Chapter 355

Xu Ning stared at the map on the furnace wall, his expression hesitant and unresolved.

Last year, during exploration of the Beyond Beyond Qinghepu region, he discovered the Dajue Temple and immediately reported it to Xia Cheng; he still remembered the reply from the Chancellor.

"The Dajue Temple is likely connected to supernatural entities; proceed with extreme caution."

Because of those words, he had been exceptionally careful for the past six months.

Yet the problem was, during his six months living in Hexia Village, he had found not a single trace of anything related to supernatural entities.

I have torches, congealed fire oil, silverware—so many tools to detect supernatural entities—and still found nothing amiss. This strongly suggests that the fifty thousand people of Hexia Village, including the twenty-seven who entered the Dajue Temple, are all normal humans; their minds have simply been completely controlled by the Dajue Temple.

Thinking of this, Xu Ning looked down at the only woman among the five and smiled as he asked softly: "Hong Qiaoru, are they pressuring you again to have another child?"

Since this was an undercover operation, danger was inevitable; bringing in other women to pose as a family was unsafe and prone to exposure, so Xu Ning had simply brought his own wife.

Hong Hong Qiaoru was the eldest daughter of Hong Guang; the two had met under Hong Guang's arrangement in the first year of Does Does Da Xia, married the next year, and now had two sons and one daughter.

Originally, Hong Hong Qiaoru had lived in Xia Cheng with their three children, but over the past few years, as the importance of the Wuyuan outpost grew, Xu Ning, as the Guardian, had become increasingly busy and had no time to return to Xia Cheng.

They had only been married a short while, and Hong Hong Qiaoru could not endure such prolonged separation; after the Cold Liu Liu Yuan Festival this year, she simply brought the children straight to Wuyuan to find him—and just happened to arrive as this matter unfolded.

Seeing the other four all looking at her, Hong Hong Qiaoru's cheeks flushed slightly as she nodded: "They pressure me every single day. The women in this camp are all like madwomen, obsessed with how wonderful it is to be pregnant. It's driving me insane—if I weren't afraid of exposing ourselves, I wouldn't even bother responding to them."

Hearing his wife's words, Xu Ning let out a quiet laugh—but immediately after, his expression turned grave.

Ironically, the one among the six who gathered the most information was precisely Hong Hong Qiaoru, the only one who could interact with the adult women of Hexia Village.

The reason was simple: everyone in Hexia Village seemed possessed, constantly giving birth; any visitor to the camp would see nearly every woman either heavily pregnant or already carrying a child, and they didn't just bear children themselves—they actively urged others to do the same.

They bore children for no other reason than to raise them until age six, then send them to the Dajue Temple every February.

Previously, Xu Ning had thought only Hexia Village was like this, but after six months here, he was stunned to discover that all three villages and eighteen outposts in Beyond Beyond Qinghepu were identical.

According to what Hong Hong Qiaoru had heard, once children turned six, they were taken away in batches every February by the Dajue Temple's emissaries; those who passed the trials became bhikkhus and sat under the Master's teachings; even those who failed could become lay bhikkhus, bringing their families to live near the Dajue Temple and enjoy a life of food and clothing without worry; at the very least, the Dajue Temple promised that all children would be returned to their home outposts once they turned twenty.

The madness of bearing children solely to send them away—this alone, even though Xu Ning had found no trace of supernatural entities in Hexia Village over the past six months, made him fully believe the Chancellor's words: "The Dajue Temple is likely connected to supernatural entities."

Something is 100% wrong—what parent gives away their own child just to hand them over? And the Dajue Temple's promises are suspect: pass the trial and stay; fail, and you still wait until twenty to get them back.

In other words, whether they pass or fail, the children never return.

"They say they'll send them back after twenty—but the Dajue Temple has only been in Beyond Beyond Qinghepu for seven years. The first batch of children taken seven years ago are now barely fifteen. Who can say if they'll return in five years? Given the current fanaticism of the three villages and eighteen outposts toward the Dajue Temple, even if they're never sent back, no one will object."

Bai Bai Shanqiu immediately replied: "You can't blame these people. From what we've learned, seven years ago, there wasn't even a single large outpost here. Without the Dajue Temple coming here, they'd never have lived this well."

Hong Hong Qiaoru also nodded: "For every child handed over, they receive ten thousand jin of beast meat and one thousand jin of beast blood. Never mind that the Dajue Temple told them the children will return at twenty—just this much food and blood, if offered to any weak outpost, even if they openly said they were buying children, I bet many would still agree."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ning and the other four sighed faintly.

Hong Hong Qiaoru's words were actually conservative; Does Does Da Xia itself had struggled through hardship and knew well how desperately poor the weak outposts lived.

Ten thousand jin of beast meat, one thousand jin of beast blood—such a price, offered in any weak outpost to buy a child, would convince nearly everyone without a second thought.

"Moreover, before, the surrounding region of Beyond Beyond Qinghepu often suffered attacks by aquatic cold beasts. I heard the Dajue Temple resolved this issue too. From just these points, if the six-year-old children truly suffered no harm after being taken, then aside from luring these women into bearing children, I truly see no other problem with the Dajue Temple."

