I watched the children who crawled back, only to be shoved out by the women again. I shook my head and refuted, “No. They are not paying tribute. When the Ghost Eclipsers ran past here earlier, they were clearly protecting their children. Now… Now…” I glanced at Xing Chuan. An overwhelming emotion surged from the bottom of my heart as I continued, “They know to protect their children! They wouldn’t use them to pay tribute. Rather, they must have seen me killing the Ghost Eclipsers, so they could tell that I have the strength to protect their children. So, they want to give me their children and have me take them away! They don’t want their children to be eaten!”

Xing Chuan was instantly stunned,...