A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1437: Everything Is Ready

Everything was proceeding according to Qi Xuansu’s plan.

Although it was difficult for Zhang Jucheng to directly mobilize personnel from the Fengxian Hall, keeping track of their movements and activities was not hard.

The key to the next step was seizing investigative authority over the case.

Of course, it would not be Jiangnan Daoist Mansion competing with the Fengxian Hall for jurisdiction, as that would lack legitimacy and easily invite criticism. Instead, it would be the Beichen Hall competing with the Fengxian Hall for investigative authority.

They actually had the Taiping Sect, or more directly, the Li family, to thank for this.

One of the defining characteristics of the Li family was their dominance, which manifested most clearly in three areas.

First was the expansion of the Qizhou Daoist Mansion. The Li family had seized territory from both the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion and the Liaodong Daoist Mansion, creating a vast area surrounding the inland sea.

Second was the expansion of Beichen Hall’s sphere of authority, handling Xuan City’s security all the way into the defense of the Kunlun Daoist Mansion.

Third was the encroachment of investigative power. Beichen Hall had jurisdiction over certain matters of the Fengxian Hall. This was why people referred to Beichen Hall as the Daoist Order’s Green Phoenix Guard, believing its authority had grown excessive.

Many cases were jointly handled by the Beichen Hall and the Fengxian Hall. If secret societies were involved, the Tiangang Hall would also join the investigation. If high-ranking Daoists were implicated, then the Ziwei Hall would be added as well.

Therefore, once the Fengxian Hall overturned the case and confirmed Li Ping’s innocence, the next step would be to pursue accountability against those who had falsely accused him. This could be regarded as an entirely new case that the Beichen Hall could insert themselves into.

The Beichen Hall Master, Sage Qingwei, had the authority to represent Beichen Hall. But Sage Qingwei was currently in the Qizhou Daoist Mansion overseeing the broader situation. Since the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master, Qi Xuansu, happened to be in Jiangnan, he could represent the Beichen Hall in this investigation.

Though the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master’s main responsibility was external affairs, it did not mean he had no authority to involve himself in other affairs as well.

Qi Xuansu, as the second-in-command, was qualified to oversee the Beichen Hall’s daily affairs in the Hall Master’s stead. Naturally, this meant he could intervene in Beichen Hall investigations.

As long as the suspects fell into Qi Xuansu’s hands, he could slowly tug back and forth over the issue of investigative jurisdiction while simultaneously intensifying the interrogations.

As soon as anything related to the major Jiangnan case was uncovered during the interrogation, the nature of the matter would immediately change. Qi Xuansu could then legitimately take over the investigation and require the local Daoist Mansion to cooperate.

At that point, Zhang Jucheng’s role would become evident. He could intervene in his capacity as the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master.

This was precisely what it meant by having the right people be at the right place at the right time.

No matter what, Gu Ying resided within the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion’s territory, so it was perfectly reasonable for the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion to handle the matter. Even if Sage Qingwei personally demanded custody of her, he would not be able to do much if Zhang Jucheng stubbornly refused.

After all, Zhang Jucheng and Sage Qingwei were both Omniscient Sages. Sage Qingwei had not yet ascended to the position of Grand Master. Others might fear Sage Qingwei, but Zhang Jucheng did not, as the latter had the backing of the Zhang family, the Heavenly Preceptor, and the Zhengyi Sect.

The key issue was that Sage Qingwei found it difficult to exert any real pressure on Zhang Jucheng unless the matter was brought before the Golden Tower Council. But convening the Golden Tower Council over such a case would be absurd, so Sage Qingwei would never do such a thing.

Thus, the case effectively fell into the hands of Qi Xuansu and Zhang Jucheng.

This was precisely why Qi Xuansu had asked Zhang Jucheng to join him in this case. If Qi Xuansu acted on his own, he would not be able to withstand the pressure from Sage Qingwei. But with Zhang Jucheng involved, the situation became entirely different.

This was also why many people had originally opposed Sage Qingwei appointing Qi Xuansu. Every advantage inevitably brought disadvantages. Using Qi Xuansu had seemed like an excellent calculation. If Qi Xuansu performed well, he could stabilize the New Continent situation and ease pressure. If he failed, they could conveniently hold him accountable and slow his rise, giving Li Changge the opportunity to catch up. Either way, it had appeared impossible to lose.

But in the long run, once Qi Xuansu secured his footing, the current situation would emerge. By using the authority of his position as Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master, he could begin to restrain the Beichen Hall, making it resemble a struggle between the left and right hands of the same body.

The moment Sage Qingwei showed the slightest lapse, Qi Xuansu would immediately stir up trouble. After all, he was the Chief Deputy Hall Master, second only to the Hall Master. Sage Qingwei could certainly suppress Qi Xuansu completely if he wished, but as the dignified Hall Master, he could not constantly spend his time clashing with Qi Xuansu nor waste all his energy dealing with him. There would inevitably be moments he could not fully oversee. Nor could he truly sideline Qi Xuansu entirely, because Qi Xuansu still carried responsibilities assigned by the Golden Tower Council and oversaw a vast range of affairs.

The best solution would be to politely escort Qi Xuansu out of the Beichen Hall.

