Rebellion Tax

The two fellow disciples felt they had met too late, and it wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Wang Lingyuan remembered he had to go to work at the holding cell.

However, compared to reuniting with his fellow disciple, a mere half-day absence from work was nothing.

As he was leaving, Wang Lingyuan did not forget to instruct him, "A few days ago, some unfamiliar Corpse Drivers came to the patrol to collect bodies. From what I can tell, they don't seem to be from Xiangyin, and I fear they might be some kind of rogue practitioners."

"You must know that fellow practitioners are always envious of each other," Wang Lingyuan said earnestly. "The ownerless bodies in the Patrol Office were originally cheap goods. Even if sold to the Yi Zhuang, they would fetch at most one or two taels of silver. But you, my junior disciple, are buying them for four or five taels, which has already drawn dissatisfaction from some of your peers. They don't look like people to be trifled with, and I fear they might hold a grudge against you because of this, bringing trouble. My junior disciple is still young and doesn't understand the dangers of the Jianghu. You need to be more observant in the future and don't let these Yinmen people take advantage of you."

Little did Wang Lingyuan know, the bodies of his so-called peers had long since turned cold. In a few more days, they would likely be nothing but rotten earth and bones, with no ability to cause trouble for Xu Qing.

No matter how dangerous the Jianghu was, could it be more dangerous than his junior disciple?

Although Wang Lingyuan's reminder was a bit late, human kindness is never too late.

Xu Qing was grateful for his concern and escorted him to the entrance of the Coffin Shop before stopping.

As Wang Lingyuan left, he also promised to look after his business more in the future and would try to send any ownerless bodies his way first.

Xu Qing thought to himself, this could be considered an industry monopoly, couldn't it?

The thought of a steady stream of bodies coming his way made him unable to stop smiling!

Old Man Hu at the Coffin Shop at the end of the street saw this and thought something joyous had happened.

"Young Xu! Why are you grinning so wide? Did something good happen? Is it that good news is on the horizon, and your family is expecting a new addition?"

Xu Qing's eyebrows twitched at the words. Wasn't a new addition coming? It just wasn't a living person.

At the shop entrance, when Hu Baosong learned they were only fellow disciples, he immediately lost interest again. "I've been on this street for over sixty years, and the people in various shops have come and gone. I've met more people than I can count on my fingers, and I've attended countless weddings. Now that I'm old and don't have many days left, I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to attend your wedding banquet."

As he spoke, Hu Baosong suddenly became animated, and even his dim old eyes brightened a bit.

"Young Xu, I see you as a reliable and hardworking person. Since you're not in a hurry to get married and have no elders around, why don't you become my adopted son? From now on, one old and one young, we'll muddle through life together."

Xu Qing quickly stopped him!

I recognize you as a neighbor, and you want to be my father?

"Grandpa Hu, I know you're alone and desperately looking for someone to take care of you in your old age, but you don't have to be so eager. To put it bluntly, even if you were to pass away tomorrow, I wouldn't mind footing the bill for the white mourning cloth and handling your funeral arrangements."

Over there, Grandpa Hu, who was basking in the sun on his chair, laughed and cursed, "Handle my funeral? You wouldn't be planning to turn this old man into a Walking Corpse and sell me to a coal mine to dig coal, would you?"

This old man...

Xu Qing suppressed his surprise and said with a smile, "That's impossible. Your old arms and legs wouldn't fetch a good price even if you sold them. Besides, I've always been an honest and upright person. We're all neighbors, so helping with your funeral arrangements is no big deal."

Hu Baosong tutted twice and said, "Alright, if I personally come to you for my funeral procession, don't you regret it."

"..."

The more Xu Qing listened, the more he felt something was off. Why did those words sound so creepy coming from Old Man Hu's mouth?

Two days passed in a flash. One day, Xu Qing heard that two murder cases had occurred on Changdeng Street. During this time, Wang Lingyuan even specially visited the Corpse Driver's Shop, saying that if he wanted to learn the skills of corpse examination and case solving, he could find him in the morgue when the Patrol Office finished its work.

With such an invitation, Xu Qing was distracted all day, feeling as if time was passing by the year.

He hadn't touched a corpse in two full days, and his heart felt like it was being scratched by cat claws and dog paws; he was already itching to practice.

The child next door, Wu Yaoxing's son, was still reciting classics in a rote manner, likely making a final push for the Spring Examination in a few days.

The proprietress of the Incense and Candle Shop across the way was holding a sewing basket, and at the shop entrance, using the bright daylight, she was spinning the bobbin to wind thread onto the thread board.

