A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu knew little about the New Continent because the Daoist Order’s focus did not lie there.

The Daoist Order was not an outward-expanding empire. In essence, it still followed the ancient Central Plains tributary system. Both Poluo and Fenglin had long been part of this framework, as these smaller nations had been a part of the Central Plains civilization for generations and become part of the Confucian cultural sphere. They also hosted large numbers of Central Plains settlers, so there was a solid foundation for their integration.

Even when troops were dispatched, it was always with proper justification. For example, the Daoist Order only intervened in East Shakya to help repel Westerners. The Fenglin Campaign was an act of vengeance stemming from grudges lasting ten generations.

This was why the Daoist Order developed into a dual-structure system. Nations such as Fenglin, the Yu Kingdom, Funan Kingdom, and Jawa Kingdom did not become parts of Great Xuan through annexation but rather became its vassals. What they all had in common was their faith in the Daoist Order, which served as the unifying force binding them together.

When it came to the New Continent, the Daoist Order did not make excessive moves. After all, the Daoists were not like the Westerners.

While the Westerners aggressively seized the New Continent for themselves, the Daoist Order helped the indigenous peoples of the New Continent to resist foreign invasion and achieve independence as soon as possible.

To put it bluntly, the New Continent did not belong to the Daoist Order, nor to the Holy Court. It had rightful owners, so it should be returned to them.

The Holy Court disagreed with this. Though the Holy Court lacked moral grounds, it produced a set of classic religious theories claiming that this land was a gift of the Supreme Will, a chosen land. Their occupation of it was merely obedience to the Supreme Will, deeming it just and lawful. The indigenous people on their chosen land were merely sinners who worshiped the devil, so exterminating them was following divine law.

The Holy Court’s believers felt that the Supreme Will had made a covenant with them, selecting them to lead the rest of the world’s nations. At present, however, the Daoist Order could not be defeated, so direct leadership was not possible. Only a lesser objective could be pursued.

To the Holy Court, the time had not yet come to lead the East, but it could lead the New Continent first.

Thus, the Holy Court vigorously promoted ideas for their believers to seek salvation in the New Continent. Their mission was to redeem the old world through their own actions.

Facing the Holy Court’s relentless advance, the Daoist Order dispatched the Western Daoist Branch to take root on the New Continent, using it to provide aid and support to the indigenous peoples there.

To the natives, the Holy Court was a band of land-grabbing, slaughtering brigands, while the Daoist Order was a distant friend from the East who constantly offered help.

Over the years, with the Daoist Order’s strong backing, resistance on the New Continent surged like a rising storm. After nearly a century of warfare, the Holy Court’s followers and the indigenous peoples of the New Continent settled into a north-south standoff.

Under the Holy Court’s onslaught, the northern states of the New Continent fell one after another. Their survivors retreated south and allied with the southern natives, turning the southern part of the New Continent into the indigenous peoples’ stronghold. There, diverse cultures intermingled, and under the Daoist Order’s mediation, a new empire was established. Within 60 years, this vast empire completed its unification, its territory covering almost the entire southern part of the Central Plains.

The empire was named Tawantin. It had no formal subordination to the Daoist Order and could only be considered an ally. However, the Western Daoist Branch wielded great influence on the New Continent and indirectly spread the Dao. This had not been the Daoist Order’s original intention, but they were happy with the outcome.

The natives’ faith was not rigid. They could accept the existence of multiple deities, so in the Southern Continent, one often saw strange scenes where the Primordial Daoist Ancestor and the Supreme Will were worshipped in the same hall. Easterners might find nothing unusual about this, since they often did such things as placing Buddha statues in Daoist temples. Thus, this was hardly strange to them.

But when Westerners saw this, they would inevitably fly into a rage, faces flushed, veins bulging on their foreheads. They would spew a torrent of insults, calling the natives heretics and apostates, wanting to burn the natives and send them to hell.

Paititi, which was marked on the map, lay within the territory of the Tawantin Empire.

It made sense for Wang Jiaohe to flee there, as it was far from the reach of authority but was still relatively friendly toward Easterners.

Qi Xuansu studied the map carefully, trying to commit it to memory, but realized that without having been there, it was a bit difficult and easy to miss small details. So he asked Little Yin, “Don’t you have a big brush?”

Little Yin did not quite understand what he wanted to do, but she instinctively became a bit wary. “That brush is too big. You can’t use it to draw maps.”

Qi Xuansu said, “I heard the Wanxiang Daoist Palace is about to hold a calligraphy and painting competition. I plan to sign you up.”

Little Yin refused without a second thought. “I can’t draw, and I can’t write. My writing is ugly, nothing but chicken scratch!”

