Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

At 4:20, Zhuge Qi arrived on time at the second floor of Guanyun Hall to listen to the meeting.

The room was small, with a long table in the center, on which was a map of Longhu Mountain and a simple sand table model.

Several scrolls hung on the four walls, with vigorous ink strokes, bearing phrases such as "follow the natural way" and "quietude and non-action".

The window faces west, and the afternoon sun shines in at an angle, making the dust particles in the air sparkle like broken gold.

Dou Le had already arrived and was speaking quietly with a middle-aged Taoist priest in a Taoist robe.

Upon seeing Zhuge Qi enter, he immediately stood up to greet him: "Section Chief Zhuge, come, come, sit here."

He pointed to the first seat on the side of the long table by the window.

Zhuge Qi sat down in the chair, and Ma Hong, Liu Yanyan, and Feng Baobao took their seats in turn.

Liu Yanyan sat upright, her hands neatly placed on her knees, just like in a classroom.

Feng Baobao leaned back, put her hands in her pockets, and stared at the ceiling, seemingly looking at something.

Xiao Zizai sat near the door, furthest from the table, as silent as a stone-carved Arhat.

Dou Le pushed a printed agenda over: "Section Chief Zhuge, these are the key points I'd like to go over with you today. First, the personnel control plan on the mountain during the Luotian Grand Ceremony; second, the guard post arrangements at each entrance and exit; third, the emergency response procedures; fourth—"

Zhuge Qi did not interrupt him, but simply nodded slightly, took the agenda and placed it in front of him, then folded his hands on the table.

Dou Le began to speak.

He explained everything in great detail, from the location of the security checkpoint at the mountain gate and whether or not to test one's Qi, to how the audience seating in the competition venue was divided and how the seats of the Ten Elders of each family were arranged, and then to the process of verifying the identity of the participants during the competition.

Zhuge Qi listened attentively, occasionally glancing down at the sand table and occasionally picking up a teacup from the table to take a sip.

Throughout the process, he barely spoke, only asking once when Dou Le mentioned a certain point: "If members of the Quanxing Sect disguise themselves as attendees and sneak in, can your verification process cover them?" Dou Le replied, "Yes, the first checkpoint at the mountain gate is identity verification. We conduct joint verification with the people from the Celestial Master's Mansion." Zhuge Qi nodded and did not ask any further questions.

He wasn't going to go into more detail; he had his own business to attend to and his own goals to achieve.

Others may not know, but he does know that Gong Qing, the current acting leader of Quanxing, is serving as a disciple on the mountain.

However, since I arrested Xia He, Shen Chong, and Lü Liang in Tianjin, the other side's plans may change significantly, but they are unlikely to give up.

They will probably still choose to take action during the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony.

Now, if we go directly up the mountain and capture Gong Qing, we can directly thwart Quanxing's plan.

But what would I gain from that?

Zhuge Qi knew a story about the three Hua Tuo brothers.

Cao Pi asked Hua Tuo, the most famous physician at the time: "Your three brothers are all skilled in medicine. If we were to compare them, whose medical skills are the best?"

When discussing the level of medical skill, Hua Tuo said that his eldest brother was the best, his second brother was next, and he was the worst.

The reason why the eldest brother's treatment is mainly because he can cure diseases before they occur is because most people don't know that he can eliminate the cause of the disease in advance. Therefore, his reputation cannot spread and is only known to his own family.

The second brother's main skill in treating illnesses was treating them at the onset of symptoms. People generally believed that he could only treat mild illnesses, so his reputation was limited to the local area.

Hua Tuo was the only one who treated patients when their conditions were at their most severe. People generally saw that he could perform major surgeries and even bring the dead back to life, so they believed that his medical skills were superb, and his fame naturally spread throughout the country.

When you do something, you need to make sure people see it.

Zhuge Qi felt that even if he couldn't be the third brother, he should at least be the second brother.

Ma Hong's back was starting to ache from sitting so long. He glanced sideways at Zhuge Qi and noticed that the leader remained calm and composed throughout, his expression unchanged and his eyelids barely lifting.

The meeting lasted about an hour.

After finishing the last item, Dou Le closed the folder and gave Zhuge Qi a look: "That's roughly the framework. We'll refine the specific implementation details later. Do you see anything that needs adjusting?"

Zhuge Qi picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and then spoke his third sentence in the entire meeting: "It's very good. Director Dou, you've made very thorough arrangements. Headquarters will cooperate and execute according to your framework. Just let me know when you need people."

Dou Le visibly relaxed, his smile becoming much more relaxed than before: "That's good, that's good, thank you for your understanding, Section Chief Zhuge. Shall we call it a day? You go back and rest, and tomorrow I'll take you on a tour of the site to familiarize yourself with it."

"Thank you for your hard work." Zhuge Qi stood up, nodded slightly to Dou Le, and then turned and walked towards the door.

Ma Hong, Liu Yanyan, and Feng Baobao also got up one after another. Ma Hong even yawned, but Liu Yanyan nudged him with her elbow, and he immediately suppressed it.

As Zhuge Qi reached the door, Xiao Zizai stood up from his chair and stepped aside to let him pass.

The two were very close, so close that Zhuge Qi could feel the oppressive aura emanating from Xiao Zizai, like a ferocious beast cowering in a cage, breathing heavily but desperately trying to hide it.

Zhuge Qi paused slightly.

He turned his head to look into Xiao Zizai's eyes, then patted the other man's shoulder from behind. "Mr. Xiao, your delusions are too strong, and you will eventually find it difficult to control yourself. You need to reflect on yourself more often."

Xiao Zizai's body tensed up very slightly.

He was about to take a step, his toes already lifted, but because of those words, his feet fell back to the ground, and he seemed to be frozen in place.

"When you can lay down your butcher's knife, you can instantly become a Buddha. Now is the time to cultivate yourself."

After being struck by the other party, Xiao Zizai's mind began to clear up considerably.

Then he suddenly realized that the murderous intent that had been churning in his mind like a wildfire had been doused with something.

It did not perish.

He knew that thing wouldn't go out; he had tried countless times.

But something did drench it, like someone poured a bucket of cold water on the fire; the flames shrank and then quieted down for a while.

Is this a tactic used by the other side?

Xiao Zizai wasn't quite sure.

However, although this method only treats the symptoms and not the root cause, it can indeed give you peace and quiet for a long time.

Lately, he could feel his murderous intent growing stronger, and he needed his father to find him someone to have sex with so he could continue to suppress it.

But now, all delusions have vanished.

"Old Xiao, what's wrong?" Dou Le noticed the change in Xiao Zizai's expression, and then seemed to want something. "Just bear with it a little longer, don't do anything rash. When Quanxing goes up the mountain, I'll find you someone."

"I'm fine," Xiao Zizai explained, but his gaze lingered on Zhuge Qi's departing figure. "Our leader from headquarters is no ordinary person."