Darkness Lurking Beneath the Flourishing Age

"Release them."

Hagoromo took a deep breath, his heart ultimately unable to bear it: "That is an order."

Before him, the samurai hesitated for a moment, but finally obeyed the command.

"Let them go."

He spoke, then stepped forward, leading the samurai beside him to open the prison cart and release the several children within.

The children seemed to sense Hagoromo's goodwill, so they actively dodged and hid behind him.

They begged for Hagoromo's protection.

Hagoromo looked at the children before him.

Though they were descendants of rebels, these children were not very old. At this moment, however, they appeared ragged, their overall condition far from good.

They hid behind Hagoromo, lowering their heads to avoid the gazes of those around them, only occasionally lifting their eyes to the samurai before them with a deep-seated hatred that made Hagoromo's heart skip a beat.

"Prince Hagoromo..."

Before him, watching Hagoromo's actions, the leading samurai hesitated, wanting to speak: "To offer these clan members of the rebels as sacrifices to the God Tree is His Majesty's command."

"I understand."

Hagoromo nodded, his expression still calm: "Regarding this matter, I will speak with my father myself later."

"As for now, put down what you are doing."

With his command, the samurai before him, though unwilling in their hearts, ultimately had to abandon their task.

There was no help for it—the other party was a prince.

As the eldest son of Nanchuan You, he was the crown prince of the Land of Ancestors. Once Nanchuan You was gone, he would be the most legitimate heir to the land.

When such a great figure spoke, they had no choice but to obey, unable to say much.

And so, a cruel ritual was stopped by the Hagoromo Brothers.

But for this matter, the Hagoromo Brothers felt no joy.

Their hearts were filled with complexity, a tumult of emotions churning within.

In the days that followed, similar rituals continued.

Every time the God Tree's ritual began, they would arrive on time, rushing to the Temple beneath the God Tree to wait, rescuing those they deemed innocent.

As their interventions grew more frequent, their influence expanded.

Finally, one day, Nanchuan You learned of what they had done.

That day, Nanchuan You formally summoned them.

Arriving at the palace of the Land of Ancestors, the Hagoromo Brothers' hearts were uneasy before meeting Nanchuan You.

They had expected to incur Nanchuan You's wrath, but he did not.

He appeared very calm.

"Your willingness to help the weak is a manifestation of compassion, and naturally should not be subject to reproach."

He spoke softly: "But if this continues for long, it will ultimately be somewhat unseemly."

Due to the Hagoromo Brothers' prolonged interference, some within the country had already expressed dissatisfaction, believing the brothers were too sympathetic to these rebels.

As former rebels, no matter how these people were treated, it could not be considered excessive. Now, merely using them as offerings for the ritual—without torture or deliberate humiliation—was already quite merciful.

Yet the Hagoromo Brothers still frequently stepped in to stop it.

At first, this behavior was tolerable, but later it drew the displeasure of many.

The Hagoromo Brothers thought Nanchuan You felt the same and were about to explain.

But Nanchuan You before them shook his head.

"Dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs, and thus a desire to change—this is not a bad thing, nothing worthy of reproach."

"The reason I called you back is merely that your methods are somewhat improper."

He spoke softly: "Since you wish to change things, I will grant you the power to do so."

Before the Hagoromo Brothers, he issued an appointment, immediately adding official positions for them.

From this day forward, the Hagoromo Brothers became the overseers managing all prisoners in the Land of Ancestors.

In theory, they had the authority to intervene in, investigate, and handle all matters concerning prisoners throughout the entire Land of Ancestors.

If this power were given to an ordinary person, it would be like ascending to heaven in a single step, leaping directly into the ranks of the most influential people in the Land of Ancestors.

Even for the Hagoromo Brothers, this was no small surprise.

Within the Land of Ancestors, as princes, their status was supremely honored—this was indeed true.

But due to their youth, they had previously spent their time in the palace learning various knowledge, far from the point of governing a region.

This declaration from Nanchuan You, however, came as a pleasant surprise.

"Thank you, Father."

Their faces flushed with excitement as they immediately bowed their heads in gratitude, vowing to fulfill their duties to the best of their ability.

To be appointed as Minister of Criminal Affairs, overseeing this domain—this was exactly what they had hoped for.

They wished to see fewer tragedies under their watch, to fundamentally reverse the plight of the innocent children caught up in these circumstances.

And so, the change began.

Under the Hagoromo Brothers' authority, the entire judicial system of the Land of Ancestors started to shift, with prisoners subjected to more rigorous interrogations.

At first, this approach yielded excellent results, and the number of criminals across the land dropped significantly.

Aside from those sentenced to death, all other prisoners received the best possible treatment.

But soon, the Hagoromo Brothers sensed something was wrong.

They realized that no matter how hard they tried, there would always be some who broke the law, only to be judged and turned into sacrifices.

Whether they spread propaganda or exerted effort in other areas, the annual count of convicted criminals never decreased.

No matter what they did, they could not reduce the number of offerings sent to the God Tree.

In fact, as the population grew, the number of criminals sent to the God Tree each year steadily increased.

Before long, they recognized the anomaly and began a thorough investigation and reflection.

Then they uncovered a truth.

The situation before them seemed to be deliberately orchestrated by someone.

Across the Land of Ancestors, an unspoken rule appeared to exist.

That rule was that every region had to meet a fixed quota.

Indeed, each year, every district had to gather a sufficient number of sacrificial offerings to send to the God Tree for its rites.

This quota was fixed, and as time passed, it only increased, never decreased.

It was precisely because of this that no matter how hard the Hagoromo Brothers tried, they could not reduce the number of offerings sent to the God Tree.

Feeling the weight of this discovery, a chill ran through the Hagoromo Brothers' hearts.

At that moment, the words of the Toad Sage from long ago echoed in their minds.

The darkness lurking beneath the prosperous surface of the Land of Ancestors was now laid bare before their eyes.

"Why... why must Father do this?"

Beneath the God Tree, Hagoromo gazed at the Temple before him, his face full of confusion and doubt: "Sending so many living people into the God Tree every year—what exactly is he trying to accomplish?"