A Pawn's Passage

Pei Xiaolou appeared in this hidden backyard, holding a bamboo staff. He looked around and remarked sarcastically, “How lively!”

Marshal Thunder got up from the recliner and clasped his fists in salutation. “Greetings, Sage Pei.”

Pei Xiaolou looked at Marshal Thunder. “The Heavenly Court’s Twin Thunders—God of Thunder and Marshal Thunder—and the Dual Winds—God of Wind and Marshal Wind. You must be one of the Wind and Thunder Marshals who have made quite a reputation in Jianghu. Your reputation precedes you.”

“You flatter me, Sage Pei.” Marshal Thunder was humble.

Pei Xiaolou smiled slightly and stopped talking nonsense. He raised the bamboo staff in his hand, which emitted countless streams of light, like tiny meteors. The trailing streaks spiraled and danced in the air.

Marshal Thunder stood in front of Yuan Chongzong and ordered. “Send Old Master Yuan away from here!”

Two people appeared from the shadows, dressed neatly with daggers hanging on their waists, flanking Yuan Chongzong.

Yuan Chongzong was flustered, but in the end, he sighed in resignation and left with the two escorts.

The reason they chose to burn the account books in this backyard was due to the proximity to a tunnel in the back hall of the Yuan Residence that led out of the city.

Yuan Chongzong and the two escorts came to the back hall. A huge relief titled, The Transformation of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor, came into view. Both the Primordial Daoist Ancestor and the green bull he was sitting on were in their actual sizes, with lifelike expressions and details.

The green bull shook its head and wagged its tail when Yuan Chongzong approached the relief. He grabbed the green bull by the horns and rotated it like the hands of a clock. A clicking sound of a mechanism could be heard before the floor tile moved, revealing a stone staircase to an underground tunnel.

Yuan Chongzong walked in first, followed by the two men.

On the other side, Marshal Thunder casually slapped away the small meteors that were shooting at him. His robes swayed, and countless black qi gathered upward.

Although he was called Marshal Thunder among the Four Marshals of the Heavenly Court, his moves had nothing to do with the thunder spell. It was just his made-up name.

A black cloud grew above Marshal Thunder’s head until it morphed into an evil dragon about 30 meters long. It was made of black smoke and mist, but its teeth and claws were sharp and lifelike. This was the power of a Heavenly Being.

With the mighty power of heaven, the black dragon abruptly descended and crashed into Pei Xiaolou.

Pei Xiaolou waved the bamboo staff, shooting out dozens of small meteors at the black dragon. The trails of light passed through the dragon’s body, causing countless ripples. Finally, the dragon and the light dispersed.

Marshal Thunder stomped on the ground, leaving a large crack. He leaped into the air and pushed one palm out toward Pei Xiaolou.

Pei Xiaolou raised his staff to block the palm strike, conjuring the howling wind.

At the first touch, the two Heavenly Beings separated from each other, standing about 10 meters apart.

Pei Xiaolou was unrelenting. He tapped the ground with the bamboo staff and said, “Rise!”

A stream of light that was as thick as an adult arm broke out of the ground.

Marshal Thunder did not dodge the light. Instead, he trampled the stream of light, which exploded into countless scattered meteors, piercing the people who were burning the account books and killing them instantly.

Pei Xiaolou’s face was gloomy. With a slight tap of his toe, he leaped in the air and landed in front of Marshal Thunder, clubbing the latter’s face with his bamboo staff.

Marshal Thunder had expected this, so he clawed Pei Xiaolou’s abdomen.

When the two Heavenly Beings passed each other, Pei Xiaolou left a bloody mark on Marshal Thunder’s forehead. Marshal Thunder retracted his right hand, grabbed the bamboo staff with his index finger, middle finger, and thumb, and tried to break it.

Unexpectedly, Pei Xiaolou released the staff and rammed the top of the staff toward Marshal Thunder with his left hand.

Marshal Thunder simply gave up on the idea of breaking the staff. Instead, he tensed his shoulder, intending to smash it into Pei Xiaolou’s chest.

Pei Xiaolou let the bamboo staff fall to the ground and used Boundless Force to take the hit from Marshal Thunder.

This exchange happened in the blink of an eye before the two separated again.

Marshal Thunder slid back, plowing two deep ravines in the solid bluestone floor.

Pei Xiaolou also felt the aftershock of Marshal Thunder’s qi strike and drifted backward, creating ripples all around.

Marshal Thunder grounded himself to forcibly stop his retreat. Then he used the momentum to propel himself forward, catching up with Pei Xiaolou’s retreating figure and sweeping his arms across.

