Chapter 445 - 440: You Might as Well Go Robbing

Du Youqian was very confused.

He had always felt that this mysterious Kun Cultivator from the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect was a bit crazy, but she wasn’t stupid.

So why would she do something so foolish?

What could this possibly achieve, other than alienating the Artisans in Huailai City to the point where they might even flee?

Even the most tyrannical Lord of the Immortal City wouldn’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs or drain the pond to catch the fish.

No, this madwoman must have some other motive.

As Du Youqian mulled this over, Pu Yu Master led him before "Master Su Quan."

This time, "Master Su Quan" did not receive him in the garden, but in a room as lavishly decorated as a palace.

"Sister, I haven’t seen you in so many days. I’ve missed you to death!" A pure, joyful smile appeared on Du Youqian’s face.

"Master Su Quan" first waved her hand to dismiss Pu Yu Master, then stared at Du Youqian with a profound gaze and said coldly, "If you smile that disgustingly again, I’ll kill you."

Du Youqian was taken aback, and his smile naturally vanished.

’Is this madwoman in a bad mood today?’

’Kill me? I’d really like to see you try.’

Of course, unless absolutely forced, Du Youqian had no desire to cross blades with her.

He knew firsthand just how troublesome the madwomen of the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect could be.

"Sister, is there something you needed me for?"

"Master Su Quan" said calmly, "Don’t call me Sister anymore. In front of others, you can call me Master Su Quan. In private, you can call me Ye Rui Master."

’Did she take the wrong medicine?’

’It couldn’t be that time of the month, could it?’

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator can perform the "Slaying the Red Dragon" technique, so it was impossible that this Nascent Soul Master hadn’t done so yet.

But in any case, one thing was certain: she was in a terrible mood.

Du Youqian decided to be more cautious.

"What are your orders, Ye Rui Master?"

"Pu Yu should have told you. I want you to take over that whole affair. Consolidate and manage these Artisans for me. If you do a good job, I’ll have a reward for you. Moreover, you’ll be allowed to take a cut of the taxes collected from them from now on. That’s a much faster way to make money than your painstaking merchant runs!"

Du Youqian said with a pained expression, "But I don’t live in Huailai City permanently..."

Ye Rui Master shot him a glare with her beautiful eyes.

Du Youqian whispered, "Can I refuse?"

"You can try," Ye Rui Master’s tone was light and unreadable.

Du Youqian tried to reason with her. "This is unprecedented. These Artisans weren’t nurtured with investments from the Immortal City. Now you want to put them under unified management, centralize the procurement of their raw materials and the sale of their goods, and on top of that, levy taxes. How could they possibly agree?"

Ye Rui Master’s tone was nonchalant. "I don’t care if they agree. I just want you to collect the Spirit Stones, or other hard currency."

"If you collect by force, they’ll run away."

"Then you, the tax collector, will be responsible for covering their share out of your own pocket."

Du Youqian had an F-bomb he wasn’t sure whether he should drop.

After thinking for a few seconds, he decided it was best not to test the limits of this woman’s madness.

"Alright, then. I’ll be responsible for collecting their taxes for the next month..." Seeing the threatening look in Ye Rui’s eyes, Du Youqian corrected himself, "Half a year’s worth. After I’m done collecting for half a year, I’m leaving. I can’t just keep my caravan stationed here forever. The expenses for men and beasts are considerable."

Ye Rui slowly shook her head.

This time, Du Youqian was unwilling to compromise. "Half a year is my limit. If there’s any I really can’t collect, I’ll cover it myself. How about that?"

He really didn’t want to have a falling out with this madwoman, but the thing was, even if she was crazy, she wouldn’t inexplicably offend the Holy Blood Sect backing him... right? Though, in truth, there was no Holy Blood Sect behind him.

Therefore, Du Youqian felt that haggling a bit and negotiating the terms wouldn’t provoke her into making a move against him.

Still, he estimated he was about to make enemies of everyone.

It was very likely that Ye Rui Master wanted him, an outsider, to be the scapegoat.

’And then, punish me to appease the Artisans’ anger?’

Du Youqian, of course, had no intention of simply sticking his neck out to be executed.

If Ye Rui Master didn’t give him an exit strategy, he would have to find a way to slip away himself.

’As for the caravan, he could only apologize.’

Unexpectedly, Ye Rui Master just kept shaking her head at the "half a year" deadline.

Du Youqian felt she wasn’t negotiating in good faith. "Then, Master, how long do you want me to stay and collect taxes?"

Ye Rui Master said lightly, "I don’t care how long you stay."

