Love letters are not allowed in exorcism notes

Chapter 1224 I am the Nine-Bag Elder of the Beggars' Sect

At the end of the third year of the Ming Dynasty, the situation was both calm and turbulent.

The calm is relative to this time last year.

At the end of last year, the Archbishop of the Forward Church was traveling by train from Beijing back to Tianmen when he was blown up by a cannon. The subsequent appearance of the annihilation meant that the two demon kings' plan had failed, and they fled in panic.

By this standard, the end of this year is indeed quite quiet, with no evil spirits causing trouble, so everyone can prepare for the New Year with peace of mind.

But if we're talking about things that aren't peaceful, there are indeed some unsettling aspects.

The various companies under the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, due to various problems, found at the end of the year that they could no longer make ends meet and had to swallow their pride and ask the headquarters for help.

Only at this point could discerning individuals see through the changing situation and discern the true strategic objectives of the President and that young master Huang.

Xu Ziwei wasn't after the gains or losses of a single city or region; what she wanted was to quickly extend the capital and technology she had accumulated in Tianmen over the past few decades to North China and even other provinces and regions.

The commercial capital of Tianmen people was used to promote the modernization and industrial development of the country.

The idea is good, but there's a key problem that can't be solved.

The people of Laotianmen don't like to leave their homes.

Unlike some southerners who are already used to going out to do business, the people of Laotianmen, even though they live by the river and sea, are unwilling to go out and would rather starve to death on their kang (heated brick bed).

There are only two instances in historical records of Tianmen people traveling far from home.

Last time, I accompanied Duke Mu on his expedition to the Northwest.

The time before last was five hundred years ago when I followed the previous emperor south.

Then it was gone.

The strong entry of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, while having a serious impact on local capital, has also accelerated the relocation of local capital to other places, a trend that aligns with Xu Ziwei's strategic intentions.

On the other hand, the Sihai Chamber of Commerce is a mixed bag. Letting these forces that are not his own direct subordinates, or those who are nominally his direct subordinates but do not obey orders, seize the market first, get a taste of the benefits, and then step on all the landmines before officially entering the market—this also fits Huang Gongzi's actual needs.

With the tacit understanding between the top management of both sides, this year's grand drama has finally come to an end.

"Grandpa and grandma, please give us some food!"

A ragged, disheveled little girl, carrying a tattered food bowl, walked pitifully through the snow, approaching respectable people to beg for a few coins or some hot food.

These days, beggars are a rare sight on the streets.

Without opium dens and gambling dens on the streets, wild beggars wouldn't appear on such a large scale.

Without new recruits, and with the old beggar not living long, he naturally disappeared from the scene.

This child, nicknamed "Little Mute," is quite well-known among the neighbors in the Nantong District.

She was not an ordinary beggar, but an evil spirit.

The little mute girl could speak, but she was too afraid to open her mouth when she first arrived, simply because of her strange accent. Knowledgeable people, upon hearing her accent, said that this girl was probably the offspring of a foreigner who hadn't learned Chinese properly.

Foreigners are not common in Nantong District, but they are not unheard of either. People just hear about them out of curiosity and don't pay much attention to them.

It was one thing when life was tough, but now that money isn't so tight, and there's only this poor little girl on the street, getting a bite from one family and a bite from another, she'll never starve.

The Zhang couple at the crossroads had no children and no relatives. Seeing that the little girl was truly neglected, they decided to adopt her. However, they never expected that when they were registering the girl's birth, they would be noticed by the police.

It was only then that everyone realized that the little mute was actually a wanted criminal, the kind with a bounty on his head.

Not much, just five silver dollars.

The police station's special agents surrounded Old Zhang's house, and a fierce fight broke out. Suddenly, the little girl revealed her true form, transforming into a muscular giant eight feet tall with an eight-foot waist. Wielding a large iron hammer, she slaughtered the special agents, causing them to fall to the ground. Eventually, she broke through the encirclement and disappeared without a trace.

Everyone thought she had fled to avoid punishment, but unexpectedly, once the heat died down, this little girl actually came back to continue begging. No one knows what kind of addiction she has.

The neighbors were initially very scared, but seeing that she was only begging for food and not harming anyone, they gradually got used to it.

