A Pawn's Passage

At this moment, someone walked toward Li Qingnu’s bedroom. It was none other than Li Qingnu herself.

A’Ling took the initiative to greet her with respect. “Greetings, Young Lady.”

Xiao Hong had an indifferent attitude. She saluted solemnly. “Young Lady.”

Their attitudes were completely opposite to when they were alone.

“Thanks for your hard work.” Li Qingnu asked, “How’s everything?”

“There has been no movement,” A’Ling replied immediately.

Li Qingnu nodded and ordered, “You girls can go back and rest.”

A’Ling and Xiao Hong exchanged a look before leaving. When they were far from Li Qingnu’s residence, A’Ling finally broke the silence. “Xiao Hong, what did I tell you? There must be something going on between those two! That’s why they want to be alone.”

Xiao Hong only kept silent, her face expressionless.

When Li Qingnu walked into her residence, Qi Xuansu had already gone from the study on the second floor to the living room on the first floor.

She felt relieved seeing Qi Xuansu. However, she still asked, “Any disturbances so far?”

“Everything is fine. Thanks for your concern, Miss Li,” Qi Xuansu replied.

Li Qingnu took a seat in the living room and rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t asking because I care about you. I’m doing this for Madam Qi’s sake because if anything were to happen to you here, I wouldn’t be able to explain it to her.”

Qi Xuansu sat diagonally across from Li Qingnu and asked, “How is the progress on the plan to get Liu Hu to Liaodong?”

Li Qingnu replied, “We have already discussed it. In addition to Su Chou and Long Wuji, I will also send a confidant to go along the journey. The three of them are at the Guizhen stage. Even if they can’t compare to you, they should be capable of protecting Liu Hu.”

Qi Xuansu suddenly thought of the conversation between A’Ling and Xiao Hong, so he probed, “Is your confidant reliable?”

“What do you mean?” Li Qingnu raised an eyebrow.

Qi Xuansu muttered, “I just feel that some people here don’t seem convinced that you are their boss.”

Li Qingnu was stunned. For the first time, she fell silent without any rebuttal.

After a while, she finally spoke. “Since you mentioned this, I might as well be honest with you. Some people here are indeed dissatisfied with me, but there are still quite a few people who support me.

“In a way, this is my godmother’s test. As long as I can overcome the many objections, I can officially become the Li family’s adopted daughter. Over the years, I have met many people from all walks of life, so I think I can judge someone well enough to consider them my confidant. You can rest assured that my confidant is trustworthy.”

After Qi Xuansu heard what Li Qingnu said, he stopped dwelling on the matter and changed the topic. “You deliberately dismissed the two maids outside the door. Do you have something important to tell me?”

Li Qingnu did not beat around the bush. “Well, I’m just a messenger. Congratulations in advance, Daoist Qi!”

Qi Xuansu’s heart pounded. He was more than excited to be returning to the Daoist Order. Only a handful of people knew of his dual identity—Madam Qi, Li Qingnu, Pei Xiaolou, and Lei Xiaohuan.

He asked, “Is it related to Sage Pei?”

“I really can’t hide anything from you.” Li Qingnu was slightly surprised. “Sage Pei gave the letter to Madam Qi, who used the rapid post talisman to deliver it here.”

Sycamore Villa made a lot of money, so it was not unusual for them to have a rapid post talisman. The mother-child talisman allowed people to communicate face-to-face, but it could not deliver documents.

Li Qingnu took out an envelope from her sleeve and handed it to Qi Xuansu. Since this important letter could not be folded, the envelope was much larger than ordinary ones. There was also a wax seal on the back with the words “Ziwei Hall” and Lei Xiaohuan’s name embossed on it, indicating that she was the sender.

Lei Xiaohuan’s status in the Daoist Order was higher than that of Pei Xiaolou. Although she was not an Omniscient Sage, she was still revered.

Seeing a letter from Lei Xiaohuan, Qi Xuansu could not conceal his shock.

Li Qingnu declared, “The seal is intact. I haven’t read it.”

