Anti-fraud manual for the cultivation world

"The Yangtze River Gang has been dealt with and won't interfere with our investigation. We can now target the Hankou Gang."

Early in the morning, the Six Doors held a meeting. Cai Xinzi stood at the head of the table, and all the constables were present. They were holding a "combat meeting". Cai Xinzi usually "neglected his duties" and never took things seriously, but now he was full of energy and looked like a very enthusiastic bird.

The veteran constables present were all thinking to themselves: when it comes to arresting local gangs, Cai Xinzi never stands up to cause trouble, but when it comes to arresting gangs from outside, this guy is damn eager.

Cai Xinzi said loudly, "We are not a gang, we are government officials! Government officials must follow the law when handling cases."

"To make an example of the Hankou gang, we need to find evidence of their illegal activities. Simply proving that they transported a ship full of damp and moldy medicine is not enough to convict them."

"We need real evidence. Can anyone tell me how to get our hands on it?"

After the words were spoken, the entire room fell silent.

It's not that the constables don't know how to gather evidence, but that they're unwilling to speak up because "whoever makes the claim, carries it out." In this situation, if they open their mouths to offer opinions, the matter will immediately fall on their shoulders.

The survival wisdom of cattle and horses is to not overact.

Cai Xinzi cursed inwardly: Damn it, a bunch of old foxes. At a time like this, I can only play matchmaker. I might as well let Kailong do it.

Just then, Li Gu raised his hand: "I know what to do, we'll use bait! Send someone to disguise themselves as a rogue cultivator and buy fake medicine from the Hankou gang, and we'll get the evidence."

As soon as he said that, all the constables turned their eyes to him and locked onto him, thinking: The new guy is always showing off. Do you think we don't know this trick? This matter is yours. Cai Xinzi is definitely going to send you to Hankou to buy medicine and get evidence. Don't you know how dangerous this is?

Sure enough, Cai Xinzi didn't hesitate for a second and immediately decided, "Well said, newcomer, you are really smart. Everyone else couldn't think of a solution, but you were the only one who came up with it. I have high hopes for you."

[The Cultivation World Anti-Fraud Handbook Lv.1 reminds you: Cai Xinzi's statement earlier, "Everyone else couldn't think of a solution, but you were the only one who did," was a lie. This matter is in the past and cannot be forced to become true.]

Li Gu chuckled inwardly: A bunch of old foxes, all gloating.

Cai Xinzi's next line was completely unexpected: "Since you came up with the solution, you should get the credit. Li Mujin, you'll go to Hankou to buy the medicine and secure the evidence, how about that?"

Zhang Yi, who was standing next to Li Gu, gently tugged at Li Gu's sleeve and whispered, "This job is no different from going undercover. It's too dangerous. We're new here, so you must not take on such a dangerous job. Let the more experienced constables take it."

Li Gu thought to himself: There are still people who care about me.

Feeling much warmer inside, she gave Zhang Yi a reassuring look.

Then he stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I am willing to go."

Zhang Yi covered his face: Junior Brother Li, why won't you listen to advice?

The veteran constables were all inwardly cursing him for being stupid, but Kailong looked on with curiosity. He knew Li Gu wasn't that stupid; this young man had only been here a short time and didn't yet understand the strengths and weaknesses of the various forces in Jiangzhou City, but he was very shrewd. Why would he take on this job? He really couldn't figure it out!

But whatever, if I can't figure it out, I won't think about it!

The relationships between office colleagues are quite subtle. They seem like family, but the distance between their hearts is as far as the distance between Beijing and Jiangzhou. Why bother to understand your colleagues so well?

At this point, Zhang Yi asked, "Selling counterfeit medicine isn't a serious crime. According to the 'Law of China,' those who dispense counterfeit medicine, use inferior products, or tamper with prescriptions to swindle money are punished as if they were stealing stolen goods. If we arrest the Hankou gang on this charge, we can only prosecute them for theft, which isn't enough to severely punish them. So how should we resolve this?"

As soon as she asked the question, all the veteran constables laughed.

Zhang Yi was a little confused by the laughter. He looked around, wondering what everyone was laughing at.

Li Gu sighed and said, "This is Jiangzhou! The gangs are all lawless. If I capture a fake medicine dealer, it will attract a group of people to attack me. Then, I can use the charge of 'assaulting an official and obstructing official business' to make the charges against them bigger. It's that simple. So don't rush to make a move. Wait until I'm attacked before you come out."

Zhang Yi was stunned: Isn't this even more dangerous? Junior Brother Li, are you out of your mind?

Cai Xinzi waved her hand: "Everyone, get ready. Li Mujin will disguise himself as a rogue cultivator buying medicine. The rest of you will lie in ambush nearby. Once the Hankou Gang makes a move against him, everyone else will come out and arrest him. At the same time, arrest all the Hankou Gang members in Jiangzhou at the various shops."

----

Yinglongmen, formerly known as Yinlongmen, was renamed Yinglongmen after the Yangtze River Gang occupied the area. Because the word "Yin" implied a closed-off nature and was not suitable for welcoming customers to a commercial port, the name was changed to Yinglongmen, which means welcoming the dragon and bringing good fortune to merchants from all directions.

Despite the pressure from the Jinzhu Gang, the Yangtze River Gang has painstakingly managed this place for over a century, leveraging their advantage in Yangtze River shipping to transport various porcelains, silks, sea salts, and grains from downstream to Yinglongmen Wharf for sale.

They transformed Yinglongmen from a small, marginalized wharf in Jiangzhou into a bustling commercial wharf where "thousands of people greet each other by day and ten thousand lights illuminate the night."

The porcelain, in particular, is a unique specialty of this place.

Porcelain transported from Shaping Kiln, Shaci Kiln, and Jingdezhen in Jiangnan occupied most of the shops here, making the street directly opposite Yinglongmen known as "Porcelain Mouth".

It was just past noon, and the light rain had just stopped, leaving the ground slippery.

Li Gu walked slowly down the street in Ciqikou.

Today he was dressed in a black chivalrous outfit, with a beard glued to his face, and he had even drawn his eyebrows thicker. His hairstyle was also very different from usual. After all this, no one could recognize him as Li Gu, the livestock who had escaped from Hidden Flower Garden, nor could anyone recognize him as Li Mujin, the new constable from Jiangzhou City.

Most of the shops around him sold porcelain, but Li Gu didn't even glance at them. His attention was entirely focused on the few shops run by the Hankou businessmen. There was a small shop wholesaling Jingchu homespun cloth and Hankou dyed fabrics, a traditional Han-style liquor store, and a Huai salt shop…

The target has been identified: "Hankou Traditional Chinese Medicine Shop".

There is also a sign at the entrance of the shop that reads, "In the 320th year of the Hongchen calendar, our ancestor Ye Kaitai opened the first herbal medicine shop in Hanzheng Street, and it has been passed down for nearly two hundred years."

Li Gu thought to himself: A pharmacy with a history of two hundred years must be a brand of the Hankou Gang, and it certainly wouldn't be used to sell fake medicine. Therefore, the Hankou Gang must adopt the same strategy as the Thirteen Gangs: selling genuine medicine in the store and sending people outside to sell fake medicine.

Ordinary customers will go to the store to buy genuine medicine.

Those who are easily fooled, those who are naive, and those who like to take advantage of small gains and blindly pursue "cost-effectiveness" will be tricked into buying fake medicine.