A Pawn's Passage

Su Ran died in Qi Xuansu’s hands. Although Qi Xuansu had expected that killing Su Ran would cause a disturbance, he would never have imagined such a big impact, indirectly leading to the massacre of the entire Yuan family.

It was truly unpredictable how one simple action could lead to a series of events.

After Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu broke out of the encirclement, they noticed that their pursuers were getting fewer until no one came after them.

Naturally, the two of them noticed something wrong and stopped running. Instead, they hid in place. After waiting for a long time, they still did not see anyone chasing them.

After a brief discussion, they decided to turn back.

When they returned to the broken stone bridge, they were surprised to see many corpses there, all of them killed by one move.

Although Zhang Yuelu did not like Wei Wugui, the two of them were in the same boat at this time, so she asked for his opinion. “What do you think?”

Qi Xuansu kneeled down to check the wounds on the corpses before he said solemnly, “I think the Heavenly Being took action himself. These people were powerless to fight back.”

“You mean, the Heavenly Being who blocked our way?” Zhang Yuelu asked thoughtfully.

Qi Xuansu stood up and jumped over to the other side of the broken stone bridge.

Zhang Yuelu also jumped over. Their expressions turned grim as they noticed corpses littered all over the mountain road.

“This—” Even though Qi Xuansu had seen many fights, he was still speechless when encountering this scene of mass murder.

Zhang Yuelu took the lead and walked forward. The two of them walked down the narrow and steep mountain road that was littered with corpses. Judging from the clothes and weapons, these were the people who had been chasing them.

This mountain road was like a battlefield.

Zhang Yuelu came to a corpse and took a look. The fatal wound on the corpse was caused by a gunshot. She said, “It seems that the Heavenly Being was not the only one killing these people. There were others assisting him too. This looks more like a premeditated internal fight.”

Qi Xuansu checked several other corpses and agreed with Zhang Yuelu’s statement. “It seems so. How cruel...”

Zhang Yuelu pondered for a while. Suddenly, she stood up. “That Heavenly Being didn’t intend to kill us. His goal was to silence these people. That was why he didn’t hurt you fatally and only blocked our way, pushing us toward the mountain road and using us as bait to lure these people.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “That makes sense. These people are from the Yuan family. Does that mean the Yuan family—”

Zhang Yuelu sighed. “They are either dead, or they have managed to escape. But Sage Pei is still in Jiangling Prefecture, so there is still hope.”

Qi Xuansu suggested, “Since Sage Pei is in Jiangling Prefecture, we don’t have to rush back. We might as well search for some survivors.”

“Alright. Let’s meet at the waterfall.” Zhang Yuelu did not refuse. She chose to temporarily trust Wei Wugui.

The two of them split up and found a few survivors, who were all seriously injured and had no way of surviving. Thus, their search and rescue efforts were futile.

After they met again at the waterfall, they walked back along the original path and saw the bodies of Yuan Fengchan and Yuan Shangdao.

They were both surprised by Yuan Shangdao’s death.

Qi Xuansu roughly inspected Yuan Fengchan’s body and remarked, “His arteries and veins were crushed by a secret force. It’s a clever method. Back then, I didn’t intend to kill Yuan Fengchan and let him go alive.”

Zhang Yuelu added, “Since Yuan Shangdao is also dead, it means that the Yuan family has probably been silenced.”

The two looked at each other speechlessly.

After a long time, Zhang Yuelu said, “They move quickly. I’m afraid that their plan was kicked into motion as soon as they got wind of the scandal in Purple Immortal Mountain. By the way, were you the one who killed Su Ran?”

Qi Xuansu remained silent.

Zhang Yuelu did not probe further. Her suspicions did not matter. The key was getting evidence to prove her conjecture. That was because when both parties were equal in strength, the law, morality, and righteousness held more value. No one wanted to fall into moral passivity.

In this regard, Qi Xuansu could not compare with Zhang Yuelu.

At this point, Zhang Yuelu still thought that Wei Wugui’s backer was Pei Xiaolou.

Qi Xuansu hesitated before saying, “Miss Zhang, it’s time for us to say goodbye.”