But Qi Xuansu had committed no mistakes and had even produced achievements. Escorting him out could only mean promoting him one step upward before sending him away. It was unlikely he would be transferred laterally, and it was impossible to demote him. For the Chief Deputies of the Three Great Halls, the next promotion would be an Omniscient Sage. In the short term, an ordinary Palace Master certainly did not wield as much authority as the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master. But in the long term, this would become a necessary step toward eventually governing a Daoist Mansion. Once he crossed that threshold, it would truly be like a fish entering the sea, with limitless prospects ahead.

After contacting Ye Qingshuang, Qi Xuansu began planning the next series of details with Zhang Jucheng.

Zhang Jucheng was a Mansion Master with absolute authority. In comparison, Yao Shu, being constrained within the Poluo Daoist Mansion, was not a strong Mansion Master because he was restrained by a Great Sage Lan and an alliance formed between the Chief and Second Deputies. Facing three opponents alone, Yao Shu had no chance of victory whatsoever.

However, in the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, there was no Great Sage above the Mansion Master. The Mansion Master and the Chief Deputy had also formed an alliance that isolated the Second Deputy. Under such circumstances, Zhang Jucheng held overwhelming power, with no one capable of restraining him.

This arrangement was also intentional on the part of the Golden Tower Council. Although the second major Jiangnan case had been glossed over earlier and Li Tianlan had escaped responsibility, the Golden Tower Council remained dissatisfied. Through the Heavenly Preceptor’s maneuvering, Zhang Jucheng and Lei Xiaohuan were paired to rectify the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion and strike against Li Tianlan’s faction. The Taiping Sect was already in the wrong regarding this matter and thus found it difficult to object.

If not for the fact that the blockade of Fenglin had implicated the interests of the other Deputy Mansion Masters, giving them a reason to unite, Li Tianlan himself would not have dared to openly oppose Zhang Jucheng.

Considering that Li Tianlan had spent many years deeply entrenched within the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion and possessed numerous informants, some people might not dare openly disobey Zhang Jucheng’s orders for Li Tianlan’s sake, but they certainly still had the courage to secretly pass information to him.

To prevent any leaks, Zhang Jucheng deliberately mobilized members of the Cihang lineage and personnel from Wuzhou to place Gu Ying under covert surveillance, preventing her from hearing any rumors and fleeing.

Zhang Jucheng, as the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master, was able to draw personnel from Wuzhou because they were his former subordinates from the Shangqing Palace, with some of them coming from the Dazhen Mansion.

Zhang Jucheng had another title—Sage Feiyuan. This role was supposedly considered Sage Qingwei’s counterpart, but due to Zhang Jucheng’s lagging cultivation, that role had instead shifted to Sage Cihang.

Generally speaking, Sages with special honorific titles also held eligibility for succession by rank. For example, if any of the top three Omniscient Sages encountered problems, Qi Jiaozheng as Sage Wanmiao and Zhang Jucheng as Sage Feiyuan could naturally step into those positions. The primary reason was due to their age.

This was also why the Western Holy Court believed that the Council of Three had effectively abolished the Eastern Pope. After the sixth-generation Grand Master ascended, the Deputy Grand Masters could have begun the election for the seventh-generation Grand Master early or selected an Acting Grand Master through succession by rank. Yet they chose neither option. Instead, the three Deputy Grand Masters began ruling in rotation, becoming what the Westerners viewed as a Council of Three. Only when their remaining time in the mortal world grew short did they finally initiate the election for the seventh-generation Grand Master. Their intentions were truly condemnable.

Of course, the Grand Master had never been abolished. The Great Sage Lunzhi was effectively an Acting Grand Master. The three Grand Masters were deliberately being vague about it. In essence, they were rotating as Acting Grand Masters, but they insisted on calling themselves the Great Sage Lunzhi.

Zhang Jucheng had already made complete preparations. All that remained was a single order, and Gu Ying could be apprehended immediately.

Minor matters like enforcing the Fenglin blockade could be left to Lei Xiaohuan. Zhang Jucheng intended to devote all of his energy to internal political struggle instead.

This was the proper spirit expected of a qualified Daoist priest, and a glorious tradition passed down through successive dynasties of the Central Plains.

At the same time, Zhang Jucheng had also prepared a location for the secret interrogation. It was not Zhenwu Temple, as they could not afford another incident of the Zhenwu Temple fire. Moreover, Zhenwu Temple currently served as the residence of the Western Daoist delegation, making it unsuitable to mix the two matters together.

Thus, Zhang Jucheng chose Putuo Island.

Although Putuo Island could not compare to the three great Daoist blessed lands—Yunjin Mountain, Penglai Island, and Difei Mountain—it was the ancestral foundation of the Cihang lineage, passed down through generations, and located in Nanhai.

This place was Sage Cihang’s stronghold, so she had managed it like an iron fortress, so tightly sealed that not even water could seep through. Ordinary people would find it extraordinarily difficult even to glimpse what lay within, let alone extend their influence into it.

Zhang Jucheng had specifically borrowed a location on Putuo Island from Sage Cihang to imprison the suspects. No matter how arrogant Li Tianlan and his associates might be, they still would not dare openly attack Putuo Island, so this was absolutely foolproof.

Now, all they needed was for the Fengxian Hall to overturn Li Ping’s case, thereby giving them a legitimate reason to act.

According to Ye Qingshuang, the Fengxian Hall had opened an ultra-long-distance Yin-Yang Gate and had already taken Li Ping away.