Chapter 147: Elham’s Response

Lin Qi and Long Cheng pretended to be two idlers. They slowly walked near the main gate of No.1 Shenghui Street and leaned against a wall covered with withered ivy vines. There were about twenty to thirty other idlers who seemed equally bored. All of them were smiling as they watched the tax officials.

These idlers looked no different from street thugs, but their simple clothes were actually not simple at all. At the very least, common ruffles could not wear artifacts made from long-staple cotton fine-spun cloth produced in the heretic territories between the Eastern and Western Continents. A few idlers even wore gemstone rings on their fingers. It was clear these men were sent as eyes and ears by certain young masters.

When these tax officials’ actions fell into their view, everyone understood that someone was targeting Elham and his group. First, they used power to probe, then applied threats step by step. Once Elham and his group were forced to retreat step by step and had nowhere left to retreat, it would be the perfect time to swallow those two pretty young ladies whole.

However, there were quite a few young masters in the Imperial Capital who could command officials from the Tax Department. These ‘idlers’ did not know exactly which young master had taken action. But no matter what, this was an entertaining spectacle. Special Cleaning Tax and Greening Tax? How interesting. These two unprecedented new terms would likely be talked about with great relish in the Imperial Capital’s social circles for at least two or three months.

Everyone glanced at each other and remained silent with tacit understanding. Lin Qi and Long Cheng were also regarded as fellow observers. Everyone watched the tax officials standing at the gate, who seemed like the embodiment of the Empire’s laws, with strange smiles.

“Do you know what the lemon on those tricorn hats means?” Lin Qi quietly asked Long Cheng.

Before Long Cheng could answer, a nearby idler chuckled softly. “Hey, brother, which mansion are you from? That question is so damn humorous. Who doesn’t know it represents how those tax officials can squeeze the last drop of juice from a dried-up lemon? Heh, who knows who designed this hat emblem for the Tax Department? They must have a grudge against those greedy fellows!”

Lin Qi spread his hands and smiled. He nodded to the idler and said, “Those hateful tax officials!”

The idler sighed softly and nodded with deep feeling. “May they soon go to Hell and revel with demons!”

The idlers chatted and laughed idly here. Meanwhile, Tolin, who stood at the gate, turned around and closed the door with an extremely ugly expression. He quickly ran toward the main building and angrily entered the reception room that Lin Qi and Tixiang had visited the previous night.

In the spacious reception room, Elham floated lightly in the air. His legs were crossed, and his hands formed a strange seal resting on his knees. A clear, bright glow faintly emanated from his entire body. This radiant light, resembling the first ray of dawn in spring, was moist and soft, filling the entire reception room with a sacred and solemn atmosphere. It seemed all the dust in the room had been driven away by this light.

Ya and Ling sat behind the floor-to-ceiling window. Each held a thick, ancient divine art secret volume, and they were gloomily watching the winter garden outside. Within fifty meters of the main building, flowers bloomed as if it were spring, while beyond fifty meters, there were only gray lawns. The contrast was striking.

A faint red light flickered between Ya and Ling’s eyebrows. Their auras were connected, and rolling heat waves were controlled within three inches of their bodies, with not a single stream of heat leaking out. The heat released from their bodies was so astonishing that they seemed wrapped in two large red crystals. The terrifying heat almost solidified into a physical form on their skin.

Tolin walked into the reception room with a gloomy face. He said in a low voice, “Elham, it’s the tax officials of this damned country. They want to collect two strange types of taxes from us. By the Snow and Ice God, I’ve never heard of such taxes!”

Elham slowly opened his eyes. His eye sockets were filled with a blank white light, completely devoid of any emotion. At this moment, there was not a trace of human warmth about Elham. He entirely resembled some kind of puppet, a projection of a spirit in this world.

“Taxes? How much money do we have left?” Elham asked indifferently.

Tolin shrugged and looked toward Ya and Ling. Concentrating on controlling the fire energy around them, Ya and Ling spoke simultaneously. “One hundred and twenty Gold Coins, seven Silver Coins, and thirteen Copper Coins. Before our family’s emergency reinforcements arrive, this is all the money we have.”

Elham let out a deep sigh. “This is really troublesome. If we were in the Church, those hateful bugs would have already been judged. But this is the Gaul Empire, the place where we came to spread the Deity’s glory. This is our first time leaving the family’s protection to take action. If word got out that we lost all our activity funds right after leaving the family, it would be unfavorable for all of us.”

Tolin sighed deeply and shook his head. “Very unfavorable! Ya and Ling are fine; they don’t have other siblings. But Elham, you and I, damn it, you have twelve brothers eyeing you fiercely, and I have nine! Not to mention those bastards competing with you and me for our target positions. We absolutely cannot let outsiders know about our predicament.”

Elham’s gaze, devoid of any human warmth, swept across the reception room. He sighed softly, “Every single furnishing here is quite valuable. But this is a secret stronghold of the Church. Even a single flower is registered. If we sell even a water cup, that stingy old man would throw us into the black prison for three years!”

Tolin forced a bitter smile and shook his head. “Elham, the Radiant Cathedral is right…”

Elham shook his head and said calmly, “My teacher is now the Scepter Archbishop of the Radiant Cathedral. However, I am not his only student. Between me and my competitors, I cannot be sure whose side he is on. We cannot ask him for help, nor can we even let him know we have arrived!”

Tolin sighed deeply. Ya and Ling’s brows also furrowed tightly together.

Elham let out a long sigh and sneered, “There’s no other way. We can only use the sins deep within these sinners’ Souls to get through this period. Remember, we are here to spread the Deity’s glory, so we must inevitably interact with these sinners.”

The white light in his eyes gradually faded. Elham slowly floated down to the ground. He narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, then nodded. “Ya, Ling, you two come with me to visit that Tixiang, the grandson of Prime Minister Hualishi from yesterday. Well, since things have reached this point, let us make a breakthrough through him. Let him become the first torch to illuminate the Gaul Empire with the Deity’s glory!”

Ya and Ling acknowledged in unison. They withdrew the fire energy around their bodies and stood up simultaneously.