A Pawn's Passage

When Qi Xuansu arrived in the bustling part of the city, it was inconvenient to ride a horse, so he simply dismounted and took his horse by the reins.

As he was walking, Qi Xuansu suddenly felt a tap on the shoulder. With Qi Xuansu’s current level of cultivation, he became more sensitive to the environment around him, especially with his new-found Diviner lineage. Even in a busy city, he could still sense everything around him. Thus, he was shocked that someone could touch him without him noticing.

Qi Xuansu looked back in surprise and saw a man in his fifties with neat white hair and a white beard. He looked a little old-fashioned and stern.

“Gold-Plated Knife?” The old man asked in a low voice.

Qi Xuansu suddenly realized that it was his employer.

“May I ask who you are?” Qi Xuansu asked.

“Let’s talk elsewhere.” The old man walked toward the Taiping Inn not far away.

Qi Xuansu hesitated slightly before following the old man.

When they arrived at the inn, a waiter helped Qi Xuansu care for his horse while Qi Xuansu followed the old man to the second floor.

The old man seemed to be a regular customer here, as he gestured to a waiter and said, “The usual, for two people.”

“Yes, sir.” The waiter responded loudly and went downstairs.

The second floor had private rooms, so there was no need to worry about being disturbed by others. The old man got straight to the point. “You can call me Wild Bodhisattva.”

While talking, the old man took out a golden-purple fish talisman from his sleeve to prove his identity.

Qi Xuansu looked at the golden-purple fish talisman carefully and asked, “How did you recognize me?”

“Madam Qi showed me a picture of you once. I come here every day for a drink and didn’t expect to see you from a distance. It’s such a coincidence!” The old man replied.

Qi Xuansu did not even know when Madam Qi had taken a picture of him. However, Madam Qi had done too many things without telling him, so he was accustomed to all these mysteries.

Wild Bodhisattva remarked, “You came later than I expected.”

Qi Xuansu said frankly, “I encountered some accidents along the way. It was my fault for being careless and provoking the people from the Heavenly Court. Due to that incident, I was chased by Feng Bo and almost died in his hands.”

After hearing this, Wild Bodhisattva sized Qi Xuansu up. “But you’re still alive and well. If you can escape from Feng Bo, you must have some real skills. I trust Madam Qi’s recommendation. This escort task should be a piece of cake for you then.”

Qi Xuansu looked solemn. “Madam Qi has already briefed me on the task. Since it involves the major Jiangnan case, I dare not be careless. Should I expect assassins from The Inn?”

“Madam Qi also told you about The Inn?” A trace of surprise flashed across Wild Bodhisattva’s eyes.

Qi Xuansu spoke frankly. “I have come across The Inn’s assassins multiple times.”

Wild Bodhisattva nodded and said thoughtfully, “This matter has nothing to do with The Inn. But the mastermind behind the scenes will most probably hire assassins from The Inn, as they dare not use their own people. After all, most assassins aren’t members of The Inn, they only get jobs from there.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. Zhang Yuelu’s assassins were also hired from The Inn by some mastermind who wanted her dead.

While they were talking, the waiters began to serve the dishes.

Qi Xuansu glanced at them casually. These were all simple dishes that went well with wine. However, they did not serve the yellow wine popular in Jiangnan, nor was it red wine popular in the Western Continent. They served shaojiu, a colorless, strong liquor with an intense aroma that suddenly hit one’s face as soon as the mud seal was cracked open. Those who could not hold their alcohol could get drunk just by smelling it.

It was not served in dainty wine cups typical of their culture. Instead, it came in a large bowl.

Shaojiu was Zhang Yuelu’s favorite, not his. Back then, Qi Xuansu had to rely on his innate qi to process such strong alcohol, but he would still get drunk. However, after gaining the physique of a Martial Arts Practitioner, his alcohol tolerance increased significantly.

Wild Bodhisattva poured out a bowl of wine for Qi Xuansu before filling another bowl for himself. He raised his bowl toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to pick up the wine bowl and clink it with the Wild Bodhisattva. Then he gulped down the wine in one go. He felt like his throat was on fire, and the burning sensation spread to his entire chest and abdomen.

Wild Bodhisattva also chugged his and beamed. “Nice one, kid!”

Qi Xuansu shook his head. Just as he was about to say something humble, he heard some banging in the next room. Shortly after, he heard a man yelling. The man seemed to have fallen out of the window.

