Chapter 25: Summer Tax
On the second day after returning from the Mountain Market, Village Head Old Man Zheng beat the gong and drum from the village entrance to the village end.
As soon as the gong sounded, the little old man shouted: “Tomorrow the Tax Official from the town will come to collect the summer tax. Households should not go out first; prepare silver, register names and make lists, pay the summer tax, and do not miss the time.”
With Old Man Zheng’s announcement like this, the villagers in the village simply did not go out, making it the most complete gathering of the village people.
Su Yan heard this and did not go mountain hunting.
He absorbed the strand of Insect Yuan condensed today by the Yin Water Centipede, then stood Golden Ape Stance Training in his own courtyard.
If it were in the past, Su Yan making a fortune so quickly, with gains from mountain hunting and hunting, would have long been closely watched by many people.
But now, no one dared to disturb him, and they even feared him a bit more.
The young man carried a tiger through the market.
Such a posture was not only prestigious but also powerful.
The reason he was so flamboyant was, besides wanting to quickly deal with the tiger meat, to establish prestige.
To tell the people in the surrounding villages that Su Yan was not to be trifled with and not to bother him.
In this way, Su Yan’s fame would spread, and no one would dare to disturb him.
Golden Ape Stance Training rose and fell with his body, a trace of Insect Yuan power transforming into his whole body skin and muscles.
His breathing was long and deep into the lungs, driving the qi and blood in his body to surge like great tides.
Suddenly his eyes opened, his mind clear, fusing this stance training into his bones as if it were natural.
He took a step, leaving a small pit on the ground, then his body moved like an ape.
A set of Monkey Fist, fully eight forms, with many changes, qi and blood surging, his whole body skin and flesh red.
However, with such movements, Su Yan’s stance training was still five or six-tenths effective, remaining on his body, constantly tempering qi and blood.
Su Yan practiced it over and over, from when the sun was high until noon, when the scorching sun was like a furnace.
Sweat soaked his short clothes, clinging tightly to his body, revealing the distinct angles of his muscles.
‘Ordinary people need to wait for a trace of spiritual light, and cannot afford any mistakes. But I am different.’
Su Yan kept punching, and in his consciousness, the Eight Forms of Monkey Fist changed like a lantern show, gradually merging with Golden Ape Stance Training.
‘Right is right, wrong is wrong, every move and form, no matter how it changes, I see it clearly, comparing more meticulously than a famous teacher, in this way, the stance method can succeed!’
He slammed down a heavy punch, his spine and arm muscles and bones resounding together, his power actually three parts greater than usual.
This stance training merged with fist techniques, practiced alive into the body, and could actually enhance the power of the moves.
【Golden Ape Stance Training: 41/200（Minor Accomplishment）】
【Monkey Fist 12/200(Minor Accomplishment）】
Su Yan restrained his aura, entered the house, and drank the boiled ginseng soup to supply more energy to his body.
Practicing martial arts requires proper tension and relaxation, not only giving the tempered body some time to recover, but more importantly, replenishing the energy in the body.
Since Su Yan wanted faster progress, he had to focus on supplementation.
Insect Yuan, Precious Medicine, Feral Beast Meat to supplement the energy needed by the body, in order to continuously cultivate and improve his own strength.
Resting until the afternoon, he stood stance training for a while again, this time not punching, but walking, walking like an ordinary person, moving as usual.
Such cultivation was instead more difficult.
Several times the stance training was interrupted, and he had to rediscover the feeling.
After finishing stance training, he directly found an open space in the village to draw bow and shoot arrows, until the moon was high, before truly resting.
After carrying the tiger through the market, his name for practicing martial arts had already spread, so the cultivation of archery naturally did not need more concealment.
The next day, Village Head Old Man Zheng gathered all the households in the village early, right at the threshing ground in the village.
He first called roll, then had everyone wait together.
From when the sun was high, after waiting about an hour, noise finally came from outside the village.
Village Head Old Man accompanied them with a smile, welcoming a group of people in, his hunched body bending even more.
“Tax Official, all the households of Yun Qian Village are waiting at the threshing ground.”
“Not bad, your Yun Qian Village does not have the other messy matters.”
The Tax Official was a fair-faced, mustached middle-aged man, in a dark blue long robe, about forty years old, followed by two clerks, each holding registers, and seven or eight servants.
Beside him were three or four yamen runners in indigo martial uniforms, each with a dao at the waist.
The leader was a Head Constable, tall and sturdy, eyes like a hawk, temples bulging high, face stern, a martial artist.
“Head Constable Xu, please manage the order here.”
Fang Xueyun cupped hands to Head Constable Xu Guan, very polite.
In terms of yamen positions, they were equal, but martial artists were revered, not to mention the Head Constable truly had real power under him.
“Tax Official Fang, rest assured.”
Everyone stood still, Xu Guan already scanned the people of Yun Qian Village with his gaze, lingering slightly on Su Yan.
Then Village Head Old Man Zheng stepped forward: “The Tax Official and Head Constable have both arrived, everyone be quiet, when your name is called, come up to pay silver. Summer tax eight qian, fire consumption two qian, total one tael of silver, under 10 years old not counted as poll tax.”
Dali Dynasty poll tax collected in summer and winter seasons, other miscellaneous taxes were somewhat fewer.
Not because the court was benevolent, but because martial artists were everywhere, local tyrants and sects each controlled one side.
Layer upon layer of exploitation, each taking a share of profit, if all let by the Dali Dynasty to collect taxes, ordinary people would have been squeezed dry, how could everyone eat dry rice?
Hence there were mountain fees for entering the mountains, water fees for going down the river, and so on, distributed to each family.
Some powerful sects could even dominate a county or prefecture, and even the court could not interfere.
This was martial artists as heaven, co-governing the world.
The clerk beside Fang Xueyun stepped forward, expressionless: “Those whose names are called, come up to pay money, if no silver prepared, use grain to offset.”
“Zheng Daqing”
The Village Head stepped forward, paid the silver, his family including his son counted as two poll taxes.
The clerk weighed the silver, checked the quality, put it into the brought box, and ticked off the register.
The clerk called names one by one, people of Yun Qian Village successively stepped forward to pay the tax silver.
Xie Yuzhu also queued up to pay the tax, his family Xie Bao was just a half-grown boy, only nine years old, still did not need to pay tax, otherwise it would not be easy.
“Su Dahe, Su Yan”
“Lord, Su Dahe unfortunately fell off a cliff several months ago.”
Village Head Old Man’s expression changed slightly, quietly telling the clerk the situation.
The clerk listened, his eyes lifting slightly, nodded and crossed out Su Dahe’s name, dying in the mountains was very normal.
He figured the Village Head would not help fake death, otherwise it was a serious crime.
Someone carefully watched Su Yan’s expression, seeing him calm as usual, stepping forward to put the tax silver into the wooden box.
Suddenly a large hand blocked in front: “No rush, I heard little brother carried a tiger through the market a few days ago, and killed a tiger alive?”
Xu Guan’s eyes showed curiosity, Su Yan met his gaze, nodded and said: “Luckily killed it, I wonder what Head Constable Xu instructs?”
“Dali law, martial artists do not pay poll tax, if you have Skin Refining Minor Accomplishment, you are in the ranks of martial artists, are you not?”
Xu Guan’s eyes full of curiosity, a strange color flashed in Su Yan’s eyes.
‘This Xu Guan’s intention is unknown, afraid it’s hard to avoid him, I did not act in the Niu Han matter, not afraid of him, let’s see what he wants to do.’
