Chapter 411: 385 Q&A

Inside another room, there was no one but Meng Tiansheng; there was only a long desk, and white walls on all four sides—a ghastly, pale color that was full of oppressive pressure.

Meng Tiansheng sat on a grand armchair behind the long desk, tilting his head to look at Black Widow and Tang Zhao. The two of them each sat on a round stool, the disparity in their status clear.

Because the distance between them was very close, it was indeed possible to see that Meng Tiansheng was truly aged and frail; his snow-white hair was quite sparse and soft, hanging desolately over his shoulders. His pupils were turbid, lacking any vitality of life.

His life force was indeed like a candle burned to its end; a gust of wind would extinguish it.

Despite this, he still maintained the momentum and pride of a Sword Guest. Black Widow maintained the respect of a subordinate toward a Manor Master, as well as the respect a person of the pugilistic world holds for a Sword Guest.

She had been summoned by Meng Tiansheng to chat, and beyond that, no information had been provided, so she wanted to see what exactly Meng Tiansheng wanted to talk about. Then, she would decide how to act based on the old Manor Master's attitude and the direction of the overall situation.

"You..."

Meng Tiansheng spoke up: "Do you have anything to say to me?"

?

Black Widow was startled. Wasn't it you who asked me here to talk? How did it become that I have something to say?

"The old man is here now; if you have any important words to say to me, you may say them." Meng Tiansheng repeated himself, revealing a meaningful expression.

Tang Zhao was also taken aback. Although he also felt it was strange to let Black Widow speak, he sensed that this old man had already set a question. It was the kind of difficult problem without a standard answer.

Although it was very difficult, a candidate who wanted to stand out had to be able to provide an answer.

Black Widow was silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "I grew up with Meng Shaojun, and I have always felt that this child has promise. In terms of lineage, talent, and brilliance, he should be the next Manor Master of Jingzhe Villa. It is only because he is unwilling to stoop that he gave us such an opportunity. Once I become Manor Master, I will certainly do my utmost to assist him in becoming a Sword Guest. If he succeeds, Jingzhe Villa will have a long-standing and powerful ally; even if there are accidents, it is only right that the young master lives a life of peace and wealth."

Hearing Black Widow's answer, Meng Tiansheng's brows relaxed, and his sitting posture leaned slightly forward, showing intimacy. Tang Zhao suddenly realized—so this was the key.

Tang Zhao recalled what Chen Zong had said: "The pugilistic world is not just about fighting and killing; it is about human relationships and worldly wisdom."

As expected of Black Widow, who had bought out Tang Zhao's old residence so early on, she had actually provided the standard answer with so little prompting. If it were Tang Zhao, although he was not stupid, he could not have thought of this so quickly.

Meng Tiansheng's expression became solemn, and he said: "If you were to become Manor Master, what is the first thing you would do?"

This was indeed a standard question, and it also showed that Black Widow had passed the preliminary round and entered the semi-finals. She smiled slightly and said: "I would sever the ties between the Five Poisons Society and Jingzhe Villa."

Meng Tiansheng paused slightly and said: "Oh? This is truly beyond expectations. When they chatted with me earlier, some said they would grant remission to the other factions competing for the Manor Master position to preserve the villa's strength; others said they would unite the Five Poisons Society, twisting it into a single rope so its strength would naturally grow. Beigong had the most vision; he said he would use the waterways as a link to extend the Five Poisons Society's influence along the Tongyang River, expanding into Lingzhou to snatch business from the mountain bandits and water pirates there. How is it that you, on the contrary, treat the Five Poisons Society as a burden?"

Black Widow smiled and said: "I think Beigong's idea is excellent. He likely saw that if the Five Poisons Society wants to develop, it must go out—whether to Lingzhou or Liangzhou—but staying in Yunzhou is a dead end. If it stays in Yunzhou and tries to unite various local factions to develop and grow, it will only die faster."

Meng Tiansheng did not speak, merely studying Black Widow.

Black Widow's expression was confident as she continued to explain: "Times are different now. Yunzhou used to be the territory of this gang or that gang, but now it is the territory of the Imperial Court. The Hou Mansion is powerful, and the Five Poisons Society is already surviving in the cracks; it is good enough to maintain its current vitality. To take another step up would likely offend the Imperial Court. The Gaoyuan Marquis sweeps through counties and prefectures, cleaning up the local areas, and he loves to kill the chicken to warn the monkey; at a time like this, one should be hiding, not expanding with great fanfare, lest one becomes the first target of someone's new administration."

"At the same time, Jingzhe Villa is different. Jingzhe Villa is a proper Sword Guest faction; its structure is not large, its organization is not strict, and it is not rooted in the local area to offend taboos. At the same time, it has the inheritance of Sword Guests, providing top-tier combat power, making it an object that every official government wants to win over. If operated well, it has more potential. It is not that Jingzhe Villa is leading the Five Poisons Society, but rather that the Five Poisons Society is dragging down Jingzhe Villa."

"Of course, I am not saying to completely untie the Five Poisons Society from Jingzhe Villa, but to push the Five Poisons Society forward and pull Jingzhe Villa back, temporarily severing the two and using other identities as a transit. Once the situation changes and the Imperial Court relaxes its grip, the Five Poisons Society can return to the stage, and Jingzhe Villa will still have followers at a single call, dominating the region."

