A Pawn's Passage

The Huasheng Hall issued a formal agreement whenever they purchased goods from individuals. However, the black market operated without such rules—transactions were completed with a simple exchange of money and goods.

After completing the transaction, Qi Xuansu once again found himself with empty sleeves. However, his inventory had undergone a significant transformation. Gone were the Flaming Dual Cutlasses and the Seven Phoenix Feathers, replaced by the replica of the Nine Yang Fiery Dome and Flying Shadow. Additionally, he now carried four Bliss Needles, the Divine Dragon Pistol, 4 rounds of Grade-B Series Two Dragon Eye Bullets, 8 rounds of Grade-B Series Three Dragon Eye Bullets, and several standard armor-piercing bullets.

Qi Xuansu decided to trade away the Seven Phoenix Feathers because Su Yan’s question reminded him of its significance. The Seven Phoenix Feathers was Su Ran’s relic. Though the Bliss Needles and Seven Phoenix Feathers were not concealed weapons exclusive to the Qingqiu lineage, the fact that both Su Ran and Qi Xuansu possessed them could arouse suspicion. If his identity as Wei Wugui was exposed in the future, it would be easy for others to draw the connections.

Although Qi Xuansu felt no remorse for killing Su Ran, he still preferred to avoid provoking the Qingqiu fox demons. Hence, he chose to take precautions.

After parting with the Seven Phoenix Feathers, he was left with the Bliss Needles as his concealed weapon. However, the Bliss Needles were easily obtainable at the right price, similar to the Divine Dragon Pistol. Despite the decline in its usage due to the rise of firearms, it was entirely reasonable for a Rogue Cultivator like him to carry such a weapon.

Whether this precaution would be sufficient to conceal his identity depended on fate. If his secret was still discovered, there was little he could do.

As soon as the old man lowered the privacy formation that had obscured all sounds and views, the noisy clamor of the black market surged in like a tide.

Qi Xuansu no longer had the means to buy anything, so he did not linger around the tent and walked straight out.

Leaving the black market, Qi Xuansu entered the shantytown outside. After glancing around, he did not retrace his steps back to the city. Instead, he carefully maneuvered around the foul-smelling puddles, heading deeper into the area.

Before long, several individuals used the Qi Observation Technique to tail Qi Xuansu by following the footprints he left behind.

Qi Xuansu moved quickly, weaving through the labyrinthine shantytown. His footprints appeared and vanished, winding and twisting until they finally disappeared at a dead end in an alley.

The people tracking his footprints looked at each other in confusion.

That was when they heard a voice behind them. “Are you looking for me?”

The group whipped around and saw that Qi Xuansu, who had clearly been ahead of them, had somehow appeared behind them.

“You lot sure know how to prey on people by robbing them of their purchases from the black market.” Qi Xuansu sneered, holding his newly purchased sheathed blade, making no effort to conceal his murderous intent.

Without a word, the group unsheathed their weapons.

Qi Xuansu raised Flying Shadow with a flourish and slowly unsheathed the horizontal blade. “Perfect. I’ll test my blade on you.”

In the next instant, one of them felt a chill on his neck and found himself soaring through the air, everything around him spinning uncontrollably.

From his companion’s perspective, their comrade’s head had suddenly spun off his shoulders, spiraling upward to the sky, while his headless body collapsed to the ground, spraying blood like a fountain.

With a casual flick of his hand, the bloodied blade returned to its pristine form and sparkled, like a lotus root emerging from the mud, unstained by dirt. Qi Xuansu had not even exerted much force in his earlier strike, nor had he injected any qi into the blade. It was solely the blade’s sharpness that had effortlessly decapitated the man.

“Nice. A clean cut and no stains.” Qi Xuansu remarked in approval. “This is worth every bit of the 4,000 Taiping coins!”

Qi Xuansu never killed innocent people and was lenient toward women and children. However, when it came to thugs like these who had blood on their hands, he showed no mercy.

At that moment, someone suddenly shouted, “This is a tough one; let’s attack together!”

These thugs were seasoned killers. From Qi Xuansu’s confident demeanor and his earlier strike, they had already realized they had provoked the wrong person. Thus, they shouted to attack in an attempt to distract Qi Xuansu but scattered in different directions. Two of them leaped onto the rooftops—one heading south and the other north. They sprinted about 30 meters in the blink of an eye.

