Chapter 131: A spot in the darkness

Zhou Wen Bin explained to Li Qing Shan that being the magistrate was not as easy as he thought. In order to obtain enough “support,” and let the people of Jia Ping City feel that he was a generous man of nobility, there were plenty of costs for him to cover, namely: the construction of general utility facilities, the implementation of public welfare facilities, the need to raise public wages as well as providing the wages for his group of aides who handle general affairs for him. This often leads to him spending more money than he receives.

Zhou Wen Bin gestured with both hands and bitterly laughed: “What a pitiful official I am. Not only do I not have any money for myself, I still have to think of ways to accumulate money.”

Li Qing Shan also felt that it was quite funny. In this era, although the “income disparity” was incredibly large, but for the common people, it was not necessarily a bad thing.

The Great Xia dynasty, from top to bottom, no matter how high-level officials are, they did not require tribunal silver from the people. However, they did not have to pay taxes to the main state as well. Even if they discovered gold, silver or iron ores, they would be left to the charge of the people on site.

This was not possible in any of the dynasties known to Li Qing Shan, yet, in here, this was happening. The perspectives of practitioners were different from ordinary people from the very beginning. If Zhou Wen Bin was willing to, he could squeeze the City of Jia Ping for tens of millions of silver, but that was meaningless.

Only one kind of mining vein belonged to the state, which was the Spirit Stone vein. Officials like Zhou Wen Bin and Zhuo Zhi Bo received their pay in terms of Spirit Stones.

Li Qing Shan took out hundreds of thousands of silvers from the treasure pouch of the madam and gave it to Zhou Wen Bin.

Zhou Wen Bin said: "Aren’t you going to ask me, how many Qi Condensation Pills can be exchanged for this?"

Li Qing Shan said: "I've always not been stingy. Of course, I also hope that others will be slightly more generous towards me."

Zhou Wen Bin handed over a small porcelain bottle, containing a total of twelve Qi Condensation Pills, to Li Qing Shan and said: “This is the first time, so it’s at a discounted price. If you still have silver, you can continue to find me, but then it will be a hundred thousand silver for 2 pills. "

Li Qing Shan said: "That’s fair." Thinking about how a Qi Condensation Pill was worth millions, he couldn’t help but sigh. However, if they were sold to the rest of the world, there would definitely be plenty of people who were willing to spend a hundred thousand silver to purchase a single Qi Condensation Pill.

Li Qing Shan also handed over the account book from the madam to Zhou Wen Bin: "I wonder if there is any evidence of the dirty deeds of the pavilion in this?"

Li Qing Shan did not want to make his actions seem suspicious, thus he did not take it out on the first time they met. However, he thought back to the numerous girls still trapped in the basement of the pavilion and thought of a way to let Zhou Wen Bin check the building. As such, he would be able to save the girls in an outright manner, if not, they would simply starve to death during their confinement.

Zhou Wen Bin did not even look at it before he clapped his hands. Immediately, a servant came running over and brought the book to the office where it would be scrutinised over by the experts.

After a while, a man with an appearance of an expert appeared, who glanced at Li Qing Shan with surprise. Although the Eagle Wolf Guard was very good, an ordinary member did not qualify for a meeting with his lord. He then bowed to Li Qing Shan before reporting to Zhou Wen Bin: "My lord, there seems to be many problems..."

Li Qing Shan looked at the pond and thought about wondered about how he should start. When Zhou Wen Bin and the “expert” finished speaking, he asked: “My lord, is this evidence enough to take down the pavilion?”

Zhou Wen Bin said: "Do you really think that with a single book, you can tear down the pavilion? You seem to be severely underestimating the power of their sect. The people I sent to the Fishing Village have returned. Qing Xiu’s family are all dead. They cleaned up thoroughly after their misdeeds."

Li Qing Shan burst out: "These savages! With my lord as the official overseeing this, is there still a need to fear this sect?"

