A Pawn's Passage

In Qi Xuansu’s view, Emperor Manu Tancha had truly lost his mind. How could he possibly agree to something involving such fundamental matters of right and wrong?

It would be like Qi Xuansu becoming the Grand Master, only for Zhang Yuelu to tell him that she would be converting to Confucianism so as to better unite the Confucians. Even if Qi Xuansu had been kicked in the head by a horse and had his brains eaten by Little Yin, he still would not agree to such a thing.

If it truly happened, there would only be two possible outcomes. Qi Xuansu would either publicly distance himself from Zhang Yuelu, or the two of them would sever themselves from the Daoist Order.

Qi Xuansu really wanted to ask what exactly Manu Tancha was thinking. The Empress was accumulating power, and he did nothing. The Empress changed her faith, and he did nothing. The Empress was already plotting to replace him, yet he continued indulging her every whim, acting as though he knew nothing, only relying on his daughter to compete against her.

The absurdity rivaled Hun Chowen’s determination to destroy Tawantin because of Unulatu, only to end up destroying himself instead.

In truth, Qi Xuansu was very tempted to make a sarcastic remark that he never imagined the Tawantin Court could produce two such remarkable talents at the same time. Tawantin certainly did not raise useless people.

However, Qi Xuansu was mindful of his appearances and forcibly held his tongue.

Qi Xuansu was also genuinely curious what sort of charm Unulatu had to make both Hun Chowen and Manu Tancha behave this way.

Or perhaps people were simply different by nature. Not everyone was capable of remaining rational.

There were saints who were selfless and fearless, and there were madmen who harmed others without benefiting themselves.

To Qi Xuansu and those like him, such people were fools. Yet in their own eyes, perhaps they were engaged in some form of noble self-sacrifice. After all, people in this world come in all varieties.

Huangfu Xi gave a bitter smile. “I don’t really understand either. However, my godfather once described the Emperor by saying that he loves beautiful women more than he loves his empire.”

Huangfu Xi’s godfather was none other than Huangfu Zhao. Although Sage Huangfu’s cultivation was inferior to that of the two Great Sages, he had an exceptional judgment of character and was particularly skilled at nurturing younger generations. His biological son, Huangfu Ji, was outstanding. His many godsons and goddaughters, who were all granted his last name, were also extraordinary.

Qi Xuansu said, “Miss Huangfu, I mean no disrespect toward your late mother, but if the Emperor loves her so much, why does he still have concubines?”

Huangfu Xi was left speechless and could only reply, “I suppose you’ll have to ask the Emperor that question in person, Sage Qi.”

Qi Xuansu said, “As it happens, I will be attending a banquet hosted by the Emperor and Empress tomorrow.”

Huangfu Xi reminded him. “Unulatu is already aware of what happened in Cusco. You should be careful, Sage Qi.”

Qi Xuansu glanced at her. “It seems you have quite a good relationship with General Hun.”

Choosing her words carefully, Huangfu Xi said, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend. After General Chowen’s incident, General Ahau took the initiative to contact me.”

Qi Xuansu nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Huangfu Ji suddenly suggested, “Why don’t we go on a little nighttime excursion into the royal palace?”

Madam Wu had been bored to the point that she was dozing off. But the moment she heard this suggestion, her eyes lit up. She was the first to respond. “That’s a great idea!”

Qi Xuansu, as always, took the opposing view. “Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”

Huangfu Ji waved his hand dismissively. “What’s there to be afraid of? This isn’t the Great Xuan Imperial Palace, and Unulatu certainly isn’t the Great Sage Ziji.”

Qi Xuansu still refused. “It’s not appropriate. Let’s wait until I’ve met the Emperor and Empress first.”

Huangfu Ji did not insist. “Fine then. I’m heading back to the new port tomorrow. The plans for the Tianji Hall have all been finalized, and I need to be there to oversee things.”

Madam Wu immediately lost interest again.

Qi Xuansu prepared to stand. “Let’s leave it at that for today. Miss Huangfu, if you wish to contact me, you may pass a message through General Hun.”

Huangfu Xi nodded. “Understood.”

At last, Qi Xuansu’s visit to the pleasure house that evening ended. After returning, he summoned Lu Yujue and the others from the Beichen Hall, instructing them to closely monitor developments within the city, especially the Northern Palace Guards and the Heron Society. At the same time, he informed Tantai Ying, Lin Bufan, and the others who had not yet arrived in New Paititi, telling them to prepare in advance for the possibility of employing necessary measures.

Aside from that, Qi Xuansu had gained quite a lot from meeting Huangfu Xi. Several matters had now been clarified. Unulatu truly was a member of the Heron Society, and she was backed by Ixchel. This indirectly confirmed many of Qi Xuansu’s suspicions.

With that, many previously disconnected pieces finally began to come together.

Ixchel sought to overthrow Kukulkan. On one hand, she approached Qi Xuansu and accused Kukulkan, hoping to use the Daoist Order’s power to eliminate him. Yet Ixchel had not placed all her hopes on the Daoist Order. She had also made preparations on another front, supporting the already ambitious Unulatu in an attempt to strike at the root of the problem and weaken Kukulkan’s foundation within the royal family.

However, Kukulkan was deeply entrenched and not so easy to deal with. So Ixchel had to secretly establish the Heron Society, whose members also included her chosen servants, Utu and Unulatu.

Objectively speaking, Kukulkan still represented the orthodox god of the Tawantin Empire. Therefore, it was understandable that Hun Chowen, who was determined to destroy the Tawantin Empire, had also joined the Heron Society.

