The Black Road, the White Road. (2)

"Kill them."

As someone gave the order inside the building, the fighting upstairs in the Star Sea Building officially began.

But the JinWan Pavilion, second only to the Dark Building's hidden tower, going against the Black Dragon Hall which only ruled in the Tian Ruo Prefecture, the outcome seemed to have been predetermined already.

......

......

Lu Gaosheng walked into the building. A short man wearing a golden mask and golden clothes, had prepared a tea table and fragrant tea while waiting.

Lu Gaosheng went to the tea table and sat down calmly. Upstairs in the Star Sea Building, a bloody fight was still going on, but the scene of the two men quietly enjoying fragrant tea seemed as if nothing had happened.

No matter if it was the Black Sect or the White Sect, human lives were no different in their eyes, nothing special.

The Golden Masked Man said, "Master Lu has great courage and calmness, using himself as bait, setting up ambushes with the few assassins caught, laying out schemes again and again, and eliminating the Green Sword Sect and Black Dragon Hall in one go. The Pavilion Master of JinWan Pavilion admires this, truly admires this."

Lu Gaosheng looked at the Golden Masked Man and asked back, "What is there to admire? Pavilion Master, aren't you also sitting calmly in the pavilion, completely fearless?"

But the man said, "It's different, it's different. I was born in the Jianghu and have seen many bloody fights and deaths throughout my life, so I'm naturally not afraid. But I've heard that Master Lu was originally a top scholar who passed the imperial exam. You must not have seen such scenes of life and death before, but now at first sight, I dare say the Pavilion Master has chosen correctly! Master Lu is really an extraordinary man!"

Lu Gaosheng laughed loudly and said, "I also have to thank your Pavilion Master for helping me eliminate those useless Black Dragon Hall thugs."

The Golden Masked Man continued, "It was no trouble. Besides, our JinWan Pavilion intended to expand in Tian Ge Prefecture all along. Now that the master is willing to generously assist, JinWan Pavilion is very grateful...."

As he spoke, the Golden Masked Man beckoned with his hand, and immediately a tragic cry came from downstairs....

"Master Lu, Master Lu, I will never again...."

Thud.

With the sound of a head hitting the floor, the man downstairs seemed to have been killed before he could finish speaking.

The Golden Masked Man smiled slightly and took a sip of fragrant tea, then continued, "That was the mole the Black Dragon Hall had planted in Master Lu's manor. Although I know Master Lu would not have let him go after returning, we still captured him first to show Master Lu our feelings and respect."

Lu Gaosheng laughed heartily and said, "Thank you for that. Over the years, the most vigilant prefect towards me, Lu Gaosheng, among the six prefects, has been the prefect of Tian Ge. But he couldn't remove me because of that reason, plus the local Black Dragon Hall's duplicity towards me. I'm afraid the moles in my manor are more numerous than the fish and shrimp in the river."

The Golden Masked Man also laughed, "Master Lu is crafty and has tolerated so many moles in your manor for many years. If it were me, I absolutely would not have endured it. But surprisingly, this time Master Lu used the Black Dragon Hall's moles as a mouthpiece to deceive the Black Dragon Hall master and set up such a huge trap, while also conveniently eliminating the prefect's planted men. But isn't Master Lu afraid the prefect will be humiliated into a rage by this?"

After he finished speaking.

Lu Gaosheng stared into the Golden Masked Man's eyes.

Time seemed to stand still.

As the Pavilion Master of JinWan Pavilion, this was the first time he felt a chill down his spine under the gaze of a scholar who knew no martial arts.

Indeed!

As the Pavilion Master had said, this Lu Gaosheng was no ordinary man.

After a long time, Lu Gaosheng smiled and said, "The servants I brought today were all people the prefect had arranged around me six years ago. In fact, I just wanted the prefect to understand through this, how laughable I, Lu Gaosheng, find his petty tricks. And isn't this what your Pavilion hopes to see the most?"

Putting down his teacup, the Golden Masked Man sighed, "As expected, nothing gets past Master Lu. Tian Ge Prefecture's prefect has cooperated with Black Heaven Gate for many years. My JinWan Pavilion hasn't been able to make any inroads, which has displeased our Pavilion Master for a long time. Fortunately the prefect's term is up next year."

