[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-408":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Nothing Is Taboo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310793,4514,"Chapter 408: Can't Afford the Price (Bonus Chapter)","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-408",408,"\u003Cp>“L-Lord, what should we do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate had to be even more terrified, for the cassock was drifting toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the cassock, mouths opened and closed in a chorus of snarls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many of those mouths still clung to streaks of bloody flesh between their teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drool dripped steadily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in his left eye, he saw a monk with gentle brows and kind eyes, holding a wooden fish, smiling warmly as he walked toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan sneered. “Burn it all clean.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Lord Xu opened his mouth sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fifth-tier inner fire erupted from his belly without restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rolling flames instantly formed a blazing sky above their heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three feet beyond their bodies remained clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, a sea of fire stretched endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Screams and roars poured continuously from the flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merely hearing those sounds made the county magistrate’s head split open, as if red-hot steel needles were twisting inside his skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also saw monstrous shapes, though already aflame, still lunging desperately forward, stirring violent waves through the fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, none reached close enough—they all turned to ash before they could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the temple gate, Lang Xiao Ba and Ji Shuangqiu turned back, feeling the warmth radiating from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord has unleashed his full power.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The evil within the temple must have done something to enrage him utterly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a stick of incense burned out, silence suddenly fell inside the temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after, Xu Yuan stepped out first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him stumbled the county magistrate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he followed closely, terrified of being left behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Lord Xu had burned away all the evil, the magistrate still dared not stay alone inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All members of the Purification Office bowed in greeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan opened his palm, revealing six glass beads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only this kind of material again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The evil within this temple had reached the sixth tier!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan felt uneasy: tomorrow, would a fifth-tier evil appear?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate, truly terrified, begged behind Lord Xu: “Lord, please stay in my county for several more days…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As night fell, a guesthouse in the western city welcomed several wealthy guests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group of five was led by a young lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was accompanied by two strong maids and two guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the maids tossed down a ten-tael silver ingot, demanding a clean courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The money was placed on the counter; any excess would be returned, any shortfall made up upon departure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She also ordered dinner—clean and delicious, without fail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young lady moved with graceful elegance, her face veiled by a silk curtain; though her features were hidden, she must have been a beauty beyond compare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The waiter stole one glance and immediately felt awe, daring not to look again as he hurried off to prepare dinner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ragged boy stepped out from inside, clutching a clay jar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Waiter, is there hot water…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The waiter shoved him away impatiently. “Go draw water from the well yourself. A beggar paying one copper for a straw shed thinks I’ll serve you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy, gaunt and frail, nearly fell to the ground from the shove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rose silently and went to the well in the back courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dinner, the young lady and the two maids spread a map across the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The map was only three feet square, yet the terrain it displayed shifted constantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young lady stared at the map, her gaze fixed on Shiping County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county, previously just a red dot on the map, suddenly expanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the entire map was filled with the county’s layout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every building within it—including their current lodging, Shengpeng Guesthouse—appeared clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two maids pleaded earnestly: “Miss, tomorrow you absolutely must not risk yourself. Let Geng Qi and Geng Jiu handle it. If you refuse, don’t blame us for bringing out Master’s letter and forcibly taking you home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If anything happens to you, we four can’t bear the responsibility.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young lady propped her chin on her hand, leaning lazily against the table, revealing effortlessly the privilege of a life raised in luxury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The landlord’s guess was correct: the young lady was a beauty beyond compare, and her eyes were clear and pure, untouched by this corrupt world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know,” she replied indifferently, her voice strangely lovely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her attention remained fixed on the map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then her delicate, high nose wrinkled as she pouted: “Master is so stingy—he only gave me this patch of Nan Jiaozhi. I can’t even go play elsewhere, hmph.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maid Wei Shi said: “Nan Jiaozhi is under the protection of Lord Ma Tian Shou—it’s safer here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young lady’s finger traced idly across the map; wherever she touched, the location enlarged or shrank accordingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Purification Office’s wanted evil, ‘Ding Tou Jie,’ was last seen fleeing to Shiping County—so why, after arriving here, does the map still show no trace of it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Shi replied offhandedly: “Perhaps it escaped the county today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other maid, Wei Nian Yi, said: “Miss, rest early. Tomorrow we’ll invoke the map again to locate the evil.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The map had already been invoked today—it could not be used again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the young lady yawned. “Fine, I’ll bathe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll have them prepare hot water.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The waiter, ordered by Wei Nian Yi, hurried to the kitchen to boil water—and saw the straw shed boy just filling his clay jar with hot water from the stove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enraged, he slapped the boy hard on the back of the head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy, dazed, turned to stare at him blankly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think firewood’s free?” The waiter poured the hot water back into the pot, then added a bucket of cold water: “Nobles need a bath.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He piled more firewood into the stove and pulled the bellows hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The straw shed boy stood behind him, his face cold: “Nobles can bathe in hot water, but I can’t even drink a sip?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No!” the waiter snapped. “If you could pay, I’d carry a whole bucket of hot water to your room myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Same people, different fates—my life is worthless, yours is even more so!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy said nothing more. He filled his jar with cold well water and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he stepped out, the waiter threatened viciously: “Don’t go near the western courtyard—you disturb the nobles, and you won’t survive it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy reached the doorway and touched his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, his skin had split open, like a third eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pupil was a glass bead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this third eye, he stared at the clay jar and murmured: “I can only drink cold water—then let everyone else drink it too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flung the well water from the jar onto the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The water began to flow swiftly in all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though only one jar’s worth, it rapidly flooded the entire courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First to be hit was the waiter in the kitchen behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He screamed, then choked and gagged as water poured in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold well water flooded his mouth relentlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clamped his lips shut—but the water surged in through his nose, ears, even his anus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body swelled larger and larger until it burst with a loud CRACK!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1188,"2026-06-20T12:07:25.031Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","90d13d4268184bc3b806d86d5a3cda6c6382e655c3d5c3787c9e300ab5ee171c","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-409","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-407",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]