A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu, who was meditating with his eyes closed, heard the announcement and turned to look outside.

He saw a flying ship breaking through the sea of clouds and descending slowly. Its bow resembled a dragon’s head, and the ship was shrouded in wisps of water vapor. Water droplets continuously rolled down, creating a light drizzle below the ship.

It looked like a dragon carrying a building on its back, flying from the depths of the sea and into the clouds. Wherever it passed, wind and rain followed.

This was the flying ship.

The flying ship landed on the blue lake outside the hall, setting off ripples and filling the air with moisture. Finally, it floated on the surface of the lake like an ordinary building.

This was an eye-opener for Qi Xuansu.

He thought, No wonder the port was built on the mountaintop.

After the flying ship came to a complete stop, a long wooden staircase with handrails on both sides was lowered from the ship. The bottom of the stairs locked into a gap in the lake embankment, ensuring that the suspended staircase remained stable.

Then, a group of people descended from the staircase. Most of them looked dignified and had respectable identities. They did not linger in the hall for long and quickly dispersed. A seventh-rank Daoist priest was the last to walk down the stairs. He shouted with a resounding voice, “Please present your credentials and jade tokens and board the ship in order.”

The passengers, who had been waiting in the back hall for a long time, began to board the ship one after another. The seventh-rank disciple checked the passenger’s credentials on the spot, only keeping the jade tokens. Later, he would return the jade tokens to the woman at the ticket counter.

Qi Xuansu followed the crowd and boarded the flying ship after getting his credentials checked.

In fact, this was not Qi Xuansu’s first visit to the Ancestral Court. Previously, he traveled by land, and the journey was arduous. This was the first time he went to the Ancestral Court by flying ship.

The flying ship resembled a floating inn, divided into three floors. The first floor was for ordinary single bedrooms. The second floor was for the first-class suites, which had a bedroom and a small study each. This type of suite was specially reserved for fourth-rank Daoist masters and above.

The third floor housed the mechanism for piloting the flying ship. Passengers were not allowed to enter that floor. The lower deck contained the formation that enabled the flying ship to sail in the sky, which was also off-limits to unauthorized personnel.

The three floors were connected by an internal staircase. After the flying ship took off, the building’s main door would be closed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. The formation on the flying ship would be activated to withstand the strong winds.

There was still one day left before the flying ship set sail, so the building doors remained open and passengers could explore the ship freely. Qi Xuansu took a stroll on the deck and enjoyed the scenery before going back into the building.

A corridor ran through the entire first floor, with rooms neatly arranged on both sides. Qi Xuansu found his room, which only had a bed and a desk, suitable for meditation or rest. On the desk were several classic Daoist texts, including The Way of the Dao, The Nanhua Scriptures, and several volumes of Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, for passengers to pass the time.

Qi Xuansu planned to spend this time cultivating qi through meditation.

The cultivation methods of each lineage were different. Qi Refiners practiced breathing, while Diviners meditated, and Martial Arts Practitioners trained their muscles. As a jack of all trades, Qi Xuansu, a Rogue Cultivator, could choose to practice breathing and meditate. However, physical training in this bedroom would be a challenge.

At this moment, a sly-looking man passed by Qi Xuansu’s door. He swept a glance at Qi Xuansu and stopped in his tracks, startled.

Qi Xuansu, who was about to close his door, noticed the peculiar man and hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you need something?”

The man smiled slyly and asked, “Would you like a fortune reading?”

Qi Xuansu thought that the man in front of him was a quack. However, they were on a flying ship heading to the Ancestral Court. Those on board were Daoist disciples of high rank. What kind of fraudster would come here to scam people?

Even so, Qi Xuansu pushed him off with an excuse. “I’m short of money—”

The sly man smiled and waved his hands. “It doesn’t matter. It’s fate that you and I meet each other here, so I won’t charge you for this.”

Hearing this, Qi Xuansu had no choice but to invite the man into his room.

The sly man took out a folded handkerchief from his sleeve and shook it open, expanding it into the size of a chessboard. He spread the cloth, which had the yin-yang circle as well as four characters on each of the four corners, on Qi Xuansu’s bed.

Qi Xuansu remained calm and did not speak.

The sly man looked Qi Xuansu up and down and sighed. “Brother, you sure are extraordinary.”

“How so?” Qi Xuansu feigned surprise.

The sly man shook his head and said, “As the saying goes, a face reflects one’s heart. I happen to know a bit of physiognomy.”

Qi Xuansu asked, ”May I know where you studied the doctrine?”

The wretched man stroked his sparse beard and said in a deep voice, “I’m not the brightest disciple. During my early years, I studied at the Chongyang Palace of Immortality. After attaining some skills, I was ordered to leave the palace to help the world and accumulate more skills.

“One day, I met Sage Donghua by chance on the river bank. Sage Donghua felt a connection with me and taught me the Taiwei Technique. As long as I practice it persistently, I can catch a glimpse of the heavens.”