Meng Tiansheng closed his eyes slightly, not knowing if he was thinking or had fallen asleep.

After Black Widow finished speaking, Meng Tiansheng suddenly moved his lips slightly and said: "Is this not alarmist? Even in the golden ages of antiquity, there was never a principle that forbade the existence of the underworld."

Black Widow continued her defense: "In a golden age, there is naturally room for the underworld to survive. But today is not a golden age. Precisely because the Hou Mansion treats Yunzhou as its own stronghold, it watches it even more closely. The wind has been blowing tighter these past few months; I see that there must be a major move in Yunzhou. At this time, everyone is a taut bowstring; whoever causes trouble now will likely face the fate of being pierced by ten thousand arrows."

Tang Zhao knew she was referring to the major operation organized by the Gaoyuan Marquis to wipe out the Turtle Pirates. This operation mobilized the core strength of the Hou Mansion; even he did not know how it was progressing, only that most of the combat power of the Hou Mansion and the Dudu Mansion had been drawn into it, and the atmosphere was indeed growing tighter by the day. If Black Widow had no internal information and had sensed the atmosphere purely on her own, she was still very sharp.

Meng Tiansheng still did not express his stance, but said: "Actually, more than one person has told me that you are getting too close to the official government."

Tang Zhao's heart jumped, but Black Widow laughed out loud and said: "As the leader of a local underworld faction, isn't it natural for me to approach the official government?"

Meng Tiansheng said: "However, they say you no longer seem to be approaching the government, but rather leaning toward it. You have already adopted the style of the government. You do not follow the rules of the pugilistic world in anything, and you have lost the traditions of the Five Poisons Society. Even this little external helper of yours—" he looked at Tang Zhao, "—is full of righteous habits; the few questions you just asked had the flavor of a Great Hero. I thought you were some disciple from a famous righteous sect or a noble family."

Tang Zhao quickly entered his role, smiled arrogantly, and said: "That is just my temper; if any noble family disciple is like me, then he is imitating me."

Black Widow sighed: "Is this not the difficulty of being a person? I rack my brains for the development of Jingzhe Villa and the Five Poisons Society, yet those jealous, petty people go and slander me; their hearts are truly punishable. Fortunately, the Manor Master is discerning and does not listen to their slander."

Tang Zhao thought to himself: It is common for competitors to badmouth each other; what is this old fellow thinking, telling the person themselves about the slander? Is he trying to stir up trouble at a time like this?

Meng Tiansheng was noncommittal toward Black Widow's flattery and said: "I am old, and I cannot see the overall situation clearly. Everything each of you says sounds reasonable, and I do not know who is right or wrong. Even if we could distinguish right from wrong, that would be a matter for after I die. Who can care about things after death? Leave later matters to later people. I only care about what is before my eyes."

Black Widow said: "Before your eyes..."

Meng Tiansheng said: "Before my eyes is the present, is tonight. You will stay in this villa to rest."

Before the words had faded, a box suddenly popped open in front of Black Widow, containing several keys inside.

"These are the keys to the rooms in the villa; each key corresponds to a room. You choose two. The two of you, each choose a room to rest in."

Black Widow did not mind; she wrapped the two keys with her Soul Threads and was about to pick them up when Meng Tiansheng said: "Choose carefully. Every room in this villa has only one door for entry and exit, and it is only safe when opened with a key. If you try to force your way in through a window or kick down a door, you will surely trigger a mechanism, inviting infinite killing intent, and it will also trigger an alarm bell, making it known to everyone."

Tang Zhao suddenly understood. Thinking about it, nine outsiders were to stay in this small villa for the night, five of whom were representatives of the Five Poisons Society's poisonous insects—what a dangerous thing this was! If there were no precautions, there would be no need for a competition of gu-poisoning; they would have caused who knows what kind of trouble themselves during the night.

It stood to reason that Meng Huazhou needed more people to help him find the Cloud Sword, and Jingzhe Villa did not want everyone to over-consume their strength in advance, which was why they adopted such protective measures.

Black Widow likely thought the same. After finishing her conversation with the old Manor Master and laying out the plans in her heart, she felt that even if her performance did not add points, it would not deduct any. It was better to stabilize her footing first and then go to Young Master Meng tomorrow to strive for better results. She carefully looked at these keys; indeed, each key had a sect number attached to it, arranged by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

She did not ask the Manor Master, but first looked around. Sure enough, on a corner of the table lay a spread-out map, which was a full diagram of the villa, marking the location of every room.

Tang Zhao also saw the map, and his heart gave a jolt: this is too thoughtful; this kind of map usually only appears in...

Black Widow watched for a while, chose two adjacent corner locations, and took the keys out. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she glanced into the box, forcibly memorizing the numbers of the remaining rooms.

Meng Tiansheng said: "Chosen? Good, your answer just now was not bad. According to what was said before, this old man has a gift for you."

Tang Zhao had an increasingly wrong premonition.

At this moment, another box popped open on the table.

Inside the box were rows of keys, and the keys also had numbers attached to them.

"These are the spare keys for all the rooms; you may choose two to use for entering other people's rooms."