Chapter 1 Village Life

In villages, people usually work when the sun rises and rest when the sun sets.

Life and death are orderly at the Twilight Boundary. Before dusk, it is the world of the living; when night falls, it is the world of the dead. This boundary has long been disrupted outside. Capable living people can do whatever they want at night.

Bold evil spirits even dare to harm people under the bright sun after the rooster crows. However, the people in this village usually still abide by these rules.

But on this day, they couldn't care less. From the afternoon, they began to set up a grand feast, inviting people to eat.

This was not only to send off the unfortunate villagers of Stone Box Village, but also to relax a little after ten years of oppression.

In addition, Old Sheepskin, representing Python Village, was truly grateful and admired Hu Ma from Great Sheep Village for his abilities. Therefore, they slaughtered sheep and chickens, creating quite a spectacle. Other villages that received the news also came to celebrate.

Of course, it wasn't just a banquet. They also burned incense, not only at the old fire pit but also at the edge of Stone Box Village, which had now returned to normal. They prayed to the mountain gods, grateful for their protection and for dispelling the evil spirits of Stone Box Village.

Hu Ma could have gone over and argued that he was the one who solved the problem, and it had nothing to do with the mountain gods.

But the elders in the village didn't care about that. Regardless of who solved it, there was no harm in worshipping the gods.

Looking at the bustling crowd in the village and the smoke of incense outside the village, Hu Ma thought of the Mountain Lord, who had been busy with the Hu family's affairs.

He thought of this dignified Prefecture God, who had not been properly worshipped for many years, and smiled at Second Grandpa, "When I come back with Datong and the others to celebrate the New Year and worship our ancestors this year, shall we also worship the mountain?"

"Ah yo…"

Second Grandpa was visibly surprised by Hu Ma's words and lowered his voice, "Don't mess around. Second Grandpa knows you're successful, even managing things at the Blood Food Mine, but you need to be serious!"

"Do you think we can just worship the mountain whenever we want?"

"Only those with official positions and reputations can lead the entire clan to kowtow and burn incense to the Mountain God!"

"Speaking of worshipping the mountain, our village is even more anxious. After all, the higher the status of the Mountain Lord who enjoys our incense, the greater the protection for our village. If the Mountain God accepts our worship, then people in the village won't even need to carry tanghui (ashes from the fire pit) with them when they go out."

"But we can't rush this. At least, it has to be when you little ones have truly become successful and made a name for yourselves outside."

"…"

It seemed the Mountain Lord would have to wait a while longer for his feast…

Thinking this, Hu Ma smiled and said, "Make a name for ourselves? That's actually quite fast. Maybe when we come back in a few months, we'll have enough confidence…"

"This…"

Second Grandpa didn't believe him and just shook his head, "People say that when your abilities grow, your boasts shrink."

"You're doing the opposite. When your abilities grow, your boasts get bigger. A few months?"

"What? In just a few months between now and the New Year, you can become a great general?"

"…"

Hu Ma didn't know how to explain to Second Grandpa, as Second Grandpa had his own perspective.

For example, he felt that Hu Ma's greatest achievement was becoming a small manager in the Blood Food Society, even though Hu Ma had the ability to solve the evil in Stone Box Village, it was still not as good as being a manager.

He didn't know that the ability to solve the evil in Stone Box Village was actually quite earth-shattering outside, almost enough to have the Red Lantern Lady make his bed.

But since Second Grandpa was so happy, he couldn't argue, so he just smiled and said, "What if?"

Whether it would work depended on what the True Logic Sect outside the mountain did…

…

…

After obtaining the Hu family heirloom, before Second Grandpa and the others found him, Hu Ma had already briefly spoken to the Mountain Lord, knowing that the True Logic Sect outside the mountain had forced the Ming Prefecture government to worship the mountain, clearly intending to collect taxes on a large scale.

They didn't care whether the Mountain Lord accepted their worship. After saying hello, they became impolite.

It was obvious that the grain collection was not going smoothly.

After all, it had been twenty years since Ming Prefecture City had collected grain. The people in the countryside tilled the land and planted the fields of the landlords, and it was only right to pay grain to the landlords.

But since they had already paid their share, why should they pay again?

Moreover, seeing that grain prices were high and harvests were only average, what would they eat if they handed it over to the government?

As for the landlords, they certainly wouldn't pay. The kind-hearted ones would suggest that they share the amount to be paid. If there were a hundred households in the village, they would only pay for their own household, regardless of how much land they owned. Why should they pay more?

Those cunning people clearly had grain in their urns, so why didn't the collectors take it?

Of course, in the eyes of the tax collectors, they even felt that they were getting a good deal. The prosperity of Ming Prefecture was unmatched by other places. Collecting ten thousand dan (unit of dry measure) from you could solve their urgent needs. Why shouldn't Ming Prefecture pay?

