A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu took a file from He Nian and opened it casually.

The name of the deceased was Jiao Dayan, a well-known member of the local gentry. His family did not conceal his birth date since he was already dead.

Jiao Dayan was destined to die alone and bring calamity to his surroundings. According to his fortune, his existence spelled bad luck for his wife, children, friends, and relatives. His marriage was rough, and he was told he would have a tragic life in his final years. In his early years, his family was rich, but he would have to sell his land in his middle age. His son and his wife would die, and he would bring bad luck to his father. In the end, he would die alone.

Unexpectedly, before Jiao Dayan sold his land, he was already beheaded. His fortune was miserable, but for many Ancient Immortal believers, the souls of people with this kind of miserable fate could please the Ancient Immortals. This indirectly confirmed Zhang Yuelu’s speculation that Jiao Dayan’s death was indeed related to a secret society.

According to the records, Jiao Dayan had just married his seventh concubine last month. However, less than half a month after the seventh concubine married him, Jiao Dayan died tragically.

The day after Jiao Dayan’s death, his seventh concubine disappeared. Jiao Dayan had also spent the night with this concubine when he died. Therefore, the Green Phoenix Guard suspected that the concubine was an accomplice and a spy for someone outside the family.

The Green Phoenix Guards also noted down the relevant information about the concubine, Madam Hu. She was not a local. She even had a husband before marrying Jiao Dayan.

She and her ex-husband happened to meet Jiao Dayan on their travels. Jiao Dayan was so smitten with her that he sent someone to stop the couple and forced Madam Hu’s ex-husband to sign a divorce note with some coercion and threats. This was how Jiao Dayan took Madam Hu as his concubine.

Due to this, the Green Phoenix Guard could not tell if Madam Hu and her family had deliberately set up this trap to sneak into the Jiao family or if the Hu family colluded with the bandits to kill Jiao Dayan for revenge.

Zhang Yuelu pondered. “This sounds like something the Ziguang Society is capable of.”

Luo Xiao had left earlier to deal with some work, so He Nian was the only one with Zhang Yuelu at this time. Upon hearing Zhang Yuelu’s comment, He Nian asked, “Mage Zhang, do you mean to say that this case is related to a secret society?”

Zhang Yuelu nodded and closed the file in her hand.

Jiao Dayan’s death was no longer of importance. The key was to find this group of Ancient Immortal believers and prevent them from causing greater harm.

Zhang Yuelu probed. “Have similar cases happened recently?”

He Nian thought about it for a moment and replied, “Not in recent years.”

Zhang Yuelu stared fixedly at He Nian. “Assistant Major, are you sure that you remember correctly?”

“I have been in charge of the documents in this Major’s Office for more than ten years, and I’ve never made a mistake. I would have remembered if there was a similar case.” He Nian answered confidently.

Zhang Yuelu did not pursue the topic. Instead, she asked, “Where’s Major Luo? Has this case been reported to the Lieutenant Colonel’s Office?”

He Nian replied, “Major Luo should be in his office at the moment. To be honest with you, Mage Zhang, we are expecting an envoy from the Military Commission, who will be conducting an inspection. Major Luo is probably busy making preparations for the visit to avoid any mistakes. We have reported the case to the Lieutenant Colonel’s Office, but the Lieutenant Colonel is also busy with the envoy. As his subordinates, we couldn’t rush him to review the case. I hope you understand, Mage Zhang.”

“Understood.” Zhang Yuelu nodded and handed the file to He Nian. “But this is an important case. I will have to talk to Major Luo about it. I hope that you’ll understand as well, Assistant Major.”

He Nian smiled bitterly and pleaded, “Mage—”

However, Zhang Yuelu walked out, leaving He Nian standing in the morgue with the file in hand.

Zhang Yuelu walked through the corridor and passed the hall. There were many Green Phoenix Guard lieutenants patrolling the area, but no one dared to stop her, even though she looked unfamiliar. That was because they were all intimidated by her aura.

She arrived outside Luo Xiao’s office and knocked on the door instead of barging in rudely.

After a while, the door to his office opened, and several lieutenants left in a hurry, leaving only Luo Xiao in the room.

Luo Xiao invited Zhang Yuelu into his office. “Mage Zhang, do you have any other advice for me?”

“No.” Zhang Yuelu went straight to the point. “I just want to ask you a few questions.”

Luo Xiao said, “Mage Zhang, please go ahead. I will tell you everything I know.”

Zhang Yuelu asked casually, “Major Luo, how long have you been in charge of this place?”

Luo Xiao was startled. He did not quite understand the meaning behind Zhang Yuelu’s question, but he answered truthfully, “Less than a year. My predecessor is the current Lieutenant Colonel.”

“I see.” Zhang Yuelu pressed on. “So, does that mean only the Lieutenant Colonel and Assistant Major are aware of the major cases in the past?”

Luo Xiao nodded and replied, “That’s right. Assistant Major He is a veteran here. He’s in charge of all the documents in this office. He’s the person to go to if you want to inquire about any case.”

Zhang Yuelu finally understood the situation.

If similar cases occurred in recent years, the only ones aware were the Lieutenant Colonel and He Nian, which meant they were fully capable of suppressing these cases. Thus, a newcomer like Luo Xiao would only be manipulated by them.

