A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

Ji Zuodao's dream of "eating his way through the capital" to become a gold mine was shattered in just two days.

Just as he was getting ready to launch another round of "letting them go first, then capturing them, registering them, and sealing them off" according to the new list, he discovered that something was wrong.

The sects on the list, which were once bloated with arrogance, are now as docile as frightened quails.

Forget hiding it, they'd practically lay bare their entire fortune and present it to you, and they'd still complain that you didn't register it carefully enough!

"Wait, wait! Here! There's another gilded Buddha statue here, from when I was traveling... Hey, don't go! Please register it! You must register it!"

"Benefactor Ji! Ji Yan... cough, Investigator Ji! There are two private gold ingots under my bed in the side room. You must take them! No, no, you must register them! You must register them! They represent all my hard work!"

"Dog Master! Dog Master, why don't you take a look at this prayer mat? What if there's something hidden inside? Why don't you bite it open and see? If there's really nothing there? Then... then I'll take off my pants and let you check?"

As he visited each household, Ji Zuodao's face grew increasingly dark.

The way those sect leaders and administrators cooperated was outrageous.

His eyes were so clear and sincere, and his attitude was so open and selfless.

They are more proactive in explaining their problems than elementary school students are in answering the teacher's questions.

Even if you accidentally miss registering some broken incense burner in some remote corner, he can chase you for miles, cling to your leg, and cry that you are trying to harm him unjustly and that you are insulting his noble character!

Ji Zuodao, along with Dog Master and Li Shuwen, went there in high spirits, but returned disappointed.

Pockets are cleaner than face —

It's not that we didn't get anything; they were just too cooperative and paid all the taxes due.

But if you want to conveniently clear out some unregistered assets, you simply can't find a reason to do so!

"This is bizarre!"

Ji Zuodao was completely baffled.

"Who the hell leaked the news? Which bastard let his belt slip and revealed my secret techniques?"

Later, it was Li Shuwen who dug up some scraps of news from the casual chat section of a Qi cultivator forum and pieced together the whole story.

The root of the trouble lay with the old monk Jinchi.

It's not that the old bald monk had a change of heart.

The problem is that Ji Zuodao's last act of "sending warmth" was too thorough and too destructive.

That truly means not a single grain of rice was left for the Golden Summit Temple.

The Venerable Master Jinchi and his fellow monks, having lived off their savings for only a couple of days, faced a severe survival crisis.

Everything in the temple that could be pawned had already been pawned, and everything that could be sold had already been sold. With no other options, the old monk gritted his teeth and decided to rely on the fine tradition of Buddhism—begging for alms.

But you need capital to beg for alms. In their current state, if they went to the door of a wealthy family, they would probably be taken to the police station as fraudsters.

What should we do?

Robbing the rich to help the poor?

Forget it, the end of the year is almost here, so I won't send any performance reports to 749.

Having no other choice, he had to put aside his airs as a high-ranking monk and, with a few thin and pale young novices, sneak off in the dead of night to the entrance of the vegetable market in the west of the city... to pick up rotten vegetable leaves.

I had planned to secretly pick up some food to get through these lean times.

As luck would have it, he ran into several "like-minded" people next to the same trash can.

Upon closer inspection—

Hey! Abbot Huiming of Baoguang Temple! Master Liaochen of Jialan Temple! And... cough, nun of Miaoyin Nunnery!

Good heavens, they were all fellow sufferers on the "warm list," each one covered in dust and dirt, carrying tattered sacks, their eyes rummaging through the pile of rotten vegetables like hungry wolves.

Enemies meeting are bound to be filled with hatred.

After a brief silence, Abbot Huiming of Baoguang Temple was the first to erupt, pointing his fat finger at Jinchi, his entire body trembling with anger:

"Jin Chi! You old scoundrel! If you hadn't uttered those lies back then, calling us 'naive greenhorns' and 'easy to fool,' we wouldn't have been so careless, ending up in this state! We're no different from beggars!"

"That's right! That old scoundrel Jinchi! He ruined my life!"