Qi Xuansu let out a cold laugh. In an instant, he appeared behind the man heading north, grabbed him by the back, and hurled him out with great force. The man flew like a meteor toward his companion, who was heading south.

The other man only felt an overwhelming force crashing down on him. He could not dodge in time, so the two men collided and tumbled off the roof.

Qi Xuansu quickly threw out Flying Shadow. The sharp blade gleamed in the sun and skewered both men like candied hawthorns. Qi Xuansu then tugged his right hand back, summoning Flying Shadow along its original trajectory.

This was the Sword Controlling Technique, distinct from the more advanced Sword Steering Technique. This Sword Controlling Technique used qi to guide concealed weapons and swords. Thus, the user could mimic slashing movements remotely and execute complex techniques.

The advantage was that it had an extended attack range, but the disadvantage was its susceptibility to being knocked away by the opponent. That was why wielding the blade was still necessary when fighting against a formidable opponent. However, this technique sufficed when dealing with weaker adversaries.

As Qi Xuansu moved, none of the remaining thugs dared block his way. Two other thugs bolted toward the alley’s entrance in a desperate attempt to escape. However, they had not anticipated Qi Xuansu’s sheer speed. In a flash, he had already dealt with the two who fled from the rooftop and was about to intercept them.

One of the thugs reacted quickly out of fear and rage, swinging his blade at Qi Xuansu’s face.

The other chose to continue fleeing instead of joining his comrade in attacking Qi Xuansu.

Seeing this, the thug attacking Qi Xuansu was left with a sense of dread. But there was no time for him to dwell on the disappointment of being abandoned.

The thug’s blade struck Qi Xuansu’s Flying Shadow, but there was no sound of metal clanging. Instead, his blade was sliced into two as if it were made of paper.

Just as Qi Xuansu had said, he was testing his blade.

These people had only themselves to blame for choosing to target Qi Xuansu.

With a casual swing of Flying Shadow, the thug only saw a shift in scenery. In an instant, his body was cleaved from his neck to his flank. Half of his torso slid diagonally downward as blood gushed out of his body.

Qi Xuansu’s face remained emotionless as he simply flicked the blood off his blade.

The final thug standing had already vanished into the labyrinthine alleys, feeling only terror and a hint of relief. Though he had kept a low profile, he was the most skilled among them. Yet from the moment Qi Xuansu drew his first strike, he knew that they had grossly underestimated their opponent.

His sole thought was to escape. However, he did not flee first for fear of being targeted, nor did he entertain the idea of a desperate counterattack. Instead, he seized the moment when his comrade struck Qi Xuansu to slip away.

This was a close call because Qi Xuansu could legally kill them all in the name of self-defense without facing any punishment.

Just as the man thought he had successfully escaped, Qi Xuansu appeared in front of him.

To Qi Xuansu’s surprise, the thug dropped his weapon, dropped to his knees, and stammered, “P-Please spare me! S-Spare me! I have a 70-year-old mother at home—”

Before the thug could finish pleading, Qi Xuansu reached out and pressed his palm firmly against the man’s head.

The man’s entire body suddenly shortened by half, his head forcibly pushed down into his chest like a turtle retracting into its shell.

As his lifeless body slumped to the ground, a dagger fell from his sleeve, its blade gleaming with a bluish tint—clearly poisoned. The plea for mercy had merely been a ruse meant to distract Qi Xuansu. However, Qi Xuansu was a seasoned fighter and was not so easily fooled. He killed the thug before the latter even had a chance to finish his lie.

Qi Xuansu initially considered searching the corpse for anything of value, but he quickly dismissed the idea. He reminded himself that he was now a fifth-rank Daoist priest, a Prospective Mage, and a superintendent of Ziwei Hall. In the future, he might even attain titles like Mage, High Mage, or even Sage. How could he still behave as he once did?

Determined to present himself with dignity, Qi Xuansu suppressed the urge to search for spoils. Instead, he sheathed his blade with practiced elegance before turning away.

Qi Xuansu took a few more detours before returning to the city.

After ensuring no one was tailing him, he quietly slipped back into his room at the Taiping Inn through the side entrance. He removed his white fox face mask, changed into a plain Daoist robe, holstered his Divine Dragon Pistol, and left in stride through the main door, heading back to Sycamore Villa.

With everything settled, it was time for farewells.