A Pawn's Passage

As soon as Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu stepped out of the restaurant, they saw a man dressed as a servant walking quickly toward them, holding up a child talisman with both hands.

Zhang Yuelu subconsciously reached out to take it, but the servant retracted his hand and said, “Forgive me, Miss Zhang. This is for Daoist Qi.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yuelu frowned slightly and said nothing.

Qi Xuansu took the child talisman, then the servant retreated.

Not long after, Qi Xuansu felt a warmth coming from the talisman in his hand. He turned into a deserted alley nearby and injected some qi into the talisman, which then burned like a ball of flame. However, the flame was not scorching to the touch. A slightly blurred upper-body silhouette of a middle-aged man appeared in the flames. The projection was only the size of a palm and was slightly distorted as the flames danced with the breeze.

A deep and rich voice came from the flames. “I am Qing Xiao’s uncle. As soon as I heard that Qing Xiao had brought a young man back home, I got a little curious. If you don’t mind, let’s meet up tomorrow.”

Of course, Qi Xuansu had no reason to refuse. He asked, “Please tell me the location, sir.”

The middle-aged man smiled. “I’m at Shangqing Palace. You can come over tomorrow.”

After that, the middle-aged man ended the communication without giving Qi Xuansu a chance to reject him.

Qi Xuansu turned to look at Zhang Yuelu.

She said helplessly, “That’s my uncle, Zhang Juping. He’s a third-rank Youyi Daoist master and the second-in-command in Shangqing Palace. He has been steadily climbing the ranks.”

In addition to the Nine Halls and the local Daoist mansions, the Daoist Order also had some special institutions with important status, such as the Dazhen Mansion, Zhenjing Courtyard, Chongyang Palace of Immortality, Wanxiang Daoist Palace, Shangqing Palace, Qingling Palace, and Wuxu Palace.

Aside from the three Deputy Grand Masters who were in charge of the Dazhen Mansion, Zhenjing Courtyard, and Chongyang Palace of Immortality, respectively, the other palaces were equivalent to the Nine Halls and were each controlled by an Omniscient Sage called the Palace Master. The Palace Master was equivalent in rank to the Hall Master and Mansion Master, with the responsibility of assisting the three Deputy Grand Masters.

The Deputy Palace Master was in charge of handling various affairs for the Palace Master, equivalent in rank to the Deputy Hall Master and Deputy Mansion Master. The only difference was that the Deputy Hall Master and Deputy Mansion Master had a Chief Deputy and a Second Deputy, who were held by second-rank Taiyi Daoist masters. The Deputy Palace Master were not segregated by rank and were held by third-rank Youyi Daoist masters.

Qi Xuansu was a little worried.

Zhang Yuyue, Su Ying, and Zhang Chiyue were all fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist masters. They had not served as the Deputy Hall Master like Zhang Yuelu, so they were inferior to her. They were like Sun Yongfeng and Lingquanzi, who were also fourth-rank Daoist masters. Based on their positions, they were only one level above Qi Xuansu and were considered mid-level priests.

However, a third-rank Daoist master was different. Zhang Juping was considered a high-ranking and powerful person in the upper echelons of the Daoist Order.

Since Qi Xuansu received an invitation from Zhang Juping, Zhang Yuelu would accompany Qi Xuansu to Yunjin Mountain. That way, Qi Xuansu could meet Zhang Juping at the Shangqing Palace while she could go to the Dazhen Mansion to report on the Li family’s situation. She was distrustful of Su Ying and decided to relay the message herself, especially since the Dazhen Mansion and Shangqing Palace were right next to each other.

Thus, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu stayed overnight at the Taiping Inn in Shangqing County and checked out early the next morning to head to Yunjin Mountain.

There were two roads to get to the top of Yunjin Mountain. One road passed through Shangqing Town, where one could enjoy the beautiful scenery of Yunjin Mountain. The other road was steeper but shorter in distance because it did not go through Shangqing Town. Many non-Zhang Daoist priests who took the flying ship to Wuzhou would use this route to avoid disturbing the peace at Shangqing Town.

This time, Zhang Yuelu chose the steeper path and went up the mountain in a hanging basket.

Qi Xuansu had seen the Daoist Order’s hanging baskets in Taiping Mountain and Kunlun Mountain. It was a good means to travel up and down mountains. However, Yunjin Mountain’s hanging basket was slightly different. It did not go straight up and down but tilted at an angle.

The tilt was a result of the Great Battle on Yunjin Mountain more than 200 years ago when the Holy Xuan disrupted the ground formation in a fit of anger. Many peaks collapsed in the large-scale earthquakes caused by the Holy Xuan’s wrath, which greatly changed the terrain of Yunjin Mountain. Even a corner of the Dazhen Mansion was affected.

Although Zhengyi Sect made repairs since then, the mountain could not be completely restored to its original appearance. This resulted in its complicated terrain, making it impossible for the hanging basket to travel vertically up and down in one go, like at the Taiping Mountain. If they maintained the regular design of the hanging basket, which traveled vertically up and down, it had to be divided into several sections. Then one would have to change hanging baskets midway.

Thus, the Zhengyi Sect simply decided to change the mechanism of the hanging basket to travel at an acute angle from the foot to the top of the mountain.

There was a Nanji Temple on the south side of the mountain base, located on the road to Shangqing Town. On the north side of the mountain base was Beizhen Temple, where the hanging basket was located.

Zhang Yuelu led Qi Xuansu to Beizhen Temple. After showing their credentials, they took the hanging basket up Yunjin Mountain.

The hanging basket went up diagonally along the metal chains. At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary. After a while, the fog gradually thickened. They could also see the clouds floating around them.