"Give me back the temple's century-old savings!"

"Give me back my secret stash of money!"

New and old grudges surged into their hearts, and they didn't know who would strike first.

A group of elderly monks and nuns, who usually appear dignified and constantly preach "compassion," engaged in a full-blown brawl over a few relatively intact rotten vegetable leaves next to a stinking garbage can.

That scene was a spectacle unseen in the Jinghai cultivation world for a century.

Old fists and Foshan Shadowless Kick fly together, curses and Buddhist chants are of one color.

In the end, the old monk Jinchi was pinned to the ground by the crowd, given special attention, and kicked until his face was bruised and swollen and his robes were torn.

This mess was filmed by some random Qi cultivator who was out for a late-night snack, and then, out of sheer curiosity, posted it on the "Jinghai Qi Cultivator Gossip Forum".

Shocking headline: "Shocking! Several highly skilled cultivators brawl over rotten vegetable leaves at a market late at night; could it be due to a qi deviation in their cultivation techniques?"

The number of clicks exploded instantly.

That wasn't all. Some journalist-turned-Qi-practicing individual wrote a report titled "Once a Temple with Abundant Incense Offerings, Now Subsisting on Vegetables? A Brief Analysis of the Operational Dilemmas and Original Faith of Some Temples."

Goodness, it made it straight into the social news section of the Jinghai Daily.

Although it was blurred, who in the industry wouldn't recognize the moves and the monk's robe?

These individuals rose to fame in one battle, but their fame is... infamous.

From then on, Ji Zuodao's method of "releasing first, then capturing, registering, and then eliminating all his descendants" became an open secret in the cultivation circle of the Jinghai Sect.

All temples turn pale at the mention of "princess" and tremble at the mere mention of "registration".

Who would dare to hide? Are they out of their mind?

Didn't you see what happened to Jin Chi and the others?

Now, even picking up vegetable scraps at the market has to be done furtively to avoid being recognized and beaten up by other vendors!

Thus, the scene that Ji Zuodao faced unfolded—

Cooperate actively, be honest and just register according to the rules. Don't let that devil find any excuse for "not registering".

After all, once you're registered, you pay some taxes, and it's better to lose money than suffer any real harm; everything will be fine.

If that guy cleans it up... then there won't be a single hair left.

As a result, the collection task assigned by Deputy Director Liu was completed smoothly and successfully, exceeding the target, in less than three days amidst an eerie atmosphere of tension and scrambling to finish.

Deputy Director Liu looked at the unbelievably impressive figures on the report and was so happy that his back teeth seemed to be basking in the sun for days.

Not only were the targets met, but they were far exceeded. The General Administration of Radio and Television called one after another to praise him, and Lao Liu was walking with a spring in his step.

And Ji Zuodao...

Ji Zuodao cried.

She was really crying.

Looking at the "taxes and fees" that were collected strictly according to the register, not a penny more or less, and handed over to the bureau cleanly and honestly.

Then think about all those huge amounts of unregistered "tea money" that could have ended up in your pocket...

His heart was bleeding.

"We've lost money...we've lost a fortune!"

He beat his chest and stamped his feet, heartbroken and indignant.

"Jin Chi! Jin Chi, you old bald monk! Why are you picking up rotten vegetable leaves for no reason?! Would you die if you starved for ten days or half a month?!"

"It's a small matter if you starve to death, but it's a big deal if you ruin my fortune!"

"Damn it! We've really lost a fortune!"

Dog Lord squatted beside him, licking his paws, glanced at the writhing Ji Zuodao, rolled his eyes, and whimpered:

"Serves you right! You sucked the fish so clean last time, leaving no room for anything. See, you scared the fish away, didn't you? As our ancestors said, a steady stream is what makes a long flow."

Ji Zuodao glared at Dog Master.

"How dare you say that to me? Who gave you the right to wreak havoc in someone else's kitchen? At least leave them something to eat, even just a cornbread would have been fine. Otherwise, why would they have to scavenge for rotten vegetable scraps?"