A Pawn's Passage

This charity banquet was quite interesting, though it had little to do with Dutch Vandelind, who had neither wealth nor status. He was a new face. Simply being able to come to this floating island was already a stroke of good fortune.

Thus, Qi Xuansu had come mainly to broaden his horizons. His role was to watch quietly and applaud along with the crowd.

All the various deals and conspiracies took place privately in separate, secluded rooms, none of which involved him.

If he wanted to gather information, aside from taking some risky measures, Qi Xuansu would have to rely on Strauni.

However, Strauni was merely a newly appointed young councilman, unlike veteran figures such as Leopold. Their networks and political backing were not even comparable. Whether Strauni could enter the inner circle and obtain useful intelligence remained uncertain.

Once the donation segment of the banquet concluded, the atmosphere shifted, becoming more relaxed. It was the social hour. Guests gathered in small groups of two or three, forming distinct circles. Some remained in the magnificent hall, though scattered about. Others moved to the balconies, terraces, or gardens, while some went into private rooms or lounges.

Qi Xuansu and Strauni belonged to the group that stayed in the main hall. They formed a small circle with Archbishop Swanson. Although the banquet was quite prestigious, neither the Patriarch nor the Cardinal Bishop had appeared. Only a Cardinal Priest attended. It seemed the Holy Court was not particularly interested. Swanson was not especially close with that Cardinal Priest, so he did not involve himself deeply in those discussions.

Qi Xuansu looked around and saw nothing but tailcoats and evening gowns. His thoughts drifted. Notably, men’s tailcoats were completely uniform, while women’s evening gowns were all unique. They were two absolute extremes.

At that moment, a beautiful lady approached the three of them. She wore a deep purple evening gown. Her enchanting face carried a touch of melancholy yet shone with brilliance. Her golden hair was arranged elegantly, and she had bright blue eyes like the sea, along with plump lips. Her voice carried a unique intensity that made it unforgettable. Her radiance resembled the moon in a dark night, surrounded by stars. Wherever she went, she captured every gaze.

Strauni’s reaction was exaggerated. He stepped forward and kissed the back of the married lady’s hand. His lips did not actually touch it, though the standard was not particularly strict. Western customs were simply far more open.

Qi Xuansu was unimpressed. He disliked Western etiquette because it involved physical contact with unrelated people.

Both Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were conservatives in their attitudes toward Western customs, though to different degrees. Zhang Yuelu believed Qi Xuansu was still not conservative enough.

Fortunately, the beautiful lady did not seem to take notice of Dutch, the new face, so she had no intention of greeting him. This allowed Qi Xuansu to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

After exchanging a few words with the lady, Strauni returned and said to Qi Xuansu, “This is Miss Caitlin Jones. She has invited me to Mr. Strouse’s lounge.”

Leopold Strouse. Qi Xuansu’s heart stirred slightly, but he said nothing and simply watched as Strauni left with Caitlin.

In truth, Qi Xuansu could have placed a tracking spell on Strauni. However, considering that his true body was only at the Zaohua stage and not the Pseudo-Immortal stage like his incarnation and that Leopold might be no weaker than him while also holding the advantage of home ground, there was a real risk of being discovered. After a brief hesitation, Qi Xuansu chose to do nothing.

This was St. York of the Westerners, not Poluo, where Qi Xuansu could dominate everything with a single hand. Being deep within enemy territory, caution was the wiser course.

Qi Xuansu could roughly guess what was about to happen.

It was likely related to the Baron. After all, the Baron had not gone to meet Leopold and had even detained Leopold’s people, which would certainly mislead Leopold into making certain misjudgments.

However, what Qi Xuansu cared about more was Strauni’s attitude.

A spy holding a high position within enemy ranks could easily become a double agent. Therefore, Strauni’s movements had to be watched closely to prevent any defection or betrayal.

Strauni had acted rather exaggeratedly just now, as if he merely knew Caitlin Jones but was not close to her. Yet Qi Xuansu knew it was not that simple. As the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master, second only to Sage Qingwei, Qi Xuansu held real power and had access to the files of all overseas operatives. For important pieces like Strauni, the records were extraordinarily detailed, practically investigating eight generations of ancestry.

Strauni did not know this, nor did he know that Qi Xuansu was actually his highest superior in the New Continent. He simply assumed Qi Xuansu was a relatively high-ranking Beichen Hall official, so he had never anticipated this situation.

