A Pawn's Passage

Pei Xiaolou did not stay for long, as he had to return to Wuxu Palace. If everything went according to plan, the Second Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master, who was in charge of the Sub-Tiangang Hall, would have already learned about this incident and would soon pay a visit to Pei Xiaolou.

The Second Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master would not argue with Pei Xiaolou, nor would he stand up for Cen Li. He was more interested in understanding the situation and getting a feel for Pei Xiaolou’s attitude. He wanted to see if Pei Xiaolou was using this to target him or if Pei Xiaolou was simply targeting Cen Li, as there was a big difference between the two.

Pei Xiaolou came to Xijing Prefecture under the orders of the Earthly Preceptor to inspect the various Daoist mansions and palaces within the territory of the Quanzhen Sect. It was to make sure that no illegal acts were happening.

This was just a routine procedure. The Earthly Preceptor had no plans to vigorously rectify the internal affairs of the Quanzhen Sect during this critical moment, when the competition for the seventh-generation Grand Master was getting heated. Pei Xiaolou understood the Earthly Preceptor’s intention, so he would not purposely find fault with the Daoist mansions and palaces.

However, Pei Xiaolou also could not be too perfunctory. It would not make sense to not find any problems at all after one week of patrols. Since Pei Xiaolou happened to see the Sub-Tiangang Hall abusing their power, he was determined to make a big fuss about this matter.

The Second Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master had no choice but to accept this. Usually, during internal audits, the Mansion Masters would preempt their subordinates to be more restrained. He could only blame himself for being lax in controlling his subordinates.

This time, the Sub-Tiangang Hall was careless to be caught red-handed. The Second Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Master probably hated Cen Li for getting him in trouble, as the former would probably be charged with dereliction of duty.

At the level of a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master and above, the merit and demerit system no longer made much sense because the number of positions for Omniscient Sages was limited to 36. Demotions rarely happened, and most second-rank Taiyi Daoist masters would stay in the same position until the end of their careers.

Although one’s rank was mostly stagnant in the second rank, it was possible to switch positions, like from a Second Deputy to the Chief Deputy. There were also a few ordinary Sages who held positions as Mansion Master or Palace Master.

Thus, if the Second Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master was charged with dereliction of duty or negligence, his chances of getting a promotion would be affected.

Qi Xuansu was just glad that Pei Xiaolou was targeting the Sub-Tiangang Hall. That way, those people would not have the time or energy to retaliate against him. No one would dare stand up for Cen Li either.

Shortly after Pei Xiaolou left, the lady boss of the inn came over.

Most of the time, Qi Xuansu would only deal with the waiters or the innkeepers at the inn. Moreover, in such a large establishment like the Taiping Inn, it was unusual for the boss to show up. However, this time, the boss came over to see Qi Xuansu. It was most likely because of his relationship with Pei Xiaolou.

The boss saluted Qi Xuansu. “Greetings, young master. My name is Liu Yuchun.”

Qi Xuansu tried his best to return the salute with one hand. “I dare not accept this address, ma’am. I am injured, so I hope you will forgive me for not performing the full salute.”

Liu Yuchun sized Qi Xuansu up and asked, “May I get your name?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “My name is Wei Wugui.”

Liu Yuchun nodded and probed, “Are you acquainted with Sage Pei?”

Qi Xuansu had expected this question, so he already came up with an answer. “My mother and Sage Pei are old acquaintances.”

“I see.” Liu Yuchun finally understood their relationship. “That makes you his junior. I thought you two were friends.”

Qi Xuansu did not comment.

With his current level of cultivation, it would be unrealistic for him to befriend a Sage. But it was reasonable for his mother to be friends with Pei Xiaolou. This was also the reality. Pei Xiaolou only treated Qi Xuansu well because of Madam Qi. The only junior whom Pei Xiaolou admired was the talented Zhang Yuelu.

Qi Xuansu regarded Madam Qi as his mother because it would prevent having to explain unnecessary things to random strangers. Since Qi Xuansu said that his mother was friends with Pei Xiaolou, the boss had no reason to question him.

Liu Yuchun began to recall if there really was a Wei family within the Quanzhen Sect.