"The greatest villain appears loyal; the greatest evil appears kind. The more nothing seems wrong, the more it proves something is wrong. If the Dajue Temple were merely opening its gates to accept disciples, why set a rule that children return only at twenty? Don't you find it suspicious that the Dajue Temple expends so many resources to unify all of Beyond Beyond Qinghepu—simply to breed these people into mass-producing six-year-old children?"

With Xia Chuan's warning, Xu Ning was far more alert than the other five. He paused here, his face darkening further: "Take Hexia Village as an example: we've been here only half a year, yet they've had over four thousand newborns—nearly twenty or more infants born daily. The adult population has barely changed. You've surely noticed: there isn't a single child between six and fourteen years old left in Hexia Village now."

"Calculate it—based on what we've seen in these past six months, how many children has the Dajue Temple taken from Hexia Village over the past seven years?"

Normally, this number would be impossible to calculate—but Hexia Village's population structure is too stable, with almost no change among adults, making it easier to deduce.

Seven years isn't a long span; most women retain their fertility. Hexia Village currently has seventeen thousand households, like other outposts in Bingyuan, with elders making up less than one-tenth of the population.

"For the first batch of children taken seven years ago, based on current population structure, I estimate around two thousand. Logically, the following five years likely saw similar numbers annually."

"But starting last year, things changed. The women of Hexia Village's obsession with childbirth began when the Dajue Temple arrived seven years ago. I estimate at least twelve thousand children were taken last year; this year's number will be higher still. As for next year, from my observations over the past six months, by next February, the number of children reaching six years old will be at least fifteen thousand."

As soon as the Dajue Temple arrived in Beyond Beyond Qinghepu seven years ago, the women of Hexia Village began giving birth wildly. Thus, the first group of children born collectively reached age six last year, which is why the numbers surged.

The one who made this deduction was the younger man on the left.

After hearing him, Xu Ning looked at the man and his face lit up with approval.

"Xiang Liang's estimate matches mine. That means, just from Hexia Village, over the past seven years, at least thirty-five thousand children have been sent to the Dajue Temple. And that's only Hexia Village. How many have the three villages and eighteen outposts of Beyond Beyond Qinghepu sent in total? Have you calculated it?"

Thud…

The five below, after calculating, stared in horror.

"At least one hundred fifty thousand. Of those sent, only the lay bhikkhus—five per year, totaling thirty-five over seven years—ever returned. Across all three villages and eighteen outposts, that's barely a hundred people, less than a fraction of the total. Based on what we know now, do you think that when the first batch turns twenty, if the Dajue Temple refuses to return them, will the people of Hexia Village care?"

Xiang Liang recalled what he had seen and heard in Hexia Village and said solemnly: "Whenever anyone mentions the Dajue Temple, every single person—from top to bottom—shows fanaticism. I suspect that if the Dajue Temple ordered them to die, they'd obey instantly. If they later fabricate any excuse for why the children won't return, they'll believe it without question—and react not at all."

A mother who carries a child for ten months, raises it with painstaking care until age six, then hands it over to strangers and never sees it again—that is a violation of human nature. Without fanatic faith in the Dajue Temple, how could these people possibly do such a thing?

The promise of returning children at twenty is an empty check—whether it's honored or not depends entirely on the Dajue Temple's whim. What has happened to those children since they were taken? Are they alive? Dead? Still unknown.

"If the Chancellor's guess is right—that the Dajue Temple is connected to supernatural entities—then these children have almost certainly met their end. The most urgent task now is to find out what the Dajue Temple is doing with them…"

After silently pondering, Xu Ning's expression grew grim.

In previous encounters, supernatural entities had simply killed people to evolve and strengthen themselves. But the Dajue Temple, which demands only six-year-old children and actively manipulates humans to breed them en masse, is clearly far more complex.

"My lord, are you… not ready to leave Hexia Village yet?"

Bai Bai Shanqiu, though elderly, was skilled at reading expressions—he had long sensed Xu Ning's intentions.

The order from Xia Hong had been clear: Xu Ning was to withdraw his team from Hexia Village and sever all contact with the Dajue Temple.

Xu Ning had spoken at such length precisely because he did not wish to leave so soon—he wanted to remain in Hexia Village and gather more intelligence. But doing so meant defying his lord's command, and that was the source of his inner turmoil.

Seeing Xu Ning nod, Bai Bai Shanqiu fell silent for a moment, about to speak—when Xiang Liang interrupted him.

"My lord, you and the others return to Wuyuan. Let me stay here!"

Hearing Xiang Liang's words, Bai Bai Shanqiu froze slightly.

The other three, including Xu Ning, turned to look at the young man, their faces showing varying degrees of shock.

The Dajue Temple is dangerous; Hexia Village is unsafe—this was the Lord's own judgment. Even Xu Ning, with his strength, was ordered to retreat immediately. To volunteer to remain here and continue gathering intelligence requires immense courage.

Xiang Liang was clearly not acting on impulse. Seeing all five staring at him, he bowed deeply to Xu Ning and said solemnly: "My lord, Wang Chuan already suspects us. If all six of us leave together, won't that confirm our suspicion? It will make it far harder to infiltrate again later. I'm currently at the peak of Digging Earth Realm—unremarkable. Moreover, Wang Chuan clearly intends to make me his son-in-law. I'm the most suitable person to stay."