A Pawn's Passage

As midnight passed, it was officially the 43rd year of the Jiushi Era.

This also marked the third year since Qi Xuansu returned to the Daoist Order.

Over the past two years, Qi Xuansu leaped through three cultivation stages, progressing from the Kunlun stage of Xiantian Beings to the Xiaoyao stage of Heavenly Beings. He had also risen three ranks, from a seventh-rank Daoist priest to a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master.

Since then, he had encountered many powerful figures and taken part in numerous major events. More importantly, he met Zhang Yuelu.

In the Daoist Order, where betrayal, ambition, ideals, slaughter, and schemes intermingled, where everything revolved around interests and trade-offs, these two youths still believed in the existence of true love. It seemed out of place, yet all the more precious.

So Qi Xuansu deeply cherished this relationship, just as he cherished the bond he shared with Madam Qi.

By now, even a blind man could see that Qi Xuansu had boundless prospects. If he continued to call himself a nobody, that would be false modesty. He was merely slightly inferior to Li Changge, Yao Pei, and Zhang Yuelu in comparison. Not being qualified to vie for the position of Grand Master did not mean he had no future. He could also be a Deputy Grand Master, Great Sage, or Omniscient Sage, who were all figures holding considerable power.

Everyone knew that there were actually four Daoist prodigies.

At Qi Xuansu’s current standing, if he so desired, there would be no shortage of romantic opportunities. But he believed that even if he became an Omniscient Sage, Great Sage, or even the Grand Master, he would not change his mind about Zhang Yuelu.

After all, feelings born in humble beginnings were always the most sincere.

When he met Zhang Yuelu, he was just a seventh-rank wandering Daoist with nothing to his name.

Back then, aside from Madam Qi, no one knew he bore a Longevity Stone Heart. He had also yet to fuse with the Xuan Jade, so he was just a simple Rogue Cultivator.

He was an orphan from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace without much talent or aptitude, so it was impossible for him to reach a high level of cultivation. Without that cultivation, it was difficult to establish merit. Lacking family backing, he seemingly had no future to speak of. Who would have taken a liking to such a Qi Xuansu?

A famous courtesan like Li Qingnu would not fall for someone who could not even shield her from the wind and rain. If Qi Xuansu did not possess the cultivation he gained from the Xuan Jade, he would have been beaten to the ground when Lu Yunfeng harassed Li Qingnu. Would Li Qingnu have spared him a second glance then?

The daughter of a prestigious family like Yao Pei, who practiced the Taishang Emotionless Sutra, would also not befriend someone who had misread “Jianxiu Mountain Master” without his connection to Madam Qi.

Even Ke Qingqing likely would not have looked up to him.

If someone liked him because of his power, authority, high status, or ability to protect them, that did not mean they liked him for who he was. If he one day lost all of that, would they stop liking him?

Qi Xuansu felt that this made everything meaningless.

He did not want to become a tool valued only for a certain function or the benefit he could offer.

What difference would that make between him and an old ox toiling in the fields?

Even the old ox would one day grow too weak to labor. When it could no longer toil the fields, it would be slaughtered for meat. When he became useless, would all ties be severed too?

Only Zhang Yuelu was an exception.

She did not like him because of his cultivation, his connection to Madam Qi, or his boundless future, but simply because of who he was.

Zhang Yuelu’s attitude toward Qi Xuansu had barely changed, whether he was an ordinary deacon of Tiangang Hall or the superintendent of Ziwei Hall who stood almost on equal footing with her.

When Qi Xuansu was weak, Zhang Yuelu never acted overbearing. When he became strong, she never turned into a meek, dependent woman.

She was naturally moved when Qi Xuansu risked his life for her, but when he was powerless, she never resented him for it either.

Before she was aware of Madam Qi’s identity, Zhang Yuelu treated Qi Xuansu as an equal and was willing to oppose her family for his sake. Even after learning who Madam Qi was, Zhang Yuelu did not try to curry favor with her but instead responded with scrutiny and doubt.

She would be happy if Qi Xuansu could walk shoulder to shoulder with her and shield her from the wind and rain. But she would not mind being the one to shield him instead if he could only follow behind her.

So for someone like Qi Xuansu, who always put himself first, his decision to leap off the flying ship for Zhang Yuelu was not just a moment of reckless impulse. He did it willingly because Zhang Yuelu never saw him as a tool. She cared about him simply for who he was.

Zhang Yuelu did not want to be Qi Xuansu’s subordinate, nor did she want Qi Xuansu to become hers.

Qi Xuansu felt that he had never met a woman as wonderful as Zhang Yuelu, and he likely never would again.

So over the past two years, everything else was secondary. He saw Zhang Yuelu as his greatest stroke of fortune.

When the fireworks came to an end, Qi Xuansu was still holding Zhang Yuelu in his arms.

Zhang Yuelu said softly, “Tian Yuan, I thought your limbs didn’t obey you?”

The fireworks had faded, but it did not spoil the mood in the slightest.

Qi Xuansu’s expression stiffened slightly before he replied, “I think your kiss cured me. I suddenly feel revived!”

