A Pawn's Passage

“You can’t do as you please...” Qi Xuansu repeated softly.

Madam Qi interrupted. “What’s wrong with you today? Are you a parrot—repeating after me? Also, stop with the respectful tone and expression. It makes my skin crawl. Since when were you this polite?”

Qi Xuansu mimicked her tone. “Things are different now.”

Madam Qi rolled her eyes and replied irritably, “Get lost!”

Qi Xuansu said, “Fine, no formalities. Seeing how arrogant you usually are, I thought you didn’t care about anything—or fear anything.”

Madam Qi said, “It’s not all an act. Most of the time, there really isn’t much to fear, and I do have the right to be arrogant. But with certain matters...I still have to know my place and maintain a sense of reverence.”

“Hearing those words from you sounds strange. It even feels like you’re being sarcastic,” Qi Xuansu joked. “Alright, let’s drop that. Let’s reminisce instead.”

Madam Qi glanced sideways at him. “Reminisce? You mean fishing for information, right? You know, you learned those little tricks from me, so do you really think you can fool me?”

Qi Xuansu shamelessly replied, “Just tell me whether we’re reminiscing or not.”

“Fine, we’ll reminisce. But don’t expect to pry anything out of me,” Madam Qi said casually.

Qi Xuansu flung his sleeves, showing that they were completely breezy. “Madam Qi, you really keep your promises, huh? You made me completely broke. I’m truly coinless now, relying on Qing Xiao for support.”

“Of course! You know I like to hold grudges. You tried to extort me, so I couldn’t possibly let that slide,” Madam Qi laughed. “Back then, Qi Jiaoyao couldn’t do anything to you, but look how the tables have turned! I knew you’d fall into my hands one day. Naturally, I had to fulfill my promise from those years.”

Qi Xuansu had not brought this up for no reason. It was just bait. “How was I extorting you? That was an immortal object, and we each had half a share. You didn’t lose anything. By the way, is the Bone-Illuminating Mirror still around? Or did the Earthly Preceptor confiscate it?”

Madam Qi looked at him with an ambiguous smile. “Boy, are you probing me?”

Qi Xuansu feigned innocence. “Probing what?”

Madam Qi said simply. “That’s what you care about most, isn’t it? The Earthly Preceptor. But I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Look—”

Madam Qi took out a mirror from her sleeve. That was the Bone-Illuminating Mirror. It was not counted among the Four Great Immortal Objects because it had originally been only a semi-immortal object. It was only after fusing with Wu Zhen’s body that it advanced into a true immortal object.

Qi Xuansu examined the Bone-Illuminating Mirror and asked, “How come I’ve never seen you use it?”

Madam Qi said, “This is a life-saving item, so the key is to catch people off guard. If I used it casually, others would be on guard. Besides, who do you think is worthy of me using it? The Inn’s Owner? Or Wu Guangbi? Why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken?”

Qi Xuansu clicked his tongue. “You still are arrogant and spirited. Someone who didn’t know better might think you were the younger one between us. What about Chen Shuhua?”

Madam Qi replied, “Chen Shuhua was the Golden Patriarch’s job. I was only there to stall for time. Besides, even if I used the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, I couldn’t really deal with Chen Shuhua. No need to use my personal treasures to do an outside job. We must always keep public and private affairs separate.”

Qi Xuansu changed the topic. “Speaking of Chen Shuhua, I remember mentioning her to you back in the Lingshan Paradise. You must have anticipated things long ago, then.”

“Of course, I anticipated it. You all were careless, but I wasn’t. I contacted Golden Patriarch early on and had him ready as backup in case things got out of control. Isn’t that good enough?” Madam Qi said righteously.

Qi Xuansu said, “What I mean is, why didn’t you take Chen Shuhua down several years earlier?”

Madam Qi said, “I have two answers—one true, one false. Which do you want to hear?”

“The false one,” Qi Xuansu replied with interest.

Madam Qi said, “I deliberately kept her around for you to deal with. Otherwise, how would you have earned your promotion to the second rank?”

Qi Xuansu asked, “And the truth?”

“The truth? I didn’t have the time, and I couldn’t manage it,” Madam Qi said. “There are too many problems in this world. How could I possibly handle them all? Compared to Chen Shuhua, issues with the Ancient Immortals, the Buddhist Sect, and the Holy Court are far more serious. Take Fenglin, for example—do you really think the Daoist Order was completely unaware of the undercurrents there? But did they act early? The situation in Poluo was the same, only more complicated, with so many people involved. Great Sages, Omniscient Sages, the Li family—entangled interests everywhere, plus the Buddhists, Ancient Immortals, and even the Lord Buddha. If I suddenly ran over to kill Chen Shuhua, leaving aside whether anyone would believe me, do you know how much resistance there would be? Until the timing is right, even Pei Xuanzhi can’t move easily.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. “Understandable. Even if the Heavenly Preceptor foresaw the imperial crown falling, our Emperor—Great Sage Ziji—still wants to reclaim the title as the Son of Heaven. Most people neither learn from history nor prepare for what’s coming.”

