A Pawn's Passage

The thing Qi Xuansu was looking for was a unique kind of jade called the Xuan Jade. His contact person in the Qingping Society gave him a special compass that could sense the Xuan Jade as long as he was close to the item. He could also use the compass to search for the general direction of the Xuan Jade within a certain range.

There was nothing abnormal about the compass when Qi Xuansu entered the previous rooms. The compass suddenly sensed something and vibrated slightly only when Qi Xuansu entered the study.

Qi Xuansu took out the compass from his satchel.

There was a type of magical receptacle that could contain a whole universe. The receptacle could vary in appearance, and the hidden universe it concealed would change in size, too. Only third-rank Youyi Daoist priests could possess such treasures in the Daoist sects.

Qi Xuansu, a mere seventh-rank Daoist priest, did not possess such a magical receptacle. Thus, he used a regular satchel and wore it with a cross-body strap on his shoulder, so as not to hinder his movements. He placed the satchel right at his waist for easy access.

He held the compass with one hand and saw the pointer of the compass spinning rapidly. Then, it slowed down and finally pointed to the paperweight on the desk.

Most people would use a paperweight to press down the paper when writing or painting. It was usually in the shape of a long bar.

Li Hongwen’s paperweight was ordinary. It was made of stone, not jade or wood, so it was not worth much.

Qi Xuansu put away the compass, picked up the paperweight, and slowly exerted some qi from his palms. Many cracks appeared on the surface of the paperweight, and some fragments peeled off, gradually revealing a touch of green inside.

There was jade hidden in the stone.

Li Hongwen actually hid the Xuan Jade in the paperweight and placed it on his desk, out in the open. The Green Phoenix Guards must have thought that Li Hongwen had hidden the Xuan Jade in a secret location and did not think that the jade was hiding in plain sight.

Qi Xuansu peeled off all the fragments, revealing the Xuan Jade’s true appearance. It was shaped like a crescent moon and resembled the knife money of ancient times. It was dark green in color and semi-translucent, with many fine blood-like streaks inside.

He fumbled with the Xuan Jade for a while but found nothing unusual about it. It seemed to be no different from ordinary jade. That was probably because of his lack of cultivation or knowledge. Qi Xuansu did not scrutinize it. Instead, he put the Xuan Jade back in his satchel and left the county government office.

......

It was still pouring. A small boat with a black tarp drifted along with the river’s current right outside Fengtai County.

A middle-aged man dressed in lavish clothes sat in the cabin. He had a long beard that reached his chest and a full head of black hair secured into a bun with a jade hairpin. He looked extraordinarily handsome.

Purple smoke rose from the incense burner on the small table before him. The man stretched out his hand and watched as the smoke swirled around his palm. His clear, porcelain skin seemed to glow when he lightly inhaled the ambergris fragrance. It was a magical and strange sight to behold.

Kneeling on the bow of the boat, Li Sanxin looked miserable under the heavy rain.

Li Sanxin had two identities. His first identity was a lower-sixth-rank assistant major of the Green Phoenix Guard, and his second identity was a disciple of the Taiping Sect in the Daoist Order.

There were three major sects within the Daoist Order: the Zhengyi Sect, the Quanzhen Sect, and the Taiping Sect.

Zhengyi Sect disciples were allowed to eat meat or fish and were allowed to marry. They also used their real name instead of a nickname.

Quanzhen Sect disciples were the most conservative sect. Most of them were vegetarians, and most were not allowed to marry. Some of them even abandoned their real names and used their Daoist nicknames instead. However, some of them still retained their real names.

The Taiping Sect had no taboos and was the closest to the secular world.

Besides sharing an ancestral court where their founder was buried, the three major factions of the Daoist Order had their own sacred land. Dazhen Mansion was the holy place for the Zhengyi Sect; the Chongyang Palace of Immortality was the sacred site for the Quanzhen Sect; and the Zhenjing Courtyard was the holy site of the Taiping Sect.

The Zhenjing Courtyard was located on Penglai Island in Donghai, which Li Sanxin had mentioned previously during his duel with Qi Xuansu.

However, no matter which sect they belonged to, they were all Daoist priests who were categorized into nine ranks. The ninth rank was the lowest grade, only slightly better in status than ordinary Daoist believers. A first-rank Daoist priest was the highest level, only answering to the Grand Master of the Daoist Order.

Li Sanxin was a seventh-rank Daoist priest, on par with Qi Xuansu.

Meanwhile, the man in the cabin was one of Li Sanxin’s teachers, Jiang Bieyun, a fourth-rank Daoist priest.

There was a big gap between the fifth and fourth-rank Daoist priests, much like the difference between ministers and regular officials.

Daoist priests of the ninth rank to the fifth rank were considered ordinary disciples who were not yet qualified to accept the doctrines passed down by Daoist masters.

Fourth-rank Daoist priests were also called Daoist masters or mages. These Daoist masters were qualified to accept disciples and teach the doctrines of Daoism. They were responsible for burning incense at the local Daoist temples. Some even held important positions in the ancestral court in West Kunlun. The power they held was considerable.

Of course, being promoted to a fourth-rank Daoist master also required corresponding qualifications and realm cultivation. Without a strong background or merit, one had to reach the Guizhen stage of cultivation to be promoted to a fourth-rank Daoist master.

In other words, Jiang Bieyun was a Xiantian Being in the Guizhen stage. He was also a Qi Refiner in the Divine Qi Realm.

At this time, Jiang Bieyun’s face was gloomy, and his eyes were narrowed.

