A Pawn's Passage

The last time Qi Xuansu came to the tavern in South City was during the day, so he had not felt much about it. But this time, coming at night, it was a completely different scene.

Though it was already winter and not yet curfew, the hustle and bustle of the night market could be heard from afar, with the streets filled with the aroma of food.

Spices from the Western Region, seafood from Donghai, pastries from Jiangnan, noodles, deep-fried glutinous balls, wontons, and lamb soup—it was a feast for the senses.

Though the night air was biting, people wrapped tightly in thick coats still could not resist joining in the liveliness.

Strictly speaking, this was Qi Xuansu’s first visit to the Imperial Capital’s night market. He had indeed been out at night a few times before, but it was always to kill or arrest someone. He never had the leisure to stroll in the night market.

Walking through the bustling market, Qi Xuansu was unexpectedly reminded of his past self. During his first solo job, he had failed and ended up battered and bruised, with wounds all over his body. He had also lost his horse, so he had to walk back alone through dozens of kilometers of mountain trails in the dark, his feet caked in mud. In the distance, city lights glowed with festive cheer, while above him hung a solitary full moon, with no stars in sight.

That day happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival.

He felt like a lone stranger in a foreign land, and festivals only deepened his longing for home.

At the time, Qi Xuansu thought of his master’s tragic death and how he was forced to wallow in the muck of Jianghu, his future uncertain. Staggering along the road, he was numb to the pain in his body. Sorrow surged within him, and he nearly wept. But he held it in. He told himself he was no longer a child. He was an adult now.

Clenching his teeth, he endured the pain and completed that long night’s journey.

But when Qi Xuansu finally returned to the residence he shared with Madam Qi, he found she had not gone to sleep. She was still waiting for him, and she had made two mooncakes.

Madam Qi said nothing and simply handed him one of the mooncakes.

Truth be told, Madam Qi’s cooking was quite mediocre. The mooncake barely passed as edible.

But in that moment, the tears Qi Xuansu had held back throughout his long journey finally fell. His salty tears mixed with the sweet mooncake in his mouth, but he still swallowed it all.

All these years, no matter how Madam Qi’s identity changed, Qi Xuansu always remembered the woman who had eaten mooncakes with him.

Lost in thought, Qi Xuansu passed through the bustling night market and arrived in front of the tavern. It was brightly lit, and many patrons were seated inside.

Qi Xuansu lifted the coarse curtain, stepped inside, and glanced around. He spotted Madam Qi puffing on her tobacco pipe and quickly walked over to her.

Madam Qi saw Qi Xuansu as well and tapped her pipe bowl.

As Qi Xuansu sat across from her, Madam Qi put away her pipe and got straight to the point. “This will be the last time.”

“What do you mean?” Qi Xuansu actually understood but wanted her to explain more specifically.

Madam Qi replied, “The Qingping Society isn’t a brotherhood. We can’t truly go to war with The Inn until one of us is exterminated. So this will be our final act of vengeance. If it succeeds, great. If not, we’ll accept defeat and be done with it.”

Qi Xuansu had no objections.

Madam Qi continued, “The Inn has a branch in the capital and a main headquarters, which serves as their core. The Accountant is stationed there year-round.”

Qi Xuansu reminded her. “Even if the Owner isn’t currently at the headquarters, it’s a stretch for just the few of us to raid it, isn’t it? At the very least, we should bring along those eight B-rank Heavenly Beings.”

Madam Qi explained, “We’re not raiding the headquarters. The Inn has a system where county branches regularly send their records and income to prefectural branches, which send them to provincial branches. All these eventually go to the headquarters in the Imperial Capital. Their main headquarters doesn’t handle public business, so they have a separate branch in the Imperial Capital for local transactions. Ideally, cash notes would be more convenient, but these are all dirty money and can’t be openly deposited in official banks. So they transport silver by boat to the Imperial Capital.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood. Madam Qi would not make a move unless there was profit involved.

Madam Qi made a typical fortune-teller gesture and said, “By my calculations, there’s a silver shipment that’s just about to arrive. The ship is traveling along the canal route.”

Qi Xuansu could not help but roll his eyes. “Madam Qi, you’ve even picked out the fat sheep. So we’re just extra sets of hands to help you catch it, huh?”

“That sounds so crude!” Madam Qi pursed her lips with displeasure. “As they say, cutting off someone’s source of income is like killing their parents. We’re here to kill The Inn’s parents. This is mainly about revenge.”

Qi Xuansu was clearly tempted. “Madam Qi, if this works, you’d better split things fairly afterward.”

Madam Qi readily agreed. “Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have called you in.”

Qi Xuansu immediately became suspicious. “Madam Qi, did you bring me along just to pad the shares? You’re not planning to keep my cut under the excuse of safekeeping for my marriage, are you?”

Having her intentions exposed by Qi Xuansu, Madam Qi changed the subject. “Do we really need to be so particular between the two of us? When I’m gone, all this money will be yours anyway. By then, you can spend it however you like.”

Qi Xuansu said peevishly, “I’m afraid I’d die before you, so I might not live to see that day.”

“What nonsense is that? Watch your mouth.” Madam Qi immediately gave him a slap.

