A Pawn's Passage

Whether Gao Mingyin meant to intimidate Qi Xuansu or simply to make an example, the fact remained that he had targeted someone under Qi Xuansu’s command.

Qi Xuansu was not a rigid pedant. Now that the polite facade had been torn away, he had no intention of clinging to the rules. If Gao Mingyin wanted to scheme and play tricks, he could play along too.

First, Qi Xuansu went to see his direct superior, Shi Bingyun. After explaining the situation, he requested two official documents and one extra person for assistance.

Shi Bingyun was the kind of leader who either trusted a subordinate completely or not at all. Since she had given Qi Xuansu the green light to act freely, she provided full support, approving Qi Xuansu’s two requests without question.

The two official documents were the Daoist Kindred certificates, which he had promised Song San earlier. However, Qi Xuansu made a slight tweak to the effective date, setting it as October 14th, the day before the Xiayuan Festival.

Due to the Xiayuan Festival, everyone in the Yuhuang Palace had been busy with preparations the day before, so paperwork had piled up, and the situation had grown chaotic. Even if someone did look into the date, Qi Xuansu could easily claim that Shi Bingyun had issued the order on the 14th, but the person in charge simply missed it because they were pulled away to handle the festival preparations. Of course, that was the worst-case scenario. Normally, no one would look into it at all.

One of the documents was for Song San, and the other was for the deceased Wu Si. Strictly speaking, it was Song San who benefited from Wu Si’s death.

With this, Wu Si would be officially recognized as a Daoist Kindred at the time of his death. Even if he was only a ninth-rank Daoist Kindred, that made a world of difference. It gave the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion full and legitimate authority to handle the case themselves, with no need to turn it over to the Imperial Court.

In other words, the moment Gao Mingyin left any incriminating evidence for Qi Xuansu to seize, the latter could take the local overlord down directly without going through the Imperial Court’s Ministry of Justice. Once Gao Mingyin fell into Qi Xuansu’s hands, no one would respond to his cries, and no amount of connections or background would help him. If this were the old Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion, Gao Mingyin might have been able to pressure Qi Xuansu through the Mansion Master or the Chief Deputy. But after the restructuring, most officials had been transferred in from elsewhere, so in a sense, they were impermeable to outside influence.

Even if Gao Mingyin truly had vast influence and managed to get two Sages involved, Qi Xuansu still had his superior Shi Bingyun to take the heat. If Shi Bingyun could not hold the line, this matter could escalate to the Golden Tower Council, but even so, Sage Donghua would surely side with Qi Xuansu.

Moreover, if they could confirm that Gao Mingyin hired assassins through The Inn, he would be convicted for colluding with a secret society. With that charge, Tiangang Hall could justifiably step in, so Qi Xuansu could use them as a shield if some bigwig tried to interfere. After all, Tiangang Hall was considered Qi Xuansu’s family, since the Junior Tiangang Hall Master was his future Daoist companion and the Tiangang Hall Master was his mother-in-law. Who would they support if not Qi Xuansu? The big shots of the Imperial Capital held no sway in the Jade Capital, and once Tiangang Hall stepped in, even the local Daoist mansions had to cooperate.

Qi Xuansu also requested one additional person, who was a fourth-rank superintendent at the Guizhen stage, also under Shi Bingyun’s command. He was quiet and withdrawn, disinterested in managing others and more focused on cultivation. Much like Qi Xuansu had once been, this superintendent only held an empty title.

Thus, Shi Bingyun sent him to assist Qi Xuansu, whose request was simple—have this colleague protect Xu Feiying’s safety over the next few days.

Xu Feiying was also at the Guizhen stage herself. With someone even stronger than her keeping watch over her, any assassin from The Inn would find it difficult to make a move, unless the assassin was a Heavenly Being.

The Imperial Capital was full of hidden talents, so Heavenly Beings were not exactly rare. But hiring one to do the dirty work was no small expense. If the target was someone from the Daoist Order, the price would increase even more. However, the more likely scenario was that The Inn would not accept such a job at all.

Qi Xuansu’s master had died at the hands of The Inn’s assassins, while Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu himself had faced similar attempts. But in each case, the employer had also been a member of the Daoist Order; hence it was considered an internal conflict in which The Inn merely played the role of a blade. Those involved did not hold it against The Inn. At most, they killed the assassin and went after the employer behind the scenes.

However, it was a completely different matter for non-Daoists to hire The Inn to assassinate a Daoist. Such jobs were not off-limits, but they would cost a fortune because The Inn would have to bear far greater risks.

After making these arrangements, Qi Xuansu arranged for Song San to stay in the Yuhuang Palace for the next few days, then he summoned Ke Qingqing and Wang Chongnian.

“Superintendent.” Ke Qingqing and Wang Chongnian entered Qi Xuansu’s office together.

Qi Xuansu got straight to the point. “I was just reviewing some files and have noticed that many people here are in the habit of using the Five Minerals Powder, claiming it to be part of a cultured gentleman’s demeanor. This substance is toxic and can cause death if overused, which is why the Golden Tower Council has issued a decree to ban and destroy it. Since we’re rectifying public morality, we mustn’t neglect this aspect. As such, I’ve decided to hold a public awareness event on the matter to warn the public.”

