Twilight Boundary

People in the village usually work from sunrise to sunset.

Dusk is the boundary, and life and death are orderly. Before dusk, it is the world of the living, and when night falls, it is the world of the dead. This boundary has long been chaotic outside. The capable living people can do whatever they want at night.

There are also many bold evil spirits who dare to harm people after the rooster crows, even in the hot sun, but this village usually abides by this rule.

But on this day, they can't care about it. From the afternoon, they set up a lively buffet and invited people to eat.

Not only to send off the old and young in the poor Shixia Village, but also to relax a little under the oppression of the past ten years.

In addition, the Mang Village represented by the old sheepskin uncle is really grateful and envious of the Dayang Village for producing such a capable person as Hu Ma, so they led sheep and killed chickens, and made a lot of scenes, and even other villages that received the news also came to celebrate.

Of course, it was not just a feast, but also incense burning, not just in the old fire pit, but also in the village of Shixiazi Village, which had now returned to normal, and prayed to the gods on the mountain, thanking the gods for their protection and eliminating the evil spirits in Shixiazi Village.

Hu Ma could actually go over and argue at this time, saying that he solved it himself, what does the gods on the mountain have to do with it?

But the old people in the village didn't care about him. No matter who solved it, it wouldn't be wrong to worship the gods.

Seeing the noisy village and the smoke and fragrance outside the village, Hu Ma thought of Shanjun who had been busy for the Hu family.

Thinking of such a dignified mansion god who has not been properly worshipped for many years, he smiled and said to the second master: "When I come back with Datong to celebrate the New Year and worship our ancestors this year, let's also worship the mountain?"

"Oh..."

The second master was obviously surprised when he heard Hu Ma's words, and lowered his voice and said: "Don't be silly, the second master knows that you have made a difference and even went to manage the blood-food mine, but you kid, you have some seriousness in your heart!"

"Can this mountain be worshipped casually?"

"You have to be an official and famous to bring the whole tribe, young and old, to kowtow and burn incense to the mountain god!"

"As for worshipping the mountain, our village is more anxious. After all, the higher the status of the master who enjoys our incense, the higher the blessing he will give to our village. If the mountain god accepts our worship, even if the people in the village go out in the future, they don't have to carry it with them "But we can't rush this matter. At least you guys have to be successful and make a name for yourself outside." "..." It seems that if you want to enjoy Senior Shanjun's feast, you have to wait for a while... Hu Ma thought to himself and smiled, "Do you want to make a name for yourself? That's actually quite fast. Maybe, after a few months, you will be confident enough..." "This..." The second master listened to his words, but refused to believe it. He just shook his head: "People say that when you are more capable, you become less arrogant." "You are the opposite. You are more capable and more arrogant. How many months?" "What? You can become a general in just a few months before the New Year?" "..." Hu Ma didn't know how to explain to the second master for a while. After all, the second master also has his own vision. For example, he felt that his greatest achievement was to become a small steward in the Blood Food Society. Even if he had the ability to solve the evil spirits in Shixiazi Village, it was not as good as this stewardship.

However, he did not know that the means of solving the evil spirits in Shixiazi Village were actually quite earth-shattering when put outside, and it was almost enough to let the Red Lantern Lady come to make the bed.

But since the Second Master was so happy, he certainly could not talk back, so he just smiled and said, "What if?"

Whether it can be done depends on what the Truth Church outside the mountain does...

...

...

After obtaining the Hu family's token, before the Second Master and his men came in, Hu Ma had already spoken briefly with Senior Shanjun, knowing that the Truth Church outside the mountain had forced the Mingzhou government office to come and offer sacrifices to the mountain, and it was clear that they were going to collect taxes in a big way.

Whether Shanjun accepted their sacrifices or not, they did not care. After greeting, they were no longer polite.

However, it was obvious that the grain collection was not smooth.

After all, in this Mingzhou city, there has been no grain collection for twenty years. The people in the countryside dig for food in the soil and grow crops on the land of the landlords, so it is only natural to pay grain to the landlords.

But since we have already paid this crop, why should we pay again?

Moreover, now that the grain price is high and the harvest is mediocre, what will we eat if we give it to you?

As for the landlords, they will definitely not pay. Those with conscience will say that we should share the amount we should pay. There are a hundred households in this village, and I will pay my own household. No matter how many fields we have, we will only pay one household. Why should we ask for more?

Those unruly people, there is clearly grain in the jar, why don't you collect it...

Of course, in the eyes of the tax collectors, they even feel that they are taking advantage. The wealth of Mingzhou is incomparable to several places outside. Collecting 100,000 dan from you can solve our urgent needs. It is not a big deal for Mingzhou. Why don't you pay it?

