A Pawn's Passage

Su Ran imprisoned Liu Futong in Ecstasy Palace. That way, Liu Futong would be isolated from his close subordinates, so he would not be able to cause any more trouble.

Qi Xuansu was sitting in Jade Tower’s duty room, while Eighth Tianyang paced around the room. The latter suddenly stopped and looked at Qi Xuansu. “Brother Wei, if the murderer isn’t Superintendent Liu, who could it be?”

Qi Xuansu pondered aloud. “Liu Futong is not the murderer; that’s for sure. His motive is insufficient, and before this, the murderer never left a note. These notes only appeared in the last two attacks. It looks as if the murderer has known about Liu Futong and Yue Lian’s scandal for a long time and deliberately led us here to arrest him.

“Regardless of whether Liu Futong was the murderer, he wouldn’t be able to keep his position as superintendent. It makes me think that the previous murders are just leading up to this moment.”

Eighth Tianyang was silent for a while. “Brother Wei, what you said makes sense. If you put it this way, it seems like this is an infighting within the Daoist Order. Since Liu Futong occupied the position of superintendent and refused to move, someone wanted to force Liu Futong away by whatever means necessary. But to treat regular folk as indispensable is truly despicable and unworthy of being a cultivator.”

Qi Xuansu shook his head and sighed. “Back then, when the Confucian School dominated the world, more and more Confucian disciples became court officials. There was a saying that scholars often forgot their roots as they rose in rank. The same holds true for the Daoist Order today. In a world where fame and fortune are valued over morality, being a cultivator no longer means anything.”

Speaking of this, Qi Xuansu suddenly thought of Zhang Yuelu. He added, “I’m not saying that everyone in the Daoist Order is like that. I’m just saying that most people today have strayed away from the Primordial Daoist Ancestor’s doctrines.”

Eighth Tianyang did not agree this time. “That’s not necessarily the case. Superintendent Su mentioned that if Liu Futong doesn’t engage in these dirty deeds, no one will be able to drag him down. Fortunately, Superintendent Su is still on our side. Without Liu Futong obstructing the case and with her help, we have a better chance of catching this murderer.”

Qi Xuansu asked back, “Will Superintendent Su stand on our side?”

Eighth Tianyang was startled. “Yeah, I think so. After all, she is the only superintendent left in Ecstasy Paradise. I’m sure she’ll also get credit for finding the murderer.”

Qi Xuansu looked at Eighth Tianyang and slowly shook his head. “Brother Eighth, you think too well of people. I think you shouldn’t be in the Green Phoenix Guard. You should join the Daoist Order and become a Daoist priest instead.”

Eighth Tianyang said solemnly, “Brother Wei, you think too badly of people. I know that the Green Phoenix Guard doesn’t have the best reputation, but you shouldn’t stereotype everyone. According to your logic, if all good people stay far away from the Green Phoenix Guard, the bad ones remaining in the Green Phoenix Guard will be even more unscrupulous.”

Qi Xuansu did not deny it. “Alright, let’s not discuss the reputation of the Green Phoenix Guard for the time being. Let’s just talk about the case at hand. I think that Liu Futong was framed by someone. What if the person who framed him is Superintendent Su?”

Eighth Tianyang was stunned, not knowing what to say for a while. After returning to his senses, he asked, “Why do you think so?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “The reason is simple. Whoever benefits the most will have the greatest motives, and hence suspicion.”

Eighth Tianyang finally understood how Qi Xuansu came to this conclusion.

“Brother Eighth, think about it carefully. What is the current situation like? Liu Futong is under arrest, so Superintendent Su temporarily holds power over the entire Ecstasy Paradise. She may even take over Liu Futong’s position eventually. Don’t you think that she’s benefiting the most from this?

“Also, Superintendent Su had plenty of chances to intervene when Liu Futong took medicine from Huasheng Hall and obstructed the investigation. She’s on the same level as Liu Futong, but she didn’t lead him to the right path and even condoned his behavior.

“There are only two reasons for that. It could be that Superintendent Su feels insecure about her position since she has just arrived, or it could be that she is plotting something bigger. Her superficial cooperative attitude is so that she could get rid of Liu Futong once and for all.”

Eighth Tianyang pondered for a moment and nodded repeatedly.

“Judging from Superintendent Su’s reaction just now, I’m guessing that she doesn’t agree with Liu Futong’s way of life. If they had similar views in life, she wouldn’t have forced Liu Futong into a corner. That’s why I have reason to believe that her previous cooperative attitude was just to appease Liu Futong. She must have bigger plans.” Qi Xuansu shared his thoughts.

