A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to break the silence. “Why call me Sage? Just call me by my courtesy name, ‘Tian Yuan.’”

Mo Qingdi said, “Sage Tian Yuan, I was truly happy to hear that you were coming to Longmen Prefecture.”

Qi Xuansu frowned. “No need for ‘Sage,’ just Tian Yuan is enough. Why are you being so formal? Let’s talk the way we used to.”

“But...it’s inappropriate. We’re not children anymore. I can’t disregard the rules even if you don’t mind,” Mo Qingdi said. Even so, he relaxed a little, and his expression softened.

Qi Xuansu asked, “By the way, you and Shi Yu have been together for so many years. When do you plan to have a child?”

Mo Qingdi smiled, but there was no joy in it, only helplessness. “A child...how could we afford to raise a child?”

When Qi Xuansu asked about Mo Qingdi’s recent circumstances, he merely shook his head. “Compared to others, I’m already doing quite well, so I don’t dare to be greedy. Old Shi is good at managing the household too. We want to buy a small house in Jade Capital, even if it’s a small one in the Lower Eight Neighborhoods. But no matter how we calculate it, there’s never enough money. All we can do is tighten our belts and save where we can. We can barely manage as it is with just the two of us, so how can we possibly have enough to raise a child?”

Qi Xuansu suddenly felt a wave of emotion.

He and Zhang Yuelu could afford to raise a child, yet they would most likely never have one due to their high cultivation. It was certainly a regret, but such was the world—where there is gain, there is also loss. Mo Qingdi and Shi Yu could have children, yet they could not afford to raise them.

Qi Xuansu asked again, “By the way, how is your book coming along?”

Mo Qingdi couldn’t help but sigh. “I wrote a book last year, but it got banned somehow, so the whole year’s work was for nothing. Fortunately, they didn’t ban me, so I can still keep writing. That’s the silver lining, I suppose...”

Qi Xuansu fell silent for quite some time before saying, “If something like this happens again, you can come to me. I’ll put in a word with the Qingping Bookstore.”

Mo Qingdi smiled in gratitude and thanked Qi Xuansu repeatedly in a humble manner, much like Qi Xuansu’s many subordinates.

Qi Xuansu could not help but glance out the window.

It was already autumn. The autumn wind rustled softly, and the trees by the roadside had dense yellow leaves. When a gust of wind came, the leaves drifted down, carpeting the stone-paved road. The scene was desolate, just like his mood at that moment.

The two of them spoke a bit more about the book Mo Qingdi was writing and the Holy Xuan Cards. After that, there was nothing more to say.

How could they talk about the affairs of the world when their positions were so different?

Fortunately, Mo Qingdi was no longer so restrained, and they could still reminisce about the past. But that was all that remained between them.

After finishing the meal, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu took their leave and went to the Ghost Kingdom to pick up Little Yin.

Master Yin did not mind that Little Yin had become someone else’s child.

The Three Yin Beings were like the elderly who had spent their entire lives in the barren mountains, so they understood that a child like Little Yin should go out to explore the world, even if it meant becoming someone else’s child.

Little Yin likely could not grasp such feelings. At this moment, she felt only joy.

She was just delighted to be able to go back to Lion City and eat good food once more.

Little Yin ran cheerfully to Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu while waving to her grandfather, who had come to see them off.

Master Yin waved back, but he did not leave at once. He stood atop the walls of the Ghost Pass and watched the three of them depart.

The flying ship ascended, splitting the sea of clouds.

They would make a brief stop in Jade Capital before they returned to their post in Lingnan and Nanyang.

This meant that Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu would soon part ways. At this moment, they asked Little Yin whom she wished to follow—or rather, where she would like to go: Lingnan or Nanyang?

Little Yin said that she wanted to follow Zhang Yuelu to Lingnan, but because Old Qi had not yet fulfilled his promise. She had to stay in Nanyang to make the most of his promise of letting her do whatever she pleased. Therefore, she decided to follow Old Qi to Nanyang.

Zhang Yuelu merely smiled and let it be.

In the Confucian era, the burden of educating children rested on the father’s shoulders. But after the Daoist ideal of equality took hold, things changed. Mothers became unusually strong in their role in educating children, while fathers were often too busy and began to be absent in child-raising.

Zhang Yuelu was prone to falling into conventional patterns. She held Little Yin to rather high standards, so before parting, she drew up a reading list and required Little Yin to finish these books while she was away. She would check the next time they met.

If Little Yin failed the test, then she would not be getting any more allowance and would be made to copy texts in confinement.

Naturally, Little Yin was extremely unhappy with this. She pouted, yet dared not protest. So she could only look pitifully at Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu agreed with this and paid Little Yin no heed at all.

To oppose Zhang Yuelu without justification or to oppose her when she clearly held the moral high ground was simply inviting trouble.

Thus, the flying ship first stopped in Lingnan to let Zhang Yuelu disembark, after which Qi Xuansu and Little Yin continued on to Nanyang.

Seeing Qi Xuansu again, Xu Jiaorong could finally breathe a sigh of relief. While the Chief Deputy was away, she had been holding the fort.

