49: Protection fee

"Open up! Routine inspection!"

Zhou Wannian was sweeping the snow in the courtyard while checking if the hidden array patterns he had laid out the previous night were covered by the snow. Upon hearing the voice, his brow furrowed slightly before he quickly adopted an expression of fear and trepidation.

He trotted over and opened the courtyard gate.

Outside stood a squad of murderous-looking Black Armored Guards, led by his "old acquaintance" from the General Affairs Hall—Steward Chen.

However, today's Wealthy Chen lacked his usual lazy, wealthy patriarch demeanor.

He wore a tight-fitting protective dharma armor that made the fat on his belly tremble. His face was oily and anxious, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Oh, Steward Chen! What wind brings you here so early in the morning?"

Zhou Wannian cupped his hands, his waist bent like a cooked shrimp.

"Cut the nonsense!"

Wealthy Chen waved his hand, and the two Black Armored Guards behind him immediately pushed Zhou Wannian aside roughly, barging into the courtyard to look around.

"Official business! Searching for Demonic Path Cultivator spies!"

Wealthy Chen walked into the courtyard with his hands behind his back. His beady eyes scanned Zhou Wannian like radar before finally landing on the side room hanging the "Wannian Talisman Shop" sign.

"Shopkeeper Zhou, you know the world outside is in chaos. Those commoners in the outer district have all become blood food for Demonic Path Cultivators. Although our Inner District is safe, the amount of Spirit Stones this grand array consumes every breath is astronomical!"

Wealthy Chen looked at Zhou Wannian with a fake smile. "The Family has emptied its coffers to protect everyone. Shouldn't you people living in luxury in the Inner District... show some appreciation?"

Zhou Wannian sneered inwardly.

Searching for spies was a lie; collecting "protection fees" was the truth.

The Chen Family intended to slaughter the fat sheep of the Inner District for meat at the final moment.

"Appreciation! Definitely!"

With a "sensible" expression, Zhou Wannian quickly pulled a pre-prepared bag of Spirit Stones from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands.

"Steward Chen, this is the profit from my small shop for the past half month, a total of one hundred Spirit Stones. It's just a bit of tea money for the brothers on the front line to buy some wine."

One hundred stones.

For a small Talisman shop, this was already a crippling amount of bloodletting.

However, Wealthy Chen took the bag, weighed it, and the fat on his face twitched, revealing dissatisfaction.

"Shopkeeper Zhou, are you treating me like a beggar?"

He threw the bag onto the stone table with a dull "thud."

"One hundred? Do you know what price an evil warding talisman is selling for outside now? Your Wannian Talisman Shop's business has been so booming lately that even my nephew Zhaozu comes here every day, and you try to fool me with this pittance?"

Wealthy Chen stepped closer, his nauseating aura of greed wafting over.

"What I want is the 'Wartime Special Tax'! According to Family regulations, all shops must hand over thirty percent of their inventory, plus... five hundred Spirit Stones!"

"Five hundred?!"

Zhou Wannian's eyes widened, and he acted as if he were about to faint. "Steward Chen, even if you sold me, I couldn't scrape together five hundred! Mine is just a small business selling Cleaning Talismans..."

"Stop crying poverty to me!"

Wealthy Chen snorted coldly. "No money? That's fine too. Then go to the front line to 'work off the debt.' I heard the Law Enforcement Team is short on hands to repair the grand array's nodes. I see Shopkeeper Zhou is strong and a Talisman Master, so you're just right."

Repairing nodes?

That was going to certain death. The edges of the grand array were currently teeming with Devilish Qi and resentful souls; even a Middle Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator wouldn't last half an hour there.

This was a blatant threat.

The muscles on Zhou Wannian's face twitched as if he were undergoing an intense internal struggle.

After a long time, he seemed to lose all his strength and slumped down.

"I'll pay... I'll pay..."

He tremblingly untied the Storage Pouch at his waist, which was his "entire fortune" that he usually used for show.

In front of Wealthy Chen, he poured out a pile of miscellaneous Spirit Stones. There were whole ones, spirit fragments, and even a few Talismans he hadn't had time to sell yet.

"One, two, three..."

Zhou Wannian counted very slowly. Each Spirit Stone placed on the table felt like a piece of flesh being carved from his heart.

Wealthy Chen didn't rush him, just watching coldly with the pleasure of a cat playing with a mouse.

When he reached four hundred and eighty, Zhou Wannian stopped.

"It's gone... there's really not a single one left..."

He shook the empty Storage Pouch upside down and said with a sob, "Steward Chen, can you... show some leniency?"

Wealthy Chen glanced at the pile of Spirit Stones on the table, then at Zhou Wannian's miserable state, and curled his lip.

"Fine, since you're Zhaozu's neighbor, I'll round it down for you."