Qi Xuansu replied, “I want you to join the competition precisely because it’s ugly. That way, you can learn properly from others. They have professional instructors there, and I’ve already arranged one-on-one tutoring for you.”

He continued earnestly, “After all, you’ll have to do some proper work in the future. You can’t spend all day just eating and playing. If you’re asked to write for someone and it looks like chicken scratch, what kind of impression would that give? Drawing is also essential. This is basic Daoist training. When drawing talismans, a single wrong stroke can ruin the whole spell, so you can’t be careless. Second Deputy Zhang also agrees to it.”

Little Yin shook her head like a pellet drum. “I’m not going! Actually, my handwriting is very good. Grandpa even praised it. I can draw too. Landscapes aren’t my strong suit, but I’m good enough at talismans. There’s no need to learn them again.”

Qi Xuansu pretended to be doubtful. “Is that so? My requirements aren’t high. You don’t have to draw a talisman now. Since there’s a map in front of us now, just copy it. If you can draw it reasonably well, I’ll tell Second Deputy Zhang not to make you join the competition.”

Little Yin pondered for a moment, then took out her big brush and copied the map. It was not identical, but there were hardly any mistakes.

Of course, this was mainly thanks to the semi-immortal brush, Unbound Thought, which had a corrective function. This was precisely why Qi Xuansu had conned Little Yin into copying the map.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu was very satisfied. He tucked away the copied map and put the original back.

Little Yin blinked and suddenly felt that something was off.

Qi Xuansu did not give her time to think it over and immediately changed the subject. “In a few days, we’ll be going back to Lion City. I plan to buy you some gifts. I recently had Chen Jianchou ask around for the complete deluxe editions of all the Daoist classics that come with special annotations for beginners. Do you want them?”

He had successfully distracted Little Yin, who immediately refused. “I don’t want those! Just seeing all those words makes my head hurt! I mean, I already memorized them long ago. If you don’t believe me, I’ll recite them for you now! ‘The Dao that can be spoken is not the constant Dao; the name that can be named is not the constant name—’”

Qi Xuansu raised a hand to stop her. “Alright, we won’t buy those. Then let’s get some musical instruments instead. They’re quite elegant. Personally, I think you should practice guzheng. It suits girls better. Just imagine those beautiful maidens in flowing white robes playing the guzheng, so ethereal and graceful. You can learn Go too. If I get you a board carved from jade, with jade pieces, you can use those for a lifetime! Have you heard the story of the Rotten-Axe Man? His axe rotted away, but the jade board didn’t. That’s the beauty of jade.”

Little Yin still shook her head. “My arms aren’t long enough for the guzheng. Go sets like that are too expensive.”

She suddenly became very considerate. “Old Qi, I know you don’t have much money, so forget about the jade Go set. It’s too expensive, and it wouldn’t be good for your reputation.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “You’re right. We must remember the teachings of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor to be compassionate, frugal, and humble. How about this—I’ll give you two theater tickets. Is that okay?”

Little Yin nodded. “Yes, that sounds good!”

Just like that, Qi Xuansu sent Little Yin off with two theater tickets worth only 100 Taiping coins and obtained a map of Paititi for free.

No matter how one looked at it, this was a very profitable deal.

It was like a card game. Qi Xuansu had the ability to conjure cards out of thin air, so no matter how Little Yin played, she was bound to lose.

While the two were speaking, a streak of light shot over. It was none other than Great Sage Jiang.

From afar, Great Sage Jiang saw Wang Jiaohe’s headless corpse and could not help but sigh.

Qi Xuansu pulled Little Yin along and saluted the Great Sage.

Great Sage Jiang slowly descended and asked, though he already knew the answer, “Is this Wang Jiaohe?”

“Yes, Great Sage. Wang Jiaohe intended to defect, so I employed the necessary measures in accordance with the Daoist Order’s directives and executed him,” Qi Xuansu replied. “I plan to have the Ciji Hall handle the body.”

Great Sage Jiang nodded. “Very well.”

Qi Xuansu then took out Wang Jiaohe’s magical receptacle and jade ruler and handed them to Great Sage Jiang.

Great Sage Jiang glanced at them casually. “Tian Yuan, you handled this very well and have rendered meritorious service to the Daoist Order. However, there is one more matter you must take care of, which is the restructuring of the Nanyang United Trading Company. You should know that the Daoist Order’s financial situation is not optimistic right now. Fenglin needs funds to clean up the aftermath of the war, and the New Continent still requires an influx of resources. It’s all a matter of money.”

“Understood.” Qi Xuansu answered at once, his expression turning serious.

Great Sage Jiang glanced at Little Yin, who was hiding behind Qi Xuansu and clutching his hechang tightly. The old man could not help but chuckle and said, “Little Daoist, you too have rendered service to the Daoist Order. Your promotion to third rank is just around the corner.”