“Alright, let me rephrase.” Qi Xuansu smoothly shifted his tone. “I believe you’re capable enough to survive a heavenly tribulation and live in this world for 200 years. By then, if I’m lucky, I’ll have ascended. If not, I’ll just be a mound of dirt. Either way, I won’t be able to inherit any of your wealth.”

Madam Qi’s expression fell. “You’re such an entitled brat! Fine, the four of us will divide the spoils. An even split would be 25% each. But that’s not reasonable since I’m doing the most work and handling the laundering of the dirty money afterward. So I’m entitled to 40%, the biggest share. Dreaming Cloud is next in line, with 30% shares, since he has connections in the Canal Gang and can help transfer the silver from the ship. Ceremony Prelude introduced several reliable buyers who are all big players in the antique business, so she gets 20% as a middleman. After all, antiques are the easiest way to launder dirty money. As for you, you get 10%. But let’s be clear. That 10% is just for show, to fool Dreaming Cloud and Ceremony Prelude. In reality, you’ll only get 5%. The other 5% goes to me.”

The so-called Canal Gang originated from the canal transport system. The Grand Canal spanned north and south, and the Imperial Court relied on it to move grain from the south to feed the capital and border regions. As a result, an intricate network of regulations surrounding canal grain logistics emerged, and over a million people made their living from this trade. It was also the reason why the previous Wei Dynasty could not promote maritime trade.

Since the Wei Dynasty, the Canal Gang’s influence has steadily grown. By the time the Great Xuan Dynasty replaced the Wei Dynasty, the Canal Gang had gradually transitioned from an underground society to a semi-official organization, nominally under the supervision of the Waterways Governor, assisting in canal transport. They were essentially government employees. But the Great Xuan Dynasty was unlike the Wei Dynasty. Maritime trade flourished under Daoist control, and no one cared about the livelihoods of the million canal workers. If the Canal Gang dared rebel, they would find out whether skulls were harder than bullets. Many canal workers were forced to become seafarers instead. Today, the Canal Gang was no longer a million strong but had shrunk to around 100,000.

Nowadays, the Canal Gang was a mixed bag of rogues and bandits. Even the Waterway Office did not claim full control over them. The gang had fractured into various large and small factions, all independent of each other. They were merely sharing the same name, much like the Beggar Gang across different regions.

It was not surprising that Dreaming Cloud controlled a portion of the Canal Gang. At least a third of his 30% share would have to be distributed among his subordinates.

As for whether a portion should be turned over to the Qingping Society, Madam Qi did not mention a word of it.

After all, two members of the Privy Council and one from the Advisory Council constitute the Qingping Society.

Qi Xuansu, long used to having empty sleeves, was still satisfied with this arrangement. He asked, “What about the merits I still owe?”

Madam Qi replied, “That’s official business, so we’ll treat it as such. But this silver shipment isn’t a branch raid, so there won’t be so many Heavenly Beings for you to kill.”

In the two major battles so far, excluding the injured, a total of four Heavenly Beings from The Inn had died—one Heaven-rank member and three Earth-rank members. Two of them had died at Qi Xuansu’s hand. Naturally, many of the Xuan-rank members had also died, but they were not Heavenly Beings. One of the Heaven-rank members was at the Wuliang stage, while the three Earth-rank members were all at the Xiaoyao stage. If one also counted the Heaven-rank member killed by Drenched Green Robes, then both sides were roughly even.

It was precisely for this reason that the Qingping Society was willing to settle the score and let things go.

After dividing the loot in advance, Madam Qi took out a map and spread it across the table.

Throughout the process, those around them seemed completely oblivious to their presence, neither hearing nor seeing what Qi Xuansu and Madam Qi were discussing or doing. They instinctively ignored the pair. Compared to the broad-spectrum Bewitching Technique, this method was undoubtedly more refined and subtle, something Qi Xuansu could not yet manage. He could kill everyone in the room easily, but this kind of delicate manipulation was beyond him.

Pointing to the map, Madam Qi explained, “The Imperial Capital’s grain supply mainly comes from Jiangnan and relies on the Grand Canal. When the Great Xuan Black Robes attacked the capital in the past, they mainly did two things: block the dragon veins and cut off canal transport by occupying Lu County at the northern end of the canal in Yuyang Prefecture. Though Yuyang Prefecture is under the jurisdiction of Zhili, being the canal’s endpoint, it was overseen by the Canal Transport Office. Our operation this time will take place in Lu County. After hijacking the ship there, we’ll hand it over to Dreaming Cloud’s men. They’ll turn the ship around and head south along the canal, where they will unload the Taiping coins in batches and hide them in warehouses at various docks, mixed in with other goods. We’ll have to be cautious in case The Inn marked any of the silver, so I’ll personally inspect each shipment. To fully launder this batch of Taiping coins, it’ll take at least half a year.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “I can’t wait that long. Can you advance me some cash notes?”

“Sure, but you’ll have to give up a bit more. Of your 10% share, I’ll take 6% and you’ll get 4%.” Madam Qi agreed without hesitation.

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed.

He was short on money at the moment. For convenience, he had rented a room at the Taiping Inn. Though the innkeeper was on good terms with him, he could not reveal his true identity, so he had to spend some coins there. Now, his stash was nearly gone, and this month’s stipend had not yet arrived. Since his post was under Ziwei Hall, and Jade Capital was thousands of kilometers from the Imperial Capital, his salary was still en route. Desperate for cash, Qi Xuansu had no choice but to compromise.