The people of Laotianmen are inherently somewhat江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), and they've seen all sorts of people from all walks of life. If you, as an evil spirit, don't actively harm people, the neighbors won't report you for five silver dollars.

"Grandpa and Grandma..."

"Little mute, come here!"

Seeing the owner of the steamed bun shop waving in the distance, the little mute boy's eyes lit up. He ran over in three steps, handed over the iron rice bowl, and showed a fawning smile.

The uncle selling steamed buns placed two steaming buns into her bowl, glanced around warily, and asked in a low voice, "Little mute, have you heard? It seems like there have been some kidnappers around here lately?"

The little mute boy was stunned, his eyes widening in surprise. "No way, I didn't know that? When did this happen?"

The uncle shook his head and said, "I just heard it from someone. You should be careful in your daily life. If you see any of these people, tell us right away and we'll report it to the authorities."

Among the beggars who roam the streets, they are the most well-informed about the news.

Although I don't know where the uncle heard this from, it's better to believe it's true than not.

Human traffickers travel all over the country and are highly mobile, so even with the police cracking down hard, there are bound to be some who slip through the net and occasionally come out to cause trouble.

There are also spontaneous transactions—selling one's own child after losing money gambling, or having a child that isn't male at birth. These transactions are all conducted privately, making them extremely secretive and difficult to trace.

The little mute boy stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth in a few bites, then ran back to the dilapidated temple where he had settled down. He raised his leg and kicked another beggar huddled in the corner hard.

"Liu Er! You're back to your old ways?"

"What kind of business?"

The beggar, whose tattered cotton-padded coat had been kicked open, trembled and looked up in bewilderment, revealing half of his bloodied and mangled face, neither human nor ghost.

"Little mute, are you out of your mind! Don't talk nonsense! If I were still doing what I used to do, would I be in this mess now?"

Liu Er's face was full of grievances.

Listen to what you're saying! So you think I'm addicted to suffering? I make money and instead of enjoying myself, I'm stuck here in this dilapidated temple freezing like a coward. Who knows, I might just kick the bucket any day now.

The little mute nodded, realizing he had gone a bit too far.

But then he said, "I heard that kidnappers have appeared on the streets. Do you think this counts as overstepping our bounds? If we provide clues to the authorities, can we get some money in return?"

"What nonsense about overstepping boundaries! Do you think you can know if there are kidnappers on the street? Do you think they have 'kidnapper' written all over their faces?"

Liu Er was quite disdainful. If it were a matter of seniority these days, he would be considered a veteran on this street.

That's how the martial arts world is—one wave after another, the old one dying on the beach. The more aggressive and ruthless you are, the faster you die. So-called seniority is always relative.

Liu Er and the little mute now claim to be elders of the Beggars' Sect in the Nantong District, and no one would object. "Anyway, I feel something's not right. How did this kind of rumor start out of nowhere? If you don't go and find out, when the authorities investigate, do you dare say you didn't know?"

I dare not.

Liu Er shrank his neck, gritted his teeth, and stood up.

As the saying goes, it's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death. He knew very well why he could beg on the streets instead of sleeping on a toilet in a cell or eating peanuts.

The government needed the title of "Liu Er, the notorious bandit and outlaw who commits all sorts of evil deeds" to deter those dim-witted fools who wanted to establish themselves in the Nantong area.

He didn't understand the specific principles behind it, but he just needed it.

Another need is for people like him who operate on the streets to provide timely and effective information when required.

In a sense, he was also eating the government's food, including the tattered cotton-padded coat he was wearing and the dozen or so kilograms of raw potatoes hidden in the hole in the wall behind his back—all of which were subsidies from the government.

If you really let him beg for food, he'd starve to death long ago.

On the contrary, it was the little mute...

Liu Er glanced at her with suspicion; this little girl was the real monster.

Both of them carried bounties on their backs; the mute boy had five silver dollars, and he had two thousand, but in reality, the numbers should be reversed.

He's worth more than five dollars, while this little mute who can fight the officials on equal terms is worth more than two thousand dollars.

In other words, she was honest enough to beg for food, so the government was too lazy to send out a large number of people to suppress her.

But even with Liu Er's intelligence, it's hard to believe that she doesn't have any shady dealings behind the scenes.

"Then... let's go out and ask around?"

"Just ask."

Why don't you go ask?

"I'm just a little girl, asking everyone I meet where there are kidnappers? Is that appropriate?"

