In an era where everyone is cultivating immortality, the system wants me to become a demon?

Chapter 381 Su Yuan's Invisible Hand Has Unleashed Its Power! (3K views, please subscribe!)

Lin Yonghua: "???"

He couldn't understand it, but he was deeply shocked!

After a long silence, Lin Yonghua slowly asked:

"Isn't the money in the accounting office enough for you to withdraw? Why do you have to open the family treasury to take money?"

Lin Yanluo replied matter-of-factly, "Paying taxes? It's almost halfway over this year, and our family hasn't paid any taxes yet."

Lin Yonghua seemed to realize something, and smiled easily:
"Oh, it's for paying taxes. In previous years, even with tolls and landing taxes, our total profit didn't exceed one-tenth of the total profit. So let's just pay it."

"Although paying one-tenth of the tax is a bit painful, and we haven't paid any in previous years, we've encountered such a powerful county head this year, so we'll just consider it money spent to buy peace of mind."

As he spoke, Lin Yonghua took out a brass key from his pocket and handed it to his daughter.

"Dad, what are you babbling about? What do you mean less than one-tenth? It's clearly 94% tax!"

“I will first take enough money from the treasury, and then go to each member of our family one by one and ask them to pay the taxes they owe.”

"Anyone who dares to plot to hide income and evade taxes will be the first to face my wrath."

Lin Yanluo spoke as if she were talking about something perfectly normal, her tone completely calm.

As she spoke, she snatched the treasure vault key from her stunned father and turned to leave.

The ancestral hall fell silent in an instant.

Lin Yonghua raised his hand as if to hand over the keys, but hesitated to retract it, as if he had become a statue.

He couldn't feel angry at all about his daughter's attitude and tone just now.

On the contrary, his heart was filled with emotions called fear and despair.

Because reason told him that what his daughter had just said was definitely not her true intention, but rather that her mind and cognition had been distorted by some strange means.

As for who could have done such a cruel thing to their own daughter, even a fool would know it was that damned Su Youlin!

Through her daughter's changes, Lin Yonghua realized something in despair.

—Su Youlin wanted to enslave the minds of the landlords and powerful families in Longcheng County, gradually draining them dry until they were completely squeezed dry.

"Yanluo and the Lin family are the first, but they are definitely not the last."

Lin Yonghua suddenly stood up:

"No, I absolutely cannot let this devil Su Youlin continue to poison us."

"I have conveniently faded from Su Youlin's sight under the pretext of seclusion, making me the only person who can secretly inform the leaders of the four major families and six major sects."

"The safety of Longcheng County rests entirely in my hands!"

With this thought in mind, Lin Yonghua quietly left the ancestral hall.

Ignoring the chaos his daughter had caused at the Lin family home, he sped toward the location of the Li family, one of the four major families closest to the Lin family.

But when he sneaked into the Li family home, he found that the head of the Li family had already left.

Without a doubt, Su Youlin must have sent someone to call him away.

He then went to the Zhao and Zhang families, only to find that their heads of household had already left.

Left with no other choice, Lin Yonghua had to take a risk and head towards the only road leading to the Longcheng County Government Office, hoping to stop the three heads of the family before they entered the office.

However, something unexpected happened to Lin Yonghua.

The local military and constables of Longcheng County had blocked the roads leading to the county government office, and with the military commander Wang De personally overseeing the operation, he simply couldn't get through.

Lin Yonghua wanted to go outside the city to inform the leaders of the six major sects, but the city gates had already been completely closed.

If he dares to fly out, he will be immediately detected by the city's surveillance magic and thus be hunted down.

As a weak member of the bourgeoisie, Lin Yonghua was quite protective of his life and naturally wouldn't risk being hunted down to rescue those outsiders.

Although the forces of Longcheng County Government could not harm him openly, considering Su Youlin's relationship with Lord Fan, coupled with his strange and twisted mental methods, Lin Yonghua had reason to suspect that Su Youlin was secretly hiding a mid-to-late stage Golden Core expert by his side.

Therefore, he readily retreated to a safe place and watched helplessly as the situation unfolded.

Under his watchful eye, he saw familiar landlords, powerful figures, and sect leaders enter the county government office, and then watch them rush out of the office, opening their family treasuries and taking money out continuously.

Large amounts of spirit coins were hauled away in cartloads to the county government office.

But these clan leaders and sect leaders were happy to pay taxes, as if it were their duty and they believed from the bottom of their hearts that paying taxes was an honor.

Whenever their own sons or wives tried to dissuade them, they would scold them harshly and earnestly explain to them the necessity for businessmen to pay 94% of their taxes, leaving the latter completely bewildered.

But these aren't the worst parts.

What terrified Lin Yonghua the most was the change in the Six Yang Sect Master after he entered and left the county government office.

He had actually fallen victim to the same thing as those Foundation Establishment stage clan leaders and sect masters! This sent a chill down Lin Yonghua's spine.

Because he had known the Six Yang Sect Master for many years, he knew that the other party's true strength was no weaker than his own!

