Poor Taoist Qiu Chuji

Chapter 378 Establishing a Sect on the Banks of the Huanhua River

Yang Guangde was not a tough guy.

In fact, the vast majority of people who live in wealth and enjoy worldly pleasures are not tough guys.

So even though Qiu Chuji only locked him up in a dark room for a few days, when he was released, he told Lin Daiyu everything he knew.

That boundless darkness where you can't feel anything, see anything, or hear anything is terrifying.

Yang Guangde did not suffer a mental breakdown entirely because Qiu Chuji controlled the pace. Whenever he was about to go completely mad, Qiu Chuji would give him a beautiful dream in his little world, allowing him to rebuild his complete mind.

In reality, once Lin Daiyu had the leverage, her actions became much simpler.

After leaving Jiangyin City, she did not head straight for Yangzhou, but instead circled around Yangzhou. At the same time, she sent another message, summoning all the martial arts figures she had contacted before, and presented them with the same wooden box once again.

Having witnessed several incidents involving empty wooden boxes, the salt merchants had already developed an immunity to Lin Daiyu's deliberate attempts to conceal her true intentions.

The chivalrous heroes who had received substantial rewards from this on several occasions, under Lin Daiyu's 'hints,' also raised the price they were willing to pay for betraying their loyalty.

This resulted in several deals falling through.

Unexpectedly, these wooden boxes were no longer empty, but contained the salt merchants' secrets that had been extracted from Yang Guangde.

The wooden box, from which the transaction was not completed, was opened by the heroes of the martial arts world. After seeing its contents, the heroes 'awakened'.

So this is how they sell smuggled salt... They can do it, and so can they!

In less than five days, the methods and channels by which many salt merchants sold smuggled salt and evaded taxes were exposed on a large scale.

In the mortal world, where there is no mature, complete, and effective path to transcendence, most people who end up in the martial arts world are not really elites, nor do they have any absolute sense of secrecy.

If a secret is known to more than three people, it can never be kept hidden.

As a result, more people learned how salt merchants operated, how they made money, how they converted public salt into private salt, and how they converted private salt back into public salt.

A single salt permit, limited to 10,000 jin (5,000 kg), can often trigger a trade of hundreds of thousands of jin (50,000 kg) of coarse salt, generating staggering profits.

Those big salt merchants, relying on connections, controlled a large number of salt permits and could make a living by legitimately selling salt. When faced with the exposure of insider information, they were still able to remain relatively calm.

Small salt merchants who mainly rely on smuggling salt and engaging in downstream industries are extremely anxious.

Their home was indeed raided.

A safe and long-term effective route for smuggling salt is built on human lives, personal connections, and huge sums of money. Even if only a small part of it is exposed, it is a major blow to the salt merchants.

With the news coming to light, the government's investigation became secondary; the more important thing was that many reckless江湖人士 (jianghu figures, members of the martial arts world) got involved.

If there's no salt, you can steal it; the market is there. One big score is enough for many江湖 (jianghu, the underworld) figures to live a life of wealth and obscurity in anonymity.

They're all living on the edge, why not risk their lives for their own future?
The turmoil in the martial arts world caused great trouble for the salt merchants.

The salt merchants were in a passive position because they had money and power, but dared not use it on a large scale at this sensitive time.

Because of this turmoil, the imperial court's attention has been completely focused on them.

Being under the spotlight, if one's actions go too far or cross the line, it becomes more than just a matter of selling smuggled salt.

For example, if a gang of bandits steals a warehouse full of smuggled salt and uses their route to sell it, the salt merchants could easily mobilize local armed forces to suppress them.

In the past, salt merchants could do this as long as they weren't discovered, and nothing would happen.

But now, under the spotlight, to still dare to do this is to truly hang the heads of nine generations of one's family on a flagpole and dangle them.

Not only would the current emperor not tolerate them, but even the retired emperor would no longer act as their protector.

A fat domestic pig and a wild boar with tusks are not the same thing.

"Kill her! We must kill her now!"

“If all else fails, fabricate a few charges against her and get the government involved.” In a study of the Zhen residence, a salt merchant with bloodshot eyes shouted. He was deeply involved with Yang Guangde, so he was one of the salt merchants who suffered the most in this turmoil.

That wasn't the most important thing. What chilled him to the bone was that, as his business suffered losses, the 'big boss' behind him couldn't sit still any longer and had given him a strict order to stabilize the situation, otherwise everything he had now would be taken back.

In feudal society, the more profitable a business was, the more it needed a powerful backer to support it.

Therefore, the major salt merchants in Yangzhou, those who had already made it big and become the top merchants, were mostly descendants of servants of the retired emperor, such as the Zhen family. The smaller salt merchants, on the other hand, were the sons of powerful officials and bureaucrats, whose lives were in the hands of others. No matter how rich they were, they were just puppets.

Completely independent salt merchants do not exist.

In the Jiangnan region, legitimate merchants deal in silk, porcelain, tea, and the like. Although they also interact with powerful and influential people, they are more autonomous and independent, as exemplified by the Xue family.

