A Pawn's Passage

The Yuan Residence was surrounded by water features, with a small lake in the back garden and a pavilion in the center. This was the only place that was not affected by the fire.

Many figures came to the pavilion on the lake under the guise of the fire. A Yin-Yang Gate could be seen on the side, with people constantly going through it, evacuating from the Yuan Residence.

The backer behind the Yuan family could give their support or crush the Yuan family.

After all, the Yuan family was not as powerful as the Li family or the Zhang family. The Yuan family might have a long history, but they had only become affluent in recent decades.

There were only three core members of the family, which were Yuan Chongzong, Yuan Shangdao, and Yuan Fengchan. The rest of the family was recruited later as fillers. However, this “filler” was finally put into use. The Yuan family perished the way they prospered.

After these people evacuated, the Yin-Yang Gate quickly shrank, eventually turning into a black spot before disappearing.

Seconds later, an explosion resounded, and some wooden buildings collapsed.

Pei Xiaolou waved the bamboo staff in his hand, conjuring countless small meteors with trailing light out of thin air and shooting them toward Marshal Thunder like a rain of arrows.

Marshal Thunder conjured two dragons out of smoke, blocking these meteors.

These meteors looked beautiful, but they had terrifying power, piercing through bricks and separating flames, comparable to flying swords.

“Sage Pei, without your wife, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to defeat me alone.” Marshal Thunder pushed out both palms, unleashing the two black dragons.

Pei Xiaolou’s expression changed slightly as he quickly moved to avoid the two black dragons.

Marshal Thunder then took advantage of this opportunity to fly away.

The most obvious difference between a Heavenly Being and a Xiantian Being was the former could fly. Neither the blazing fire nor the city walls of Jiangling Prefecture could stop a Heavenly Being, and there was certainly no need to escape through secret underground tunnels.

After Pei Xiaolou dispersed the two black dragons, he did not chase after Marshal Thunder. Instead, he waved his bamboo staff to quell the flames and quickly entered the crumbling back hall.

The secret door leading to the tunnel that Yuan Chongzong used to escape had closed automatically, so the back hall looked normal. Pei Xiaolou did not have the patience to slowly search for the tunnel’s entrance, so he slammed his bamboo staff on the floor. The floor tiles flew up in the air, revealing the entrance to the tunnel.

Pei Xiaolou broke the closed door and walked into the tunnel.

The entire tunnel was empty, with only one charred corpse left. The person’s flesh, blood, clothing, and hair had been burned to ashes. Even the soul and the Three Corpses had dissipated.

It was a ruthless method, but it was certainly effective.

Thinking back to what Marshal Thunder said before fleeing, Pei Xiaolou immediately guessed that the charred corpse was Yuan Chongzong.

Pei Xiaolou could not help but sigh.

These people could kill and silence an entire family so blatantly.

To be fair, the Daoist Order could still figure out the entire event if they decided to investigate. The problem was that the Daoist Order only appeared unified on the surface. In fact, there were undercurrents surging.

The evidence that the Yuan family had could stop any opposing voices, but without enough evidence, it would be difficult to continue investigating even if they knew who was the mastermind behind the scenes.

That was the reason the Li family could not kill Zhang Yuelu. If they did, it would give the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect an excuse to escalate the situation.

Since the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect were also not unified, there was still internal opposition advocating for restraint and to not launch a full-scale confrontation with the Taiping Sect. Some even proposed accepting a Grand Master from the Taiping Sect.

However, the premise of these opposing voices was for the three sects to co-exist peacefully. If Zhang Yuelu was killed, it would be a violation of peace. As such, Zhang Yuelu’s death would help unite the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect and overwhelm these opposing voices.

By then, the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect would make a big fuss about Zhang Yuelu’s death and even break some of the existing rules in the process.

Pei Xiaolou understood this, so he was not worried about Zhang Yuelu’s safety. What he really cared about was apprehending the Yuan family. However, he was still a step too late.

The Yuan family’s backer was still faster than him.

......

On the other side, Marshal Thunder left the city and met Marshal Wind, who had been waiting for a long time.

“Is everything settled?” Marshal Thunder asked.

Marshal Wind replied, “I double-checked myself. Only a few minions who don’t know the inside story survived. The investigation won’t be fruitful.”