Madam Qi was a good teacher, similar to how the Earthly Preceptor and Sage Cihang had taught Zhang Yuelu. However, Qi Xuansu did not have Zhang Yuelu’s basic qualifications or the platform and background to show off his skills.

Liu Hu’s eyes lit up as she looked at Qi Xuansu with admiration.

Eighth Tianyang thought about it. “Even if Superintendent Su dislikes Liu Futong, I think she is just taking advantage of the situation given the circumstances. I don’t think she’s intentionally plotting against him.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Don’t you think that the time and place where Superintendent Su appeared were too coincidental? After we entered the Ecstasy Paradise, we went straight to the Jade Tower without any delay. But just as we were hindered by the formation, Superintendent Su happened to be there with the key to Ecstasy Palace.

“She said that she heard reports from her subordinates, but who would be so quick that she could arrive mere minutes after us? There is only one explanation for this. She has known of Liu Futong’s whereabouts for a while and has been keeping an eye on Ecstasy Palace. That’s why she can arrive immediately after us.

“I don’t think Superintendent Su is just taking advantage of the situation given the circumstances. I think that she is scheming something. Even if she is not the murderer, she must have something to do with the murders. If so, do you think she will cooperate with us to investigate the case?”

A look of defeat appeared on Eighth Tianyang’s face. He muttered, “If Superintendent Su is involved with the murders, then this case will be difficult to investigate...”

Qi Xuansu consoled him. “These are just my speculations. I won’t make a conclusion until we have evidence. Perhaps I was just too quick to judge.”

Eighth Tianyang looked at him in surprise.

“We must have evidence in order to make an arrest. Liu Futong was caught redhanded by us, so his crimes are irrefutable. Superintendent Su is not like Liu Futong; she hasn’t done anything wrong. We will get into trouble if we slander a Daoist superintendent.”

Eighth Tianyang was still a little confused. He slowly sat down opposite Qi Xuansu and fell into deep thought. After a while, he looked up at Qi Xuansu and asked, “Brother Wei, what are you planning to do?”

Qi Xuansu took out the badge given to him by Pei Xiaolou and fumbled with it gently. “Because of this badge, both Liu Futong and Superintendent Su mistook me for a fourth-rank Daoist master from the Chongyang Palace of Immortality. I didn’t correct them and assumed this identity. That was why Liu Futong asked me to defend him, and Superintendent Su was wary of me. I’m thinking of using this identity to talk to Superintendent Su.”

Eighth Tianyang was silent for a moment before offering, “Do you want me to go with you?”

Qi Xuansu waved his hand. “Superintendent Su will be suspicious if there are too many of us. Don’t forget, she is the person in charge of Ecstasy Paradise now. Even if she can’t control Liu Futong’s subordinates for now, she can still mobilize a lot of people. If there is a conflict, we will be no match for her.”

Eighth Tianyang could only nod in approval.

Qi Xuansu looked at Liu Hu again. “I will have to leave Liu Hu to you again, Brother Eighth.”

Eighth Tianyang reassured him. “Of course, don’t worry about it.”

After that, Qi Xuansu pulled out his Divine Dragon Pistol, took out the loaded ordinary armor-piercing projectile, and replaced it with the most powerful ammunition he had—the Grade-B Series Two Dragon Eye Bullet. Then he put the gun back into its holster by his waist before leaving the duty room.

Qi Xuansu made his way to Su Ran’s office.

Since Su Ran was the superintendent of the Huasheng Hall branch, her office was located in Huasheng Hall, which was far from Jade Tower, located in the northwest corner of Ecstasy Paradise. Compared with the other areas of Ecstasy Paradise, Huasheng Hall was relatively quiet and covered a vast area.

When Qi Xuansu came here, he happened to see several Daoist priests from Huasheng Hall carrying some medicinal ingredients.

It was the tropical pitcher plant from Lingnan and the Samudra Kingdom, which had a unique smell and was used as a medicinal ingredient.

Qi Xuansu’s eyes flashed. He asked loudly, “Is Superintendent Su here?”

Before the Daoist priests could reply, a deacon came over from a distance. He was one of the people who followed Su Ran to Ecstasy Palace, so he recognized Qi Xuansu. He asked, “Mage Wei, is there something wrong?”

“It’s about the case. I’ve discovered something, so I want to talk to Superintendent Su face-to-face,” Qi Xuansu replied.

The Daoist deacon said, “Superintendent Su is not in her office at the moment. She should be in the warehouse keeping stock of the medicinal ingredients.”

Qi Xuansu was surprised to hear this. “Does Superintendent Su need to do such menial chores?”

“We can’t stop her. This is her habit.” The deacon smiled bitterly and asked again, “Mage Wei, do you need me to lead you there?”

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “No need, just point me in the general direction.”