A Pawn's Passage

“The Demon Hunter” came to an end. The old father finally found his daughter, yet immediately afterward, they had to face the threat of demons who arrived from another world aboard ships built from the fingernails of the dead. In the next act, the father would seek out his friends and allies to fight the demons.

Thunderous applause and cheers filled the entire theater, and the one leading the applause was Chairman Sophia.

Qi Xuansu was applauding as well, not out of politeness, but genuine recognition. “Josiah, I must admit that Miss Ale’s acting is indeed the best among all the actresses I have ever seen.”

This was not exactly an exaggeration. After all, Qi Xuansu had not seen many performances in his life.

Still, it was merely a compliment. Qi Xuansu’s gaze remained fixed on Chairman Sophia. He had a feeling that this woman had not come simply to watch the performance. There was also an element of deliberate support.

Were these two women connected somehow?

Or perhaps, no matter how talented Audrey was, fame required backing from powerful figures. Could Sophia be the one supporting Audrey behind the scenes, even going so far as to personally appear and endorse her?

If that guess were correct, then what was Sophia’s intention in cultivating a female actress? To attract men? Some men disliked mature women like her and preferred younger girls, so perhaps she had groomed one for that purpose. Or perhaps, having reached the rank of Chairman, she no longer wished to do certain things personally and wanted a substitute.

At that moment, the curtain rose once again. The actors, now changed into formal attire, returned to the stage to bow to the audience. Standing at the center was Audrey, dressed in an evening gown, completely different from the demon hunter’s daughter she had portrayed moments before.

Chairman Sophia was invited onto the stage to give a speech, and she appeared extremely close to Audrey, almost resembling sisters.

Qi Xuansu had already risen to leave.

Strauni did not particularly care. The City Council was divided into two major factions. Leopold, Pier, and Strauni belonged to the Tory faction, while Chairman Sophia belonged to the Whig faction.

Since they were not in the same camp, there was no need for Strauni to go out of his way to flatter the Chairman.

After leaving the theater, Qi Xuansu said, “Josiah, you should head back first. I’d like to walk around by myself for a while.”

Strauni nodded and climbed straight into his carriage.

Qi Xuansu walked along White Avenue in the Central District. The streetlamps on both sides cast a dim yellow glow, while the tall buildings around him were brightly illuminated.

Of course, Qi Xuansu had not come out to admire the night scenery. He turned into a dark alley and waited quietly.

After roughly half an hour, faint lines appeared in the air before Qi Xuansu. They gradually sketched out the outline of a human figure, seemingly that of a graceful woman. The lines intertwined, gaining depth and dimension until color filled the shape, transforming into a real person.

It was a woman wearing a hooded cloak.

Qi Xuansu was not surprised by the woman’s identity, but he was somewhat surprised by her method.

“Miss Ale?” Qi Xuansu asked.

“Mr. Vanderlind, you truly surprise me,” the woman said as she pushed back her hood, revealing her face. It was none other than Audrey Ale, who had just portrayed the demon hunter’s daughter on stage. Now, she seemed more mysterious.

Qi Xuansu’s earlier feeling had not been mistaken. Audrey had indeed looked at him—not by accident, but deliberately. That was why Qi Xuansu had sent Strauni away and waited here specifically for Audrey to come.

He examined her carefully and asked, “Are you a projection right now?”

“Yes,” Audrey admitted frankly. “My true body is still at the theater, being interviewed by reporters and entertaining the dignitaries. That’s why I can only meet you here in the form of a projection.”

Qi Xuansu nodded slightly. “Projection is usually an ability of the gods. So I’m curious, how are you able to do it?”

Audrey smiled slyly. “Because I can borrow the power of a god.”

“Are you a god’s chosen one?” Qi Xuansu asked in surprise.

Qi Xuansu himself could borrow the power of a god and could be considered a chosen one of True Lord Ziguang, since he could directly seek divination from her.

“Something like that,” Audrey replied vaguely.

Qi Xuansu did not pursue the matter further. Instead, he asked, “Miss Audrey, what brings you to me?”

Audrey did not answer directly. “Dutch Vanderlind probably isn’t your real identity.”

“How did you find me?” Qi Xuansu did not deny it.

This time, Audrey did not avoid the question. A single page, made from human skin, appeared in her hand.

Qi Xuansu’s gaze swept across the characters on the page. In truth, he did not recognize these strange symbols, nor did he understand their meaning. Yet the characters seemed to possess a power that transcended the limits of cognition, directly striking at the reader’s heart.

