A Pawn's Passage

Madam Qi once said, “Most men’s weakness is not themselves but their family members. That’s why bold young men often become more timid when they start building a family. They will be more cautious, as they are always thinking about their responsibilities as a father and husband. In a way, they live for others.”

She also said that people with families to support were easy to manipulate. They would have no choice but to accept her terms, and they would not dare to offend her. On the contrary, most bachelors like Qi Xuansu, who only worried about themselves, were the real thorn in the side. They would do whatever they liked without scruples. Apart from using brute force, there was really no good way to deal with someone like that.

At the moment, Qi Xuansu was still considered a bachelor. His relatively low status came with its own benefits. People might try to use him to threaten Zhang Yuelu or Madam Qi, but no one could use them to threaten him. After all, if someone truly had the ability to get at those two, they would not need to threaten Qi Xuansu. They could simply take him down directly.

In a sense, Qi Xuansu had very little to fear, so he did not care if others played dirty. His only real weakness was his identity as a member of the Qingping Society. But hardly anyone knew that, and even if they did, few would dare expose it. That was because Qingping Society was tied to Madam Qi, who in turn was tied to the Yao and Pei families, which was pretty much half of the Quanzhen Sect. Anyone reckless enough to bring that out into the open risked being silenced by the Earthly Preceptor or Sage Donghua.

The Taiping Sect had silenced witnesses all the way from Jiangling Prefecture to Jinling Prefecture. They had even burned down the Zhenwu Temple. So who was to say that the Quanzhen Sect was not also capable of such ruthless means? Everyone involved in politics was mired in filth, with blood on their hands. Why else would the three Daoist sects tolerate the existence of secret societies? They were kept as black gloves to do the dirty work.

That was why, apart from the Li family, few dared act rashly. They were the reason Sage Cihang warned Qi Xuansu about staying pristine.

Old Master Gao had his influence, but he was leagues behind compared to the Li family.

Qi Xuansu came to the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion with such a hard stance to assert dominance. If he could take down Old Master Gao, it would be a show of force—a punch to establish authority. Outsiders would fear him, and Daoists would respect him. That unofficial title of the Tenth Deputy Mansion Master would finally mean something real.

Human nature was complicated. It was not purely noble or purely self-interested. Qi Xuansu could not say how much of what he did was for justice and how much was for his own future. It was likely a mix of both, too entangled to be separated.

Qi Xuansu did not think there was anything wrong with that. Who said good people had to suffer in poverty? Who said good people could not hold power or seek fame? Denying human nature was what drove people toward evil anyway. He had no objections to being a good man. He was fine with walking his own path, but not with embracing poverty. That was because he had already spent the first 20 years of his life dirt poor, and he had enough of it.

Buddhist monks loved to preach about “letting go,” but Qi Xuansu wanted to retort, “How could I let go of something I’ve never had? My hands are empty, so what is there to let go of? Was I supposed to let go of a mere thought? Well, I’d rather have a taste of wealth and power first before considering letting go of them!”

Among the Three Religions, Qi Xuansu had never agreed with Buddhist teachings. To him, Confucianism and Daoism had coherent ideas on governance. However, Buddhism was a complete anomaly. He believed that if a country were ruled by the Buddhist Sect, it might well regress to the age of slavery.

A Daoist elder once said that there was only one and a half sages in the world—one being the Primordial Daoist Ancestor, and the other half a sage being the Confucian Sage. The Primordial Daoist Ancestor left behind the Five Thousand Words Classic, which encompassed both a worldly and cosmic perspective, forming a complete worldview between humanity and the universe. In contrast, the Confucian Sage had only a worldly perspective, lacking any cosmic insight. Thus, while the Primordial Daoist Ancestor’s philosophy continued to shine through the ages, Confucianism had faced increasing criticism over the centuries.

Even so, Qi Xuansu thought that the Confucian School was still far superior to the Buddhist Sect. The Lord Buddha had neither a vision of the cosmos nor one of the world, only exaggerated tales of subduing demons, terrifying hells, majestic Buddha kingdoms, the beauty of the Pure Land, and his own supposed miraculous powers. He endlessly preached on “merit,” urging people to do good so they could accumulate spiritual credit. But all that goodness hinged on piling up merit in this life and hoping for blessings in the next. All Qi Xuansu could think of was how delusional that sounded—to convince oneself to suffer now for some vague notion of bliss in the future. He found it laughable.

The Buddhist Sect painted a grandiose picture of paradise for their followers. According to them, simply turning a prayer wheel granted immense merit because it was equivalent to chanting Buddhist scriptures. Thus, it could cleanse one of their sins. To Qi Xuansu, this did not make sense, because that would mean one’s sins could be canceled out with a few spins of the prayer wheel. If so, all humanity could have been easily purified. Even hell itself would be redeemed.

What he found even more ridiculous was that the Buddhist Sect claimed that the material of one’s prayer beads affected the merit gained during recitation. Walnut beads gave double merit, cuprite fivefold, pearls and coral tenfold, lotus seeds ten thousandfold, rudraksha a millionfold, and bodhi seeds beyond calculation. How was this any different from peddlers in a marketplace? With the current manufacturing technology, mass-producing bodhi seeds was no trouble at all. So did it mean that the world would become a utopia if everyone clutched a set of bodhi prayer beads and chanted sutras? What was this, really? To Qi Xuansu, it felt like a racketeer conning followers into blind devotion for the sake of incense offerings. It was an empty business with no cost and all profit.

