Hell Emperor.

Chapter 376 Hua Xiaomei - Taxation
Back at the Golden Wheel Palace, Hua Xiaomei suddenly called out to Ye Jie:

"By the way, Brother Jie, the agenda regarding the Yin De tax has been completed. We only need your final approval and confirmation."

Ye Jie raised his eyebrows. The progress of this agenda was much faster than he expected. He thought it would take more time. "Is it completed so quickly?"

Hua Xiaomei chuckled: "That's right. After taking on this task, I haven't had much rest during this period of time. I haven't even taken a hot spring bath. I have been busy with this matter. Now it is finally over."

After a pause, Hua Xiaomei couldn't help but complain: "One Heart-Warming and Soul-Nourishing Spring is not enough. Every time I go there, there are always people inside. I am too embarrassed to compete with my sisters, and I don't know when it will be my turn..."

Ye Jie's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but complain: "I think you're working so hard because you can't get the hot spring, right? If you can get it, the administrative agenda will probably be delayed for a long time. And why don't you all take a bath together? The Warm Heart and Nourishing Soul Spring is as big as a courtyard, how can it not accommodate a few of you?"

Thinking of her sisters' well-proportioned, elegant, and exquisite figures, Hua Xiaomei glanced at her pale, bloodless arms, which looked cold just by looking at them. She couldn't help but feel a little insecure. If she were to take a bath together, her frighteningly white body might be regarded as an alien. "I still prefer a more private space."

"Really... I'll find a way." After understanding Hua Xiaomei's thoughts, Ye Jie nodded and stopped persuading her.

Soon, Hua Xiaomei handed a torn page to Ye Jie, on which were the items that required his approval.

Taking in all the tax items on the torn pages, Ye Jie couldn't help but frown:
[Entry tax: All living beings within the jurisdiction of Yama Palace, when they turn into wandering souls and enter Yama Palace after death, must pay a tax to the Palace Master. The tax amount is 50% of the good deeds they have earned during their lifetime.]

[Change tax: Within the jurisdiction of Yama Palace, any ghost who uses the power of the Book of Life and Death to change their Yin De will be required to pay a change tax. The tax amount is 20% of the total amount of the changed Yin De.]

[Reincarnation tax: Before a ghost can reincarnate, it must pay a reincarnation tax. The tax amount is 30% of the Yin De required for reincarnation.]

【………】

Looking at the tax items on the torn page, Ye Jie was dumbfounded for a moment: "Wait...what's this palace entrance tax?"

"It's the good deeds you have to do to enter the temple." Hua Xiaomei explained, "The Golden Wheel Temple belongs to you now. Other ghosts who want to come in have to do good deeds first. You built the Golden Wheel Temple so well. I heard from Su Miao that you are also planning to unlock the reincarnation gift agenda so that every reincarnated ghost will have a gift. How can you let them in for nothing?"

"When will I unlock the gift of reincarnation?" Ye Jie was speechless. He still remembered the gift of reincarnation. It was one of the administrative options that emerged when he was trapped inside the golden wheel. The effect was that all the ghosts who reincarnated in the hall would have a natural magical power in their next life.

However, to unlock the gift of reincarnation, a total of 300 million good deeds and 50 million soul wiels are required. This is not a small amount of money. At present, he has no plans to unlock it at all.

Compared with the gift of reincarnation, what Ye Jie cares more about is the palace tax. He has been a ghost messenger for so long, but he has never heard that one has to pay the palace tax after death.

"Wait a minute, the amount of the palace entrance tax is fifty percent of the good karma one has earned during his lifetime. Imagine a situation like this: a person has done good things in this life and gained one hundred good karmas, but he has also done many bad things and lost one thousand good karmas. Logically, he should pay fifty good karmas as palace entrance tax, but he cannot come up with these merits. What should he do?" Ye Jie asked puzzledly.

Hua Xiaomei had expected this: "In that case, he will have to keep his debt. He will be strictly controlled by the ghost messenger and will not be allowed to enter reincarnation. The control will not be lifted until he pays off his debt through work."

Ye Jie was a little unsure: "What if he owes tens of thousands of Yin De and must be thrown into the oil pan to be punished?"

Hua Xiaomei shrugged her shoulders and said, "Then wait until he finishes his punishment and then comes out to work. No matter what, he must pay me the palace tax. If he refuses to work, throw him into the oil pan again. Anyway, ghosts in the oil pan can also produce resentment as a resource for the underworld, so there is no problem of how to deal with him."

