A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu said, “Regarding Wen Weng, since we lack concrete evidence, we can’t issue a wanted notice. The Imperial Court won’t cooperate either. If we rely solely on ourselves to search, five days may not be enough.”

Li Changge replied to Zhang Yuelu using Shi Bingyun’s exact words. “We can’t keep searching indefinitely.”

Hearing this, Qi Xuansu finally understood the game Li Changge was playing.

First, kill Gao Mingyin to cut off the trail, and then send Wen Weng and Qian Xiangyun away. This would put the case in a deadlock, at least avoiding implicating Prince Liao.

The crux of the whole case lay in the assassination attempt on Qi Xuansu.

If Qi Xuansu had died, the situation would not have spiraled out of control. The blame would fall on The Inn, and none of the ensuing complications would have followed.

It was not exactly wrong of Wen Weng to make that decision. From the start, even before Qi Xuansu realized the stakes, Wen Weng had grasped the gravity of the situation. He had two plans. First, bribe Qi Xuansu with an absurd amount of Taiping coins that was enough to tempt anyone. When that failed, he moved on to murder.

The two assassins from The Inn served as a smokescreen, backed by seven Tianchen Division Heavenly Beings as the real force. It looked like a sure-kill setup with no intent to underestimate Qi Xuansu. They had treated the matter seriously and had not expected Qi Xuansu to not only escape but to strike back.

Frankly speaking, failing to murder Qi Xuansu bordered on the unreasonable. Like an army ambush where 20,000 troops surrounded just 3,000 enemies, only to be counter-encircled by enemy reinforcements. The setup was not flawed. The real problem lay in the general’s leadership and troop quality. Allowing the smaller force to hold out until help arrived was the main issue. Likewise, the fact that Qi Xuansu managed to escape from the city showed a failing on Du Yuyan’s part.

Afterward, Wen Weng did try to salvage the situation. His methods were cunning and ruthless, nearly trapping Qi Xuansu. But in the end, it all failed.

If given another chance, Wen Weng would probably have cut his losses early and avoided provoking Qi Xuansu to protect the bigger picture. But there were no do-overs in life. Without knowing what lay ahead, Wen Weng would never voluntarily cut off his financial lifeline. After all, cutting off someone’s source of income was akin to killing their parents. Such a grudge would inevitably become a blood feud. Once Qi Xuansu clashed with Gao Mingyin, Prince Liao’s involvement became inevitable.

That was not to say Prince Liao feared Qi Xuansu. Under normal circumstances, Prince Liao might have personally ended Qi Xuansu’s life even faster. But right now, he could not afford for the Daoist Order to catch him in a scandal. Not that the Daoist Order could punish him directly, but they would use him as a link to Wuxing Mountain. That would give them ample reason to override internal opposition and officially enter the field.

The so-called internal opposition within the Daoist Order was actually just the Taiping Sect.

In fact, the Taiping Sect’s reasoning was quite sound. Wuxing Mountain was close to the Imperial Capital, practically at its bedside, and connected to the Northern Dragon’s fate. It was a critical vulnerability. Whoever controlled the mountain held the lifeblood of the Imperial Capital.

Back when the founding emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty besieged the Imperial Capital, they first severed the dragon vein’s flow before breaching the walls. Thus, this location was highly sensitive. The Emperor was not afraid of a mutiny from the Divine Central Guard but feared the Daoist Order severing the key channels of the Imperial Capital protective formation. For the sake of the relationship between the Imperial Court and the Daoist Order, without legitimate cause and sufficient evidence, Wuxing Mountain should not be touched lightly. Otherwise, it could provoke a full-scale confrontation between the two major powers.

This was also why Sage Donghua wanted Qi Xuansu and others to investigate Wuxing Mountain.

Of course, Sage Donghua never intended for Qi Xuansu to fight alone. Besides the five-member delegation, external forces like the Qingping Society were also drawn in. Qi Xuansu was merely a free piece on the board. Yet the Imperial Court had made its precautions, using The Inn to hinder the Qingping Society, while the five-person team itself was a tangled web. Li Changge faced two opponents alone and held his ground, but in the end, it was Qi Xuansu who made the decisive breakthrough.

As Qi Xuansu reflected on these matters, his thoughts drifted far away, barely paying attention to the remainder of the council meeting. He knew this meeting would likely end inconclusively, especially since the meeting was initiated by Li Ruoshui herself, who clearly had an agenda.

Sure enough, by the end of the meeting, nothing concrete had come of it. Aside from hollow rhetoric about studying and improving moral conduct, there were only instructions to assist Beichen Hall in tracking down the fugitive Qian Xiangyun and to search for Wen Weng.

It was like lice on a bald head—plain to see and sure to be futile. The spontaneous challenge to Li Ruoshui had been effortlessly deflected and neutralized. As such, Qi Xuansu found the whole affair rather dull.

After the meeting concluded, everyone departed the hall. Qi Xuansu, seated near the door, was the first to leave. As he stepped outside, someone called out from behind, “Daoist Qi.”

Qi Xuansu halted and turned to see Li Changge walking toward him.

He did not hold any ill will toward the Junior Imperial Preceptor. They simply stood on opposing sides. Were their positions reversed, he would have likely acted the same. He greeted, “Daoist Li.”

