A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu sat behind the desk in his office within the Water Palace. He leaned back in his chair, eyes closed as he rested.

Stacks of files were piled high on his desk, and across from him sat Shangguan Ya and Xu Jiaorong.

As a member of the Eight Tribes, Shangguan Ya carried countless tools and devices on her body. She had replaced her veiled hat with a hooded cloak, which concealed her face just as well. All that could be seen was a dark shadow.

Seeing that Qi Xuansu did not reveal Shangguan Ya’s identity, the sharp and perceptive Xu Jiaorong did not ask.

Such things were hardly taboo. Even Wu Guangbi could openly appear beside Li Changge or Li Tianzhen. What mattered was whether the backing was strong enough.

More importantly, at this stage, Qi Xuansu and Xu Jiaorong were already on the same boat, so it would not matter who fell into the water first when the storm came. If Wang Jiaohe and Chen Shuhua toppled Qi Xuansu, they certainly would not spare Xu Jiaorong. So, Qi Xuansu and Xu Jiaorong had to stand together and reveal their trump cards to each other to strengthen unity and morale.

The two Spirit Guards were absent, as they had to maintain order and keep watch over Chen Shuhua.

Since most of the Spirit Guard forces in the city were formerly under the Old Port Pacification Commission Office, Spirit Guard Jia Yin was currently in command.

Chen Shuhua was not in the Fire Palace at the moment. She had her own residence in Thanglong Prefecture, which she had been staying at lately. So Spirit Guard Ding Chou was tasked with watching her.

However, Chen Shuhua remained behind closed doors, and her residence was shielded by formations. Spirit Guard Ding Chou could not guarantee perfect surveillance but could only do her best.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu was still waiting for Madam Qi’s message.

At that moment, the mother-child talisman on Qi Xuansu’s desk ignited by itself, transforming into a curtain of light and revealing Madam Qi’s figure.

The three, who had been waiting anxiously, subconsciously sat up straight.

Such was Madam Qi’s presence—oppressive and overwhelming.

For Qi Xuansu and Shangguan Ya, this was nothing new. They were already accustomed to it.

Xu Jiaorong had never interacted with Madam Qi and did not know her personally, but she was well-informed, so she understood how formidable this woman was.

To be fair, if Madam Qi had any intention of advancing within the Daoist Order and if she had steadily climbed the ranks instead of wandering Jianghu, she would already be one of the top-ranked Omniscient Sages of the Golden Tower Council.

Madam Qi still carried that same lazy, roguish air. If she had lived under the fifth-generation Grand Master’s rule, she would have been reprimanded every single day.

Neither Xu Jiaorong nor Shangguan Ya spoke. Instead, both turned their eyes toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to speak first. “Madam Qi, what did you find about the pill’s composition?”

Madam Qi leisurely blew out a smoke ring before speaking. “This pill is extremely complex. Aside from the Refined Jade Tree sap, I also detected many other beasts’ blood, like Qiongqi, Feifei, Lili, Xiangliu, and Flood Dragon, though all of them are imitation blood except for the Flood Dragon blood. But these imitation bloods are high quality and vastly superior to common ones found on the market, with nearly 80% of the real deal’s potency. By my rough estimate, refining a single pill like this would cost no less than 30,000 Taiping coins at the very least. That’s not even counting failed batches.”

Qi Xuansu’s current status meant such numbers no longer shocked him. He merely sighed lightly. “Chief Deputy Chen surely is generous. But the more she spends, the bigger her plot must be.”

Shangguan Ya interjected, “These ingredients remind me of the Ancient Wuist Undying Elixir.”

Madam Qi added, “That’s what the Daoist Order calls the first-generation Longevity Stone. It had a brutal refining process, which required the vitality of a million living beings.

“So there were two methods. One method relied on quantity, using humans as a material. Back then, tens of thousands of lives were sacrificed. The other relied on quality, using powerful primordial beasts as the ingredients. Either way, the resulting elixir inevitably carried the lingering consciousness of the lives used in its creation.

“That’s the reason Yayu turned into a monster. The Undying Elixir, refined by the Ten Great Witches of Lingshan, carried too much feral beast energy. So even though he was resurrected, his mind was taken.”

Shangguan Ya mused, “Martial Arts Practitioners can merge their body and spirit. Primordial beasts are similar. Their intent also seeps into their blood. So raw ancient beast blood always carries this problem. It’s almost impossible to cleanse thoroughly, making it unsafe for direct use. The Daoist Order’s imitation beast blood has pros and cons. Though it has no hidden dangers, it can only reach at most 80% of the original’s potency.”

Qi Xuansu had already formed a hypothesis. “So you’re saying this pill is a basic form of the Undying Elixir? Or rather, an imitation of the Great Witch’s Undying Elixir?”

Madam Qi confirmed, “You could put it that way.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Based on what we know, this isn’t the first time Chen Shuhua has fed the King such pills. If one pill costs 30,000 Taiping coins, ten will cost 300,000. What on earth is she trying to do? Create an Immortal? But the problem is, the King is already a cripple. Where did all that medicinal power go?”

