A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu was at a funeral home. Behind him was a thick wall, which concealed the passageway to and from The Inn. A Green Phoenix Guard stood at the entrance of the funeral home, some distance away from Qi Xuansu. A few meters away from them were dozens of unclaimed corpses covered in white cloth, lining both sides of the hall.

The Green Phoenix Guard was a little surprised that Qi Xuansu could dodge the crossbow bolt. After some hesitation, the guard threw aside the crossbow and slowly drew the saber at his waist.

The saber was one meter in length, with a 20-centimeter-long hilt. The thin blade was straight at its spine and slightly curved at its sharp edge. It weighed five kilograms. This was the infamous Slim Tiger Saber.

The Slim Tiger Saber was the standard issue for soldiers above the captain rank in the Green Phoenix Guard. Thus, not all soldiers in the Green Phoenix Guard were issued this saber. Ordinary troopers and lieutenants did not receive this kind of treatment.

Qi Xuansu did not make a move. Instead, he asked, “Sir, we haven’t met before, and we have no grudges against each other. Why do you want to kill me?”

The Green Phoenix Guard did not answer Qi Xuansu’s question. He merely turned around and instructed, “Come in and confirm the identity of this man. Is he the lawless man you speak of?”

The next moment, a man apprehensively crept into the funeral home.

Lo and behold, the man was none other than the sleepy waiter from The Inn, who had left in a hurry as soon as Qi Xuansu took up the limping man’s offer.

The waiter peered at Qi Xuansu briefly before lowering his head and answering respectfully, “Yes, my lord. He was the one who accepted the deal.”

“Oh?” The Green Phoenix Guard sneered. “You certainly are brave to try and protect someone from the Green Phoenix Guard. Are you a master swordsman from Donghai or a sage[1] from West Kunlun?”

Qi Xuansu remained unfazed. He replied in a flat voice, “I’m just a nobody trying to make ends meet.”

The Green Phoenix Guard smiled contemptuously. He stretched out his left thumb and swiped it across his upper lip. “Good.”

The waiter from The Inn hurriedly backed away. This time, he was not pretending to be scared. He was truly terrified for his life.

The next second, a cold glint of light appeared in Qi Xuansu’s line of sight. It was the light reflecting off the tip of the Slim Tiger Saber. The blade approached Qi Xuansu, but he did not show the slightest bit of fear. He did not even draw his sword. He simply turned sideways and dodged the attack.

The Green Phoenix Guard closed the gap of dozens of meters between them in an instant and brushed past Qi Xuansu. The saber penetrated 60 centimeters into the wall behind Qi Xuansu, creating spider web-like cracks on it. This was proof of the frightening strength behind his thrust.

If Qi Xuansu had been hit by this thrust, he would have been nailed to the wall, dying on the spot.

The Green Phoenix Guard pulled back his saber, leaving a deep mark on the wall. When he looked at Qi Xuansu, who was now standing to the side, his gaze held a hint of fear and wariness.

He stared at Qi Xuansu and scoffed. “I underestimated you. I guess you do have some skills, since you dare accept such a suicidal mission.”

Qi Xuansu commented, “You’re not too bad yourself.”

Saber in hand, the Green Phoenix Guard said solemnly, “Do you know who you’re trying to protect? The Lieutenant Colonel named him a wanted criminal. Do you dare to go against the Imperial Court?”

Qi Xuansu spoke calmly. “It’s not about bravery. I’m just following orders.”

The Green Phoenix Guard, who had been maintaining his composure, finally lost it. He asked sternly, “Who are you? Who sent you here?”

Qi Xuansu did not reply.

The Green Phoenix Guard subconsciously clenched the hilt of his saber.

The guard had deliberately let the limping man flee to seek help from The Inn, thinking that he could use the limping man as bait to catch a few small fry and claim some credit. Unexpectedly, he had hooked a shark with this bait. One wrong move could drag him into the muddy waters and lead to his doom.

Suddenly, Qi Xuansu moved.

Qi Xuansu was like a ghost, striking faster than the Green Phoenix Guard could react. In just one step, he closed the gap between them, catching his opponent off guard.

He punched the Green Phoenix Guard in the lower abdomen with such speed that his fist whistled through the air. The beast-head belt buckle on the Green Phoenix Guard’s uniform shattered from the sheer force of the blow, and the guard bent over in pain.

Qi Xuansu quickly followed up with an elbow strike square on the guard’s back and a knee to the guard’s face at the same time.

With these three strikes, the Green Phoenix Guard was incapacitated.

Qi Xuansu’s final kick sent the guard flying toward the wall in the back.

The decrepit funeral home shook violently from the impact, stirring up age-old dust on the pillars and beams.

The Green Phoenix Guard slowly slid down the wall and threw up a mix of blood and chunks of internal organs. He leaned against the wall with his head hung low, unable to say a word or move a finger. His breath became weaker as signs of life gradually left him.

