A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1438: Lurk Behind

The ultra-long-distance Yin-Yang Gate, which connected Sahul to Jade Capital, had significant limitations as a spell.

First of all, it had to be a permanently constructed and immovable Yin-Yang Gate. Under normal circumstances, it merely looked like an ordinary doorframe, but when activated, a curtain of light would materialize within the frame.

Secondly, it required formations connected to the earth qi to support the Yin-Yang Gate. The farther the transmission distance, the larger and more complex the formation needed to be.

The formation supporting the Yin-Yang Gate in Sahul occupied 0.8 hectares, while the corresponding gate in Jade Capital was directly established within the Kunlun Paradise. Moreover, it came with many restrictions. Massive objects such as flying ships could not pass through it, nor was it suitable for transporting large quantities of goods. The primary reason for establishing such a Yin-Yang Gate was the convenience of transporting prisoners because Sahul served as a place of exile. Combined with its exorbitant cost, it was destined never to replace flying ships.

After Fengxian Hall took Li Ping away, they immediately began the procedure for overturning his case.

Under normal circumstances, this process would probably have taken several days, but with Lu Yushu personally supervising the matter and treating it as a special case, it was completed in less than half a day.

When there was no internal resistance, overturning a case was not particularly difficult.

This was because the Daoist Order differed from the Confucian School. Confucian law emphasized the presumption of guilt, whereas the Daoist Order emphasized the presumption of innocence.

Presumption of guilt meant that a person was first assumed guilty, and the accused had to prove their own innocence. Failure to do so meant guilt. On the other hand, the presumption of innocence meant that doubtful cases defaulted to innocence. One needed sufficient and conclusive evidence to prove guilt. Otherwise, the person was considered innocent.

This was considered a major advancement by the Daoist Order over the Confucian School in law development.

Under a presumption-of-guilt system, overturning a case was naturally difficult, since there were too many subjective factors involved, making it hard to argue clearly.

Under a presumption-of-innocence system, overturning a case primarily depended on objective evidence. Li Zhuyu could tell at a glance that there were loopholes in the case file, and the situation clearly fell under insufficient evidence, which meant innocence.

Therefore, Li Zhuyu did not need to search for evidence proving Li Ping innocent at all. She only needed to point out the issue of insufficient evidence in the case.

This was also why Qi Xuansu had staged an elaborate act to collect evidence before sending Yue Liuli away in the first place. It was specifically to prevent anyone from using the case against him later. Yue Liuli’s case had complete evidence, so overturning it certainly could not be accomplished overnight.

Following this logic, Li Ping was an innocent man who had nevertheless been convicted and exiled. That meant there were issues of false accusation and dereliction of duty involved, and responsibility for each would have to be investigated separately.

Whether it was Qi Xuansu or Li Zhuyu, neither of them truly cared about overturning the case itself. What they cared about was the accountability and fallout that would come afterward.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Jucheng had already made all their preparations, while Li Zhuyu remained unaware. With the prepared side plotting against the unsuspecting side, the outcome was already destined.

Zhang Jucheng had been keeping a close watch on Fengxian Hall’s movements, so news from Fengxian Hall was immediately relayed to him.

“Very good. Keep watching and report to me at any time.” When Zhang Jucheng received the report, Qi Xuansu was also present in his office.

Zhang Jucheng casually shut down the voice transmission talisman, then turned to Qi Xuansu and said, “Tian Yuan, Fengxian Hall has completed the process. What happens next depends on you.”

Qi Xuansu nodded and directly contacted Li Zhuyu. “Dan Jin? This is Qi Xuansu.”

Li Zhuyu’s voice came through. “What can I do for you, Chief Deputy Qi?”

Qi Xuansu said, “I heard you’ve been busy these past few days overturning Li Ping’s case?”

Li Zhuyu was clearly startled. Unable to deny it outright, she could only ask, “Chief Deputy Qi, how did you find out?”

Qi Xuansu chuckled. “You probably don’t know this, but when I was accompanying the Western Daoist delegation on a visit to the Sahul Daoist Mansion, Li Ping suddenly rushed out and cried injustice to me. The Western Daoist delegation was present too, which put both Mansion Master Ye and me in an awkward position. So I kept the matter in mind and gained a preliminary understanding of it.

“I’m sure you’re aware of the second major Jiangnan case. I had some dealings with Second Deputy Li. So I had planned to handle Li Ping’s matter personally once I had free time. I asked Mansion Master Ye to keep an eye on Li Ping and make sure he didn’t die. But when I asked Mansion Master Ye yesterday, she told me that Fengxian Hall had already taken Li Ping away. I was worried someone might silence him permanently, so I hurried to investigate further. That’s when I learned that you were also paying attention to this matter and had already begun overturning the case. That certainly saves me some trouble.”

Li Zhuyu immediately sensed that something was wrong. What did he mean by “save him the trouble”? From Qi Xuansu’s tone, it sounded like he intended to take over the case. How could he reap the rewards of the seeds that she sowed?

Sure enough, Qi Xuansu continued, “Second Deputy Li is from the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, where this case occurred. Coincidentally, I am currently here. So I will take over the case from this point onward. It will also make it easier for our fellow Daoists in Jiangnan Daoist Mansion to cooperate with the investigation.”

