A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu calmed his nerves and examined his surroundings.

The vengeful ghost was trapped in the Xuan Jade of Death, but the huge carcass of the snake demon was left on the ground, with broken scales and blood strewn everywhere.

After a while, the gory scene was veiled by a thin blanket of white snow.

According to legend, demons had a solidified essence called a Demon Pill, but Qi Xuansu had never seen one before. He came to the giant snake’s carcass and inspected it carefully before opening its mouth. That was when a green bead rolled out.

If he guessed correctly, this green bead was where the snake demon’s poisonous breath originated.

The Demon Pill was not big, only slightly smaller than a chicken egg. Qi Xuansu remembered that the snake demon had brought a box with her when she entered his room. Thus, he returned to the room. As expected, the box was still intact on the table, unaffected by the fight.

The moment Qi Xuansu opened the box, a puff of smoke blew into his face.

However, Qi Xuansu had already expected a booby trap, so he held his breath and jumped back at the same time.

The smoke did not disperse as fast as Qi Xuansu retreated, so he did not inhale the smoke. If Qi Xuansu had fallen for the snake demon’s beauty earlier and let his guard down, he would have been poisoned and ended up dead.

“What a trickster.” Qi Xuansu picked up the box and saw a layer of silk inside. Since this box could hold smoke, it must have some magical uses. Qi Xuansu pulled out the silk, then went back outside to wrap the green bead in several layers before putting it into his satchel.

After that, Qi Xuansu cleared his throat and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Help, somebody!”

His roar could be heard throughout the entire Xiang Residence. That was when the silent and dark residence finally lit up.

......

Qingshui Temple was located near the Qingshui Rest Station, which was under the jurisdiction of the Liangzhou Daoist Mansion.

Daoist mansions at the state level held more authority compared to Daoist temples, which were at the prefecture and county level. The difference between a prefectural Daoist temple and a county Daoist temple was only in size. Those from the Daoist community could distinguish the two easily, but non-Daoists were easily confused as to why certain Daoist temples had to obey the orders of another Daoist temple.

Qingshui Temple was a county-level Daoist temple. However, unlike the Imperial Court’s county magistrate, the Daoist temple did not manage civil affairs. It mainly targeted cult demons aiming to spread their evil teachings that would harm others. This was one of the reasons why the Daoist Order and the Imperial Court had coexisted for many years without incident.

Deacon Zhou of Qingshui Temple had considerable authority in the less prosperous Liangzhou, living a leisurely life as the secret societies were not active in this area. After all, secret societies preferred the more prosperous Jiangnan so that they could convert more believers and enjoy the conveniences of a big city.

The Daoist Order was not the only system with corruption. Many members of secret societies were also corrupt, asking fellow believers to contribute funds, which went into their own pockets. Some even took advantage of people’s wives and daughters. These corrupt secret society members lived a luxurious life fit for a king and did not actually believe in whichever Ancient Immortal or figurehead that they preached.

Many secret societies, including the Ziguang Society, the Cult of Fates, and the Lingshan Witch Cult, were plagued by this, especially the Heavenly Court. Although the Heavenly Court had considerable power with the largest number of followers, it was the most corrupt internally.

Even the Qingping Society, which only recruited elites, still had members like Qi Xuansu who were more loyal to the Daoist Order.

Therefore, the Daoist Order’s eradication of these secret societies was still supported by some parties.

It was snowing heavily. Deacon Zhou put on his hechang and invited a few friends over for warmed wine around a stove. They were sitting in a small pavilion while admiring the snow.

While Deacon Zhou was sipping on his fine wine, a subordinate rushed over, completely ruining his mood.

Deacon Zhou said in a displeased tone, “Why are you so flustered? What happened?”

The subordinate reported anxiously, “Deacon Zhou, there’s a demon in the city! Rumor has it that the demon even ate a person!”

Deacon Zhou was startled. His drunkenness disappeared instantly. “A demon? Like a cult demon or a monster?”

“Sir, it’s a snake demon in the Xiang Family Fortress.” The Daoist priest answered, “Apparently, it’s a murder case, but I don’t know how much of it is true. The assistant major of the Green Phoenix Guard is heading there as we speak.”

“Hah! We can’t let the Green Phoenix Guard get the upper hand. Let’s get going. Hurry, gather our people, and remind them to bring whatever is necessary. We can’t embarrass ourselves.”

