A Pawn's Passage

The journey to Danxiu Mountain was smooth.

The Western Daoist Order dispatched personnel to receive them, and Tantai Ying was prominently among them.

Although Tantai Ying was the eldest granddaughter of Tantai Zhenxiao, she was by no means a young girl. She was at least in her thirties, considerably older than Qi Xuansu.

The Tantai family was considered a newly risen clan. They were not true descendants of Tantai Yun, nor were they related to the Confucian Tantai lineage. Their real history only stretched back a little over a century, so seniority and age still matched up reasonably well. There were no absurd situations where 80-year-old juniors bowed to toddlers of a higher generation.

Under Huangfu Ji’s introduction, Qi Xuansu and Tantai Ying formally became acquainted.

In terms of appearance, Tantai Ying was not breathtakingly beautiful, yet she possessed a unique charm. She was forthright and proud, yet ladylike.

Judging from her speech and mannerisms, she was the sort of person who did not care what others thought of her. She was intensely self-centered, quick to dislike one thing or another, and made no effort to conceal her opinions. She spoke her mind without sparing anyone’s feelings. In its own way, this too was a kind of arrogance. Qi Xuansu could already see hints of it from the complaints and sarcasm she directed at Huangfu Ji in her letter.

Tantai Ying was different from Zhang Yuelu, who likewise did not care much about others’ opinions. Zhang Yuelu was not truly arrogant, especially when dealing with ordinary people. She never instinctively regarded herself as superior to others, as could be seen from the way she treated commoners. If she had been arrogant, she would never have gladly accepted a stranger’s invitation to attend a wedding banquet, nor would she ever have come to know Qi Xuansu.

Their differing upbringings determined this contrast. Although both were granddaughters of important figures, Tantai Ying had been acknowledged and valued from childhood, while Zhang Yuelu had spent a significant portion of her life relying on herself. This gave Zhang Yuelu the chance to come into contact with ordinary people at the lower levels of society, allowing her to better understand their hardships and helplessness instead of standing high among the clouds, far removed from reality. It was also this experience that led to changes in Zhang Yuelu’s way of thinking.

Qi Xuansu himself had not undergone such an ideological transformation due to Madam Qi’s teachings as well as the absence of contrast. People accustomed to light and beauty, when suddenly confronted with darkness and ugliness, would experience dissonance. Their worldview would fracture, and their faith might waver, hence driving them toward change.

However, Qi Xuansu had always struggled from the very beginning. Everything he saw belonged to the lowest levels of society, and he had long since grown used to petty scheming and survival at all costs. He did not even know what a polished illusion of perfection was supposed to look like, so he never experienced that sudden sense of shock or contradiction.

When Zhang Yuelu learned the truth behind the first major Jiangnan case, she began to doubt whether this was truly the Daoist Order she believed in. That was why she was adamant about changing the Daoist Order.

But if Qi Xuansu were the one uncovering the truth behind the first major Jiangnan case, his likely reaction would be that this was how things were. In the end, all humans were the same; only the outer skin differed. He might even believe he could become a high-ranking Daoist. At the very least, he was not greedy.

Tantai Ying was difficult to deal with. Everything would be fine if one matched her temperament. But when offended, she could turn cold and embarrass someone at any moment, regardless of the occasion.

Huangfu Ji handled the balance very well. In personal matters, he could tolerate her and would not hold it against her for throwing shade. But in official matters, he expected her to do as he instructed. As such, the two managed to get along fairly well. Tantai Ying could only grumble verbally about her superior, but she would never take any substantial action against him.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Huangfu Ji acted as host and invited Qi Xuansu and Tantai Ying to dine at Danxiu Palace.

The banquet was rather simple, attended only by the three of them.

As the meal progressed and the wine began to take effect, the topic turned to the Shadow Cases. Qi Xuansu suddenly asked a rather sensitive question. “Does the Tawantin Court have some sort of elite inner circle among its upper ranks?”

Tantai Ying was taken aback. “What do you mean by that, Chief Deputy Qi?”

Qi Xuansu said, “By upper ranks, I mean either the wealthy or powerful. An inner circle usually exists to exchange and consolidate resources. Since these people are already elites, they can obtain almost anything they want through normal channels. But if they still feel the need to create an abnormal little circle outside the usual system, then there is definitely nothing good being discussed there.”

Tantai Ying looked at Qi Xuansu in surprise.

Qi Xuansu continued, “What kind of matters cannot be discussed through normal channels and must be discussed within secret circles? Anything that can only be explained inside such circles is almost certainly contrary to the proper path. So, what I want to ask is if the Tawantin Court has such circles.”

Tantai Ying understood his meaning. “Chief Deputy Qi, do you suspect that these Shadow Cases involve manmade disasters originating from within Tawantin itself?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive. It’s just that most of the things I’ve experienced ultimately came down to human intervention. Based on experience, the Shadow Cases may involve attempts to undermine the entire system in the Tawantin Empire.”

Huangfu Ji said, “Surely, it can’t be that serious, right?”

