Taming beasts starts with understanding bird language

Seeing that the old beggar had temporarily let down his guard, Gu Chan said, "Old Boss, how about you register me as a beggar first, and then we can talk slowly?"

"It's easy for others to join my Beggars' Sect, but if you want to join, you have to promise to do something for me first." The nine-fingered old beggar said with his eyes squinting.

"Why? I've been so honest, and you're still making things difficult for me?" Gu Chan said unhappily.

Her original intention of joining the Beggars' Sect was good, and it was for the sake of the countless civilians and soldiers on the border, so she had a clear conscience. If the nine-fingered old beggar wanted to make things difficult for her, she would naturally feel unhappy.

The nine-fingered old beggar patiently said, "Do you know why there are more and more leaders of the Beggars' Sect in Tiancang Country in recent years?"

"Everyone can't eat enough and can't earn money, so naturally they can only beg." Gu Chan said helplessly.

"This is just one of the reasons. The most important point is that the taxes in Tiancang Kingdom are too heavy, and there are many types of taxes. Since you are the Ninth Prince's man, and now you have joined the Beggars' Sect for the people living on the border of Tiancang Kingdom, I can help you unconditionally, but you have to promise me that you will find a way to reduce taxes in the Jiangnan area." The nine-fingered old beggar said solemnly.

Gu Chan was silent, and her expression suddenly turned ugly.

The Jiangnan area is the richest place in Tiancang Kingdom. The tax silver contributed to the imperial treasury every year accounts for more than 30% of the entire Tiancang Kingdom. Once the taxes here are reduced, the silver sent to the treasury will also decrease.

Not to mention offending the Second Prince, even the Kyoto court probably wouldn't agree to this!

So how easy is it to reduce taxes here?

The nine-fingered old beggar saw through Gu Chan's thoughts and couldn't help but sigh, "Everyone in Tiancang knows that the Ninth Prince is known as the only great talent in the royal family who is both talented in literature and martial arts. If his people can't do this, then in my opinion, Tiancang will definitely be hopeless in the future."

"Okay, stop quibbling here. I promise you, I will try my best to do it in the future. If I can't do it, then I have no choice." Gu Chan waved her hand unhappily.

Right now, joining the Beggars' Sect and obtaining information is the most important thing. No matter whether it can be done or not, just agree to it first. At most, we can slowly think of a way later.

The nine-fingered old beggar laughed and said, "It's true that a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger! You have the courage and determination, but I don't know if you have the strength."

"Stop talking nonsense, I've already promised you, you should at least become a beggar!" Gu Chan urged.

The nine-fingered old beggar shook his head speechlessly.

Then he did not make things difficult for Gu Chan anymore. He immediately took out a small gray book from a yellow bag behind him, opened it, and then picked up a pen and started writing on it.

As he wrote, he said, "Tell me your name."

"My surname is Gu, and my given name is Chan. Chan is the same as Chanjuan." said Gu Chan.

"Why does a good boy have a girl's name?" asked the nine-fingered beggar as he wrote the name.

Gu Chan laughed and said, "I don't have a daughter in my family. My parents raised me as a daughter since I was a child, so it's nothing to give me a girl's name."

"It's not a good thing for a boy to have a feminine appearance. People with this appearance will either be cowardly and incompetent all their lives, or make a big splash one day. I hope you are the latter rather than the former." The nine-fingered beggar said with a smile.

After saying this, he also finished writing and handed the small gray stack to Gu Chan.

Gu Chan took the small stack and looked at it carefully, and found that what was written on it was the proof of begging on East Street. It had her name on it, and at the end was the signature of the leader of the Beggars' Gang in Jiangnan City.

Apart from this, there is not even a single fingerprint on the beggar's book.

Looking up at the nine-fingered old beggar, Gu Chan said with a wry smile, "Old gang leader, do we still need to press a handprint?"

"No need. This is written by me using spiritual energy to mix with ink. No one else can imitate it. Moreover, this beggar's book is invulnerable to water and fire. If you want to beg in the future, just carry this beggar's book with you. Remember to pay the offerings to your beggar leader on time every day. The rest is up to you." The nine-fingered old beggar reminded.

Gu Chan nodded quietly.

Putting the beggar's book in her pocket, she blinked and said, "Oh, old leader, I hope you can keep my identity a secret for me. After all, I'm going to deal with all the officials and wealthy families in Jiangnan this time. It's a little more advantageous for me to hide my identity in the Beggar's Sect."

"Don't worry, I always keep my mouth shut." said the nine-fingered beggar.

Gu Chan quickly clasped his fists to express his gratitude.

Then she prepared to get up and leave.

The old beggar with nine fingers suddenly stretched out his hand to stop her and said, "Don't worry, since you are the Ninth Prince's subordinate, I will tell your fortune for free."

"Oh! You can even tell fortunes!" Gu Chan said in surprise.

"Nonsense, in the whole Jiangnan area, everyone knows me, the Nine-Fingered Old Beggar. Besides my strong strength, I am also good at fortune-telling, physiognomy, and character prediction." The Nine-Fingered Old Beggar said proudly.

"Old boss, I will respect you well in the future. Please teach me these skills! I think it's quite interesting." Gu Chan said with a grin.

The nine-fingered old beggar rolled his eyes at her in annoyance, and without paying any attention to her, he reached into his sleeve, took out a tortoise shell, then took out five copper coins and put them into the tortoise shell, and began to shake it.

“Boring, borring, borring…”

The copper coins collided in the turtle shell, making a series of metal-on-metal noises, which was quite pleasant to hear.

Gu Chan was amazed at the special way he shook the turtle shell, and she was really envious of his skill.

After the nine-fingered old beggar finished shaking the tortoise shell, he gently placed it on the ground and muttered, "The yin and yang of heaven and earth prove my supernatural power. I will tell you a fortune, but only ask about my future."

After saying this, he reached out and picked up the tortoise shell, pouring the five copper coins inside onto the ground.

As five copper coins fell to the ground, a hexagram immediately appeared, with three coins facing up and two facing down.

Gu Chan asked curiously, "Old Boss, what does this hexagram mean?"

“Three ups and two downs correspond to three longs and two shorts. This hexagram is a very bad omen. You must be extremely careful in your future actions, otherwise something bad will happen to you and you will be doomed. However, there is a sign of good luck in this very bad omen, which means that you will meet a noble person here. If this noble person can help you, you will be able to break this very bad omen. If this noble person cannot help you, you will be more likely to be in trouble than to be lucky.” The nine-fingered beggar explained, looking at the five copper coins on the ground.

After listening to this, Gu Chan immediately stood up and bowed, "Okay, thank you for helping me with this fortune-telling for free, I will leave now, please take care of yourself."

"Hiss... Why do you react differently from others?" The nine-fingered beggar let out a long hiss, and looked up at Gu Chan in surprise.

You know, if it were someone else, they would definitely ask him anxiously who this noble person is and where to find him.

But Gu Chan acted as if she didn't care, which made him feel a little surprised.