Li Changge quickened his pace to walk beside Qi Xuansu. Zhang Yuelu, who had intended to speak with Qi Xuansu, was cut off and had to slow her steps, falling into step beside Yao Pei instead.

By now, Yao Pei had returned to her usual demeanor, showing none of the sharpness from earlier when she clashed with Li Changge. She said flatly, “Qing Xiao, it seems Yong Yan is quite interested in Tian Yuan.”

Yong Yan was Li Changge’s courtesy name.

Zhang Yuelu said nothing.

At such a close distance, whatever was said would be heard by Li Changge. Yao Pei clearly meant for him to hear those words.

“Do you need something, Daoist Li?” Qi Xuansu asked tentatively.

Li Changge smiled slightly. “I’ve long heard of your name, Daoist Qi, but due to various duties, I haven’t had the chance to make your acquaintance. I wonder if you have time now?”

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment and looked toward Zhang Yuelu behind him.

“Ah, do you have a date with the fair lady?” Li Changge also looked toward Zhang Yuelu. “Forgive me for being presumptuous. Let’s chat another day then.”

With that, Li Changge took his leave, making way for Zhang Yuelu.

Qi Xuansu was momentarily speechless.

He could not quite figure out what the Junior Imperial Preceptor was thinking. Did Li Changge intend to “recruit” him on behalf of the Li family? Undoubtedly, Li Changge had the authority and the confidence to offer Qi Xuansu a promising future.

At that moment, Yao Pei suddenly remarked, “The Zhang family’s heiress, the Yao family’s junior, and the Li family’s confidante. It turns out this is the kind of confidant you were seeking. I was mistaken.”

After that, Yao Pei walked away with a brisk pace.

Qi Xuansu’s expression turned rather grim.

Zhang Yuelu found this odd and asked, “The Zhang family’s heiress refers to me, and the Yao family’s junior is clearly her, but what does she mean by the Li family’s confidante?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Back in the Upper Palace, I asked whether those of us without a noble family still had a chance to rise in the Daoist Order, which is dominated by the prestigious clans. Su Yi said that if I couldn’t be born into a noble family, I could still marry into one or be adopted by one. She mentioned I was already connected to the Yao and Zhang families. What’s missing in this collection is only the Li family. So she joked that I might as well find a Li family daughter to be my confidante and complete the trio.”

Zhang Yuelu understood and could not help but laugh. “So that’s the kind of confidante she meant.”

Qi Xuansu shook his sleeves. “I have no fondness for men, and the Junior Imperial Preceptor likely doesn’t either. Do you think Li Changge approached me to win me over or to drive a wedge between us?”

“It’s hard to say.” Zhang Yuelu could not figure it out either.

Qi Xuansu said, “I won’t let anyone pin the shameful label of a turncoat on me.”

In the Daoist Order, switching between sects was quite common. Li Minghuang and Qi Xuansu were examples. The former switched from the Zhengyi Sect to the Taiping Sect, and the latter from the Zhengyi Sect to the Quanzhen Sect. Even Zhang Yuelu had once considered a switch. It was typically not a big deal. But if someone switched among all three sects, they would inevitably draw criticism.

Furthermore, Qi Xuansu’s transition from the Zhengyi Sect to the Quanzhen Sect was seen in a better light than Li Minghuang’s. That was because Qi Xuansu’s master, Qi Haoran, had originally been a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect before joining the Zhengyi Sect for unknown reasons. By that logic, Qi Xuansu was simply returning to his roots. If Madam Qi also pursued a career in the Daoist Order, she would likewise belong to the Quanzhen Sect. So no matter whom Qi Xuansu followed, his domicile would have been the Quanzhen Sect.

That was why Qi Xuansu felt a certain sense of belonging to the Quanzhen Sect.

“What should we do next?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Zhang Yuelu replied, “Everything hinges on Wuxing Mountain.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Right now, Wuxing Mountain is crawling with formidable figures. The Daoist Order might be able to breach it, but we can’t. There’s at least one Pseudo-Immortal guarding it.”

“How do you know there’s a Pseudo-Immortal?” Zhang Yuelu asked immediately.

Naturally, Qi Xuansu would not reveal that the intel came from Madam Qi and the Qingping Society. Instead, he reverse-engineered the conclusion. “Think about it—since Prince Liao doesn’t want to be implicated in Gao Mingyin’s case and refuses to show himself, he’s very likely hiding there. Given his relationship with the Great Sage Ziji, he wouldn’t act on his own. This must be with the Great Sage Ziji’s approval.”

Zhang Yuelu pondered for a moment. “You mean, the Xuanhui Court under Great Sage Ziji’s direct control?”

“Exactly,” Qi Xuansu replied. “It’s said these Yin-Yang People feed on dragon qi and take orders solely from Great Sage Ziji. Great Sage Ziji wouldn’t act personally, but he would dispatch these seasoned Yin-Yang People to assist Prince Liao, likely one of the ancestral eunuchs.”

The Emperor, also known as Great Sage Ziji, would not take the field himself due to an unspoken agreement. The Earthly Preceptor did not intervene personally either. At present, only Sage Donghua has taken visible action. Even Sage Cihang and Sage Qingwei had kept a low profile. This was all part of the same tacit understanding.

“That does make sense.” Zhang Yuelu nodded.