Although nominally, Great Sage Lan held supreme authority, in actual affairs, it was Xu Jiaorong alone who kept everything afloat. The Poluo Daoist Mansion was a major governing body in Nanyang. With the position of Mansion Master vacant and the Chief Deputy absent, it meant that nearly all responsibilities fell upon the shoulders of the Second Deputy, Xu Jiaorong. The pressure was self-evident. To make matters worse, the Poluo Daoist Mansion had just undergone a major purge, leaving vacancies among the Deputy Mansion Master, Deputy Palace Master, and Superintendent levels. That only made things harder.

In recent days, Xu Jiaorong barely had any time to rest.

Now, not only had Qi Xuansu returned, but a new Mansion Master had also been appointed.

Just as the rumors had said, the new Mansion Master was none other than Yao Shu, formerly the Chief Deputy of Ziwei Hall.

The delay was mainly because a Sage’s promotion to an Omniscient Sage involved more procedures. After all, this meant entering the Golden Tower Council and gaining the right to elect the Grand Master. It was not something to be taken lightly.

Yao Shu first settled the rank of Omniscient Sage. Only then did he get appointed to become the Mansion Master. Without that status, he could at most have served as an Acting Mansion Master.

Once the appointment was issued, Yao Shu would soon arrive at the Poluo Daoist Mansion, and accompanying him would be two new Deputy Mansion Masters—Pei Xiaolou and Ji Jiaozhen—to fill the vacancies of Wang Jiaoying and Zheng Jiaohe.

These two were both second-rank Taiyi Daoists, yet neither took up the positions of Chief or Second Deputy. That was because neither of them was particularly inclined toward “serious work.” One lacked in cultivation level, while the other, like Great Sage Lan, disliked management. Thus, letting them take sole charge as Chief or Second Deputy would have led to mishaps.

As a result, the overall standing of the Poluo Daoist Mansion was greatly elevated. It was not unheard of for second-rank Taiyi Daoists to serve as ordinary Deputy Hall Masters or Deputy Mansion Masters, but such cases were limited to extremely special institutions, such as the Three Great Halls or the Kunlun Daoist Mansion.

That said, the Poluo Daoist Mansion had always been staffed with a Great Sage, so its rank should have been high to begin with. But in the past, due to its special circumstances, the Golden Tower Council had deliberately restrained the Poluo Daoist Mansion. Now that their own people took charge, those restrictions were naturally lifted, allowing the Poluo Daoist Mansion to return to its rightful place.

According to Daoist regulations, the top four positions in a Daoist Mansion were the Great Sage, the Mansion Master, the Chief Deputy, and the Second Deputy.

The next seven Deputy Mansion Masters were ordered by their rank, with higher-ranking ones placed after the Second Deputy. Next came the division of responsibilities, with more important portfolios ranked ahead. For example, Wang Jiaoying, who had once overseen the Yu Kingdom, had served as the Third Deputy Mansion Master. Finally, seniority was considered, with those who had entered the Daoist Mansion Council earlier ranked ahead.

In the current Poluo Daoist Mansion, Great Sage Lan, Yao Shu, Qi Xuansu, and Xu Jiaorong occupied the top four positions. Pei Xiaolou came fifth, Ji Jiaozhen sixth, and Xie Jiaofeng seventh.

For Qi Xuansu, this was undoubtedly an unexpected boon. Both Pei Xiaolou and Ji Jiaozhen had prior connections with him, greatly increasing his influence within the Daoist Mansion.

However, such personnel arrangements felt somewhat deliberate. Qi Xuansu knew this did not seem like the Earthly Preceptor’s doing but rather that of Sage Donghua. Xie Jiaofeng had once been the Sage Donghua’s secretary, Pei Xiaolou was his brother, and Ji Jiaozhen most likely also had some connection to him.

This arrangement would greatly constrain Yao Shu, even giving Qi Xuansu the possibility of sidelining the former. It did not serve the Yao family’s interests, but it suited Sage Donghua’s interests perfectly.

It seemed that no matter how good the relationship between the Yao and Pei families, they were still two families, not one.

Perhaps for Sage Donghua, there had once been no choice but to serve as a transitional figure between the Earthly Preceptor and Yao Pei. But now, he suddenly realized that he did have options, and he could perhaps choose a different path.

Of course, this was merely Qi Xuansu’s speculation. Only Sage Donghua himself knew the truth of the matter.

Besides these, there were two more individuals—one of them was Sun Yongfeng, who had once worked with Qi Xuansu in the Tiangang Hall. As one of the more prominent among the eighth-generation disciples, Sun Yongfeng had successfully advanced to become a Heavenly Being after several years, so he had been promoted to a third-rank Youyi Daoist. This time, he was assigned as Great Sage Lan’s new secretary. The other individual was Tang Yongde, formerly the Chief Superintendent of Shibo Hall’s Baidi City Branch. He would now be appointed as the Acting Manager of that branch.

Both of these men were also familiar faces to Qi Xuansu.

In addition, Han Yongfeng and Lu Yuting were both promoted. Previously, they had merely been Superintendents under Qi Xuansu. This time, Han Yongfeng was appointed Chief Superintendent of the Beichen Hall branch, replacing Wu Burong, while Lu Yuting was appointed Chief Superintendent of the Huasheng Hall branch.

The remaining vacant positions were filled through internal promotions within the Daoist Mansion.

What more could Qi Xuansu say? From top to bottom, the Poluo Daoist Mansion was filled with his people, and the Nanyang United Trade Company was likewise under his control.

If he were truly allowed to work here for 10 years, the Poluo Daoist Mansion would become his domain.