Although Pei Xiaolou blocked the sweep, he was still knocked sideways to the ground by the huge force. Marshal Thunder took advantage of the situation to pursue Pei Xiaolou, stepping on Pei Xiaolou’s chest again.

At the critical moment, Pei Xiaolou slapped his palm downward, using the force to roll his body sideways, avoiding Marshal Thunder’s attack and retreating more than 30 meters away.

Marshal Thunder bent his knees slightly. His figure shot out like an arrow while he clawed Pei Xiaolou.

Pei Xiaolou made a hand signal, summoning his bamboo staff to his left hand. He then knocked Marshal Thunder to the side, bringing down a section of the courtyard wall in the process.

Although the two did not go all out in this fight, the aftermath of their fight had razed the small courtyard to the ground. The ashes of the burnt account books scattered all over the sky, making them unreadable.

Marshal Thunder stood up, patted the ashes on his body, and laughed. “Sage Pei, you didn’t handle this case well enough. The criminals committed suicide and destroyed all the account books. All that stolen money is still unaccounted for. I wonder how you’ll explain it to the Earthly Preceptor.”

Pei Xiaolou’s expression changed, and he suddenly had a bad premonition.

......

Yuan Chongzong was walking in the middle of the tunnel, with one person leading the way and the other trailing behind him.

Since no one had walked through this tunnel after it was dug out, the path was rugged and uneven. Yuan Chongzong was also not familiar with the directions.

Yuan Chongzong’s face was grim.

From the moment Pei Xiaolou appeared, Yuan Chongzong knew that the Yuan family was doomed, and his many years of hard work were ruined. This time, Pei Xiaolou represented the Quanzhen Sect, and Zhang Yuelu represented the Golden Tower Council, indicating that the upper echelons of the Daoist Order had reached an agreement on this matter. Even if the Yuan family could escape this time, they would not be able to run forever.

Fortunately, Yuan Chongzong had anticipated such a day to come, so he transferred his assets overseas over the years. He purchased a lot of properties in Nanyang and had enough capital to make a comeback.

Yuan Chongzong asked, “Do you know what is happening with my son?”

The person who led the way replied, “Please rest assured, Old Master Yuan. We have already made arrangements. You will be able to reunite with Master Yuan soon.”

Yuan Chongzong felt a little relieved. His thoughts returned to Nanyang, which he had not visited for many years.

At this moment, Yuan Chongzong felt a sudden pain in his back. He slowly lowered his head, only to see the tip of a blade protruding from his chest and his blood slowly dripping down to the ground.

The person behind him added, “Old Master Yuan, you can meet your son and grandson on the road to hell. It’ll be a happy reunion!”

Yuan Chongzong’s eyes widened in horror. He was in the Guizhen stage, so he still had the energy to resist.

At this moment, the person leading the way turned around, ramming another dagger through the old man’s heart.

Yuan Chongzong’s life force began to drain away rapidly.

Before he died, Yuan Chongzong truly did not understand what Marshal Thunder meant by a foolproof plan until this very moment. The Wind and Thunder Marshals were indeed sending him and his family away, but to the netherworld, not Nanyang.

Marshal Thunder’s two close subordinates were also at the Guizhen stage. With two against one and a sneak attack, they easily succeeded in their mission.

However, to ensure that Yuan Chongzong would stay dead, the two of them continued stabbing the old man a few more times.

In the dead silence of the tunnel, only the sound of a blade piercing through flesh could be heard.

Finally, Yuan Chongzong’s body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

One of the men took out gasoline, poured it over the old man’s body, and lit it on fire.

Almost at the same time, a series of blazing fires broke out all over the Yuan Residence.

The Censor of Huzhou and the Garrison Chief quickly left the Yuan Residence, so they were not harmed. However, their expressions were solemn.

No one expected the situation to escalate so quickly.

The two officials went to the Yuan Residence’s main entrance and turned around. A heatwave struck them as the flames burned through the eaves, lighting up most of the night sky.

Since two high-ranking officials were at the scene, the response from various local government offices in the city was extremely fast. Even the Green Phoenix Guard’s Lieutenant Colonel’s Office and the Black Robes were dispatched to the Yuan Residence.

This fire was not accidental. It was fueled by gasoline and various talismans to keep the fire burning, so the flames spread very quickly. Even with the government’s quick response, they could not put out this inferno. All they could do was form an isolation zone to prevent this fire from spreading outward to the whole town, then wait for the flames to dissipate on their own.

Meanwhile, Marshal Thunder and Pei Xiaolou were still fighting in the sea of fire.

Marshal Thunder gestured to his arm and smirked. “Do you think that we would be so stupid as to repeat the same mistake of not cutting off a limb when necessary?”