Unfortunately, those who had grain simply refused to pay, while those who didn't have grain had to bear the burden of those ten thousand dan, and paying would mean starvation.

It was because of this that from the moment Hu Ma learned that the True Logic Sect was measuring fields everywhere and even going into farmers' homes to see how much grain they had in their urns, he knew that things would definitely become chaotic. Therefore, he casually gave Yang Gong a heads-up.

Even when he was talking to the Mountain Lord, his assumption was so unwavering that it surprised the Mountain Lord.

"What's happening outside is exactly as you predicted."

The Mountain Lord sighed, "Those with grain refuse to pay, while those without grain desperately try to hold on to their little bit of grain. The more they're forced, the greater the chaos. It makes sense."

"However, you've been staying in the mountains all this time, with no contact with the outside world. How did you predict this in advance?"

"…"

'Isn't this all written in the books?'

Hu Ma was surprised by the Mountain Lord's words. Even a slacker like him could easily make that judgment.

But in this world, he sometimes had the foresight of a wise man.

Could it be…

…His heart flickered, and he suddenly understood: was this the content of the Grand Good Teacher's so-called Three Heavenly Books?

…

He didn't rush to leave the village but stayed in the village for a few days.

He sorted out the Hu family heirloom he had just obtained, the information about the transmigrator, the current situation, and even the Hu family's collateral relatives, the True Logic Sect who were eyeing them covetously and were already starving.

At the same time, he frequently sent Little Red Hibiscus to visit the Mountain Lord to learn about the situation outside, the priorities, and the urgency, listing them all in his mind, and gradually determined his most important task.

Within a few days of him entering the mountains, Ming Prefecture was in chaos.

When the True Logic Sect disciples first arrived in Ming Prefecture, they were very disciplined and won a good reputation. But as the small tax officials began to go to the countryside, things gradually changed.

Ming Prefecture City had been unnoticed for twenty years, and there were only two or three small tax officials. Although they were acting in the name of the government and even the Mountain Lord couldn't interfere with their tax and grain collection, how easy was it to collect a single grain of rice?

Seeing the tax officials going to the countryside, some simple and honest places welcomed them with hoes, while some poor families pleaded bitterly, counting the little grain in their urns, which wasn't even enough to last until spring. If it was taken away, people would die in the winter.

These small tax officials were powerless to collect taxes, and the True Logic Sect disciples who followed them began to take charge.

They still followed the rules, collecting only what was due, and not taking a single grain more.

But not a single grain could be missing.

There was a family whose fields had been flooded by a mountain torrent last year, and they had only harvested half the usual amount of grain. But according to the land they owned, they had to pay four dan of grain. The man in the family was afraid of trouble and was only willing to pay two dan to ensure peace. But the True Logic Sect disciple smiled:

"Everything in the world follows a principle. Paying imperial grain is a matter of course. You haven't paid grain for twenty years, and we're calculating it all for you!"

"Collecting thirty dan of grain from you wouldn't be excessive. We're only considering letting you live, so we're only collecting four dan. Aren't you satisfied?"

"…"

As he spoke, someone was about to come forward and grab the grain. The man anxiously brandished a broom and struck at the True Logic Sect disciple's head. The True Logic Sect disciple didn't turn his head, and the knife in his hand was drawn and sheathed again. With a loud sound, the man's head split in two, and he died blankly.

"Everything in the world follows a principle. You hit me once, and I'll hit you once. It's fair!"

The disciple said, waving his hand, "Collect the grain!"

The family was frightened, and the women and children cried together. Neighbors gathered around, but they didn't dare to act.

However, a wealthy landlord in the village, a kind person who was one in a million, couldn't bear to see this and came forward pleading, "We're all neighbors, please spare their family…"

"I have some grain in my barn, and I'll offer forty dan to the Heavenly Mandate General…"

"…"

So, these disciples went to the landlord's house, opened the barn, and loaded out the forty dan of grain he had promised.

Then, they returned to the family who had just lost their man and said, "One is one, and two is two. His family is willing to give forty dan, so they will have to give forty dan every season from now on. We're only collecting four dan from your family, which is already a bargain, but not a single grain can be missing."

The neighbors were furious and shouted, rushing forward to fight.

The True Logic Sect disciple put his hand on his waist knife, as if he had been waiting for this. He suddenly burst out laughing, like a demon, and exhaled a mouthful of Yin energy, blowing the dozen or so strong men who had rushed to the front to the ground, unable to move.

"Why is it that you can live a life of plenty here, while our people there have to starve to the point where they have to trade their sons to be cooked in a pot?"

"If I'm lenient to you today, does that mean the people in our hometown deserve to starve to death?"

He said in a low voice, his eyes grim, "Not a single grain can be missing!"

(End of this chapter)