Madam Qi explained, “The Undying Elixir has always had fatal flaws. That’s why the Daoist Order calls it the first-generation Longevity Stone. As you said, this pill is only an imitation of the Undying Elixir, and a basic one at that, so its side effects are severe. Stiffening of the body, stagnation of blood and qi, and the drifting of one’s soul are minor. The most obvious symptom is the gradual petrification of the body.”

Shangguan Ya, being a true professional, immediately grasped Madam Qi’s meaning. “I understand where the medicinal power went. This pill isn’t meant for immortality. It’s meant to keep someone barely alive. Without it, the King would’ve died long ago. The medicinal power was spent patching the gaps in his failing body.”

Madam Qi nodded. “Exactly. Someone is using the King as an alchemical cauldron, and to prevent this cauldron from exploding midway, they keep feeding him inferior, Imitation Undying Elixir. Though they are just replicas, they can extend one’s life. After all, the genuine Undying Elixir can literally resurrect the dead. The side effects also don’t matter to them because they are just treating him as a cauldron.”

At this point, how could Qi Xuansu and Xu Jiaorong fail to understand? The King was Chen Shuhua’s human cauldron, and the only reason it had to be the King was because of dragon qi.

The King could not manipulate dragon qi, yet he carried it.

A cauldron fueled by dragon qi was rare across the entire world. Compared to that, spending hundreds of thousands of Taiping coins to maintain this cauldron was nothing.

Xu Jiaorong asked, “If the King was deeply involved from the beginning and willingly agreed to be the cauldron, then why would he claim he dreamed of the Ancient Immortal Wu Luo?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “It’s not hard to understand. Chen Shuhua used the King as a cauldron to refine dragon qi. His body couldn’t endure it, so he had to rely on the Imitation Undying Elixir to survive. But the side effects are unavoidable. If he stayed bedridden indefinitely, the Daoist Order would become suspicious. Chen Shuhua isn’t powerful enough to cover everything, so she might be exposed if the Daoist Mansion investigates it thoroughly. That’s why she needed a plausible explanation.

“The best lies contain 90% truth and 10% falsehood. She won’t be able to fool the Daoist Order if everything is fake. To make it sound real, the King claimed he dreamed of the red-robed Bodhisattva, the blood lake, and the black mountain. We now know Wu Luo’s incarnation was real, so we were misled and kept investigating the Ancient Immortals, barely paying attention to the King himself.

“In the end, we found nothing and had no choice but to turn back to the King as the breakthrough point. Chen Shuhua then accelerated her plan, feeding him another pill before we could intervene. By the time Daoist Shangguan saw him, he was already dying. Which means that Chen Shuhua’s scheme is nearly complete.”

Silence fell over the entire office.

Qi Xuansu never pretended to be a hero. He asked bluntly, “Madam Qi, can you come here in person?”

Madam Qi replied, “I don’t know.”

Qi Xuansu frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

Madam Qi said, “I’m going to meet that Old Master Jin in about an hour. It depends on how our talk goes.”

Qi Xuansu paused, then quickly reacted. The Old Master Jin that Madam Qi spoke of was also known as the Golden Patriarch, the leader of the Heavenly Court. There was a saying in Nanyang that Great Sage Lan was the emperor on land, while the Golden Patriarch was the emperor of the seas. Though it might be an exaggeration, it showed the Golden Patriarch’s status. All signs indicated that the Golden Patriarch was likely a Longevity-stage Immortal.

Against such an opponent, even Madam Qi had no choice but to tread carefully.

Qi Xuansu naturally did not press further. “Then forget it.”

Madam Qi said, “Be careful. You can always start over as long as you’re alive.”

The mother-child talisman burned into ash, and Madam Qi’s silhouette slowly faded away.

Qi Xuansu rose to his feet. “I truly did not expect matters to reach this point. I must make a decision. Madam Qi can’t make it here, and Great Sage Lan is still in seclusion. But chaos is erupting right under our noses. The situation is getting murky and urgent. It’s too late to seek instructions from the Golden Tower Council or convene a Daoist Mansion council. So it seems I must act alone this time.”

Xu Jiaorong said, “Please give your orders, Second Deputy Qi.”

Qi Xuansu paced back and forth, then suddenly stopped. “Send word to Spirit Guard Jia Yin and Spirit Guard Ding Chou to arrest Chen Shuhua immediately. Then send a message to the Golden Tower Council explaining the matter. Remember, we’re not seeking permission. We’re merely reporting our actions. I’m going to the royal palace right now to apprehend the King.”

Xu Jiaorong hesitated. “If we issue orders or reports in the name of the Daoist Mansion, and Mansion Master Wang later denies it, we’ll be in a passive position...”

Qi Xuansu steeled his resolve. “There’s no need to use the Daoist Mansion’s name. Just use mine.”