A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu was not someone who insisted on pursuing justice at all costs. Nor did she mind resorting to certain methods. Without using such methods, she would not be able to contend with her opponents. If she could not even protect herself, what was the point of talking about ideals? Would that not be a joke?

From beginning to end, Zhang Yuelu’s ideal had always been to reform the Daoist Order. Everyone knew about this. Zhang Yuelu was fighting for the Daoist Order, not for fairness and justice. The distinction had to be made clear, so it could not be said that Zhang Yuelu was applying a double standard.

Even the new policies Zhang Yuelu implemented in Poluo could hardly be called fair. She merely sought to redistribute benefits and safeguard the interests of those at the bottom. At most, this amounted to relative fairness, while the great households remained great households. Zhang Yuelu had merely asked the great households to take a little less, yet she had already suffered such fierce backlash. If she truly pursued absolute fairness, she would probably die without even knowing how, while leaving behind countless curses upon her name.

Thus, Zhang Yuelu showed no mercy in this matter. Nor was she so morally fastidious as to believe that bringing down Yao Shu was the only proper course of action. Being able to reach a compromise with Yao Shu was already difficult enough.

Zhang Jucheng had served for many years as the Shangqing Palace Master, so he had also overseen affairs at the Dazhen Mansion. That was because he was the heir of the Zhang family’s main branch, so those from the Zhang family did not dare disobey him. Even though Zhang Jucheng was no longer at Yunjin Mountain and was now far away in Jinling Prefecture, all it took was a message from him to get things done.

Shi Jiaosan was also very cooperative. He had been remarkably unyielding in the past to protect his former superior and had voluntarily taken all the blame upon himself.

But people change. A rock might remain unmoved by the blow of a hammer, yet after being washed by flowing water for long enough, its sharp edges would gradually be worn away.

The reason Shi Jiaosan had been able to endure everything back then was because he still had hope. As long as Yao Shu remained safe, Yao Shu would be able to get him out. Or at the very least, once he was released, Yao Shu would remember their past relationship and give him a helping hand.

But never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Yao Shu would not only abandon him completely but would even try to silence him for good. If not for Zhang Jucheng, he would have died long ago in the Kunlun Daoist Mansion. The death of a chief secretary was no small matter, but the death of a prisoner in custody was hardly significant enough to stir up any waves.

It was from that moment on that the seed of hatred took root in Shi Jiaosan’s heart. How could Yao Shu be so utterly heartless and ungrateful? He had served Yao Shu faithfully for three years, attending to Yao Shu as devotedly as a son serving his father. He had handled all manner of public and private matters for Yao Shu, yet this was how Yao Shu repaid him.

Since Yao Shu cared nothing for loyalty or old ties, what reason did Shi Jiaosan have to hold back? Naturally, Shi Jiaosan wanted to find an opportunity for revenge.

But such an opportunity was not easy to find. Shi Jiaosan was imprisoned and cut off from the outside world, while Yao Shu continued rising through the ranks until he became the Chief Deputy Ziwei Hall Master. With the Earthly Preceptor and Sage Donghua protecting him, who would dare touch him? More importantly, the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect had joined forces against the Taiping Sect, so the Zhengyi Sect would not have allowed Shi Jiaosan to act against Yao Shu either.

With all this in mind, the seed of hatred had nearly withered away, and Shi Jiaosan had almost given up on his thoughts of revenge.

Yet unexpectedly, just when he was about to give up on getting vengeance, another sliver of hope appeared. Sure enough, among great figures, there were no eternal friends, only eternal interests. Zhang Jucheng was now going to turn against Yao Shu.

In fact, Zhang Jucheng had been closely monitoring developments in Nanyang all along. As soon as Yao Shu made his position known, Zhang Jucheng immediately sent someone to approach Shi Jiaosan.

This person was no stranger either. Both Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu knew him. He was Zhang Yuelu’s cousin, Zhang Chiyue, who was on fairly good terms with Zhang Chiyue.

