A Pawn's Passage

Yun Luo, a veteran of the Green Phoenix Guard, was unconvinced. “Mage Yao, you are a noble lady from a prestigious family. Isn’t such behavior a disgrace to your family’s reputation?”

This laid bare what many had been quietly thinking.

Qi Xuansu and Yao Pei were out alone at night, especially avoiding Zhang Yuelu. This left only two possibilities—they were either secretly involved or faking it.

Yao Pei lowered her eyes and countered, “How exactly have I disgraced my family’s reputation? Is taking a walk in the capital with a classmate now considered disgraceful? Who made those rules?”

Yun Luo replied, “These are customs passed down over a thousand years.”

Yao Pei retorted, “Then those are the Confucian School’s rules. If we followed them, Deputy Hall Master Zhang, Envoy Han, you, and I would all be confined deep in the inner quarters, never stepping foot outside our home. How would we even show our faces in public?”

She deliberately paused before continuing, “Or are you suggesting that I’m shielding Daoist Qi? Or perhaps you suspect that the two of us conspired to kill Monk Yan Xiu? Is that why you’re subtly accusing me of disgracing the Daoist Order?”

This was a counterattack that exposed Yun Luo’s inner suspicions.

But Yun Luo could not respond lightly. To accuse Yao Pei of shielding Qi Xuansu or conspiring with him without solid evidence would only backfire. It would not have mattered if it were someone else, but Yao Pei could easily charge Yun Luo with slander, and the proceedings would become messy.

Such was the weight of Yao Pei’s status. If she said she was with Qi Xuansu, no one could prove otherwise. But if someone else had said it, they would have been grilled for every detail.

From beginning to end, Qi Xuansu had done nothing beyond a bit of acting because Yao Pei had told him to leave the rest to her.

Qi Xuansu thought to himself that his earlier performance had been a bit over the top and unnatural. But Zhang Yuelu’s reaction was not quite right either. She should have stormed off in anger or at least snorted coldly and glared at him. That would have sold the story better.

Thinking this, he glanced over at Zhang Yuelu. Coincidentally, Zhang Yuelu was looking at him too.

Their eyes met. Though Qi Xuansu had done nothing wrong, he still felt a little guilty.

Zhang Yuelu did not feel much because she already understood Qi Xuansu’s ploy with just a moment’s thought. She even found it amusing. So this was what he meant by “foolproof.”

But she was also curious. How exactly had Qi Xuansu convinced Yao Pei to help him? It could not possibly be their short three-month relationship as classmates. If it were anyone else, that might have made sense, but Yao Pei was not someone who would act on sentiment, as she was cultivating the Taishang Emotionless Sutra.

This was also the reason why Zhang Yuelu was confident that the two did not have a secret affair. Anyone practicing the Taishang Emotionless Sutra would remain unfeeling, regardless of cultivation level.

It would not make sense if it were Taiping coins either, because among them, Li Changge and Yao Pei were in the same league. Taiping coins were just a number to them; they never had to worry about money. Whereas Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu were in another tier, often impoverished and financially restrained. It would be more believable for Yao Pei to bribe Qi Xuansu, not the other way around. What money did Qi Xuansu have to bribe Yao Pei with anyway?

Zhang Yuelu made a mental note to ask Qi Xuansu about this later.

Li Changge had been watching everyone’s expressions with great interest, as if he were merely a bystander. Only now did he finally speak. “Deputy Palace Master Yao, no one is suspecting you of anything.”

Yun Luo kept quiet.

Yao Pei glanced at Li Changge. “I’ve already proven Daoist Qi’s innocence, so this matter should be concluded.”

Li Changge replied, “Since the Daoist Relations Department handed this case to me, I see no reason to stop halfway. Even if Daoist Qi’s suspicion is cleared, the case isn’t over. We still need to give the Buddhist Sect an explanation for Monk Yan Xiu’s death.”

Qi Xuansu finally voiced out. “What Daoist Li said is absolutely right! I second continuing the investigation.”

Yun Luo glanced at Qi Xuansu again, her suspicion of him deepening. But seeing Qi Xuansu’s calm and confident demeanor, she feared there might not be any results to uncover.

Li Changge gave Qi Xuansu a slight smile. “When it comes to investigations, I’m no match for Deputy Hall Master Zhang, who excels at deduction through evidence. I prefer using spells to solve things. Lord Yun, has the earth qi at the crime scene been retraced?”

“No,” Yun Luo replied. “Sycamore Villa says that the crime scene isn’t only occupied by Monk Yan Xiu. Others with sensitive identities have stayed there too. Since it’s a private bedroom, it will be a breach of privacy if we recklessly retrace the earth qi.”

Everyone already understood without needing Yun Luo to spell out what additional scenes would be uncovered in a brothel.

Sycamore Villa’s concerns were understandable. The key issue was that it was backed by the Li family, so even the Green Phoenix Guard could not press the issue too hard. That was one reason Yun Luo had wanted Li Changge to oversee the case.

Li Changge naturally understood and asked, “Who is the current owner of Sycamore Villa?”

Yun Luo hesitated before answering, “It’s Li Qingnu.”

“So it’s her,” Li Changge said, recognizing the name. “I thought it was Li Tianyue.”

Yun Luo explained, “It used to be Lady Li Tianyue, but just this year, she handed over the management of Sycamore Villa to her apprentice and rarely showed up there.”

Li Changge nodded. “Since that’s the case, let’s invite the new owner over.”

There was no need for Yun Luo to send anyone. Li Changge’s personal attendant immediately went to Sycamore Villa.

Qi Xuansu instinctively used his Qi Observation Technique and saw that the attendant was actually a Heavenly Being.

