A Pawn's Passage

According to the original plan, the role of Madam Qi as adoptive mother was far better suited than Qi Haoran’s role as master for binding Qi Xuansu with chains of gratitude.

Thus, Zhou Mengyao’s original intention had been to personally assume the role of adoptive mother.

However, handing the role over to Madam Qi posed no real problem. Even if there were to be any backlash, it should have fallen upon Madam Qi rather than Zhou Mengyao, the mastermind operating behind the scenes.

Yet the course of events developed in a way entirely beyond Zhou Mengyao’s expectations. Instead of directing his hatred toward Yao Qi, Qi Xuansu had set his sights on Zhou Mengyao, intending to pursue this matter with relentless determination.

Something had clearly gone wrong along the way.

Zhou Mengyao had also realized that Madam Qi had been meddling behind the scenes. After all, the selection process had been entirely Madam Qi’s responsibility. It was Madam Qi who had picked this unremarkable little boy from among the many children of the Wanxiang Daoist Palace and decided that he would become the key figure of their plan.

Even the name “Xuansu” had been chosen by Madam Qi, claiming it was in memory of a deceased old acquaintance and saying that the child resembled that person.

The reason Madam Qi held such significant influence was that the Longevity Stone Heart was in her possession, so her opinions had to be respected.

Even so, Zhou Mengyao had taken precautions by having the two of them enter into a Heart Demon Contract.

Looking back now, the contract had indeed served some purpose, but in the end, it had failed to prevent what happened.

In truth, Zhou Mengyao could hardly be blamed for being careless. Constrained by the contract, Madam Qi alone could not have done much. The real issue was that the Heavenly Preceptor had intervened.

That was what caused the entire situation to spiral completely out of control.

As long as Qi Xuansu remained within the framework Zhou Mengyao had established beforehand, no matter how much he gained, he could never surpass her.

However, once outside forces became involved, it was an entirely different matter.

That was why outside forces were always the most troublesome—they brought uncertainty.

Where had this outside force come from?

Qi Xuansu was going to marry Zhang Yuelu and become the Zhang family’s son-in-law. The members of the Zhang family, led by the Heavenly Preceptor and Zhang Jucheng, were very fond of this future son-in-law.

Since Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu’s cultivation levels were too high, they would most likely have no descendants. As such, they posed no threat to the position of the Zhang family’s main branch. Even allowing Qi Xuansu or Zhang Yuelu to take charge of the Zhang family would be acceptable, because a human’s lifespan was only 100 years. After a century, the Zhang family would still remain in the hands of the Zhang family.

Qi Xuansu had tremendous potential, yet he lacked a birth family. Under such circumstances, his wife’s family carried far greater weight.

He only had a master and an adoptive mother. Moreover, his master was an ally.

To the Zhang family, it was like gaining a son for free, so there was no reason they would not like him. As such, they would want to keep him firmly in their grasp.

To firmly secure Qi Xuansu and make him a true member of the Zhang family, they needed to sever his ties to all other forces that sought to control him, ensuring that he would ultimately serve their interests alone.

Such things could not be done openly, as they did not want to provoke Qi Xuansu’s resentment. Instead, they had to work with the natural flow of events. Ideally, Qi Xuansu himself would take the initiative to raise the matter, allowing them to simply give it a gentle push along.

This was a perfectly open and legitimate stratagem. Even if Qi Xuansu discovered it afterward, there would be little he could object to. From beginning to end, the Zhang family had never harmed his interests, nor had they deceived him. On the contrary, they had helped him. After all, it was not wrong for his future wife’s family to value and support him.

At this point, the reasoning behind the Heavenly Preceptor’s intervention became increasingly clear.

To put it bluntly, Zhou Mengyao planted the tree, and the Heavenly Preceptor harvested the fruit.

Zhou Mengyao understood this perfectly well.

Although Zhou Mengyao was furious at that old fox’s shamelessness, she had little grounds for complaint. After all, this was a life-and-death struggle where every side used whatever means they could. If one’s skills were inferior, then one deserved to lose.

The real problem was that her own people were not united.

Qi Xuansu had boarded the Zhang family’s ship because of Zhang Yuelu, but how had Qi Xuansu met Zhang Yuelu in the first place?

It was because Qi Xuansu had joined the Tiangang Hall. At that time, Zhang Yuelu had just taken over the Yaoguang Division and was in need of capable personnel. As long as Qi Xuansu entered the Tiangang Hall during that period, meeting Zhang Yuelu was practically inevitable.

Who was the one who arranged for Qi Xuansu to enter the Tiangang Hall?

It was Madam Qi. She personally arranged for Qi Xuansu to travel to Jade Capital and seek out Sun Yongfeng to pull strings on his behalf, securing him a place on the Tiangang Hall’s candidate list. In the end, Zhang Yuelu selected Qi Xuansu, allowing him to successfully establish a connection with her.

Despite constantly finding fault with Zhang Yuelu and seeming dissatisfied with her in every possible way, Madam Qi was the one who had personally brought the two together.

To put it bluntly, Madam Qi had handpicked her daughter-in-law, so no matter how displeasing she found Zhang Yuelu to be, she would still have to put up with it.

At this moment, Zhou Mengyao felt that she had been played by Madam Qi. What she could not understand was why Madam Qi had done so and what her motive was.

Why ruin years of planning for the sake of someone who was supposedly a complete stranger? Even if that stranger resembled an old acquaintance, it still made no sense.

How could Zhou Mengyao possibly know that Madam Qi had met Qi Xuansu many years ago? If Yao Liu still retained some memory of Qi Xuansu, he would realize that Qi Xuansu did not merely resemble the person from back then. He was that same person.

From Madam Qi’s perspective, she was simply fulfilling the two vows she had made all those years ago.