At that point, the sly man’s expression showed his regret, frustration, helplessness, and sadness. He continued, “Unfortunately, I was too weak to practice this technique. But I was blessed to meet Sage Donghua again when I traveled to Qizhou. So I asked Sage Donghua for advice on Purple Star Astrology. Don’t you think I’m a lucky man?”

Sage Donghua was a powerful Daoist master, ranking among the top 36 Sages. He was extremely famous.

Qi Xuansu could not help but think of the lie he fabricated about Sage Donghua sending his regards to the Lord Commander. He had to suppress a smile. “So, you’re a disciple of Sage Donghua. Please forgive my disrespect earlier. May I know your name?”

The sly man smiled slightly to show that he did not mind Qi Xuansu’s attitude and answered casually, “My name is Pei Xiaolou.”

“Brother Pei.” Qi Xuansu offered him a fist-and-palm salute. “My name is Qi Xuansu.”

Pei Xiaolou gently twirled his beard and sized Qi Xuansu up. “Brother Qi, you have a good countenance, especially—”

Just then, a voice suddenly interrupted him. “Pei Xiaolou, you scoundrel! Are you hiding here to read people’s fortunes again?”

Before Qi Xuansu could react, a large hand grabbed Pei Xiaolou by the back of his collar, lifting him up.

A tall and muscular woman squeezed her way into the already crowded room and scolded Pei Xiaolou.

“Take a look in the mirror! With your poor and miserable face, how dare you read fortunes for others? Aren’t you afraid of misleading innocent people? Why was I so blind back then to fancy a man like you? I’ve been with you for more than ten years, but I haven’t had a bit of luck! All you gave me was suffering!”

Qi Xuansu dared not move, as he was momentarily intimidated by the tall woman’s imposing aura.

Although Pei Xiaolou was tall, the woman could still lift him with one hand, indicating just how strong this woman was. Moreover, her voice resonated, reminding Qi Xuansu of a lion’s roar and making his ears buzz.

Pei Xiaolou stiffened his neck and retorted, not wanting to lose face in front of outsiders. “What’s wrong with the way I look? Isn’t my face the symbol of prosperity? If we don’t endure hardships now, how can we enjoy blessings? As the saying goes, only by enduring great hardship can one reach the top. According to my calculations, my luck will turn around after enduring another ten years of hardships.”

“Ten years? Nonsense!” The tall woman became furious and slapped Pei Xiaolou in the face.

However, Pei Xiaolou was extremely agile. He shrunk his body and slipped out of his robe, leaving the woman with it, like a golden cicada shedding its skin. Pei Xiaolou ducked down and slipped past the woman to escape.

The woman became infuriated and turned to chase after him. The couple ran farther away from the room, leaving the piece of cloth on Qi Xuansu’s bed.

Qi Xuansu collected his thoughts, feeling that he had gained too many new experiences in the past few days. He did not know if it was a blessing or a curse.

Although Qi Xuansu had not seen much of the world, he was not completely inexperienced. He figured that Pei Xiaolou and the tall woman were not ordinary people. They most likely possessed extraordinary skills. Whether they were hiding their true identities, fooling around in disguises, or having other motives, Qi Xuansu knew it was better to keep a distance from them.

Once Pei Xiaolou and the tall woman were gone, Qi Xuansu felt a little more at ease. He closed the door to his room and focused on meditating.

A day passed quickly. When Qi Xuansu awoke from his trance, the flying ship had already set sail. Qi Xuansu got up from his bed and looked out through the glass window, seeing the boundless sea of clouds shimmering in golden light.

The windows were enchanted with a special formation, not only capable of withstanding the onslaught of the wind but also preventing passengers inside the building from opening them. They could only view the scenery through the windows.

Only Heavenly Beings could travel in the clouds, so this was Qi Xuansu’s first time flying. Seeing the scenery outside the window, he could not help but feel exhilarated. It took him a while to calm down.

It was not until Qi Xuansu felt a bit hungry that he came back to his senses.

He then remembered that he had only eaten breakfast at the Qingping Society’s contact point on the 13th of July. It was already the 15th of July, which meant he had not eaten anything in two days. It was understandable that Qi Xuansu would neglect his meals because it was his first time riding a flying ship. He was also not familiar with the rules on board.

Some food and drink were provided on the flying ship, but that was only available on the second floor. The first floor did not have such amenities because most of the experienced passengers would bring their own dry rations. Qi Xuansu was unprepared and had yet to learn the art of fasting, so he still felt hungry.

It took 24 hours to travel from Huainan Prefecture to the Ancestral Court.

At first, Qi Xuansu was amazed by the scenery outside the window, but the endless white clouds grew boring as time went by. Hence, Qi Xuansu had to resort to meditation to pass the time.

Just then, a Daoist master with billowing sleeves flew past the flying ship on a cloud, heading straight for the Ancestral Court.