A Pawn's Passage

In the following two weeks, Qi Xuansu was afraid of bumping into Zhang Yuelu again, so he stayed at home. Besides reading bulletins, he improved his cultivation using the conventional path of Rogue Cultivators. However, he was still far from reaching the Yuding Realm.

His days were somewhat dull. The only good news was that his injuries had mostly healed, and he no longer needed to drink medicinal soup.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the Mid-Autumn Festival, which fell on August 15th.

In the secular world below Kunlun Mountain, this was an important festival, second only to the Lunar New Year. However, the Daoist Order did not really celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Daoist Order had three major festivals, which were the Shangyuan Festival (the Heaven Celestial’s birthday) on January 15th, the Zhongyuan Festival (the Earth Celestial’s birthday) on July 15th, and the Xiayuan Festival (the Water Celestial’s birthday) on October 15th.

These three days were devoted to worshiping the Heavens. The Sages and Great Sages would fast, bathe, and offer prayers to the Heavens in a grand ritual.

August 15th was between July 15th and October 15th, so it was somewhat awkward. Moreover, since many in the Daoist community were orphans without parents, the Mid-Autumn Festival—typically a day of family reunion—was not widely celebrated in the Jade Capital.

Qi Xuansu went out and bought a jar of wine, some cooked dishes, a small bundle of ordinary incense, and a stack of paper money before heading outside the city.

Outside Jade Capital, it was bone-piercingly cold with the harsh wind and snow.

Jade Capital was situated on the east side of the vast Yuxu Peak. Ten kilometers below the Jade Capital, on the west side of Yuxu Peak, was a large cemetery. Back then, Madam Qi helped bury Qi Xuansu’s master there after she had retrieved his body.

The mountain path was difficult to traverse, but the Daoist community managed to carve out a relatively flat brick road through human efforts. This road, flanked by a metal railing, was as wide as two horses standing side by side, and it led straight to the cemetery. Therefore, the ten-kilometer journey was not considered long.

Qi Xuansu braved the wind and snow to get to his master’s grave.

The tombstone in front of the grave simply read, “Here Lies Qi Haoran,” without an epitaph. It was written in Madam Qi’s elegant handwriting.

As Qi Xuansu mentioned before, he was too young to understand his master’s social connections or networks before his master died. He only knew that his master was originally from the Quanzhen Sect. But for some unknown reason, his master was later affiliated with the Zhengyi Sect and became a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect.

Qi Haoran did not have any other disciples or a wife. During the days when his master took Qi Xuansu in, the two of them relied on each other for survival.

In Qi Xuansu’s memory, his master was not a hero with unwavering loyalty, a rigid and upright gentleman, or even a carefree and adventurous wanderer. Instead, his master was a laid-back and ordinary middle-aged man, burdened with various troubles and devoid of the impetuosity of youth. Qi Haoran was neither free-spirited nor particularly joyful.

That was why Qi Xuansu remembered how much his master enjoyed drinking. Qi Haoran was not addicted to alcohol. He simply enjoyed the feeling of being drunk because it helped him forget all his troubles. Being drunk could eliminate a thousand worries.

Moreover, Qi Haoran was a well-behaved drunk. He would just sit alone and gaze at the sky while murmuring drunken words that no one else could hear.

Qi Xuansu was young at the time, so he did not quite understand his master’s mentality. He only remembered his master’s expression before his death, which was completely different from usual. When his master was covered in blood, taking his last breath, his expression was fierce, and his voice was resounding like thunder.

His final word, “Run!” still echoes in Qi Xuansu’s ears to this day.

Qi Xuansu would never forget this in his lifetime.

He first placed the cooked food in front of his master’s grave, then placed the jar of wine, which cost him one Taiping coin, in the middle. He was not sure how good this wine was, but after opening the seal, he could smell the strong aroma.

For the past few years, Qi Xuansu had not had the opportunity to visit his master’s grave because he lived in the Central Plains. It would take at least two months to travel to Kunlun and back by land. Although flying ships were faster, they were too expensive. A one-way trip cost 100 Taiping coins, which Qi Xuansu could not afford.

Qi Xuansu lit the incense and stuck it into the ground in front of the grave, then he added some soil to the mound.

He sat in front of the grave and stared at the burning incense. “Master, I have avenged you. They say ten years is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge, but I took ten months. I wasn’t so capable of getting revenge on my own, though. I was just lucky enough to have met Madam Qi. She was the one who helped bury you.

“Speaking of which, Madam Qi is our benefactor. Actually, I had this thought once, but I never dared mention it to Madam Qi. If you hadn’t died, I think you and Madam Qi would have been quite compatible. If you had married her, we would have repaid her favor. As the saying goes, there is no way to repay a life debt except by offering oneself.

“If you had married Madam Qi, the debt of gratitude between us would have been considered repaid. After all, we would be considered family then. I’m just joking, Master. Please don’t be angry. Since you can’t repay her, it’s only natural for me, as your disciple, to do it. But you’ll never guess how. I’ve also sold myself to bury you, Master. I’ve not only buried you, but I’ve also avenged you. Don’t you think it’s a good bargain?

“Well, I won’t get into the details. It’s August 15th, and the full moon today symbolizes family reunions. You and I haven’t properly celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival for many years, so let’s celebrate it today over some drinks.”

The wind on the mountain was strong. Even though he bundled more than ten sticks of incense together, it quickly burned out.

Qi Xuansu stood up, poured the wine from the jar onto the ground, and then rubbed three fingers together, igniting the paper money he brought. As the paper money burned out, it turned into black ashes and was scattered in the wind.

