A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Wuyue had no idea that a tremendous storm was brewing in Nanyang. Had he still been there, he would have been in a precarious situation. Perhaps he would already have been reduced to a prisoner.

But since Zhang Wuyue arrived on the Southern Continent, he was thriving, brimming with ambition and determined to expand his new, legitimate business into New Port and all the way to Blue Cloud Island.

Although Qi Xuansu had assigned Huo Ling to Zhang Wuyue’s side, Huo Ling had other duties as well. She also had to track down Sun Yong and Chen Yan, so it was impossible for her to remain by Zhang Wuyue’s side all day.

Zhang Wuyue did not mind. After all, he had become a familiar face around New Port thanks to Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Ji’s patronage and the vast sums of Taiping coins backing him. All the prominent figures who wielded real power knew him. They usually addressed one another as brothers and acted like old friends. What was there to be afraid of?

There really was nothing to fear.

That night, Zhang Wuyue closed yet another deal with a Deputy Hall Master of the Western Daoist Order. He walked out of the establishment reserved for the rich and powerful by himself, as he declined the Western Daoist Order’s offer to escort him back. He was slightly tipsy and intended to stroll around for a while and sober up along the way.

However, when Zhong Boyu went to the Taiping Inn to look for Zhang Wuyue the next day, the latter was nowhere to be found.

Although Zhong Boyu had lost all his cultivation, he was a veteran of the Jianghu, with a wealth of experience. From various details, he determined that Zhang Wuyue had not simply gone out early that morning. Rather, he had never returned the previous night.

Realizing that something was wrong, Zhong Boyu immediately sought out the people who had been drinking with Zhang Wuyue the night before. After comparing what they knew, both sides realized that something was amiss. Zhang Wuyue had stayed out all night without leaving so much as a word behind. Surely, Zhang Wuyue had not gone off for a secret rendezvous with some lover, because he was not indulgent when it came to relations between men and women. No one had ever heard of him having a lover either.

After discussing the matter, the Western Daoist Order suggested sending people to look for him first. If they could not find him, they would then report the matter to their superiors.

Zhong Boyu was more decisive and insisted that they should report it immediately. He knew Zhang Wuyue well. Even if Zhang Wuyue really intended to spend the night with a lover, he would have said something beforehand rather than simply disappearing without a trace. Therefore, it was highly likely that something had happened to him. Even in the best-case scenario, reporting it only to discover that it had been a false alarm was still far better than waiting until the situation became irreparable.

At Zhong Boyu’s insistence, both sides eventually came to an agreement and reported the matter to He Shaoyang, who in turn reported it to Huangfu Ji.

Since Qi Xuansu had gone to the Paititi pocket realm, Huangfu Ji took charge of the matter.

Huangfu Ji had keen political instincts. He did not dismiss his subordinates as being overly alarmed or making a mountain out of a molehill. Instead, he immediately connected Zhang Wuyue’s disappearance with what was currently happening in Nanyang.

Someone was trying to make an issue out of Zhang Yuelu. If a frontal assault yielded little result, then the best approach was to break through from the flank, which meant targeting the people close to her. This was the most basic of strategies.

Even when Qi Xuansu was dealing with Wang Jiaohe or Li Tianlan, he never went directly after the main target. Instead, he first clipped their wings or searched for evidence of wrongdoing among the people around them. He would then launch the final assault only after leaving his target isolated and alone or after gathering enough evidence.

Now, the other side was using the exact same approach against Zhang Yuelu, targeting the people around her. Since they could not touch Lin Yuanmiao, they went after Xie Jiaofeng. Since there was nothing they could use against Little Yin, they targeted Zhang Wuyue instead.

As long as something went wrong with both Xie Jiaofeng and Zhang Wuyue, Zhang Yuelu would be in a very precarious position. She might not be removed from office, but she could fail to secure her promotion. That would mean losing out in the competition during this round of personnel reshuffling, which was precisely what the other side wanted.

