Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 86 Taxation
A few days after the successful transplanting of the big locust tree, Kang Dabao returned to Chongming Tower, and Pei Yi returned to the mountain gate to rest for a few days.

Pei Yi is not actually a businessman. At most, he can be considered a "short general" among his fellow apprentices.

These days he had found it quite difficult to run the store for Kang Dabao, and being able to return to the sect earlier really made him feel relieved.

However, it is not a long-term solution to let Kang Dabao stay here alone. Although Master Kang really likes to earn spirit stones, he also needs to practice.

It seems that we need to find a reliable monk from the outside world to help, but this person must be selected carefully, and we can't be impatient. It is better to have nothing than to have the wrong one.

The news of the fall of Xuanwei City some time ago also gave these low-level cultivators in Chongming Market some interesting topics to talk about.

Most of these people may never have been to Xuanwei City in their lives, but that does not affect their enjoyment of talking about it in teahouses and restaurants.

Some gossipers even spread the news that the current emperor led the army in person and used a flying sword to chop off the head of the leader of the Liangyi Sect and made it into a chamber pot.

Anyone with a discerning eye knew that this was nonsense, but everyone was still chatting enthusiastically, as if they all naively believed that if the Immortal Dynasty drove away the Liangyi Sect, then everyone's life would get better.

Kang Dabao has never been one to join in on the fun, so he just pretended not to have heard the news.

No matter whether it was the Immortal Dynasty or the Liangyi Sect, he just wanted to do his small business honestly and earn a few fragments of spirits every day.

It was not until the old man Ji Wuwu personally rushed to Chongming Market and brought the news that the county government had issued five documents within a month, strictly ordering all households to pay taxes again, that the head of Kangda became a little nervous: "Is it going to be serious this time?"

Unexpectedly, just as Ji Wuwu arrived, a minor official from the county came to the door. Although the official's tone was respectful, he was no longer as humble as before.

He opened his mouth and said directly that he came here because the county magistrate had ordered that Master Kang should go to the county government office to pay a visit to the county magistrate in three days.

In Kang Dabao's memory of the past forty years, the word "pay homage" had never been used together with "county master".

Although it felt quite funny, but thinking about the turmoil that had just occurred in Xuanwei City and the situation changing so drastically, I wondered whether the David Immortal Dynasty had really sent someone.

After much deliberation, Kang Dabao decided to go to Pingrong County in person to pay his respects to the County Lord Xie.

Since the business of Chongming Shop hasn't been very good recently, he asked Ji Wuwu to look after the shop, and Master Kang himself rode on his black blood horse to the Pingrong County Government Office.

Three days later, the magistrate of Pingrong County set the day to meet with the various forces in the county.

Pingrong County Court had not been this lively for many years. Pingrong County Magistrate Xie Fu looked at the representatives of various forces sitting in the hall in an orderly manner, and felt a little emotional: "Damn it! After today, let's see if you bastards dare to ignore this county!"

He turned around to take another look at the team of soldiers from the Demon-Snatching Division behind him, who were dressed in Xiezhi costumes and acting as yamen runners. There were a total of ten of them, all of whom were cultivators in the middle to late stages of Qi training.

Even if this force is used one-on-one, it is enough to suppress most of the forces in Pingrong County today.

What’s more important is that this means that Xie Fu is no longer a decoration, and the David Immortal Dynasty behind him has finally sent someone to support him.

Kang Dabao arrived early on purpose, so he got a seat at the back before the others. He blew away the foam under the lid of the bowl, and the tea slowly flowed into his mouth, causing Kang Dabao to frown.

"How poor has the Pingrong County Government become?" Even a person as unsophisticated as Sect Leader Kang found such crude spiritual tea difficult to swallow.

"Master Kang, have you heard? County Lord Xie asked us to come here to determine the tax amount so that he could intimidate us." The deputy head of Yuanyang Hall, a tall and thin man wearing a green turban, moved over and stood next to Kang Dabao.

"I have never heard of this. Your family has always been well-informed about the news, so I'm afraid it's true." Kang Dabao turned aside calmly, not wanting to talk to this person in detail.

"County Master Xie hasn't come to our house to order girls for many years. Yesterday, he came with two girls. The provincial government must have allocated funds! This news was also brought back by the girls!" The tall and thin man didn't seem to notice Kang Dabao's ugly expression, and whispered in Kang Dabao's ear.

Kang Dabao was thoughtful after hearing this. This county magistrate was probably not a simple person. He might have deliberately released the news. But what was his basis? Just relying on this team of soldiers from the Demon-Suppressing Division who were transferred from who knows where?
But with just this little capital? Even our Chongming clan might not be afraid of it?

"Ahem." Xie Fu took a sip of his tea, his face not looking good, and then he sat down and bowed: "Thank you all for taking the time to come. This county is not good at lying. This time, I invited you all to come here for only one thing to discuss, which is taxation."

“Tax?!”

