A Pawn's Passage

Two days later, Madam Qi finally arrived in Jade Capital.

Qi Xuansu had Yan Yongzhen reserve the entire 4th floor of the Phoenix Tower, where he planned to hold a family banquet.

Qi Xuansu’s new home was certainly large enough to host a family banquet, but Phoenix Tower held a very special significance.

The weapons shop was merely where Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu first met. But the Phoenix Tower was where they truly became acquainted.

It was only today that Qi Xuansu learned that the Pei family was the true owner behind the Phoenix Tower. That made it practically a family business, so reserving a floor was merely a matter of asking.

That made perfect sense. Running an establishment in the bustling heart of Taiqing Square was impossible without some backing. Moreover, Phoenix Tower was an ancestral business of the Pei family, dating all the way back to the Holy Xuan Era and passed down from generation to generation until the present day.

This way, Qi Xuansu could even save the money. Granted, business was business, but there were times when one should not be overly polite, giving others the opportunity to do him a small favor. Being too formal with them might instead cause the Pei family to read too much into it.

Near the Phoenix Tower was Jade Capital’s City God Temple. Enshrined within was the second-generation Grand Master, who had established the foundations of Jade Capital’s present-day layout during his tenure. Thus, he had been regarded as Jade Capital’s guardian deity and received incense offerings from its residents.

Since every bit of land in Jade Capital was exceedingly valuable, even a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist was allotted only a small two-story residence. The homes of ordinary Daoists could hardly accommodate all the ceremonial arrangements and large numbers of guests. Moreover, many had no parents or elders to pay respects to. Over time, this gave rise to the custom of holding weddings at the City God Temple, with the Daoist Order taking the place of the family elders.

Since many people were orphans like Qi Xuansu who did not even know who their parents were, they also had few, if any, relatives. To keep their weddings from feeling too desolate, those holding wedding ceremonies would often invite passersby to attend as witnesses.

Back then, when Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu came out of the weapons shop, they happened to be invited to a wedding together and were seated beside each other. That was how they truly became acquainted.

Thus, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu decided to make another visit to the City God Temple.

The City God Temple was spacious with three successive courtyards. Its grand buildings and upturned eaves made it the foremost among all the temples in the surrounding regions.

Every night, the City God Temple blazed with brilliant lights, its main hall glowing radiantly like a celestial palace in the heavens.

As Qi Xuansu’s secretary, Yan Yongzhen handled the arrangements. When the City God Temple learned that Sage Qi and Sage Zhang would be coming, its staff were both flattered and overwhelmed, declaring that it would be their utmost honor to host the Sages and their guests.

After all, the sheer scale of their wedding had practically shaken the entire Daoist Order, and the ceremony had been held at Chiming Palace. Now, regardless of their reasons for holding another ceremony at the City God Temple, it was an unequivocally good thing for the temple. There had never before been a precedent of someone at the rank of Omniscient Sage holding a ceremony here, and this would also give the temple an opportunity to forge a bond of goodwill with the two Sages.

By dusk, the City God Temple was temporarily closed to the public, and Qi Xuansu, Zhang Yuelu, and the others entered through a side entrance.

Qi Xuansu did not insist on receiving special treatment to flaunt his status. If he were still a seventh-rank Daoist, he would not have cared about any of this and might even have gone out onto the streets to invite a few strangers to attend the ceremony just to make up the numbers. But things were different now. If the temple remained open, it would inevitably attract people seeking to curry favor with the powerful or draw crowds of curious onlookers, neither of which was what Qi Xuansu wanted.

Madam Qi disliked crowds and commotion, which was precisely why they were holding a separate ceremony. If they ended up attracting a whole crowd of unrelated people, then what would be the point of coming to the City God Temple?

Qi Xuansu had struggled for so many years and risked his life countless times to finally earn privileges like these. If he still had to do everything exactly as a seventh-rank Daoist would, then all his efforts would have been for nothing.

Returning to this familiar place, Zhang Yuelu could not help but recall how Qi Xuansu had introduced himself back then. “My name is Qi Xuansu. It means two conflicting forces clashing and leading to two different paths.”

The last time Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu came to the City God Temple, they had been seated in a side hall, where a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist presided over the ceremony.

This time, things were entirely different. The ceremony was arranged directly in the main hall, with the temple officiant personally taking charge and every Jijiu Daoist in the City God Temple turning out for the occasion.

Besides Madam Qi, a few others also attended, including Madam Wu, Lin Yuanmiao, Little Yin, Li Qingnu, Liu Hu, and Yan Yongzhen.

The temple officiants still needed some time to make preparations, so Qi Xuansu and his group waited for the time being.

Madam Qi was the only family elder present for this ceremony, which actually made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. She suggested, “Let someone else join me, so we can make a pair.”

Hearing this, Little Yin immediately volunteered. “Me! Me! I’ll do it!”

Zhang Yuelu shot her a look and said, “Are you trying to turn the natural order upside down?”

Qi Xuansu decided to tease her. “Little Yin, if you keep causing trouble, I’m not paying back the 1,000 Taiping coins I owe you.”

Little Yin pressed her hands on her hips and demanded loudly, “How could you?!”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Well, my fist is bigger than yours. Might makes right.”

Little Yin protested indignantly, “You’re such a bully!”

Qi Xuansu grinned. “That’s right. I’m bullying you. I won’t be paying back your 1,000 Taiping coins and will even confiscate all the money you have left. Consider it your filial offering to me. I feed you, clothe you, give you a place to live, and even pay for your schooling and lessons. What’s wrong with taking a little of your money? What? You’re not happy about it?