Zhang Chiyue secretly returned to the Dazhen Mansion on Yunjin Mountain and, using Zhang Jucheng’s written order, had Shi Jiaosan brought out of the Demon-Vanquishing Cave. He then went straight to the point. “Shi Jiaosan, were the matters you reported back then true?”

Shi Jiaosan was momentarily stunned and had to think back to determine exactly what

“back then” referred to. Then, the nearly withered seed of hatred within him sprang back to life, and he immediately replied, “They were true.”

Zhang Chiyue asked again, Can you put everything down in writing?

Shi Jiaosan hesitated. “Back then, Sage Zhang warned me not to speak carelessly, especially anything detrimental to unity. He told me that such things must never be said.”

Zhang Chiyue sneered. “Things are different now. Write up a detailed account of everything from back then immediately.”

Only then did Shi Jiaosan realize that the winds had truly changed. Those winds had brought on a nourishing rain that allowed the seed of hatred within him to flourish.

On careful thought, it made perfect sense. If not for a day like this, why would they have spared his life in the first place?

Shi Jiaosan was placed in a private room not far from the Demon-Vanquishing Cave. He was given no other task except to write down everything from those years. No detail, however small, was to be omitted. The more detailed, the better. However, he was not to fabricate accusations or leave any openings for others to attack. The evidence had to be ironclad.

After these materials were completed, Zhang Chiyue had Shi Jiaosan write another letter, addressed to his former superior, Yao Shu.

In the past, Shi Jiaosan had been Yao Shu’s personal pen, a master at manipulating words. He immediately grasped Zhang Chiyue’s intent and wrote a letter that concealed needles within soft cotton, leaving Zhang Chiyue highly satisfied.

Then, Zhang Chiyue hurried back to Jiangnan with the materials and the letter, personally delivering them into Zhang Jucheng’s hands.

With all these preparations complete, Zhang Jucheng simply waited for Zhang Yuelu to come asking for help.

Sure enough, Zhang Yuelu eventually resorted to that worst strategy and sought Zhang Jucheng’s assistance. Having secured a favor from Zhang Yuelu, Zhang Jucheng handed her the knife he had prepared long ago.

Soon after, following Zhang Yuelu’s instructions, Lin Yuanmiao personally traveled to Jiangnan to meet Zhang Jucheng, ensuring that absolutely nothing could go wrong. After all, he was a Pseudo-Immortal. Unless an Immortal personally intercepted him, there was virtually no possibility of failure.

Zhang Jucheng handed both the letter and the materials to Lin Yuanmiao. As for how they should be used, Zhang Yuelu would have her own plans. There was no need for him to tell her what to do.

However, Zhang Jucheng still gave one warning. There absolutely could not be any more oversights. Xie Jiaofeng was still within manageable limits, but if something happened to Zhang Wuyue as well, then even forcing Yao Shu into a compromise would not be enough to salvage the situation. After all, the Li family was the true enemy. They had to remember to keep Qi Xuansu informed and have him strengthen his precautions as well.

The Zhang and Li families had been old rivals for centuries, so they understood each other best. Zhang Jucheng’s judgment of the Taiping Sect was remarkably accurate, and he had anticipated a whole series of moves from them. Unfortunately, because he wanted to gain leverage over Zhang Yuelu, his warning came a little too late.

As luck would have it, Qi Xuansu was temporarily away because of Madam Wu, allowing the Taiping Sect to actually succeed in kidnapping Zhang Wuyue. But fortunately, Huangfu Ji reacted swiftly and managed to trap the group in New Port.

The contest between the two sides had now reached a critical juncture.

After receiving the letter, Zhang Yuelu did not act impulsively. With enemies on both sides, she could only draw one side over while fighting the other. If she openly fell out with Yao Shu, he might be driven completely into the opposing camp. Yao Shu might even temporarily join forces with the Taiping Sect. Then, the three-way balance would become two against one, leaving Zhang Yuelu in an even more difficult position.

This was also why Qi Xuansu was unwilling to make lofty speeches about justice. If one insisted on principles at every turn, there would be no way to contend with others at all. The essence of forming alliances was not about principles but interests. If one was unwilling to concede any interests, then what was there to discuss about unity?

