Li Xingkong was certain that he had never heard of this word before when he was in the Imperial Capital.
Originally, Brother Erniu Li Xingkong was trying to use his connections to secure a better future, and he was already thinking about how to politely refuse. But after Brother Erniu said those words, Li Xingkong immediately forgot all his previous thoughts.
"This thing exists in Divine Land? How come he didn't know? If this tax really exists, wouldn't he have to share a portion with it? These Earth Vein were cultivated by Li Xingkong one by one."
Putting all that aside, Li Xingkong believes this tax shouldn't exist in the first place, but regardless, it's best to confirm it first.
" Brother Erniu, wait a minute."
Li Xingkong became much more serious. He went out into the courtyard and then used magic to contact Tang Cheng.
"What's wrong, Brother Li? You miss me so soon?"
Tang Cheng was clearly not very busy right now, and even had the mood to joke around with him.
"When did we introduce the Magic Power Tax? Why didn't you tell me before?"
Li Xingkong to the chase and asked directly.
"What kind of Magic Power Tax is this? How do I pay out Magic Power? Through the evil techniques of the Star-Absorbing Cult? Brother Li, why are you joking too..."
Tang Cheng said with a smile, but as he spoke, seeing no movement from Li Xingkong's side, his voice trailed off.
After a long silence, I heard a loud gasp from the other end of the phone.
"... Brother Li, are you telling the truth?"
Tang Cheng's voice had become noticeably sharper, completely different from his usual easygoing demeanor.
"Come on, this is my hometown. You should know where it is."
Li Xingkong didn't offer much explanation; he simply gave the address.
"Wait for me, half an hour."
Tang Cheng didn't say anything else, just uttered five words and then hurriedly hung up the phone.
Li Xingkong withdrew his magic in the courtyard, looked at the sky, and seemed lost in thought.
Half a minute later, seeing that there was still no movement in the courtyard, Brother Erniu peeked out and looked at Li Xingkong.
" Xingkong, I was just saying. If it doesn't work out, then let's not go. Otherwise, it'll be too much trouble for you..."
Clearly, Li Xingkong's appearance made him think that this matter would definitely be difficult to handle, so Brother Erniu quickly declined.
" Brother Erniu."
Li Xingkong withdrew his gaze from the sky and turned to look at Brother Erniu.
"Oh, what's wrong?"
Brother Erniu was clearly at a loss.
"It's nothing, just congratulating you in advance, something good has happened."
When Erniu heard Li Xingkong's words, he understood that there was only one good thing: he wouldn't have to pay taxes anymore.
"Wow, Xingkong, you're amazing! You got it all sorted out in just a few words. I'll throw a feast for you two tomorrow, no, I'll get you a good time."
Li Xingkong smiled. Brother Erniu's understanding was not wrong. It was better for him not to know the specifics.
People capable of doing something like this are definitely not some small-time cult. Those mindless people wouldn't do something like this. They only have one thought in mind: to make as much of a commotion as possible.
Tang Cheng had never even heard of the situation in his hometown, which was enough to show that the person who did this had a lot of tricks up their sleeve.
"Come on, have some more."
Erniu turned around and went back, bringing out a small table from home. The two of them sat in the courtyard under the moonlight, chatting and eating melon seeds.
Tang Cheng said it would take half an hour, but the situation was clearly more urgent than he made it out to be.
After sitting for less than 20 minutes, Li Xingkong saw several white lights on the horizon flying towards him. They flew over the village and circled a few times. Li Xingkong and shot out a beam of light from his side.
Then, as if receiving a signal, the several white lights swirling in the sky immediately fell downwards.
"What's this?"
Erniu was clearly shocked, having never seen anything like this before.
"It's nothing, just a few of my colleagues who came looking for me."
Seeing that Li Xingkong still looked relaxed, Erniu wasn't so scared anymore. What was there to be afraid of? He had a powerful backer by his side.
The white light hovered above Daniu's courtyard before revealing its true form: several specially made airships. Then, five or six people descended from the airships.
Tang Cheng was naturally the leader; since Li Xingkong was involved, it was best for him to personally intervene.
" Brother Li."
As soon as they landed, Tang Cheng walked over anxiously.
"This is my neighbor, Brother Erniu. I only found out about this because of him."
Tang Cheng turned around and looked at Brother Erniu.
" Brother Erniu, hello, I'm Brother Li's colleague. Could you elaborate on the Magic Power Tax you mentioned?"
Brother Erniu was clearly never seen so many people before, and he was quite nervous for a moment.
"I, I, I..."
He was so nervous that he stammered a little.
" Brother Erniu, it's me, Xiao Tang from the village."
Tang Cheng scratched his head and moved closer. He had worked in the countryside for a while, and he had dealt with Erniu a few times. Although it had been a long time, he should still remember some of it.
"Ah, it's you."
Erniu stepped forward, took a closer look, and found it increasingly familiar. Soon, he remembered.
Once you get to know someone, you naturally become less reserved, Brother Erniu relaxed as he spoke.
"Oh, that scared me to death! This ' Magic Power Tax' was only announced in the last two years. Before that, they sent us text messages on our phones, telling us to go to the township office to pay the tax during these days every year. The tax is paid per person per household."
Once he could speak fluently, Erniu began to recount the whole story.
"We asked some young people in the city before, and they hadn't heard of this either. But the tax collectors said it's a new agricultural tax, only for villagers, and if we don't pay, they'll cut off our Spiritual Qi."
"We pay quite a lot of Magic Power every year, mostly in our family. Each time we pay, it takes about a week before we can get out of bed."
After Erniu finished speaking, Tang Cheng and Li Xingkong exchanged a glance.
" Brother Erniu, when is this tax collected? Where is it located? Can you take us to see it?"
"Sure, this month then. Any day is fine with me. It'll be at the unit in the township."
Erniu is quite honest; he says what he thinks.
"Then when you go tomorrow, please take us with you."
Tang Cheng said.
Erniu glanced at Tang Cheng a few times, then looked at Li Xingkong, Li Xingkong nodded at him.
"Okay, let's go first thing tomorrow morning. How about you stay here tonight?"
Although his house has a yard, it's clearly not big enough to sleep so many people.
"No need, we have other plans. See you tomorrow morning."
" Brother Erniu, I'll come over tomorrow morning too."
Li Xingkong also said hello and left with Tang Cheng and the others.
All that was left was a completely bewildered Brother Erniu, who scratched the back of his head.
"So, did it work out or not? Are we still going to eat tomorrow?"