Lu Gaosheng laughed, "That's why I'm eliminating these moles. If he keeps monitoring me like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to accomplish anything. As for Black Dragon Hall, their strength is too weak to support my ambitions, so I'd rather give Tian Ruo City's underground forces to your Pavilion, as a gesture of my sincerity."

The Golden Masked Man laughed, "From Master Lu's words I detect that what Master Lu needs now is a lot of money, which is why Master Lu came to us."

"No...." Lu Gaosheng deliberately left him hanging, gazing at the Golden Masked Man for a long time before continuing, "There is also the fact that relying on the prefect's relations, Black Heaven Gate has grown bigger and bigger in Tian Ge Prefecture over the years. In fact, they also have some influence in Tian Ruo City. If not for Black Dragon Hall's deep local roots over many years, they would have been swallowed up too."

Lu Gaosheng's implication was very clear. And from years of secret investigations, JinWan Pavilion also knew that though seemingly peaceful on the surface, Black Heaven Gate had already taken over half the territories in Tian Ge Prefecture - a full three prefectures!

The Golden Masked Man said, "As expected, Master Lu sees things clearly. Tian Ge is just one prefecture, and we of the Black Sect in central Dawu Country only have sway over a total of three prefectures. Yet relying on the prefect's relations, Black Heaven Gate has taken over half a prefecture! My Pavilion and the Dark Building cannot let this slide!"

"That is power!" Lu Gaosheng cut to the crux of the matter.

The Golden Masked Man had to admit, "Yes, it is indeed power! We have to say, in this respect, the Dark Building and my Pavilion don't see things as clearly as Black Heaven Gate, so we naturally lag behind them by a step."

Lu Gaosheng said, "This is also why Black Heaven Gate is exerting all effort to push the current prefect's son, who is also the prefect of Tian Yuan Prefecture, into the seat of the next prefect!"

The Golden Masked Man clapped and praised, "Well said. After so much has been said, I'm already convinced that Master Lu has the ability and ambition worthy of JinWan Pavilion's full assistance! I believe we have chosen the right person."

Lu Gaosheng said, "Naturally."

But....

The Golden Masked Man said something that was also on the JinWan Pavilion Master's mind to ask.

"Master Lu, I have to be blunt about this. There are some hard truths that still need to be said."

Lu Gaosheng said, "Speak freely."

The Golden Masked Man smiled awkwardly at first before finally saying, "I've enjoyed our conversation greatly, but Master Lu, I can see that you're no small fry. You have great ambition and backbone, and in the future your sights will surely not stop at just being a prefect...."

Lu Gaosheng's eyebrows twitched but he neither confirmed nor denied it.

The man continued asking, "Master Lu, my JinWan Pavilion has stood for a hundred years. We only like, and only want, to make money. Whether it's the Black Sect, White Sect, or officialdom, we don't care. So spending money and men to support a talent like Master Lu is certainly something we'd do. But our Pavilion Master wants to know, how will you guarantee that after becoming prefect, you will fulfill your promises to our Pavilion Master?"

The corrupt collusion between officialdom and the underground was nothing new in Dawu Country.

Given how audacious the Black Dragon Hall was in attempting to assassinate Lu Gaosheng, it showed the Black Sect did not fear the authorities much.

However, there was a premise here.

Dawu Country only had fifteen prefectures total, and aside from the Imperial Prefecture, the other fourteen prefectures each had a prefect who was a prominent figure. Even the three big underground factions, Black Heaven Gate, Dark Building and JinWan Pavilion, did not dare casually make a move against them.

If Lu Gaosheng became prefect but did not keep his word, JinWan Pavilion might be angry over the huge loss of money, but it still wouldn't be worth it to retaliate against a prefect!

In short, whether it was from today's conversation or months of secret investigation, JinWan Pavilion was very clear that Lu Gaosheng was no simple character. Along with JinWan Pavilion's financial and manpower resources, his becoming the next prefect had a very high chance.

However, JinWan Pavilion's concern now was that someone like Lu Gaosheng would be very hard to control in essence. If they decided to cooperate with Lu Gaosheng, besides providing him large amounts of funds to grease palms up and down, they would also face the risk of Lu Gaosheng reneging after becoming prefect.

Compared to Black Heaven Gate and Dark Building, organizations with hundreds of years of history in the underground world, JinWan Pavilion, founded less than 100 years ago, was more like a group of businessmen than a Black Sect organization. Among so many Black Sect forces, they were the ones who resembled businessmen the most.