Whether one called it being influenced by good company or corrupted by bad company, Zhang Yuelu would have to learn a thing or two from Qi Xuansu.

Zhang Yuelu instructed Lin Yuanmiao to deliver the letter to Yao Shu without letting anyone see him do it.

For Lin Yuanmiao, this was not particularly difficult. Though the Sheji Palace was heavily guarded, Lin Yuanmiao was already permitted to move freely inside because it was the office of the Chief Deputy and the Mansion Master. Even if he went directly to Yao Shu’s office under the pretext of reporting some work, there would be nothing unusual about it. No one would stop him.

The strongest fortress was often breached from within.

Not to mention, with Lin Yuanmiao’s Pseudo-Immortal cultivation, concealing his movements was simple. The only person he could not hide from was Great Sage Lan, but why would the old Great Sage expose him?

Besides, Yao Shu would not remain in his office all the time. Lin Yuanmiao merely needed to find a suitable opportunity while Yao Shu was away and leave the letter at his door.

Before long, Yao Shu discovered the letter with large words written on the envelope that read, “For Yao Shu’s Eyes Only.”

Yao Shu had an ominous premonition, but he picked up the letter nonetheless.

There was something highly suspicious about this letter. It had clearly been placed there while he was away.

The letter had neither beginning nor end. There was no salutation, no signature, and no address. Yet Yao Shu recognized the familiar handwriting at a glance. It belonged to his former secretary, Shi Jiaosan, who had drafted countless documents for him in the past. Back then, Yao Shu had even praised Shi Jiaosan’s penmanship on numerous occasions.

This startled Yao Shu.

He thought Shi Jiaosan was dead. Someone from the Yao family had personally ordered the matter handled, and supposedly, it had been done very cleanly. Several Spirit Guards at the Kunlun Daoist Mansion and some of Shi Jiaosan’s fellow prisoners had been bribed. The guards turned a blind eye while the other prisoners repeatedly tormented Shi Jiaosan to death, thus eliminating the problem once and for all. So how did a letter from Shi Jiaosan suddenly appear? Could Shi Jiaosan have left behind some final letter before his death?

Yao Shu quickly dismissed this possibility because both the ink and paper were visibly new. The letter must have been written quite recently.

Could someone else have imitated Shi Jiaosan’s handwriting? That did not seem likely either. Everyone had their own writing style, and Yao Shu was far too familiar with Shi Jiaosan’s. Moreover, Shi Jiaosan was not some storyteller whose works circulated publicly. He had written exclusively for Yao Shu, and there were many small details known only to the two of them that outsiders would not have known.

The other possibility was that Shi Jiaosan was not truly dead.

Yao Shu had weathered the ups and downs of the Daoist Order for many years. Though he was startled, he did not panic and kept a clear head.

The Sheji Palace was no ordinary place. It was heavily guarded. For someone to deliver a letter to his office without making a sound or alerting anyone meant that the messenger was most likely someone from within the Sheji Palace itself.

That narrowed it down to Great Sage Lan, Zhang Yuelu, or Xu Jiaorong.

Great Sage Lan and Xu Jiaorong had both spent many years in Nanyang and had little connection to what had happened in Zhongzhou back then. They might not even know the details of the matter.

The person who had overseen the case back then was none other than Zhang Jucheng, and Zhang Jucheng was Zhang Yuelu’s uncle.

The conclusion was obvious. Family members might quarrel within the walls of their home, but they would unite against an outside threat. Zhang Yuelu had sought Zhang Jucheng’s help, so naturally, Zhang Jucheng would back his niece. He had immediately dug up the old case and brought out the leverage he had deliberately kept all those years ago, blatantly putting pressure on Yao Shu.

Although the letter said nothing explicitly and merely contained some pleasantries and greetings, its implication could not have been clearer. This was a threat.

Yao Shu slammed the letter down on the table and cursed inwardly, Damn you, Zhang Jucheng!