Out of curiosity, Qi Xuansu stood up and looked out the window. He saw a man getting up in a panic, uninjured and a little embarrassed.

This man shouted and started cursing. “Cripple Zhou! How dare you ambush me? You have no fight ethics at all!”

Another man’s voice came from next door. “So what? If you’re that great, come up and fight me again!”

The man on the ground floor had obviously suffered a loss, so he refused to go upstairs. He yelled back. “Why don’t you come down?!”

“No, you come up!”

“No, you come down!”

“I dare you to come upstairs!”

“I dare you to jump down now!”

Qi Xuansu could not help but shake his head and laugh at this childish banter.

Just as the two men were yelling at each other, the Taiping Inn’s waiter finally came forward to stop them. “This is the Taiping Inn. Please go somewhere else if you want to cause trouble!”

Other restaurants and inns would not dare say this to their customers, but this was the Taiping Inn, an establishment of the Daoist Order that could be found in all major towns in the world, including Jade Capital and the Imperial Capital.

The general manager of the Taiping Inn was usually held by a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master. That was why the waiters at the Taiping Inn were more arrogant and fearless, since they had a strong backer.

However, these two men were problematic.

The man on the ground floor did not take the waiter seriously. He leaped over and reached out to grab the waiter’s shoulders.

Although the Taiping Inn was an establishment of the Daoist Order, Daoist priests were not allowed to serve as waiters, as it was a waste of talent. Generally, Daoist disciples would serve as the innkeepers. But it was well known that innkeepers had a lucrative salary but no prospects of promotion.

This waiter was an ordinary civilian with no cultivation, so he was unable to move when he was grabbed by the shoulder.

The man did not stop there. He grabbed the back of the waiter’s neck and forced the waiter to turn his head. He whispered mockingly in the waiter’s ear, “So what if this is the Taiping Inn? If you’re that great, go ahead and complain to the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. Get them to dispatch a Spirit Guard to kill me!”

The waiter was scared because he was being strangled. He could barely squeeze the words out of his throat. “You...you...”

“What?” The man finally let go of the waiter’s neck and slapped him hard in the face with a backhand. The waiter spun around three times like a top before falling over.

Judging by the force of this slap, the waiter’s eardrum was probably damaged.

Wild Bodhisattva, who had been drinking, slammed the wine bowl in his hand on the table. “What’s with all the clucking?!”

After that, Wild Bodhisattva got up.

Qi Xuansu sighed and said, “Brother, you can continue drinking. I’ll take care of this.”

Before Wild Bodhisattva could reply, Qi Xuansu jumped down from the building.

He knew that seeing was believing, so he wanted to show his employer that he was skilled enough for the escort task. This was a good opportunity for Qi Xuansu to show off his fighting skills.

The man did not take Qi Xuansu seriously and mocked him. “Look at this boy wanting to be a hero. You must have read too many novels, kid.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “What’s your name?”

“Hmph! You want to know my background? Well, remember this. I’m Xu Changwu. Everyone in Longmen Prefecture knows me!” Before he finished introducing himself, Xu Changwu leaped high into the air and swept out his left leg, bringing about a gust of wind.

Before the onlookers could even react, the strong wind suddenly disappeared. That was when they noticed that Qi Xuansu had caught Xu Changwu’s leg with his bare hands.

To be fair, Xu Changwu was not a weakling. His kick was powerful, comparable to Zhuge Yongming’s punch back then. However, Qi Xuansu was no longer the Kunlun-stage Rogue Cultivator that he once was. He was now a Guizhen-stage Rogue Cultivator with the properties of a Martial Arts Practitioner and a Diviner.

Although Rogue Cultivators were generally weaker than Martial Arts Practitioners, that only applied to opponents of the same cultivation level. At different levels, a Guizhen-stage Rogue Cultivator was still stronger than a Yuxu-stage Martial Arts Practitioner.

Xu Changwu did not expect Qi Xuansu to be able to catch his leg. He let out an odd scream, twisted his body, raised his right foot high, and struck it down with all his strength, aiming at Qi Xuansu’s head.

As a result, Qi Xuansu managed to catch his right leg as well. Qi Xuansu smirked, lifted Xu Changwu into the air, swung him around, and threw him out.

Xu Changwu’s body was like a top as he fell and rolled on the ground. His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with fear as soon as he came to a stop.