A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu had integrated the properties of two Xuan Jades, yet he still had such a hard time winning Su Ran.

The Guizhen stage was the final step before Xiantian Beings became Heavenly Beings. There were still large gaps in skills among those in the same stage. The strong ones in the Guizhen stage were very close to Heavenly Beings and had a fighting chance against Heavenly Beings, like Zhang Yuelu. The weak ones in the Guizhen stage were only slightly better than those in the Yuxu stage.

Su Ran was not the best in the Guizhen stage, but she was still quite powerful. As a core disciple of the Taiping Sect, Su Ran’s mystical abilities were far superior to those without structured training.

Most importantly, Su Ran was a demon. Most demons had strong blood qi and possessed some of the properties of Martial Arts Practitioners. Moreover, the fox demons were the most proficient in illusions among the demons.

From this point of view, although Qi Xuansu was a Rogue Cultivator, Diviner, and Martial Arts Practitioner, he did not have an advantage against Su Ran. Due to Su Ran’s strong blood qi, Qi Xuansu could not use the Ghost Machete and other Diviner’s spells on her.

In fact, before the Heavenly-Being stage, most humans were no match for demons with the same level of cultivation, aside from some special lineages, such as Banished Immortals, Hermits, and Buddhaputras. As Heavenly Beings advanced in cultivation and reached the realm of Immortals, demons gradually fell behind.

This was the reason Su Ran still dared to confront Qi Xuansu alone even knowing that he was at the Guizhen stage. She underestimated Qi Xuansu’s abilities. He was a special breed, considered half a Banished Immortal. Moreover, Qi Xuansu was more adaptable. That was why he managed to survive.

Qi Xuansu put away the white fox face mask and looked around. There was a faint layer of white mist around the warehouse.

Not long after he came in, Su Ran had activated an isolation formation over the entire warehouse. This was why no one came to check on them during their fierce fight. It was also the reason why he was unable to break through the walls of the warehouse to escape after being cornered by the Dragon Shield Sword Technique.

The core of the formation was in the statue of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor not far away.

After all, it did not make sense for anyone to worship the Primordial Daoist Ancestor in a warehouse.

Everything that seemed unreasonable had to have a logical explanation.

Qi Xuansu put away Qing Yuan and the single cutlass. Then he walked around to pick up the Divine Dragon pistol, Bliss Needle, and Seven Phoenix Feathers scattered on the ground before coming to the statue of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor. He stretched out his hand to pull out the other cutlass stuck on the statue and put it back into its sheath on his waist.

The palms of the statue were movable. Generally, the statues of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor had their hands folded across the chest, with the left arm on top and the right arm on the bottom, with both palms touching. At this time, the statue of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor had his right hand on top and his left hand on the bottom, and the palms were not touching.

Qi Xuansu stuck out one palm and injected some innate qi. The palm of the statue began to move on its own, gradually returning to its original state.

The white mist surrounding the warehouse gradually dissipated.

When Qi Xuansu left the warehouse, he did not see anyone, probably because Su Ran had sent everyone away beforehand. This made it convenient for Qi Xuansu to escape.

A fourth-rank superintendent died, while the other was imprisoned. These incidents were big enough to alarm the upper echelons of the Daoist Order and the Jade Capital.

This matter had escalated beyond Qi Xuansu’s control, so all he could do now was run away.

If he did not flee now, he would be arrested by Beichen Hall.

He had no choice but to leave this mess to Eighth Tianyang.

Qi Xuansu was like the Devil that people in the Western Continent often speak of. He fulfilled Eighth Tianyang’s wish to solve the case, but he did so in an extremely twisted way, causing terrible consequences.

However, it was not Qi Xuansu’s original intention for this to happen. He did not expect one of the superintendents of Ecstasy Paradise to be a fox demon out to kill him.

Qi Xuansu quickly returned to the duty room, where Eighth Tianyang was waiting.

On the way back, Qi Xuansu considered an important question: Should he truthfully tell Eighth Tianyang about what happened?

If he told Eighth Tianyang the truth, the senior major might forcibly detain him and Liu Hu to shirk responsibility and give the Daoist Order an explanation.