With a wave of his hand, he swept all the Spirit Stones on the table into his own Storage Pouch, his movements so practiced it was heart-wrenching.

"But Shopkeeper Zhou, let me give you a fair warning. This is only the first payment. If the war gets intense, there might be 'additional taxes' later. You'd better prepare early and draw more Talismans, so you don't act like it's the end of the world next time."

Having finished, Wealthy Chen patted his belly contentedly and turned to leave.

"Steward Chen, please wait!"

Zhou Wannian suddenly called out to him.

"What? Something else?" Wealthy Chen turned back impatiently.

Zhou Wannian looked left and right, making sure the two Black Armored Guards were guarding outside the courtyard before approaching. He lowered his voice and said with a flattering look:

"Um... Steward Chen, actually, I still have a bit of 'private savings' here."

As he spoke, he pulled a delicate small silk pouch from his robes.

"Inside are five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones I've been saving for my retirement."

Zhou Wannian stuffed the pouch into Wealthy Chen's hand, his finger brushing the surface of the pouch in an extremely subtle manner.

"This little token is specifically to show my respect to you personally. I only ask that you... be lenient. If there are more 'special taxes' in the future, could you... perhaps overlook my small shop?"

Wealthy Chen was stunned for a moment.

He really hadn't expected that this seemingly honest Zhou Wannian was actually a "fat sheep" hiding his wealth!

Five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones! That was a fortune!

"Oh! Brother Zhou! You're being far too polite!"

Wealthy Chen's attitude underwent a total 180-degree turn, even changing how he addressed him. He quickly stuffed the pouch into his sleeve, his fat face smiling so much his eyes almost disappeared.

"I knew it! Brother Zhou is a sensible man! Don't worry! As long as I am in the General Affairs Hall, no one in Dingzi Alley... will dare touch your shop!"

He patted Zhou Wannian's shoulder affectionately and then asked in a low voice:

"By the way, that boy Zhaozu... is he behaving himself here?"

At the mention of Chen Zhaozu, Zhou Wannian's expression became somewhat "strange."

"Young Master Chen... is still 'recovering from illness.'" Zhou Wannian pointed toward the cellar. "His condition is stable, but he clamors for meat every day."

"As long as he's being looked after, that's good."

Wealthy Chen sighed, a rare flash of complexity in his eyes. "That boy has the luck of a fool. Catching the 'Devilish Plague' at a time like this means he doesn't have to go to the ancestral residence... Cough, anyway, keep an eye on him for me and don't let him run around. As long as he's alive, there will be benefits for you."

At this moment, this greedy fat man actually showed a hint of human touch as an uncle.

But that was all.

"Let's go! To the next house!"

Wealthy Chen waved his hand and left grandly like a sated rat, carrying the plundered fortune... The courtyard gate closed again.

Zhou Wannian stood in the snow, watching Wealthy Chen's receding figure. The flattering smile on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a cold, ice-like calm.

He raised the right hand that had just handed the pouch to Wealthy Chen.

On his fingertips remained a tiny, almost invisible trace of faint blue powder.

That was "Thousand-Mile Tracking Powder."

It was refined from the pollen of a Yao Beast called the "Soul-Chasing Bee," mixed with the juice of special fluorescent grass. It was colorless and odorless; once touched, it couldn't be washed off for three days.

Moreover, only by using his specially made "Revealing Talisman" could one see the faint trail it left in the air.

"Five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones to buy peace."

"Five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to buy your life."

"Steward Chen, you've made a great deal on this trade."

Zhou Wannian pulled out a Cleaning Talisman from his robes and leisurely wiped his fingers clean.

He didn't feel distressed over the loss of the large sum of money.

Because in his eyes, Wealthy Chen was already a dead man.

What difference did it make where a dead man's money was temporarily stored?

"And..."

Zhou Wannian glanced toward the cellar.

Wealthy Chen telling him to "keep an eye on" Chen Zhaozu had a hidden meaning.

It indicated that within the Chen Family, some bad arrangements had been made for those branch disciples summoned to the "Listening Wave Pavilion." Wealthy Chen was clearly aware of this and was preparing a way out for himself.

How much money would a corrupt official preparing to flee carry?

Zhou Wannian didn't dare to imagine.

But he knew that number was definitely worth taking a risk for.

"The pig is fattened; it's time to prepare the slaughtering knife."

Zhou Wannian turned and walked into the secret room.

He took out the "demonic path map."

As Wealthy Chen plundered the Inner District circle by circle, the light dot representing "wealth" on the map grew larger, its movement path clearly visible.

At the other end of the map, the red dots in the outer district had begun to flash frantically.

"Soon."

"The moment the outer district is wiped out and the Inner District falls into chaos..."

"...will be the time I reclaim my principal and collect the interest as well."

Under the light of the secret room, Zhou Wannian's honest-looking face now appeared somewhat sinister.