A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu arrived with her team at the Wang family estate. The Spirit Guards behind her immediately surrounded the residence.

The Wang family estate occupied a large area, but it could not withstand the sheer number of people Zhang Yuelu brought. With Great Sage Jiang now in charge of the Spirit Guards, there was no shortage of manpower.

At this moment, the Wang estate did not have a true master. Wang Danqing had gone to Lion City. Wang Jiaohe and Wang Jiaoying were attending an emergency council. Only Wang Jiaoyan remained at home because she could no longer show her face in public.

Zhang Yuelu stopped in front of the gate. A Spirit Guard stepped forward and knocked loudly. “Open up! Open the gate!”

The gatekeeper had heard the commotion outside long ago, but he dared not show himself and shrank back indoors.

Wang Jiaoyan was seated in the main hall not far from the gate and could clearly hear the knocking. She instinctively rose to her feet, but slowly sat back down.

She knew that the Nanyang United Trading Company was finished. Those involved were either dead, imprison, or have fled. It was finally her turn.

She had never imagined that the political landscape in Poluo would shift so quickly after Qi Xuansu’s arrival.

The butler stumbled in, pale with fear. “Ma’am, Second Deputy Zhang from the Lingnan Daoist Mansion has arrived.”

The Wang family had committed the grave taboo of switching allegiances.

Both the Daoist Order and the Imperial Court despised those who shifted positions lightly.

A person’s origins, sponsors, and factional ties were always clear. No one appeared out of thin air. When one prospered, all prospered; when one suffered, all suffered. Without trust, a person could not stand.

That was why fence-sitters and opportunists were despised. In most cases, one could not simply hop left or right. Every shift required a proper justification and a token of allegiance as proof of sincerity.

For instance, Qi Xuansu was from the Quanzhen Sect. He was personally promoted by Sage Donghua, so he was considered Sage Donghua’s protégé. If Qi Xuansu now attempted to defect to Sage Qingwei, he would be finished. Sage Donghua would not forgive him, and Sage Qingwei would not dare accept him. That was because someone who could betray Sage Donghua could just as easily betray him. Unless Donghua had wronged him first, forcing him to switch sides, Qi Xuansu would need a token of allegiance—perhaps by turning against Sage Donghua to prove a complete severance of ties.

The Wang family considered switching allegiances because they sensed that the Quanzhen Sect intended to act against them. Both sides had entered a state of mutual suspicion. The Quanzhen Sect suspected the Wang family of disloyalty, and the Wang family suspected the Quanzhen Sect wanted them gone. Hence, the Taiping Sect hesitated, neither rejecting the Wang family nor openly accepting them.

The key lay in the token of allegiance.

The first token of allegiance the Wang family chose was Qi Xuansu.

At that time, Qi Xuansu had already begun to display his brilliance as the fourth prodigy of the Daoist Order. He also had tensions with the Li family, so the Wang family intended to use Wang Danqing as the excuse to topple Qi Xuansu and offer his downfall as a token of allegiance to the Taiping Sect.

But the Wang family never expected Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu’s relationship to progress so quickly that the Heavenly Preceptor intervened. A storm meant to drag Qi Xuansu into the mud dissipated instantly. Not only was Qi Xuansu unharmed, but the Wang family also exposed themselves. They offended Qi Xuansu and Madam Qi, hence triggering the Quanzhen Sect’s resolve to make their move.

Since the Taiping Sect did not receive a satisfactory token of allegiance, they naturally refused to shield the Wang family.

Later, during the Fenglin Campaign, friction among the Three Sects eased. Qi Xuansu’s conflict with the Li family also softened. The Taiping Sect became too occupied to meddle, so the Quanzhen Sect seized the chance to send Qi Xuansu to Poluo.

Thus began Qi Xuansu’s reckoning of old and new grievances, aiming to uproot the Wang family entirely.

This was the cruel reality of factional struggle, and why Wang Jiaohe lamented that one wrong step had cost him the entire game.

The arena of power was like a vast whirlpool. Once drawn in, escape was nearly impossible. One’s camp, faction, and alignment were set, and personal will could not change it.

If something happened to Sage Donghua, Qi Xuansu could not escape unscathed even though he might be innocent. Since Qi Xuansu enjoyed the privileges of a legitimate heir, he must also bear the heir’s responsibility by avenging his predecessor. Thus, to strike Sage Donghua, one must also eradicate Qi Xuansu.

Regardless of how Qi Xuansu saw it, if he did not avenge Sage Donghua, he would be judged as unfaithful, unfilial, and unrighteous—a man unworthy of trust or alliance. Friends and foes alike would despise him.

Some said Sage Cihang treated Qi Xuansu far colder than Sage Donghua did, because Sage Cihang’s successor was Zhang Yuelu. She was merely Qi Xuansu’s mother-in-law.

Li Tianzhen’s arrival in Nanyang was likely to negotiate with the Wang family. However, internal division arose within the Taiping Sect. Sage Qingwei’s faction wanted to abandon the unruly, opportunistic Wang family. Li Tianzhen acted rashly and handed Qi Xuansu the perfect leverage, allowing Sage Qingwei’s faction to gain the upper hand.

In the end, the Taiping Sect abandoned the Wang family completely.

Qi Xuansu first sensed the internal division within the Taiping Sect during Zhang Juquan’s scandal. Lu Yushu’s unexpected goodwill further confirmed his suspicion.

Li Changge, Li Zhuyu, Li Tianzhen, and Li Minghuang were not of one mind, just as Zhang Yuelu, Bai Yingqiong, and Zhang Wenyue were not of one mind. Even Qi Xuansu and Yao Pei could hardly be considered aligned.

The only time one could easily switch allegiances was when the old order collapsed and the new order was not yet formed. This was a time when everyone vied for supremacy, and the banners on city towers shifted day after day. Such an environment was loose and tolerant, permitting one to change loyalties.

During the Holy Xuan’s rebuilding of the Daoist Order, he absorbed many former enemies, like Donghuang, Elder Shangguan, Elder Yan, and others—all of whom had once opposed him. Yet in the end, no one condemned them when they all returned under the Holy Xuan’s banner.

Thus, one must remember that the environment could change. What was possible then might no longer be possible in the future.

Qi Xuansu was heavily favored by Sage Donghua, so should the great tree fall someday, Qi Xuansu would inevitably fall with him.

This applied to Little Yin and Chen Jianchou, who were closely tied to Qi Xuansu. If Qi Xuansu fell, they would also follow him into ruin.