Of course, in terms of profit, the salt merchants still earned more.

After all, salt and iron are state-owned enterprises with high demand but low supply, creating a lot of gray areas.

The wealth of the salt merchants was comparable to that of the Middle Eastern tycoons of later generations.

"The government won't get involved!"

"Yang Guangde has already surrendered himself to the Yangzhou government office, claiming that he was kidnapped by a group of bandits and did not accuse Lin Daiyu."

"Without Yang Guangde as a breakthrough point, we can't just fabricate a charge to frame the salt inspector's daughter!" the Zhen family head said, banging on the table.

Of course, what he meant was simply to deny the possibility of dealing with Lin Daiyu from the perspective of the government.

"Damn it! Why isn't Lin Ruhai dead yet?" The small salt merchant who had spoken earlier tugged at his collar and said angrily.

If Lin Ruhai doesn't die, the authorities can't do anything to Lin Daiyu.

After all, if a third-rank official, who is loyal to the country and in charge of the purse strings, has his only daughter framed at will, and even reported to the authorities for arrest, what about the dignity of the nation? What about the dignity of the officials?

Some rules cannot be broken or violated.

Even the emperor or the retired emperor must abide by the rules.

"Yes! Why isn't he dead yet?" The head of the Zhen family was also very puzzled.

Based on their calculated dosage of the poison, Lin Ruhai should have died long ago.

"Something's not right!" Patriarch Zhen suddenly exclaimed, his previous composure gone as he stood up.

"What's wrong, Brother Changliu!" Someone immediately asked upon seeing the Zhen family head's loss of composure.

"That Lin Daiyu is quite capable. Even the Five Gods couldn't do anything to her. With her abilities, she should have gone to Yangzhou to see Lin Ruhai one last time long ago... Why didn't she enter Yangzhou?" the Zhen family head asked.

As soon as the question was asked, those with quick minds had already figured it out.

"The first batch of wooden boxes!"

"There's something wrong with that first batch of wooden boxes!"

"She really did find a cure for Lin Ruhai!" The salt merchants discussed among themselves and quickly pieced together the truth.

Subsequently, the air in the study became increasingly oppressive, and even the previously boisterous salt merchants fell silent.

Lin Daiyu's leaps and bounds were nothing more than the slightest ailment.

Without Lin Ruhai as her backer, she is nothing.

No matter how strong one person is, it's difficult to stop an overwhelming force. Lin Ruhai is the real threat.

Having operated in Yangzhou for many years, he had a thorough understanding of the inner workings of the salt merchants.

There are many things that are not exposed because they cannot be exposed; they can only be maintained.

Lin Ruhai is here to make money, not to uphold fairness!

Therefore, with him in Yangzhou, smuggled salt will be suppressed, and evaded salt taxes will be recovered. In the long run, this is digging up the roots of the salt merchants.

It was precisely because Lin Ruhai did such a good job that the salt merchants took action against the Lin family one after another, even to the point of poisoning Lin Ruhai.

If Lin Daiyu hadn't stepped forward, Jia Lian, who was responsible for handling the funeral arrangements on behalf of the Jia family after Lin Ruhai's death, would have been bribed by the salt merchants with a considerable sum of money to keep quiet, and the matter of Lin Ruhai dying in office would have been settled.

Once people die, they are buried in a coffin, and the burial is completed, then there are no loopholes left.

Even if Lin Ruhai's ghost went to the underworld and became an official there, he would still have no say in matters of the mortal world.

"This matter must be discussed in a large meeting!"

"If Lin Ruhai really won't die, then we need to find a way to get rid of him."

"Either send him back to the capital, or... give him a ruthless punishment and make him commit suicide!" The head of the Zhen family calmed himself down and then made his stance clear.

······
As the setting sun sank into the end of the canal, the last ray of golden-red light shattered on the jade pendant at Lin Daiyu's waist. This magical jade, which had been with Jia Baoyu since birth, seemed to occasionally burst forth with five-colored brilliance in the dappled sunlight, as if a clear oiliness had appeared on the surface of the jade pendant.

The scattered dry branches were lit by a tinderbox, bursting into a few eerie blue sparks. Suddenly, the horse snorted, startling a few fireflies that darted out from the reeds not far away.

The river water carried the aroma of roasted fish into the damp evening breeze, and the silvery scales curled into crescent shapes on the pine fire.

She pulled her plain white shirt tighter and moved closer to the fire, only to see sparks, coated with oil, burst open, burning into fleeting orange specks in the twilight.

Intermittent Suzhou storytelling drifted from the painted boats on the opposite bank, mingling with the rustling of willow branches brushing against the saddles of horses.

Bustle and solitude coexist on both sides of this Grand Canal, which is busy during the day, like the river flowing slowly and swiftly.