"Then should we still give the bonuses to the Fellowship, Grass Witch Cult, and Hemu Dao every year?"

"Is this county magistrate confused? He relies on ten guys in the Qi training stage? It's hard to say whether he can get out of here safely today!"

Twenty or thirty powerful people in the hall were arguing with each other. Xie Fu scolded them several times but they still couldn't stop. He was so anxious that his face turned red.

"Shut up!" The head of the Hemu Dao Dharma Channel shouted in the hall. The Grass Witch Sect's law enforcement elder and the chief deacon of the Fellow Cultivators Association also glanced at their respective vassal forces. The hall instantly became quiet and everyone took their seats again.

"Obviously, I am the county magistrate." Xie Fu was envious and jealous, and took a deep breath.

"The annual tax of the Caowu Sect is 400 spirit stones, that of the Hemu Dao is 380 spirit stones, that of the Tongxiu Association is 360, that of the Chongming Sect is 60. The Yuanyang Hall is 44, the Qinye Lin and Xue families are 29 spirit stones." The county magistrate did not say much. He took out a piece of golden silk and read out the words embroidered in red thread on it one by one. He then said nothing more and just stared at everyone in the hall with an expressionless face.

This silk cloth covers a total of 37 relatively large Qi training forces in Pingrong County. Among the four families in Pingrong County of Jackdaw Mountain, only Chongming Sect and Xue Family are on the list. Chongming Sect ranks 15th, Xue Family ranks last, and Lu Family and Ye Family are not even on the list.

However, apart from Kang Dabao who came alone, no one from the Xue family came. It was not uncommon for the Xue family to not come among the thirty-seven families.

Even among those who came, there were very few people like Chong Mingzong, the head of the family, who came in person. This was enough to show the extent of the decline of the power of the Immortal Dynasty.

"You only collected taxes from my family, but Linghe Market and Chongming Market didn't pay for the silk cloth? Yes, the Yue family in Hancheng is still there, so Pingrong County is still wary of them."

The representatives of the three major forces remained silent. The head of the Hemu Dao Dharma Transmission Channel and the chief deacon of the Fellow Practitioners Association also made gestures to Kang Dabao, indicating him not to act rashly.

"What if you don't hand it over?" The person who stood up and spoke was a bearded thug who was eight feet tall and had strong muscles.

Kang Dabao knew this man. He was Ren Xiong, the leader of the Iron Sword Sect. He was at the eighth level of Qi training and was good at using a heavy black iron sword. He had a bad reputation in Pingrong County.

It's not surprising that he is the first to come out. The Iron Sword Sect has developed well in recent decades and has about thirty or forty monks, most of whom are his disciples, so it has strong cohesion.

In the past two years, when Ren Xiong faced the three major forces in Pingrong County, he just acted neither humble nor arrogant. However, it was generally acknowledged that his strength was indeed inferior to that of the three. It was a good time to stand out and increase his reputation in Pingrong County!
"Master Ren, can you say it again? This county reminds you that this is an order from the provincial court!" Xie Fu sat in the first seat, his finger almost reaching out to Ren Qiong's face, with a timid look on his face, and shouted loudly.

"Heh." Ren Xiong sat back in his seat. His sword was made of black iron, but his head was not.

Xie Fu must have something to rely on when he said these words today. He showed his attitude and left an impression on the small forces present. At this time, he could take a step back and sit back. There was no need to confront him head-on, lest he become the chicken that was killed to scare the monkeys.

"What are you saying! Great! You are a lunatic who despises the provincial government!" Unexpectedly, Xie Fu was furious. He shouted loudly in the hall and threw the fire lottery in the lottery tube out.

"Hmph!" Ren Xiong pulled out the black iron sword and blocked it easily. Sparks flew from the sword, and dozens of fire sticks were sent flying everywhere.

There were many independent cultivators who seldom went out on weekdays, and representatives of many forces easily intercepted the weapons and played with them while laughing.

Not to mention, this kind of magical weapon is indeed quite rare.

"Ren Xiong of Tiejianmen has disregarded the rules and regulations and disobeyed the county magistrate! This county will sentence you to death, confiscate your family's property, and exile all the immortals and mortals of Tiejianmen to Liangxi. The journey will begin today!" Xie Fu's face flushed red, and he had no more tricks. He just pointed at Ren Xiong and shouted.

These punishments were clearly within the purview of the county magistrate, but Kang Dabao found them somewhat absurd.

This was even more so for Ren Xiong. Just as a playful expression was about to appear on his face, he saw that the team of soldiers behind Xie Fu had formed into three small formations of three or five, and were running towards him, each holding a steel-patterned iron ruler and a wind-copper chain.

"You're such a jerk! You really think your Master Ren is easy to control!" With so many representatives of different forces present, and everyone has always been at odds with the government, Ren Xiong is not afraid of being outnumbered. Instead, he has some thoughts of showing off his abilities in front of others.

