Children born on the sa year, month, and day are actually not that rare. In a big city like Li City, with over a million people, just the number of newborns each day exceeds a hundred.
But children who were born on the sa year, month, and day and yet also disappeared on the sa day are extrely rare.
But right after the second batch of city statistical directories was reported, a newly classified register appeared before Shen Hao. A glaring red number was marked on it: eighteen.
There were a total of eighteen "cases of children who were born on the sa year, month, and day and also went missing together."
These cases were scattered across more than a dozen cities within Li City’s jurisdiction. So were in the city itself, so in rural villages and manors. If you only look at the data from an individual location, you’d hardly notice the detail of "born on the sa year, month, and day."
But once you cast your gaze across all the dozen-plus cities in Li City’s jurisdiction, the numbers listed beco glaringly conspicuous.
One or two tis might be coincidence, but eighteen tis is certainly no coincidence.
Soone is abducting children with a purpose.
After noticing this clue, the first thing Shen Hao wanted to understand was the birthdates in these so-called "coincidences." Why would soone deliberately target children born on these specific dates for abduction? Was there so special significance to these dates?
The most recent two dates were: "The 9th day of the 9th month of the thirteenth year of the Jing Old Calendar," and "The 2nd day of the 2nd month of the seventeenth year of the Jing Old Calendar."
Shen Hao had no real expertise in the calendar systems of this world, but there was no shortage of people in the Black Banner Battalion who were knowledgeable in this area. After all, many enjoyed "Divination Skill," and divination was intimately tied to the calendar.
Zhang Liao was one such individual Shen Hao knew to be quite well-studied in calendars.
After being called to the Public Office, Zhang Liao just swept his eyes over the two dates and imdiately saw what made them special.
"General Flag, the 9th day of the 9th month of the thirteenth year of the Jing Old Calendar is the ’Yin year, yin month, yin day’ that occurs once every nine years. And the 2nd day of the 2nd month of the seventeenth year of the Jing Old Calendar is the ’Yang year, yang month, yang day’—also once every nine years. These dates are generally called ’Extrely Yin Days’ and ’Extrely Yang Days.’"
Additionally, if you look forward or backward from these dates by the sa interval, it’s easy to deduce the other ’Extrely Yin Days’ and ’Extrely Yang Days.’"
Extrely Yin Day?
Extrely Yang Day?
Shen Hao asked in confusion, "Is there anything special about people born on these two kinds of date?"
"Indeed there is. Children born on these dates each carry, while still virginal, very pure ’Yin Pulse Blood Qi’ and ’Yang Pulse Blood Qi.’ Compared to ordinary people, children with these two types of blood qi find it easier to cultivate. However, once they lose their virginity or pass the age of thirteen, they no longer possess these bloodline energies."
"Apart from that? Is there anything else special?"
"Other than that? This..." Zhang Liao thought carefully for a mont, then still shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.
Shen Hao waved Zhang Liao away, but those newly heard terms lingered in his mind: Yin Pulse Blood Qi, Yang Pulse Blood Qi; Extrely Yin Day, Extrely Yang Day.
In order to figure these things out, Shen Hao left the Public Office and headed straight for the Garrison’s Library.
The Library was different from the Docunt Library. The forr was open to all of Xuanqing Guard around the clock, intended for consulting materials, information, or miscellaneous records and wild histories.
It couldn’t match the depth of local libraries, but the Xuanqing Guard’s Library mainly focused on matters related to cultivators.
Upon entering, Shen Hao asked the attendant in charge of the Library to find him materials on "Calendar" and "Yin-Yang Blood and Qi."
There were only two books on the subject.
The calendar book was thick, its cover visibly worn, showing that it was often referenced. After all, many cultivators practiced Divination Skill, and calendar books were a common tool.
The other book, on Yin-Yang Blood and Qi, was thin, just a dozen or so pages inside.
But just those dozen or so pages made Shen Hao read through them three tis.
The book contained this sentence: "Yin-Yang Blood and Qi are extraordinary phenona of Heaven and Earth. Though they do not last long, they bring forth wondrous transformations. Many later scholars have studied them, yet those who found results are very few."
On first reading, this seed to be rely an editor’s lant. But thinking deeper, you’d notice sothing odd: Since "many later scholars have studied [this]," while "very few found results," it implies many have studied it yet only few yielded answers. But even if only a few, there should be so fruits—so where are they? Why does the entire book, apart from so vague theoretical conclusions, have nothing substantive?
By the ti Shen Hao stepped out of the Library, the sky was already dusk. As he watched the setting sun, in his mind he ford a basic judgnt about "many later scholars have studied [this], yet very few found results."
Nothing more than what the book said: those researchers probably weren’t ordinary cultivators—perhaps they were even adversaries in the truest sense. Hence, their findings were, of course, "very few," and went completely unrecorded. Alternatively, the results were of such a secretive nature that they were tightly controlled and withheld from common knowledge.
Speaking of cultivators regarded as enemies by the general public, Shen Hao naturally thought of those evil cultivators he’d dealt with in the past.
If it involved evil cultivators, things would beco much more complicated.
Perhaps in Fengri City Thousand Households Station, there might be even more detailed data?
But after considering it, Shen Hao suppressed his impulse to go to Fengri City for the ti being. It wasn’t the right ti yet.
Even though he couldn’t find anything concrete in the Library, Shen Hao had at least gained a basic understanding about "calendar systems" and "Yin-Yang Blood and Qi."
...
The next day.
Shen Hao pulled out the missing persons cases that occurred in Li City from all the files he’d received—only two in total.
One occurred in the 23rd year of the Jing Old Calendar, three years prior to now. The missing person was Ma Haotian, the son of a pork shop owner in the East Market. He was six at the ti, born on the "2nd day of the 2nd month of the seventeenth year of the Jing Old Calendar," an Extrely Yang Day Born.
According to the records, the shop was busy that day, so Ma Haotian’s parents didn’t closely watch over the child. The boy often played outside the shop, so when they didn’t see him for a while, they thought he was just running around in the street again and didn’t think much of it.
But approaching noon, as business slowed, the couple realized they hadn’t seen their son for a very long ti. They went out to search, only to find the child was gone.
Every year since, Ma Haotian’s parents would go to the governnt office to file petitions, but after their first was accepted, all subsequent ones were ignored.
The file’s conclusion: "Severely lacking leads, unable to trace or pursue; temporarily shelved."
The other case happened in the 22nd year of the Jing Old Calendar, four years ago. The missing person was nad Liu Yan, age nine at the ti, born on the "9th day of the 9th month of the thirteenth year of the Jing Old Calendar," an Extrely Yin Day Born. Her family sold buns near Li City’s West Gate.
The circumstances of this case were almost identical to the previous one. The parents were busy with work, looked away for a bit, and the child was gone. After reporting it, the case beca unsolved within the governnt office due to lack of leads and was shelved.
The reason these two cases ended up in front of Shen Hao was because the families, unwilling to accept that their children had simply disappeared without explanation, continued to hold onto the tiniest sliver of hope, and submitted letters to the Black Banner Battalion’s Copper Cabinet when it was set up.
Like using a dead horse as a living horse for dicine.
Perhaps, a person simply has to hold onto at least that final shred of hope.
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