Want to Get Rich? Then Go Confiscate Some Estates!

The Pope?

As soon as Li Mubai said those words,

a great stir swept through the prison.

"The Pope? Bibi Dong, the Pope of Spirit Hall!"

"No wonder this woman looked familiar. So she's the Pope!"

"Your Holiness, who knows how much those two corrupt officials from the City Guard Office have lined their pockets with over the years? They've surely thrown countless innocent people into this prison. Please, you must see the truth clearly!"

"That's right, Your Holiness! We've been wronged! Please, Your Holiness, examine every detail!"

As though grasping a life-saving straw, someone burst into tears upon learning that the woman before them was Pope Bibi Dong.

The prison erupted in a clamor.

Many people began recounting the bitter ordeals they had suffered.

However,

Bibi Dong remained unmoved.

She was still pondering Li Mubai's question: what did she think of the scenery in this prison?

At first hearing, the question seemed rather baffling and made no sense.

But Bibi Dong did not believe Li Mubai would say something so utterly pointless.

What did I think of the scenery in this prison?

Bibi Dong began looking around and listening carefully to the prisoners.

Four words could describe it: foul smoke and poisonous fumes!

Unable to find any deeper meaning, she voiced that immediate impression directly to Li Mubai:

"Foul smoke and poisonous fumes?"

Those words made the legs of the two men from the City Guard Office tremble.

They exchanged a glance, each seeing deep fear in the other's eyes.

As one, they looked at Li Mubai again.

They saw him nod.

"That's right. It seems you do have some wisdom after all. Foul smoke and poisonous fumes!"

At his words,

a hint of pride rose in Bibi Dong's heart.

She had thought there was some deeper meaning, but it turned out that was all he meant.

"But isn't this foul, smoke-filled prison a reflection of Spirit City as it stands today?"

Li Mubai's voice rang out again.

This time, it was as though a stone had shattered the heavens and the earth had shaken.

Bibi Dong, who had just been feeling secretly relieved, was struck dumb by his words.

"What makes you say that?"

Bibi Dong asked at once, somewhat unconvinced.

In her view,

how could Spirit City possibly be described as full of foul smoke and poisonous fumes?

It had nothing to do with that at all, did it?

Spirit City's present size, population, and economy were comparable to the royal capitals of the other two great empires.

What glory that was!

One had to know that

Spirit City's rise and development had not been as simple and easy as an empire's. On the contrary, they had been extremely difficult and arduous.

For it to have grown so prosperous and flourishing under such difficult circumstances was no easy feat, however one looked at it.

That alone was enough to show that she deserved considerable credit.

How could such a flourishing city become a place of foul smoke and poisonous fumes when Li Mubai spoke of it?

Are you pointing at the mulberry tree to curse the locust tree?

The two men from the City Guard Office also looked at the Tenth Elder, who had spoken so wildly, with some confusion.

They were deeply shocked by his words.

Although some parts of Spirit City were somewhat dark, it could hardly be called a place of foul smoke and poisonous fumes.

However,

they could not make sense of these questions, nor did they want to.

They were simply astonished by the tone Li Mubai used when speaking to the Pope.

He was actually even more brazen than when he spoke to the two of them!

Most importantly, even after he spoke that way, they could not see the slightest sign that Her Holiness was angry.

He was truly incredible!

The two men could not help admiring Li Mubai, who now appeared even more composed and unhurried.

Li Mubai smiled faintly and spoke slowly, every word full of composure:

"Look at this prison. It's dark on all sides, hidden from the light. Listen carefully. How many people are crying that they've been wronged? Probably most of them."

"And Spirit City is just like this little prison. From the small, we can see the great, and conclude that the whole of Spirit City is in the same state of disorder. Outside, the streets look clean, people come and go, and everything appears immensely prosperous. But how much has that prosperity actually brought Spirit Hall?"

"Yet this little prison has generated quite a few benefits!"

"But where have all the benefits this prison generated gone?"

Bibi Dong frowned. Listening to Li Mubai, she fell into deep thought.

After a while,

she looked up at Li Mubai again and said,

"You mean there are too many corrupt people in Spirit City, so it's just as chaotic as this prison?"

"That's right!"

Li Mubai nodded, then slowly rose and took a few steps around the prison, stretching his body.

"Earlier today, didn't you say Spirit Hall's income was too low?"

"There are many ways to increase income, but most are too slow and take a long time to show results."

"But there is also a way to obtain a large sum of money without implementing any of those measures or paying anything."

Bibi Dong now understood somewhat what Li Mubai meant.

"You mean we can simply confiscate the estates of these corrupt people?"

"But how much could they have embezzled? If it's too little, confiscating their estates would be no different from doing nothing, and it might even backfire and be extremely detrimental to Spirit Hall's development."

At that,

Bibi Dong's eyes filled with thought. Then she shook her head, rejecting the proposal.

She felt the suggestion simply would not work.

It was not that she was not forceful enough or did not dare confiscate their estates.

She was only worried that they could not have embezzled much, so even if their estates were confiscated, it would amount to nothing.

Moreover, such an action might cause panic among others.

That, in turn, would affect Spirit Hall's development.

"No, no, no."

Li Mubai held up a finger and wagged it, dismissing Bibi Dong's concerns outright.

Then he clasped his hands behind his back, assumed the air of an expert, and continued:

"Human greed can never be satisfied. When it comes to embezzlement, there are only two possibilities: never and countless times."

"Once those people embezzle, they can no longer resist the temptation of money."

"With money, they can live a life of intoxication and extravagance every day. Such a life is hard to enter and even harder to leave."

"So generally, once a person has embezzled, they'll keep doing it without pause, growing ever more outrageous and embezzling on an ever greater scale."

"Whether they can spend all that money or not, they still insist on lining their own pockets with it."

"As a result, the wealth they accumulate amounts to an astronomical sum."

Bibi Dong propped up her chin with her hand and thought for a moment before speaking.

"How can you prove that everything you've said is true and reliable?"

Confiscating estates was a matter of great importance, and she had no choice but to be cautious.

So it would be best to verify it first.

"Isn't that simple?"

Li Mubai chuckled, then turned and fixed his gaze on the pair from the City Guard Office.

"Don't they look like a walking two million to you?"