A Pawn's Passage

Full authority meant the complete power to handle affairs. By right, everyone must cooperate with Qi Xuansu and even submit to him.

But what happened in private was another matter. Some might pay lip service, while others might deliberately set traps. That would depend on which side they were on.

After the council, Qi Xuansu essentially obtained everything he aimed for. The key being that his cause had legitimate backing.

For example, Qi Xuansu could now replace all of Chen Shuhua’s personnel stationed at the royal palace. He could also openly arrest the eunuch Sikong Guang, and so on.

Wang Jiaohe had taken a step back, but that did not mean he had lost. Qi Xuansu must press forward step by step to see who between them would ultimately prevail. Would Qi Xuansu be forced out of Poluo, leaving Wang Jiaohe to rule Nanyang unchallenged? Or would Qi Xuansu leverage this to break the old order and clip Wang Jiaohe’s wings?

In any organization, interests were entangled. From that complexity, a sort of balance emerged. This balance did not necessarily mean fairness. It often had little to do with justice. Such a balance contained many irrational and unfair elements, but it usually held strong because it accommodated the interests of the majority.

Breaking that balance could not be done alone. To win people over, one had to bind one’s own interests with others. Then, others would naturally join the fight and contribute what they can.

Interests were the crux of the duel between Qi Xuansu and Wang Jiaohe.

On the way back to the Water Palace, Ke Qingqing said, “Second Deputy, I think those people have ill intentions. This campaign may not be very effective.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “What do you consider a good outcome then?”

Ke Qingqing replied, “To wipe out every secret society, of course.”

Qi Xuansu smiled faintly. “The world is neither black nor white. There’s white within black, and vice versa. Secret societies are like weeds. Even if you burn them today, so long as the soil that nourishes them remains, they will sprout again with the next spring breeze. The key to eradicating them does not lie in destroying the cults but in removing the soil that allows them to grow. As Second Deputy Zhang often says, to truly reform the Daoist Order, one must first cleanse the soil that breeds corruption. Thus, the dragon qi leakage is not about those two Ancient Immortals but the inner decay within our own Daoist Mansion. The real measure of success is not whether we can annihilate the secret societies completely, but whether the ethos and integrity within the Daoist Mansion can be changed for the better.”

Ke Qingqing fell into thought.

Chen Jianchou listened, filled with admiration. Suddenly, he began to understand what people meant by vision. It was no wonder the Golden Tower Council had entrusted Second Deputy Qi with such a heavy responsibility.

At this time, Qi Xuansu’s mind was far from such reflections. The council was about theoretical governance. Now was time for real, tangible action.

The elites of the Daoist Order never hid in cushy offices. Most of the high-ranking Daoists would take to the frontlines themselves, as seen when Sage Qingwei, Zhang Qihan, and even the Imperial Preceptor joined the Fenglin campaign. None stayed behind to simply command.

Now that Qi Xuansu took on full authority and hence, responsibility, he could not simply sit idly in the Water Palace.

Sun Yaoping’s case and the Yu King’s illness could be set aside for now. His first priority was uncovering the truth behind the leaking dragon qi.

What Chen Jianchou had failed to finish, Qi Xuansu would continue himself.

The underground tomb had been completely destroyed, consumed by the Taiyi Supreme Technique and reduced to primordial chaos. Nothing remained, except Wu Luo’s blood lake, which had shrunk to a mere pond, stripped of all significance.

The key lay in the royal palace of the Yu Kingdom. That was because the royal palace was built on a node of the dragon vein.

First, Qi Xuansu replaced all of Chen Shuhua’s personnel in the royal palace, assigning a second-rank Spirit Guard from the Old Port Pacification Commission Office to lead a detachment and take charge of security in the royal palace.

Next, Qi Xuansu issued a nationwide warrant for the missing eunuch Sikong Guang, using his authority as the Second Deputy Mansion Master. He even sent formal notices to the Lingnan Daoist Mansion and East Shakya Daoist Mansion to request for assistance.

In the Lingnan Daoist Mansion, his point of contact was Zhang Yuelu. Naturally, she would not stand in Qi Xuansu’s way.

The East Shakya Daoist Mansion did not pose a problem either. Being the frontline against the western powers, its position was unique, and ironically, its constant external pressure made it the most unified and stable among all Daoist Mansions. That was because the greater the external threat, the stronger the internal cohesion had to be. Those who failed to unite had long since perished.

Qi Xuansu decided to return to the royal palace once more.

Though there were many with royal bloodline in the Yu Kingdom, including Chen Jianchou, the true core of the royal family was small. It included the King, Chen Shuhua, Chen Jianqiu, Chen Jianqiu’s half-brother—who was the Crown Prince, and the Queen Dowager—the King’s mother. Chen Shuhua’s mother had passed away many years earlier.