If her guess was correct, then He Nian was very suspicious.

However, Zhang Yuelu did not tell Luo Xiao about her speculation. From Luo Xiao’s perspective, he would be more inclined to believe his superior and subordinate rather than an outsider like her whom he had just met. Thus, it would be counterproductive to tell him. Luo Xiao would even doubt her intentions.

Zhang Yuelu continued to ask a few more irrelevant questions, all of which seemed to be related to secret societies. In fact, she was just concealing her true intentions.

Less than an hour later, Zhang Yuelu left Luo Xiao’s office.

She looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds gathering.

At this moment, He Nian walked over with a netted bag containing a jar of wine. He said through the door of Luo Xiao’s office, “Major Luo, the Lieutenant Colonel is here. He’s waiting for you in the front hall.”

“The Lieutenant Colonel is here?” Luo Xiao was surprised and pushed the door open.

He Nian raised the wine jar in his hand. “Yes, what a coincidence! The Lieutenant Colonel arrived and asked me to prepare a jar of wine for later. He said that he wanted to drink with you, Major Luo.”

Luo Xiao quickly dropped all his tasks on hand. He apologized to Zhang Yuelu and hurried to the front hall, leaving only Zhang Yuelu and He Nian outside his office.

He Nian stood with his back against the light, his smile sinister.

Zhang Yuelu stood with her hands behind her back, looking indifferent. She was not afraid of the old man in front of her. What really worried her was Qi Xuansu, who was on the way to Qingbai Temple, all alone.

......

Qi Xuansu did not expect to be involved in a bizarre situation.

After he showed the abbot Zhang Yuelu’s Deputy Hall Master badge, Bai Yongguan’s attitude changed greatly. The abbot immediately agreed to Qi Xuansu’s request for help and insisted on keeping him for dinner.

Bai Yongguan said that he had a high-grade fat pig waiting to be butchered, especially since they had a rare guest.

Qi Xuansu could not refuse an invitation from a fourth-rank Daoist master, so he stayed. At this moment, Bai Yongguan excused himself so that he could supervise the butcher. He asked Qi Xuansu to wait in the front hall and ordered Bai Yue to prepare a banquet before going to the backyard.

Just as Qi Xuansu had some doubts, the abbot’s wife, Li Zhen’er, suddenly appeared. She looked pale, flustered, and frightened when she told Qi Xuansu a shocking secret—the fat pig Bai Yongguan mentioned was not an actual pig but Bai Yongguan’s disciple, Lu Yu.

Bai Yongguan turned his disciple, Lu Yu, into a pig and slaughtered him for cooking because Lu Yu had an affair with Li Zhen’er.

Qi Xuansu was shocked to hear this, not because Bai Yongguan had dealt with the traitorous disciple in this bizarre manner. He was just puzzled as to why Bai Yongguan wanted to feed the traitor to him. He wondered, How have I provoked the abbot?

After the initial irritation, Qi Xuansu immediately sensed danger.

The moral standards of the Daoist community were extremely high. They had abolished slavery, human trafficking, polygamy, torture, prostitution, and so on. This was so that they could maintain high standards of morality. The Daoist community was proud of the Jade Capital and despised the Imperial Capital, privately calling the latter a barbaric place. Most people in the Daoist community also thought that many dignitaries in the Imperial Capital were uncivilized.

In this context, some things became more important. For example, when it was exposed that a third-rank Youyi Daoist master abused his servants, he was immediately ordered to resign from all positions and demoted to a fourth-rank Daoist master.

Bai Yongguan slaughtering and cooking his disciple was something the Daoist community could not tolerate, even if his disciple was at fault. In other words, if Bai Yongguan only committed murder, the Daoist Order could brush it off by saying that it was an extreme act in a fit of anger. According to secular laws of the existing society, killing people who had committed and contributed to adultery was legal, so there was still room for appeal.

However, slaughtering and cooking someone in such a gruesome manner was frowned upon. If word of this spread, Bai Yongguan would not be able to keep his position as the abbot of Qingbai Temple and would even have to be interrogated by Beichen Hall.

That was why Qi Xuansu felt that he was in a precarious situation.

Qi Xuansu could not help but ask, “Madam Li, why are you telling me this?”

Li Zhen’er looked at him as if he was her only hope. “Deacon Qi, Bai Yongguan won’t dare to do anything to you since you’re from the Ancestral Court. Please take me with you. Otherwise, he will definitely kill me!”

Qi Xuansu smiled bitterly and did not respond.

If he was clueless about this, then Bai Yongguan would not target him. However, since he was aware of the inside story, Bai Yongguan would probably take the risk to silence him forever.

Qi Xuansu’s mind raced as he tried hard to think of a way to leave this place.

At this moment, Bai Yongguan returned with a few unnoticeable blood stains on his Daoist robe.

Upon seeing the abbot, Qi Xuansu’s heart dropped.

Bai Yongguan glanced at his wife’s pale face and said softly, “Aren’t you feeling unwell? Why don’t you get some rest?”

Li Zhen’er was speechless, her body trembling.

Bai Yongguan looked at Qi Xuansu again with a smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Deacon Qi. The pork feast will be ready soon.”

Hearing this, Qi Xuansu felt a chill running down his spine.