Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 301 Taxes on Class A Carts. (Second Update!)

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que knew very well that Lu Maohong attributed all the changes in Wanshan Temple to the invasion of the ghost bride.

This is excellent for him!
Once they arrived in the prefectural city, after Lu Maohong reported the matter, if Xuanyuan Pavilion were to investigate Chen Zhentao's death, they would at most only trace it back to the ghost bride.

When the time comes, he'll just let the ghost bride hide in his soul-nurturing bag to avoid trouble...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que chatted with Lu Maohong and the others for a while longer. Except for Zheng Que, the others recounted their experiences at Wanshan Temple in detail.

Of the survivors, there are only seven: Lu Maohong, the leader of the team; Feng Jian and Wei Yingjuan, who are in charge of the "A" car; Zhang Shiwei, who is in charge of the "B" car; Linghu Yuniang, who is in charge of the "Geng" car; Dong Zhongsheng, who is in charge of patrolling the convoy; and Zheng Que.

Apart from Lu Maohong and Zheng Que, the other four surviving cultivators were unaware of the rules of Wanshan Temple and stayed in their guest rooms until morning.

Conversely, of the cultivators who went out to investigate clues, only Lu Maohong and Zheng Que survived; the rest were all wiped out…

Of course, staying in a hotel room doesn't guarantee safety.

Before falling asleep, Wei Yingjuan heard someone she knew knocking on the door, but she did not open it.

Linghu Yuniang dreamt that it was already dawn, and out of caution, she did not go out immediately.

When Zhang Shiwei heard someone calling his name, saying that they had found the exit of Wanshan Temple, he felt something was amiss and ignored it.

As for Dong Zhongsheng, he heard his companions calling for help outside the door, but due to his suspicious nature, he chose not to help and unknowingly fell asleep...

According to Lu Maohong's explanation, if they had actually opened the door, they would have been immediately caught in the trap and would have suffered the same fate as the other cultivators who died in Wanshan Temple...

After exchanging information about Wanshan Temple, none of them dared to delay and immediately continued on their way.

Under Lu Maohong's arrangement, Zheng Que followed Lu Maohong and walked at the front of the group to clear the way. The other five people were divided into three teams: Linghu Yuniang and Feng Jian were responsible for the left side of the "A" car; Wei Yingjuan was responsible for the right side of the "A" car alone; and Dong Zhongsheng and Zhang Shiwei brought up the rear together.

After walking for a while and seeing that the surroundings were relatively peaceful, Zheng Que asked in a low voice, "Senior Lu, we lost most of the taxes this time, what about this mission...?"

Now, apart from the "A" car at the back, the taxes of the other nine cars in this convoy have all been stolen by the ghost bride!
If he had changed into the groom's robe that the ghost bride had given him, he could have brought out several cartloads of taxes.

But in Lu Maohong's eyes, wouldn't he be clearly in cahoots with the ghost bride?

Looting the imperial court's taxes in secret is a serious crime!

Upon hearing this, Lu Maohong shook his head slightly, but without much seriousness. He simply said calmly, "Losing nine cartloads of tax revenue will definitely have an impact."

"But this year's taxes are different from previous years. As long as the goods in this 'A' car are delivered to the prefectural city safely, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"By the way, once we get to the prefectural city, you'll follow me, and I'll introduce you to the prefectural magistrate."

The Vice Prefect of the Prefectural City?

At that time, in his illusion, Lu Maohong also introduced him to the prefectural magistrate!

Zheng Que was slightly taken aback, but quickly came to his senses.

The illusion is fake, but the figures within it should all be real, not something fabricated out of thin air by the "Law Ghost"...

While pondering, he tentatively asked again, "Senior Lu, what's inside this 'A' car?"

Senior Lu had taken him inside the "A" class carriage before, but apart from the luxurious furnishings, he didn't see any special cargo. It was just like the carriage of an ordinary wealthy family.

Furthermore, since the ghost bride stole the other carriages carrying taxes, why did she leave out this "A" carriage?
This is weird!
Upon hearing this question, Lu Maohong frowned and immediately replied, "This is not something you should be asking!" Hearing this, Zheng Li fell silent. He realized that the taxes levied on the "Class A" carriage were far higher than the combined taxes of the other nine carriages!

The mountains echoed with a cacophony of sounds, interspersed with the howling of ghosts and wolves, lingering far and wide, impossible to shake off.

The rumble of wheels echoed behind us, accompanied by the heavy footsteps of our companions trekking through the wilderness.

After a stiff silence, Lu Maohong suddenly sighed and said, "The contents of this 'A' carriage were originally known only to me, Shentu Jinghai, and Yu Zhongyin, two people from the city lord's mansion who are at the eighth level of Qi Refining."

"However, both Shentu Jinghai and Yu Zhongyin have perished at Wanshan Temple."

"Although there shouldn't be any dangerous places along the way, there have been far too many unexpected events during this mission."

"Just to be on the safe side, at least two people should know what's inside this 'A' car."

"Otherwise, if something happens to me, you people probably won't even know what the most important thing about this escort mission is..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que immediately perked up and said, "Senior Lu, rest assured, unless you have instructed me, I will never tell a third person what's in the 'A' car!"

Lu Maohong nodded slightly. Among the remaining cultivators, apart from himself, Zheng Que was the strongest, and he was also a descendant of an old friend.

Moreover, Zheng Que also has two extremely powerful ghost servants...

Thinking of this, Lu Maohong immediately said, "You cultivate the art of 'ghost control,' so you should understand that techniques like the 'Ghost Control Technique' can only control 'vengeful spirits' and 'fierce spirits.'"

"If you encounter 'strange,' 'evil spirits,' or 'wickedness'... the [Ghost Control Technique] will be of little use."

“The powerful resentment of ‘weirdness’ can, through the ‘Ghost Control Technique,’ devour the caster.”

"'Evil spirits' are born of nature and have all sorts of strange methods, so they can be directly resisted by the [Ghost Control Technique]."

"The evil spirit that your master and I encountered back then, the one with nine levels of the Tongue-Pulling Hell, was just like that."

"All methods of controlling ghosts are ineffective against it."

"The same applies to 'evil,' which can easily break free from the blood seal of the [Ghost Control Technique]..."

"Only certain special magical artifacts can be used to enslave such a special ghost."

"For example, the soul-summoning banner in your hand can accommodate a 'strange' spirit, a 'wicked spirit', or a 'monstrous' spirit in its main soul position. It may even accommodate a 'strange' spirit."

"However, magical artifacts like the Soul-Summoning Banner can only control one similar special ghost, and cannot enslave two or more 'weird,' 'evil spirits,' or 'wicked creatures' at the same time."

"The thing inside the 'A' car is the one that can break this limitation, allowing an ordinary cultivator to enslave two or more 'weird', 'evil spirits', and 'wicked creatures' at the same time!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que was taken aback. Controlling two or more "weird", "evil spirits" and "wicked creatures" at the same time... didn't seem to be anything special?

But he quickly came to his senses and asked, "Senior, is the thing inside this 'Jia' chariot a very special magical artifact?"

Lu Maohong shook his head and said calmly, "It's not a magic weapon, it's a piece of material."

"My chance to establish my foundation, the chance for the city lord of Taiping County to establish his foundation, and the repair and expansion of the Four Symbols Soul-Suppressing and Spirit-Locking Array in our county... all depend on whether this piece of material can be successfully presented to the prefectural city!"

(End of this chapter)