A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu only had some vague sense of Sage Qingwei and the Imperial Preceptor’s schemes. But he knew nothing about what stage they had reached or in what manner they would proceed.

This was hardly his fault, since he did not belong to the Taiping Sect nor to the upper echelons of the Daoist Order.

Though many counted him as a high-ranking official, Qi Xuansu knew his own standing. Only when he was a Hall Master or Mansion Master would he consider himself in the upper echelons of the Daoist Order.

This made sense, since there were hundreds of Deputy Hall Masters, Deputy Palace Masters, and Deputy Mansion Masters, but only 40 Hall Masters, Palace Masters, and Mansion Masters.

Though it looked like a single step from a deputy to a full post, the gulf between them was actually four to five levels, with the Golden Tower Council standing as the threshold.

Even within the Golden Tower Council, the Omniscient Sages were ranked into upper, middle, and lower tiers. Mansion Masters stood above Palace Masters, and Hall Masters above Mansion Masters. A Hall Master without the added status of Chief or Second Omniscient Sage—positions akin to crown princes—was still lower than the Great Sages. Above those stood the Deputy Grand Masters and the Grand Master.

Thus, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were still far off from becoming the Grand Master.

After finishing the day’s routine duties, Qi Xuansu invited Zhang Yuelu out for a stroll through Xiujing City. They had been in Fenglin for so long yet had never properly seen the city.

The ancient cities of the Central Plains were divided into neighborhoods and markets. On the other hand, Fenglin’s cities were divided into towns.

In Xiujing, there was a town called Kabukicho, which had originated more than a century ago, some decades after the fall of the Wei Dynasty, around the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Great Xuan Dynasty. The founder of this town was a woman named Okuni. Kabuki was a form of Fenglin theater, incorporating song and dance. Kabuki performances spread among the people, winning great popularity. Women across Fenglin emulated Okuni, taking to the stage. Some warriors even fought and killed each other over these women.

Later, when the Daoist Order broke Fenglin’s isolation and brought in new novelties, Kabukicho grew further, becoming a city that never slept.

Of course, Kabukicho claimed to be for singing and dancing performances, but the truth was obvious to all. Even the courtesans along the Qinhuai River had once upheld the rule of selling their art and not their bodies. However, everyone knew it was not the case. Otherwise, why would men fight over these women?

In the past, the Daoists had turned a blind eye to this town. But as the Daoists prepared to take control over Fenglin, many began to fear for Kabukicho’s fate. The Daoists were famous for rectifying public morality with thunderous measures, even achieving the feat of eradicating all brothels from Jade Capital. Qi Xuansu himself had once carried out such tasks as well.

However, the Daoist Order had no energy to deal with such trifles at the moment. So, this town remained unchanged. Regardless of the war situation, this was still a place of drunken luxury and debauchery.

Today, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu’s destination was this indulgent town, where taverns, brothels, venues for traditional Fenglin dances, and other places of amusement were abundant.

Zhang Yuelu was not repelled by such places. In fact, she had always been quite curious about them. Back then, she had insisted on seeing Li Qingnu’s performance. This was one of her more unconventional traits. If she had been born a man, she would likely have been a carefree and unrestrained figure.

At this time, the couple changed into plain clothes and went to Kabukicho, where they randomly found a place to watch a kabuki performance. To their surprise, the dancing “women” were actually men in disguise. Admittedly, these men who played the roles of women were even more graceful and delicate than ordinary women. Every gesture and smile seemed softer, but to the two Daoists, it still felt rather strange.

Was all the world’s art just men pretending to be women? Moreover, they found the makeup odd, resembling whitewash on a wall.

So, they changed venues and strolled the streets instead.

Though the place was full of people from all walks of life and the two were dressed in plain clothes, their unique Daoist aura was strong enough to keep petty hoodlums at a respectful distance. No fool dared to harass Zhang Yuelu, so Qi Xuansu had no chance to play the hero.

Of course, if anything were to happen, Zhang Yuelu would have most likely handled it herself. She never liked being a meek woman but always answered provocations head-on with a fierce counterstrike. Li Tianzhen and Xu Kou were among those she had beaten soundly.

At last, the two found a tavern, intending to try Fenglin’s sake and shochu.

However, this tavern doubled as a gambling den, wagering not on money but on unusual things like chess or cards. It was quite a novel setup.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu had only meant to drink but chanced upon a group of Daoists playing cards. They were not just anyone, either. Among them was Qi Xuansu’s fellow alumnus from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, his senior brother Cheng Lixue.

