A Pawn's Passage

During the fall, Qi Xuansu’s thoughts began to wander.

He was always selfish, thinking of himself first in every situation. So why was he so impulsive this time? He seemed to have made this decision subconsciously without much thought. What was even more strange to him was that he had no regrets at all. This must have meant that he was sincere about Zhang Yuelu, right?

Around Qi Xuansu, fragments of the flying ship’s hull passed by, like a flaming meteor shower. Qi Xuansu slowly let go of the old priest’s body and stared down at the vast expanse of white below.

He thought, Is this how I die? I have too many things I haven’t done, like leaving the Qingping Society, getting the Wisdom Sword, and marrying Zhang Yuelu in the Dazhen Mansion.

It all came to nothing.

......

The wreckage of the flying ship fell in two different directions. At this time, there were no survivors onboard. They were either engulfed in the raging fire from the continuously exploding formations on the ship or blown away by the fierce wind. Outside the ship, no one except the undying old Daoist priest with the divine power of the True Lord Siming could survive.

Zhang Yuelu relied on the pair of paper wings behind her back to drift along the air current. She was completely devastated as she watched everything and everyone disappear below her.

Her gaze was filled with self-blame and hatred as tears streamed down her cheeks continuously.

She was anguished because she had lost Qi Xuansu, possibly forever. His drunken talk last night still echoed in her ears. Qi Xuansu had not yet gotten his official promotion to the sixth rank, so in the end, he left this world as a seventh-rank priest.

Zhang Yuelu recalled their time together. They first met on July 15th during the Zhongyuan Festival. Then they went on the expedition to the Western Region. She also recalled their theater date on October 15th during the Xiayuan Festival and finally their drunken conversation last night on New Year’s Eve.

It was not even January 15th, the Shangyuan Festival, yet, but he had already left her. These five and a half months felt like one long dream. But all that remained after she woke from this dream was bitterness.

Zhang Yuelu blamed herself for leaving Yunjin Mountain on New Year’s Day when she had felt that premonition. If she had waited until January 15th, there would probably be more high-ranking priests and Heavenly Beings on the flying ship returning to Jade Capital. If that were the case, unless Wu Luo showed herself, even her projection would not be enough to crash the flying ship.

In addition to sadness, Zhang Yuelu felt intense hatred and anger. She was not someone who would hide and cry alone after encountering setbacks.

The Western Holy Court believed in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Confucians believed in repaying kindness with kindness and repaying grievances with justice.

At this moment, Zhang Yuelu swore that she would repay this blood debt. She would not spare any member of the Lingshan Witch Cult, including the Ancient Immortal Wu Luo, even if it would take her a hundred years to get vengeance.

......

A paradise was on the verge of collapse. There were remnants of the once prosperous place, now riddled with black holes. Due to its sheer size, it withstood decades of erosion and had not yet completely disappeared.

The vast lands were barren as far as the eye could see. All that was left were empty ravines and scorched earth. Dried skeletons and broken weapons littered the place, and huge bones from beasts piled up like hills.

There was a black mountain that connected heaven and earth, with many broken peaks suspended in the air, revolving around the mountain extremely slowly. The top of the mountain could not be seen from the bottom.

At the far end of the horizon, there was a distorted and chaotic scene in space. Many thunderbolts flashed erratically. Even from a distance, one could feel the terrifying power of that lightning.

The black mountain that towered above the clouds was undoubtedly the core of this paradise. The closer one got to the black mountain, the more cracks appeared in the sky, like a dark web that shrouded the mountain.

At the top of the black mountain was a huge bonfire that had been extinguished for countless years. Every bit of charred wood and ash was imbued with an ancient aura.

Upon closer inspection, there were still faint embers deep within the bonfire under the ashes. The tiny sparks flickered intermittently, like stars in the sky or countless pairs of blinking, bloody eyes.

A tall figure shrouded in shadows stood next to the bonfire. The figure had long white hair and scarlet eyes, dressed in a glittery robe that seemed studded with stars.

