A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1443: Meeting Liu Hu Again

Qi Xuansu managed to persuade Madam Qi to stay because Madam Qi never truly intended to leave in the first place. She was merely putting on a show.

Another question arose in Qi Xuansu’s mind. Did Liu Hu know his current identity?

Back then, Liu Hu knew Qi Xuansu as Wei Wugui, the Gold-Plated Knife of the Qingping Society, a wandering Jianghu swordsman. However, the current Qi Xuansu was the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master, only one step away from becoming an Omniscient Sage. The gap between these two identities was like two entirely different worlds. Without prior knowledge, who could possibly connect Qi Xuansu with Wei Wugui?

Madam Qi nodded. Liu Hu had not spent these years completely isolated from worldly affairs and generally knew about Qi Xuansu’s situation, so there was no need for Qi Xuansu to explain it again himself.

Of course, this led to another issue. Qi Xuansu had not contacted Liu Hu over the years, so naturally, their relationship had grown distant.

Another factor was that Liu Hu also came across as cold and distant. Little Yin, on the other hand, was much better in that regard. Although Little Yin occasionally caused trouble, she was always reliable at critical moments and had a sweet, clever mouth that made people fond of her. In any case, aside from Qi Xuansu, Little Yin was probably the only person both Madam Qi and Zhang Yuelu genuinely liked.

Little Yin puffed out her cheeks and asked rather warily, “Who’s Liu Hu?”

Her expression resembled that of an only child resisting the arrival of a second sibling.

Qi Xuansu replied, “An old acquaintance.”

Madam Qi immediately saw through Little Yin’s little thoughts and picked her up. “Do you still remember the first time you met Old Qi?”

Little Yin said, “Yes. Grandpa was taking me for a walk at the Ghost Pass when we saw Old Qi. Back then, Old Qi was really weak. Even I could beat him up!”

Qi Xuansu laughed. “I’ll beat you up later so you’ll know how formidable I am.”

Little Yin was not afraid of him. She hugged Madam Qi around the neck and even bared her teeth at Qi Xuansu provokingly.

Madam Qi continued, “The reason he passed through Ghost Pass back then was because he was on his way to Longmen Prefecture to pick up Liu Hu.”

Little Yin was very good at grasping the key point. “So that means Old Qi met me first before Liu Hu.”

“That’s right,” Madam Qi said. “You came first.”

Little Yin asked again, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Qi Xuansu pulled out the classic line used by all parents. “I know plenty of people. I even know the ancient gods of the New Continent. Do I need to report every single person I know to you? Children shouldn’t butt in on adult matters.”

Little Yin pouted and stopped talking.

Madam Qi said, “Enough idle chatter. I’ll take you to see Liu Hu first.”

The Qingping Society also had a safehouse within Jinling Prefecture, where Liu Hu was currently staying.

On the way to the Qingping Society’s safehouse, Qi Xuansu suddenly asked, “Does Zhou Mengyao know about Liu Hu?”

Madam Qi was slightly startled. “You even know about Zhou Mengyao?”

Qi Xuansu said, “I’ve already met Qi Jiaozheng.”

“It seems you also know about Qi Haoran,” Madam Qi said, not particularly surprised. “It’s not much of a secret anyway.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Qi Haoran is Zhou Mengyao? Zhou Mengyao used Qi Haoran’s identity?”

Madam Qi did not answer.

Qi Xuansu asked again, “Is Zhou Mengyao the Head of the Qingping Society?”

Madam Qi still did not answer.

Qi Xuansu finally asked, “Is the Qingping Society’s Dream Meeting actually Zhou Mengyao’s dream?”

Madam Qi turned to Little Yin and asked, “What do you want to eat? My treat.”

Little Yin did not stand on ceremony and replied in a sweet voice, “Crab!”

“Alright, let’s go eat giant crabs,” Madam Qi said, changing the subject.

Qi Xuansu sighed and stopped asking further questions.

Madam Qi no longer seemed in a hurry to see Liu Hu.

Instead, she first took Little Yin out for crab. Qi Xuansu naturally followed along, but at this moment, he was in no mood whatsoever to eat crab. But he also knew better than to rush Madam Qi. The more he urged her, the slower she would become. So he could only patiently accompany Little Yin through the meal, treating it as stealing a little time amidst his busy schedule to spend with family. By the time Little Yin finished eating, it was already nighttime.

Led by Madam Qi, the trio arrived before a small door at the end of a narrow alley. Madam Qi knocked lightly three times, paused for three breaths, then knocked heavily four more times.

A moment later, the door opened from within. There were no lamps lit inside either, only the hazy moonlight overhead provided illumination as the three entered through the door.

The person who opened the door shut it again behind them.

Little Yin curiously looked around at the surroundings.

Madam Qi and Qi Xuansu were already long accustomed to this. The Qingping Society’s safehouses were more or less the same. After walking through a long corridor and crossing several courtyards, they arrived at a main hall that resembled an ordinary inn lobby.

There was a tall black-lacquered counter with several aged jars of wine on it. Even from afar, one could smell the rich aroma of liquor.

This place was actually an inn, though it was not open for business. Madam Qi and the others had entered through the back door.

Madam Qi slapped an old-style Taiping coin, long since withdrawn from circulation, onto the counter. She then slowly lifted her hand, revealing the words engraved around the square hole on the coin’s front side—Peace Under Heaven.

