A Pawn's Passage

In an instant, the tiles on the roof clattered noisily. Dust and debris rained down from the eaves as a fierce wind swept through.

The sound of fabric tearing echoed in the night, followed by a muffled groan from the Ghost King.

The Ghost King’s clothing had been utterly shredded at the chest, revealing a slanted wound about 70 centimeters long that was dripping with blood and deep enough to expose some bone.

A dark gloom filled the Ghost King’s eyes. It was not because his cultivation was inferior to his opponent’s, but because his opponent’s blade was too sharp. Aside from his arms that were fortified with condensed blood qi, his body was unable to withstand it. Moreover, his opponent’s blade technique was unpredictable and difficult to defend against; a single misstep would allow his opponent to exploit his weakness.

Qi Xuansu showed no mercy as he lunged forward, his blade slashing downward.

The Ghost King crossed his arms, which were reinforced with his condensed blood qi, to block the strike.

However, the successive full-force clashes and stomps of these two Guizhen-stage Martial Arts Practitioners caused the ground beneath the Ghost King’s feet to finally give way, rumbling as a large pit formed into which he sank.

Qi Xuansu hesitated slightly before following the Ghost King into the pit.

There, he discovered an entirely different world below.

It was a dungeon. No wonder the carriages had stopped above, yet the women from the carriages were nowhere to be seen.

The dungeon was narrow and long, the corridors flanked by numerous small cells. Each cell could only fit a bed, a table, and a stool. The beds were adorned with ornate canopies and embroidered curtains, luxuriously decorated. However, every woman who was either sitting or standing in each cell looked listless.

One of the rooms in the circular area at the deepest part of the dungeon held a special guest. Bai Xiaojin was huddled on a bed that was covered with embroidered bedding; her body had gone stiff.

This day had been utterly miserable for her, as she had never before endured such humiliation. At first, she cried silently, but her tears soon ran dry, leaving her in a daze. All she could do was pray for this nightmare to end.

In the past, Bai Xiaojin had relied on the power and influence of her mother, Bai Yingqiong. To her, Jinling Prefecture was like her personal garden. Whenever she went out, she only brought a few attendants whose cultivation levels were not particularly high, primarily to deal with those who did not recognize who she was.

The notable figures of Jinling Prefecture, whether it was the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master or the Governor, knew her. Even if they had grievances with Bai Yingqiong, they would not trouble her daughter.

Earlier that morning, Bai Xiaojin had taken a carriage out of the city and passed by the old Imperial Academy. The area was not densely populated with residences or workshops and was somewhat desolate. As the carriage reached the crossroad, an elderly man suddenly blocked the way, killed her attendants, and swiftly abducted her into another prearranged carriage draped with curtains on all sides, leaving the intersection quickly.

When she was inside the carriage, someone blindfolded her. The old man told her that as long as she behaved, she would be taken to see Bai Yingqiong.

Hearing this, Bai Xiaojin’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. If these people knew that her mother was Bai Yingqiong and still dared to abduct her, they were clearly no ordinary thugs. They might even be figures of considerable standing within the Daoist Order.

The carriage bumped along for what felt like a long time, seemingly traveling over dirt roads before stopping. She was taken to a location and kept there for a while before being loaded onto another carriage.

Bai Xiaojin only noticed the carriage making countless turns, leaving her disoriented. At first, she tried to keep track of the turns, but she eventually gave up.

When she finally got off the carriage again, she was led downward. Once the blindfold was removed, Bai Xiaojin realized she was being held in a dungeon. Most of those imprisoned here were women, with only a few delicate-looking men among them.

While she was lost in thought, a tremendous noise suddenly erupted outside. The ground rumbled as if there were an earthquake.

She quickly looked up and saw a tall figure with horns sprouting from his head—a terrifying sight.

The Ghost King scanned the dungeon, barely sparing a glance at the listless women. However, his gaze lingered briefly on Bai Xiaojin.

Shortly after, Qi Xuansu also entered with Flying Shadow in hand, walking unhurriedly as if he were taking a stroll in a garden.

With nowhere to retreat, the Ghost King reached out, smashed open a cell door, pulled a woman into his grasp, and hurled her toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu frowned slightly but did not dare catch the woman. He twisted his body and dodged the woman flying toward him.

Boom!