Thus, when Utu and Hun Chowen cooperated with the humanoid insects, it was actually the Heron Society cooperating with the humanoid insects.

The humanoid insects’ ancestors had once enjoyed great glory. They would never be content to serve merely as the Heron Society’s hired muscle. Instead, they sought to open a passage to the Spirit Realm and establish contact with the Insect Queen. One careless mistake, and the humanoid insects might very well present both the Daoist Order and the Western Daoist Order with an enormous surprise in the Southern Continent.

This was the worst manifestation of factional struggle, caring about nothing except immediate victory, regardless of how many disasters were left behind.

That was why Qi Xuansu found Unulatu’s actions so objectionable. He had said before that the gender of the ruler did not matter. What mattered was stability. One should rely on ability, not schemes. Yet Unulatu and her associates were acting in a way that planted enormous hidden dangers that upended stability. As a representative of the Daoist Order, Qi Xuansu could not tolerate such behavior.

Qi Xuansu had not yet seen how evil Kukulkan might be. The Shadow Tide’s mastermind remained unclear, and it could not yet be confirmed that Kukulkan was responsible.

However, Qi Xuansu had personally witnessed the reckless and chaotic actions of Unulatu and her faction.

Qi Xuansu was not someone who judged by appearances. One could not simply claim that Kukulkan was monstrous and ugly and therefore evil, while Ixchel was beautiful and attractive and therefore righteous. Such reasoning made no sense.

The following day, Qi Xuansu attended the banquet alone.

As Huangfu Ji had said, the Tawantin royal palace could not compare to the Great Xuan Imperial Palace. The latter was integrated with the dragon veins and earth qi, so even Immortals would not dare behave recklessly there. In Qi Xuansu’s eyes, the scale of this royal palace was roughly comparable to the royal palace of the Yu Kingdom. Influenced by the Western Daoist Order, it even retained a distinct style of the old Qi Dynasty.

Led by a female court official, Qi Xuansu entered the palace. Along the way, he saw numerous guards who carried themselves with considerable authority. Their gazes toward Qi Xuansu were far from friendly.

Qi Xuansu paid it no heed. After all, he had been to the Daoist Order’s Golden Tower, so such things were beneath his concern. He doubted this was the Emperor’s doing and suspected it was more likely the Empress’s arrangement. His actions in Cusco had truly startled the enemy. The Empress might not necessarily have been making a show of force. It could just as easily have been a test, probing Qi Xuansu’s reaction through these minor acts of discourtesy.

So Qi Xuansu’s response was to remain indifferent.

Before long, Qi Xuansu met the Emperor and Empress.

Emperor Manu Tancha and Empress Unulatu were both native inhabitants of the Southern Continent, though they had been deeply sinicized.

The core members of the royal family had all been personally educated by the Huangfu family. The Huangfu family remained impartial. No matter how fiercely the royal family members fought among themselves, so long as they did not cross the line as Unulatu had, the Huangfu family would not interfere excessively, maintaining its detached and transcendent position.

Meanwhile, Unulatu had been trained by the Western Daoist Order.

Manu Tancha did not have much of an emperor’s majesty. Instead, he was scholarly, more like a celebrated gentleman than a monarch. He even appeared free-spirited and elegant. Such a man fit the public image of a charming prince far better than that of an emperor.

As for Unulatu, Qi Xuansu had to admit that this Empress truly deserved to be called a world-class beauty. She was even more beautiful than Li Tianlan’s wife. Every movement, every smile, and every glance seemed capable of stealing one’s soul. But he could not tell whether this was natural or the result of secretly cultivating some divine technique.

Qi Xuansu could now somewhat understand why Hun Chowen had been so unwilling to let go and why Manu Tancha seemed to love this beauty more than his empire.

At this moment, the Emperor and Empress were personally waiting for Qi Xuansu outside the banquet hall, giving him every possible courtesy.

Once they arrived, the female official who had guided him withdrew. Qi Xuansu stepped forward and exchanged formal greetings with both the Emperor and the Empress.

Both the Emperor and Empress were fluent in the official language of the Central Plains, so communication posed no difficulty. After the customary pleasantries, the three entered the banquet hall together, where everything had already been prepared.

After taking their seats, Manu Tancha raised his cup and expressed gratitude for the Daoist Order’s assistance to the Tawantin Empire. He even specifically mentioned Qi Xuansu’s earlier speech supporting them. Qi Xuansu merely responded with a few pleasantries. Although he had spoken rather forcefully on behalf of the Daoist Order when the Steam Evangelical Sect moved southward, even between brothers, accounts still had to be settled clearly.

Unulatu said nothing as she continually observed Qi Xuansu.

Suddenly, Qi Xuansu turned toward Unulatu. “Before I even arrived in New Paititi, I had already heard much about Your Highness.”

Unulatu flashed a smile that was capable of enchanting a hundred hearts. “I was unaware that I possessed such fame as to reach the ears of Sage Qi. May I ask from whom you heard my name?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Your Majesty is actually quite familiar with that person. I have heard that, in your youth, you studied within the Western Daoist Order. This man is one of your senior brothers. His name is Hun Chowen.”

The moment he said this, the air in the hall abruptly turned cold.

Emperor Manu Tancha frowned slightly but remained silent.

Empress Unulatu continued smiling, yet she also remained silent.

Qi Xuansu spoke as he stared directly at Unulatu. “Hun Chowen said that the reason he betrayed the Western Daoist Order and the Tawantin Empire was because of a single person...”