A Pawn's Passage

Across the cover of an utterly ordinary booklet that was no different from a typical case file read, “Minutes of the Qingping Society Six-Member Privy Council Meeting, 45th year of the Jiushi Era.”

Below this, the First Meeting, Second Meeting, and Third Meeting had all been marked with red checkmarks. Only the Fourth Meeting remained unchecked.

A hand that was neither particularly old nor particularly young opened the cover and turned to the records of the Third Meeting.

|| Chair of the Meeting: Lady Qi.

|| Privy Council Members in Attendance: Saintly Peace, Dreaming Cloud, Mountain Ghost, and Formation Breaker.

Note: Qingping Melody—absent.

|| Advisory Council Members in Attendance: Ceremony Prelude and Calming Tide.

|| Recorder: Crimson Lips.

|| Agenda Item One: Effective immediately, formally expel Qingping Society B-rank member Gold-Plated Knife.

- Reason: None.

- Voting Results: 3 votes in favor, 2 votes against, and 1 abstention from Qingping Melody’s absence.

- Note: Upon confirmation by the Advisory Council, the resolution is formally passed. Effective immediately, B-rank member Gold-Plated Knife is expelled from the Qingping Society, and all records and archives pertaining to said member are to be destroyed.

|| Agenda Item Two: Revise the relevant rules and regulations. The required proportion of Qingping Society assignments that members at all levels must complete each year shall be increased from 30% to 50%.

- Voting Results: Unanimously approved, except for the abstention caused by Qingping Melody’s absence.

|| Agenda Item Three: Relax membership requirements, lower entry thresholds, and intensify efforts to recruit qualified new members, with the goal of doubling the number of registered members within the next three years.

- Voting Results: 3 votes in favor, 1 vote against, 2 abstentions.

- Note: Resolution adopted.

|| Agenda Item Four: Upgrade the Merit Exchange System by adding more rewards in the form of Taiping coins and treasure objects. Further simplify the process of entering the Dream Meeting while reducing material consumption. Upgrade the Five Ghost Transport Method to include Poluo, Sahul, East Shakya, Fenglin, and the Western Region, thereby comprehensively improving the member experience. The New Continent and Western Continent are not to be included this time.

- Voting Results: Unanimously approved, except for the abstention caused by the absence of Qingping Melody.

|| Agenda Item Five: ...

The hand turned to the related appendix of the Third Meeting and skimmed to the name, Gold-Plated Knife.

The details regarding this member were no longer visible. Everything had been erased.

In their place, a single line of small text had been added. According to Resolution One of the Third Meeting of the Qingping Society’s Six-Member Privy Council in the 45th year of the Jiushi Era, the records have been destroyed.

Note: Qingping Melody has been absent from all three meetings held in the 45th year of the Jiushi Era. Said member has been missing for more than nine months, and there is currently no information regarding their whereabouts.

A finger lightly tapped on the three words, Gold-Plated Knife.

Then the owner of that finger shifted her gaze away from the meeting minutes and looked ahead.

The owner of this hand was standing on Knife-Back Mountain. As the name suggested, its ridge resembled the spine of a blade, only wide enough for one person to walk upon. The owner of the hand stood on one side, while someone else was approaching from the opposite end.

The newcomer wore a dark green dress covered by a black gauze outer robe embroidered with numerous patterns resembling square-holed copper coins. Tucked into her belt was a long smoking pipe, with a dark-gold bowl, an ebony stem, and a jade mouthpiece. A small, worn pouch hung from her waist. She also wore a pair of dark glasses that concealed nearly half her face.

The woman leaned slightly forward because she was carrying a little girl on her back. The little girl was adorable and mischievous-looking, with her hair styled into looped pigtails. She wore a pair of sunglasses as well, only much smaller. It was clear at a glance that these two belonged to the same family.

The little girl held a small pinwheel in her hand that was spinning rapidly.

The owner of the finger wore a black veiled hat that reached her feet, enveloping her entire body.

The veil worn by this woman belonged to the last category, reaching all the way to her feet and enveloping her entire body. The black gauze seemed to isolate her from the world. From outside, nothing could be seen through it except a vague silhouette.

The woman carrying the child noticed this strange figure in the unusual veiled hat. When there was still about a meter between them, she stopped and set the child down. She then drew the tobacco pipe from her waist, lit it, and took a long, satisfied puff.

The little girl hugged the woman’s leg, hiding half her body while cautiously peeking out to observe the strange figure in the strange hat. She could sense danger emanating from the other side, many times more dangerous than Sun Heyu.

With a sharp snap, the booklet containing the Qingping Society Meeting Minutes was slammed shut.

The sound itself was not loud, yet every living being within a 50-kilometer radius heard it distinctly and sensed the displeasure conveyed within it.

Then a woman’s voice sounded. “Have I been too accommodating toward you, to the point that you’ve stopped taking me seriously?”

The voice came from the owner of that finger, who was wearing the veiled hat.

Knife-Back Mountain was completely silent, save for the mountain winds that whizzed by. Even the wind itself seemed cautious, as though afraid of being implicated in a calamity.

