A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu first spoke with Zhang Jucheng and Zhang Juqi. Zhang Jucheng mainly brought up matters concerning Nanyang and asked Qi Xuansu about some of the details regarding how he had wrapped things up there.

Qi Xuansu did not conceal anything and gave them a general account of what had happened.

After hearing him out, Zhang Jucheng sighed repeatedly. “To possess such methods at your age truly puts people like us to shame.”

Zhang Juqi even felt a little awkward. After all, with such an outstanding son-in-law, it was difficult for him to conduct himself as the wise father-in-law and could not put on airs as an elder.

Perhaps those close to Qi Xuansu did not think much of it. But in the eyes of others, Qi Xuansu was an exceedingly forceful figure.

There had been no shortage of people who had fallen from power because of him over the years. Li Minghuang was the most recent example. He had offended Qi Xuansu and ended up being demoted to be the Chief Deputy of the Female Daoist Association.

Fortunately, Zhang Juqi merely felt slightly awkward and did not take it to heart.

At the mention of Li Minghuang, Zhang Jucheng tactfully expressed his gratitude to Qi Xuansu. In a way, it had allowed him to indirectly vent some long-suppressed resentment. This had been a thorn lodged in his heart, and in the end, it was Qi Xuansu who had pulled it out.

Zhang Jucheng could not help but lament inwardly how his daughter was such a poor judge of character. She had treasured Li Minghuang as though he were something precious and could never forget him, yet she had treated Qi Xuansu harshly before he rose to prominence. Despite having eyes, she was truly blind.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yuelu met with Tantai Qiong and Zhang Yuyue. Although they had already seen one another in Jade Capital, there had been too many people around at the time, leaving them no opportunity to speak in private.

Tantai Qiong was somewhat silent, because reality had mercilessly slapped her across the face. Her daughter had proven to be far better than her at judging people.

Who could have imagined that the seventh-rank Daoist from back then would leap all the way to becoming the youngest Omniscient Sage within just a few years? Could this truly be the makings of a Grand Master?

In any case, Tantai Qiong certainly had not seen it.

The Heavenly Preceptor might have seen it. Zhang Jucheng had not, but he was shrewd and calculating, never expressing his position lightly or giving others anything they could use against him. Instead, he always left himself room to maneuver, sparing himself any embarrassment.

Even the Yan family had compromised, which could be considered a disguised form of backing down. All of this further proved to Tantai Qiong that she was also a poor judge of character. If Zhang Yuelu had listened to her mother back then, she might well have missed out on an excellent match.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuelu was not someone who enjoyed kicking others when they were down. As long as no one went out of their way to provoke her, she would not dig up old grievances either.

This only made Tantai Qiong even more uneasy. From her perspective, she would have preferred Zhang Yuelu to mock her to her face. At least then, she might have felt a little less guilty.

Zhang Yuyue felt even worse. Tantai Qiong had, at most, been slapped once by reality.

But Zhang Yuyue had been slapped twice—once for failing to see Li Minghuang’s true colors, and another for failing to see Qi Xuansu’s potential.

Zhang Yuelu noticed their embarrassment, so she did not bring up those unpleasant matters from years ago. Instead, she turned the conversation to some of the affairs in Nanyang.

Tantai Qiong and Zhang Yuyue did not usually pay much attention to such major affairs. They only knew that Zhang Yuelu served as the Chief Deputy in the Poluo Daoist Mansion. It was only after hearing Zhang Yuelu’s personal experience that they realized just how serious the situation had been.

Although Zhang Yuelu did not deliberately boast about Qi Xuansu and merely recounted the events as they had happened, what she said was still deeply shocking to Tantai Qiong and Zhang Yuyue. After all, whenever Qi Xuansu interacted with them, he always held back. Tantai Qiong might have thought that Qi Xuansu was disrespectful and discourteous toward her, but compared with the treatment Pei Shenfu had received, Tantai Qiong suddenly felt that Qi Xuansu had actually been quite courteous to her.

Clearly, this courtesy was all relative.

However, Zhang Yuelu did not delve too deeply into the matter and merely touched upon it briefly.

