A Long Grind to Daoist Monarch

Chapter 227 168: Collecting Taxes in the Countryside, Defying Heaven’s Mandate (Part 3)

Bai Qi grinned, no wonder Ninghai Zen had targeted the martial arts community as soon as he entered Yihai Prefecture. It turns out there was already a grudge.

"According to the young master, he was taken in by his master, only starting to train at the age of seven. Before reaching the third level of training, he hadn't fought with any martial artist other than his master.

He fought ninety-nine battles, the last one messed up by the Su family's eldest son. The young master wasn't the type to swallow humiliation, so he threw caution to the wind and began a killing spree.

The back-and-forth of it all, Young Master Qi must know a thing or two of what happened."

Lao Dao chuckled and said softly:

"The young master regards Chen Xing as both teacher and father, ever grateful for his great kindness in teaching and guiding him. He adhered to the three rules set by Tongwen Hall and practiced them himself, but Chen Xing was persuaded by Hong Jie of the Pai Bang to convince the young master to desist.

Because of this, master and disciple parted ways, leading to the young master expelling and denouncing his own master.

He carried the Golden Black Plaque of Yihai, Hidden Dragon, and went silent for a long time."

Bai Qi listened intently, subconsciously asking:

"What happened to my master then?"

Lao Dao sighed:

"A warm family life with wife and kids, and establishing a hall in the county city, sitting firmly at the top of the martial arts community. The young master thought his master was like himself, carefree and unbound, but Chen Xing wasn't. He married a widow with two kids, severing ties with the martial path.

The young master harbored no resentment, only confusion—why did his master, who could have continued alongside him, choose to give it up halfway?

The master he once revered as divine became a 'commoner' in the young master's eyes, so he personally defeated Chen Xing and seized the Sect Leader's Seal of Tongwen Hall from him."

Bai Qi clicked his tongue, thinking his own master really was quite the top hand at upending the heavens.

After they finished eating melons and exchanging a few words, he stepped out of the Tongwen Hall's door, and not long after returning to the old house at Erxian Bridge, Xiaotou and Ah Xie came to find him.

"New faces have arrived in the county!"

As the shrimp soldiers and crab generals of Bai's Fish Stall, Xiaotou was known for his well-connected intelligence, claiming the title of top informant in Black River County.

"What do they look like?"

Bai Qi asked casually.

"A... big officer, it seems! Riding a tall horse, unlike the others, with black, fine scales like it's cast in iron.

There are also two or three hundred officers and soldiers following, quite imposing!"

Xiaotou reported in detail.

"That big officer also brought a few tax collectors, looks like they're here to collect taxes. The scale is quite grand, folks are unsettled, all gathering at the Training Ground Entrance."

Ah Xie added a couple of sentences.

"In such a hurry to collect taxes even before spring, logically speaking, last year's autumn taxes should be paid together with spring taxes. Is the county city so short of money that they've come before the snow has even melted?"

Bai Qi slightly furrowed his brows, leading the shrimp soldiers and crab generals to the northwest corner of the Inner City. He climbed to a higher vantage to see a vast crowd at the Training Ground Entrance, and Tao Rong on the Black-Scaled Horse, sensing something amiss.

"Bringing so many officers and soldiers, could they be here to crack down on bandits?"

He stood upstairs, even at a distance, hearing Tao Rong's full-throated voice calling:

"He Wenbing of the Fishery is gone, who's in charge now? Let them come see me quickly!"

Seeking me directly?

Bai Qi's brows knit even tighter, both hands bracing against the railing:

"So domineering! Courting death!"

Ah Xie, bolder than Xiaotou and quick-minded, asked directly:

"Ah Qi, should we leave him hanging, or send someone over at random to see if this officer is just here for money or if he's up to no good?"

Bai Qi raised his hand, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth:

"Whether it's collecting taxes or causing trouble, it's all the same, let's play along with him for a while."