Chen Chang'an calmly looked at the group of monks before him. At the same time, they were also observing him. Though seething with anger, they hesitated to act rashly, unsure of his true strength.
"I can't see through his cultivation. We might not be a match for him."
"What should we do?"
"Should we retreat and report this to the abbot?"
"Good idea."
These monks were no fools. Unable to gauge Chen Chang'an's power, they dared not provoke him recklessly. However, leaving was no longer an option.
As they attempted to flee, Chen Chang'an merely willed it, and their bodies froze in place.
"What... what's happening? I can't move!"
"Neither can I!"
"What kind of demonic trick is this?"
"Damn it, we're in trouble now!"
The sudden paralysis sent waves of terror through the monks. Their restraint vanished, and their words grew unrestrained—any pretense of monastic discipline was discarded, leaving them on the verge of outright cursing.
Chen Chang'an stepped forward, effortlessly retrieving the infant from their grasp and returning it to the distraught mother.
"Thank you, benefactor! Thank you!"
"My child, my precious child!"
The woman clutched the swaddled baby tightly, kowtowing repeatedly in gratitude. Chen Chang'an shook his head helplessly. While he had intervened this time, he couldn't solve the root of their suffering.
"Foolish!"
"Utterly foolish!"
"What good does it do to take the child back now?"
"Can he protect you forever?"
"Once he leaves, will the Great Hidden Temple spare you? Spare me? Spare our child?"
"If they’ll take him eventually, why resist?"
Hearing her husband's words, the woman turned a frosty gaze toward him.
"Worthless!"
"You’re nothing but a coward!"
"You stood by and watched them take our son without uttering a word."
"What use are you to me?"
"Oh, you’re not foolish—you’re so clever! Yet you couldn’t even protect your own flesh and blood!"
"I refuse to believe there’s no place in this vast world for us."
"If I must, I’ll take him far from here."
"I won’t accept that they truly rule over everything," the woman declared coldly.
Her words stunned the man. Flee? But where could they possibly go? The monks of the Buddhist sects wielded formidable power—was escape even possible? Others had tried before. And what became of them?
Branded as sinners.
Their children were taken regardless, while their own fates remained unknown—vanished without a trace. No one knew where they had been taken or what torment they endured.
"Damn it all!"
"I’ll risk it!"
"I’ll sell everything we own, buy a carriage, and we’ll go somewhere without a single monk."
"I’m sick of living in fear every damn day!"
Seeing her husband finally show a spark of courage, the woman smiled in relief.
"That’s the man I married—a true warrior."
"Benefactor, we can never repay your kindness today."
"Please, grant us your name. In the future, we will craft a longevity tablet in your honor and offer prayers day and night."
A longevity tablet?
Did he need such a thing?
He was already eternal.
"It was a trivial effort. No need for formalities."
"Go, tend to your affairs," Chen Chang'an replied with a faint smile.
"But—"
"Go. I didn’t help you for repayment."
"Thank you, benefactor. Your grace is boundless."
As the couple departed with their child, Chen Chang'an turned his attention back to the immobilized monks.
"Look at the evil you’ve wrought."
"Tell me—why do you need so many children?" he demanded coldly.
"Naturally, it’s for—"
"Spare me the sanctimonious drivel. Speak or die—choose now."
Chen Chang'an had no patience for their sermons. He offered only two options: truth or death.
"Hmph!"
"You vile sinner! The Sacred Buddha will punish you!"
"Everything we do is for the sake of—"
Before the monk could finish, Chen Chang'an flicked a finger. A blade of sword energy pierced the man’s forehead.
"He chose death. What about the rest of you?" Chen Chang'an smiled as he regarded the remaining monks.
They hadn’t expected him to strike without hesitation.
"I’ll talk! Don’t kill me, I’ll tell you!"
"You—you traitor! How dare you betray—"
Thud!
Chen Chang'an silenced the objector with another swift strike, then nodded at the surviving monk.
"Now, speak."
"I... I don’t know the full purpose."
"I only know it’s by order of the Sacred Buddha of the Heavenly Sound Temple."
"We deliver the children there. Beyond that, we’re kept in the dark."
The Sacred Buddha of the Heavenly Sound Temple?
What could he possibly want with countless infants?
A sense of dread coiled in Chen Chang'an’s chest. He prayed his instincts were wrong.
Because if they weren’t...
Chen Chang'an never claimed to be virtuous. His hands were stained with blood. But the thought of the Heavenly Sound Temple preying on innocent children filled him with revulsion.
"You!"
"What did you do to my child at the Heavenly Sound Temple?"
"Answer me! What did you do?"
A frail woman pushed through the crowd, her face twisted with hatred as she lunged at the monk. Her eyes burned with a desire to tear him apart.
"I told you, I don’t know!"
Trapped under Chen Chang'an’s control, the monk couldn’t even shove her away. He could only endure her furious glare.
"You don’t know?"
"Is this what you told us when you took them?"
"You lied to us from the start!"
"You said our children would become monks. Instead, you handed them to your Sacred Buddha!"
"Why deceive us?"
"Why?"
"What have you done to them?" she shrieked.
Her outburst ignited the crowd. Though they had once submitted, a sliver of hope had lingered—that their children, at least, lived safely within the temple’s walls.
But now?
If the monks had nothing to hide, why the lies?
Deceit could only mean something unspeakable.
"We’ve been tricked!"
"All of us—betrayed!"
"Damn these bald-headed devils! I’ll kill them myself!"