Du Youqian waited quietly for the "but" that was sure to follow.

"I just want you to retroactively collect fifty years of back taxes from all the Artisans in the city."

Du Youqian forcefully swallowed the three words, "Are you crazy?"

He frowned and asked, "How is this any different from outright robbery? Master, are you in urgent need of a large sum of Spirit Stones?"

"That’s right! I *am* robbing them!" Ye Rui seemed to be triggered by a keyword. Her watery eyes were now filled with a murderous Evil Qi. "A few bastards are pressing me for money! Money, money, money! What a bunch of fucking losers! They can’t earn it themselves, so they resort to bullying a woman! And they call themselves cultivators? Cultivating the Dao my ass! Even if they cultivate for ten more lifetimes, they’ll still be scumbag bastards!"

Du Youqian was a little stunned.

’Is this person before me, who’s cursing like a fishwife in the street, really the mysterious, powerful, beautiful, elegant, and insane Kun Cultivator from the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect?’

He had never seen a High Tier Cultivator spew such vulgarities with every other word.

High Tier Cultivators all had their pride and a certain level of refinement.

Even a magnate from a Demon Sect, who might be a sadist when it came to torture, would speak with grace and elegance. That was the mark of a true Demon.

Constantly dropping F-bombs was, in the eyes of High Tier Cultivators, utterly classless.

Ye Rui was seething, her large, firm breasts heaving up and down, quite the eye-catching sight.

After a moment, she let out a heavy breath, seemingly calming down. She said coldly, "Fifty years. You must collect it for me. If you’re short by even a single Spirit Stone, I will hold you personally responsible."

Du Youqian had also calmed down. "What’s in it for me?"

Ye Rui sneered, "Not killing you and sparing your life isn’t enough?"

"Then you can try to kill me," Du Youqian said with a slight smile.

Ye Rui stared at him without blinking. Du Youqian could feel her pushing her Divine Sense to its limit, trying to perceive his emotional and physiological changes in an attempt to read his thoughts.

After a long moment, Ye Rui finally laughed. "An Emperor doesn’t send his soldiers into battle on an empty stomach. You’ll get your benefits. I’ll allow you to keep a one-fifth cut. Isn’t that enough? If you can collect fifty years of back taxes from all the Artisans in Huailai City, you should be able to get at least ten million Spiritual Jade. One-fifth of that is two million. How long would it take you to earn two million Spiritual Jade running your merchant routes? And that’s your entire family’s revenue—how much of that actually ends up in your personal Storage Treasure Pouch?"

’Two million Spiritual Jade is about what I make in a single trade run.’

However, it was true that the two million was the total revenue for Ruihan City. The portion that was allocated to Du Youqian personally was only a few hundred thousand Spiritual Jade.

To be honest, for an ordinary Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator, two million Spiritual Jade was an enormous sum, worth risking one’s life for.

But Du Youqian had been grinding mobs at the Binyin Sect—grinding elites and even bosses—and had long since made a fortune. All of that had gone directly into his own pocket.

He wanted the two million Spiritual Jade, but it certainly wasn’t worth the risk of offending so many people.

He showed a troubled expression. "But my strength is limited. And every High Tier Artisan has many friends and old acquaintances. Especially the highly skilled ones—countless Cultivators want to curry favor with them! How could I possibly pull off something as unreasonable as collecting fifty years of back taxes from them all by myself! I’m afraid even you, Ye Rui Master, would find it difficult."

Ye Rui Master pursed her lips and sneered disdainfully. "What’s so difficult about it? It’s a piece of cake. I know what you’re worried about. You’ll still have to pass through here on your trade runs in the future, and you’re worried people will cause trouble for your caravan, right? I can teach you a Disguise Secret Technique that can alter your appearance and aura. You could even disguise yourself as a Nascent Soul Master to intimidate them."

Du Youqian still shook his head. "With all due respect, the risks I’d be taking are not proportional to the reward of two million Spiritual Jade. You, Master, get to sit back and reap the rewards while I do all the work and bear all the consequences. For such a small profit, I’m definitely not willing to do it."

Ye Rui Master said irritably, "After this one-time tax collection, these Artisans will basically all flee. You think I won’t have to bear any consequences? I just have no choice. Kid Sui Xiao, you help me get through this, and I will grant you a great fortune in the future."

Du Youqian thought for a moment, then shook his head. "A far-off benefit is not something I can count on. I’m not interested. Master, if you want me to take this on, you must promise me one thing."

"What is it?" Ye Rui Master asked impatiently.

Du Youqian smiled faintly and sent his reply via Telepathy.