Chapter 32: Surprise Arrival (Revised)

Li Yu did not yet know how outrageous the rumors about him and Hong Dou were in the outside world.

The battle-royale-style chaos lasted all night, and he kept watch for the entire night until the break of dawn, when the sounds of shouting and killing gradually faded, signaling that everything had settled.

From the second half of the night on, no one dared to come and disturb Li Yu’s small courtyard.

The "price" paid by the master and servant was also far lower than Li Yu had expected, making his preparations before nightfall seem quite like an overreaction.

In total, he consumed one Flame-Burst Pill and one lowest-grade spirit energy stone.

Thus, last night’s battle royale was equivalent to letting Li Yu familiarize himself in advance with his cultivation method as a "Pill Disciple," and letting Hong Dou swap out the lowest-grade spirit energy stone to replenish a set of killing weapons.

"It looks like it has officially ended."

"I just don't know how much the population of Wanfu City has swelled again?"

"The slums in the four major districts must be getting crowded and expanding again."

Standing under the human-faced peach tree, watching the smoke and black clouds that had yet to dissipate in the sky on all sides, Li Yu couldn't help but mutter.

That’s right!

Even after a night of slaughter, Li Yu was certain that the population of Wanfu City had increased.

This was a conclusion he reached after using some methods last night to peek at the movements in all directions.

The number of so-called "refugees" from the three great nations of Qian, Li, and Jing was quite considerable, and none of them were pushovers; the original residents of Wanfu City were the same, and after slaughtering each other and discovering they were evenly matched, both sides had to choose to lower their standards to survive and coexist.

The scene of slaughter created by his master and servant was the exception.

In fact, it was only because he didn't understand the power of the Flame-Burst Pill at the beginning that he instantly killed over a dozen people.

Afterward, Hong Dou slaughtered for the whole night, but it only amounted to that number.

This was because both of them had highly deceptive exteriors and were suspected of playing the pig to eat the tiger; such scenes were not common in other areas.

"The so-called battle royale!"

"It is actually a elimination system; the 'old and weak' among the refugees and the original city residents will be weeded out because of this."

"Those who survive and remain are the most robust cattle and horses, qualified to gain a foothold in Wanfu City."

"Of course, from then on, they are also qualified to be exploited by the upper echelons of Wanfu City."

As Li Yu muttered this, he couldn't help but think of the upcoming new round of Welfare Registration.

As if because of his muttering, that familiar whistle roared, followed by another city-wide announcement:

"In half an incense stick of time, the city will begin a new round of [Welfare Registration]. This matter concerns your future taxes, benefits, and other affairs; do not be negligent."

"All new and old residents, please prepare yourselves, stay safely in your residences, and wait for the registration personnel of your respective market districts to visit."

"For this registration, some areas will use mechanical puppets from the Heavenly Craft Sect for the first time. Residents who encounter such personnel, please do not attack the puppets, otherwise it will be regarded as a provocation..."

As this announcement rang out again and again.

The restlessness within Wanfu City completely subsided, replaced by cheers erupting everywhere.

It was as if the atmosphere had been pulled from war to prosperity in an instant, which felt very strange.

And Li Yu did not wait too long.

Around the hour of the Dragon, this originally deserted old street suddenly became very lively.

Most were unfamiliar voices, excitedly recounting something.

For example, which country and which region they were from? How many people in the family? What age? Whether they were cultivators, etc.

"It’s starting, the Welfare Registration."

In the courtyard, Li Yu had just finished muttering.

The next moment, accompanied by a burst of steam and creaking sounds, a crudely made, wildly styled mechanical puppet suddenly appeared at the entrance of his meat shop courtyard, which no longer had a door.

On the bronze plate on its chest, three large characters were sprayed: Three Saints Gang.

And a complex, flamboyant logo that looked like three unknown beast heads.

As Li Yu walked up to meet it, he recalled relevant information in his mind:

"The governance model of Wanfu City is quite special; apart from the mysterious City Lord's Mansion, it is divided into four districts: East, South, West, and North."

"Each district is controlled by a super power, and affairs within the district, including taxes, public security, conscription, etc., are all handled by that power... It is said that this supreme position can be competed for; other powers can initiate challenges through some complex methods and eventually replace them."

"However, for a hundred years, the overlords of the four districts have never changed: the East District is the [Joy King Mansion], the West District is the [Turning Wheel Temple], the North District is the [Blood God Palace], and the South District is a power called the [Holy Nest]."

"And the market districts under each district follow the same governance model."

"As one of the eight major market districts in the South District, the Heavenly Mystery Market is controlled by a power called the 'Three Saints Gang,' and its Great Leader also serves as the Heavenly Mystery Market Master."

"In other words!"

"This Three Saints Gang has the right to collect my taxes, conscript me to work, and so on."

When he finished recalling, he was already standing in front of the registration puppet.

Scanning a human life form, it directly triggered its mechanical prompt tone:

"Heavenly Mystery Market, Third Old Street, Residence 404." "Original residents were the couple Jiao Qing and Sun Sanniang, who operated the Jiao Family Meat Shop, owing a total of one hundred taels of tax silver..."

