A Pawn's Passage

To the Daoist Order, Qi Xuansu was supposedly dead. Although at Zhang Yuelu’s insistence, Tiangang Hall still retained Qi Xuansu’s position and only marked him as missing, everyone understood that Deputy Hall Master Zhang was merely trying to seek solace in this sliver of hope.

After all, Qi Xuansu had sacrificed himself to save Zhang Yuelu, so everyone figured that she would have a hard time getting out of the rut, as guilt and self-blame were eating away at her.

Qi Xuansu also understood this and dared not interact with any Daoist acquaintances.

When Pei Xiaolou showed up, Qi Xuansu’s first reaction was delight. However, as reality set in, he grew worried because he did not know what Pei Xiaolou’s reaction would be seeing that he was still alive.

Judging by Pei Xiaolou’s calm reaction, Qi Xuansu instantly connected the dots. Pei Xiaolou and Madam Qi had a good relationship, so Qi Xuansu figured that Pei Xiaolou was somehow related to the Qingping Society. Perhaps Pei Xiaolou was also a member of the Qingping Society or one of the Qingping Society’s connections within the Daoist Order.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu stopped being nervous. He held his severed arm and followed Pei Xiaolou closely.

At this time, the staff of the Taiping Inn also came over. The lady boss, who rarely showed her face around here, recognized Pei Xiaolou and greeted him.

This boss was beautiful, with a graceful figure and coquettish behavior. It was odd seeing two completely conflicting auras coexist perfectly in her.

Pei Xiaolou no longer kept a stern face. He walked over and playfully joked with the boss. In the end, he asked her to get the best room in the inn for Qi Xuansu.

The boss readily agreed and glanced at Qi Xuansu again before walking away.

During this time, Qi Xuansu went back to his previous room, which was in ruins, and rummaged around for his things. He put his things back into his satchel and walked over to the new room.

Fortunately, his horse had escaped the blast unharmed. It was just a little frightened. This grade horse looked skinny and weak, but it was smart enough to follow Qi Xuansu without him having to hold its reins.

After arriving at the new courtyard, Pei Xiaolou motioned for Qi Xuansu to sit down. He first touched Qi Xuansu’s wound and swept away the lingering sword qi before reattaching Qi Xuansu’s severed arm to the wound.

The wound slowly began to heal on its own. The broken meridians, bones, joints, flesh, and skin morphed from the wound and extended to the severed arm.

Pei Xiaolou sighed. “How convenient! No matter how serious the trauma is, it seems like nothing with the Martial Arts Practitioner’s body-regenerative abilities. If you were of any other lineage, you would have no choice but to go to the Huasheng Hall.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Thank you, Sage Pei.”

“What’s there to thank me for? Even if those egotists were bullying someone else, I wouldn’t have let them get away with it.” Pei Xiaolou said indifferently, “Abuse of power will just damage the Daoist Order’s reputation. What will commoners think of us then? If they are corrupt, commoners will only think that the entire Daoist Order is corrupt. In the end, those egotists are the only ones benefiting, while the Daoist Order will have to bear the consequences for their bad behavior.

“These kinds of people only think about themselves. As long as they get benefits, they won’t care which camp they belong to. They may swear loyalty to the Daoist Order today because we are strong now, but who knows when they will betray us and join the Confucian School or the Buddhist Sect?

“I don’t expect them to make contributions to the Daoist Order, but I just hope that they won’t use the Daoist Order as a tool for their own gain. Who knows if the Daoist Order will one day walk the same path as the Confucian School, with no competent successor? I’m doing this for myself and my descendants. So I can’t tolerate such behavior.”

Qi Xuansu did not expect the frivolous Pei Xiaolou to have such an opinion. As expected, there was no such thing as a simple-minded Sage.

“I agree,” Qi Xuansu chimed in.

Pei Xiaolou held up the arm for a while and transferred some innate qi to Qi Xuansu to clear his meridians. He finally let go of Qi Xuansu’s arm and said, “Your arm has been reattached, but I think it’ll take at least half a month for your arm to recover fully.”

Qi Xuansu thanked him again.