Zhou Wen Bin said: "I am not afraid, but helpless. These sects have their own roots and inheritance. Some large-scale sects have existed for even longer than the Great Xia Dynasty. When the Emperor was around, he could only pacify and promise to not harm their profits such that everyone could coexist peacefully. Afterwards, he established the Hundred School Courtyard so as to develop greater human talent to resist their power.”

In short, they will not come to provoke Zhou Wen Bin on their own initiative while Zhou Wen Bin also does not want to provoke them. He was here mainly for his own cultivation, and not to really become a fair and just official who served at the beck and call of the people. No one could really task him to do any more than what he had already done.

Li Qing Shan thought to himself about how fortunate it was that he had already squished Zhao Liang Qing, or else it would be impossible for him to punish him through official channels.

"Thus, you should also be prepared to guard against the hidden plans of their sect. Sometimes, they may be even more terrible than Zhuo Zhi Bo. Zhuo Zhi Bo is an Eagle Wolf Guard, so he has to consider your background, but the sect does not have such problems to consider. Most of the losses of the Eagle Wolf Guard is through disputes with these schools, and they are silently terminated. Even if it is an Eagle Wolf Guard Commander such as Zhuo Zhi Bo, or a magistrate like me, there are deaths that are left unclarified up till today.

Li Qing Shan was not too surprised. He witnessed such an instance early on. What status did Gu Yan Ying have? Yet, she was still not able to kill the Saint Mother of the White Lotus. Although she forced her to hide, she also lost a lot of men.

As for the White Wolf Guard under her command, they had at least undergone one round of Heavenly Tribulation and reached the realm of Foundation Establishment. In this Jia Ping City, even in the Clear River Prefecture, they were people that could get away with anything. The Hidden Sword Sect’s Elder Fei Long did not even fear the authority of the Eagle Wolf Guard and even dared to kill the beloved pet of Lady You in front of Gu Yan Ying, fighting her even. It must be noted that Gu Yan Ying even had the Eagle God backing her. As such, the tenacity of these practitioner sects could be seen to be extraordinary.

He could not help but sigh: "No matter the times, it is strength that determines everything. Identity and authority will never be as practical as having the strength to backing it up."

Zhou Wen Bin said: "You have a map of the Qing Province. Let's have a look at it."

Li Qing Shan took out the map of the Qing Province to examine it.

Zhou Wen Bin stroked the map: "This really is good stuff." Countless lights appeared on the top, as if they were the stars in the night sky.

“On the top of this bright spot, there is the existence of the royal court officials. Even 5^th Level Qi Refining Practitioners will not dare to kill you under the watchful eyes of the public here. However, outside of these bright spots, there will be no such thing. There will only be strength. This, you must remember. As long as they have the chance, there will be always be people who dare to kill you for the items inside your Treasure Pouch. Your identity as an Eagle Wolf Guard may not only fail to serve as a deterrent, but also end up attracting more people to come and kill you. "

Li Qing Shan looked at the map of the Qing Province which he had seen many times. He now had a new understanding. Although the stars are bright and dense, they are far smaller than the vastness and darkness of the night sky. In those mountains and valleys, they are lawless lands. It becomes a stage where the demons dance wildly, and a battleground that practitioners kill on.

This kind of hint was more helpful than giving him a few more Qi Condensation Pills. This gave him a new understanding of his position. However, he did not feel any fear, rather, he felt enlightened.

He was still worried about if Zhuo Zhi Bo troubled him, how he could eradicate him so as to reduce the suspicion towards himself. But now, the land of darkness was extremely convenient for him. He could go on a killing spree there and then blame it on a strong practitioner or terrifying demon that walked on by.

Zhou Wen Bin saw that there was not a shred of fear on Li Qing Shan's face. That was an emotion that would definitely appear on the face of the orthodox practitioners. Even Zhou Wen Bin himself was no exception, thus he decided to stay in the light, to protect himself and keep a distance from the world of darkness.

