Chapter 53: Three Strategies
East of Gusu City, on a street that used to be rather deserted, there was now heavy traffic. Players with the Longhu Men emblem tattooed on their chests could be seen everywhere, walking with heads held high and full of confidence!
Most of these people frequented a grand mansion in the center of the street, guarded by majestic stone lions. At the entrance stood several tall men in black combat attire. Above their heads hung a plaque with three bold characters inscribed in elegant script—Longhu Men! This was the headquarters of Longhu Men, the top sect in Gusu City.
Unlike the high spirits of the sect’s members outside, the inner hall of the headquarters, accessible only to the elite, was shrouded in an unusually gloomy and oppressive atmosphere.
The woman and two men who had nearly clashed with Happy and his group earlier were sitting in the VIP seats of the hall, listening to Long Meng, the vice leader of Longhu Men, recount the events that had taken place recently.
As Long Meng spoke, the man and two women showed no obvious reaction after the departure of Ru Xian from Longhu Men. Instead, the burly man sitting at the head of the hall frowned deeply and shook his head slightly, seemingly sighing at something.
“…”
Long Meng grew increasingly anxious, as his actions had led to the deaths of many sect members and drawn the wrath of formidable enemies.
Although the sect leader had already reprimanded him harshly for Ru Xian’s departure, what truly worried him was Happy, who had single-handedly killed the chief of Hei Feng Zhai. Having witnessed Happy eliminate over twenty of Longhu Men’s best fighters despite his own serious injuries, and seeing his mastery of hidden weapons, Long Meng dared not hide anything from the sect leader. He not only revealed the true strength of the Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword but also exaggerated the threat Happy posed to Longhu Men:
“It’s indeed my fault. I shouldn’t have coveted Hei Feng Zhai’s treasures. But now that the mistake has been made, Happy must hate Longhu Men to the core… Sect leader, for the sake of Longhu Men’s reputation and its future development, the Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword must be eliminated! Otherwise, what remains of Longhu Men’s prestige?!” As he spoke, Long Meng gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with intense and resolute murderous intent.
“…”
The leader of Longhu Men was named “Wen Long.” In reality, he was a coal businessman with some wealth, known as the “Nine-Stripe Dragon.” Skilled in both legitimate and illegal activities, he entered “Jianghu” mainly at the persuasion of his sister, who saw great potential and business opportunities in it. He then sent a group of people into “Jianghu” aiming to build a powerful empire there.
With the support of his followers, he effortlessly broke through the entry restrictions, gathered 100,000 taels of silver, and founded Longhu Men as the top sect in Gusu City.
But what he didn’t expect was… Just as Longhu Men was ready to go all out to increase its popularity and seize resources, various problems began to arise! Relying on the prestige of being the first sect, Longhu Men’s subordinates attracted many enemies. Within just a few days, Longhu Men was seen by countless players in Gusu City as a scourge, facing severe challenges. All of this… With the help of the Confucian Immortal to manage and mediate, things gradually improved. Yet, during the Black Wind Camp’s operation, the two vice leaders of Longhu Men and their troops not only failed to capture the player “Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword,” whom they had overlooked, but also lost over twenty of their brothers. What hurt him even more was that the Confucian Immortal, who had often offered valuable suggestions for the sect, left Longhu Men without hesitation… Moreover, rumors about Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword toppling the Black Wind Camp and killing many of their brothers had spread, and soon the whole city would know. Facing such dire circumstances, he had no choice but to summon his sister, who was born in Hangzhou. “Sister, what do you think I should do now?” Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword’s strength far exceeded Jiuwén Long’s understanding—although he had practiced diligently and gathered all the information available in the “Jianghu” over the past two months, the strength of the Black Wind Camp’s leader was beyond his imagination. He couldn’t fathom how a player who had only just reached the entry level could possibly win in a direct fight. He could only seek advice from his sister! After all, she was highly intelligent and a descendant of one of the four great families in Jianghu—the Nangong Family—so her access to information and breadth of experience should surpass his. Sensing the gazes of everyone in the room, the veiled woman gently set down her teacup. She still hadn’t removed the veil from her face. Besides a hint of mysterious charm and allure, her bright eyes now showed a touch of cunning and wisdom. After pondering for a few seconds, she softly spoke, “Elder brother, don’t worry. On the way here, I thought of three strategies to deal with Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword…” “Oh.” Wenlong was taken aback. “Go on.” “As the saying goes, enemies become friends through battle. For a famous expert like Blue-Clothed Gentleman Sword, as long as Longhu Men steps forward to resolve the situation, they won’t refuse our offer. But this might mean sacrificing our Vice Leader Long.” As soon as she finished speaking, Wenlong, who had been eagerly hoping for a good solution, immediately froze in shock! Asking him to apologize to that person? What prestige would he still have in the eyes of his fellow Longhu Men members? “What about the middle strategy?” Wenlong glanced at the grim-faced Wenlong and said calmly.
As a boss who ruled the real world with absolute authority, having dozens of subordinates killed while still having to let his right-hand men apologize and take blame felt rather humiliating. Seeing that the eldest brother seemed unwilling to lower his pride, the veiled beauty, well aware of his temper, sighed softly: “If we choose the middle path, we shouldn’t do anything at all—just focus entirely on developing Longhu Men… Let’s pretend this never happened.” “How can that work?” This time, neither Wen Long nor Long Meng could accept it. “Ignoring everything—how can I face my dead brothers?” “Right, and what will the outside world think of Longhu Men then?” “…” The veiled beauty sighed again: “The interests in the game can be settled with money. If we must do something, it’s the worst option… Think carefully—becoming enemies of the future star of the Murong family will undoubtedly be the biggest obstacle to Longhu Men’s development.” “Tell us exactly how to do it.” Wen Long asked firmly, his gaze growing sharper, revealing the dominance of a generation’s leader: “If we can’t even handle such a mere expert, how can we talk about running Longhu Men or standing firm in the martial world?!” Seeing the eldest brother’s authority and determination return, the veiled beauty showed a relieved smile for the first time, her tone shifting: “This is my real eldest brother!” “Since we have to deal with him, we must kill him in one strike! From now on, keep a close eye on Happy’s every move… Once the time is right, strike him down instantly.” At this point, the veiled beauty paused briefly, her bright eyes falling on the two young men beside her: “I’m afraid we’ll need your help, brothers!” “Don’t be polite, junior sister.” “I just know how to use hidden weapons—it’s nothing serious. There are also a few experts in hidden weapons in Hangzhou. Though they’re skilled, we can still find a way to deal with them.” “Exactly! I didn’t like that kid from the start at Yumen Tower. We’ll show him what it means… there are always those better than us!”