Madam Qi said, “After I’m dead, let the floods come if they must. Better to leave hope to those who come after.”

Qi Xuansu shifted the topic. “When did you realize I came from the future?”

“I realized it not long after leaving Lingshan Paradise. The flow of time inside Lingshan Paradise is abnormal. I felt like I’d been trapped there for ages, but in reality, it hadn’t been long. After leaving, I discovered only a few months had passed. Outside, the Three Prodigies were still Pei Xuanzhi, Li Wugou, and Su Yuanyi. Li Changge and you lot still didn’t exist. But I had a feeling that you weren’t lying. After all, that matter-of-fact way you assumed I should have heard of you, and the concealed shock behind your self-assuredness when I really haven’t, couldn’t be faked.” Madam Qi remained merciless with her words.

Fortunately, Qi Xuansu was already used to her derision and didn’t mind at all. “So you investigated—especially since I was carrying the Heavenly Preceptor’s Green Cloud.”

Madam Qi nodded. “The investigation showed that no such person as Qi Xuansu existed, and the Heavenly Preceptor’s Green Cloud had never been lent out. After he struck Zhang Wuhen with it, the Heavenly Preceptor never let it leave his side.”

Qi Xuansu interjected, “The Earthly Preceptor’s temper must be excellent not to kill you outright. If it had been the Heavenly Preceptor, you would’ve been dead by now.”

“The Earthly Preceptor is more merciful than the Heavenly Preceptor?” Madam Qi snorted. “I hope you can still hold that opinion in the future.”

Qi Xuansu was not naive. He never believed the Earthly Preceptor was kinder than the Heavenly Preceptor or the Imperial Preceptor. He had only wanted to prompt this reaction from her. “Since the Earthly Preceptor isn’t more merciful, then after causing such a huge mess—taking the Bone-Illuminating Mirror, stealing the Longevity Stone Heart, and even killing Yao Liu—how could he possibly let you go? If I were the Earthly Preceptor, I’d lock you up and confiscate everything you have stolen.”

Madam Qi said, “First, let me clarify that I didn’t kill Yao Liu. I already said that nothing in Lingshan Paradise dies completely. He looked dead, but I didn’t destroy his life talisman, so he’s not truly dead. If you go back to Lingshan Paradise now, you can still see him. So it’s still possible if you want to reminisce with him.

“Also, how do you know I didn’t pay a price? The Heavenly Preceptor supposedly killed Zhang Wuhen, but in truth, he left her a way out. Isn’t she alive again now, stirring up trouble and talking about revenge? Has the Heavenly Preceptor done anything about it? In the end, that strike back then was meant for outsiders to see, as a pledge of loyalty. As a descendant of an Ancient Immortal, why would the Daoist elites trust him? How could he prove he wasn’t a double agent? There had to be real action. The Heavenly Preceptor striking his own younger sister was that pledge of loyalty, which was why he could become Heavenly Preceptor. Of course, it also helped that his last name is Zhang. Without that last name, he wouldn’t even have had the chance to offer such a pledge.”

Qi Xuansu said with emotion, “In the end, it comes down to a moral choice. I’m rather fortunate that I haven’t encountered a moral dilemma severe enough to test my humanity. By the way, you said you paid a price. What exactly was that price?”

Madam Qi pulled out her pipe from her waist, lit it, and took a deep drag, smoke rings drifting lazily upward. “Take a guess.”

Qi Xuansu was already familiar with Madam Qi’s habits and wasn’t surprised by the answer. “My guess? With your intelligence, you definitely couldn’t have figured out my origin on your own. Did the Earthly Preceptor tip you off?”

Madam Qi’s tone turned cold. “What’s wrong with my intelligence? Do you think I’m an idiot? How much better are you?”

“Don’t get worked up! That’s not what I meant.” Qi Xuansu waved his hand. “I never said I was smart either.”

Madam Qi clearly decided to latch onto this point and not let go. “Yes, my intelligence is low. If I were truly smart, why would I have worked so hard to raise an ungrateful brat like you?”

Qi Xuansu said helplessly, “That’s not fair fighting. You’re pulling that trick again, trying to slip past the topic.”

Madam Qi turned her back and looked out the window, wiping her face with one hand. Whether she was wiping tears or hiding a smile was impossible to tell.

Qi Xuansu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. He only had to deal with three women—Little Yin was the easiest, yet even the easiest one often caused trouble, like going off to find Izanagi on her own in Fenglin or tampering with the Guizang Lantern. The other two didn’t get along, and each of them had strong minds of their own. He often had to guess what they were thinking, which was exhausting.

After a while, Madam Qi could no longer keep up the act and simply dropped the pretense, openly smoking her pipe.

Qi Xuansu said, “If you won’t say it, I’ll take that as confirmation. The Earthly Preceptor guided you to learn about my origin. You also have ties to my master, Qi Haoran. You once used the alias Qi Jiaoyao and even claimed to be Qi Jiaozheng’s sister. What exactly is the connection between all of this?”

Madam Qi blew a puff of smoke straight into Qi Xuansu’s face. “Go ask Qi Jiaozheng.”