Qi Xuansu leaned out of the basket and looked out. The landform of Yunjin Mountain was indeed very strange. With his basic knowledge of feng shui learned from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, Qi Xuansu could not decipher much from it.

Zhang Yuelu said, “The terrain here is very strange, isn’t it? The Zhengyi Sect has been repairing it for nearly 100 years. This is what happens when you offend the Holy Xuan. During that battle, a Heavenly Preceptor of the Zhang family died along with countless Zhang family disciples.

“Is it the Deposed Heavenly Preceptor in the Holy Xuan Cards?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Zhang Yuelu nodded.

After a while, the hanging basket entered the clouds. Looking down from the basket, one could only see white and nothing else.

By the time the hanging basket reached the summit, they could see a red sun shining through a sea of ??clouds, illuminating the sky brightly. The sunlight shone from the east, casting a glow on the huge white marble archway with the golden words that read, Sovereignty of Zhengyi. It was an awe-inspiring sight.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yulu walked out of the hanging basket. Since Zhang Yuelu was familiar with the roads here, she led the way toward the Shangqing Palace.

The Shangqing Palace was grand and far nicer compared to the Tiangang Hall. Qi Xuansu stood in front of the six-meter-tall main entrance, looking up at the plaque that read Shangqing Palace, which was said to have been inscribed by the First Heavenly Preceptor himself.

Under the plaque was a couplet, each character the size of a human head.

The first line was: Morality commands the respect of the dragon and tiger.

The second line was: Virtue is revered by the ghosts and the gods.

Zhang Yuelu remarked, “There is also a couplet on the main entrance of the Dazhen Mansion similar to this couplet. They all like to boast about themselves. At the Dazhen Mansion, the first couplet reads, ‘Unparalleled lands in the south,’ while the second couplet says, ‘The first family in Jiangxi.’”

Qi Xuansu exclaimed, “How confident!”

Suddenly, Zhang Yuelu patted Qi Xuansu on the shoulder. “You can go in alone. I have to visit the Dazhen Mansion, so I won’t accompany you.”

Qi Xuansu nodded and walked to the main entrance of Shangqing Palace alone.

Two Spirit Guards in black armor stretched out their arms to block Qi Xuansu’s way.

Qi Xuansu said, “I have an invitation from High Mage Zhang.”

A Spirit Guard ordered, “Wait a moment.”

After a while, a sixth-rank Daoist priest hurried over. “Are you Deacon Qi? Please follow me.”

Qi Xuansu entered the Shangqing Palace under the guidance of this sixth-rank Daoist priest. Along the way, he saw a few halls, living rooms, duty rooms, and offices with various signs hanging outside the doors. This was not an ordinary Daoist palace or temple, but the core of Zhengyi Sect’s administration. On the other hand, the Dazhen Mansion served as a residence and the cardinal formation of Yunjin Mountain with a more symbolic presence.

The relationship between the Dazhen Mansion and Shangqing Palace was probably similar to that of the Imperial Palace and the Grand Secretariat, or that of the Purple Mansion and the Golden Tower. The administrative power in the Imperial Court was the Grand Secretariat, and the core power of the Daoist Order lay in the Golden Tower.

The Imperial Palace was merely a residence for the royal family, and the Purple Mansion was where the Grand Master resided. The same principle applied to the Zhenjing Courtyard and Qingling Palace of the Taiping Sect, as well as the Chongyang Palace of Immortality and Wuxu Palace of the Quanzhen Sect.

Qi Xuansu walked for about 15 minutes, passed through a long corridor, and finally arrived at Zhang Juping’s office, which had a sign above the door that read, Zhengyi Sect Liaison Department.

He waited quietly while the sixth-rank priest knocked gently on the door, announcing, “Deputy Palace Master, Deacon Qi is here.”

The deep voice that Qi Xuansu had heard from the mother-child talisman came through the door. “Come in.”

The Daoist priest pushed the door open halfway and extended his other hand politely to Qi Xuansu. “Deacon Qi, please enter.”

Qi Xuansu did not rush into the office. Instead, he took out a valuable jade pendant from his sleeve pocket and quietly handed it to the Daoist priest with a smile, “Thank you for showing me the way.”

The Daoist priest politely pushed the jade pendant back with an expressionless face. “This is against the rules, but I appreciate your thoughts, Deacon Qi.”

Qi Xuansu kept a smile on his face as he retracted his hand. “Shangqing Palace is indeed different from other places.”

The sixth-rank Daoist priest said no more, leaned forward, and allowed Qi Xuansu to walk in through the ajar door, after which he gently closed it from the outside.

Zhang Juping’s office had two rooms. The outer room was a small living room for receiving guests, but it was empty at this time. So Qi Xuansu had no choice but to walk further into the inner room.

The inner room was like a study, with bookshelves and desks. But it had no chairs for receiving guests.

There were various files piled on the desk. The covers of the files were all stamped with the word “Confidential” in red. Qi Xuansu spotted a middle-aged man writing with his head down through the space between the piles of documents.

There was no chair, and Zhang Juping did not greet him. Thus, Qi Xuansu just stood there awkwardly, quietly waiting for this third-rank master to initiate the conversation.

“Have you met Zhang Yuyue and Zhang Chiyue?” The man still had his head down, reading some documents while asking Qi Xuansu.

“Yes, I have.” Qi Xuansu replied.

“Do you want to know what they think of you?” The man finally stood up from the desk. He was dressed in neat, formal Daoist attire. His half-white hair was combed nicely, and he had a smile on his face, but his eyes remained stern.

This was Zhang Juping, the third-rank Deputy Palace Master of the Shangqing Palace and Zhang Yuelu’s uncle.