As for Zhang Wuyue’s situation, Huangfu Ji knew a little about it, since Qi Xuansu had already told him the truth. In Huangfu Ji’s view, the little business Zhang Wuyue had conducted in Lion City hardly amounted to anything. How much money had he even made with that small business? Besides, Zhang Yuelu had already shut it down. Zhang Wuyue had come to the Southern Continent virtually empty-handed, and most of his current capital had been raised from others. In other words, he was only borrowing a chicken to lay eggs.

But some matters weighed almost nothing until someone deliberately put them on the scales. Once that happened, how much they weighed was another matter entirely. The key was that the other side was not trying to bring Zhang Yuelu down for good. They merely wanted her to lose this particular battle. Thus, there was no need for some earth-shattering scandal or major criminal case. Something like this was already enough. As long as they could get Zhang Wuyue back to the Central Plains and make the charges against him stick, their objective would be achieved.

They wanted to humiliate Zhang Yuelu, who was supposed to be so principled and above reproach, always talking about morality and ideals. Wouldn’t she have to bear responsibility for not being able to keep her own cousin and subordinate in line?

Such was human nature. It was always the good person who ended up with a gun pointed at them. The exact same incident would produce two entirely different outcomes for Zhang Yuelu and Li Tianzhen. Li Tianzhen had long been notorious, so people were actually more tolerant of his misdeeds.

Thinking about it now, the woman who had encouraged Zhang Wuyue to go into business was also highly suspicious. Perhaps she had been part of a trap laid in advance. A hot-blooded young man might be able to endure hardship and suffering and might even dare to face life and death head-on, but he would almost certainly find it difficult to resist a honey trap of feminine charms. It was simply that young men without wealth or status rarely had the opportunity to be tested in such a way.

A young man like Zhang Wuyue, who had been raised under strict family discipline, had little contact with women in his everyday life. He had never become disenchanted with women and had yet to shed that sense of mystique and sanctity surrounding the opposite sex, nor did he possess Qi Xuansu’s willpower. Of course, Qi Xuansu had undergone that disillusionment far too early. First, Yue Liuli had nearly gotten him killed, and then came Madam Qi’s personal tutelage. After all that unpleasant female interaction, there was no way he could retain a young man’s idealized reverence toward women.

Under such circumstances, it was like long-parched land finally receiving a welcome rain. It was only natural that he might meet a woman, immediately treasure her above all else, and fall desperately in love. That was how he fell straight into the honey trap.

Once he fell in love with a woman, discussion of marriage would eventually follow. Though Daoists loudly proclaim equality, a man was still expected to provide for his wife. As such, he would need money for betrothal gifts and a marital home.

The woman just needed to nudge Zhang Wuyue into asking Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu for money. Even if he were too embarrassed to ask them for money, all he needed to do was borrow a little of their influence. Then, he could rely on his own ability to build up a substantial fortune. Since everyone did the same, it was no big deal.

Step by step, Zhang Wuyue fell into someone else’s trap without even realizing it. That was how he became a card in the opponent’s hand.

The other side was in no hurry to play this card either, just as Qi Xuansu was in no hurry to play the card that was Lu Yujue. They were simply waiting for the critical moment to play it.

When that time came, Zhang Wuyue would face imprisonment, and Zhang Yuelu would be implicated as well.

Even though Zhang Yuelu had noticed something amiss in advance and managed to save Zhang Wuyue from the worst of it, she had still left behind something that could be used against her.

What Huangfu Ji had not expected was for those people’s reach to extend so far, all the way to the Southern Continent and even into New Port, which was right under his nose.

This infuriated Huangfu Ji somewhat. Not long ago, he had been telling Qi Xuansu that the Southern Continent was his territory and that there was no need to fear Li Changge. Yet Li Changge had not even arrived in the Southern Continent, and something like this had already happened. In a sense, this was also the Taiping Sect demonstrating its formidable strength to the Western Daoist Order.