According to Li Sanxin’s account of the story, another Daoist disciple went on a killing spree in the county government office, killing Zhou Feilong and breaking Li Sanxin’s flying sword. Li Sanxin almost lost his life too.

Jiang Bieyun did not care much about Li Sanxin’s survival. Although the latter was also a disciple of the Taiping Sect, he was not an important or indispensable figure. Li Sanxin had no one else to blame but himself for his incompetence if he were to die in Fengtai County.

What caught Jiang Bieyun’s attention was this mysterious Daoist disciple.

Ever since the sixth-generation Daoist Grand Master ascended to the heavens, the position of Grand Master has been left vacant. On the surface, the three Deputy Grand Masters had joint power, but in fact, each of them had their own plans. If that mysterious disciple who fought against Li Sanxin was from one of the other two major factions, then Jiang Bieyun would need to ponder the implications.

This time, a Sage in the Taiping Sect had tasked Jiang Bieyun with organizing the search for the Xuan Jade. However, Jiang Bieyun did not dare speculate about the reason for acquiring the jade. He only vaguely knew that it was related to the sage’s path to enlightenment. So, they could not search for it openly.

Due to this, Jiang Bieyun bribed the Lieutenant Colonel of the Green Phoenix Guard and tasked Li Sanxin with the mission.

Only Jiang Bieyun himself knew what was really going on. Even Li Sanxin was kept in the dark.

Li Sanxin thought that searching for the Xuan Jade was a side task and that killing Li Hongwen was the actual mission.

The fact of the matter was the exact opposite of what Li Sanxin thought it was. The search for the Xuan Jade was the main mission, and killing Li Hongwen was just a cover story.

Previously, Li Sanxin regarded Zhou Feilong as an abandoned pawn, but to Jiang Bieyun, Li Sanxin was also a chess piece that could be discarded at any time. Li Sanxin and Zhou Feilong were not so different after all.

Jiang Bieyun had his reasons for not telling Li Sanxin about the true mission.

The situation became more complicated since the Xuan Jade had fallen into the hands of Daoist disciples from other factions.

Jiang Bieyun was backing Li Sanxin, so it meant that the disciples of the other two major factions would most likely have their backers as well. Some of these backers might even be Jiang Bieyun’s old acquaintances.

Thinking of this, Jiang Bieyun, who was still inside the cabin, shouted, “Come in.”

Li Sanxin, who had been left in the rain for a while, wiped his face, entered the cabin, and greeted Jiang Bieyun respectfully.

Jiang Bieyun withdrew his fair palm and asked Li Sanxin, “What else did you discover?”

Li Sanxin replied softly, “Master, according to my brothers who went to The Inn to investigate the situation, this mysterious disciple once revealed his identity to our informant. He said—”

Seeing the hesitation on Li Sanxin’s face, Jiang Bieyun raised his eyelids and said in a stern voice, “What is it? Go ahead and tell me.”

Li Sanxin then continued, “He said that Sage Donghua sends his regards to the Lord Commander.”

Jiang Bieyun’s expression changed as he repeated, “Sage Donghua.”

Li Sanxin answered respectfully. “Yes, Master.”

Now that it involved a Sage, even Jiang Bieyun, a fourth-rank Daoist master, did not dare to act rashly.

Sage was merely another title for a second-rank Daoist priest, also known as the Taiyi Daoist master. There were 36 Sages in the Daoist Order with transcendent statuses, and Sage Donghua was one of the few top members among them.

If this matter involved a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master, it was not something a fourth-rank Daoist master like Jiang Bieyun could intervene with. Thus, Jiang Bieyun pondered for a moment before he spoke to Li Sanxin.

“I will send Sage Donghua a letter detailing the current situation, asking him to preside over it. As for this mysterious disciple, don’t do anything that will alarm him without my permission. If he really is a close associate or disciple of Sage Donghua, we will get into trouble if we kill him.”

Li Sanxin respectfully agreed, exited the cabin slowly, and jumped off the boat. However, he was standing on the water. Li Sanxin walked toward the river bank in the pouring rain, stepping on the rolling waves.

After Li Sanxin left, there was another beautiful woman in the cabin beside Jiang Bieyun. She had a complicated identity, being Jiang Bieyun’s disciple as well as his concubine-cum-maid. This dirty scandal was not known to outsiders.

The woman kneeled beside Jiang Bieyun with lowered eyebrows. She picked up a long-handled incense shovel and scraped a few grams of ambergris from the ambergris block in the incense burner.

Smoke suddenly filled up the cabin again.

Jiang Bieyun sat cross-legged, with his palms placed on his knees. His face was shrouded in the heavy smoke, making it difficult to see his expression clearly.

He inhaled the incense, significantly decreasing the amount of smoke, and said indifferently, “Fengtai County happens to be on our sect’s territory. Take my insignia and invitation to meet with the local Jijiu Daoist master, then ask him to check out the situation. Find out if there are any recent records of Quanzhen Sect disciples visiting the area.”

The woman who was burning incense responded in a voice that was delicate and soft, touching men’s hearts. Coupled with her attractive figure in the prime of youth, she was an irresistible woman. Usually, Jiang Bieyun would be aroused by some promiscuous thoughts, but at this juncture, his only focus was on Sage Donghua.

Sage Donghua was a dignified second-rank Taiyi Daoist master who held an official position in the Ancestral Court and took charge of the regional Daoist temples. He was so influential, so who would dare provoke him rashly?

Moreover, this mission was official business, and his disciple had offended someone powerful.

Jiang Bieyun pondered and decided to observe the situation. He would only make a move when things became more apparent. He wanted to avoid mistakes rather than seek rewards. Sometimes, making no errors was also a form of merit.