Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 52

With such strength, joining Luqiu Pavilion would undoubtedly greatly enhance the Farmer's presence in Jicheng.

After receiving instructions from his boss and gaining a brief understanding of the other party's capabilities, Lu Shan took it very seriously and personally led his men to 'Snow Wolf' to discuss the matter face-to-face.

That evening, he returned home and excitedly went to find the head steward to report on his day's achievements:

“Boss, the other party is very sincere. Not only are they willing to become disciples of my Farmer’s Clan, but their leader also said that he would follow our rules, not ask for special privileges, and start as a disciple of the One-Star Pearl Grass Clan.”

"Hmm, anything else?" The steward remained calm, his gaze fixed on the elated Lu Shan, his tone indifferent.

"Hmm..." Having followed his boss for three years, Lu Shan sensed something was off in the air, but thinking of today's discussions, he continued:

"The Snow Wolves are willing to hand over their entire treasury to us, including a single Heavenly Grass worth a hundred gold pieces, and countless other goods, with a total estimated value exceeding a thousand gold pieces!"

"I never expected such a small organization to be so rich!"

"They don't want special privileges, yet they're willing to offer their gold and silver treasures..." A glint of shrewdness flashed in Lu Wei's eyes: "Your opinion is to accept them?"

"We need to conduct further investigations into their backgrounds to ensure everything is correct before...taking them in?"

Lu Shan said cautiously.

"Go ahead and do what you have an idea. Report back to me in three days."

Hearing his younger brother's slightly unsure words, Lu Wei closed his eyes and began to meditate.

"Yes!" He took his leave.

The moment he stepped out, Lu Ni appeared behind Lu Wei, her cold voice ringing out:

"According to intelligence from Lord Yanchun's residence, the Snow Wolves are an extremely bloodthirsty organization, and among the small gangs and factions, they are the most ruthless."

"For the past few months, Snow Wolf has been lying in ambush near Jicheng, robbing small caravans, forcibly transporting their goods to his warehouse, and finally killing all the members of those caravans."

"Among them was a Tianya grass."

"What's your opinion?" Lu Wei asked casually, his eyes still closed.

Lu Ni stared at his retreating figure, pondered for a moment, and then, with a resolute tone, replied, "His motives are impure. If he forces his way in, he will become an enemy. It would be better to kill him all!"

"Hmph~" Lu Wei smiled slightly, "What is Jueying's assessment of the Snow Wolf's strength?"

“He is slightly inferior to him, but if he is determined to launch a sneak attack, he can kill Snow Wolf.”

Such strength is not bad in the martial arts world; it is at least at the level of Gao Jianli.

Following the principle of "better to be a chicken's head than a chicken's head," becoming the leader of a small force isn't impossible, but now he wants to join the peasant faction and start from the bottom...

If it weren't for a deadly external enemy forcing him, then it must be his master's mission.

The steward immediately realized that someone was plotting against the farmers again.

There shouldn't be any such enemy within Jicheng anymore, so if we focus our attention outside Jicheng... the most likely candidate is undoubtedly that organization!

Slowly opening his eyes, Lu Wei stared at the Hao Cao sword hanging on the wall in front of him, and stroked his chin in thought: He had offended Luo Wang quite badly.

They not only killed many of them, but also seized a famous sword.

It's highly likely they sent people to infiltrate and probe.

If these "Snow Wolves" are indeed sent by Luo Wang, should I pretend not to know, accept them as dogs to appease Luo Wang, or should I eliminate them one by one to deter them from crossing the line...?

He stretched out his left hand, his five fingers forming a tiger claw shape, and drew the Hao Cao sword on the wall into his palm, carefully examining this one of the five swords of the King of Yue.

In the time it took Lu Wei to examine the sword from tip to tip, he made up his mind and tossed the sword behind him. Lu Ni didn't understand the reason, but she knew that her master wanted her to catch the sword, so she took a step forward and took down Hao Cao.

"I will return to Qi in a while. When you are stationed at Luqiu Pavilion, you should only guard the headquarters. Unless it is absolutely necessary, you do not need to follow Lu Shan's orders."

"I will again be unable to spend the New Year in Ji. Since Luqiu Pavilion has a close relationship with Yanchun Jun's residence, it should naturally have the self-awareness of being a subordinate..."