He had to admit, that this young man was indeed different from ordinary people. He seemed to have a keen interest in fighting and chaos. However, he also seemed to not be a brainless brawling maniac, but rather a brave yet meticulous person in nature.

Maybe he was better suited to go to a major sect, and not the path of the Eagle Wolf Guard or the Hundred School Courtyard. Almost all the major sects would love this kind of disciple, whether it be a sect that defended the devilish path and fought against the just or a sect that maintained law and order. These all required a good fighter to be a great practitioner in their path.

In the eyes of ordinary people, practitioners seem to have transcended and not be plagued with world issues, with no need to stained by the fumes and blood of fighting. They seemed to only need to chant their sutras daily, with no need to consume food at all, which would allow them to extend their longevity until they were forever young.

If one followed one’s heart, who would be willing to risk fighting with others? Who did not want to carefully walk down the path of living forever? Taking the time used to develop Spiritual Devices and Spiritual Talismans to consume Medicinal Pills; taking the time spent learning techniques to focus on cultivating and seeking the Dao. However, this path was too difficult and very rushed.

Everyone needs Spiritual Pills and miracle medicine, but Spiritual Herbs are limited. Everyone needs a good cultivating cave, but they are also limited. Either one moves to the side and watches others enjoy these medicine, caves and a quick cultivating speed while one slowly grows old, ending up as an old pile of bones at home. Either that, or one had to go out and fight, compete and struggle for the resources one needed.

Not only does one have to fight with the heavens, one also has to fight with others.

Although the world is mainly fair and everyone is harmonious. How could those demons and ghosts hidden in the dark not want to recover their superiority and govern the Nine Provinces. In that piece of lawless wilderness, how many sects disappeared? Just following the most simple and primitive law, the strong would survive, the weak would perish.

Hidden Sword Palace and Mysterious Ying Sect, one rode swords, one manipulated ghosts. They may not be sects that are the most adept at cultivating, but they have their own advantages, and going by this law, they survived.

Li Qing Shan kept the Qing Province map and said, "Since I have already offended people, it doesn’t really matter if I make them suffer a bit more, does it? Anyways, wouldn’t it be such a pity to not use my identity to offend them when I could?"

Zhou Wen Bin knew that Li Qing Shan's public execution of the pavilion’s personnel would make it nigh impossible for him to reconcile with them. Thinking about his young, brash nature, and how his hatred had probably not subsided yet, he said “Okay, I’ll give you more than a dozen runners. Although this book can't topple them, it should be enough to get them to spit out some silver when you pressure them."

At this time, a manager came to report: "My lord, a fat man has appeared by the court doors requesting to meet you. He said he is a lieutenant in Jia Ping City. These are his documents."

Zhou Wen Bin smiled and said: "It seems that your old boss has arrived."

Li Qing Shan also laughed: "In the city, the law and order of the country is the magistrate’s official duty. Is it not better for Lord Ye to bring people there as compared to myself?"

Zhou Wen Bin waved his hand and said, "You go and tell him. I want to start cultivating. Let him see me tomorrow." Obviously, he did not pay much heed to Ye Da Chuan, a normal person. This was simply a means of giving the prefect some face. Just giving him some silver would suffice.

Li Qing Shan came to the front door and saw Ye Dachuan with his expert, pointing around: "Look, this is the big city! It is not the same! Although it is worse than the Clear River Prefecture, it is better than Qing Yang that shitty place!” The expert was also showing a face of surprise and happiness at the side, for he had at least finally felt like he earned something from following this fatty for so long.

"Lord Ye, I haven't seen you for quite a few days. How have you been doing?”

Ye Da Chuan turned around and saw Li Qing Shan in the Eagle Wolf Guard clothing. Although he knew Qing Shan had taken up such a position, he still could not help but be surprised: "You ... you really ... ..."

Li Qing Shan smiled slightly: "I have a great amount of wealth to share with you! Are you in or what?"

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