The person behind the counter took another Taiping coin from his robes, this one engraved with “Universal Prosperity” around the square hole. He aligned the coin in his hand with the one on the counter, and the two halves fit together perfectly without the slightest gap. It turned out that a single Taiping coin had been split into two pieces. Madam Qi held the front half, while the local manager held the back half. Only when combined did they form a complete Taiping coin.

The people here immediately changed their attitude, becoming extremely respectful toward Madam Qi. Madam Qi gestured for them not to follow and told them to continue with their own duties.

Qi Xuansu had never understood this old-fashioned method of authentication. With so many Qingping Society safehouses, did Madam Qi carry around a huge bundle of old Taiping coins threaded together like a keychain? Every time she arrived somewhere, would she have to search through them like picking out the correct key before finding the coin corresponding to that particular safehouse? That sounded far too troublesome.

Madam Qi glanced at Qi Xuansu. Without even asking, she already knew what he was thinking, so she explained, “If you show a fish talisman, you can only stay here temporarily and rest. But this Taiping coin of mine is something only members of the Privy Council possess, giving us access to all the resources here. You want one? I can give it to you.”

Qi Xuansu replied, “No, thanks.”

He had similar tokens himself, after all. He was even the famous Lotus Seat of the New Continent.

More importantly, because of Zhou Mengyao, Qi Xuansu had already become wary of the Qingping Society. He no longer thought about mobilizing its resources. Just as Sage Donghua had said, the Qingping Society was the Yao family’s private domain. As for what exactly the Yao family was plotting, Qi Xuansu had never been able to fully understand it.

Upstairs was also arranged like a regular inn, divided into individual guest rooms. Madam Qi led Qi Xuansu and Little Yin to one of the rooms and knocked on the door.

Very soon, the door opened from inside.

A young woman appeared before them.

When Qi Xuansu first met Liu Hu, she was only about 14 or 15 years old and was above average in appearance, though her eyes were exceptionally lively and expressive.

After several years apart, Liu Hu had already grown into a graceful young woman. Her features had matured, making her far prettier than before.

The moment Qi Xuansu saw Liu Hu, he suddenly remembered the time when she killed Song Luodi.

That had been the first real conflict between the two of them, and Qi Xuansu had lost his temper.

Liu Hu had been deeply hurt as she questioned Qi Xuansu. “My father abandoned me, my adoptive father abandoned me, and now you’re abandoning me too, aren’t you?”

Qi Xuansu had replied, “Who you know as Uncle Wei is fake. My appearance is fake, my identity is fake, and even my name is fake. In the Jianghu, people cross paths. Meeting does not mean truly knowing one another, and knowing one another does not mean meeting again. I truly do not know whether we will ever see each other again in the future.”

Liu Hu looked up at Qi Xuansu, her eyes covered with a faint mist of tears.

This was not romantic affection between a man and a woman. At the time, she was still too young to understand such feelings. It was more a childlike attachment and admiration toward an elder brother or father figure. After all, repeatedly facing life-and-death hardships together was the quickest way to bring people closer and deepen emotional bonds. Moreover, Qi Xuansu and Liu Hu shared certain similarities in temperament, which was why Liu Hu enjoyed being around him. But her quiet and reserved nature prevented her from openly expressing those feelings.

At that time, Qi Xuansu was still young. He had never been a father or an elder brother, so he did not know how to handle such a relationship. Still, he could empathize to a certain extent since he had also grown up an orphan in the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

In the end, Qi Xuansu gave Liu Hu a mother-child talisman, which she treasured and kept away.

That mother-child talisman had never been used to this day.

For a moment, Qi Xuansu did not know what to say.

Instead, Liu Hu was the one who spoke first. “Uncle Wei.”

Even though Qi Xuansu had explained to her back then that the identity of Wei Wugui was fake, Liu Hu still habitually called him “Uncle Wei.”

Only then did Qi Xuansu say, “Xiao Hu, it’s been a long time. Have you been well lately?”

Little Yin immediately became displeased at this close address.

Liu Hu replied, “Yes, all is well.”

Qi Xuansu added, “From now on, you can’t call me Uncle Wei anymore. Call me Uncle Qi instead.”

Liu Hu had already learned about Qi Xuansu’s situation from Madam Qi, so she did not insist otherwise and naturally changed her form of address. “Alright, Uncle Qi.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “How is your adoptive father?”

Liu Hu fell silent.

Qi Xuansu could only let out a sigh.

Madam Qi broke the silence. “Don’t just stand there. Let’s go inside and talk.”

The three entered the room and took their seats. Little Yin was seated on Madam Qi’s lap, wearing a sour expression with her lips pouted, refusing to speak.

Naturally, Qi Xuansu noticed all of this and felt helpless.

Some people could manage harems of thousands of women, with everyone getting along harmoniously. Qi Xuansu only had a wife, a mother, and an adopted daughter, yet there was still endless trouble. His wife disliked his mother, and vice versa. Now, even his adopted daughter was getting jealous of another girl.

Madam Qi said, “Xiao Hu, from now on, never mention your true identity again. Your biological father’s identity brings you no benefit whatsoever. Although the Daoist Order no longer practices collective punishment when executing people, background investigations still very much implicate the family.”