The woman’s body exploded mid-air, turning into a blood mist that rained down and created numerous dimples on the ground.

This was because the Ghost King had forcibly infused his blood qi into the woman’s body. If Qi Xuansu had reached out to catch her, he would have been injured by the blood qi. At best, he would suffer internal injuries; at worst, his body would also explode like the woman before him.

This was where experience in the real world came into play. An inexperienced man would have instinctively reached out to catch the woman. Even with a cultivation level equal to the Ghost King’s, they would have likely suffered a severe loss.

However, Qi Xuansu was different. Though still young, he was well-versed in these underhanded tricks and dodged the woman. Had Qi Xuansu shown even a shred of misplaced compassion, he would have already been injured by the Ghost King.

Seeing this, the Ghost King’s expression grew darker. However, his plan was not entirely in vain. While Qi Xuansu was dodging the woman, the Ghost King had already moved to the deepest part of the dungeon and seized Bai Xiaojin.

The Ghost King grabbed Bai Xiaojin’s neck, needing only a slight squeeze to crush her throat.

He bellowed, “If you don’t want her to die, don’t make any rash moves!”

The Ghost King had clearly mistaken Qi Xuansu for Bai Yingqiong’s subordinate, assuming that Qi Xuansu was there to rescue Bai Xiaojin.

Qi Xuansu, however, did not recognize Bai Xiaojin. He was not even aware of her abduction, so his first thought was, He expects me to back off by grabbing a random woman? Hah! Does he take me for a saint? I certainly don’t care if some random woman died because of me. Moreover, the Ghost King is the one doing the killing, so why should I be blamed for not intervening? How absurd!

Perhaps due to humanity’s tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong, people were always harsher on “good” individuals and lenient toward evildoers. After all, evildoers would actually come after them. Due to this, Qi Xuansu never aimed to be a “good person” in the conventional sense.

Qi Xuansu was unmoved as he continued forward with his blade.

This turn of events placed the Ghost King in an awkward position. If he were to kill Bai Xiaojin now, he would certainly face trouble later. Bai Yingqiong would undoubtedly demand an explanation from his superiors, and he would be discarded as a scapegoat without hesitation.

Fortunately, Bai Xiaojin spoke up at this moment, unable to hide her panic. “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! My mother is Bai Yingqiong. She’ll give you whatever you want as long as you bring me to her!”

Qi Xuansu paused in his steps.

Bai Yingqiong was Zhang Yuelu’s senior sister—that much he knew.

Zhang Yuelu had also mentioned visiting Bai Yingqiong.

How did Bai Yingqiong’s daughter get taken hostage here?

In an instant, Qi Xuansu realized one thing—the Heavenly Court must have begun targeting the investigation team.

Even Qi Xuansu knew that abducting family members was breaking the unspoken rules, which would inevitably lead to unforeseen consequences.

Noticing Qi Xuansu’s hesitance, the Ghost King breathed a sigh of relief. He weighed his options and realized his opponent was truly formidable. In a life-or-death battle, the Ghost King was not confident of victory and decided it would be better to wait for reinforcements before dealing with Qi Xuansu.

Just as the Ghost King finished calculating his next move, a flash of fire appeared before he could react. A sharp, searing pain shot through his chest.

Qi Xuansu had pulled out his Divine Dragon Pistol. Taking advantage of the Ghost King’s fleeting distraction, he quickly fired a Grade-B Series One Dragon Eye Bullet, blasting a hole straight through the Ghost King’s chest.

Qi Xuansu could risk his life for Zhang Yuelu because he liked her, and she liked him back. Their bond was one of shared life-and-death experiences. That did not mean Qi Xuansu would go all out to save just any woman.

After all, he was not so sentimental. His cultivation level was only on par with the Ghost King’s. Without absolute confidence in victory, he could not afford to split his attention to save someone else.

So after a brief hesitation, Qi Xuansu simply fired the gun.

On the contrary, the Ghost King thought Qi Xuansu was intimidated by Bai Xiaojin’s identity, so he lowered his guard, giving Qi Xuansu the opportunity to strike.

Almost simultaneously, Qi Xuansu dropped the gun, waved his hand, and aimed two Bliss Needles into the Ghost King’s eyes.

The Ghost King’s vision immediately went black. Crying out in pain, he reflexively released Bai Xiaojin from his grasp.