Anti-fraud manual for the cultivation world

The following days were unusually peaceful for a few days.

Li Gu doesn't need to look for the swindlers for now; he can focus on taking his medicine. Every night, he takes one "Jade Marrow Pill," and when he feels a bit of distension or pain in his meridians, he takes one "Pulse Expanding Pill," switching between them continuously.

In just a few days, he broke through to level 8 of Qi Refining, and he was about to break through to level 9 as well.

But now he's learned to be smarter. Every morning when he practices the ruler technique, he deliberately holds back his spiritual energy and only uses the strength of the seventh level of Qi Refining to wield the two rulers. As a result, even Hong Lin can't tell that his cultivation level has increased.

The Six Doors (a government agency) also stopped making any major moves. They were busy enough just handling the case of the Hankou Gang. Dozens of gang members were arrested, and each one had to be punished according to their crimes. This one would be given fifty strokes of the cane, that one would be given one hundred strokes, this one would have their property confiscated, that one would be exiled two thousand miles away, and the one who resisted arrest and beat the constables to the point of breaking bones and serious injury was hanged...

After all this commotion, the constables had written a thick stack of reports.

The Hankou gang was really unlucky. They were caught in a sting operation for selling fake medicine, which turned into resisting arrest and assaulting the police, and then it became a serious crime.

According to the "Law of the People's Republic of China," only those who seriously injure a constable should be hanged, while those who resist arrest should only be exiled for two thousand li. However, not all constables are good people who follow the law. With a few strokes of the pen, a constable who was originally slightly injured becomes seriously injured, a constable who only had a scratch becomes a broken bone, and a gang member who was only exiled for two thousand li becomes hanged.

The Hankou gang has been severely weakened and will not be able to reach out to Jiangzhou City again in the short term.

The Ministry of Personnel's approval document arrived quickly: "Prefect Hong Lin of Jiangzhou has effectively quelled banditry and brought peace to the people, making him the most diligent among the officials. He deserves commendation to encourage others. His constables Cai Xinzi and Li Gu, among others, have bravely ventured into dangerous terrain, fearlessly wielding weapons, conducting undercover investigations and valiantly capturing thieves, enduring hardship and making tangible contributions. Constable Cai Xinzi is awarded one mid-grade spirit stone, Kailong and Li Gu are each awarded fifty low-grade spirit stones, and the remaining constables are each awarded twenty low-grade spirit stones."

Li Gu is finally rich!

Fifty low-grade spirit stones, though not many, can be used to buy some counterfeit goods, eliminating the need to risk one's life as a constable to obtain them.

No, that's not right!

He's almost at the 9th level of Qi Refining, which means he's not far from Foundation Establishment.

Once the foundation is successfully established, one will officially leave the low-level martial arts stage and enter the high-level martial arts stage of a cultivator. At that time, the dantian will condense into a qi vortex, and the spiritual power will be abundant and stable, enough to control spiritual fire, inscribe basic array patterns with divine sense, and wield mid-grade and low-grade magic treasures...

In other words, he needs to prepare a variety of miscellaneous cultivation tools such as "array plates," "magic weapons," and "spiritual fire," but he doesn't have any of them.

Even if these items are counterfeit, they won't be cheap.

He still remembered the Hankou Gang's "Foundation Building Pill". The genuine product was priced at 800 low-grade spirit stones, while the fake product was half price but still cost 400 low-grade spirit stones. And that was just the threshold for Foundation Building.

Fifty low-grade spirit stones are only enough to buy a tiny fraction of the counterfeit goods; he must find a way to increase his money.

Li Gu sauntered over to Cai Xinzi, sat down, and asked in a low voice, "Chief Constable, are there any casinos in Jiangzhou City?"

"Casino? Of course not!" Cai Xinzi answered without hesitation. "The Divine Law stipulates that anyone who gambles for money shall be punished with eighty strokes of the cane, and the money and goods of the gambling den shall be confiscated by the government. Those who open gambling dens shall be punished in the same way, but only for the first offense, and officials shall be punished one degree more severely. If the gambling involves food or drink, no punishment shall be imposed."

Li Gu had no choice but to lower his voice and ask, "Where are those illegal underground gambling dens located?"

Cai Xinzi laughed: "There are many. There are gambling dens everywhere, in city restaurants, brothels, pawnshops, and private residences outside the city. Just find a restaurant in a secluded location, go into the cellar, and you can almost always find a gambling den."

Li Gu said, "I'm not asking about the casinos for mortals, I'm asking about the casinos where cultivators gamble for spirit stones."

Cai Xinzi's eyes narrowed immediately: "We finally finished dealing with the Hankou Gang, and now you've set your sights on this? Let me tell you, the gambling den is run by people from Ghost City. You absolutely cannot touch it. Anyone who touches it will die. Even if you live in Magistrate Hong's house, as long as she goes out for a little while, people from Ghost City can sneak in and kill you without anyone noticing."

"They aren't afraid of offending the authorities, because the authorities have no way of proving that they killed people. Their methods of killing are so bizarre that even you don't know how you died. When you go to the underworld, even the King of Hell will scold you for being a fool."

This wasn't the first time Li Gu had heard the term "ghost town."

Back when they were still in Flower Valley, Zhang Yi had said that heading east from Flower Valley would lead to a ghost town.

However, during their escape, neither Zhang Yi nor his senior sister Bai Yan mentioned hiding in the Ghost City to the east, and they did not list that place as a "place to escape to".

It seems like a really scary place!

Li Gu had no intention of provoking Ghost City. He shrugged and said, "In your eyes, am I just a troublemaker? Oh, don't worry, I won't touch the gambling den. I just feel itchy and want to gamble a few rounds properly. It's a completely legal and legitimate gamble. I'll be a good customer. The people in Ghost City won't kill their customers, right?"

"Legal and reasonable my foot! There's no such thing as legal gambling." Cai Xinzi put a hand on Li Gu's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Take my advice: it's better to die than to mess with Ghost City. Stay away from them. I won't tell you the location of the underground gambling den, and don't go looking for it, lest you get yourself into trouble. If you really like gambling, gamble with the other constables. I remember last time everyone bet you wouldn't live more than a month. If you survive this month, you can pocket all their salaries, right?"

Li Gu thought to himself: "A person's salary is only five spirit stones, plus five taels of silver. Even if all the constables' salaries are added together, it's still not enough for me to buy a magic weapon after I reach the Foundation Establishment stage."

Don't listen to Cai Xinzi!

I have to keep going down the path of self-destruction.

The greatest risk in life is standing still and not making progress.

wave up!

Since Cai Xinzi is unwilling to say, I'll ask someone else.

Li Gu is no longer the clueless newcomer he was when he first arrived in Jiangzhou. Now he has his own connections, and he has a good relationship with the Thirteen Gang. Why not just ask the Thirteen Gang directly?

Li Gu put on his constable's uniform, tucked two iron rulers into his waistband, touched his fake beard to make sure no one could recognize him as a runaway from Flower Valley, and then slowly left the yamen. He strolled leisurely, just like an ordinary constable patrolling the streets, towards the medicinal herb street of Chuqimen.

Last time he came, he was followed like a prisoner by the Thirteen Gang members as soon as he entered the street corner. But this time was different. As soon as he appeared, he saw the green-clad members of the Thirteen Gang waving at him with smiles: "Yo, Officer Li is here!"

"Officer Li, you have time to come and visit today?"

"Thank you, Officer Li. The Hankou gang is finished, hahaha."