Only Xu Qing was idle, leaning against the counter and listlessly chewing on a candle.

However, the candle he bought today tasted a bit rough, perhaps the proprietress of the Incense and Candle Shop had changed suppliers.

Xu Qing found it increasingly unpleasant and decided to go directly to her shop to demand an explanation.

The proprietress was struggling to spin the bobbin when she suddenly felt her vision darken.

She looked up and saw the young shopkeeper from across the street standing at her doorway with a stern expression.

"Something wrong?"

"Of course, something's wrong! Look at this candle I just bought from your shop. Smell it, look at the color of the oil, it's clearly not right!"

Xu Qing handed over a broken piece of candle, acting like an old scholar fresh from the candle market.

He rambled on for a long time, and finally, Xu Qing said earnestly, "Even if incense and candles are burned for idols and the deceased, we can't just be careless, right? After all, who can guarantee that one day we won't be burning incense and candles for ourselves? Therefore, professional ethics must be maintained, and we must never engage in business that shortchanges customers and depletes our good karma."

The proprietress was lectured quite a bit, but she couldn't refute it, as she was indeed in the wrong.

However, it was truly strange. She had only received this batch of cheaper new goods from the candle market yesterday. Judging by their appearance alone, there was nothing wrong with them. How could the young shopkeeper from across the street tell immediately that something was amiss?

After much persuasion, the proprietress, blushing with shame, agreed. From now on, she would receive goods in two batches. Good candles would still be sold at the original price, while the slightly inferior ones would be sold at a reduced price.

Here, as soon as Xu Qing finished dealing with the candle matter, he saw a group of uninvited guests arrive at the street.

Jingxia Street was known as a funeral street. Apart from passersby, no one usually loitered there. However, this group of people not only loitered but also went from house to house.

Seeing them emerge from Hu Baosong's Coffin Shop and then cause a commotion at the funeral attire shop, Xu Qing wondered, "Why are these people from the Tax Department here again for no reason?"

The proprietress of the Incense and Candle Shop also stopped her needlework and craned her neck to look. Her face suddenly changed, and she said, "They must be here to collect money again!"

"Collect money? It's not a festival, and it's not time to collect taxes. What money are they collecting?"

The proprietress was clearly well-informed, like someone from the village gossip network, and knew many national affairs.

"What else could it be? It must be the Rebellion Tax!"

"What is this? Xu Qing's mind couldn't quite grasp it. Rebellion tax? What kind of strange thing is that?"

Fortunately, the proprietress provided an explanation.

"Lately, some group called the Tianxin Cult has been secretly throwing money and pamphlets into the courtyards of the neighborhood. Each household got at least half a string of cash, some even a whole string. They claimed Old Mother Tianxin followed the will of heaven and that the current emperor is a fake."

The proprietress quickly stopped talking at this point and changed the subject. "We common folk don't know where the Tianxin Cult comes from. Now the officials are saying they are rebels, and the money they distributed is rebellious money meant to sway public opinion. They say we can't keep it and it all needs to be collected."

Xu Qing finally understood. So it was about this rebellious money!

While the two were talking, people from the Tax Department had already arrived across the street, at the entrance of the paper craft shop.

Faced with the tax collector's questioning, Wu Yaoxing looked distressed. "Officer, I burned the pamphlet the Tianxin Cult gave me. I really can't produce it."

"Burned it? You say you burned it? Don't tell me you're hiding it and have become a follower of the Tianxin Cult!"

Wu Yaoxing waved his hands repeatedly. "How could I dare! To tell you the truth, officer, my son is participating in the Spring Examination this year. As soon as I saw that pamphlet, I feared it would bring trouble. If this matter were to delay my child's pursuit of an official career, wouldn't that be a sin? So, I threw it into the stove and burned it."

The people from the Tax Department paid no mind, whether it was burned or not. Those who had the pamphlets had to pay two strings of dirty money.

If you burned the pamphlet, or if it was torn and missing pages from being used as toilet paper, you had to pay four strings of cash. Otherwise, you were a follower of the Tianxin Cult, and by extension, a traitor. If it really came down to it, that's a crime punishable by death and confiscation of property!

Xu Qing had arrived nearby at some point. Hearing their words, he thought to himself, this isn't collecting the rebellious money the Tianxin Cult used to win over the people; this is clearly a way to extort their hard-earned silver!

Sensing that things were not right, he hurried back to his shop and retrieved a few taels of green cicada silver and several strings of green cicada coins, just enough to make up eight strings.

At the entrance of the paper craft shop, while Wu Yaoxing went inside to get the money, Xu Qing handed over the eight strings of cash, not a single coin short.