How was Huangfu Ji supposed to preserve his dignity after this?

Thus, Huangfu Ji immediately ordered every port sealed and every departing sea vessel and flying ship subjected to rigorous inspection. Even those that had already departed the previous night were to be summoned back. If necessary, warships were to be deployed to chase them down and force them to return.

A living person could not be stuffed into a magical receptacle. Given the distance between the Southern Continent and the Central Plains, constructing a teleportation formation was also impossible. At the very least, New Port did not have the necessary conditions for one. If they wanted to take Zhang Wuyue back to the Central Plains, their only option was to cross the vast ocean. It was an extremely long journey with few places to stop along the way. Even a Heavenly Being could not carry another person across the entire ocean, as the energy consumption would simply be too great.

That was how New Port was placed under a complete lockdown. After all, the place was still under construction and was essentially one enormous construction site, so there was little concern about public disruption or appearances. Huangfu Ji had no need to hold back.

Huangfu Ji believed that Zhang Wuyue was most likely still somewhere in New Port, perhaps hidden away in some obscure place. Thus, he ordered a comprehensive search. They were to turn the entire place upside down if necessary, but they had to find the young man.

In the past, Huangfu Ji had always been regarded as a hardliner and was even known as the Tiger of the Western Daoist Order. The title referred to his swift and decisive way of doing things. Like a tiger descending from the mountain, he acted without the slightest hesitation or delay and never pulled his punches.

Huangfu Ji handled this matter in his typical fashion. Rather than escalating things step by step, he went all out from the very beginning, causing an enormous commotion.

There was undoubtedly some anger born of embarrassment behind his actions. Qi Xuansu had not even left yet, and something had already happened to Zhang Wuyue. How could Huangfu Ji possibly face Qi Xuansu after this? How much weight would his previous promises still carry?

Huangfu Ji had to resolve this matter perfectly and in the shortest possible time. He owed Qi Xuansu an explanation.

After issuing a series of orders, Huangfu Ji personally convened a council meeting in Juesheng Hall.

Although Huangfu Ji had effectively been acting as the New Port Daoist Mansion Master during this period, leaving the various affairs of Juesheng Hall to Tantai Ying, Huangfu Ji was still the official Juesheng Hall Master.

During the meeting, Huangfu Ji flew into a rage and berated the Deputy Hall Masters so fiercely that none of them dared raise their heads.

Naturally, he would not openly say that the Taiping Sect was most likely behind the incident. That would be far too damaging to internal unity and could not be discussed openly. Instead, he attributed the matter to an external force and pointed the finger directly at the Steam Evangelical Sect.

According to Huangfu Ji, the Evangelical Ministry had orchestrated this kidnapping in an attempt to sabotage the construction of New Port. He escalated the matter, demanding that everyone in Juesheng Hall treat the case with the utmost seriousness and solve it within a specified deadline.

With cases like this, everything depended on how seriously those at the top took them. Since the Hall Master himself had spoken and issued an uncompromising order, Juesheng Hall dared not slack off and immediately mobilized all resources at full capacity. Although Juesheng Hall could not compare with a behemoth like the Tiangang Hall, it was by no means an insignificant organization. Moreover, this was its own territory, so its capabilities could not be underestimated.

For a time, Juesheng Hall truly had its investigators riding out in all directions, with no fewer than three Deputy Hall Masters personally overseeing the case.

More importantly, Huangfu Ji was not merely the Juesheng Hall Master. He was also the future leader of the Western Daoist Order, so the other halls all had to show him due respect. This included the Western Tiangang Hall, which immediately deployed warships to chase down the flying ships and other vessels that had already departed, forcing them to return. Such an overwhelming show of force was also Huangfu Ji’s way of demonstrating to both allies and opponents just how extensive his power in the Southern Continent truly was.