Ye Jie was speechless for a moment, and he finally understood why Shoufa once said that the tax ghost catcher had the highest status in the Qinglian Palace. If one could not pay the tax, he could not even enter the reincarnation. Is there anything more miserable than this?

When people are alive, they are free and can roam freely in the vast world. But after they die, the tax ghosts will collect their good deeds like the tax ghosts. No wonder those knowledgeable ghosts all have gloomy faces when they mention the tax ghosts.

Shaking his head, Ye Jie picked up the pen and crossed out the entire palace tax: "The good deeds of wandering souls are all earned from good deeds during their lifetime. They are very precious wealth and should all belong to them. When I was a ghost messenger in the past, I couldn't stand other ghost messengers extorting the good deeds of innocent wandering souls. Now that I'm the palace master, how can I collect palace taxes? Let's change the item."

Hua Xiaomei argued, "That's different. The tax items set by the Palace Master are the rules of the Yama Palace. They are laws recognized by the entire world and written in black and white in the Documents Palace. How can they be compared to extortion?"

Ye Jie just shook his head: "That's even more wrong. Since when has extortion ever been in line with the rules and laws?"

Ye Jie looked at the next item: "What about the change tax? What's going on?"

Hua Xiaomei said cheerfully, "The so-called change refers to the ghost's Yin De changing, whether it increases or decreases. Suppose a magic weapon is worth 100,000 Yin De, and a ghost is ready to buy it and pay a 20% change tax, which means he needs to pay 20,000 Yin De. Then he needs to pay a total of 120,000 Yin De to take the magic weapon away. At the same time, the seller also got 100,000 Yin De through the Book of Life and Death, and he also has to pay 20%, which is 20,000 Yin De, so he can only get 80,000 Yin De. In this way, we didn't do anything and just earned 40,000 Yin De for nothing. Is there anything more satisfying than this?"

Ye Jie opened his mouth, feeling that something was wrong: "Is this really how it's calculated?"

Hua Xiaomei nodded and continued, "By the way, as long as the Yin De changes, a change tax must be paid. In other words, ghosts need to pay double the change tax while paying other taxes."

After a pause, Hua Xiaomei looked thoughtful: "From this perspective, isn't the 20% change tax too low? Maybe it should be raised higher. Otherwise, why not change it to 30%?"

Ye Jie looked troubled: "With such a high tax, what if some ghosts stop trading with Yin De and trade with other things instead, such as spirit stones, to avoid taxation? What should we do?"

Hua Xiaomei was stunned. She had never thought about this problem before. She panicked immediately: "How dare they evade taxes? No! Strict laws should be established to put an end to all barter transactions. Let them understand the consequences of doing so. If they dare to do so, they will be taught a lesson!"

Ye Jie shook his head and disagreed: "I don't think this is a good idea. Even if we put an end to bartering, we can always find other ways. With the Shrinking Stone, the ghosts in the palace can be moved to the edge of the Hades Formation, and then move back after leaving the Golden Wheel Palace and completing the transaction. This is also in line with the process. Should this be banned?" Hua Xiaomei was speechless, and then listened to Ye Jie: "Besides, with the 20% change tax, the same magic weapon worth 100,000 Yin De, the seller will price it at 125,000 Yin De in order to get 100,000 Yin De, and the buyer will have to pay 150,000 Yin De. Such a high tax, and as long as the Yin De is changed, it will be generated, maybe it needs more careful consideration."

With the blessing of Bodhicitta Dharma, Ye Jie's mind was clear. Even if it was a problem that he was not good at before, the answer would immediately appear in his mind after a little thought.

As the guardian method of the Bodhi Hall, the Bodhi Heart Method not only improves the level of the skills, but also makes Ye Jie's heart as clear as water, which is reflected in his sharper thinking.

Previously, Ye Jie also recommended the Bodhi Heart Method to his partners, but unfortunately they had their own ideas and no one chose this method at all.

Seeing Ye Jie reject the proposal, Hua Xiaomei smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Jie, if you ask me to set up tax items and collect taxes from the ghosts in the hall, I can do it, but if I think about it carefully, I can't figure out the reason. Otherwise, I'd better seek help from the real tax ghost."

"That makes sense..." Ye Jie nodded in agreement. Hua Xiaomei was right. Besides, after the administrative agenda was over, the selection of the tax ghost catcher would also be a problem. They had to find the right person.

Is there any ghost who is good at finance and is familiar with me and can serve as a tax ghost?
After some thought, a figure really flashed through Ye Jie's mind, and he immediately knew who to ask for help.

"I know who can help us and serve as the tax ghost."

