burly Li Jing would see the problem so clearly, instantly pinpointing the source of the children's disappearance.

"Li Jing, first release Clerk Zhang; because of the demon tribe invasion issue, the city has indeed been somewhat negligent lately, and we still need to investigate thoroughly."

At that moment, General-in-Chief Tu Feiyuan of Chen Tang Pass spoke.

"General-in-Chief Tu Feiyuan, what on earth is going on?"

Before Li Jing could let go, suddenly a stern voice came.

Hearing that, Tu Feiyuan's heart tightened; the thing he feared most finally happened.

Tu Feiyuan had thought their affair might be exposed, and he had already begun making some preparations.

But no one expected that Princess Su Zhi, upon just entering the city, would discover its abnormality.

It happened too fast, giving him no time to respond.

"Princess, I..."

Tu Feiyuan stepped forward, looking at Lady Yin, just about to speak, when suddenly a void force descended from the heavens, pressing his obese body firmly to the ground.

"Ah—"

A wretched cry came from Tu Feiyuan's mouth; at this moment, he felt as if all his bones were being crushed.

"Hmph, daring to speak to the princess and even look upon her Phoenix Demeanor—who gave you the gall?"

Ao Yifan's icy voice came.

The sudden change startled everyone, after all, this is the General-in-Chief of Chen Tang Pass, and this prince consort actually acted directly—too violent, right?

Beside her, Lady Yin also looked puzzled, gazing at her prince consort.

"Prince consort, why did you suddenly strike?"

"Hehe, Lady, with the demon tribe eyeing us from outside, we don't have much time to indulge these people; my suggestion is to separate everyone for interrogation, treat the candid leniently, and directly execute those of enormous guilt and extreme wickedness!"

As he mentioned execution, the void force pressing on Tu Feiyuan intensified a bit more, forcing this fellow to continuously spit out blood from his mouth.

At the same time, several generals also went weak in the legs and could not stand steady.

Seeing this scene, Lady Yin could no longer fail to realize that the case of the missing children actually involved these people in the city.

"Damn it!"

Lady Yin spat out two words; she devoted herself to protecting the people of Great Shang, yet now subjects have laid vicious hands on the city's children—how could she bear it?

A pair of phoenix eyes swept coldly over the crowd, killing intent like a blade, piercing straight into everyone's hearts.

"Princess, atone for your sins, princess; we too are acting for the hundreds of thousands of citizens of Chen Tang Pass—the Dragon King of the Sinful Sea demands a hundred child sacrifices each year, otherwise he will launch a city‑slaughtering war, and we have no choice!"

A timid civil official could not withstand the princess's killing intent, immediately knelt on the ground, and pleaded.

"What? Sacrificing children—I didn't know anything about this!"

Li Jing flew into a rage and kicked that civil official over to the ground.

He never imagined that these people would actually do something so beastly under his very nose.

You should know, he's been in Chen Tang Pass for three years already.

If the sacrificial rites have continued to this day, it means at least three hundred children have been sacrificed to that Wicked Sea Dragon King by these beasts right under his nose.

In an instant, Li Jing's teeth ground together with a creaking sound, and from biting so hard, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He felt this was his dereliction of duty; had he not been careless, these beasts could not have committed such an outrage that both men and gods despise right under his nose.

Furious, Li Jing drew the long sword at his waist, ready to cut down that civil official with a single stroke.

But before his sword could fall, a sudden void power coiled around his blade; though his veins bulged, the sword could not advance an inch.

"General, haven't you heard what this prince consort just said?"

Ao Yifan said, "I just said that those who confess voluntarily shall be treated leniently; since this person has confessed voluntarily, I naturally cannot let you take his life."

Hearing that, the civil official on the ground couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"But, Prince Consort, someone so heinously wicked ought to—"

Li Jing is stubborn by nature; even though the other party is a prince consort, he has no intention of yielding in the slightest.

But Ao Yifan didn't waste words on him; with a light flick of his right hand, Li Jing, who was still preparing to argue, was sent flying straight away.

"Boom—"

Without paying attention to Li Jing, who had crashed into the ruined walls, Ao Yifan looked at the crowd and smiled gently: "Come on, who else wants to come forward and confess?"