"New owner detected, is this a blood descendant of the original owner?"

Hearing this, Li Yu couldn't help but want to complain.

So the original body was an unregistered resident?

It was clear that those two wanted to save on tax money, so they didn't register the original body in the Welfare Registry.

Since those neighbors didn't report it, I’m afraid they all had similar behaviors.

Besides, isn't this "registration method" too easy to hide?

While Li Yu thought this, he responded decisively:

"No!"

"Please, new owner of the residence, register your welfare information, and within three days, go to the Heavenly Mystery Tax Office to pay the overdue tax silver, as well as a settlement tax fee; transcendent curios are accepted for deduction."

"Sure enough, there is no free lunch in the world."

Hearing this, Li Yu thought to himself again.

But this harvest already made him very satisfied, meaning he could completely wash his identity clean in the Welfare Registry; paying a few hundred taels of silver for this was really nothing.

=9+Shu_ba

Without hesitation, Li Yu spoke again:

"Li Yu, male, from the Li Kingdom, eighteen years old, is a cultivator but has not yet ascended to Sequence Eight."

"Recording successful!"

"Next house!"

Brief information without much truth was thus recorded by the Three Saints Gang's mechanical puppet.

It didn't even routinely ask if it was true, as if it didn't matter at all; the main purpose of the visit was actually for the overdue tax silver and the new settlement tax fee.

Li Yu finally understood why Jiao Qing, Sun Sanniang, and that group of neighbors could so easily hide unregistered residents.

It turns out the controllers above didn't care that much.

He originally intended to return to the courtyard, but the shouting coming from everywhere made him walk out again involuntarily.

The broken corpses that covered the ground last night had disappeared at some point, leaving only some residual blood.

Before his eyes, the old street, without any warning, entered a state of prosperity that left Li Yu stunned.

He even watched with his own eyes as one "new neighbor" after another walked out from behind houses and shops.

As if they were born to adapt!

Many of them seamlessly took over shops like tofu stalls, fish stalls, and spice shops.

Some made changes, while others did not.

The shouting, initially only a few, later began to grow louder and more frequent, coupled with some huge shouts coming from the main street of the Heavenly Mystery Market, rising and falling, almost making Li Yu think he was in a prosperous metropolis from his past life.

"Selling talismans! High-quality talisman paper from the Celestial Master Mansion of the Qian Kingdom; protection talismans, speed talismans, rain-seeking talismans, wind-thunder talismans... everything is available, prices are low, all of it is what I, Laozi, worked like a horse for at the Celestial Master Mansion, secretly learned, and then copied one by one, come and buy!"

"Does anyone want to buy incense? This slave is a veteran incense mistress; there is every kind of incense here, guaranteed to make you feel ethereal and connected to the gods you follow after lighting it."

"Come and buy my corpses; this old man was a top-tier corpse guardian under the Earth Mother Sect... a butler, I have all kinds of corpses in my hands, tall, short, fat, thin, robust, empty, beautiful, ugly, no matter which kind you like, I have it here, and I also accept private customization."

"Consecrated curios giveaway! I am from the Jing Kingdom, once a monk in orthodox Buddhism, I have various items consecrated by high monks in my hands, which can be used to change luck, ward off disasters, have children... all very effective."

"Whoever wants Heavenly Craft Sect curios, come here quickly; I am a top-tier scavenger from the Li Kingdom, these treasures were all picked up by me from the garbage dump near the Heavenly Craft Sect headquarters..."

Listening to these, and looking at the streets that were stained with blood everywhere but revealed a twisted prosperity.

Li Yu had a better understanding of the composition of the "three-nation refugees" and the essence of Wanfu City.

At the same time, he also developed more curiosity about the three great nations outside the city.

He only stood for a moment, but from the shouting, he could hear that the Qian, Li, and Jing kingdoms clearly had completely different customs and appearances.

And among them, the ones Li Yu yearned for most were the Qian Kingdom and the Li Kingdom.

The former sounded very much like a kingdom of immortals and gods.

The latter, because of the existence of the Heavenly Craft Sect, had all kinds of unimaginable technological explosions, moving in the direction he loved most.

Just as Li Yu was lost in his thoughts, a new turn of events he never expected.

Or rather, a huge surprise.

Abruptly occurred!

The steam airships and ordinary tower ships that had descended after announcing the "Welfare Registration" matters, as well as those clock towers and drum towers that had gradually quieted down.

Without any warning, they appeared and resounded collectively once again.

Accompanied by the clamor erupting throughout the city, a notification that made all cultivators in the city, as well as some ordinary mortals with news channels, extremely excited and agitated, began to bomb:

"The Wanfu City grand festival [Demon Star Descent] will be brought forward to tonight and officially descend."

"The Preaching Day will also follow suit and begin after all the Demon Stars have descended."

"I ask all citizens to prepare yourselves and exert your full effort to improve."

(End of chapter)