“Very good.” Marshal Thunder nodded. “I’ve erased all traces on my end too.”

Marshal Wind looked back and saw a large fire lighting up the night sky from where they were standing outside the city.

“Everything is burned to the ground and destroyed in one day.” Marshal Wind sighed. “We have worked hard building up the Yuan family for decades, but we had to give them up overnight. It’s a pity that everything has turned into ashes.”

Marshal Thunder shook his head. “We have no choice. That’s what Young Master Li wants.”

“Everyone else’s backer can protect them from the storm, but our backer just asks us to endure it and cut off our limb to sacrifice for the greater good. I’ve met that Zhang girl. She’s skilled, but it’s still possible to kill her.” Marshal Wind felt a little resentful. “If it were up to me, I would’ve killed Zhang Yuelu and Pei Xiaolou.”

Marshal Thunder’s face turned solemn as he chided his older brother. “You’d better get rid of those ideas. If you’re so brave, go ahead and kill them now. Do you think the Zhang family and the Pei family will let you get away with it? Do you think that the Li family will protect you? I dare you to tell Old Master Jin about your brilliant idea when we get back.”

Hearing this, Marshal Wind was immediately discouraged.

Only then did Marshal Thunder soften his tone. “We only have to obey orders and do as the superiors say. In Jianghu, we are considered big shots, but to the Daoist Order, you and I are no different from the dead Yuan Chongzong.”

Marshal Wind was rendered speechless. Although he was the elder brother among them, his younger brother had always been more mature and calm.

Marshal Thunder paused for a moment before saying, “Speaking of Old Master Yuan, he’s considered an old acquaintance of ours, right? When he saw Pei Xiaolou in Jiangling Prefecture, he already felt that something was wrong. He was still doubtful even when I showed him the signed note from Old Master Jin.

“That was why he asked his son to hunt down Zhang Yuelu while he hid in the Yuan Residence and asked me to accompany him. He tried testing me several times, but he only thought that the worst outcome would be leaving Jiangling Prefecture. He never thought that Old Master Jin intended to silence him. In fact, even if he guessed it, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything since his people were all controlled by us anyway. There was no way he could have escaped.

“This is the sad fate of an abandoned pawn. They can only see the small space in front of them and are blind to the entire board, so they have no control over their own life.”

Marshal Wind pondered for a while before asking, “But I still don’t understand. What does this have to do with silencing the Yuan family?”

Marshal Thunder looked at his brother helplessly. “What do you not understand? What happened at Purple Immortal Mountain was an accident, so the Taiping Sect was clearly unprepared. Since someone had caught them by the leg, the only way to escape is to cut off a limb.”

“Are you talking about the dead Su Ran?” Marshal Wind gradually understood.

Marshal Thunder sighed. “Su Ran is from the Taiping Sect, and Liu Futong is one of us. The two superintendents of Purple Immortal Mountain are our people, so it should be impenetrable. Who would have thought that our people would fight among themselves?

“Everyone shoots at others, but we shoot ourselves in the foot. It’s fine if Su Ran sabotaged Liu Futong to take charge of Purple Immortal Mountain. But she died all of a sudden, leaving the huge Purple Immortal Mountain without a leader and allowing Zhang Yuelu to take charge.

“Since Su Ran’s identity was sensitive, the Daoist Order kept it secret. But Zhang Yuelu exposed all the bad things Liu Futong did and traced it back to us.”

Marshal Wind frowned. “I heard that Liu Futong was captured in the act and didn’t even have time to destroy the account books. I really don’t understand why the Li family had to send Su Ran of all people to Purple Immortal Mountain.”

“The Li family is related by marriage to the Qin family, the Su family, the Lu family, and the Shen family. I guess they accidentally overlooked it and sent that crazy woman over.” Marshal Thunder shook his head.

He continued, “Well, it’s pointless talking about this now. Things have developed beyond the Taiping Sect’s expectations. The Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect will seize this opportunity to make a big fuss and exert pressure on the Taiping Sect.

“Young Master Li is starting to panic. He doesn’t dare to mess with Zhang Yuelu, so he has no choice but to give up his own people. But they just treat it as losing wealth to avoid a calamity.”

Marshal Wind finally understood. He asked casually, “By the way, how did Su Ran die?”