"At the end of the year, you will hand this sword over to Jueying, so that he may present it to Lord Yanchun."

"Hand over Hao Cao to Jueying to present to Lord Yanchun..." Lu Ni paused, then subconsciously replied, "Understood!"

"Do you really understand?" Lu Wei stood up, turned around, and smiled as he gazed at Lu Ni, who was holding the black sword in her hands.

Facing the gaze, Lu Ni pursed her lips and lowered her eyes: "This subordinate is dull-witted..."

"Yan Chunjun wields immense power in the court, and the Luo Wang (a powerful organization) cannot afford to ignore him. Once Hao Cao Jian appears, I fear... that place will become a focal point."

"We will also be affected to some extent."

"Isn't this better?" Lu Wei approached Lu Ni and lowered his voice: "How can you catch a big fish without bait?"

Zheng, Lu Ni's eyes flickered: "Master, do you want to hunt down the Net?"

"Why not?" The steward looked up. This was a dangerous decision: "If I dare to take you in, then the Net is destined to be our enemy."

"What, have you been living in comfort for too long? You no longer dare to fight against the Net?"

He extended his index finger and lifted Lu Ni's slightly lowered head: "Can you and your daughter live in anonymity for the rest of your lives?"

Mentioning Xiao Yan'er, Lu Ni's fingers, gripping Hao Cao Jian tightly, turned white. She was not a coward; given sufficient reason, killing was never something she hesitated to do.

When she was wandering alone, Jing Ni had the courage to fight against the Luo Wang alone. Now that she has become Lu Ni, what difficulty is there in recalling those feelings?

Her hazy gaze hardened, revealing a murderous intent, and she boldly met the head steward's eyes:

"What does Master want..."

Chapter 74 Yin Yang Family

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Shan, with Lu Yu, returned to the third floor of Luqiu Pavilion to report to his boss:

"According to Xiaoyu's investigation, 'Snow Wolf' is one of the very few organizations in Jicheng that controls the trade routes between Yan and Qin and Yan and the grasslands. After accepting these people, our caravan can expand its trade scope, and the benefits that will come from this will be immeasurable."

"Especially grassland horses, the profit from smuggling in a batch can be several times over!"

"Given their well-behaved behavior, I thought it would be acceptable to accept 'Snow Wolf'."

"Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. What negative consequences will your decision have?"

Lu Wei flipped through the thirty-odd pages of intelligence that Lu Yu had handed over while Lu Shan was speaking, and asked him a question in return.

Lu Shan was prepared for this, and he remained calm and composed:

"The people in the 'Snow Wolf' group are exceptionally brutal and have always been known for their bloody suppression of their peers, leaving many organizations angry but unable to speak out. This is understandable, as many lower-level people are like this when they suddenly gain power."

"Furthermore, among the general public, although they have a great reputation, it is not a good one, and the various evil deeds they have committed are truly ugly."

"However, the 'Snow Wolf' has always been a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. The enemies they offend are not important. Given the size of Luqiu Pavilion, these crimes may attract some minor criticisms, but they are not a big deal."

“A small number of disciples in the pavilion have been bullied by ‘Snow Wolves’ and they harbor hatred towards them. My idea is to separate the two groups and prevent them from meeting as much as possible.”

"Perhaps some of them will still leave Luqiu Pavilion because of this, which is an acceptable price to pay, as they are not as valuable as 'Snow Wolf'."

"Is that how you think about it?" The head steward, skimming through the papers, didn't rush to judge whether Lu Shan's idea was correct. He continued flipping through the papers in his hand while casually asking:

"Three years ago, when I first came to Jicheng, on my first night working as a waiter at the Longmen Inn, the first thing I said to the four of you was, 'Ashan, Ayu,' do you still remember?"

“Hmm…” Lu Shan fell silent, while Lu Yu’s eyes lit up: “Don’t be afraid to sacrifice yourself for great things, or forget righteousness for small gains!”