If everyone believed in the Buddhist teachings and placed hope in their next life, no one would strive forward in this life. All they would do is chant scriptures to hoard merit, neglecting work. How would they be any different from docile cattle waiting to be slaughtered?

It was no wonder the Confucians had a saying that believing in Daoism might cost some money, but practicing Buddhism would straight-up drain one’s fortune. Thus, they would rather let an emperor cultivate the Dao and refine pills than follow the path of Buddha. Back then, Daoism for the elite was completely different from Daoism for the commoners. For the elite, Daoism was the pursuit of immortality, but for the common folk, it was a tool of rebellion.

At one point, Daoism was deeply influenced by Buddhism, becoming corrupt and filled with talk of supernatural powers and mystical abilities. The Daoist Order even churned out countless Godly Immortals from thin air. Yet no matter how much they boasted, they could not out-boast the Buddhists. No matter how vivid their fantasies, they could not match the Buddhist dream of salvation. In the game of incense power, the Daoists were thoroughly outclassed. True Lord Taiyang had died during this era, crushed completely by the Vairocana.

At that time, Daoism had abandoned the cosmic worldview of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor. Daoist doctrines grew confused, and their logic incoherent. In terms of state governance, the Daoist Order was thoroughly overshadowed by the Confucian School. This was when Daoism became the weakest of the Three Religions.

Thus, the Daoist Order back then was split into two factions. One relied on alchemy and longevity pills to curry favor with the elite, attaching itself to the Imperial Court’s upper class. The other faction returned to its roots in rebellion and revolution, which spread among the common folk. They gathered strength and prepared to revolt. In the end, the rebel faction won decisively. The long-vanished Taiping Sect rose to prominence once more—only this time, the title of the Great Teacher turned into the Imperial Preceptor.

After the Holy Xuan revitalized the Daoist Order, he corrected the course, discarding the fantastical and superstitious elements borrowed from Buddhism. He reinstated the Five Thousand Words Classic of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor as the foundation of Daoism, exalting the Primordial Daoist Ancestor as the highest authority. Apart from the Three Pure Ones—which were incarnations of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor—the Three Celestials, and Daoist Master Nanhua, many other deities and Buddhas were deliberately downplayed.

While this indeed returned Daoism to its roots, it also hastened its break with Buddhism. It also created the conflict between the Daoist Order and the Ancient Immortals. After all, those Ancient Immortals were originally Daoist Godly Immortals, yet under the Holy Xuan’s revitalized Daoist Order, they were deliberately marginalized. It was tantamount to cutting off their incense power, so how could they not retaliate?

The Daoist Order’s eventual decision to bring True Lord Taiyin into the fold was not made lightly. It was mainly because she had transcended from an actual object—the moon itself. It was not through fictional invention, which made her somewhat different from the rest.

After Xu Feiying left, Qi Xuansu spoke with Zhang Yuelu for about half an hour.

Zhang Yuelu had been aware of everything Qi Xuansu was doing. She cared about how things developed but never interfered or micromanaged, leaving it all to him with bare minimum advice.

She was a self-reliant woman, so she did not need anyone to give her a sense of security, shield her from wind and rain, or act as her pillar of support. But she did not want a subordinate or servant either because she was not a control freak who only wanted an obedient partner. What she wanted was equality, harmony, and shared ideals, someone to walk shoulder to shoulder with. That was why she enjoyed watching Qi Xuansu grow at his own pace.

After listening to Qi Xuansu’s “report,” Zhang Yuelu did not comment much. She simply remarked, “If I were Old Master Gao, I’d likely have no choice but to show up in person and yield. That way, there’s still a chance for a comeback.”

Qi Xuansu said, “When I was studying in the Upper Palace, the books said that what you can’t gain on the battlefield, you won’t get at the negotiation table either. He killed one of my people to intimidate me, but he underestimated me by thinking that it’s a big deal. These people have lived in peace for too long to think one death can scare me. That will only add to their crimes.”

Zhang Yuelu reminded him. “They can’t scare you because you’ve got Sage Donghua as your backer. They can’t get you transferred out of the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion, and they can’t find dirt on you. If they can’t negotiate, their only option will be to go down with you. They may risk it all and even try to kill you outright, so you need to be careful.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “I know what I’m doing.”

Zhang Yuelu had other matters to attend to, so their conversation did not last long and soon came to an end.

With less than four hours left before dawn, Qi Xuansu simply pulled another all-nighter.

Early the next morning, Wang Chongnian began setting up wooden stakes in front of the Yuhuang Palace, just as Qi Xuansu had instructed. The location was exactly where the lantern tower for the Primordial Daoist Ancestor had stood during the Xiayuan Festival. Anyone entering the Xuanshang North District could see it clearly. One by one, the capital’s most renowned storytellers also arrived at the scene.

The subjects were already in place—tied to the wooden stakes with their shirts stripped off to expose festering sores.

These drug users had been captured by Spirit Guard Qin, while Spirit Guard Zhou handled security. Wang Chongnian delivered the speech explaining the dangers of using the Five Minerals Powder and why banning it was necessary, but the script itself was written by Ke Qingqing.

Unfortunately, Qi Xuansu’s office did not have a view of the front gate. If he were in the Mansion Master’s office at the very top, he would have seen everything perfectly.