A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1431: The Call and the Lockdown

Although Sage Cihang greatly enjoyed keeping her youngest disciple, Xiao Yueru, by her side, letting her handle certain secretarial errands, Qian Wan was still Sage Cihang’s official secretary.

Among the three Omniscient Sages, Sage Cihang had the most disciples, more than Sage Qingwei and Sage Donghua combined. Yet among all her disciples, the one she favored most was neither her eldest disciple Bai Yingqiong, who had followed her for the longest time, nor Zhang Yuelu, the most outstanding and accomplished one. Instead, it was her youngest disciple, Xiao Yueru.

Xiao Yueru belonged to the final cohort of eighth-generation disciples, making her 23 years younger than Bai Yingqiong.

It was simply human nature to dote on the youngest child. Bai Yingqiong and Zhang Yuelu were already adults with established lives and careers, so naturally, they would not become jealous over such things. They treated their junior sister like someone from the younger generation rather than an equal.

Although Sage Cihang appeared youthful, she was already past 60 years old. So having such a mentality was not strange at all. Having Xiao Yueru perform secretarial duties was more about giving her practical training.

Upon hearing Qi Xuansu’s voice, Qian Wan showed not the slightest negligence. “Chief Deputy Qi, Sage Cihang happens to be available now. Please wait a moment. I shall inform the Sage.”

Soon, Sage Cihang’s voice came through from the other side. “Tian Yuan, what’s wrong?”

“Must something be wrong? Can’t I simply greet you?” Qi Xuansu did not get along with Tantai Qiong, but when facing Sage Cihang, he became an entirely different person. Qi Xuansu did not deny that status and position played a role, though the main issue was that Tantai Qiong could sometimes be utterly unreasonable.

Sage Cihang chuckled. “Chief Deputy Qi, you’ve never contacted me without a reason. If you merely wanted to send greetings, there would be no need to use the Cloud Message. Stop with the slick talk and get to the point.”

Only then did Qi Xuansu get to the topic. “Sage Cihang, do you happen to know someone named Zhou Mengyao?”

There was a brief silence from Sage Cihang’s side.

Qi Xuansu waited patiently.

In truth, Sage Cihang’s silence was already an answer. If she did not know Zhou Mengyao, there would have been no need for silence. She could have simply denied knowing her outright. It was precisely because she did know Zhou Mengyao that she hesitated. She was likely considering why Qi Xuansu had suddenly brought up Zhou Mengyao’s name.

“Where did you hear about this person?” Sage Cihang spoke once more. “She is also part of our generation. But unlike Madam Qi, she has always kept her distance from people like us because of certain issues. Madam Qi was quite close to her though.”

This matched many of Qi Xuansu’s earlier suspicions.

The “people like us” Sage Cihang mentioned referred to the aristocratic families of the Daoist Order, not just the three great families, but also secondary clans such as the Pei family, Qi family, Su family, Shen family, Lu family, and many others. Their common trait was that their ancestors had all been founding veterans who followed the Holy Xuan in rebuilding the Daoist Order.

Qi Xuansu’s ability to enter this circle depended mainly on his identity as an adopted son, future son-in-law, and disciple. Relying solely on himself, he would have become another Wang Jiaohe at best.

Without question, Zhou Qingchen was still considered part of this circle. That was also one reason why he had ultimately been allowed to retain his Daoist identity. By extension, Zhou Mengyao, as Zhou Qingchen’s descendant, was also recognized as a member of this circle as well. Yet because of historical issues, she remained far more distant from the others.

Under ordinary circumstances, Sage Cihang would never have spoken so bluntly, as language like this was not particularly beneficial to unity. This also showed that Sage Cihang no longer regarded Qi Xuansu as an outsider but as one of their own.

At this moment, Sage Cihang clearly assumed that Qi Xuansu had learned about Zhou Mengyao through Madam Qi.

Qi Xuansu did not conceal anything. “I just met with Sage Wanmiao of the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion. He told me some things concerning Qi Haoran, and during the conversation, he mentioned Zhou Mengyao.”

Sage Cihang replied, “The Qi family’s scandal? I vaguely remember some of it, though I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time.”

“Yes. Qi Haoran was the name he adopted after leaving the Qi family,” Qi Xuansu explained.

Sage Cihang said, “I think I know what you want to ask. You believe Qi Haoran’s matter is connected to Zhou Mengyao, right?”

“Yes.” Qi Xuansu’s answer was extremely concise.

Sage Cihang did not answer directly. “Since this matter involves the Quanzhen Sect, why don’t you ask Madam Qi or Sage Donghua instead?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Madam Qi has her own difficulties. As for my master, I spoke with him about it long ago. He told me that even within the Quanzhen Sect, everyone eats from separate pots. He knows very little regarding the Qingping Society, since that is essentially the Yao family’s private territory.”

Sage Cihang was not surprised. “If even he, the second-in-command of the Quanzhen Sect, cannot claim to fully understand it, so how could an outsider like me understand it? Family matters are best understood by the family itself. You’ll still have to ask the Yao family or the Zhou family.”

Going with the flow, Qi Xuansu said, “But you would still know something about it, since you have once served as the Huasheng Hall Master for a period of time, right?”