Qi Xuansu stepped forward and took the Slim Tiger Saber from the guard’s hand. A pleasant chime reverberated in the hall as he flicked the blade.

Qi Xuansu praised, “Nice saber.”

Then he glanced at the lifeless Green Phoenix Guard and added, “But your skills are lacking.”

Qi Xuansu sheathed the Slim Tiger Saber, hung it on his waist, and shook out his cloak to cover his weapons, then he turned around.

By now, the snitching waiter from The Inn was so frightened that he froze on the spot. He fell on his butt, trembling in fear.

How could that Green Phoenix Guard die so easily?

This inconspicuous young man killed the Green Phoenix Guard, who had no power to fight back.

How was this possible?

When Qi Xuansu turned around, the waiter was scrambling to scoot back with his arms propped up behind him.

Qi Xuansu deliberately lowered his bamboo hat to cover his expression once again. Thus, the waiter could only see his chin. Even without a full view of Qi Xuansu’s face, the waiter instinctively feared the man.

The waiter worked at the rowdy Inn for many years, so he had seen people from all walks of life and had come across his fair share of the Imperial Court’s most wanted criminals. It was for this reason that he felt such despair at this moment.

This seemingly ordinary young man had strong qi.

The Innkeeper once told the waiter, in a drunken stupor, that one would naturally form a murderous aura the more one killed.

There was a saying that spirits were afraid of butchers. That was because butchers had a murderous aura that repelled ordinary spirits. Similarly, a serial killer would have an intense murderous aura that vengeful spirits were afraid of.

The waiter did not take Qi Xuansu seriously at first because he was accustomed to brutes reining in their fiery tempers at The Inn.

No one dared cause trouble at The Inn. In cases where lunatics went overboard and caused a ruckus, the Green Phoenix Guard got involved and easily defeated them.

The waiter had tipped off the Green Phoenix Guard over the years, so he had seen his fair share of people being tortured to death. Among those who died in front of him were a handful of tough and fierce individuals. Some of them simply waited to be killed, while others fought hard for their lives but still ended up dead under the blade of the Green Phoenix Guard.

This was the first time the waiter had seen a Green Phoenix Guard killed before his eyes. This was probably the last time he would bear witness to such a scene, too, since someone capable of killing a mid-ranking Green Phoenix Guard would not mind killing an insignificant waiter like him, right?

Qi Xuansu walked toward the stunned waiter, who was shaking like a leaf. The poor man had prostrated himself on the ground and had wet himself from sheer fear.

Stopping right in front of the waiter, Qi Xuansu stared at him until he stopped trembling with fear. “There’s no need to be scared. I don’t kill innocent people.”

The waiter breathed a long sigh of relief when he heard this. However, before he could revel in joy, what came out of Qi Xuansu’s mouth next almost scared him to death.

“But do you consider yourself innocent?”

The waiter finally burst into tears. Snot and tears covered his face as he cried, “Please spare me, my lord! Please have mercy on a small fart like me! I swear, I will never do this again! My whole family is depending on me to feed them—”

“What a crybaby.” Qi Xuansu raised his voice, and the waiter abruptly shut his mouth.

Having been involved with The Inn and the Green Phoenix Guard, the waiter was sharp enough to notice certain cues. However, he had been too frightened to think straight earlier. The minute he returned to his senses, he hurriedly offered up his services. “My lord, do you have any orders?”

“You’re quick-witted; I’ll give you that.” Qi Xuansu praised the waiter. “The guard who just died was a captain of the seventh rank, so the Green Phoenix Guard won’t let this slide. They will send someone to investigate this matter, and because you were the one who tipped off the guard, you will definitely be tortured during the interrogation. It’s hard to say whether you’ll survive it.”

The waiter paled upon hearing this. He shivered in fear and wet himself again.

Qi Xuansu turned a blind eye to this and continued, “But if you do as I say, you may be able to avoid the Green Phoenix Guard’s punishment.”

Hearing this, the waiter mustered the strength to get up and kneel in front of Qi Xuansu. He kowtowed and begged, “My lord, please spare my humble life! Please save me, I beg you!”

The waiter’s pleas were accompanied by a rhythmic knocking of his forehead against the ground, until blood stains were visible.

Qi Xuansu did not stop him and suggested, “If anyone from the Green Phoenix Guard approaches you, just tell them that Sage Donghua sends his regards to the Lord Commander. Got it?”

“Yes, my lord. Thank you for your magnanimity!” The waiter kowtowed again. After a while, he stopped kowtowing and cautiously lifted his head from the big pool of blood on the ground. His face was stained red.

When he looked up, Qi Xuansu was long gone. It was as if everything that had happened was just a nightmare.

The waiter stood up shakily and scanned the hall. He was surrounded by the lifeless captain of the Green Phoenix Guard and several corpses covered in white cloth. A gust of wind blew from nowhere, making him shiver.

1. Daoist priest of high standing. ☜