“But…” Upon hearing this, Lu Shan immediately understood his boss’s attitude and hurriedly spoke up to defend him: “The ‘Snow Wolf’s’ crimes only involve the North District, which is their base. They won’t lose much moral ground! Compared to the profits, it’s insignificant…”

"For the sake of the 'Snow Wolves' in the North District, you've sacrificed some morality." Lu Wei didn't look up at him. "If similar organizations to the Snow Wolves join the Farmer's Clan in the East, West, and South Districts, will you also sacrifice some morality then?"

"If you expand the scope to the State of Yan, to the State of Qi, and to the entire world, how much morality will you lose?"

“But…” Lu Yu didn’t speak, while Lu Shan continued to frown.

"Feel free to share your thoughts," the steward's voice reached his ears. Lu Shan hesitated for a moment before finally speaking:

"But boss, haven't you always taught us to do everything we can to maximize profits for Luqiu Pavilion...? Why this time...?"

"You are now the deputy head of Luqiu Pavilion, Ashan. Why has Luqiu Pavilion become the top martial arts sect in Jicheng?"

Faced with the questioning, Lu Wei was not angry at all, but simply asked him a question in return.

“Because we are a branch of the Farmer’s Sect, with many disciples…” Lu Shan paused mid-sentence, then fell silent, lowered his head, and after a long while spoke again: “Taking in ‘Snow Wolves’ would destroy the very foundation of our Luqiu Pavilion?”

"The losses won't be that great." Putting down the intelligence in his hand, the steward glanced at Shan Yu with a calm expression: "But a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole. Any destruction, whether of people or organizations, is accumulated from a series of small things."

“'Snow Wolf' is indeed very valuable, but it is far from enough to change the bottom line of farmers.”

Besides, some valuable assets, such as trade routes and stockpiled goods, can be obtained without acquiring the 'Snow Wolf'.

Of course, Lu Wei didn't say the last sentence: "Things of plundering and seizing should be done by those who plunder and seize; the Luqiu Pavilion itself needs to be kept clean."

"I understand!" Lu Shan nodded and left the room. He knew what he had to do next.

Lu Yu didn't care much about this matter. In his mind, if Brother Lu decided to accept it, then he would accept it; if Brother Lu decided not to accept it, then he would just send him away. Why bother thinking about it so much?

"Brother Lu, I've modified the Dark Team according to your book." He only said after hearing Lu Shan leave and the door close. "Do we need to place some people on the second floor of Luqiu Pavilion?"

The second floor of Luqiu Pavilion is generally the daily residence of the pavilion masters, managers, and other high-ranking officials.

The steward shook his head: "You are the commander of the Dark Team, this is your duty."

After receiving an ambiguous "Oh," Lu Yu left the room.

------

The journey back to Qi was not difficult.

Since Lu Wei took over Luqiu Pavilion, he has paid special attention to communication between Jicheng and Dazeshan. In addition, the war between Zhao and Qin has never stopped in recent years, and the trade route from Yan to Chu also passes through this road. Therefore, the entire route has been kept very clean by the disciples of the Farmer School, and there are no thieves who are blind to the danger.

However, Lu Wei, standing atop the carriage, was not as calm as he appeared. He silently scanned his surroundings, but still couldn't find what he was looking for...

"It's that gaze!"

The steward gripped the hilt of the Jade Soul Sword, his heart filled with gloom: Several years ago, on that New Year's Eve when he was hanging lanterns for Jicheng, he was stared at for dozens of seconds by a sudden gaze from behind in a dark alley. After the person learned his name, he disappeared.

The man's identity was unknown, and he had no intention of killing him. At first, Lu Wei was still thinking about his identity, but after taking over Luqiu Pavilion, he was too busy. He attended the Autumn Harvest Conference and soon took over the position of general manager. With even more trivial matters, he stopped caring.

But this time, as soon as they left Jicheng with the Yan brothers and Lu Mu, that gaze reappeared after several years.

Furthermore, the gaze followed it all the way, until it was still faintly visible at the border of Yan and Qi...

However, unlike before, with Lu Wei's current skill level, he can now determine that the opponent's internal strength is not much stronger than his own.

However, this method of observation is quite peculiar; it's probably a secret technique!

There are very few people in this world who possess such methods.

It's nothing more than Taoism, or perhaps Yin-Yang philosophy...

Between the two, Lu Wei would definitely choose to doubt the latter!