Chapter 32: Setting the Plan

“What if Wu Dawei agrees?” Mo Xiaobai asked.

“That would prove there is definitely something fishy going on,” Su Tang said.

“What if he refuses?” Mo Xiaobai asked again.

“If he refuses, there are two possibilities,” Su Tang said. “One is that he guessed we were testing him, so he is acting reserved to remove our suspicions. The other… is that I am overthinking it, and he offered such a high price because the pressure was too great and he lost his mind.”

Wen Xiang, Xiao Buhui, and Tong Fei looked at each other. They could see the surprise in each other’s eyes; Su Tang’s performance completely exceeded their expectations.

“Overthinking is always better than not thinking at all,” Long Qi said with a smile.

“Tomorrow, I will take a walk near Ephemera Pond to check the situation,” Xiao Buhui said.

“No need. He is in the dark and we are in the light; that would only expose your identity,” Su Tang said.

“Correct.” Long Qi nodded in agreement with Su Tang’s words, then pondered for a moment. “We should let someone else carry out this commission… Xiaobai, do you have a suitable candidate? Their strength must be sufficient, at least enough not to be bitten to death by blood-sucking ephemeras or frozen stiff by the cold air. If he dies in there… it would be a joke.”

Mo Xiaobai thought for a moment, and his eyes lit up. “Brother Long, what do you think of Guiming? He is a low-level Battle Fighter, so it should be no problem.”

“Guiming?” Long Qi recalled. “Hmm… I have some impression of him.”

“Guiming is arrogant by nature and likes to be unconventional. I rarely see him socializing with others. I mentioned to him a few times that I hoped he could join our Miaodao Pavilion, but he refused every time. However, his attitude was good; he just used various excuses to decline, which saved our face…”

“How could his attitude be bad?” Xiao Buhui sneered. “We could take away his livelihood at any time.”

“Let him take this commission, and then we just watch him. If something happens to him, we can follow the clues to track down the killer. If nothing happens… we gave him a commission with such rich rewards that he will be very grateful. Then, if Mr. Su or Brother Long personally visits him to talk, he might soften his stance and agree to join our Miaodao Pavilion.”

Su Tang glanced at Mo Xiaobai. If something happened, Guiming would be a scapegoat; if nothing happened, Mo Xiaobai wanted to find a way to make Guiming a real thug for the Miaodao Pavilion. Mo Xiaobai was truly calculating. It seemed one should not underestimate anyone.

“This child, I remember he used to be quite kind-hearted…” Xiao Buhui sighed. “How did he become a completely different person after following Long Qi for a few years? He is as sinister as someone who eats people without spitting out the bones… You sell him out, and he still feels grateful to you!”

“Are you praising me or scolding me?” Mo Xiaobai said with a bitter smile.

“It is settled then. Mo Xiaobai, go find Guiming tomorrow and give him the commission,” Long Qi said. “You all be careful too. If Mr. Su’s guess is correct… someone must have their eyes on our Miaodao Pavilion.”

“Understood,” Tong Fei replied.

“Also, we must prepare in advance,” Su Tang said. “If that Guiming really meets with an accident, Mo Xiaobai, the people of our Miaodao Pavilion must act heartbroken, indignant, and agitated. Only then can we gain others’ trust.”

Xiao Buhui was stunned for a moment and said to Tong Fei, “Do you have a chilling feeling? Long Qi, Mr. Su, and Mo Xiaobai—the three of them are simply…”

“Actually, you are very happy in your heart, right?” Wen Xiang gave a sweet smile. “At least, we won’t suffer losses from others for no reason, right?”

“Besides that, we need to make some preventive plans. First, we should…” Su Tang said in a low voice. Including Long Qi, several people listened intently. Their eyes grew brighter and their smiles grew deeper…

…

In the following days, Su Tang always arrived at the Miaodao Pavilion before dawn. He would sit there all day and only leave at midnight; he needed to familiarize himself with the operational flow of the Miaodao Pavilion.

Actually, Su Tang did not have many tasks. Many specific matters were handled by dedicated personnel. For example, the matter of the Ice Beads was handled personally by Long Qi, though the plan was entirely formulated by Su Tang.

Usually, only commissions that others could not make a decision on, those that required massive resources, or those that needed several Enshrined Experts to be deployed, were handed directly to Su Tang.

In Changshan County, the Miaodao Pavilion held a monopoly. All commissions had to be accepted through the Miaodao Pavilion. However, in reality, the Miaodao Pavilion did not care about insignificant commissions. The content of the commissions was very complex and varied. Generally, they were divided into three types. The first type consisted of legitimate business, such as escorting goods or protecting someone for a certain period. The second type was less respectable—commissions that had to be completed in secret. The third type was a mixture, such as purchasing rare items or searching for missing persons; it was a hodgepodge of everything that did not fit into the first two categories.

Because different types of missions used different resources, the Miaodao Pavilion was divided into three halls. Mo Xiaobai acted as a sort of general manager’s assistant, responsible for coordinating the halls and accurately conveying Su Tang’s orders.

Su Tang finally understood why large groups of Martial Artists sat idly in the hall every day. Due to different life experiences, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, they traveled everywhere and became Wandering Martial Artists. They were unwilling to depend on other families or powers because they would only become sacrificial cannon fodder.

Only two paths lay before them: one was to gather in the mountains and become bandits; the other was to come to the Miaodao Pavilion and make money by completing commissions.

The former was too dangerous; once they angered a great family, they would be doomed. The latter earned less, but the advantage was freedom. If they thought a commission was too dangerous or too arduous, they could simply refuse it. The Miaodao Pavilion would never force anyone. If they were unfortunately harmed after accepting a commission, they could only blame their own lack of experience.

The Miaodao Pavilion took a certain commission fee from every deal. This right was bought with blood!

For example, if a merchant caravan wanted to transport precious goods to a certain place but was unwilling to deal with the Miaodao Pavilion and hired some Wandering Martial Artists on their own, the Miaodao Pavilion would remain silent. However, once the caravan hit the road, the armed forces of the Miaodao Pavilion would definitely mobilize in full. They would seize the goods no matter what, and they would do so to the point of leaving no one alive. The people of the caravan had to die, and the Martial Artists who privately accepted the commission had to die even more.

Over time, people accepted this as a fact. Sometimes, even if they had private Martial Artists for protection, they would still make a trip to the Miaodao Pavilion to submit a commission to avoid misunderstandings. Of course, the commission amount was usually very low, just a formality.

Similar organizations existed in various places, but their names and strengths differed. Some were very strong, some survived in the cracks, some had booming businesses, and some were not in the mood to accept commissions because they focused all their attention on new competitors. As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers; a fight to the death was bound to break out.