After all, Qi Xuansu was still her superior, so Li Zhuyu could not directly confront him head-on. She said, “Chief Deputy Qi, that doesn’t seem very appropriate. Li Mingping’s case has always been handled jointly by the Beichen Hall and our colleagues from the Fengxian Hall. It’s inappropriate for the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion to rush in and seize credit like this.”

Li Zhuyu was indeed skilled. Rather than directly accusing Qi Xuansu, she tried to frame the issue as a conflict between Fengxian Hall and the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion. She might rank below Qi Xuansu, but Fengxian Hall was not weaker than the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion. Moreover, Fengxian Hall’s relationship with Beichen Hall was far closer than the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion’s relationship with Beichen Hall.

What Li Zhuyu was really saying was that they were both from the Beichen Hall, so there was no distinction between them. Whoever handled the case between them did not matter, as it would still be under Beichen Hall’s jurisdiction. But Fengxian Hall was Beichen Hall’s sister institution, while the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion was comparatively distant. As the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master, Qi Xuansu should not let his own allies feel abandoned or betrayed.

Of course, Li Zhuyu would not phrase things so bluntly and directly, which was why she repeatedly said it was inappropriate.

It was also the most appropriate reason to reject Qi Xuansu’s request, since this matter originally fell within Fengxian Hall’s official jurisdiction.

Qi Xuansu knew the implication behind her words. But he was her superior, so he got the final say. “How is this a matter of stealing credit or not? We are all cooperating on the same investigation and coordinating with one another. The purpose is not to earn merit but to solve the case properly. This case cannot proceed without the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion’s assistance.”

“Chief Deputy Qi, this is against protocol.” Li Zhuyu’s tone also became firmer. “Li Mingping’s case is extremely complicated and involves many parties. It may even implicate the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion’s Second Deputy Li Tianlan himself. Since the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion is involved, shouldn’t they recuse themselves? I believe the principle of cross-regional investigation should apply here.”

Qi Xuansu immediately rejected this argument. “Second Deputy Li does not represent the entirety of the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, so they shouldn’t be conflated. If any single individual were to represent the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, then that person would certainly be Mansion Master Zhang.

“If Second Deputy Li truly is implicated, then it is all the more reason for Mansion Master Zhang to personally handle the matter and report directly to the Golden Tower Council. Your rank is not even higher than Second Deputy Li’s, so are you really capable of dealing with the Second Deputy of the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion?”

Li Zhuyu was momentarily speechless.

This was precisely her weak point. If she had been the Second Deputy Beichen Hall Master at this moment, she could at least contend with Qi Xuansu. That was because the Second Deputy was not subordinate to the Chief Deputy, but rather an equal-ranking colleague meant to check and balance each other. Both would have been second-rank Taiyi Daoists, and Qi Xuansu would not have been able to pressure her with rank alone. Unfortunately, Shen Mingxin was currently in the Liaodong Daoist Mansion.

Left with no alternative, Li Zhuyu could only invoke her backer. “Chief Deputy Qi, since you put it this way and the matter may involve the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion’s Second Deputy, then for the sake of greater implications, I believe we should seek instructions from the Hall Master.”

This answer was entirely within Qi Xuansu’s expectations. “Although this is still only speculation at the moment, without concrete evidence, I agree that we should report to the Hall Master so that he may at least be informed.”

On the other hand, Li Zhuyu was somewhat surprised. She had not expected Qi Xuansu to be so accommodating.

But immediately afterward, Qi Xuansu shifted the conversation. “However, the Zhenwu Temple fire is still fresh in our memory. It is a lesson from the past. I believe that no matter who takes over this case, the first priority is to secure the people involved to prevent any further accidents. Otherwise, we’ll end up with another unfinished mess. How about this? You can report this to the Hall Master, while I discuss things with Mansion Master Zhang to first secure the relevant individuals. After that, we can discuss the question of investigative jurisdiction.”

Li Zhuyu still wanted to say something. “Chief Deputy Qi—”

However, Qi Xuansu cut her off. “Alright, go ahead and carry out the order.”

Qi Xuansu then ended the call.

At this point, Li Zhuyu realized that Qi Xuansu had been using her to overturn the case, so she hurriedly contacted Sage Qingwei. “Secretary Shen? This is Li Zhuyu. Please inform the Sage that I have something extremely important to report.”

Shen Yuqing’s voice came from the other side. “Miss Dan Jin, I’m very sorry. The Sage is currently presiding over a Daoist Mansion Council, so he has no time at the moment...”

Li Zhuyu hurriedly said, “Secretary Shen, it won’t take long. Just give me a few minutes.”

“Miss Dan Jin, you’re not an outsider, so I’m not saying this to brush you off.” Shen Yuqing sounded busy. “This meeting is extremely important. Many senior elders of the Daoist Mansion have already arrived, all of them sixth-generation disciples. According to family seniority, many are of the same or higher generation as the Sage. The pressure on the Sage right now is immense. He genuinely has no time.”

Li Zhuyu was instantly overcome with a wave of despair.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu said to Zhang Jucheng, “You can move now, and it must be done quickly.”

Zhang Jucheng wasted no words and immediately contacted the personnel he had arranged in advance. “Qingyue, get your people to arrest Gu Ying, then follow the original plan and send her directly to Putuo Island. The Daoists from the Cihang lineage will receive you there. I’ve already arranged everything. Good. Be quick. If anything goes wrong, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”