It's a pity that those who have grain just don't pay it, while those who don't have grain have to bear the 100,000 dan. If they pay it, they will starve to death.

It is precisely because of this that when Hu Ma first learned that the Truth Cult was measuring fields everywhere, and even ran into a farmhouse to see how much grain was in other people's jars, he knew that things would get messy, so he just said it in advance. Said hello to Yang Gong.

Even when talking to the tiger, he made such assumptions without any doubt, which surprised the tiger.

"As for what is happening outside at this time, it is exactly what you imagined."

The tiger sighed: "Those who have food will refuse to pay, and those who have no food will try their best to hold on to this small amount of food. The harder they are forced, the greater the chaos will be, which is reasonable."

"It's just that during this period of time, you have been staying in the mountains, with no communication between inside and outside. How did you predict this in advance?"

"..."

‘Isn’t this all clearly written in the books? ’

Hu Ma was a little surprised when she heard Tiger's words. A scumbag like herself could easily make judgments.

But when it comes to this world, sometimes it really does have some foresight like a master.

Could it be...

...He felt a trance in his heart, and suddenly understood: This is the content of the so-called three-volume heavenly book of the Great Sage?

…

He was not in a hurry to leave the village now, but instead stayed in the village for a few days.

He sorted out the Hu family's keepsake that he had just obtained, the information about the reincarnated person, the current situation, and even the Hu family's collateral relatives, who were eyeing the truth sect that was already starving and crazy. Fan.

At the same time, he sent Xiao Hongtang to visit the tiger from time to time to understand the outside situation and priorities. He listed them all in his mind, and gradually determined his most important things at the moment.

A few days after entering the mountain, Mingzhou Mansion was already in chaos.

When the Truth believers first arrived in Mingzhou, they were very disciplined and gained a good reputation for a time. However, as the small tax collectors began to go to the countryside, some changes gradually occurred.

Mingzhou Fucheng has not attracted attention for twenty years, and there are only two or three petty tax collectors with cats and dogs. Although in the name of the government office, even the tiger can't control their tax collection, but there are Which grain is easy to harvest?

Seeing the tax collectors going to the countryside, people from some places with simple folk customs came to welcome them with hoes. Even some lonely families begged and counted on their fingers the grain in the urn. It would not be enough to last until the beginning of spring. If they harvest If you leave, people will die in winter.

These petty tax collectors were unable to collect taxes at all, but the truth believers who followed them began to carry out errands.

They still abide by the rules and collect as much as they should, no more.

But not a single grain is missing.

There was a family whose fields were hit by flash floods last year. They only harvested half of the grain from previous years, but according to the farm yield, they had to hand over four loads of grain. The men in the family were afraid of trouble, so they only wanted to hand over two loads to stay safe. , but the truth believers smiled:

"No matter what happens in the world, there is no way to escape from it. Paying royal rations is a matter of course. If you haven't paid rations for twenty years, all the money will be given to your family!"

"Thirty loads of grain from you is not an exaggeration. I only want to keep you alive, so I only collect four loads. Aren't you satisfied?"

"..."

As he said that, someone came up to grab him. The man hurriedly picked up the broom and hit the truth believer on the head. The truth believer did not look back. He unsheathed the knife in his hand and then put it back into the sheath. With a sound, the man's head was snatched away. It split into two halves and died in a daze.

"Nothing in the world can escape rationality. If you hit me, I will hit you too. God is fair!"

The cultist said and waved his hand: "Collect food!"

The family was frightened, the mother-in-law and the baby were crying together, and the neighbors gathered around, but they didn't dare to take action.

But it was a big landowner in this village, a kind person who is rare to find even one in a thousand. Seeing this, he came over and cried and begged: "My fellow villagers, please let this family go..."

"We still had some food in the warehouse, so we took forty loads and dedicated them to General Tianming..."

"..."

So these believers went to the landlord's house, opened the warehouse, and packed the forty loads of grain he had promised one by one.

Then, he returned to the house where the man had just died and said: "One is one, two is two, his family is willing to give 40 dan, and then he will give 40 dan every quarter, your family only accepts four dan , it is also cheaper for your family, but it is indispensable even if it is a grain of food.”

When the villagers heard this, they were furious. They shouted and rushed forward to beat him.

The truth believer pressed the sword on his waist, as if he had been waiting for a long time. He suddenly laughed loudly, like an evil ghost, and spit out a breath of yin energy, blowing the dozen strong men who rushed in front of him into silence. Falling to the ground, unable to move.

"Why, you can have plenty of food and clothing here, but our son is so hungry that he has to share the pot with others?"

"I showed mercy to you today. Do our fellow villagers there deserve to starve to death?"

He whispered with a serious look on his face: "You can't lack even a grain of food!"