If Qi Xuansu had only been a branch manager or another Deputy Hall Master, he truly might not have known Strauni’s records. But unfortunately for Strauni, Qi Xuansu was the Chief Deputy Hall Master.

Due to that confidential file, Qi Xuansu knew that Strauni used to have a past with Caitlin.

It was a somewhat cliché story. As the descendant of a once-prominent family now in decline, Strauni had once enjoyed a period of prosperity born of his family’s influence. During that time, he and Caitlin had fallen in love. But the good days did not last. Strauni’s father suddenly died, and through the schemes of certain interested parties, the family business became insolvent and was seized by the bank. Overnight, Strauni fell from a wealthy young master to a ruined man. He had no choice but to leave the Old Continent and travel to the New Continent to make a living.

What seemed like a coincidence was in fact inevitable. Caitlin broke up with him and was arranged by her parents to marry another spoiled young noble. Believing he had lost everything, Strauni was devastated. It was precisely at that moment that Beichen Hall considered him a suitable candidate. So when Beichen Hall approached him, Strauni agreed without hesitation and pledged his service.

With Beichen Hall’s covert assistance, Strauni managed to restore the network of connections his father had once maintained. Previously, those connections could not help him because he had lost everything. After all, without sufficient material resources to support reciprocal exchange, such relationships were useless.

However, once Beichen Hall solved his financial difficulties, those connections could once again become effective.

Strauni had originally been part of high society, so it was easy for him to return to that circle. He did not need to struggle like a nouveau riche trying desperately to break in or be forced to prove loyalty with humiliating offerings. This was precisely why Beichen Hall valued him.

It was like Zhang Yuelu. No matter how difficult her circumstances had once been, people would still refer to her as a noble lady of the Zhang family. She naturally belonged to the Jade Capital elite circle, and everyone acknowledged it. At most, they might say she was aloof and unsociable.

By contrast, Wang Danqing, who was from a newly risen family, could never truly enter Jade Capital’s inner circles despite great wealth. They were merely bumpkins from the local regions.

Though Qi Xuansu was not born into an aristocratic family, he had benefited from his association with Madam Qi and Zhang Yuelu.

Though Madam Qi appeared to be a wandering Daoist, she was well acquainted with powerful people like Pei Xuanzhi, Li Wugou, Su Yuanyi, Zhang Jucheng, and Qi Jiaozheng. They had interacted in the past, and she was unmistakably an insider within that circle.

Thus, Qi Xuansu relied on a vaguely defined Yao family identity given to him by Madam Qi, combined with the status of being a son-in-law of the Zhang family. Added to that was the fact that others did not know his true background, and perhaps even the subtle pushing of certain figures behind the scenes. Through this mixture of chance and circumstance, he managed to enter that inner circle. By the time people finally understood his true background, he had already risen to a position of great power, forming numerous networks of mutual interest. At that point, it would be impossible to remove him.

That was how Strauni rose again and became a respected councilor. Around that same time, Caitlin arrived in the New Continent with her husband, Tom.

The circles of high society were never large, and before long, Strauni encountered Caitlin again.

Naturally, the former lovers rekindled their old flame and became involved once more.

Tom had come to the New Continent because he had committed a serious mistake in the Old Continent. In essence, he was seeking refuge. As a local councilman, Strauni was not someone Tom could afford to offend.

Caitlin, who was strikingly beautiful, functioned perfectly as a socialite. She soon established close personal ties with the powerful figures of St. York. Under such circumstances, Tom could only maintain aristocratic decorum and tacitly allow the relationship between Strauni and Caitlin to continue.

Had Caitlin helped connect the young councilman Strauni with the senior councilman Leopold?

Perhaps the two men were even sharing the same woman.

Thinking this, Qi Xuansu realized why Strauni had reacted with some caution when Leopold was mentioned.

Could something else be hidden behind all this?

The matter of Qi Haoran had served as a warning bell for Qi Xuansu. Since the 41st year of the Jiushi Era, his life had gone rather smoothly. Though he had not become arrogant, he had somewhat lost his vigilance. In truth, most people were not trustworthy. Sometimes, people were forced into these circumstances and were powerless to act otherwise. Regardless of the reason, trusting another person wholeheartedly was difficult.

If even one’s own people could not always be trusted, how much less these outsiders? As a conservative, Qi Xuansu believed that Westerners could not be trusted fully.

If the Beichen Hall and the Holy Court Tribunal offered up Gold Crowns, which one would be called noble and which one would be considered filthy?

Strauni could betray the Beichen Hall, or he could repent. The key was simply to keep him under control.