A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1456: The Mystery of the Earthly Preceptor (II)

After leaving the Nether Prison, Qi Xuansu first contacted Li Zhuyu.

“Chief Deputy Qi, is something the matter?”

Li Zhuyu’s attitude was rather cold. After all, she had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by Qi Xuansu regarding this case. Though she could not compare to Li Changge, she was still Sage Qingwei’s daughter. There was no reason for her to endlessly flatter Qi Xuansu, and it would have been strange if she had continued treating him pleasantly.

Qi Xuansu said, “You should already know about Li Tianlan’s situation, right?”

“I know,” Li Zhuyu replied coldly. “Chief Deputy Qi has earned another great merit. Congratulations.

“This time, you struck the Quanzhen Sect with one hand and the Taiping Sect with the other. Only the Zhengyi Sect remains untouched. Those who know understand that you only have two hands and can only handle so much. Those who don’t might think that you are deliberately favoring your future in-laws, Chief Deputy Qi.”

Qi Xuansu ignored Li Zhuyu’s sarcastic tone and asked, “I heard that Li Tianlan’s eldest son, Li Mingping, is still in your custody?”

Li Zhuyu countered, “What? Are you planning to eradicate the roots as well?”

Qi Xuansu said, “That’s not what I meant. It merely concerns the false accusation case, and he still needs to come over to complete some formal procedures.”

Having already been deceived once before, Li Zhuyu rejected the request without even thinking. “No.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Deputy Hall Master Dan Jin, I am discussing official business with you. This request is entirely reasonable. If you refuse, you should at least provide an explanation.”

For a moment, Li Zhuyu did not know how to answer, so she changed the subject. “Li Mingping does not wish to see Gu Ying.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Deputy Hall Master Dan Jin, you keep obstructing this matter in every possible way. Has something unfortunate happened to Li Mingping? I heard that Gu Ying’s adulterous lover has quite an impressive background...”

There was no need to say more. Qi Xuansu’s threat was already perfectly clear.

Sage Qingwei had personally instructed Li Zhuyu to protect Li Minghuang. Now, Qi Xuansu was using Li Minghuang as leverage again, leaving Li Zhuyu both anxious and furious. “Chief Deputy Qi, what exactly are you trying to do? Do you really think the Li family has no one left?”

Qi Xuansu said, “I neither said nor thought of such a thing. Hand Li Mingping over to me, and I will close Gu Ying’s case without dragging in anyone else. I’ve already given my word to Sage Qingwei.”

Li Zhuyu asked skeptically, “Really?”

Qi Xuansu replied calmly, “You may ask Sage Qingwei yourself.”

The reason Li Zhuyu refused to hand over Li Mingping was that she feared Qi Xuansu would once again use him as leverage. Hearing Qi Xuansu say this, she believed him somewhat, yet she still did not relent. “Is it really that simple?”

Seeing that Li Zhuyu would not budge no matter what, Qi Xuansu had no choice but to reveal part of the truth. “Of course it’s not that simple. Li Tianlan is being very uncooperative right now. He proposed a condition, saying that someone might want to silence his eldest son forever for fear of the family scandal going public. He already wronged his eldest son once and didn’t want to drag him down a second time, so he asked me to protect his eldest son. Only then would he be willing to cooperate and confess.”

Li Zhuyu fell silent.

She had indeed considered some extreme measures. Now that Qi Xuansu had exposed her thoughts directly, she was no longer as forceful as before.

Qi Xuansu continued, “How about this? I will no longer pursue the sordid affairs involving Gu Ying and Li Minghuang, and the case will end there. In return, you ensure Li Mingping’s safety. Don’t forget. You are also a member of the Li family. The Li family already made one mistake by expelling him from the family registry. Must you make the same mistake again?”

At last, Li Zhuyu said, “Fine. I agree.”

Qi Xuansu concluded, “Dan Jin, I hope you won’t play any games. If you break the agreement, I lose nothing anyway. After all, I’m not a Li, and I have little connection to Li Mingping. I only fear that other members of the Li family may grow disheartened.”

Li Zhuyu gave a heavy snort and immediately ended the communication.

After resolving Li Mingping’s matter, Qi Xuansu still had to ensure the safety of Li Tianlan’s younger son.

This was not difficult. The boy had always remained at Li Tianlan’s home. Zhang Jucheng had already sent people to place Li Tianlan’s younger son under protection. When Li Tianlan fled, he deliberately chose not to bring the boy along. The Daoist Order did not practice collective punishment. Even if the father fled, the son would neither end up homeless nor be arrested. Under normal circumstances, he would simply be sent back to the Li family in Qizhou. That was why Li Tianlan fled without the slightest hesitation.

Qi Xuansu only needed to inform Zhang Jucheng that once the matter concluded, Li Tianlan’s younger son should be sent directly to the Wanxiang Daoist Palace under the pretense that it was Li Tianlan’s own intention. That would be a safe arrangement.

As for Li Minghuang, Qi Xuansu was in no hurry to deal with him.

Sage Qingwei had already spoken on the matter. Qi Xuansu could not possibly topple Li Tianlan and then immediately move against Li Minghuang afterward.

Qi Xuansu was able to bring down Li Tianlan because he understood the “rules,” knowing when to turn a blind eye and where to stop.