Cheng Lixue was also taken aback when he spotted Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

He did not worship the famous Zhang Yuelu, but he remembered how he once played the pimp for Qi Xuansu. So now that he saw the rightful wife, he could not help but feel guilty.

Besides Cheng Lixue and a few men, there were also several women, including Jiang Ye and Song Yu. It now seemed they were all part of the same circle, whose pinnacle figures were the likes of Li Tianzhen or Li Zhuyu. Thus, for them to have contact with Li Changge and Qi Xuansu was an unexpected delight.

Qi Xuansu could not ignore them, so he stepped forward to greet them, introducing Cheng Lixue and Song Yu to Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu was aware of Song Yu’s existence but felt no need for vigilance or hostility. After all, they were hardly rivals, just as Sage Qingwei did not consider Yao Pei or Zhang Yuelu rivals. His only opponents were Sage Donghua and Sage Cihang.

However, Zhang Yuelu shot a glare at Cheng Lixue, which made his already guilty heart even more uneasy.

That day, Jiang Ye and Song Yu both wore the latest fashion from the Imperial Capital—outer jackets with straight collars, cross-lapels, slits under the arms, and hems to the waist. Women wore only a tube dress beneath, so the jacket exposed a fair amount of their chest, faintly reminiscent of the Qi Dynasty’s style.

By contrast, Zhang Yuelu’s attire was extremely conservative. Not a sliver of her chest was exposed. Even her neck was scarcely seen. Despite this, her brilliance easily outshone the other two. She was the flower, and they were the leaves.

After a brief greeting, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu moved to another table.

Cheng Lixue was a little absent-minded, not because he was bewitched by Zhang Yuelu. He felt only respectful distance toward a woman like her. What unsettled him was the thought that his junior brother Qi Xuansu had been so dull as to confess everything that happened at the banquet. Otherwise, why did Zhang Yuelu’s gaze hold a faint trace of murderous intent when she looked at him?

Jiang Ye also seemed distracted. Now and then, she cast complex glances at Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu’s departing backs. After her last interaction with Li Changge, she had accepted that she could not hold the interest of the Li family scion. In this generation of Daoist prodigies, the women outshone the men. Among the Three Prodigies, Li Changge was the only man, and the other two were women. Below them was Qi Xuansu, who had a meteoric rise. Unfortunately, he was already claimed. But it made sense that Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei would not marry just anyone. They both had the status and capability to choose their match. Moreover, with the Zhang-Li rivalry spanning centuries, a marriage alliance between the two families was impossible. So that left only Qi Xuansu.

Song Yu was also silent.

She knew Qi Xuansu’s background, and vice versa. She had been Song Nianhao, his senior sister, but now, she was Song Yu. She was not so naive as to think that Qi Xuansu would forget.

She owed Qi Xuansu nothing, yet seeing him again filled her with the dread of having her old secrets exposed.

Within that dread, a tinge of regret surfaced. Perhaps it was regret that she had failed to recognize talent when it lay before her.

If she had approached her junior brother back when he had nothing, would she be the one seated beside him now?

Of course, Qi Xuansu had never held such thoughts. He had been slow to discover love, which was why he showed no interest even in beauties like Yue Liuli. Once he realized what love was, he became rather stingy with his feelings. In his relationship with Zhang Yuelu, it had always been she who was more proactive, bringing them to where they currently stand. If she were to wait for Qi Xuansu to take the initiative, they would likely never have been in a relationship.

At this thought, Song Yu glanced instinctively at Cheng Lixue. Had she never encountered the current Qi Xuansu, she might have been moved by him. But having seen Qi Xuansu, Cheng Lixue seemed like nothing special by comparison.

Once one had seen the vast sea, other waters would no longer be impressive.

Most women like to compare beauty and men. Seeing Zhang Yuelu gave Song Yu a crushing sense of defeat, enough for her to not dare entertain the thought of challenging the Daoist prodigy. This defeat only made Song Yu more desperate to grasp hold of something.

This was perhaps what they called a sense of security. But the moment she sought security, she had already lost to Zhang Yuelu.

After finishing their drinks, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu played a few rounds of cards. Unlike Yao Pei, Zhang Yuelu was evenly matched with Qi Xuansu, and they played for 1 Taiping coin per game. In the end, Qi Xuansu came out ahead by a single Taiping coin.

After settling the bill, the couple left to continue their night stroll through the brightly lit street.

Song Yu watched the couple leave and let out a soft sigh; the hope in her eyes dimmed.