A Pawn's Passage

There was also a branch of Huasheng Hall in Baidi City. Since Qi Xuansu was sent to Huasheng Hall under the recommendation of a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master and was accompanied by two fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist masters, the Huasheng Hall priests dared not neglect him.

Huasheng Hall assigned several doctors to attend to Qi Xuansu, and they were not stingy with their various elixirs and pills. Even if Qi Xuansu was beaten to death, they would probably have a way to resurrect him.

After a few hours, they finally finished treating Qi Xuansu’s injuries using every means possible, including his broken arm and internal organs that were damaged by the punch. Since Qi Xuansu had the body-regenerative abilities of a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Flesh and Blood Realm, his wounds healed quickly.

Qi Xuansu was then placed in a ward in Huasheng Hall, with Zhang Yuelu accompanying him.

This time, he did not have to pay out of his own pocket. His medical expenses were split by four parties: the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion, Shibo Hall, Huasheng Hall, and Tiangang Hall. The 500 Taiping coins from Zhao Fu’an were considered a compensation fee for Qi Xuansu.

One punch was worth 500 Taiping coins.

Of course, Qi Xuansu wanted to tear those five large cash notes to pieces in a moment of anger and pride. He wished he could spit at Zhao Fu’an and say he did not need this stupid money. However, Qi Xuansu hesitated for a long time and decided against it. After all, the cash notes were innocent.

His savings accumulated to 400 Taiping coins, which he had earned from risking his life. Of course, these 500 Taiping coins were also derived from risk.

Qi Xuansu was lying on the bed and could not help but laugh at himself. “Poor people have small ambitions and short aspirations.”

After all, he was not a male lead in a novel, often portrayed as young, chivalrous, and elusive, seeking justice and revenge at a whim. He was just a menial pawn on a chessboard to be played by others.

Zhang Yuelu sat on the chair in front of the bed, lost in thought.

In the end, the Daoist Order still had to pay for the medical treatment of their disciple, who was attacked by an official of the Imperial Court. Normal priests in the Jade Capital looked down on the people below Kunlun Mountain. But they would only realize what the real world was like once they descended from the clouds. Those flowerbed priests could not withstand storms. They also could not accept the harsh reality.

However, Zhang Yuelu was not someone who gave up easily. She was not defeated by this. Instead, she became more determined to reform the Daoist Order. Even if she did not succeed and was ridiculed for overestimating her abilities, someone had to start somewhere. If she did not initiate change and lived with the status quo, what would the future of the Daoist Order be like?

Qi Xuansu suddenly asked, “Qing Xiao, are you still planning to investigate the cult demons?”

“At this point, what can we investigate? Even if there was something fishy going on in that villa, they would have cleared it out by now. So we won’t be able to find anything if we continue the investigation.” Zhang Yuelu had already thought it through. “I won’t investigate this case anymore. I’ll just report it to Tiangang Hall for archiving. That’s all I can do for now.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. “I guess this is the only way.”

Zhang Yuelu’s eyes were gloomy as she looked at him. “Now, I understand that the Daoist Order’s most serious troubles are not external but internal. These problems lie in the Golden Tower Council and among the 36 Omniscient Sages, the Great Sages, and the Deputy Grand Masters. If these problems are not solved at the root, we won’t do much damage to the secret societies, no matter how many cultists we capture.”

Qi Xuansu said nothing. He wondered if he was imagining it, but he felt that Zhang Yuelu’s attitude toward him had changed slightly. She seemed closer to him now.

Perhaps after this incident, Zhang Yuelu confirmed that Qi Xuansu had the same aspirations as her. But only Qi Xuansu knew whether he was pursuing the same path as Zhang Yuelu or whether he was only interested in pursuing her.

Zhang Yuelu stopped talking about such heavy topics and asked softly, “Are you still hurting now?”

Of course, Qi Xuansu was still in pain, but it was not as severe as before. Even so, he flashed a smile and assured her. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. You don’t have to treat me like I’m some fragile flower. Some precious flowers will die immediately if you neglect them for a day. But weeds like me can thrive even if we get stepped on a few times.”

“You’re not a weed. All humans are equal. Don’t undermine yourself,” Zhang Yuelu admonished.

Qi Xuansu smiled and said nothing.

Zhang Yuelu looked hesitant before she said, “Tian Yuan, I don’t want you to accompany me home anymore.”

“Why did you change your mind?” Qi Xuansu was startled.

Zhang Yuelu muttered, “Perhaps it will be better if I formally invite you home after you are promoted to the fifth rank. My mother is not an easy person to talk to. If you meet her now, you can certainly help me avoid some unnecessary troubles. But my mother will have a bad impression of you, and it’ll be difficult to change her prejudice against you. I don’t hope to see this.”

Although Zhang Yuelu spoke euphemistically, Qi Xuansu understood what she was hinting at.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Then how will you dodge her this time?”

Zhang Yuelu mumbled, “I have other methods. Don’t worry.”

Qi Xuansu said, “If you had other ideas, you wouldn’t have asked me to come in the first place. Are you really planning to ask the Earthly Preceptor for help?”

Zhang Yuelu kept mum.