Ke Qingqing was momentarily stunned. She had not yet grasped Qi Xuansu’s intent. But Wang Chongnian, being much older and more experienced, had already begun to understand what Qi Xuansu was planning.

Qi Xuansu continued, “Just posting notices or sending people to spread the word won’t have much effect. After all, people only believe in what they see. We need the people to witness for themselves what happens to someone who consumes the Five Minerals Powder. Only then will the warning truly strike home.”

By this point, Ke Qingqing finally understood what was going on.

Qi Xuansu instructed, “What I want you two to do is to arrest a few people who regularly use the Five Minerals Powder. Don’t forget the one in the Nether Prison. Tie them to wooden stakes with their names stated clearly. I want them displayed outside the Yuhuang Palace for three days.”

Wang Chongnian had fully grasped Qi Xuansu’s intent by now and replied, “Yes, Superintendent.”

Qi Xuansu continued, “Since these addicts aren’t sensitive to temperature but are sensitive to new clothes, we’ll strip them of their clothes. This will also expose those festering sores for all to see. Then notify all the storytellers affiliated with the Qingping Bookstore and have them write tales and short stories about what they witnessed. I want these stories to spread everywhere—at teahouses, taverns, all tiers of brothels, and restaurants, to name a few. Whoever tells the best stories will be handsomely rewarded. The first prize gets 300 Taiping coins, the second gets 200, and the third gets 100.”

The Daoist Order placed great importance on public opinion. On the surface, the Qingping Bookstore was just a publishing house responsible for printing books and distributing bulletins. But in secret, it also had another role—monitoring public sentiment and guiding it accordingly.

The human heart was like an iceberg, and their movements were as unpredictable as smoke.

If public sentiment were neglected, it would create fertile ground for secret societies to grow, threatening the very foundation of the Daoist Order.

The Daoist Order’s approach was to maintain total control over the entertainment industries, including books, theater, folk performance, and the like, training a large number of storytellers who reached the grassroots, shaping public opinion through their tales.

The Qingping Bookstore was under the jurisdiction of the Ciji Hall, but due to regional differences, it also followed the direction of local Daoist mansions.

With Qi Xuansu’s position as a superintendent, he technically had no authority to meddle in such matters. But Shi Bingyun did. She was happy to sit back and let Qi Xuansu do all the work, so she approved all of Qi Xuansu’s requests, letting him do whatever he pleased. Other superintendents were also glad to help Qi Xuansu, using the opportunity to curry favor with him.

Since Qi Xuansu faced no hindrance from the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion, this made his unofficial titles as the First Superintendent and the Tenth Deputy Mansion Master more and more fitting.

“Yes, Superintendent.” Wang Chongnian already knew what to prioritize without needing Qi Xuansu to explain everything.

Qi Xuansu added, “Also, have our people keep a close watch on those storytellers. If anyone finds trouble with them, arrest those troublemakers immediately and lock them up in the Nether Prison. Interrogate them thoroughly, and be sure to extract a confession. Find out exactly who sent them.”

Wang Chongnian asked, “What if officials like the Wardens’ Office or the Green Phoenix Guards stop the storytellers?”

Qi Xuansu said, “Then reveal our intent and reason with them. Make them wary about making any moves against us. Our main goal is to protect our people. The common folk will bear witness to all that we do, and word will spread naturally.”

Wang Chongnian felt a chill run through him.

Using Five Minerals Powder was not a major crime, so it was not enough to arrest Gao Mingyin. However, Qi Xuansu’s move served to trample all over Gao Mingyin’s dignity.

Gao Mingyin wanted to use Qi Xuansu as a stepping stone to assert dominance, so in retaliation, Qi Xuansu would toss Gao Mingyin’s son into the spotlight, stripping away that pampered young master’s dignity and making him the laughingstock of the city. This was essentially a move to publicly humiliate Gao Mingyin.

Old Master Gao had dominated the North City for years and made plenty of enemies, but they had not dared to act because of his long-standing power. If he showed any weakness or backed down from Qi Xuansu’s public retaliation, all those enemies would come out of hiding and rally behind the Daoist, creating a wave strong enough to crush the local overlord. Qi Xuansu might not even need to search for evidence himself, as it would be served up to him on a silver platter.

If Gao Mingyin did not back down and insisted on clashing with Qi Xuansu, he would only expose more weaknesses and leave more evidence behind, which was exactly what Qi Xuansu wanted. The moment Qi Xuansu got hold of one thread of evidence, he would bring Gao Mingyin down.

Ke Qingqing warned, “This could blow up. The cabinet ministers might even catch wind of it.”

“I only fear it won’t blow up enough.” Qi Xuansu sneered, “The demons that hide in the shadows can’t stand the light. They’ll die on their own as long as we bring them into the sun and expose them to public scrutiny.”

When Ke Qingqing looked at her superior again, there was a trace of fear in her eyes.

Gao Mingyin only dared to cross Qi Xuansu because he assumed the latter was just another noble scion, who was honorable, soft, and too clean to play dirty. But now, it seemed that Gao Mingyin had completely miscalculated and underestimated Superintendent Qi.