The first vow was to leave Qi Xuansu coinless. The second vow was that they would do it all over again, and this time, properly.

Now, both vows had more or less been fulfilled.

Recently, Zhou Mengyao had been occupied with other matters of equal importance and often was not even in the mortal world. Not only had she failed to pay attention to Qi Xuansu, but she had also entrusted the Qingping Society to Madam Qi, only to discover that she had entrusted it to the wrong person.

When Zhou Mengyao returned, she found that the situation had spiraled out of control. Madam Qi had not done anything to stop it and even added fuel to the fire.

“This matter will not end here.” Zhou Mengyao formally announced her return. “Just you wait.”

Madam Qi dropped the act entirely, her face full of indifference. “If you’ve got what it takes, go ahead and come at me.”

In truth, by this point, Madam Qi could no longer shield Qi Xuansu from every storm. His status was rising ever higher. The next step would be becoming an Omniscient Sage and entering the Golden Tower Council. This was already the limit of what Madam Qi could do for him.

Beyond that, Qi Xuansu would have to rely either on himself or on figures such as the Heavenly Preceptor and Sage Donghua.

Zhou Mengyao was welcome to pit her abilities against those two, especially that old fox of the Zhang family. Though the Heavenly Preceptor looked kind-hearted and approachable, he had been capable of killing his own younger sister, who had depended on him since childhood, with a single sword strike. How ruthless did one’s heart have to be to do such a thing? An opponent like that was anything but easy to deal with.

......

Qi Xuansu was using the Cloud Message to seek Sage Qingwei’s instructions regarding Hun Ahau.

Failing to seek approval beforehand and failing to report afterward was considered disloyal and dishonest, second only to outright betrayal.

Qi Xuansu naturally understood this rule. Employing Hun Ahau carried certain risks, so it was only proper to seek approval in advance. Otherwise, if something went wrong later, others would undoubtedly seize upon it and make a major issue of it.

Of course, seeking approval beforehand did not mean one bore no responsibility. Rather, it defined the scope of that responsibility. Even if things ultimately went wrong, the matter would be handled according to regulations rather than being exaggerated into something far more serious.

After listening to Qi Xuansu’s report, Sage Qingwei pondered for a moment. “This matter involves both the humanoid insects and the ancient gods. The manpower at your disposal is indeed somewhat limited. As for the Western Daoist Order, they have only just come out of a war. They have their difficulties, and we should be understanding. The fact that they have allowed both Juesheng Hall and Tiangang Hall to fully cooperate with you already demonstrates considerable sincerity. We should not demand too much more from them. The only issue is the shortage of high-level combatants above the Zaohua stage. Under the circumstances, employing certain special individuals may be unavoidable.”

Qi Xuansu said, “That is my assessment as well. Based on my observations, Hun Ahau does not appear to be one of their people, nor does he seem directly involved. His attachment to the Western Daoist Order remains quite deep.”

Sage Qingwei said, “Since you are the Daoist Order’s envoy on the front lines, your judgment should take precedence. I have no further instructions. Just remember two principles: when employing people, maintain doubt; when doubting people, still employ them. The key is to use them properly.

“The Shadow Tide and the humanoid insects are only the beginning. The situation may deteriorate further, even affecting the entire Southern Continent. The burden on your shoulders is a heavy one, so you must be mentally prepared.”

“Yes, Sage,” Qi Xuansu responded solemnly.

Sage Qingwei continued, “This principle applies not only to this matter but also to many issues across the Southern Continent. In the Southern Continent, we must not only resist the Steam Evangelical Sect on the front lines. More importantly, we must rigorously suppress various internal and external hostile forces behind the lines. We must win over talented people and win over the people’s hearts.

“At all times, strategy should prioritize people’s support, while tactics should prioritize talent. It is true that if a talented person is headed in the wrong direction, the greater their talent, the greater the destruction they can cause. But if they are headed in the right direction, then they become an invaluable asset. Hun Ahau is an excellent example.”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Xuansu will remember your teachings, Sage.”

After ending the conversation with Sage Qingwei, Qi Xuansu noticed that he had also received a message from his fish talisman. He found this rather strange.

The entire reason he had switched to using Cloud Message was that the distance was too great for ordinary communication methods. By all rights, the fish talisman should no longer have functioned. How was it still able to establish contact?

Surely someone from the Qingping Society had not come all the way to the Southern Continent.

Qi Xuansu answered the fish talisman.

Madam Qi got straight to the point. “Can you talk?”

Qi Xuansu glanced around. Since his earlier discussion with Sage Qingwei had involved Daoist Order secrets, he remained cautious. There was no one nearby, and the various protective measures he had set up were still in place. “Yes, it’s safe.”

Madam Qi nodded. “I mainly wanted to inform you that, effective today, Gold-Plated Knife has been formally expelled from the Qingping Society.”

“Huh?” For a moment, Qi Xuansu did not know how to react.

Back then, Sage Cihang had requested it multiple times, yet Madam Qi had always refused. Why had she suddenly agreed now?

Before Qi Xuansu could ask any questions, Madam Qi continued, “One more thing. The Qingping Society’s fish talismans have been upgraded and can now communicate over long distances like Daoist licenses. However, this will be your last time using one. After this conversation ends, I will revoke your fish talisman permissions.”

Afraid that Madam Qi might follow up with something like “let’s not contact each other again,” Qi Xuansu hurriedly asked, “Then how are we supposed to communicate in the future?”

Madam Qi replied, “Through Daoist licenses, of course. I’m a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist, if you recall. Your Shangdong License should be capable of linking to several people, shouldn’t it?”

Qi Xuansu could only nod.

“That’s all, then. We’ll discuss everything else after you return from the Southern Continent.”

With that, Madam Qi ended the call.