“Since I agreed to help you, how can I give up halfway? We’re almost there anyway.” Qi Xuansu reassured her.

Zhang Yuelu was silent for a long time before she whispered, “Thank you.”

Outside the door of the ward in Huasheng Hall, Daoist Ji slowly drank from a wine gourd and sighed softly.

Daoist Ji had met with Sage Lingyun earlier and learned about what happened, so he thought of visiting Qi Xuansu. But when he got to the door and overheard their conversation, he decided it was best not to interrupt the young couple.

He recalled his own youth. The time and memories he shared with his companion when they were young were indeed precious.

Daoist Ji took out two small wine gourds from his magical receptacle, tied them together with a red rope, and hung them on the door knocker.

Then he turned around and left quietly, as if he had never been there before.

At dawn, Zhang Yuelu discovered the gourds with the word “Ji” written in seal script hanging on the door. She took the two wine gourds into the ward and placed them in front of Qi Xuansu.

When Qi Xuansu saw the gourds, he immediately knew who they were from. “Daoist Ji must have come by.”

Zhang Yuelu pulled out the cork and took a whiff. “It smells like medicine. Could it be medicinal wine?”

Qi Xuansu offered. “Medicinal wine is also wine. It just so happens that there are two, so each of us can have one.”

“Let me try it for you first.” Zhang Yuelu raised the gourd and took a sip. Her eyes widened in surprise after tasting it.

Qi Xuansu joked. “Is it poison?”

Zhang Yuelu handed the gourd to Qi Xuansu. “You should have both of these. They will be beneficial to your cultivation.”

Qi Xuansu doubtfully took over the wine gourd that Zhang Yuelu had opened and took a sip. There was a strong medicinal flavor and a weak alcoholic aroma. Then he felt a hot current flowing down his throat that eventually spread to his whole body. It felt very soothing.

“It really is!” Qi Xuansu excitedly took another sip.

The wine gourd was not big. They had already drunk slightly less than half a gourd in just three sips. However, the medicine was potent. After a while, Qi Xuansu felt that his whole body was burning up, as if he were on fire. He pressed the back of his hand on his cheek, which was scalding.

Feeling a little uneasy, Qi Xuansu muttered, “Is there an aphrodisiac in this? Why do I feel...off?”

Zhang Yuelu rolled her eyes at him. “You’ve read too many novels. Just finish the medicine.”

Qi Xuansu drank the remaining half of the medicinal wine as instructed. The heat he felt in his core was akin to a ball of fire burning violently in his belly. His blood was boiling, and it was uncomfortably hot. He felt unusually thirsty and itchy all over, which was a sign of wound healing.

Was this the mythical fateful encounter in novels?

Without Zhang Yuelu’s guidance, Qi Xuansu had already started to resolve this heat by circulating the qi in his body.

Zhang Yuelu could see steam rising from Qi Xuansu’s head. His body was like a furnace, emitting heat and distorting the surrounding cold air.

After two hours, Qi Xuansu felt that all the heat in his body had dissipated. He also felt a lot lighter. Aside from his left arm, which had not healed fully, everything else felt as good as new. This made sense because he had just received treatment from Huasheng Hall and because of his strong physique.

What really surprised Qi Xuansu was that his cultivation had improved. Although he still had a long way to go before he could reach the next level, what he just cultivated was worth one year of hard work. This wine was indeed a rare elixir!

Zhang Yuelu’s eyes glowed with purple energy as she sized Qi Xuansu up. “You’ve only refined half of the medicinal power for now. The other half of the medicinal power is still deposited in your body. You can continue refining it in the next few days, so there’s no need to drink the second bottle so soon.”

Qi Xuansu joked. “Since it’s so beneficial, why don’t you drink one too? If you become a Heavenly Being, we can teach Zhao Fu’an a lesson now.”

Zhang Yuelu laughed. “You wish that the medicinal power was that strong! Although these two bottles of medicinal wine are good for cultivation, they won’t be of much use to me. If I could become a Heavenly Being so easily by drinking wine, I wouldn’t have waited till now.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Then will you keep it for me? Do you still have space in your magical receptacle?”

Zhang Yuelu weighed the wine gourd in her palm and nodded. “It should fit.”

......

As soon as it got dark, Zhao Fu’an left Baidi City.

He thought that the arrogant Zhang Yuelu had given in to him. When he injured Qi Xuansu, the staff at the villa had already cleared out everything suspicious. So even if the Daoist Order sealed off the villa, they would not be able to find anything.

So, he felt that it was unnecessary to stay in Baidi City.

Among the many lineages, Martial Arts Practitioners were the only lineage who could not fly long distances after becoming Heavenly Beings. That was why Zhao Fu’an traveled on horseback.

Not far away, he saw a middle-aged Daoist man sitting on the roadside, drinking. The wine gourd in the Daoist man’s hand seemed to be bottomless.

Seeing Zhao Fu’an approaching, the middle-aged Daoist man stood up slowly, corked the wine gourd, and hung it around his waist.

Zhao Fu’an sensed something wrong and reined in his horse. Before Zhao Fu’an could speak, the middle-aged Daoist man leaped forward and rammed his palm into Zhao Fu’an’s face, pushing the Chief Military Officer off his high horse.