Pei Xiaolou was a talkative person. He went back to the previous topic.

“I occasionally read some Confucian books on philosophy. Humans are insatiable creatures, hence why greed is prominent in society, manifesting as corruption among court officials and theft in commoners. However, this greed can’t see the light of day. Thus, it will be curbed with the presence of the sun.”

Qi Xuansu seemingly understood what Pei Xiaolou was saying, so he asked, “Are you saying that the Grand Master is the sun?”

Pei Xiaolou clapped his hands and praised him. “Clever boy!”

Qi Xuansu finally understood that Pei Xiaolou was talking about the importance of the election for the next Grand Master.

Although Qi Xuansu was out of the Daoist Order, he would still hear about the competition for the next Grand Master. This showed just how far-reaching the election was.

However, Qi Xuansu did not care much about it. In the grand scheme of things, he was not even substantial enough to be considered a pawn in this race. Even if he was a pawn, he would at most be cannon fodder, while the Grand Master was a general. Whoever won would determine the outcome of the entire game.

Qi Xuansu knew that it was pointless to think about such far-fetched things. He just wanted to be a carefree pawn taking small steps toward his goal.

He changed the topic and asked, “Sage Pei, why did you come here?”

Pei Xiaolou retorted, “Is it so strange to see me at Wuxu Palace as a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect?”

Qi Xuansu clarified. “Sage Pei, you don’t seem at all surprised that I’m still alive.”

Pei Xiaolou explained, “Madam Qi has already informed me about your situation and asked me to watch out for you as my repayment to her. She wants me to make sure that you won’t die or become disabled.”

Qi Xuansu was moved by Madam Qi’s thoughtfulness, but he was also surprised.

Madam Qi was not one to be sentimental. Like many mothers in the world, she scolded Qi Xuansu and withheld his money, but she still cared about him in ways that he was unaware of.

If Pei Xiaolou had not told him this, Qi Xuansu would not have known that Madam Qi had asked a Sage to watch out for him. He would have only felt indebted to Pei Xiaolou for his kindness.

Qi Xuansu did not expect that Pei Xiaolou was indebted to Madam Qi.

Pei Xiaolou saw the young man’s surprised expression and coughed lightly. “Well, I mentioned before that Madam Qi and I lost some money when we went into business together. I bear the main responsibility for that, so I owe her a debt of favor.”

Qi Xuansu could not help but wonder if Madam Qi was also a Sage in the past.

Pei Xiaolou asked, “I saw you and the members from the Sub-Tiangang Hall earlier. What happened?”

Qi Xuansu recounted the story in detail.

After hearing this, Pei Xiaolou fell into deep thought. “Oh, so it’s Feng Bo, the Heavenly Court’s ‘God of Wind.’ The Sub-Tiangang Hall members might be arrogant and domineering, but they are capable. Otherwise, the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion wouldn’t have indulged them in so many ways. Since they have already gone after him, Feng Bo won’t be able to get away easily.”

Qi Xuansu silently noted down Feng Bo’s name in his list of enemies, alongside Zhao Fu’an, the monk Yan Xiu, Wan Xiuwu, and Yue Liuli. He hoped that he would one day be strong enough to avenge himself.

In fact, Qi Xuansu also wanted to add Wu Luo and some of those big shots behind the cults to his list. But after some thought, he decided that it was too far-fetched, so it was best to put it aside and only think about it if he ever got to a position of power.

He moved his arm slightly and felt some pain. However, he noticed that his arm only hung limp to his side, unable to move even though he willed it to. Since he could feel some pain, it indicated that there was no major problem.

Pei Xiaolou suddenly remembered something and said, “By the way, Madam Qi has entrusted me with the task of getting you back into the Daoist Order. I will get some connections sorted and find a suitable reason for your return. I might even have to ask my elder brother to come forward. But this will take time. So you’re free to do your own thing while I settle this issue.”

This was a big surprise for Qi Xuansu.

He said sincerely, “Thank you, Sage Pei.”

Pei Xiaolou waved his hand and warned. “But Miss Zhang is not that easy to fool. How you plan to get through to her is up to you. I won’t be able to help you with that.”