At Zhang Jucheng’s instruction, the Zhang family also prepared a bridal chamber for Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu at the Dazhen Mansion, so the two stayed there for the night.

The following day, the Heavenly Preceptor and the various elders of the Zhang family formally met with Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

Compared with the Li family, the generation gap was much clearer in the Zhang family. Those from the Wu-generation were all white-haired old men.

Besides the two familiar faces—the Heavenly Preceptor and Zhang Wuliang—there were also a Mansion Master, a Palace Master, a retired Great Sage, and an ordinary Sage who had never formally held any official position.

However, holding no official position did not mean having no power. For instance, Li Tianqing held no formal office and possessed only the relatively respectable rank of Sage, yet his influence was so extensive that he could even reach into Nanyang. The fact that Qi Xuansu had managed to take down Li Tianqing did not mean that Li Tianqing was much weaker than Qi Xuansu. The main reason was that Li Tianqing had been fighting away from his home ground. Had the confrontation taken place in Donghai instead, the outcome might have been entirely different.

The main purpose of this meeting was to introduce Qi Xuansu to these elders of the Zhang family. In the past, Qi Xuansu had often heard others speak of the Zhang family elders and how the Heavenly Preceptor had to consult them on many matters, or how Zhang Jucheng relied on their support to maintain his control over the Zhang family.

Qi Xuansu had never met these clan elders before. So today was considered their first formal meeting.

Likewise, the clan elders had heard plenty about Qi Xuansu’s deeds, but Zhang Wuliang was the only one among them who had actually met Qi Xuansu before.

With this meeting, the Heavenly Preceptor was effectively bringing Qi Xuansu into the upper echelon of the Zhang family, allowing him to become deeply involved in the family’s affairs. After Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu promised that they would not contend to take over the main branch of the Zhang family, the clan elders also reached a consensus. Given the current circumstances, they could no longer rigidly cling to the old rules.

Thus, the Heavenly Preceptor introduced them to Qi Xuansu one by one.

Zhang Wuliang was one of the seven Managers of Taiping Bank. The last time Zhang Wuliang had met Qi Xuansu was during the Fenglin Campaign, when he represented the Zhang family in negotiations with Sage Qingwei. Qi Xuansu had also participated in the negotiations.

Next was Zhang Wuwei, the Wuzhou Daoist Mansion Master. In fact, Qi Xuansu had encountered this Mansion Master once before, during the wedding banquet in Jade Capital when he was making the rounds to toast the guests. However, there had been too many people at the time, so Qi Xuansu had merely offered a general toast without speaking to him personally.

Judging by his appearance, Zhang Wuwei looked considerably younger than the Heavenly Preceptor, appearing to be around 70 years old. He seemed quite amiable and smiled as he nodded in greeting to Qi Xuansu. “I have long heard of your reputation Tian Yuan. Today, I finally get to meet the man himself.”

Then came Zhang Wuxia, the Shangqing Palace Master. Since the Heavenly Preceptor, Zhang Wuwei, and the others had all gone to Jade Capital, someone had to remain behind. Thus, Zhang Wuxia had not gone to Jade Capital but had stayed at Yunjin Mountain. This was his first meeting with Qi Xuansu.

Judging by his appearance, Zhang Wuxia looked even younger, roughly 60 years old by the standards of ordinary people, not 60 like the Three Daoist Heirs. The Daoist Order merely prohibited excessive rejuvenation rather than forbidding it altogether. Thus, although the Three Daoist Heirs were already in their sixties, they appeared to be only around 40. Even their mentality and bearing were more akin to people in the prime of life, without the slightest decline in aura.

Zhang Wuxia had the distinct character of a secretary. He was meticulous and restrained without being taciturn. He also had an excellent sense of propriety.

Zhang Jucheng was different. He was a forceful man by nature and was not suited to serving as a Palace Master.

Zhang Wuxia merely nodded to Qi Xuansu in greeting without saying anything, as though the Heavenly Preceptor’s attitude was also his own.

Next was Great Sage Zhang Wuchang, the oldest among the clan elders. He had once served as an Omniscient Sage as well as a Mansion Master. However, due to his advanced age, he had stepped down from his positions. The Daoist Order subsequently promoted him to a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist, making him an ordinary Great Sage.