However, the woman with the tobacco pipe showed no fear. “Save your intimidation tactics. Other people may be afraid of you, but I’m not. We signed a contract, so there’s nothing you can do to me.”

The veiled woman snorted heavily but offered no rebuttal.

Back then, she had thought the contract worked to her advantage. Only later did she realize that she had been outwitted and thoroughly deceived by this smoking woman.

The veiled woman’s gaze shifted to the little girl hiding behind the smoking woman. The threat in her eyes was unmistakable.

The woman with the tobacco pipe said, “I advise you not to set your sights on her.”

The veiled woman had long since lost the rebellious instincts of youth and understood the value of heeding good advice. She took another careful look at the little girl. This time, she finally noticed something unusual. “No wonder you’ve kept her by your side. You intend to use this little girl against me?”

After blowing several smoke rings, the woman replied, “Don’t assume I’m as underhanded as that. I never intended to see you in the first place. You’re the one who came looking for me.”

The veiled woman did not pursue the matter further. As the mountain wind swept by, it finally lifted the long black veil of her hat, revealing her true face.

Like the smoking woman, she could no longer be considered young. Yet traces of her youthful beauty remained in her features, enough to show that she had once been a stunning woman capable of making countless men lose their composure.

With age, she had long since abandoned the habit of feigning cold arrogance. Such things were for young women, just as reckless competition and fighting were for young men. She appeared gentle and approachable, wearing a courteous smile that seemed entirely at odds with her earlier tone.

Both women were mentioned in that set of meeting minutes.

The smoking woman was Lady Qi, the chair of the meeting. Those familiar with her simply called her Madam Qi.

The veiled woman also appeared frequently in those records for her absence. She was Qingping Melody, Zhou Mengyao.

Not many people knew that name. Everyone who knew was an important figure.

That fact alone was a form of recognition for Zhou Mengyao.

However, knowing of Zhou Mengyao’s existence was not the same as knowing that Qi Haoran was Zhou Mengyao. Qi Jiaozheng and Qi Xuansu had their suspicions, but they lacked concrete evidence. Yet for some reason, Qi Xuansu had already accepted this as fact based on instinct alone. In his view, evidence was necessary only when appealing to the law. If it was a personal issue, then evidence was something that could just as easily be dispensed with.

In truth, many of those who knew the name Zhou Mengyao knew only the name itself and did not truly understand the person behind it.

Madam Qi was an exception. Not only did she understand Zhou Mengyao, she also knew the full story behind everything. However, because of that contract, she could not reveal what she knew to a third party. In exchange, Zhou Mengyao also could not do anything to her.

Parting the black veil of her hat, Zhou Mengyao raised the meeting minutes in her hand. “I require an explanation for Resolution One of the Third Meeting.”

Madam Qi played dumb. “And you are?”

Zhou Mengyao frowned slightly and glared at Madam Qi with cold eyes.

Madam Qi elaborated, “I am the person in charge of the six-member Privy Council. Who are you to demand an explanation?”

Madam Qi’s childish game irritated Zhou Mengyao, but years of self-discipline prevented her from showing it. “I was the one who entrusted the Qingping Society to you.”

Madam Qi laughed. “That’s a rather ridiculous thing to say. The Omniscient Sages elected the Grand Master and entrusted the Daoist Order to him. Does that mean the Omniscient Sages can order the Grand Master around? You are not the Head of Society. You are merely one of the six members of the Privy Council.”

Zhou Mengyao replied indifferently, “If I wished to, I could replace the members of the Privy Council.”

“Too late,” Madam Qi said. “The resolution has been passed. We’ve already gone through all the proper procedures, and its implementation is nearly complete.”

Zhou Mengyao said, “So you really raised that boy as your own son? That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

Madam Qi said nothing and simply continued smoking.

Clearly exasperated by Madam Qi’s stubbornness, Zhou Mengyao had no choice but to revisit old matters. “According to our original plan, we were supposed to bind him with gratitude. I was meant to become his adoptive mother. I could have completed the arrangement perfectly by myself, without leaving a single flaw. But you insisted on becoming his adoptive mother instead. So, I yielded to you. I even disguised myself as his master to pave the way for you. But look at what happened in the end.”

Madam Qi replied innocently, “I think it turned out well. Tian Yuan is a good child. Very filial, too.”

Zhou Mengyao reminded her. “You’ve become mother and son in all but blood. But what about our plans?”

Madam Qi simply shrugged. “When sons grow up, mothers can’t control them anymore. Just look at the Zhang family’s Heavenly Preceptor. He doesn’t listen to his ancestor, True Lord Ziguang, either. Tian Yuan’s wings have hardened now, so I can no longer manage him.

“Also, thank goodness I took your place, Old Zhou. You have no idea how difficult it is to be a mother. Not to mention, his fiancée is stubborn, difficult to reason with, and weirdly obsessed with sticking to her principles. That stupid boy practically forgot about me the moment he met his fiancée. It’s really frustrating.”

Zhou Mengyao let out a cold laugh. “So you really did end up raising a son, didn’t you?”