Chapter Thirty-Two: Settling on a Plan

  "What if Wu Dawei agrees?" asked Mo Xiaobai.

  "That proves there must be ghosts inside." 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 probing, so he pretended to be calm and dispel our doubts. The other... I think too much, he was under too much pressure and lost his mind a bit, so he opened such a high price."

  Xiang, Xiao Bu Hui and Tong Fei exchanged a glance, they could see the surprise in each other's eyes, Su Tang's performance had completely exceeded their expectations.

  "It's always better to think too much than to think of nothing." Longqi said with a smile.

  "Tomorrow I'll go around Wutongquan and take a look at the situation." Xiao Bu said.

  "No need, he's in the dark, we're in the light, it would only expose your identity." Su Tang said.

  "That's right." Long Qi nodded in agreement with Su Tang's words, then pondered for a moment: "Someone else should be sent to carry out this task... Xiao Bai, do you have any suitable candidates? Their strength must be sufficient, at least they won't be bitten to death by the blood-sucking midges or frozen stiff by the cold air. If he dies inside... that would be laughable."

  Mo Xiaobai thought for a moment, his eyes lit up: "Dragon Brother, what do you think of Guiming? He's a low-level warrior, shouldn't be a problem."

  "Kui Ming?" Long Qi thought for a moment: "Uh... I have some impression of him."

  "Guiming is a proud and arrogant person, likes to be independent, rarely see him interact with others. I've mentioned it to him several times, hoping he could join our Miao Dao Pavilion, but he always refused, however his attitude was good, just using some excuses to decline, also gave us some face..."

  "Can't his attitude be any worse?" Xiao Bu regretted coldly: "We can smash his rice bowl at any time."

  "Let him take this commission, and we'll keep an eye on him. If something happens to him, we'll investigate the murderer; if nothing happens... We'll give him a lucrative commission, and he'll be very grateful. When Mr. Su or Dragon Brother comes to talk to him in person, maybe he'll loosen his tongue and agree to join our Miao Dao Pavilion."

  Su Tang glanced at Mo Xiaobai, if something happened, Guiming would be a scapegoat. If nothing happened, he would find a way to make Guiming the real hitman of Miao Dao Pavilion. That Mo Xiaobai was really good at plotting, it seemed that no one could be underestimated.

  "This kid, I remember he used to be quite kind-hearted... " Xiao Bu regretfully sighed: "How did following Long Qi for these few years completely change him into another person? He's so ruthless and cunning, eating people without spitting out their bones... You sold him out, yet he still feels grateful to you!"

  "Are you praising me or scolding me?" Mo Xiaobai asked with a bitter smile.

  "It's settled then, Mo Xiaobai. Tomorrow you'll go find Guiming and hand over the commission." Longqi said: "You all be careful too, if Mr. Su guessed correctly... someone must have their eyes on our Miao Dao Pavilion."

  "Got it." Tong Fei replied.

  "Also, we must make preparations in advance." Su Tang said: "If something really happens to Guiming, Mo Xiaobai, the people of Miao Dao Pavilion must show that they are heartbroken, indignant and agitated, only then can we gain people's trust."

  Xiao Bu Hui was stunned for a moment, then turned to Tong Fei and said: "Do you have a chilly feeling? A dragon flag, Mr. Su, and Mo Xiaobai, these three people are simply..."

  "Actually, you're delighted inside, aren't you?" Xiang revealed a sweet smile: "At least, we won't be inexplicably suffering losses at someone else's hands, right?"

  "Besides this, we also need to make some preventive plans. First of all, we should..." Su Tang said in a low voice, including Long Qi, several people were listening intently, their eyes shining brighter and brighter, their smiles growing thicker...

  ****

  In the following days, Su Tang always came to Miao Dao Pavilion before dawn and sat there for a whole day until midnight before leaving. He needed to get familiar with the operation process of Miao Dao Pavilion.

  In fact, Su Tang didn't have many things to do, and many specific things were handled by specialized personnel. For example, the matter of Xuan Bingzhu was personally handled by Long Qi, but the plan was completely made by Su Tang.

  Normally, only when others are unable to make a decision and it is necessary to mobilize a large amount of resources, or even require the dispatch of several envoys, will it be directly handed over to Su Tang.

  In Changshan County, Miaodao Pavilion has a monopoly on all commissions. All tasks must be handed over to the pavilion for handling. However, in reality, some unremarkable tasks are not taken seriously by the pavilion. The content of these tasks is extremely complex and varied, generally falling into three categories:

  The first category consists of legitimate businesses such as escorting goods, protecting certain individuals within a specific timeframe, etc.

  The second category involves clandestine missions that must be completed in secret.

  The third category includes miscellaneous tasks like purchasing rare or scarce items, searching for missing persons, and other chaotic requests.

  Because different tasks use different resources, Miaodao Pavilion is divided into three halls. Mo Xiaofan belongs to a role of general manager assistant, responsible for coordinating the various halls and accurately conveying Su Tang's commands.

  Su Tang finally understood why there were always large numbers of warriors sitting idly in the hall every day, because of their different life experiences, they had become wandering warriors, either voluntarily or involuntarily roaming around. They did not want to rely on other families or forces, because that would only make them cannon fodder for sacrifice.

  There were only two paths laid out before them. One was to gather in the mountains and forests, becoming bandits. The other was to come to Miao Dao Pavilion, relying on completing commissions to earn money.

  The former is too dangerous, once offending a big family, it will be irreparable. The latter earns less, but wins in freedom and comfort. If you think this task is too dangerous and too hard, you can choose not to accept it. My Taoist temple will never force anyone. If you accept the task and unfortunately get killed, that's your own fault for lacking foresight.

  Miao Dao Ge will extract a certain commission from each entrusted transaction, this right is earned with blood!

  For example, a merchant group wants to transport a batch of valuable goods to a certain place and is unwilling to deal with the Miao Dao Pavilion. They find some wandering warriors on their own. The Miao Dao Pavilion will remain silent all along. However, once the merchant group sets out, the armed forces of the Miao Dao Pavilion will definitely be deployed in full strength. This batch of goods must be looted at all costs, and it is necessary to achieve the goal of killing everyone and leaving no one alive. The people of the merchant group are bound to die, and those private warriors who accepted the commission on their own initiative will also die.

  After a long time, people accepted the established facts. Sometimes, even with private bodyguards, they would still go to Miaodao Pavilion and hand over their entrustment to avoid misunderstandings. Of course, the amount of entrustment was usually very low, just for show.

  There are similar organizations to Miao Dao Ge everywhere, but with different names and varying strengths. Some are very powerful, while others are struggling to survive in the cracks. Some businesses are booming, while others have no interest in accepting commissions, focusing all their attention on new competitors that have emerged, as they say, "one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers", a fierce battle to the death is bound to erupt.