Douluo: A Century-old Legend I Am the Second Uncle Chenxin

Chapter 1808 Undercurrents and Glimmers of Light

Requesting recommendation votes and monthly tickets

That's all for today (5/5)

……

Upon hearing this, everyone had different thoughts (Chen Mu pouted in confusion, An Mingyuan and Yuan Run exchanged a glance with a mixture of worry and relief, Qiu Qingquan shrugged, thinking that the young master had his reasons, and Zhu Wuneng seemed to have been attracted by the food for a long time), but they all picked up their bowls and chopsticks and temporarily suppressed their thoughts.

For a moment, only the sounds of bowls and chopsticks clattering and chewing filled the courtyard, along with Zhu Wuneng's exaggerated praise.

Chen Xiaojun also picked up his chopsticks, took a few bites of the food, and found it quite delicious.

He ate for a while, then seemed to think of something. He looked up at Chen Mu, who was diligently shoveling rice into his mouth, and said calmly, "Fifth Brother, after we finish eating, let's go take a look at that warehouse yard."

Chen Mu was holding a piece of roast duck when he heard this, and immediately understood Chen Xiaojun's intention.

His expression turned serious, and he nodded, his voice becoming more serious: "Alright, I'll also take this opportunity to check on those potential Soul Masters and see what their foundations are like."

As a "temporary worker" in charge of inventory matters, he also paid close attention to the potential talents who had been trafficked.

……

After the meal, apart from Yuan Run continuing to recuperate, the others went out with Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu.

On the way, Chen Mu explained the situation as they walked: "This human trafficking business, especially the trafficking of 'seeds' with Soul Master qualifications, has never been uncommon. The Bone Digging Group's business of this is routine, and there is a complete industrial chain behind it."

"Families like our Chen family, which have the resources to adopt orphans on a large scale and train them into Chen Shadow Guards, are a minority, and it is a legitimate and aboveboard approach."

He paused, kicked away a pebble at his feet, and continued, "But those small and medium-sized forces, gangs, and shady underground organizations have all sorts of sources of fresh blood."

“Organizations like the Bone-Digging Gang may have core members who have inherited their skills, but many of the peripheral henchmen, thugs, and even some potential ‘reserve’ members are obtained through this kind of ‘recruiting.’ They are bought from a young age, brainwashed, trained, and cultivated into tools that are only loyal to the organization.”

“Even…” Chen Mu said with a hint of sarcasm, “many seemingly respectable forces have secretly been scouting out such ‘promising talents’ from the black market.”

“Buy them back, either to make them shady assassins or to secretly train them into a private army that is only responsible to the family or the upper echelons of the power. Low cost, high loyalty (at least brainwashing is complete), and they are completely detached from the main family’s public power.”

"Then where did these children come from?" Chen Xiaojun asked, his brows furrowing slightly.

"The sources? They're all over the place." Chen Mu counted on his fingers. "Orphans are the most common; orphans left behind in mountain villages and settlements after being slaughtered by bandits, spirit beasts, or even hostile forces; descendants of nobles and officials who committed serious crimes or had their property confiscated, ending up on the black market; and those who are robbed by black market forces themselves, such as mountain people in remote mountainous areas, nomads on the grasslands, and Tanka people on rivers, lakes, and seas... Their lives are relatively isolated, and it's difficult to find them if they disappear."

"Back then, when the Fierce Tiger Gang was wiped out, if we hadn't happened to be there when the Ghost Wolf Gang was destroyed, wouldn't Ningxia and her family have been sold to some force, with an uncertain fate? This example is right in front of us."

Chen Mu then explained the current situation: "Right now, we are only conducting preliminary screening and centralized resettlement for these trafficked children and women."

"The tricky part is that most of the children are over six years old. Now we can only deduce their original innate soul power based on their current age, soul power level, and the quality of their martial soul."

The innate soul power is most accurate when it first manifests upon awakening.

"And the result?" Qiu Qingquan interjected.