Thinking of this, Ye Jie set off immediately and soon arrived in front of a newly opened restaurant in the Golden Wheel Palace.

Outside the magnificent restaurant, bright red lanterns are hung. The towering buildings are stacked layer upon layer, with carved beams and painted rafters, reaching straight into the sky. Even if you just look from a distance, you can feel the luxurious atmosphere.

On the right side of the restaurant, there stands a mighty stone lion, with its teeth bared and claws waving, as if guarding this piece of land. A drunkard staggered out of the restaurant and was about to spit out the wine at the feet of the stone lion, but was slapped away by the stone lion.

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Seeing Ye Jie, the stone lion suddenly became agitated and greeted him repeatedly: "Palace Master, you are here!"

Ye Jie nodded and made a shushing gesture to it: "Don't disturb the guests in the wine village."

The stone lion immediately shut up and continued to strike its pose, serving as a ward off evil.

When you arrive at the wine country, you will be greeted by a giant, exquisitely carved screen with paintings of mountains, rivers, flowers and birds. The sound of a beautiful pipa will also ring in your ears. The melodious tune makes you forget all worldly worries and fatigue, as if you are in another world. You can't help but wonder which musician who is good at music played this fairy music that should not exist in the underworld.

Suddenly, the sound of the piano became disordered, as if the wrong string was played, and the lingering ending sound showed the musician's panic. The diners whispered to each other, not understanding what was going on. This situation had never happened since the winery opened.

The sound of footsteps came closer and closer. A person holding a pipa came down from the upper floor of the wine village and ran to Ye Jie. She was wearing a light and elegant long skirt, holding a light silk gauze in her hand. When she looked at Ye Jie, her watery eyes also contained some lovesickness and admiration.

Ye Jie smiled at her and was about to speak, but Hua Xiaomei's untimely words behind him broke the atmosphere:

"Didn't you say you were going to find the tax collector? Why did you come to the wine country? I see, you must have seen how hard I was working to push the agenda, so you planned to treat me to a meal!"

Ye Jie was helpless. Seeing Yulan covering her mouth and laughing secretly, the atmosphere was obviously not going to change. He could only ask Hua Xiaomei, "Why did you follow me?"

Hua Xiaomei also looked innocent: "Didn't you ask me to come? The agenda hasn't even been passed yet, why don't you give me some ideas on what to do."

"Well... now that we're here, let's eat first." Ye Jie held his forehead with his hand helplessly and had to look at Yulan beside him.

Yulan smiled calmly and said in a gentle voice, "Palace Master Ye, Judge Hua, please take a seat in the private room."

Arriving at the quiet and pleasant private room, Hua Xiaomei couldn't wait to sit down, and pulled Ye Jie to sit opposite her.

"You look very happy. Do you want to try the delicacies of the wine country?" Ye Jie bent his fingers, tapped the table, and asked curiously.

Hua Xiaomei raised her eyebrows slightly, revealing her lightly powdered face. Her pale cheeks were smeared with soft rouge, as if the first snow fell on the branches of wintersweet, fresh and untainted by dust: "You haven't invited me to dinner for a long time."

Ye Jie glanced at her and fell into deep thought. How did she have time to put on makeup? Obviously, there was no makeup in the Document Hall. He still said, "I remember the last time I invited you to dinner, it was for Nan Linghe's recommendation order."

Hua Xiaomei smiled, without a trace of pretense, pure and sincere, like a wild flower just blooming in the mountains, exuding an addictive fragrance: "Last time, it was Ghost Officer Jie who invited Ghost Officer Mei, this time, it is Palace Master Ye who invited Judge Hua."

Ye Jie smiled and said, "Aren't we both eating? What's the difference?"

"Of course there is a difference!" Hua Xiaomei pursed her lips, serious and focused, "Look at you now, you are the Lord of Yama Palace, you have magical powers, spiritual veins, and everything you have dreamed of in the past. All the ghosts here are counting on you, and you can issue any administrative options you want. Who could have imagined that a year ago, you were just a down-and-out ghost messenger like me?"

Ye Jie looked calm and corrected him, "I can't do this with the power of a ghost alone. You, Nan Linghe, Xia Wei, Yulan, Fuling... and many companions and family members, it is our joint efforts that have achieved the current result. I cherish everything I have now. If time could stay at this moment, there would be no more disputes and accidents in the future, and everyone could be together, how great it would be..."

Outside the private room, Yulan, who was waiting with her zither in her arms, also heard Ye Jie's words and tears of emotion welled up in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)