He could not help but sigh inwardly. Qi Xuansu never had a concrete sense of how little the Zhang family supported Zhang Yuelu before. After all, no matter how tough things had been for her, she was still far better off than he, an orphan under Madam Qi’s distant care. Besides, Zhang Yuelu had already endured the worst of her hardships.

But in contrast to Li Changge, Qi Xuansu now fully understood the challenges Zhang Yuelu had faced. When she first arrived in Jade Capital, she was not a Heavenly Being. She had no attendants or elders from her family to watch over her. Alone, she served as a superintendent in Beichen Hall, which was controlled by the Taiping Sect, a long-term rival of the Zhengyi Sect. She was then dispatched to Jiangnan, where she narrowly survived multiple death-defying trials.

Though Zhang Yuelu was later transferred to Tiangang Hall, her status in the Zhang family was never high. Anyone and everyone dared to act superior around her. Qi Xuansu had seen it firsthand when he accompanied her to Yunjin Mountain. If it were not for the support of the Earthly Preceptor and Sage Cihang, Zhang Yuelu would have been treated as a discarded pawn.

In contrast, everything for Li Changge had been perfectly arranged. The Imperial Preceptor and Sage Qingwei watched over him, and the various power players of the Li family all waited on him. Even his personal attendant was a Heavenly Being. In the large Li family, no one dared show any disrespect to Li Changge.

The difference between the two prodigies was stark and undeniable, so much so that Qi Xuansu could not help but feel indignant on Zhang Yuelu’s behalf. With such a difference in familial support, it was no wonder the Zhangs were overshadowed by the Lis.

Of course, Qi Xuansu was in no place to criticize. After all, he was biased toward Zhang Yuelu. If he were part of the Zhang family’s main branch and had the Heavenly Preceptor’s position snatched by someone from a minor branch, he likely would not take it well either. But Qi Xuansu believed that people should always speak from the position they stood in and never betray their stance. Since he stood with Zhang Yuelu, there was no room to sympathize with the Zhang family’s main branch.

Before long, Li Changge’s attendant returned with Li Qingnu.

Since both were from the Li family, it was a simple invite. Li Qingnu accepted it without resistance.

This time, Li Qingnu did not wear a veil or cloak, revealing her full appearance, which made the onlookers sigh in admiration. No wonder she was called the number one beauty of the Imperial Capital.

While Zhang Yuelu’s presence was more imposing, with a divine radiance that made others cower, Li Qingnu still had the edge in terms of beauty. Strangely enough, Zhang Yuelu, though born in Jiangnan, acted more like a northerner, whereas Li Qingnu, who rose to fame in the north, bore the delicate features stereotypical of a Jiangnan beauty.

Qi Xuansu suddenly recalled that Li Qingnu and Zhang Yuelu might be from the same hometown, since the first time he saw Li Qingnu was at Shangqing County in Wuzhou, where she had claimed to be returning home for a family visit.

Li Qingnu scanned the room, her gaze passing over Qi Xuansu without a pause, as if she did not recognize him at all. Her eyes lingered briefly on Zhang Yuelu before she turned to Li Changge and offered a respectful salute. After all, she was from the Li family’s Ming-generation, which was two generations below that of Li Changge’s Chang-generation.

Li Changge gestured for another chair to be brought over for Li Qingnu, placing it right beside Qi Xuansu.

Li Qingnu had no choice but to sit next to Qi Xuansu in the spot reserved for questioning, facing Li Changge. If not for the presence of so many people, she would have rolled her eyes at Qi Xuansu. Were it not for his troublesome affair, she would not be wasting her time sitting here.

Qi Xuansu suddenly recalled a joke Yao Pei had made back at Wanxiang Daoist Palace about gathering women from the three most prestigious Daoist families to gain a firm footing in the Daoist Order. At this thought, he inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt and lowered his gaze. But on second thought, what was there to feel guilty about? He had acted righteously and behaved properly. He had never crossed any lines or harbored inappropriate thoughts for the other two. All his dealings were for official business, so why should he feel uneasy? It was all Yao Pei’s fault for planting the idea in his head.

Once Li Qingnu was seated, Li Changge asked, “I wish to perform the Earth Qi Recalling Technique in Sycamore Villa. Will that be a problem?”

Li Qingnu shook her head. “No problem at all.”

“Good.” Li Changge ordered his attendant, “Arrange for this. Also, examine Monk Yan Xiu’s body.”

These were all standard investigative methods. Back when Zhang Yuelu investigated Feng Bo’s death, she had used similar techniques. It was just that Master Wan’s intense corpse qi had disrupted the earth qi.

On the other hand, Qi Xuansu did not yet have the cultivation level to tamper with earth qi, unless he deliberately sabotaged the area.

Naturally, such tasks didn’t require Li Changge’s personal involvement. Others would handle them. The entire process would be imprinted into an image recording stone for review.

So everyone remained seated, waiting patiently. For disciples of the Daoist Order, seated meditation was basic training, so sitting still in silence for an entire day was not difficult.

During this time, Li Changge asked Li Qingnu, “Tell us in detail what you know of the situation.”

“Yes.” Li Qingnu had shown little concern when questioned by the Green Phoenix Guards, since there was little they could do to her. But before Li Changge, she dared not be careless and replied with utmost respect, “That courtyard didn’t originally belong to Monk Yan Xiu. It was rented by Master Wen, who later hosted a banquet for Yan Xiu there and simply transferred the courtyard to him.”

Li Changge asked, “Deputy Hall Master Zhang, wasn’t there also a Master Wen mentioned in the Gao Mingyin case?”

Zhang Yuelu replied, “Yes, Acting Deputy Hall Master Li. There was indeed someone named Wen Weng mentioned. He’s the chief administrator of Prince Liao’s residence.”

Li Changge smiled slightly. “Now, that is interesting.”