Bullshit! You're just lazy!
If I weren't unable to beat you...

Liu Er rolled his eyes in annoyance, wrapped his cotton-padded coat tighter, and walked out of the dilapidated temple.

He hadn't been gone long when he was dragged back.

Just as the little mute boy took out the potatoes he had hidden in the hole in the wall and put them in the pot to cook, he saw a group of shady characters grabbing Liu Er by the collar and walking in from outside the dilapidated temple.

"Gentlemen! It's inside!"

Liu Er betrayed his teammates without any psychological burden.

The little mute was initially chuckling at their pathetic state, but upon closer inspection, he noticed the braids coiled on their heads. A blurry memory of history flashed through his mind, and he immediately felt uneasy.

When the burly man in the lead saw the little mute boy squatting alone in the house warming himself by the fire, he immediately laughed and said, "You've got some truth to you, kid. Let me see if this little vixen is pretty or not..."

The next moment, the lewd expression on his face turned into unprecedented terror.

The pitiful little beggar, who looked like a puppy, stood up and swayed from side to side. In an instant, he swelled up to 1.85 meters tall, with two muscular arms as thick as cannon barrels. With a casual flick, he swatted the beggar away like a mosquito.

The people following behind didn't know what was going on. When they saw Big Head Brother flying backwards, they pulled out their knives and slapped them on the forehead without saying a word. They shouted things like "Eternal Mother, Vacuum Homeland" and rushed in with a howl.

Everyone was stunned when they entered the door.

The giant female tiger, standing over ten feet tall, had taut muscles on her back, vaguely forming a ferocious ghost face. She shouted something like "Za Warudo!" and then lifted the statue, weighing hundreds or even thousands of pounds, and threw it forcefully towards the temple entrance.

Those who rushed to the front and had no time to dodge were instantly smashed into mincemeat by the statue, while those following behind saw a burly man dressed entirely in black suddenly appear, grinning at them with a hearty smile revealing his snow-white teeth.

…………

It's not news that evil spirits are rampant in Tianmen City, but these days, it's quite rare to see someone dare to cause such a commotion in broad daylight.

As the year draws to a close, Wang Yunxiao takes Li Mumu to visit relatives and friends, and their wedding date is on the agenda.

Originally, Mu Yuming did not want the two of them to get married so early.

No father would want his precious daughter to be taken advantage of by a pig.

We had agreed to discuss this after graduation.

Unfortunately, time waits for no one.

Now, not only high-ranking government officials and practitioners of the Twelve Dharma Gates system, but even some ordinary people are vaguely sensing the danger.

The great tide is drawing ever closer, and the frequent appearance of various unusual phenomena has kept the intelligence agency busy.

After Huang Gongzi was promoted to Taiyin Jun, the first thing he said to Mu Yuming when he returned home was to get things done with the child as soon as possible, so as not to have any regrets.

This statement successfully persuaded Mu Yuming, and after a long talk with Wang Yunxiao and his daughter, they decided to move the wedding date forward to June of next year.

To be honest, it's a bit late at this time.

On the 22nd, Guozi came knocking.

A special incident occurred in his jurisdiction that he couldn't handle, so he had no choice but to call in reinforcements.

There was no hope of getting manpower support from the intelligence agency, and their own team had been broken up into pieces, leaving them stretched thin.

Luckily, You Tiao hadn't left. The two of them put their heads together and thought of their older brother, who was hiding at home chasing girls.

The guys are working themselves to the bone, how the hell can you be so relaxed?

"Based on your initial observations, it seems that the entire White Lotus Sect altar from another timeline has traveled to our side?"

Looking at the document in front of him, Wang Yunxiao could completely understand the feelings of Guozi and Youtiao.

You bastard!

What's the most unbearable thing about playing zombie survival games?
You finally established a safe spot and cleared out all the zombies around you, thinking you could finally lie down and get a good night's sleep.

As a result, I was awakened by a howling sound in the middle of the night and found that zombies had spawned in my living room.

If you can refresh out of thin air, what's the point of me building this safe house?
The secret societies were finally wiped out, but now a bunch of professional rebels with long braids have suddenly appeared on the streets. It's a pain for anyone to see.

The more terrifying problem is that with so many random people on the streets, who knows who has disappeared?

(End of this chapter)