"The quality varies greatly," Chen Mu concluded.

As they spoke, the group arrived at the gate of the warehouse compound, where a small squad of guards dressed in Jinyiwei uniforms stood. Upon seeing Chen Xiaojun and the others arrive, they all bowed and greeted them: "Young Master, Fifth Young Master, and all Young Masters."

Chen Mu nodded: "Open the door. Go and call the former manager of the Bone-Digging Gang who is in charge of looking after these children. Let him recognize them and explain the situation."

The guard opened the door in response and quickly left to call for help.

As soon as Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu entered the gate, they stood side by side near the entrance.

This is a dilapidated and empty dirt courtyard. The ground is compacted yellow earth, and some discarded tools, ores and other debris are randomly piled up in the corners.

The courtyard walls were tall, but dilapidated, and the only gate was guarded by the Imperial Guards.

In the central open space of the courtyard, more than a hundred figures gathered, mostly children with sallow complexions and frightened eyes, interspersed with some equally haggard young women bearing scars.

They all bore the marks of their soul power being imprisoned—most of them had been subjected to restrictions such as "sealing the soul meridians" or "closing the soul nest," while only a few wore heavy soul power shackles on their hands, clearly indicating that they had been given special "attention."

However, their faces and bodies seemed quite clean.

Chen Mu explained to him, "Sixth brother, although there are no specific arrangements yet, we've tidied up what needs to be tidied up, taken a bath, changed clothes, and done other such things."

Chen Xiaojun nodded.

Their arrival startled the children and women, who gathered together in a small group.

At the same time, Chen Mu ordered the Imperial Guards to bring out the remaining children and women from the houses on both sides.
Chen Xiaojun didn't say anything, but calmly instructed, "Wuneng, first remove the restrictions on these children."

"Alright!" Zhu Wuneng replied and stepped forward with Qiu Qingquan, An Mingyuan, and Ma Liang.

They either concentrated their soul power to attack the restricted nodes, or used skillful force to unlock the mechanisms on the shackles.

As the restrictions were lifted one by one, faint or slightly stronger fluctuations of soul power began to spread throughout the courtyard.

Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu stood aside, carefully sensing the fluctuations of the children's soul power.

Chen Mu then activated his sword eyes, scanned the entire scene, and shook his head slightly, saying, "As expected, there's a real mix of good and bad—most of them have only level one or two innate talents, which is low-level. They'll hardly achieve anything significant even if they cultivate until they die; at best, they'll just be low-level thugs. The dozen or so slightly better ones have level three or four innate soul power, which can be considered mid-level talent..."

He glanced at the children with stronger soul power and continued to evaluate: "There are very few with level five aptitude, and probably only one or two have reached level six. Such talent would be considered excellent in the outside world, but in our Chen family... it's only slightly above average. However, their specific value still needs to be judged in conjunction with their age."

Those with level 5 or 6 innate soul power can become the backbone of small and medium-sized forces, and with proper training, they may even become Soul Saints.

Even within the Chen family, such aptitude meets the Chen Shadow Guard's high standards for training. The family has always adopted orphans starting with level three innate soul power, so it is already rare to find more than a dozen potential individuals here.

Zhu Wuneng stepped forward and cleared his throat: "Listen up! Don't be afraid. Now, one by one, activate your martial spirits and let us see your foundation!"

The children looked at each other, their eyes still filled with surprise and doubt.

Seeing this, Qiu Qingquan grinned, revealing his white teeth, with a touch of cynical roguishness: "Hey, you little brats, this is your chance to change your luck! Show us what you've got. Hiding things won't get you anywhere in the Chen family."

Perhaps it was the calm attitude of Chen Xiaojun and his group, perhaps it was the kindness of Gu Zijian in delivering the food earlier, or perhaps it was the "sense of freedom" brought by breaking the soul power shackles that gave them a bit of courage. Finally, a few of the bolder children timidly began to circulate their weak soul power.

(End of this chapter)