Qi Xuansu opened the envelope, finding a brand new Daoist priest’s insignia and two additional pieces of paper—one ordinary and the other precious ivy paper.

Ivy paper was a special paper used by Daoists to write ceremonial scripts. The material used to create this paper was very precious, making it extremely expensive. When burned as an offering to the heavens, the flames ignited were green and red, producing colorful and beautiful smoke.

Later, the Daoist Order’s official letters were all made of ivy paper.

Qi Xuansu read the ordinary letter, handwritten by Pei Xiaolou. However, it was clearly Lei Xiaohuan’s tone. The content was simple, asking about Qi Xuansu’s current situation and requesting Qi Xuansu to leave for Jinling Prefecture immediately. He was to report to the Zhenwu Temple so that they could discuss the details in person. Nothing about Sage Donghua or returning to the Daoist Order was mentioned, so there would be no risk even if the letter accidentally fell into someone else’s hands.

Next, he picked up the ivy paper, which was an official appointment letter of his transfer from Tiangang Hall to Ziwei Hall and his promotion from a deacon to a superintendent. He was to assist Lei Xiaohuan, the Deputy Ziwei Hall Master, in investigating the case in Jinling Prefecture.

Qi Xuansu was stunned. Although Tiangang Hall was among the top three, Ziwei Hall was the head of the Nine Halls. He was also promoted from a deacon to a superintendent.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu took out the brand new Daoist insignia.

This was similar to the rank badges on the official uniforms of the Imperial Court. With one’s rank revision, the badges had to be changed accordingly as well. That was why Daoist priests often needed to upgrade their insignias. Before this, Qi Xuansu had not moved from his position as a seventh-rank priest. After joining Tiangang Hall, he had accumulated enough merits to be promoted to the sixth rank, but he could not return to the Daoist Order and had to fake his death.

This time, he could finally upgrade his insignia.

“The Supreme Daoist Order” was written at the top in large font.

“Qi Xuansu, Fifth Rank” was in the middle, written in medium-sized font.

“Prospective Mage” was at the bottom, in small font.

Qi Xuansu was pleasantly surprised to see this.

Due to the tenure system, he thought he could only be promoted to the sixth rank. That was why he had not expected Ziwei Hall to promote him to the fifth rank in one go.

Qi Xuansu had accumulated enough merit for the fifth rank after their journey to Zhang Yuelu’s house, but it was only enough for him to be promoted to the sixth rank while enjoying the treatment of a fifth-rank priest. However, since Ziwei Hall was in charge of all personnel within the Daoist Order, including assessments and promotions, it would make sense that they had the power to override the tenure system.

As such, Qi Xuansu was only one step away from becoming a fourth-rank Daoist master.

Madam Qi once told him that he had to be an eighth-rank priest before 25 years old and a seventh-rank priest by 30. Otherwise, there would be no hope of advancing rank within the Daoist Order because he would be marginalized in the annual assessment and promotion. If he could get to the sixth rank before 30 years old, he would be listed as an Apprentice Mage. If he could get to the fifth rank by 35 years old, he would be listed as a Prospective Mage, to which priority was given for promotion to the fourth rank.

In the same way, the available vacancies of Prospective Mages would first be given to Apprentice Mages.

Qi Xuansu was not only a fifth-rank priest, but also a Prospective Mage, so his promotion to the fourth rank was just a matter of time.

If he could strive to get to the fourth rank by 30 years old, he would have embarked on the road to success as a young and promising talent with a limitless future. By then, becoming a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master would be well within reach.

Qi Xuansu was in a daze, knowing that he was about to join the ranks of the Daoist Order’s young talents.

Moreover, the basic salary for a fifth-rank Daoist priest was 50 Taiping coins per month, with 20 Taiping coins per month additional subsidy for a Prospective Mage. Unfortunately, he no longer had a special subsidy as he did in Tiangang Hall, so his total salary was 70 Taiping coins a month and around 800 Taiping coins a year.

However, very few people climbed the ranks of the Daoist Order for this meager salary and subsidies. The key was the Daoist identity and position, which equated to power. With power, money would no longer be an issue.