“After raising you all this time, you’ve become my enemy instead? Why can’t I scold you a little? If you can’t even take a few words like this, how are you going to survive in the Jianghu? Who are you giving that attitude to? It’s like I’ve raised an ancestor instead of a child! Back in our day, life was tough. Whenever we had any money, every last coin went straight to our parents. Isn’t that right, Madam Qi?”

The more Little Yin listened, the angrier she became. Finally, she could not take it anymore and cursed in a tearful voice, “Screw you! I’m taking you down with me!”

Before she had even finished speaking, Little Yin rammed her head straight into Qi Xuansu’s lower abdomen, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

Everyone hurried forward to pull the two apart.

As elders, Madam Wu and Madam Qi both began reprimanding Qi Xuansu.

Madam Wu rebuked him. “You’re a grown man, and an Omniscient Sage at that. How could you still fool around like this? Just look how upset you’ve made the child.”

Madam Qi said, “Where did you learn all this nonsense? Even jokes should have limits. Also, when did I ever make you hand over every last coin you had?”

Meanwhile, Zhang Yuelu comforted Little Yin. “He was only teasing you. If he dares to not pay you back, none of us will let him off.”

In the end, under pressure from everyone else, Qi Xuansu had to apologize to Little Yin. “I was wrong. I was only teasing you just now. I’ll definitely pay you back. I’ll even double it.”

Little Yin wiped her eyes while secretly peeking at Qi Xuansu through the gaps between her fingers. Sniffling, she said, “Put it in writing!”

Qi Xuansu immediately grabbed some paper and a brush and wrote an IOU on the spot, declaring that he owed her 2,000 Taiping coins, with a guarantee that the full amount would be repaid before the New Year.

Little Yin took the IOU and examined it. “There’s no seal...”

Qi Xuansu laughed in exasperation. “You sure have a lot of demands! Don’t push your luck.”

Little Yin immediately turned around. “Old Zhang, Madam Qi, Madam Wu, look at him...”

Qi Xuansu hurriedly said, “Fine, I’ll stamp it right now, alright? I’m at fault after all...”

Qi Xuansu took out several of his personal seals and asked, “Which seal do you want? Qi Xuansu? Tian Yuan? Or Sage Taiwei?”

Little Yin looked from one seal to another, unable to choose. In the end, she decided she wanted them all. “Stamp them all!”

Qi Xuansu was just about to give her a piece of his mind when Little Yin immediately pouted, looking as if she was about to cry again.

With three backers—Zhang Yuelu, Madam Qi, and Madam Wu—behind her, there really was nothing Qi Xuansu could do about her.

Qi Xuansu sighed and had no choice but to stamp the IOU with all three of his seals.

Little Yin did not hold grudges either. Once the IOU was safely in her hands, the clouds immediately cleared, and what had just happened was forgotten.

Yan Yongzhen found the whole scene eye-opening. He had never imagined that the usually formidable Sage Qi had such a side to him, which made him seem much more approachable.

Meanwhile, Liu Hu was somewhat envious of Little Yin. It was the greatest blessing to be doted on by so many people.

After this little interlude, everyone discussed the arrangements and decided to have Madam Wu sit alongside Madam Qi in the elders’ seats. Neither Qi Xuansu nor Zhang Yuelu had any objections. Given Madam Wu’s seniority, they certainly would not be losing out by paying respects to her. After all, Madam Wu was even older than the second-generation Grand Master. If they could bow to the second-generation Grand Master, they could certainly bow to Madam Wu as well.

Once that was settled, two chairs were placed before the statue, where the two elders took their seats. Then, the temple officiant and the others entered.

The temple officiant presided over the ceremony, which was undoubtedly the most pressure he had ever faced. Seated before him was a Virtuous Great Sage, while standing before him were an Omniscient Sage and the Chief Deputy of Tiangang Hall. Among the witnesses was yet another Sage. Although he had no idea who the other seated woman was, anyone who could sit alongside a Virtuous Great Sage could hardly be an ordinary figure. For all he knew, she might be an Omniscient Sage as well.

As such, the temple officiant did not dare make a single mistake.

The Jijiu Daoists recited sacred scriptures, praying for blessings upon the newlyweds.

Later came the three bows. First, the newlyweds had to bow to heaven and earth; second to the family elders, and finally, to each other as husband and wife.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, who had changed into their purple and gold hechangs for the occasion, went through the ceremony once again.

Finally, the temple officiant proclaimed that the ceremony was complete under the witness of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor, the temple officiant, the Jijiu Daoists, and everyone in attendance.

A wisp of pure qi could be seen rising from each of them. The two wisps then intertwined like strands of hair being bound together, symbolizing that they were now joined as one, sharing both honor and disgrace.

However, for cultivators of Qi Xuansu’s level, pursuing immortality was an act of defying the heavens, so their fate and fortune had long since become unpredictable. Thus, this phenomenon held almost no practical significance and was largely symbolic.

With the ceremony concluded, Qi Xuansu invited everyone to proceed to the Phoenix Tower nearby for the wedding banquet as a gesture of thanks.

The temple officiant tactfully declined the invitation, and Qi Xuansu did not insist.

Being situated diagonally across from the City God Temple, the Phoenix Tower became the ideal location for newlyweds to host their wedding banquets. So naturally, business at the Phoenix Tower was booming.

The Phoenix Tower had four floors and occupied a vast area, far surpassing an ordinary restaurant. The first floor was a large dining hall for walk-in guests, where the establishment specially employed Daoist believers skilled in music to perform. The second floor consisted of smaller private rooms, and the third floor housed larger private rooms. The fourth floor was reserved for its most exclusive suites.

Today, Qi Xuansu had reserved the entire fourth floor for the family banquet.