Even such a powerful figure had no chance to resist Su Youlin.
Su Youlin has completely taken over the entire Longcheng County!
Lin Yonghua watched all this in despair, feeling like a powerless husband who could only watch helplessly as his wife entered his boss's room and, after enduring unimaginable torment, had her mind completely warped by her boss.

As he watched, he saw his daughter being escorted to the county government office with a large sum of money.

This scene was heartbreaking for Lin Yonghua.

It should be noted that as the only Golden Core cultivator in the Lin family, more than 60% of the family's profits belong to him. Now that he has to pay nearly half a year's worth of back taxes, he undoubtedly suffers the greatest loss.

But after only a few seconds of heartache, he suddenly realized something even more terrifying!

My daughter has already taken on Su Youlin's form. Will she directly accuse me of not having gone into seclusion at all?

Wouldn't I be subjected to a city-wide manhunt then?

The more Lin Yonghua thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the more likely it seemed. So he returned to the Lin family without hesitation, rushed into the treasure vault and ransacked it with spirit coins and all sorts of rare and precious materials. Then, he took these treasures, broke through the city gate leading to the sea, and fled far away.

Because he rushed too fast and too fiercely, by the time the city gate guards relayed the message back, Lin Yonghua had already disappeared.

"Your Excellency, the head of the Lin family claimed to be in seclusion, but in reality, he knew everything. He has already absconded with more than 500,000 spirit coins from the Lin family's treasury and fled overseas."

Wang De, the military commander of the Xiang Army, rushed to the county government hall immediately to report Lin Yonghua's escape to Su Yuan.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yanluo, who was reporting the Lin family's tax obligations in the courtroom, turned pale and hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness:
“County Chief Su, I…I never expected my father to be so out of touch with reality.”

"He only paid a mere 94% of the tax, yet he reacted so violently. He's unworthy of being my father!"

Su Yuan casually waved his hand and said:
"It's alright. You've already brought your father's taxes along with the money. His escape hasn't affected Longcheng County's tax collection plan."

Lin Yanluo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But then, Su Yuan changed the subject again:
"However, Lin Yonghua's absconding with over 500,000 spirit coins indicates that he has something to hide and must have serious tax evasion issues. He must be brought back and thoroughly investigated!"

"Pass down the order to expedite the training of the Longcheng County Navy, and set sail soon to capture the fugitive Lin Yonghua."

"As ordered!"

Wang De nodded solemnly and went to relay the order.

Su Yuan continued to sit upright in the main hall, as if nothing had happened, and continued to count the taxes paid by the powerful families.

The so-called Lin Yonghua's escape was certainly not due to Su Yuan's negligence.

How could he not know that Lin Yonghua's seclusion was just an excuse?

The reason for letting Lin Yonghua run around was to scare him away and make him a messenger to spread the news of the changes in Longcheng County to the pirates.

In order to reclaim his family business and save Lin Yanluo and other family members, Lin Yonghua will definitely collude with the pirates and take back everything that belongs to him through violent means such as attacking cities.

This is exactly what Su Yuan wanted to see.

He wasn't afraid of the pirates' ferocity, but he was afraid that the pirates were too cowardly to fight.

Now that Lin Yonghua has been sent to the pirates' side, the pirates will have three Golden Core experts.

As the saying goes, "A sharp blade in hand breeds a murderous intent." How could the pirates, who had an overwhelming advantage over Longcheng County on paper, possibly resist the urge to plunder?
After nearly two days of counting, Su Yuan tallied the total amount of tax received.

A full two million spirit coins!
Two-thirds of the three million spirit coins required for the promotion were completed in one go!
It can only be said that the wealth of the four major sects, the six major families, and a host of large and small landlords and powerful figures is much greater than he imagined.

However, this two million in taxes is enough for a full six months; thereafter, we will only be able to collect more than three hundred thousand in taxes each month.

Even so, Su Yuan could still raise three million within three months without doing anything.

However, Su Yuan did not intend to pocket all two million.

With a wave of his hand, he directly handed over a quarter of the profits, a full 500,000 spirit coins, to the county government.

Half of these 500,000 spirit coins were distributed as bonuses to officials at all levels of the county government, while the other half was turned over to the central government as the county's tax revenue for the month.

In this way, not only did the officials receive high salaries, but the people were also exempted from taxes for a month.

With such tangible benefits, how could subordinates and the people not love and respect him?

As for where to replenish the 500,000 that was spent?
It's very simple: just fight the pirates and catch the unscrupulous merchant (Lin Yonghua).

He should spend where he should and save where he should. As long as he can raise three million within three months, he won't need any more.

Three months is just enough time for their master, Tai Baiji, to lead the students of the Zhuxie Sword Sect to conquer the Cold Plum World.

"Speaking of which, if I hadn't taken on this role as the Celestial Patrol Envoy, Taibai Laodeng, this outsider, would definitely have been discovered by the Governor of the Cold Plum World, and even the entire Celestial Law World."

"But if I deceive my superiors and subordinates, then everything will be fine."

Su Yuan sighed inwardly:
"I truly deserve to be called the best disciple in the world. Even while carrying out such a dangerous mission, I still worry about my troublesome master. Old Master Taibai should just be secretly happy."

(End of this chapter)