Sage Cihang was visibly taken aback. “Indeed. At the time, you were still in Tiangang Hall. So this is where you were leading me all along. Go on then, what is it about the Huasheng Hall that you wish to know?”

Qi Xuansu no longer stood on ceremony and voiced his question. “I want to know if the Huasheng Hall’s Longevity Stone Heart is still there.”

Sage Cihang once again fell silent for a brief moment.

In that instant, Sage Cihang surely thought through many things. Why was Qi Xuansu asking this question? What connection could the Longevity Stone Heart possibly have with Zhou Mengyao?

Then Sage Cihang gave a definite answer. “After I assumed the position of Huasheng Hall Master, I conducted inspections throughout the entire hall, including many workshops inherited from the Creation Project. I can tell you that during my tenure as Hall Master, the Longevity Stone Heart was still stored within the Huasheng Hall. As for what happened after I left the Huasheng Hall, you would need to ask the current Hall Master, Xu Dacheng.”

Qi Xuansu naturally had no need to ask Xu Dacheng. Chronologically speaking, by the time Sage Cihang became the Huasheng Hall Master, Qi Haoran’s coffin had long since been empty. That alone was sufficient to eliminate this line of suspicion.

At the same time, this further revealed Zhou Mengyao’s mysterious nature. Even a figure as important as Sage Cihang merely knew of Zhou Mengyao’s existence and understood very little about her actual circumstances.

It seemed that the only remaining option was to seek a breakthrough through certain channels within the Qingping Society.

Qi Xuansu ended the call with Sage Cihang and departed from the Gratitude Temple.

He still had a council meeting to attend.

Not long ago, while Qi Xuansu was still at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, the Golden Tower Council had passed a resolution. All preferential policies toward Fenglin would be abolished, and the nation would be placed under lockdown.

The Fenglin Campaign had ended several years earlier, yet unrest continued to flare up repeatedly. The remnants of the Sonno-joi faction were like weeds, springing back to life with the slightest breeze. This was the hidden consequence of preserving a Fenglin that still retained popular support.

Every advantage had a corresponding disadvantage. If one wished to win the people’s hearts, one could not conduct mass slaughter. Yet if one refrained from killing, many enemies would inevitably slip through, leaving unresolved matters.

When Qi Xuansu secretly traveled to St. York under a concealed identity, Beichen Hall publicly claimed that he had gone to Fenglin to handle official matters as a cover. Likewise, when Qi Xuansu had just assumed the position of Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master, he had not seen Second Deputy Hall Master Shen Mingxin because Shen Mingxin had gone to Fenglin to deal with related affairs.

Those official matters were the aftermath of the Sonno-joi faction. Clearly, the issue had not emerged overnight. The groundwork for it had long been laid.

The reason no one had doubted the story of Qi Xuansu traveling to Fenglin was because Fenglin genuinely had ongoing problems. It was entirely reasonable for high-ranking officials of Beichen Hall to personally go there.

However, the affairs of the New Continent were more urgent, so the Fenglin issue had not stirred up too much commotion. But now that matters on the New Continent had temporarily settled down, Fenglin’s situation was once again brought onto the agenda.

The Golden Tower Council had decided that to eliminate the remaining Sonno-joi faction, economic pressure would be put on Fenglin.

The concrete strategy was to impose a total blockade on Fenglin. Aside from Chancellor Toyotomi’s Office, which retained special privileges, all major feudal lords, including the Fenglin royal family, would be forbidden from sending even a single boat to sea. All commercial trade would be severed, and smuggling activities would be harshly suppressed. The fundamental goal was to impoverish those daimyos so that they would no longer be capable of supporting the Sonno-joi faction.

The privileges left to Chancellor Toyotomi’s Office represented the classic strategy of surrounding three sides while leaving one escape route open, ensuring that they would not lose all hope and resist to the bitter end. Surrender would remain a viable option.

The Fenglin Campaign had already proven that military resistance was futile. Once the Daoist Order blockaded Fenglin, the Sonno-joi faction would be devoid of funds. The ultimate outcome would be fragmentation and internal conflict. Some would defect to the privileged Chancellor Toyotomi’s Office, while a small minority would stubbornly resist until they were finally destroyed.

The Sonno-joi faction did not represent the ordinary commoners. In truth, they represented the interests of certain nobles and samurai classes. Not only did they lack support among the lower classes, but they also had severe conflicts with commoners, to the extent that villagers frequently ambushed isolated samurai.

Once their financial resources were cut off, survival would become extremely difficult for them. This was the confidence behind the Daoist Order’s willingness to impose the blockade. It was also the reason why Sage Qingwei repeatedly emphasized the need to preserve a Fenglin that retained the people’s support.

It was essential to distinguish clearly who were friends and who were enemies. That way, they could avoid indiscriminate slaughter that would drive potentially cooperative groups into opposition. Otherwise, one might achieve victory after victory, only to ultimately march toward total failure. In the end, the military existed to serve political objectives.

In terms of implementation, responsibility primarily fell upon three Daoist Mansions—Liaodong, Jiangnan, and Qizhou. Among them, Jiangnan and Qizhou were the most critical, as they accounted for the majority of trade with Fenglin. These two Daoist Mansions were required to rigorously enforce the Golden Tower Council’s policies without wavering.