A Pawn's Passage

Early the next morning, Ai Li came over with a special guest. This person had curly black hair. He was tall and looked very different from the people of the Central Plains.

Zhang Yuelu brought Qi Xuansu, Lingquanzi, and Shangguan Dun to meet them.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Ai Li introduced the identity of this person. His name was Arthur, a chief bishop from the Holy Court Tribunal. Arthur took out a document similar to a Daoist insignia and handed it to Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu confirmed his identity and returned the insignia to Arthur.

Qi Xuansu was not familiar with such high-level things. He could not help but ask, “What is the Tribunal?”

Zhang Yuelu explained, “The Holy Court is the Daoist Order of the Western Continent, and the Tribunal is roughly equivalent to Beichen Hall and Tiangang Hall. A chief bishop is similar in rank to a fifth-rank Daoist priest. There are archbishops and metropolitans above him, which correspond to our fourth-rank and third-rank Daoist masters, respectively.

“Further up, there are the cardinals. Cardinal deacons are equivalent to our ordinary sages, cardinal priests are similar to our Omniscient Sages, and cardinal bishops correspond to our Great Sage. Their patriarchs are our Deputy Grand Masters, and their Pope is our Grand Master.”

Qi Xuansu immediately understood that Arthur had found Ai Li ahead of them. Otherwise, he would not have appeared at such an opportune time. From this point of view, the rumors that the Ai family had close contact with the Western Continent were not groundless.

In fact, the Daoist Order and the Holy Court have had a certain degree of communication, which could be traced back to the Holy Xuan era. The Holy Xuan had three teachers, one of whom had traveled to the Western Continent and made many friends.

This had a great influence on the Holy Xuan and the subsequent Grand Masters. They sent special envoys to communicate with the Holy Court. Since the two powers were far away from each other, most of the time they were cordial. On the premise that there was no real conflict of interest, they could be considered distant friends to the Daoist Order, while the Buddhist and Shamanistic Sects were close enemies.

Therefore, Zhang Yuelu did not have much hostility toward this Holy Court envoy. She adopted a cooperative attitude.

Arthur was not fluent in Mandarin, so Ai Li translated for him.

Ai Li said, “Arthur was ordered by the archbishop to trace the footsteps of a group of sinners, so he came to the Western Region. But he was alone and was no match for this group of sinners. That’s why he wanted to ask for help from the Daoist Order.”

How coincidental.

Zhang Yuelu immediately said, “We have a saying in the East, ‘Know thy enemy and know thyself, and you will win a hundred battles.’ Before we get into that, I would like to understand who the sinners you speak of are.”

Arthur was also very frank. He immediately introduced the origins of this group of sinners.

Ai Li translated for him. “The Daoists call them demons, the Holy Court calls them sinners, and they call themselves vampires. Civilians prefer calling them Blood Suckers, as they live by sucking human blood. They have a physical body with no heartbeat or body temperature. They don’t need to breathe because they’re immortal, somewhat similar to Eastern zombies.

“The difference between vampires and zombies is that vampires have sanity, like humans. They can think and talk. Due to their long lifespan, they are very knowledgeable and proficient in casting spells. This group of sinners exists in the form of clans, and there are thirteen such clans.

“Legends say that their ancestor was cursed for eternity and had to drink the blood of living people throughout his life to live forever. Later, he learned how to control the power of blood from an ancient witch and created a second-generation sinner. The second-generation sinner created 13 third-generation sinners. These third-generation sinners established the Thirteen Clans, which later rebelled and killed that second-generation sinner.

“Currently, the Thirteen Clans are divided into three factions, namely the Secret Party, the Demon Party, and the Neutral Party. The criminals involved this time are from the Ravnos Clan of the Neutral Party.

“The vast majority of sinners are not born sinners but are transformed into them. Sinners can only live by sucking human blood. If they inject their own blood into other people’s bodies, those people will degenerate into sinners. This is how sinners recruit new members, which they call first recruits.

“Before they were transformed into sinners, the members of the Ravnos Clan were nomads and thieves, so they were scattered throughout the Western Continent like straw in the wind. The footprints of the Ravnos Clan can be found in every country on the Western Continent, but their whereabouts are erratic. Many of them travel with vagrants and rogues.

“It’s not easy to find many Ravnos members in one place at the same time because they like to be alone and prefer to use trace marks to communicate with their kind. The wandering Ravnos are famous for their ability to create amazing illusions.”

Zhang Yuelu heard this and interrupted the explanation. “As far as we know, there are multiple demons this time.”

