Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 451 Ancestral Worship at the Three Emperors Temple

Half a month later, in Suzhou.

Standing atop the towering city wall of Suzhou, Niu Yi surveyed the entire city. He saw smoke rising from chimneys and clinics erecting thatched sheds in front of their doors to provide relief to their neighbors.

"The move by Chief Niu has truly benefited the people of Suzhou, and I deeply admire it."

Chen Lun looked down at the wisps of smoke with some emotion. Although he did not have Niu Yi's spiritual sense, he could still see with his naked eye that Suzhou was much more lively than before.

He was persuaded by the man before him and entrusted the entire Three Sovereigns Ancestor Society to this Doctor Niu. However, he never expected that the man's methods would be so ruthless, and that he would subdue all the medical clinics in the city in just a few days.

“Chief Niu, I have seen the evidence you gave me. This Doctor Fang and his Baoan Hall are indeed guilty of heinous crimes. These people will be beheaded in the street in the fall.”

“Besides these few culprits, everyone else was also punished according to their crimes, and those who were persecuted by them tried their best to make amends with the money they plundered from these clinics.”

"In this matter, Chief Niu undoubtedly deserves the greatest credit! But..."

As Chen Lun spoke, he stroked his beard and looked at Niu Yi, his expression seemingly hesitant.

Niu Yi chuckled inwardly. How could he not know what the person opposite him was thinking? He simply thought that since he could find evidence against those few families, he could surely find evidence against the others as well.

But for Niu Yi, this is not the right time yet.

"Lord Chen, the Three Emperors Ancestral Masters Association has been a folk medical organization for hundreds of years and has a considerable reputation among the people. However, in recent years it has gone astray and needs someone to set things right."

"If the patriarch were to disappear, there would be a shortage of medicine in Suzhou City, and the medicine trade in other cities and towns like Linjiang City would likely fall into chaos and require the establishment of new rules."

"If any other unexpected events occur during this period, this chaos could last for several years. The uneven distribution of medical prices across different regions will ultimately cause suffering to those who need life-saving treatment."

Niu Yi turned around and looked at Chen Lun, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"Lord Chen, if we could restore the Ancestral Master Association to its rightful place and prevent all of this from happening, the ever-increasing price of medicinal herbs would decrease, and such almsgiving would occur every year on the day of worshipping the Three Sovereigns. This would truly benefit the common people."

Niu Yi's words plunged Chen Lun into a long silence, and after a while, he sighed softly.

"Chief Niu, I come from a poor family and have experienced hunger and cold, so I sincerely want to do something for the people."

“But a few days ago, I ransacked Baoantang’s house based on the information given by Niu Huishou. Sure enough, I dug up two skeletons, several boxes of silver and gold, and three boxes of jewelry in the backyard.”

"These alone amount to two hundred thousand taels! And that doesn't even include the numerous land deeds, the entire Bao'an Hall, and the mountains of medicinal herbs piled up inside!"

"His Bao'an Hall is a large medical clinic that has been operating in Suzhou for decades. How could a medical clinic have amassed such wealth in just a few decades? Even I, the governor, am shocked by what I have seen. How much ill-gotten wealth has he plundered from the people?"

"Bao'an Hall is like that. The other companies, although their amounts are smaller, are all in roughly the same boat."

Chen Lun sighed. In his eyes, Suzhou had never been so riddled with holes. He then looked at Niu Yi and respectfully cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, saying:
“I know that what Chief Niu said was all for the sake of the people’s livelihood. He is a very compassionate person who can put aside personal grudges for the time being. But I still can’t help but worry about these people.”

“I know that Chief Niu must have evidence of other clinics’ crimes. I do not ask Chief Niu to hand it all over, but please let me handle the most heinous ones. I will use all the gold and silver I have plundered in Suzhou and will not take a single penny for myself.”

"Furthermore, I will deal with these people secretly, without letting the outside world know anything about it."

Chen Lun understood Niu Yi's meaning. Now that the person opposite him had taken over the Three Emperors Ancestral Masters Association, if too many members of the medical clinic were dealt with at once, the entire Ancestral Masters Association would be quickly depleted, and it would deal a fatal blow to the reputation of the Ancestral Masters Association.

But some things still need to be dealt with as soon as possible, especially the money in these clinics.
Niu Yi gave Chen Lun a deep look, then slowly nodded and said:
"That's fine. After the ancestral worship ceremony at the Three Emperors Temple is over tomorrow, I will send a list to the government office. But I hope that Lord Chen will keep his promise."

"Please rest assured, Lord Niu!"

Niu Yi knew that Chen Lun was somewhat wary of him, but Niu Yi didn't care. These people could only see what was in front of them, but Niu Yi was looking at a plan for the next thousand years.

The Three Sovereigns Ancestors Association is quite useful to him. Although he may not collect faith and fortune in this world, having his own power is still much more convenient.

Niu Yi has no intention of letting go of these people right now; they are just useful to him for now, and he needs to squeeze out their remaining value.

As for the other party's slight greed, Niu Yi was not surprised. After all, seeing those boxes of gleaming silver and gold, all of which were illicit, Chen Lun would be tempted if he wasn't a saint.

In Niu Yi's opinion, the other person's appearance was already quite good; the next step was to see if he could control his desires.

At night, in Niu Yi's room at Baohe Hall, Niu Yi, Bai Suzhen, and Xiaoqing were looking at the silver on the table, with Xiaoqing's eyes shining.

Niu Yi shook his head slightly as he looked at Xiao Qing. He knew that Xiao Qing had a history of stealing government funds and buying things recklessly outside.

Niu Yi had seen the causal lines on Xiao Qing's body. This young snake demon had stolen government silver several times before to buy things that interested her in the towns and villages of the human world. At the time, Xiao Qing was completely unaware of the value of these things and spent money extravagantly.

Sometimes, someone would throw down fifty taels of silver for a piece of clothing, which was an act of lavish spending.

For Xiaoqing at that time, whether it was official silver or not was unimportant, since she had the five ghosts easily "take" it out of her anyway, and if it wasn't enough, she could just take more.

In fact, it wasn't just Xiaoqing who thought the same way; Bai Suzhen did too. This led to Xu Xian being exiled to Suzhou and unable to return to Qiantang County for three years.

"Some of this silver came from tributes from other medical clinics, and some was taken from the secret vaults of those who were about to be beheaded. All of this was illicit."

"You two may take some of it, but please give the rest to Xu Xian so he can use it to do good deeds and accumulate merit."

"As for the matter of recruiting and teaching apprentices at the medical clinic, I have already acquired all the shops around Baohe Hall and will be starting soon. At that time, I would appreciate your help as well."

(End of this chapter)