A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu never expected the mastermind to seek them out directly. This was undeniably a provocation—not just against the two of them, but against the entire Daoist Order.

“What do you want?” Qi Xuansu asked.

“Can’t you tell, my dear Daoist Qi?” Situ Xingluan’s tone always carried a hint of mockery and ridicule.

“Of course, I can tell. I’m asking you why you’ve sought us out so deliberately.”

“Oh, that.” Situ Xingluan nodded. “It’s nothing major. I simply wanted you two to know that our arrival in Jinling today is to emulate a mayfly shaking the massive tree that is the Daoist Order.”

“That’s bold of you.” Qi Xuansu immediately recalled that Marshal Tianpeng had expressed the same sentiment. However, Marshal Tianpeng had placed himself as the tree, while Situ Xingluan positioned himself as the mayfly.

Situ Xingluan smiled and inexplicably said, “Such vivid and unforgettable memories...”

Zhang Yuelu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. “You’re quite a unique member of the Cult of Fates.”

“What do you mean by that?” Situ Xingluan turned his gaze to Zhang Yuelu.

“From what I know, members of the Cult of Fates are pragmatic. They don’t seek fame, and they only gather sacrifices to please the True Lord Siming. Provoking the Daoist Order with a commotion is more of a Lingshan Witch Cult approach. You don’t seem like someone from the Cult of Fates; you seem more like a member of the Lingshan Witch Cult.”

Situ Xingluan grinned again and praised, “Mage Zhang, you’re quite the observer. Unfortunately, you’re wrong.”

Zhang Yuelu did not seem disappointed and chose to remain silent.

Qi Xuansu spoke again. “We got the message. Is there anything else?”

Situ Xingluan stared at them and said cryptically, “We’ll meet again shortly.”

With that, the light screen created by the mother-child talisman dissipated.

Qi Xuansu glanced at Zhang Yuelu. “No wonder you said the Cult of Fates has grand plans this time. Turns out the opponent is a madman! He doesn’t seem to be loyal to the True Lord Siming but is rather using the Cult of Fates to realize his own ambitions.”

Zhang Yuelu nodded in agreement. “His target is the Daoist Order. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Daoist Order is more resilient than ordinary people. As Situ Xingluan said, the Daoist Order is a massive tree, so it should not only withstand storms but also shelter others from them.”

Qi Xuansu added a perspective. “The Daoist Order has so many factions. I assume these secret societies aren’t exactly united either. Could there be two factions within the Cult of Fates? One seeks to gather more sacrifices for the True Lord Siming, while the other aims at the Daoist Order because of their long-standing blood feud.

“The first faction might not be able to suppress the second and dare not openly go against them for fear of losing support. Thus, they’ve reached a compromise to reach both their goals in this attack.”

Zhang Yuelu pondered for a moment and agreed. “You’re right. We can’t overlook either aspect.”

Ambitious schemers, fanatics, and lunatics could infiltrate the Daoist Order, so it was not surprising for a madman like Situ Xingluan to infiltrate the Cult of Fates. After all, it was easier to shine in a smaller cult than in a large organization.

Perhaps the lower-level followers were still willing to sacrifice everything for their so-called gods, but the higher-ups rarely would. Even if they were willing before, their mindset would often change after attaining power; such was human nature, as power corrupts.

As the pair walked out, Zhang Yuelu explained the effects of the curses. “Typically, the victim’s abdomen will swell like a drum. While they won’t die immediately, they are doomed to a gruesome death. Their abdomen will eventually burst open, scattering countless insects that have already consumed their internal organs. By the time they’re examined, their souls and even their Three Corpses will have been devoured. This is what the Cult of Fates calls a sacrifice.”

“Once the victim becomes an empty shell, the seeds planted by the Cult of Fates will take root and grow—or rather turn the victim into a living corpse. At that point, no one can reverse the process.

“When the Cult of Fates wreaked havoc in the Western Region, Beiting, and the Southern Wilderness, some villages suffered terribly. Men, women, and children alike were completely wiped out.”

After hearing this, Qi Xuansu felt his heart tremble. Compared to the tactics of these cults, the killings in Jianghu seemed far less heinous because the dead still had complete bodies. But the cult’s tactics meant complete annihilation that denied the victims peace even after death.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Where are we headed next?”

Zhang Yuelu said, “I noticed a clue when Situ Xingluan used the mother-child talisman. The backdrop seemed familiar, and I only recalled it after our communication ended. It looks like the Great Temple of Gratitude.”

“You’ve been to the Gratitude Temple before?” Qi Xuansu asked casually, though his mind wandered elsewhere.

He was fortunate that she trusted him and did not overthink things. If she ever began to doubt or scrutinize him, he would be in for trouble because of her sharp intuition.

Zhang Yuelu nodded. “When I was little, my parents brought me there once.”

Qi Xuansu remarked, “It’s not surprising that Situ Xingluan recognizes you, given your reputation. But it’s odd that he knows of a nobody like me. Clearly, he’s done his homework. If he deliberately revealed a clue, perhaps he’s inviting us into his trap at the Gratitude Temple.”

Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses. While Qi Xuansu lacked in areas compared to Zhang Yuelu, he also had his advantages. Zhang Yuelu had faced a fair share of trials, but those challenges were based on events. She mostly lived peacefully after overcoming them.

In contrast, Qi Xuansu had to live with constant caution, often brushing with death. This had honed his instincts for danger.

At this moment, he felt uneasy, fearing that one wrong move could turn Jinling into their grave.

“That’s a possibility.” Zhang Yuelu sighed. “But at this point, we don’t have many options. You—”

She was about to say, “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

However, she realized it seemed like reverse psychology. She did not want to force Qi Xuansu to accompany her, as that would feel like emotional blackmail. His feelings might get hurt no matter how she phrased it, so she stopped short.

Qi Xuansu declared, “You’re right. We’ll just have to take the plunge.”

“Aren’t you scared?” Zhang Yuelu probed.

“Who are you looking down on? I’ve faced more life-and-death crises than you. You might’ve been dead by now if I hadn’t accompanied you home for the New Year.” Qi Xuansu retorted.

Zhang Yuelu pursed her lips. “What do you mean, accompany me home? You make it sound like we’re already married.”

Qi Xuansu laughed it off and did not push his luck. If he angered Zhang Yuelu, she was perfectly capable of beating him up.

Since the Gratitude Temple was located outside the Jubao Gate, the two left the old city and made their way to the outer city.

The area around the Gratitude Temple was quite secluded. On normal days, there were few passersby. Today, not a single soul was in sight. What accompanied them was an oppressive silence.

Both of them wore solemn expressions as they flew over the mountain gate and landed before the temple’s main entrance.

At that moment, an eerie rustling sound like the march of a hundred ghosts approached. Rolling black mist surged from all sides, with flickers of shadowy figures within.

A dozen figures with ragged clothes emerged from the black mist. Their scalps were bare, their skin as pale as corpses, with no trace of blood, and their eye sockets were hollow.

Zhang Yuelu remained calm and waved her sleeve.

A sharp sword qi swept out like a massive crescent moon, slicing the walking corpses before her in half at the waist. However, even though they were cleaved in half, they were undying. Their upper halves crawled on the ground, clawing forward like lizards, heading toward Zhang Yuelu.

With another wave of her sleeve, several paper lotus flowers spun in the air. Wherever they passed, they shredded the living corpses into pieces.