When Qi Xuansu arrived at the royal palace once again, he found that the palace guards had already been replaced by Spirit Guards. Chen Jianqiu was already waiting respectfully at the gate for his arrival.

From their very first meeting, Chen Jianqiu had shown him deep respect. Indeed, Qi Xuansu had not disappointed her, and everything had progressed exactly as she had hoped.

After bowing to Qi Xuansu, Chen Jianqiu turned toward Chen Jianchou. She smiled gently and greeted him. “Brother Chou.”

Chen Jianchou stepped half a pace back and replied, “Princess Furui.”

Ever since Chen Jianchou started serving under Qi Xuansu, he had begun to observe how the Second Deputy handled himself, especially with female Daoists. He realized Qi Xuansu had always maintained a respectable distance from women.

After all, being too close was unbecoming. Not everyone shared Xu Jiaorong’s self-restraint to manage such boundaries with grace. For Qi Xuansu, whose authority depended on his dignity, being overly approachable was risky.

As for Little Yin, Qi Xuansu had never regarded her as a woman at all. Strictly speaking, it was debatable whether she even counted as human. Each of the Three Yin Beings was more terrifying than the last, so no one knew what Little Yin’s true form was.

Being too distant would breed resentment. A man who seemed cold and unfeeling would naturally earn enemies. Thus, Qi Xuansu simply followed the Daoist precepts of treating women as equals, respecting them as friends, not viewing them as inferiors or temptations.

The advantage of this was that there were no rumors. No one could accuse him of being condescending toward women nor of impropriety.

Xu Jiaorong had once told her godson that the Daoist moral code was overcorrected to the point of obsession. To rise within the Daoist Order, the first rule was self-restraint, regardless of gender. If one were to give in to indulgence, one should not allow it to be exposed.

Shi Bingyun’s romantic entanglements had become a public scandal. She had once been a rival to her senior sister Su Yuanyi for the position of Sage Cihang. But now, she was merely a Second Deputy Mansion Master in the Imperial Capital, not even an Omniscient Sage. Her reputation was most likely a factor.

That was because Daoists valued virtue. Those with concubines and multiple lovers were not trusted to preach other moral precepts. Conversely, a faithful and harmonious Daoist companionship was a great advantage. The Daoist Order even had an official post called the Grand Master Consort, equal in rank to the three Deputy Grand Masters.

Thus, Qi Xuansu’s closeness with Zhang Yuelu was no issue. It even strengthened his standing. But any rumor of impropriety with another woman would certainly hurt his reputation. Thus, the wisest course was to maintain an appropriate distance with other women.

Of course, people like Madam Qi and Little Yin did not count because one was his adoptive mother, while the other was just a child.

A faint clarity dawned upon Chen Jianchou. If he wished to climb further within the Daoist Order, he now faced a decisive fork in his path. He could either bind himself to Chen Jianqiu as a Daoist companion or maintain his distance from her from this moment on.

If he chose the former, Chen Jianqiu’s background would be a heavy liability. She was the princess of the Yu Kingdom, a member of the Ziguang Society, and even had Western blood. Each one of these was considered a negative mark.

Though Chen Jianqiu was technically Zhang Yuelu’s subordinate, she was not the legendary Zhang Yuelu herself. Zhang Yuelu’s roots ran pure and deep. The Zhang family had served the Daoist Order for generations, tracing its lineage back to before the Yellow Turban Uprising. The Li family claimed that they were descendants of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor, but the Zhang family’s Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor had been the Primordial Daoist Ancestor’s close disciple. Among the Three Great Clans spoken of alongside the Confucian Sage, it was the Zhang family that was mentioned, not the Lis. So even if Madam Qi disliked Zhang Yuelu, she still acknowledged the latter. There could be no finer Daoist companion for her adopted son than Zhang Yuelu.

On the other hand, Xu Jiaorong had told her godson not to have any further entanglement with Chen Jianqiu. Instead, she would find him another suitable candidate from an old noble line or from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. That way, he could build a proper life and have a steady and respectable career, advancing hand in hand through the ranks.

Moreover, Chen Jianchou had grown resentful of Chen Jianqiu’s manipulations. With his godmother’s opinion weighing on him, his indifference was only natural.

Chen Jianqiu’s smile froze on her face before fading completely.

Chen Jianchou said nothing. He was an upright man with pride, so he would not indulge her whims without principle or limit.

Chen Jianqiu drew a slow breath and smiled sincerely this time. “I was wrong before. I didn’t know who you were back then. That’s why I—”

He interrupted her apology. “It’s all in the past. I understand your difficulties, so there’s no need to explain or apologize, Your Highness.”

The princess gazed at him, her eyes dimming with each passing second.

However, Chen Jianchou did not meet her gaze. “Your Highness, the Second Deputy is waiting.”

Chen Jianqiu forced a smile. “Second Deputy Qi, please follow me.”