Chapter 30: Miaodao Pavilion

In the evening, darkness gradually covered Changshan County. Su Tang had drunk a lot of wine today, and his chest felt hot. He simply pulled open his clothes to reveal his chest and enjoyed the cool night breeze.

“How do you feel?” Long Qi asked softly.

“It seems like everyone is intentionally trying to make friends with me.” Su Tang smiled. “When people are overly polite, they must want something.”

“Of course they want to be friends with you,” Long Qi said. “We are like an invisible knife. Once the knife leaves its sheath… it will hurt people and draw blood. Most of those who can enter and leave Victory Terrace are Practitioners. They always run into all kinds of trouble but find it inconvenient to step forward themselves. At those times, they come to you for help.”

“Oh.”

“Or, you might receive a commission related to them. Some you can refuse directly, some you can notify them about in advance, or otherwise, find a way to make the mission fail,” Long Qi said. “Then, they will be deeply grateful to you.”

“Why do I feel like this is a way of using public resources for private gain?”

“You are Miaodao Pavilion, and Miaodao Pavilion is you. There is no such distinction between public and private,” Long Qi shook his head with a smile.

“Since we are invisible knives, why not hide? Why let them know who we are?” Su Tang asked. He could never understand this point. Shouldn’t it be better to be as secret as possible?!

“You finally asked the key question.” Long Qi sighed softly. “This is a truth I only understood after staying in Changshan County for a very, very long time.”

“What truth?”

“Do you like poisonous snakes?” Long Qi suddenly changed the subject.

“I don’t.”

“Exactly. You don’t like them, and neither do I. In fact, no normal person would like them,” Long Qi smiled. “If we hide in the dark and act as invisible knives, completing every commission we receive without hesitation, how is that different from a poisonous snake? They would only fear us and hate us. Once they found a chance, they would step on us without hesitation. If our poisonous snake grew large enough and the threat became serious enough, they would not hesitate to destroy the entire bamboo forest where we hid, or even be willing to perish together with us.”

Su Tang silently thought about Long Qi’s words.

“The completion rate of commissions at our Miaodao Pavilion is very low, less than seventy percent. So what? We are living well and living happily,” Long Qi said. “For example, the God-Slaying Hall that once dominated the entire continent had a completion rate of one hundred percent. But are they still around now? Heh… they decided who lived and who died, and then the Three Great Heaven Gates joined forces and completely wiped out the God-Slaying Hall.”

“Those who do not understand the art of compromise usually end up like that,” Long Qi concluded.

“The Three Great Heaven Gates?”

“Mount Peng is one of the Three Great Heaven Gates,” Long Qi said. “Therefore, we must step out of the shadows and make friends with them. Look… I am right here in front of you, and we can discuss anything. Many hatreds and misunderstandings in this world are caused by a lack of communication. I never take commissions related to them, and when I hear rumors, I even give them a warning. Where else could they find a friend like me? Of course, if someone insists on crossing Miaodao Pavilion, that is another matter.”

“Actually, it’s just one sentence: never provoke the general anger of the crowd,” Long Qi continued. “This is easy. Changshan County has never been a monolithic block; we have enough room to maneuver.”

“Are there other people?” Su Tang suddenly asked.

“What other people?” Long Qi did not understand.

“The personal styles of Tong Fei and Xiao Buhui are too obvious. Only Wen Xiang… I don’t know her well,” Su Tang said. “But you wouldn’t leave everything to Wen Xiang, would you? Can she handle all that work?”

“Although this question sounds like it’s coming from an amateur, it proves that you are very smart, or at least you actually use your brain.” Long Qi smiled. “Miaodao Pavilion has four Enshrined Experts. Besides those three, there is one more person nicknamed Shadow. But strictly speaking, he is not a member of Miaodao Pavilion; he is my family servant. When I leave, he will follow me.”

“Oh.”

“As for Wen Xiang… I have never been able to figure her out.” Long Qi frowned. “Moreover, I have a bad feeling. If she causes trouble one day, it will definitely be a disaster of epic proportions! Sigh… just hope for your own luck.”

During the conversation, the two had walked to Miaodao Pavilion. It was Su Tang’s first time visiting, and he couldn’t help but stop and observe carefully. It was a very inconspicuous small building with only two floors and looked somewhat dilapidated. However, the inside was brightly lit, creating a sharp contrast with the pitch-black streets around it.

To create such brightness, it probably required thousands of candles every night. In Su Tang’s opinion, it was too wasteful.

Entering the hall, Su Tang found that the layout was somewhat like a waiting room from another world. Rows of wooden chairs were placed in the center, numbering nearly several hundred. Many people were sitting there, some alone and some in groups of three or five. Most of them carried weapons, and from their temperament, most were Martial Artists.

Seeing Long Qi walk in, all the Martial Artists stood up and bowed to greet him.

Long Qi nodded with a smile and walked straight through the hall into the backyard.

There was another small building in the backyard, much smaller than the one in front. Long Qi pushed open the door and walked in. Although lights were lit inside, it was empty.

Perhaps because of the wine, Su Tang felt an inexplicable excitement. He was about to uncover the secrets of Miaodao Pavilion!

Long Qi sat down at the round table in the center and beckoned Su Tang to sit as well. After waiting for a moment, the hall door was pushed open again. Three people, completely covered in black cloaks, entered one after another. The person in the lead lifted the cloak while walking, revealing a sweet face. It was indeed Wen Xiang.

Su Tang was stunned and looked back. The two people behind her should have been Xiao Buhui and Tong Fei, but Tong Fei’s height… why was he the same height as Xiao Buhui?

When Tong Fei also lifted his cloak, Su Tang understood. It turned out that Tong Fei was holding a round wooden hammer to prop up the cloak. Imagining the fierce-looking Tong Fei walking seriously while holding a wooden hammer, Su Tang felt like laughing.

The three of them took their seats. Wen Xiang’s large eyes constantly looked at Su Tang with curiosity, as if she had never seen him before. Xiao Buhui was as lazy as ever; looking at him, he seemed to want to lie down immediately. Tong Fei’s sitting posture was the most upright, with his eyes focused and body motionless.

No one spoke. Just as Su Tang felt it was getting strange, a man walked in from the side door with a smile.

“His name is Mo Xiaobai. Su Tang, you can trust him completely,” Long Qi said slowly. “Xiaobai, how many plaques did you take these past two days?”

“Greetings, Mr. Su,” the man named Mo Xiaobai said respectfully, then looked at Long Qi. “Brother Long, business hasn’t been great these past few days. I only took one plaque.”