Zhang Yuelu chuckled. “I didn’t know I had the power to cure all ailments. Am I the reincarnation of the Undying Tree from the Kunlun Paradise?”

Qi Xuansu gave a slight cough. “That’s not entirely impossible.”

Zhang Yuelu pushed Qi Xuansu away. Her tone was gentle but laced with hidden menace. “You lied to me again.”

Qi Xuansu adjusted to the same kneeling posture as Zhang Yuelu. They knelt side by side like a couple in a marriage ceremony. He patted his knees and said, “What do you mean by ‘again’? At most, you can rest your head on me, too, and we’ll call it even.”

Zhang Yuelu stood up. “Forget it. I won’t hold it against you.”

Qi Xuansu paused in surprise. “What do you mean by that?”

Zhang Yuelu gave him a half-smile. “Exactly what you think it means. I won’t dig for answers anymore. If my master asks, I’ll cover for you. Whether or not you want to tell me everything is entirely up to you. I won’t force you, and I won’t blame you.”

Qi Xuansu was a little caught off guard by her kindness. “Did that scoundrel Prince Liao hit you till you lost your mind?”

As he spoke, Qi Xuansu stood up and reached out to touch Zhang Yuelu’s forehead.

Zhang Yuelu brushed Qi Xuansu’s hand away. “Don’t overthink it. I’ve just made peace with myself.”

“Just like that?” Qi Xuansu asked with some skepticism.

Zhang Yuelu hesitated for a moment before admitting, “Actually, it has a bit to do with you. When Qin Quanxiao attacked you, I was out of sorts, grasping at straws. So I ended up making a wish in my heart that as long as you survived, I’d let everything go. Now that you’ve survived that ordeal, I have to honor that promise. Of course, I could go back on it and deny I ever made such a wish since no one would know anyway. But I’d just be fighting against myself. That’s why I said I’ve made peace with myself.”

Qi Xuansu was pleasantly surprised.

The thing that gave him the biggest headache was, of course, the tension between Madam Qi and Zhang Yuelu. The second was how he could confess to her. Now that Zhang Yuelu had voluntarily said she would not hold the past against him, he felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from him. This was not because he was afraid of his wife-to-be, but because he knew he was in the wrong.

But Zhang Yuelu quickly burst his bubble. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I said I wouldn’t fuss over the past, but I never said I wouldn’t fuss about the future. If you dare lie to me again, I’ll settle all the old and new scores together.”

“Of course,” Qi Xuansu said solemnly and earnestly.

Zhang Yuelu asked, “Shall we head back?”

Qi Xuansu took Zhang Yuelu’s hand. “Back where? Are you heading to Yunjin Mountain for the New Year?”

Zhang Yuelu allowed Qi Xuansu to hold her hand. “Yuhuang Palace, of course. Today is the handover ceremony between the Heavenly Preceptor and the Earthly Preceptor for the position of Great Sage Lunzhi. So the Heavenly Preceptor is still in Jade Capital at the moment. Since they are allies now, he’ll remain in Jade Capital for several days to have a long discussion with the Earthly Preceptor. He won’t return to Yunjin Mountain until January 6th at the earliest. Since the Heavenly Preceptor isn’t there, Yunjin Mountain won’t be as lively as last year. Many of the Zhang family’s events have been postponed to January 15th, to be held together with the Shangyuan Festival. As long as I return before then, it’ll be fine.”

Qi Xuansu gently squeezed Zhang Yuelu’s palm and asked, “Do you need me to go home with you this year?”

Zhang Yuelu glanced at him. “That’s up to you. I won’t force you to come with me.”

Qi Xuansu let go of Zhang Yuelu’s hand and patted his robe. “Oh, I see how it is. It seems like Daoist Qing Xiao doesn’t really want me there. Fine, then. Now that no one’s forcing a marriage, I guess it doesn’t matter if I’m there or not. Back then, when you begged me to go, you were waiting at my doorstep before dawn and even bought me clothes. Sigh...I suppose it’s only natural for people to discard a prop once they’re done with it...”

Zhang Yuelu poked him with a finger. “How did you get the idea that I don’t want you to go?”

Qi Xuansu immediately grinned. “So, you’re saying that you want me to go?”

Zhang Yuelu saw right through him. “Of course, I want you to go. After all, you’ve made such a big contribution to the Daoist Order. Sage Donghua will probably promote you to the third rank. Like me, you’ll be the only third-rank Youyi Daoist master under 30 years old. You definitely should make a trip to Yunjin Mountain to stun those blind fools. That will just prove that I truly have an eye for talent. I also want to rub it in my mother’s face that my taste in men is 100 times better than hers. Don’t you think that’s a good idea?”

Qi Xuansu looked a bit embarrassed. “Wow, that really reeks of the Li family’s tone. I get the sentiment, so there’s no need to be so blunt. Besides, your father’s a good man. He and I are somewhat on the same level. So in a sense, you and your mother have about the same taste in men.”

Annoyed and amused, Zhang Yuelu snorted. “Then I should thank you on behalf of my father, huh?”