A Pawn's Passage

Zhongzhou was the center of the world; hence, most ancient dynasties chose to establish their capital there. It was a vast and level plain, making the originally flat Jiangbei look hilly in comparison. One could only imagine just how flat Zhongzhou was.

With the endless sky and earth on the horizon, walking on this vast plain was inevitably boring. However, a tall black mountain on the horizon with dark clouds surrounding it was a shocking contrast to the flatness all around.

There were many mountains in Jiangnan. Thus, no matter how dangerous or steep a mountain was, it did not seem impressive. Jiangbei was characterized by undulating hills with a gradual progression of ascending heights. Only a mountain that seemed to rise abruptly from the vast plain with no foothills could inspire a sense of awe.

This was Zhongyue Mountain, where the Jingchan Temple was located. The Sha River was the long river that passed through it.

During the winter, many ice floes floated on the surface of the Sha River, colliding with each other from time to time and creating a glistening spectacle.

A man slowly emerged from the water, struggling to climb onto a huge ice floe. He turned over and laid on his back with his limbs sprawled out as he faced the sky and panted for air.

He felt as if he had swallowed a red-hot piece of coal. His entire trachea and chest felt like they were on fire, and he could smell the stench of blood between his breaths.

This man was lucky enough to escape death, but he was in a terrible state. There was a huge and gory wound on his bald head, revealing his flesh and skull. There was also a hideous wound on his face that had completely cut open his left cheek, exposing his gums and teeth.

His tattered clothes were heavily stained with blood, even after being soaked in the river.

This man was Yan Xiu, the Buddhist monk who left Qi Xuansu for dead at the Yulan Temple. After leaving Yulan Temple, he wandered around for a while before returning to Jingchan Temple in Zhongzhou. As soon as he arrived in Zhongzhou, he was ambushed by a group of strangers. If he did not have the life-saving treasure that his master had given him, he would have died. Even so, he paid a hefty price to escape.

Yan Xiu was entering the borders of Zhongyue. No matter how courageous this group of people was, they would not dare to pursue him and had no choice but to retreat. Seeing this, Yan Xiu could not help but wonder who this group of people was.

There were a few people in the group who had high levels of cultivation over the ordinary Guizhen stage. The rest of the group were not mediocre either. If they had not thought of capturing Yan Xiu alive at first, Yan Xiu would have died on the spot before he had the chance to use the life-saving treasure to escape.

Who were these people? What was their purpose?

Yan Xiu only recognized one of them to be one of the two women who fought fiercely at the Yulan Temple that day. Were they after him because of the Yulan Temple incident? However, this group of people was obviously not from the Daoist Order. They seemed to be from a secret society.

Although the Buddhist Sect supported secret societies to go against the Daoist Order, there were so many secret societies with their own motives. Most of them even had conflicts and fought with each other. Thus, Yan Xiu could not tell where this group of people came from.

The fact that this group of people chose to ambush him in Zhongzhou showed that they already knew that he was from Jingchan Temple. They were probably not Buddhists since they still dared to attack him despite knowing his origin.

At the moment, Yan Xiu’s top priority was to return to Jingchan Temple to recover from his injuries. Everything else could be left for later.

He drifted along with the ice floe for a while until he regained some strength. Then he slowly stood up and jumped across the ice floes on the river, heading toward Jingchan Temple.

......

Prince Qin and Xie Qiuniang stood on the bank of the Sha River. On the horizon was the majestic Zhongyue Mountain.

The Sha River was very long, running through several states. If they went further, they would enter the boundaries of Jingchan Temple. With their status, they could not enter rashly because they would be doomed if caught by the Buddhists.

On the contrary, the Daoist Order could use the case at the Yulan Temple as an excuse to go to Jingchan Temple openly and arrest Yan Xiu. After all, the Daoist Order had replaced the Confucian School as the world’s orthodox government, forcing the Buddhists to sign an alliance with them as well. Besides the Western Region, the Daoist Order still had control over the rest of the 19 states on the Central Plains.