After a while, he got up and left the cemetery, walking back toward Jade Capital along the path he had taken. When Qi Xuansu returned to Jade Capital, it was nearing dusk. By the time he reached his residence in Haichan Place, the lanterns had already been lit.

That was how he spent the day during the Mid-Autumn Festival of the 41st year of the Jiushi Era. Qi Xuansu did not attend the dream meeting, nor did he meditate or cultivate. Instead, he slept.

The next day was August 16th, the day he had been waiting for. Qi Xuansu got up early and changed into the formal attire of a seventh-rank Daoist priest—a hechang, square-tipped boots, and a Xiaoyao headdress. He took the credentials Sun Yongfeng had given him and left his home before dawn. Leaving Haichan Place, Qi Xuansu walked along the north-south Shangqing Street toward Xuan City.

Xuan City, situated in the Jade Capital, was the birthplace of the Daoist Ancestral Court. It was also known as the Heavenly White Jade Capital.

The Daoist community liked to refer to the outer city as Jade Capital and the inner city as Xuan City.

The Nine Halls were located in Xuan City, and the Purple Mansion was the residence of the Grand Master, similar to the Imperial Palace. Daoist priests below the fourth rank were not allowed to enter without permission.

By dawn, Qi Xuansu had arrived at the gate of Xuan City.

As Xuan City housed the Nine Halls and the residences of some high-ranking Daoist priests, the security checks at the gates were extremely strict. Generally, low-ranking Daoist priests would not enter Xuan City without reason.

Qi Xuansu followed the sparse crowd toward the city gate. In front of him was a tall man carrying a one-meter-long glaive. The blade was curved like a crescent moon, but the pole was shorter than a typical glaive.

The most commonly used weapons among the Daoist community were swords. Qi Xuansu’s weapon was a spiritual short sword. While there were other types of bladed weapons, the more common ones were ring-pommel sabers, straight sabers, or goose feather sabers. This kind of broad-bladed glaive was extremely rare.

The tall man took out an insignia and handed it to the armored Spirit Guard.

Spirit Guards served as guardians of the Daoist city gates. They had corresponding ranks to Daoist priests, but their status was lower than that of Daoist priests of the same rank. Within the Daoist Order, they were generally considered one rank lower than Daoist priests.

All these Spirit Guards were of the sixth rank, which was equivalent to seventh-rank Daoist priests and inferior to sixth-rank Daoist priests.

The highest rank for these Spirit Guards was first-rank, which fell under the command of first-rank Great Sages and was equivalent in status to a second-rank sage. However, they would not qualify to become the Grand Master.

After inspecting the insignia, the Spirit Guard glanced at the man’s broad-bladed glaive and pointed at it with his spear.

The tall man did not utter a word and drew his glaive, flashing a chilling glint. The blade was so shiny that it could reflect one’s face. There was even a thin layer of frost forming on the edge.

The Spirit Guard scrutinized it and spoke in a slightly distorted voice from under the helmet. “Put it away.”

The tall man showed a hint of displeasure as he slowly sheathed the glaive into its leather scabbard. The Spirit Guard then waved his hand, which was wrapped in a gauntlet, signaling the tall man to enter Xuan City.

The tall man stared at the Spirit Guard before striding into the city.

When it was Qi Xuansu’s turn, he handed over his insignia and took off the short sword at his waist. The Spirit Guard inspected his insignia and made no move to check his short sword, only signaling for Qi Xuansu to enter the city.

Qi Xuansu smiled faintly and put away his short sword before walking inside. The control of weapons in Xuan City was not very strict, as it was left up to the Spirit Guards to decide. Not everyone could perceive the restrained killing aura emanating from Qi Xuansu, as Zhang Yuelu could.

At first glance, Qi Xuansu seemed more like a harmless “flowerbed” Daoist priest. On the other hand, the tall man, with his sharp edges and domineering aura, clearly did not seem friendly. That was the reason for the differential treatment. The tall man had walked some distance ahead, but he happened to turn back to this scene, so he scowled at Qi Xuansu.

This was Qi Xuansu’s first visit to Xuan City. Compared to the grid-like structure of Jade Capital, Xuan City’s layout was in the shape of a large square enclosing a smaller square, similar to the Imperial Capital. It was easy for newcomers to get lost.

Fortunately, the famous Tiangang Hall was not hard to find.

Qi Xuansu followed the main road northward within the city, turned left after passing through the Nanhua Gate, went past the Yang Temple, and exited from the Daode Gate to reach Gushen Square. The buildings on the left side of the square belonged to Tiangang Hall.

Tiangang Hall had a Hall Master who was appointed from among the second-rank Omniscient Sages in the Golden Tower Council. There were also nine Deputy Hall Masters. The Chief Deputy Hall Master was also a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master who lacked the qualifications to be on the Golden Tower Council. The other Deputy Hall Masters held similar positions but varied in rank, mostly being third-rank Youyi Daoist priests.

The lowest-ranking Deputy Hall Master was Zhang Yuelu, who had just been promoted to the position while still maintaining the fourth rank.

Although she was at the same level as the other officials, considering her age and the fact that she was appointed by the Deputy Grand Master, she was more eye-catching than many third-rank Daoist masters.

Usually, unless there was a major event, the Hall Master and the Chief Deputy Hall Master would not be present in Tiangang Hall. Instead, the various deputy hall masters who stayed in Jade Capital would take turns being on duty. That day was Zhang Yuelu’s turn. In the meantime, she would be inspecting her future subordinates.