Zhang Yuelu asked, “Aren’t you going to Jiangling Prefecture to meet Sage Pei?”

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “My granddaughter is missing. I have to find her.”

“I doubt that she’s your granddaughter.” Zhang Yuelu clearly did not believe that Wei Wugui was an old man. “Who is that little girl?”

Qi Xuansu did not deny it. Instead, he said, “Someone entrusted me to protect her, so I must keep my word. Miss Zhang, please let me go for the sake of our camaraderie earlier when we were fighting against the enemy.”

Zhang Yuelu only stared at him for a long time without saying anything.

......

Liu Hu rode Bu Yue into the dense forest. Not long after, a dense white fog gradually enveloped the entire forest, so much so that she could not see anything ahead of her.

However, Bu Yue seemed familiar with the road. All Liu Hu could hear was the crisp sound of Bu Yue’s hooves clicking.

After some time, the mist gradually dissipated. Once the fog cleared, Liu Hu found that she was in a bustling market street with buildings on both sides. There were tea houses, taverns, butcher shops, temples, and fabric shops. Many shops had colorful banners to attract business.

There were also various vendors on the roadside making clay figurines and candy art, selling candied hawthorns and various snacks, and telling fortunes.

The streets were filled with pedestrians from all walks of life—merchants doing business; gentry people watching; officials riding horses; farmers walking with baskets on their backs; ladies riding in sedans; monks asking for directions; children on the streets listening to stories; people begging for food and money, and so many more.

But upon closer look, all these people had pale complexions that were as white as paper.

At the entrance of the long street was an archway about 12 meters tall and 15 meters wide, with a horizontal plaque engraved with the words, Ghost Street. The paint looked black at first glance, but it turned out to be a reddish-black, like coagulated blood.

Liu Hu felt her scalp tingle, and she almost fainted from fear.

However, Bu Yue was not scared at all, trotting into the long street. The pedestrians turned a blind eye to Liu Hu and Bu Yue, as if they were invisible.

Liu Hu hugged the horse and gripped Qi Xuansu’s Divine Dragon Pistol tightly. She subconsciously held her breath for fear that these ghosts would notice her presence.

Soon, Bu Yue came to the empty market entrance. This time, there were no prisoners, ghost soldiers, or executioners.

At this moment, Liu Hu heard a little girl’s voice. “Who are you?”

Startled, Liu Hu looked around like a frightened deer. She saw an execution platform with a noose rack not far away, used for hanging prisoners. A little girl much younger than herself was using the noose as a swing, rocking back and forth. It was extremely weird.

Bu Yue recognized this little girl. The horse wagged its tail, shook its head, and stamped its front hooves happily, showing its excitement.

The little girl jumped off the “swing” without waiting for it to stop. She came to Bu Yue and petted its head. “We meet again, horsey!”

......

The Yuan Residence was burned to the ground, with nothing left.

After Pei Xiaolou emerged from the other end of the tunnel, he went to the Commandery Prince’s Mansion.

Commandery Prince Qin did not want to get too involved in the Daoist Order’s internal fight. Thus, he was not at all delighted to see Pei Xiaolou again. “Sage Pei, I have already asked the Censor and Garrison Chief to thoroughly investigate the Yuan family as per your request. What other instructions do you have?”

Pei Xiaolou maintained a polite attitude. “I dare not instruct you, Commandery Prince. But I do have a small personal favor to ask.”

This time, Commandery Prince Qin softened his tone because it was a personal favor that seemed to have nothing to do with the Daoist Order’s infighting. “Please speak, Sage Pei.”

Pei Xiaolou briefly mentioned Qin Wubing giving Wei Wugui a Black Robes’ badge and Wei Wugui pretending to be Qin Wubing’s personal guard. Then he added, “Wei Wugui is an acquaintance of mine. If anyone asks about his origin, I hope you will help cover for him.”

Commandery Prince Qin pondered for a moment. Although this was a bit risky, it was his son, Qin Wubing, who gave Wei Wugui the badge. Since his son was involved and Pei Xiaolou was asking for a favor, Commandery Prince Qin nodded and agreed to this request.