Lin Daiyu watched as the vibrant color in the distance sank back into the inky river. She took a long gulp of the strong liquor from her water pouch, then boldly wiped her moist lips with her sleeve. She held the grilled fish, still carrying a slight earthy smell, under her delicate nose, sniffed it, and then took a big bite without any hesitation.

"Hi~!"

It's a little hot on my lips!
Lin Daiyu looked at the fish in her hand that had been bitten, and a hint of grievance flashed in her expressive eyes.

Then she suddenly chuckled happily, her silvery laughter evenly scattering into the gradually falling silence of the night.

Her bright eyes reflected the sparse stars in the sky, and her unadorned face no longer bore the delicate and fragile air she had developed in the Rongguo Mansion.

It hadn't actually been that long, but she felt as if it were a lifetime ago.

But compared to her past life, which was like being a caged bird, she prefers her current carefree life.

Therefore, even though Yangzhou was so close, she never made up her mind to go in.

She wasn't sure how her father would react to her change.

In fact, my memories and impressions of my father are quite vague.

After all, she entered the Jia family when she was six years old, and her impression of her father after that was only the few letters they exchanged each year.

Furthermore, as the sense of unfamiliarity grew, the correspondence in the following years became more of a formality of greetings, with far less intimate private conversation.

"If you don't want to go back, you don't have to!"

"Your father ate the spirit peaches I gave him, so he's immune to all diseases and will live to be at least a hundred years old," Qiu Chuji said to Lin Daiyu through the mending stone.

During this period, due to Lin Daiyu's meddling and the impact of a large amount of mortal energy, Qiu Chuji has made great strides in refining the Heaven-Mending Stone.

It could even be said that Qiu Chuji following Lin Daiyu out of the capital was actually a good thing.

After all, no matter how much the feminized Jia Baoyu brings disaster to the country, unless he can now infiltrate the emperor's harem, his impact on the overall situation of the world and the currents of human affairs is still relatively weak.

In comparison, although the salt merchants were far smaller than the princes in their struggle, the turbulent atmosphere they stirred up when they went all out was far more intense and dramatic than the slight movements of the princes.

"Let me think about it some more!"

"If I don't go to find my father, where should I go?" Lin Daiyu asked, somewhat confused.

Having witnessed the vastness of the world, she would never want to return to the secluded mansion and become a caged bird who, though enjoying wealth and comfort, has no control over her own destiny.

But when it comes to life's choices, it seems that no matter which option you choose, it can never be considered the right one.

The horse suddenly lowered its head to nibble at the grass by her skirt. As she reached out to stroke the horse's mane, the scent of pine resin bursting from the fire enveloped her. In a daze, she could smell the bitter aroma of medicine being decocted behind the bamboo curtain in the Rongguo Mansion courtyard.

Lin Daiyu placed the half-cooled grilled fish on a washed banana leaf, letting the night breeze blow a frosty color onto its crispy surface, and then she made her decision.

"Let's go see Father first!"

"If he doesn't agree to me continuing my wanderings, Master... then I'm afraid I'll have to become an unfilial daughter!" Lin Daiyu said, mustering her courage.

In feudal society, the concept of filial piety carried far greater weight than the concept of filial piety in later moral concepts.

For Lin Daiyu to say these words was already unconventional and heretical.

Therefore, she was not only fighting against inner pressure, but also worried that after hearing these words, her master Qiu Chuji would also have a negative opinion of her.

"Haha! How about I give you a task then?"

"Let's find a sacred mountain and establish a sect!" Qiu Chuji said.

"This world is too mercenary, I don't like it... Can you help me change it?" Qiu Chuji said to Lin Daiyu.

A big smile bloomed on Lin Daiyu's small face: "Okay! Master!"

"So what should our sect be called?"

Qiu Chuji said, "You are the founder of the sect, so it is up to you... However, I am a disciple of the Quanzhen School, so your sect is also considered a Quanzhen School disciple. You should uphold the righteous path and worship the Three Pure Ones!"

Looking at the rushing river in the distance and the beautiful flower petals on the riverbank, with the moon shining on the water and the surface rippling, Lin Daiyu said, "The moon shrouds the great river, and the flowers flow freely; how about we call it... the Great River School!"

"Huh? It's kind of ordinary!"

"How about adding the word 'sword'? 'Great River Sword Sect'... that sounds more imposing." Qiu Chuji hadn't expected the learned Lin Daiyu to name her sect so abstractly. He had originally thought it would be called 'Huanhua Sect' or 'Shuyue Sect', etc.! Not having to cosplay the Yihua Palace isn't entirely out of the question.

The name "Dahe Sect" sounds like a pathetic, insignificant sect.

"But Master, I don't know any really powerful sword techniques!" Lin Daiyu said with a grin, like a cunning little fox under the moonlight.

"Good! Good! Good! This is a gold coin giveaway from your master!"

"I will teach you more sword techniques!" Qiu Chuji sighed helplessly.

"Master, the Great River Sword Sect...shouldn't it live up to its name?"

"It's up to you! It's up to you! Watch this sword strike... The waters of the great river come from the sky!"

(End of this chapter)