The small main hall of the county government office was immediately thrown into chaos. The three major forces had no intention of intervening in the battle and moved out of the court.

Representatives of other forces followed suit, leaving Ren Xiong alone in the hall to fight against the team of soldiers from the Demon-Snatching Division.

The Demon Correction Department no longer had the bad reputation it had in the early years of the Immortal Dynasty. At that time, they didn't care whether you were a Jindan upper cultivator or a Yuanying ancestor. Once you were entangled by them, you would be skinned alive if you didn't die. The Supervisor of the Demon Correction Department was recognized as the number one person under the God of Transformation in the David Immortal Dynasty.

I didn't expect that even the leader of a small sect in the late stage of Qi training would dare to openly resist arrest. It is really sad.

Objectively speaking, Ren Qiong's methods were not too weak, but they were definitely not to the extent that he could win even when besieged by ten opponents of the same level.

As soon as the battle started, the Black Iron Sword that made Master Ren Xiong famous was found to have a flaw and was entangled by the soldiers of the Demon-Gathering Division. The other side formed a formation and fought with great tacit understanding. Several wind copper chains joined forces to entangle the Black Iron Sword and then pulled it away from Ren Xiong's hands.

After being shocked, Ren Xiong became even more desperate to find that the iron rods used by the soldiers of the Demon-Snatching Division were extremely tricky and treacherous. Soon, they knocked several of his spare magic weapons to the ground one by one.

The leader of the Iron Sword Sect only lasted less than half a quarter of an hour before he lost almost all of his useful magical weapons and was trapped by his opponent, almost facing certain death.

"Why don't you take action? Do you think the government will let you go?" Ren Xiong used his body skills again in a risky manner and stabbed an iron ruler directly into his chest.

But the armor of the magic weapon on his chest was indeed solid, and Ren Xiong took this inevitable blow, but the armor was not damaged. But gradually, the scene became more and more ugly, and Ren Xiong finally turned around and screamed at the crowd in panic.

After hearing Ren Qiong's howling, there were actually quite a few representatives of the forces who were tempted to move. There were not many fools among the cultivators, and they all knew the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold".

But seeing that the heads of the three most prominent families didn't care and just looked at the situation in the hall without moving, everyone stopped again.

Wait a minute, your lip skin is just a little broken, your lips are still there, there's no need to worry.

"Ah!" An iron ruler stabbed straight into the gap between Ren Xiong's spiritual armor on the side of his waist, crushing his kidneys. Ren Xiong let out a cry that was not like a human voice, and it seemed as if all the strength was drained from his whole body, and he had no strength to struggle anymore.

A strong guard lifted Ren Xiong easily with an iron bar and brought him in front of Xie Fu.

Just as a trace of satisfaction appeared on the latter's face, he saw Ren Qiong's eyes were as sharp as knives and he looked so murderous. The county magistrate was so frightened that he took several steps back and took a few breaths before he calmed down.

Finally, he mustered up his courage, closed his eyes, walked in front of Ren Qiong, gritted his teeth, picked up the knife, and with a flash of light on the edge of his palm, he slashed downwards heavily.

"Guluolulu." A big head with wide eyes rolled from the hall to the feet of everyone.

The representatives of all the forces looked unhappy. Who was this Xie Fu? He was just a poor casual cultivator at the second level of Qi training.

If he hadn't been lucky enough to use his connections to get this official title, he wouldn't even be qualified to sit at the same table with me and drink tea!

But even so, everyone usually treats him as a joke.

But today, Ren Xiong, who had some reputation in Pingrong County, was captured and killed by him?! What happened to this world? Is there any law left?
Kang Dabao looked at the head on the ground and sighed, "'The first bird to stick its head out gets shot down', the old saying is true!"

"Is there anyone who asks 'What if I don't confess?'" Xie Fu walked into the courtyard with a sinister look on his face, blood still seeping from his light green sleeves. Ten guards followed closely behind him, their faces ferocious, the iron bars and chains in their hands still glistening with blood.

"The Heilinbao Luo Family's Honorable Order"

"The Grass Witch Cult respected the county's order."

"The fellow practitioners will respect the county's order."

"The order of the Hemu Daozun County Master."

Kang Dabao and the tall, thin man who was pale with fear hid in the crowd and bowed in response.

"Hahahaha" Xie Fu looked at the people bowing their heads, feeling extremely happy in his heart. He felt as if all the resentment that had accumulated over the past decade was finally released.

Sect Leader Kang looked at Xie Fu's almost insane appearance and said with some emotion, "The world has really changed. David Immortal Dynasty can actually collect taxes in Yunjiaozhou."

　Thanks to Hashimoto Xie, Your Story Happened, Book Friend 20191210172412926, Book Friend 2020425012423905, Book Friend 201709255210944449 for their monthly tickets

　　Thank you all for your follow-up reading (I wanted to post it before midnight last night, but I was too busy at work and couldn’t catch any fish, so I had to write it after get off work)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)