In his desperation, Deacon Zhou did not care about being refined. He resembled a bandit leader who was ready to rob a merchant caravan.

The Daoist priest nodded and left.

After a while, Deacon Zhou led a large group of people from the Daoist temple and headed for the Xiang Family Fortress.

By the time he arrived at the Xiang Family Fortress, it was already early noon, so they went straight to the Xiang Residence. At this time, a crowd had already gathered outside the Xiang Residence, gossiping about the events that happened. There were also two Green Phoenix Guards armed with sabers standing at the door.

The Green Phoenix Guard in this dynasty was no longer like the secretive agency of the previous dynasty. Instead, its duties were to arrest thieves, capture cult demons, and handle various murder cases. It was separated from the Ministry of Justice and County Magistrate.

Seeing the Daoist priests arriving, the crowd of onlookers made way for them.

The Daoist priests and the Green Phoenix Guard were acquaintances, so the two Green Phoenix Guards at the entrance did not try to block the way. They even took the initiative to greet the Daoist priests.

Deacon Zhou got off his horse and asked, “Has the assistant major arrived?”

“Yes, sir. He’s waiting for you inside.” A guard responded.

Deacon Zhou tossed the reins aside and straightened his robe before walking into the Xiang Residence.

At the moment, the residence was a mess. Everyone working there was flustered. Since there were troopers stationed along the way, it saved Deacon Zhou the trouble of asking for directions. All he had to do was follow the trail of Green Phoenix Guards.

Deacon Zhou arrived at the place where the incident occurred and found many people gazing down at the most eye-catching thing on the ground—the huge snake’s carcass. Even with a blanket of white snow covering the wounds and blood, it was still a terrifying scene.

At this time, three people were standing right next to the snake demon’s carcass. They were not viewing from afar like the others, so Deacon ZHou figured that these three people had to be important to the case.

One of them was an old acquaintance of Deacon Zhou, an assistant major of the Green Phoenix Guard. The other two were both adult men. The older one was dressed as a gentry, while the younger one wore a cloak.

Deacon Zhou came to the assistant major and asked, “What’s going on?”

The assistant major replied, “I’ve just arrived not long ago as well.”

Deacon Zhou glanced at the other two people.

The man dressed as a gentry said, “I am the owner of this place.”

Xiang Rulin’s face was pale, which made people wonder if he was frightened.

The other person was Qi Xuansu, who took out his badge and greeted the deacon. “I am Wei Wugui, a personal guard of General Loulan.”

Deacon Zhou wanted to take the badge to verify its authenticity, but the assistant major whispered in his ears. “I’ve already checked his badge. It’s real.”

“Oh, you’re with the Black Robes.” Deacon Zhou immediately gave up the idea of ??checking Qi Xuansu’s badge. After all, a Daoist priest would not have been better at identifying the tokens of identity from the Imperial Court compared to an assistant major of the Green Phoenix Guard.

Qi Xuansu repeated his fabricated story about how he was under General Qin Wubing’s orders to deliver a gift to the Commandery Prince in Huzhou. Along the way, he decided to stay overnight at the Xiang Residence due to the blocked road from the heavy snowfall. That was when he was attacked by a snake demon who disguised itself as a woman. However, he saw through the snake demon’s disguise and defeated it.

Deacon Zhou was surprised to hear this. “Killing demons like this requires a minimum cultivation level at the Yuxu stage. Brother, if you manage to kill this snake demon, you must be a master.”

Qi Xuansu smiled. “It’s not worth mentioning. I’m just a Yuxu-stage Martial Arts Practitioner.”

Deacon Zhou was rendered speechless. General Loulan was so impressive to have a Yuxu-stage personal guard without a specified rank. However, after some thought, it was unreasonable to judge the confidants of important people based on ordinary logic.

Even a deacon like him would have to be respectful to the Daoist attendant serving by a Daoist Mansion Master’s side. Thus, Deacon Zhou dared not underestimate this personal guard.

The assistant major said, “Deacon Zhou, if you don’t have any objections, I’ll begin the autopsy now.”

Deacon Zhou came back to his senses and nodded. “Sure.”

The assistant major took a pair of gloves from his subordinate and put them on. Another subordinate swept away the snow on the snake’s carcass before the assistant major began to examine it.