Zhang Wuchang’s circumstances were similar to Sun Heyu’s. However, with the Zhang family behind him, Zhang Wuchang’s influence was greater than Sun Heyu’s.

This old man appeared roughly the same age as the Heavenly Preceptor, with both his hair and beard completely white. However, he was nowhere near as amiable as the Heavenly Preceptor and instead seemed rather imposing.

Zhang Wuchang said, “Sage Qi, from now on, we are all one family.”

The last person, and the only ordinary Sage who had never held any formal position, was named Zhang Wuyong.

It was an interesting, self-deprecating name, as Wuyong meant “useless.” However, the fact that he could sit among the inner core circle of the Zhang family meant that he must be exceptional, similar to Madam Qi.

Aside from the Heavenly Preceptor Zhang Wushou, Zhang Wuliang, Zhang Wuwei, Zhang Wuxia, Zhang Wuchang, and Zhang Wuyong, as well as Zhang Wuhen, who had been struck from the family register, there was also one other person of the Wu-generation who did not appear at the gathering. The Heavenly Preceptor merely mentioned this person in passing without elaborating, suggesting that this was very likely a hidden figure within the Zhang family.

Come to think of it, there was nothing particularly wrong with this generation of the Zhang family. In fact, they were quite formidable. The real problem was that the subsequent generations suffered a decline, with almost no capable successors. This left the Zhang family severely lacking in talent for the future, which was precisely what gave Zhang Yuelu the opportunity to distinguish herself.

Naturally, this could be considered a failure on the part of the older generation, who had failed to cultivate a proper succession pipeline. However, the older generation had their own defense. The Zhang family was unlike the Li family. They did not rely on adopted sons nor sons-in-law. Instead, they had to depend entirely on their own descendants. Among disciples, adopted sons, sons-in-law, and biological sons, only the latter could not be handpicked. It was like farming at the mercy of the heavens. The quality of the harvest depended entirely on heaven’s will. Even if they wanted to properly cultivate the next generation, they still had to see what fate had given them. If Heaven simply refused to cooperate, there was nothing they could do about it.

Nevertheless, the Zhang family had made certain changes. Taking adopted sons was absolutely out of the question, as it violated the ancestral precept that no one outside the Zhang family could serve as Heavenly Preceptor. There had once been a Heavenly Preceptor of a different last name, but that had only happened because the Holy Xuan had forcibly imposed the arrangement. Once the Holy Xuan was gone, things immediately reverted to the old ways. It also triggered a series of repercussions, blocking even disciples from succeeding.

After considering all their options, the only viable path left was through sons-in-law.

The Zhang family had relaxed its standards. As such, they did not object and were even somewhat pleased to see Zhang Yuyue develop a relationship with the capable Li Minghuang. However, Li Minghuang later ran off on his own.

When Qi Xuansu entered the picture, most of the senior figures within the Zhang family were not particularly supportive of him. However, not a single one of them had stepped forward to openly oppose or suppress him. At most, they had treated him with lukewarm indifference or used the main branch of the family to protest the Heavenly Preceptor’s actions. Considering that Qi Xuansu had only been a seventh-rank Daoist at the time, this was already remarkably open-minded of them.

This also demonstrated the Zhang family’s attitude. They desperately needed fresh blood to hold up the next two generations.

Now that Qi Xuansu had risen to prominence with overwhelming momentum and had married Zhang Yuelu, the clan elders chose to go with the flow. This was the wisdom that came with age. Acting as Tantai Qiong had done would only cut off one’s own avenues of retreat, serving no meaningful purpose.

Now, the Heavenly Preceptor intended to bring Qi Xuansu into the Zhang family’s core circle of decision makers, drawing the two sides closer together.

Perhaps the clan elders themselves would never need to ask anything of Qi Xuansu, but their descendants would inevitably need someone like him. At the very least, Wi Xuansu was better at taking personal relationships and social obligations into consideration compared to Zhang Yuelu. Thus, the clan elders reached a consensus and agreed with the Heavenly Preceptor’s decision.