Dragon's Origin

"We'll still divide it according to our agreement," Wang Sheng directly set the tone for the division of spoils: "I'll take a quarter, and you two split the rest equally."

The two Great Elders certainly didn't find this principle objectionable, but the problem was, they hadn't even seen what was recorded on these scrolls, so how could they differentiate?

If one scroll contained a super technique and another just a common medicinal recipe, whoever got the recipe would likely feel unfairly treated. Satisfying everyone in this regard was virtually impossible.

Even with the same kind of technique, all three families might want it. How could it possibly be divided equally?

"How are the types of scrolls to be counted?" the Shi family Great Elder asked with a smile, seemingly oblivious to the wary looks of his own disciples.

"It's hard to say!" the Gan family Great Elder also chuckled, appearing to be equally troubled by the question.

The disciples from both families watched their respective Great Elders, waiting for the order to turn hostile. Though they appeared eager for battle, they were all apprehensive.

Wang Sheng's two snow rats suddenly running outside was a signal. Anyone who genuinely believed they were just looking for food was an idiot. The most likely scenario was that the snow rats were signaling pre-positioned demonic beasts.

In other words, if they turned hostile, even if the two families had superior forces and completely suppressed the people from the Lofty Virtue Hall, they might not have a chance to leave this cave alive. There were definitely hordes of terrifying demonic beasts waiting for them outside. The outcome was predictable. The best-case scenario was that they would manage to kill everyone from the Lofty Virtue Hall and Wang Sheng, and then die together. There was no possibility of a better result.

To turn hostile or not? Both Great Elders were anxious, hoping that Wang Sheng could come up with a perfect solution to the unequal distribution of spoils, a solution that they, at least for the moment, couldn't devise.

This was a thorny issue that they had pondered before setting out, without finding a satisfactory answer. If it were just the two families, perhaps they could share the spoils. But with the addition of the Lofty Virtue Hall, making it three families, that approach might not work so well.

On one hand, having too many parties involved would significantly reduce the value of the techniques. On the other hand, each family would inevitably have its own agenda, wanting to monopolize the Lin family's powerful techniques. Who would willingly allow the other two families to benefit?

"There's a simple and crude method," Wang Sheng said, knowing the atmosphere was somewhat delicate, also with a smile.

The two Great Elders perked up, waiting for Wang Sheng to speak. If it made sense, it might be worth considering.

"This area is roughly rectangular," Wang Sheng pointed to the collapsed area of scrolls. "Measure the length of the long side and divide it into one hundred parts. I'll take the leftmost twenty-five parts, and you two can divide the rest equally, regardless of the contents. How about that?"

"No way!" As soon as Wang Sheng finished speaking, the two Great Elders immediately shook their heads in rejection.

Wang Sheng's method seemed fair on the surface, but it was actually extremely unfair. Everyone knew that the edges wouldn't contain anything good; the real treasures were in the middle. The two families certainly wouldn't mind Wang Sheng taking the stuff on the edges, but the problem was, how would they divide the rest? Which family would take the middle? Which would take the edges?

If the Shi and Gan families fought over the spoils, it would play right into Wang Sheng's hands. He could sit back and watch the tigers fight, and with the demonic beasts outside as backup, what a great scheme!

They had prepared for so long outside, at such a great cost. How could they resort to such a self-destructive tactic when it came to dividing the spoils at the final moment?

"It wouldn't be fair to Duke, and we wouldn't feel right about it," the Gan family Great Elder said with a grin, rejecting the proposal. "Unsuitable! Unsuitable!"

The Shi family Great Elder next to him didn't speak, but he nodded frequently, indicating that he felt the same way.

"We don't have much time," Wang Sheng couldn't help but remind them, knowing their thoughts. "Examining and appraising them one by one will likely lead to complications. And even if you do appraise them, it will probably be a big fight. Have you thought about that carefully?"

The two men looked at each other, secretly agreeing with Wang Sheng's point of view. But knowing it was one thing; neither of them was willing to sacrifice their own interests right now.

"Then let's change the method," Wang Sheng said again. "Each family sends one person, blindfolded, without looking at what the scroll is. They just randomly pick from inside. We'll allocate them according to our three families' shares, whatever they find is what they get. This way, it won't hurt anyone's feelings, how about that?"

Letting three people blindly pick from inside, unable to see the titles of the scrolls or their contents, would be purely a matter of luck, seeing which family's disciple had the best fortune.

Relatively speaking, this was a slightly fairer method under these circumstances. Since everyone knew the good stuff was in the innermost part, then the three families could simply start by searching there, and then slowly move outwards.

The two Great Elders looked at each other, somewhat tempted, but still unwilling to accept it. This was purely a matter of luck. It seemed fair, but would the family with the worst luck really accept the outcome?

"Still not working?" Wang Sheng urged, his tone already somewhat impatient.

The experts from both families remained silent, waiting for their own Great Elders to make a decision. They were already prepared to fight, even knowing that it would inevitably end in mutual destruction. How could experts of their caliber possibly desert at the last moment?

"Are there any other methods?" The Gan family Great Elder knew that he had to say something, expressing his meaning directly. "For example, something relatively fair, but that also allows us to be slightly more proactive, instead of relying on this luck-based approach?"

In short, both families wanted to clearly see the names before choosing the scrolls, so they could be more proactive in selecting better items. But the problem was, they had both considered it themselves and discussed it with each other, but they couldn't find a solution. Where could they find such a good deal?

"Want to pick after seeing the names?" Wang Sheng raised his eyebrows, asking with a smile.

"That would be the best, of course!" the Shi family Great Elder replied with a smile.

"I don't mind," Wang Sheng smiled, asking the two of them, "The key is, which of you two will pick first?"

In fact, the root of all the problems lay in the order between the two families. Solving that would basically resolve all the conflicts. As for Wang Sheng, what he wanted wasn't these scrolls at all, but the golden hairpin and the long sword. He believed that Lingxu wouldn't think these scrolls were that important either. For him, wouldn't be more important to reclaim the missing heritage of the Daoist sect, rather than taking things from outsiders?

The unfairness was simply the Gan and Shi families competing with each other. Did they really want to die together with Wang Sheng?