The tall figure held a wine glass that matched the size of their hand, with the surface of the wine clearly reflecting the scene of Wu Luo crushing the flying ship.

The scarlet eyes flickered slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

A voice interrupted. “The Lingshan Witch Cult has noticed the movements within the Daoist Order and plans to take advantage of the lack of manpower in the Kunlun Daoist Mansion to carry out a grand divine descent for Wu Luo’s incarnation on earth.

“It’s not surprising that they received assistance from the Cult of Fates for this operation. The Ziguang Society, the Lingshan Witch Cult, and the Cult of Fates have always advanced and retreated together.

“In order not to arouse the Daoist Order’s attention, they did not dispatch high-ranking leaders but used their mid-ranking members who had been in hiding for many years. However, they did not expect Daoists from the Tiangang Hall would accidentally discover and ruin their plans.

“Subsequently, the Daoist Order responded by sending out more manpower from Tiangang Hall to conduct a thorough investigation of Yishan City. Following the clues, they discovered several members of the Lingshan Witch Cult in the Kunlun Daoist Mansion. As such, more than ten years of the Lingshan Witch Cult’s efforts had gone to waste.

“That was why the Lingshan Witch Cult became furious and wanted vengeance, which perfectly suits Wu Luo’s temper. She has never been tolerant, even with her sisters in the past.

“The Lingshan Witch Cult sent out another member to the Shangqing Prefecture this time, giving him items that contained the divine power of Wu Luo and Siming. The Ziguang Society informed the Lingshan Witch Cult that there were no Daoist priests above the fourth rank aboard the flying ship on New Year’s Day.

“Thus, when the flying ship left Shuzhou’s borders and entered Yongzhou, the cult member attacked the flying ship, which crashed over Zhaling Lake and Eling Lake, not far from the Kunlun Pass.

“Even if Zhang Yuelu had not boarded the flying ship on New Year’s Day, the Lingshan Witch Cult would not have given up on this golden opportunity. They would still crash the flying ship. After all, having no Heavenly Beings onboard the flying ship was indeed a rare opportunity, since most high-ranking priests who planned to return to the Jade Capital on New Year’s Day departed two days earlier than scheduled with the Quanzhen Sect’s flying ship.

“At the same time, the Kunlun Daoist Mansion had been deploying more manpower closer to the Jade Capital, so some areas outside the Kunlun Pass were left ungoverned. For the Lingshan Witch Cult, killing Zhang Yuelu is not as urgent as destroying a flying ship.

“I believe it won’t be long before news of the crash spreads throughout the Daoist community. For the Daoist Order, this is like a slap in the face. It won’t shake them up, but it will hurt their pride. So they are bound to be furious. Their internal strife made them neglect the mosquitoes and flies buzzing around them, so they had no choice but to endure the pests. Wu Luo must be pleased.”

The tall figure’s hoarse and deep voice, which did not sound human, resounded amid the black shadows. “Wu Luo is getting worse.”

The other voice that spoke earlier explained, “Wu Luo has absorbed too much incense power. She also likes the taste of blood sacrifices, which contain too much desire and resentment, or in Buddhist terms, karmic forces. Over the years, these forces have subtly affected her sanity and temperament.”

The tall figure questioned, “The prophecy says that the Ancient Witches will return to the human world before the end of the Dharma. Can the Ancient Witches re-establish the former Witch Court in the human world? What is the attitude of the Ancient Witches who are siding with the Daoist Order?”

The voice fell silent, seemingly unable to answer the question.

The tall figure did not expect an answer and gently shook the wine glass.

The scene of the capsized flying ship reflected in the wine gradually disappeared with the ripples.

After a while, the voice finally said, “No matter how the Daoist Order reacts, the damage has already been done. The capsized flying ship can’t be restored, and the dead can’t be resurrected.”

The tall figure looked into the extinguished fire, deep in thought.

The tiny sparks flickering beneath the ashes were getting brighter. Perhaps one day, they would be able to rekindle this bonfire.