In an instant, Qi Xuansu clearly felt a surge of emotions—pride, arrogance, and conceit—rapidly taking root and swelling within him.

The sensation was all too familiar.

Qi Xuansu had relied on these pages to defeat many formidable enemies in Poluo.

“This is a page from the Scripture of Zuriel,” Qi Xuansu said, his expression growing slightly serious. “Are you a follower of Zuriel?”

Just as the Daoist Order had to guard against secret societies stirring trouble, the Holy Court also had its enemies. On the Western Continent, there was a secret society similar to the Cult of Fates and the Lingshan Witch Cult, known as the Fallen Apostles.

According to legend, some apostles rebelled against the rule of Queen Pallas, but they were quickly suppressed. According to the Holy Court’s account, these traitorous apostles were cast down into hell, yet they did not die. This was the origin of their name—the Fallen Apostles.

Among these fallen apostles was Zuriel, who presided over slaughter and conspiracy. It was said that he was an ancient being who appeared almost at the same time as the Supreme Will. After the Supreme Will departed from the mortal world, Zuriel began attempting to conquer other gods. The Scripture of Zuriel was his artifact.

Although the Scripture of Zuriel had now fallen into the hands of the Earthly Preceptor, Zuriel probably had created some spare pages.

Audrey said, “Mr. Vanderlind, your body carries the residual power of the Scripture of Zuriel. It was through this power that I noticed you immediately in the crowd at the theater. Afterward, I had someone check the identity of the ticket purchaser and learned your name.”

Qi Xuansu replied, “I thought I had drawn Zuriel’s attention.”

Audrey smiled. “Hell is a prison, so is the Abyss.”

In the East, there had long been the concept of the Heavenly, Earthly, and Mortal Realms. If these three realms constituted the true world, then the worlds that existed by relying upon them were considered secondary worlds.

The Heavenly Realm was the destination after ascension. There were no records of what it truly looked like, as mortals who entered it would instantly vanish into nothingness. Immortals could establish their own worlds within it, like the Buddha’s Pure Land, the Heavenly Emperor’s Heavenly Court, the Primordial Daoist Ancestor’s Thirty-Three Heavens, and the Supreme Will’s Heaven. All of these worlds existed by relying upon the Heavenly Realm, making them secondary worlds.

The Mortal Realm was simply the mortal world, and the various pocket realms built upon it could be regarded as secondary worlds.

Below that lies the Earthly Realm, which was called the Netherworld in the East, the destination of the dead. Hell and the Abyss were secondary worlds that were built upon the Earthly Realm.

If these fallen apostles wished to break through the boundaries between the Earthly Realms and the Mortal Realm, they required a sufficiently powerful vessel and a suitable opportunity—namely, a proper ritual and summoning. In other words, someone on the inside must open the door for them. Otherwise, they could not enter.

Godly Immortals in the mortal world had multiple options. Even without a vessel, they could still descend or even manifest as projections. The only difference was how much power they could exert.

However, the fallen apostles had no such flexibility. Their vessel must perfectly meet their requirements. Thus, they liked to tempt, corrupt, and deceive powerful humans who had yet to ascend to godhood, laying traps so that these people would become their vessels in the mortal world.

Since the East was the domain of the Daoist Order, these fallen apostles rarely stirred trouble there. In the West, however, this was a big problem.

Qi Xuansu was highly vigilant. He had no intention of becoming a vessel for these fallen apostles. But vigilance did not mean fear.

Fallen apostles could not interfere with the mortal world using their full power. As long as one did not get tempted, the fragment of power they projected across the boundary of worlds could not truly harm Pseudo-Immortals. The real danger lay in greed, hatred, and obsession, which might cause someone to willingly cooperate with them. In that sense, fallen apostles were more like con artists, exploiting the weaknesses of human nature and making their target hand over control to them willingly.

Qi Xuansu asked again, “Miss Ale, what exactly do you want? You surely didn’t come here to discuss your performance with me, right?”

Audrey took a deep breath, as if making a difficult decision. “I do have some connection with the legendary Zuriel, but I am not his follower. I want to free myself from him.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Why me? As you said, I also carry the Scripture of Zuriel’s residual power.”

Audrey lifted her head and looked directly at Qi Xuansu. “Zuriel created a book that can turn any follower of other gods into a fanatical believer of his. You carry the Scripture of Zuriel’s residual power, yet you have not been influenced by him, nor have you become his follower. That is why I believe you must be able to help me.”