Qi Xuansu said, “When I first arrived in Poluo, I had underestimated the gravity of the situation. On the surface, it seemed to be nothing more than suppressing a Pseudo-Immortal Wang Jiaohe. With Great Sage Lan suppressing things and the Golden Tower Council backing me, I didn’t think he could possibly stir up much trouble. But the deeper we dug, the more horrifying it became. The affair ultimately involved no fewer than four Immortals—Wu Luo, True Lord Siming, Chen Shuhua, and the Lord Buddha. In the end, for the Daoist Order to suppress that conspiracy aimed at overturning Daoist rule in Nanyang, three Immortals were indirectly mobilized—Great Sage Lan, Great Sage Jiang, and Golden Patriarch. More than five immortal objects were used in the operation. It was precisely because of the Golden Patriarch’s contributions to the suppression that the later policy of partially legalizing certain secret societies was pushed forward. Besides these Immortals, there were also more Pseudo-Immortals involved, including first-rank Spirit Guards.”

Huangfu Ji laughed. “I understand now. Tian Yuan, this is your roundabout way of telling me to place greater importance on the Shadow Cases and not treat them carelessly, huh? Very well, I agree. As long as it concerns the Shadow Cases, I will open every door and allow Chief Deputy Tantai to act with full discretion.”

Tantai Ying rolled her eyes, not showing due respect to her superior. “You should’ve done that a long time ago.”

Qi Xuansu’s thinking remained consistent as always. Every conspiracy ultimately involved interests and profit. Greed was endless, and even Immortals were no exception. By following the trail of interests, one could always uncover the root cause.

He did not believe in mysterious horrors or things too dreadful to behold directly.

Tantai Ying then provided Qi Xuansu with a clue. There was indeed a small circle within the Tawantin elites that was operating outside normal channels.

This small circle was called the Heron Society. It possessed some characteristics of a secret society and involved many high-ranking figures within the Tawantin Court, somewhat similar to the Qingping Society.

Based on the Juesheng Hall’s understanding, some members of the Heron Society were believers of the former Sun God Itzamna. After Kukulkan replaced Itzamna, there had been a purge of the old believers. Those who had remained loyal to Itzamna all went into hiding, and the Heron Society emerged in response. Their purpose was to await Itzamna’s return and prepare for that day.

This was reasonable, as most gods had three deaths. Whether Itzamna had suffered the first death or the second death, he certainly had not suffered the third death. With so many people in the Heron Society still remembering him, the possibility of his return genuinely existed.

From the perspective of the Western Daoist Order, the threat posed by a small group was not judged by its ideals or intentions but by its level of organization. If it was tightly organized and capable of threatening the rule of the Western Daoist Order, then no matter how noble its stated goals were, it was still considered contrary to the proper path.

The Daoist Order’s policy of partially legitimizing certain secret societies was only because these approved societies were essentially extensions of the Daoist Order itself. They were merely tasked with doing the Daoist Order’s dirty work and backed by internal patrons. They could not be lumped together with ordinary secret societies.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Is the black sun tattoo connected to the Heron Society?”

Tantai Ying shook her head. “At present, it doesn’t seem related. In order to conceal their identities, the Heron Society would never leave such obvious identifying marks as tattoos on their bodies. Their token is an ornament shaped like a heron. As I mentioned in my letter earlier, most of our attention had to remain focused on the Steam Evangelical Sect, so we never conducted an in-depth investigation into the Heron Society.”

Qi Xuansu asked again, “What is the significance of a heron?”

Tantai Ying replied, “The heron symbolizes Sinchi Qika, the last emperor of Paititi.”

“The last emperor?” Qi Xuansu expressed confusion.

Tantai Ying said, “Although the name Paititi has not changed, the dynasty did change hands, similar to your Central Plains dynasties. All of them experienced periods of collapse and reconstruction in between. It is said that quite a few members of the royal family are involved in the Heron Society.”

Qi Xuansu became even more puzzled. “As I recall, the Tawantin royal family claims to be descendants of the ancient god Pachacamac. But Pachacamac has already fallen and can no longer protect his descendants. The Western Daoist Order fused three factions together. Under the Western Daoist Order’s guidance, the Emperor of Tawantin married the exiled princess of the fallen Nahuatl kingdom, gaining the loyalty of most of Nahuatl’s military forces. So why would the royal members within the Heron Society remain obsessed with Itzamna of the Nojpeten pantheon? Shouldn’t they instead worship their own ancestor, Pachacamac?”

Tantai Ying said, “Sometimes, when people appear to admire something, it may not be genuine admiration at all. More often, it is a form of opposition. They simply do not dare to oppose openly, so they express their resistance indirectly by praising the enemies of whatever they truly oppose.”

Qi Xuansu immediately understood.

Some people might be dissatisfied with the Daoist Order, yet they dared not openly oppose it under Daoist rule. So instead, they secretly expressed opposition by pretending to admire the Confucian School or the Buddhist Sect. But if one truly asked them to join the Confucian School or the Buddhist Sect, they would refuse because deep down, they might not genuinely like those religions either.

The Heron Society’s worship of Itzamna might not be sincere, but their hidden opposition to Kukulkan was most likely genuine.