She recalled that there was a Wei family traced back to the time when the Holy Xuan revived the Daoist Order. However, the Wei family only had a few members, and there were not many decent men in this generation. However, the women of the Wei family were indeed powerful. One of the Wei family’s daughters even married into the royal family and became an Imperial Concubine.

The Daoist community was more neutral toward both genders, unlike the secular world, where men were allowed a wife and multiple concubines. Aside from some ordained monks or nuns in the Quanzhen Sect, Daoist priests were allowed to be in monogamous relationships.

Back then, one of the Holy Xuan’s teachers, who was the Earthly Preceptor who once attacked Dazhen Mansion, had two wives. This Earthly Preceptor was infamous for being unscrupulous, capable of attacking the Dazhen Mansion, planning a coup in the Imperial Capital, killing the Great Witch, and many more. He was also born into the royal family. Thus, his actions were an exception within the Daoist community.

Due to this, Daoist women generally did not want to marry someone from the secular world because they were not used to the concept of sharing a husband with multiple women. In addition, the Daoist people had a more conservative ethos compared to the secular world in terms of marriage.

Thousands of years ago, the Ancient Taiping Sect was extremely open and chaotic about sexual relationships, even organizing orgy parties. They were no different from the secret societies. This was often criticized and regarded as the Daoist Order’s dark history.

As a result, the Daoist Order began to imitate the asceticism of the Buddhist Sect. This was how the Quanzhen Sect’s rule of celibacy for ordained monks and nuns came into being.

The Ancient Taiping Sect failed in its uprising and was completely destroyed. The existing Taiping Sect kept the same name, but it no longer shared the same beliefs. It was just like how the Zhengyi Sect, led by the Zhang family, was the improved version of the Heavenly Sect.

Back then, the Heavenly Sect had 36 levels of categorization for its disciples. Those who first learned about Daoism were called ghost soldiers. Once they accepted the teachings and showed faith, they were referred to as Jijiu masters and allowed to lead a group of followers. Those who led a large number of followers were called Chief Jijiu masters.

There were no local government officials. Instead, the Jijiu masters would manage the local affairs. Their teachings emphasized honesty and integrity. They also required believers to confess their wrongdoings. Offenders were granted three chances for leniency, but if they committed another offense, they would be punished.

The punishment for minor offenses was to repair a hundred steps of a road. Killing of all animals was prohibited during spring and summer, and excessive drinking was banned. Additionally, they established a food shelter that provided rice and meat for free to travelers. To curb greed, they warned that taking more than one’s portion would anger the spirits and lead to illness.

Today, these rules were abandoned by the Zhengyi Sect. The only thing that was passed down was the Jijiu master title that evolved into today’s fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master.

There was an exception to Daoist women marrying into the royal family. At this point, the Li family of the Taiping Sect had produced about half of the Great Xuan Dynasty’s empresses over the years. However, the Li family was not the only Daoist family to do so. There were still many other Daoist disciples who married into the royal family, becoming empresses and concubines to the emperor to contend with the Li family.

The royal family was delighted with this arrangement because such marriages would strengthen the royal family’s connection with the Daoist Order. After all, the royal family used to be part of the Daoist community back then. There was even a Deputy Grand Master as well as a Grand Master’s companion who hailed from the royal family.

This was also to restrict the growth of the Li family and prevent the Li family from monopolizing the Imperial Court.

Qi Xuansu noticed Liu Yuchun’s confused expression, so he added, “I lost my father when I was young, so I took my mother’s last name.”

Liu Yuchun nodded, thinking that it all made sense.

What Qi Xuansu said was not entirely a lie. His master was like a father to him, and his master had passed away when he was young. Madam Qi also gave him this pseudonym, so Qi Xuansu was somewhat speaking the truth.

Madam Qi had taught him that lies were inevitable, but one must not make up lies out of thin air. That way, it would be difficult to keep track of the lie. There would also be many loopholes, making it easier for people to see through the lie. Thus, the best lie was one that had some truths mixed in. With some basis, the lie would be logical and justifiable. Then, it would be difficult for others to distinguish the truth.

After Liu Yuchun figured out Qi Xuansu’s background, she stood up and excused herself. “Young Master Wei, please let me know if you need anything. I’ll take my leave.”

Qi Xuansu saw her off and stared at her graceful back as she disappeared outside the doors of the courtyard. He looked deep in thought.