Xie Qiuniang remarked, “It’s strange. The Daoists still haven’t made any moves yet. Since when did the Daoist Order become so easygoing? Or do you think that they’re only planning to get to this after the New Year?”

Prince Qin did not give a clear answer. He just said, “Let’s wait for the news from Hua Jianyi.”

Soon, Hua Jianyi came to them from a short distance away. She had just stepped aside to answer a call from the mother-child talisman.

Prince Qin asked, “Did you get some news?”

Hua Jianyi’s expression fell. “Those two Daoists have arrived in Shangqing Prefecture. Since that’s a Zhengyi Sect stronghold, we can’t sneak in. Moreover, the security has been beefed up after Sage Qi Jiaozheng led 36 high-ranking Daoist priests from the Quanzhen Sect to Yunjin Mountain to visit the Heavenly Preceptor. So we lost them.”

Xie Qiuniang immediately sensed something was wrong. “Two Daoists? Who else was there besides that girl?”

Hua Jianyi was silent for a moment before saying, “Qiuniang, the person you mentioned may not be dead after all.”

“How is that possible?! Under such intense divine power, no living being can escape, unless he’s a Heavenly Being! But if he is a Heavenly Being, then the one who should have been left for dead would have been that monk Yan Xiu.” Xie Qiuniang was puzzled.

Prince Qin fell into deep thought.

The two women looked at Prince Qin in unison. The trio had a cooperative relationship, but it was not clear who among them was the leader. It was somewhat similar to the three Deputy Grand Masters in the Daoist Order. However, Prince Qin was the mastermind behind this operation.

After a while, Prince Qin suggested, “Is it possible that the Daoist boy obtained the Xuan Jade and used it to survive the descending divine power?”

Both women fell silent in an instant.

This statement was justified.

Xie Qiuniang huffed. “In that case, our attempt to ambush that monk was for nothing.”

“Not necessarily.” Prince Qin shook his head and added, “After all, this is just a conjecture. We don’t have any evidence. There may be other reasons that Daoist boy survived.”

“Then should we continue to look for the two Daoists?” Xie Qiuniang asked, despite knowing that there was little hope.

Prince Qin smiled bitterly. “Compared to going to Yunjin Mountain to find the Daoists, it sounds more plausible to attack Jingchan Temple by force. But the outcome for both options is only death.”

Xie Qiuniang suggested, “Then let’s wait until they leave Shangqing Prefecture—”

Hua Jianyi interjected with a solemn expression. “It’s highly likely that they will not use the land route back to Jade Capital. They will most likely take the flying ship from Shangqing Palace instead. It’s also very likely that they have already handed over the Xuan Jade to the Heavenly Preceptor or a Sage at the Dazhen Mansion. So there’s no hope of retrieving it.”

Xie Qiuniang stopped talking and waved her hand in anger, her qi splashing up a wall of water on the river.

Prince Qin sighed. “Whether it’s Yunjin Mountain or Jingchan Temple, it will be difficult for us to make a move for the time being. This mission to find the Xuan Jade is considered a failure. But please pay attention to these people in the future, Hua Jianyi. They might come in handy.”

Hua Jianyi nodded in agreement.

Prince Qin asked again, “By the way, any news from the recent meeting?”

Hua Jianyi reported. “When I was discussing business with Madam Qi, she told me some news that is about to be outdated soon. The Great Sage of the Taiping Sect has already left Penglai Island and set off for Jade Capital to prepare for the handover. The Great Sage of Quanzhen Sect will step down as the Great Sage Lunzhi and return to the Chongyang Palace of Immortality in Difei Mountain. In the next six months, the Imperial Preceptor will be the leader of the Daoist Order.”

Prince Qin laughed. “It is indeed outdated news. In a few days, it won’t be worth anything.”