Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 356 355 City Gate Tax

Fang Youliu was taken aback: "What tax? Seriously, sir? There's no one guarding the city gate."

Two police officers had already circled around to the front of the car and, without regard for etiquette, simply lifted the curtain.

Feng Xiuhu sat imposingly in the center, glaring at them: "What are you looking at?"

Their gaze shifted, and the two officers spotted Shunzi sitting next to them—Shunzi's size startled them, and they didn't say anything before pulling the curtain down again.

They returned to the lead constable and whispered a few words to each other.

The lead constable had a good idea of ​​what was going on. The other man raised his chin and said, "City gate tax, don't play dumb with me."

Fang Youliu couldn't help but smile wryly: "Sir, we're just passing through, not here to do business. What kind of city gate tax is this?"

"Paying taxes is a matter of course, you yourself said you're a businessman..."

The lead constable grew impatient and pulled a bag of iron bars from his back: "I'm not talking to you, you carriage driver. If you don't hand it over, get out of here."

Feng Xiuhu lifted the curtain and rested his arm on the windowsill: "Come on, tell me."

The lead constable scrutinized him for a moment: "What's your name?"

Feng Xiuhu said, "Ma Er, you can call me Second Master."

The lead constable sneered, "Second Master? I'm your grandpa, you son of a bitch!"

Feng Xiuhu also smiled: "Sir, there are only three of us. How much do you think we should pay?"

The lead constable sneered, glancing at the carriage: "Who told you it's charged per person? In our county, it's charged per person based on height, starting from the fifth brick in the doorway. One silver plate per person, and for every centimeter above that, an extra plate."

Well, so they know there's a tall guy sitting in the carriage.

Feng Xiuhu patted Shunzi beside him: "Go, get the money for the officer."

Shunzi responded, lifted the curtain, and bent down to crawl out of the carriage.

His imposing figure also surprised the lead constable, especially since Shunzi was wearing the loose-fitting long trench coat that Feng Xiuhu had customized for him. The dark gray woolen fabric hung from his shoulders to his feet, making him look like a high wall when he stood in front of him.

Shunzi walked up without saying a word. Just as the lead constable was about to speak, Shunzi grabbed him and tucked him under his arm. Then, he picked up the other two constables, one in each hand, and carried them into a dark alley nearby.

"What do you mean?! You're attacking the police, aren't you? Ouch!"

The talking stopped abruptly, leaving only the continuous cracking sounds of fists hitting flesh.

Fang Youliu looked helplessly at Feng Xiuhu, but Feng Xiuhu lowered his head and lit a cigarette.

Fang Youliu whispered, "Neither the temple nor the church welcomes people from our Mystic Arts Academy, so I don't want to cause trouble—you probably do too, right?"

Feng Xiuhu laughed and said, "No wonder you kept a low profile in Fancheng; it turns out you were afraid of this."

Fang Youliu smiled wryly: "I came here to travel, not to fight."

Feng Xiuhu tapped him with his cigarette, saying, "Even without me, you would have encountered just as much trouble along the way."

He finally understood: with the bird language spell, Fang Youliu wasn't afraid of not knowing the way, but just knowing the way wasn't enough—the birds wouldn't tell him in advance that there was a city gate tax to be collected here.

After the cigarette burned out, Feng Xiuhu felt that it was about time.

He got out of the car and casually tossed his cigarette butt into the beggar's broken bowl as he walked into the alley.

Upon reaching the depths of the alley, the three police officers collapsed to the ground, uttering weak moans.

Shunzi stood to the side, brushing the dust off his sleeves.

Feng Xiuhu squatted down, but before he could ask any questions, the lead constable spoke first: "Second Master, spare my life, I won't take the money."

Feng Xiuhu nodded: "Where is the inn?"

The lead constable tried to point outside, but his broken arm was hanging limply on the ground and he couldn't lift it. He could only say, "Walk to the end of the street and turn right. You'd better hurry. There are a lot of people staying at the hotel today. If you go too late, there won't be any rooms left."

"Row."

Feng Xiuhu patted his face: "Then let's hurry up and get on the road."

By the time the lead constable realized what Feng Xiuhu meant, rust had already covered half of his face.

Terror filled his eyes, and he opened his mouth wide to scream, but his vocal cords wouldn't obey him, and he swallowed a mouthful of rust powder instead. Beside him, Shunzi had already cleanly snapped the necks of the other two men, so Feng Xiuhu could dispose of the bodies.

"We should check if they have any silver plates on them."

Looking at the rusty pieces all over the ground, Shunzi was annoyed that he hadn't thought of this before.

He took off his trench coat, grabbed both ends and shook it violently a few times, the resulting gust of wind scattering all the rust powder on the ground.

Feng Xiuhu walked out with his hands in his pockets. As he passed by, he noticed a beggar who was staring blankly at him, completely terrified.

Feng Xiuhu kicked over the beggar's broken bowl: "What are you looking at? Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out."

The beggar shuddered and quickly lowered his head, trembling with fear.

Shunzi walked out of the alley a step slower, and the beggar saw a pair of large feet in leather shoes stop in front of him.

As fear rose in his heart, two copper beads were suddenly thrown into his arms.

"hurry up!"

Feng Xiuhu urged from the carriage: "If we're any later, there won't be any rooms left!"

"coming!"

Shunzi responded and ran over.

The beggar clutched the copper bead tightly in his palm. When he looked up, the carriage had already driven far away.

His gaze was somewhat vacant, and as he watched the carriage disappear around the street corner, he subconsciously turned his head to look into the depths of the alley.

A moment later, the beggar shivered violently.

As if suddenly waking up, the beggar hurriedly grabbed a wooden fork standing by the wall, tucked it under his arm, and limped away into the distance.

……

Upon arriving at the inn, the innkeeper told Feng Xiuhu and the other two that there was only one room left, and it was the kind with only one bed, but he could add a makeshift bed on the floor for them.

Feng Xiuhu thought he could sleep if he squeezed in, but Fang Youliu offered to sleep in the car.

Feng Xiuhu asked suspiciously, "Don't you want to share the rent?"

Fang Youliu was a little embarrassed when his thoughts were exposed: "Anyway, I'm only staying for one night and I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. It doesn't matter where I sleep. I'll have more space in the carriage if I sleep alone."

Feng Xiuhu sneered: "That makes sense. It's only for one night anyway, and we're too lazy to move our luggage up and down the stairs, so we'll just squeeze in with you."

Fang Youliu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "That works too."

The servant led Feng Xiuhu and Shunzi upstairs, and the shopkeeper asked Fang Youliu, "Guest, would you like some feed prepared for your horse?"

Fang Youliu waved his hand to politely decline, then went out and got back into his car.

After resting in the room for a while, the servant knocked on the door again, saying that the food had been prepared and asking if they wanted to eat now.

Feng Xiuhu sat up in bed and called to Shunzi to come downstairs together.

It was past dinner time, and there were only a few tables of diners left in the hall.

Feng Xiuhu chose a seat by the window and then asked Shunzi to call Fang Youliu.

The servants ran back and forth serving dishes, and soon all the food was served.

He placed a pot of tea beside Shunzi and bowed to Feng Xiuhu with a smile, saying, "Please enjoy your tea, gentlemen. Don't hesitate to ask for my help if you need anything."

"Something happened."

The servant had just turned to leave when Feng Xiuhu called him back.

He turned around, smiling broadly as he waited for Feng Xiuhu to continue.

Feng Xiuhu asked, "Does your Jiangluoxi have a rule of collecting a city gate tax?"

(End of this chapter)