But if he did not tell Eighth Tianyang the truth, Eighth Tianyang would inevitably leak information about him to the Daoist priests sent to investigate later.

All this would depend on Eighth Tianyang’s reaction.

After a battle between the angel and demon on his shoulders, Qi Xuansu decided to trust his intuition and tell Eighth Tianyang the whole truth.

When Eighth Tianyang saw Qi Xuansu covered in blood, he was startled.

But before Eighth Tianyang could say anything, Qi Xuansu cut to the chase. “It’s just as we expected. Su Ran, the superintendent of Huasheng Hall, is the murderer. She wanted to kill me, so I had to kill her to protect myself.”

Eighth Tianyang was shocked. He was silent for a moment before he urged, “In that case, you should leave this place immediately, Brother Wei.”

“There are only two superintendents of Ecstasy Paradise—one is imprisoned in Ecstasy Palace, while the other is dead. Both of these incidents are related to us. If I leave, you will be the only one bearing the burden. How will you bear the consequences if the Daoist Order blames you?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Eighth Tianyang smiled bitterly. “I have no choice but to bear it. After all, I asked you to help me investigate the case. Liu Futong’s despicable acts and Su Ran’s killing spree are all irrefutable evidence. We have done nothing wrong. Moreover, we are members of the Imperial Court. Even if the Daoist Order wants to punish me, they will have to do so through the cabinet. They can’t do anything to me directly.”

Qi Xuansu slowly loosened his clenched fists and breathed a sigh of relief. “Brother Eighth, you’re the best!”

Eighth Tianyang looked solemn. “We can’t keep this under wraps for long, so you should leave as soon as possible, Brother Wei.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Alright. Before that, I need to tell you the full story so that you’re aware of what happened.”

Eighth Tianyang was startled for not having thought of this.

He nodded to signal Qi Xuansu to go ahead. Qi Xuansu then recounted his conversation with Su Ran when he entered the warehouse, and how Su Ran confessed to her crimes with an explanation of why she killed those people. He also told Eighth Tianyang about Su Ran revealing her true form and her final words as she took her last breath.

Hearing this, Eighth Tianyang and Liu Hu gasped in shock.

They also did not expect a dignified fourth-rank Daoist master and the superintendent of this Huasheng Hall branch to be a four-tailed fox demon. The reason why this four-tailed fox demon killed those people was even more unbelievable. It was not to eat people’s hearts or to fight for power, but to defend morality.

Qi Xuansu sighed. “We can’t fathom why she did that, but someone in the Daoist Order will figure it out, so we don’t need to think too much about it.”

Eighth Tianyang nodded.

Qi Xuansu reminded, “Brother Eighth, the top priority now is Ecstasy Palace and the warehouse. Liu Futong cannot be allowed to come out. Otherwise, what we have done to him will backfire. If he gets out, he will only cause more trouble and use Su Ran’s death to frame us for murder.

“Secondly, don’t let anyone get close to Su Ran’s body because it’s ironclad evidence. Don’t let irrelevant people know about Su Ran’s background to prevent unnecessary rumors. It’s best if you can handle this on your own and wait until someone from the Daoist Order comes to clean up the mess.

“Lastly, it’s best to strike first. Now that the two superintendents of Ecstasy Paradise are unable to perform their duties, the people in Purple Immortal Mountain are without a leader, so this gives you the perfect opportunity to intervene. This is the best time to contact the Daoist Order in the name of the Green Phoenix Guard Seventh Lieutenant Colonel’s Office. That way, you will hold the initiative.”

Eighth Tianyang’s eyes lit up. “Brother Wei, thank you for your advice.”

In fact, there was another riskier option, which was to release Liu Futong to negotiate a compromise. That way, the dead Su Ran would take all the blame, Liu Futong would be able to get away with it, and Qi Xuansu could escape.

However, when Qi Xuansu thought of Su Ran’s last words, he could not bear to suggest this option. In the end, he decided to leave Eighth Tianyang with the truth and let the Daoist Order judge whether or not Su Ran’s actions were justified.