Shangguan Dun translated Zhang Yuelu’s words to Arthur. Ai Li then translated Arthur’s reply. “That is because they are not traveling, but fleeing. In the Western Continent, people are divided into nine camps, namely, Lawful Good, Neutral Good, Chaotic Good, Lawful Neutral, True Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil, and Chaotic Evil. I believe the Mage can already understand the meaning of these nine camps.

“Although the Ravnos Clan is in the Neutral Party, they are Chaotic Neutral. They prioritize their own freedom but are indifferent to protecting the freedom of others. They disdain authority, resent limitations, and challenge tradition. Their actions often defy prediction as they follow their whims and disregard societal norms and legal regulations, focusing solely on fulfilling their desires.

“While they hold lofty ideals of unrestrained freedom, moral considerations such as good and evil, right and wrong, take a backseat to their personal liberty. As a result, the Ravnos Clan frequently stirs up trouble among the Thirteen Clans, drawing dissatisfaction and reproach from other Clans. However, the Ravnos Clan typically responds with disdain, further exacerbating tensions between the parties.”

Zhang Yuelu grasped the situation and asked, “Did they manage to escape punishment this time?”

Without needing Zhang Yuelu’s prompting, Shangguan Dun translated her words.

Arthur nodded and responded in a subdued tone. Ai Li translated simultaneously. “Just last year, the Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, Ventrue, Lasombra, and Tzimisce Clans jointly launched an attack on the Ravnos Clan. The war lasted only three months.

“The patriarch and most of the elders of the Ravnos Clan perished in battle, and the surviving members fled. Seizing the opportunity, the Holy Court decimated the Ravnos Clan and hunted down its members. Many fled by sea, but some managed to reach the Western Region, which was nestled between the Eastern and Western Continents.”

Zhang Yuelu pondered the information.

Qi Xuansu inquired, “If these demons only feed on blood, why do they seek to steal people’s souls?”

Arthur was slightly startled to hear the translated question. He replied, and Ai Li translated. “Sinners are not interested in souls. The Devil likes souls and often takes away people’s souls in the form of transactions. If what you say is true, it means that the fleeing members of the Ravnos Clan are making a deal with the Devil and need to be eradicated as soon as possible.”

Seeing that Zhang Yuelu had no intention of stopping his inquiries, Qi Xuansu pressed further. “In that case, why did the Holy Court only send one chief bishop here?”

Arthur’s expression was a little odd as he spoke through Ai Li. “That’s because of the treaty between the Daoist Order and the Holy Court, which stipulates that no one above the archbishop rank is to enter the Daoist Order’s territory without the permission or invitation of the Daoist Order. In the same way, without the permission of the Holy Court, Daoist priests of the fourth rank and above cannot enter the territory of the Holy Court.

“To mitigate unnecessary misunderstandings, the Holy Court only sent four chief bishops this time. My other three companions have died one after another along the way. Two of them died at the hands of the Ravnos Clan, and one died in a crossfire between local forces.”

Qi Xuansu had no knowledge of the Western Continent, so he turned to Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu, who had prior interactions with the Holy Court, knew more about such things than Qi Xuansu. She nodded. “There is indeed such a treaty. The Western countries, including the Rus Kingdom, are all under the jurisdiction of the Holy Court, while the Daoist Order is on the Great Xuan territory. Although Wugeshanli is currently not under the jurisdiction of the Western Region Daoist Mansion, it was part of the Daoist Order’s territory when the treaty was originally made.

“Since this matter involves the Holy Court, I will have to ask the Hall Master for further instructions on how to proceed.”

After saying that, Zhang Yuelu excused herself. She took out a mother-child talisman from her magical receptacle to communicate with the Hall Master and left the hall.

Soon after, Zhang Yuelu came back and said, “The Hall Master agrees to join forces with the Holy Court to eliminate this group of wandering demons. But before that, we need to determine the specific location where this group of demons is hiding.”

Ai Li immediately added, “I have mobilized half of the soldiers in the city to investigate this matter. As long as they are still within the territory of Wugeshanli, I will be able to find out their location.”

Zhang Yuelu looked at Arthur again and asked, “Since you have been sent to the East, you should be familiar with our rules here. What level of cultivation do you possess?”

Arthur could understand relatively simple Great Xuan Dynasty Mandarin. He replied in a very jerky and strangely accented Mandarin, “According to Daoist standards, I am in the Guizhen stage.”

Zhang Yuelu pursued the question further. “Generally speaking, someone with your level of cultivation should be an archbishop. Why do you remain a chief bishop?”

Arthur shook his head helplessly. “Because I made a mistake.”

Qi Xuansu had a suspicion that Arthur was probably like Xu Kou. Unfortunately, Xu Kou did not come along on the journey this time. Otherwise, those two would have befriended each other.