If it were Zhang Yuelu, she would insist on investigating everything to the bitter end, immediately provoking a full-scale counterattack from the Taiping Sect. Since Zhang Yuelu refused to follow these “rules,” it was also difficult for her to succeed.

According to the “rules,” Qi Xuansu had already gained enough advantage and could not continue pushing further. No matter what, Li Minghuang could not be dragged into the matter.

Qi Xuansu naturally knew this was wrong. He might even be criticized for having improper values.

But unfortunately, being right did not guarantee a good outcome, and being wrong did not guarantee a bad one.

Young people who had never labored or experienced the harshness of the world were often naively idealistic, loudly praising morality. Yet after suffering even a little from reality’s hardships, they quickly abandon that morality and swing toward the opposite extreme.

Qi Xuansu had already been tempered by worldly experience, so he no longer viewed problems purely through the lens of right and wrong, but rather through the lens of benefits and consequences.

He did not have rigid black-and-white boundaries. But like his name, he was dark at times and light at others, depending on his surrounding environment. He was essentially a mirror of his environment.

As such, someone like Zhang Yuelu, who persisted in walking the righteous path even after suffering setbacks and nearly losing her life, appeared all the more precious and admirable.

Most of the time, people knew what was right and wrong, yet they would rather stand still than walk the correct path because that path was simply too difficult.

Everyone who persisted in walking the righteous path deserved praise.

Qi Xuansu admired Zhang Yuelu for her tenacity, and from that admiration, love naturally arose.

So no matter what, Li Minghuang’s matter would have to be set aside for the time being.

What concerned Qi Xuansu the most now was the issue surrounding the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor.

The situation was becoming increasingly complicated.

Qi Xuansu made a list of names: Madam Qi, Zhou Mengyao, the Head of the Qingping Society, Elder Yao, the third-generation Earthly Preceptor, the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor, and the current Earthly Preceptor.

All of them were connected somehow, and Qi Xuansu could not even figure out how many people there actually were.

Zhou Mengyao and the Head of the Qingping Society might be two different people, or they might be the same person. The same uncertainty applied to the current Earthly Preceptor and the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor.

If the current Earthly Preceptor and the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor were indeed the same person, then what was the relationship between the fourth- and third-generation Earthly Preceptors? What was the relationship between the third-generation Earthly Preceptor and Elder Yao, who was the second-generation Earthly Preceptor?

Surely, it could not mean that Elder Yao had remained alive all this time, with the Yao family being passed down solely through her across generations, right? That would be far too terrifying.

To unravel this mystery, Qi Xuansu decided to begin with portraits.

Qi Xuansu once again contacted Madam Qi using the fish talisman.

“What is it?” Madam Qi seemed very busy. Half her body was outside the screen, and Little Yin’s loud shouting could vaguely be heard in the background. Who knew what they were up to?

Qi Xuansu asked directly, “Madam Qi, you’ve met the Earthly Preceptor before, haven’t you?”

“I have. Why?” Madam Qi replied absentmindedly.

Qi Xuansu said, “Can you draw me a portrait of the Earthly Preceptor?”

Madam Qi answered bluntly, “I’m not good at drawing.”

Little Yin’s voice rang out, “Drawing? I can do that!”

Madam Qi turned her head and asked, “Then have you ever seen the Earthly Preceptor?”

“Nope!” Little Yin, still off-screen, declared righteously. Qi Xuansu could practically imagine her standing there with her hands on her hips as she said, “But I can draw from imagination.”

Ignoring Little Yin, Qi Xuansu continued asking, “Then have you seen a portrait of the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor?”

Madam Qi said, “Portraits of all the past Earthly Preceptors are hung inside Yuxu Palace in the Purple Mansion. Anyone can look at them, provided they can get in.”

Qi Xuansu had actually entered once before. At the time, he went to visit Yao Pei, who had been injured by Li Changge during the Wuxing Mountain operation. But back then, Qi Xuansu could never have imagined today’s situation, so naturally, he paid no attention to the portrait of the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor. Not to mention, Li Tianlan had already said the official portrait of the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor was severely distorted.

Qi Xuansu sighed, hesitating over whether to tell Madam Qi the truth.

Madam Qi had already spoken first. “You first asked about the Earthly Preceptor, then about the fourth-generation Earthly Preceptor. Is there some significance behind this?”

In the end, Qi Xuansu chose to trust Madam Qi and roughly explained the latest intelligence he had obtained.

After listening, the usually nonchalant Madam Qi revealed a look of surprise. “I never knew there was such an inside story.”

Qi Xuansu felt somewhat discouraged. “If even you, a member of the Yao family, don’t know, then others are even less likely to know.”

“Not necessarily,” Madam Qi said. “People like us may not know, but True Lord Ziguang might. You can ask her.”

Qi Xuansu froze for a moment and instantly felt enlightened.

True Lord Ziguang had already been resurrected before the Buddhist-Daoist conflict. For more than 200 years since then, she had remained in the mortal world. Moreover, unlike Wu Luo and True Lord Siming, True Lord Ziguang maintained close ties with the Daoist Order and had interacted with successive Heavenly Preceptors, so she might know some hidden secrets.

Of course, for ordinary people, meeting True Lord Ziguang would be extremely difficult. But for Qi Xuansu, it was not much of a problem. He could seek enlightenment from her through his Spiritual Statue.