A Pawn's Passage

Salt Lake was desolate. Looking around, one would see nothing but desert sand and rugged poplar trees. Qi Xuansu traveled under the scorching sun during the day and cultivated his qi instead of sleeping at night.

In fact, traveling alone was not easy. Only Heavenly Beings could make wandering about the world alone look simple and cool. Ordinary travelers had to endure long periods of loneliness and suffer from fatigue. Some had it worse, having to worry about their livelihood.

However, loneliness also had its advantages. One could concentrate on their goal without getting distracted. Qi Xuansu headed north. Every night, he used the Rogue Cultivator’s method to regulate his vitals, meditate his mind, and calm his breath.

Due to the Xuan Jade and the medicinal wine, Qi Xuansu could clearly feel his qi circulating in the middle Dantian. His cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. Although he had not yet broken through the final barrier, he was one step closer to the Holy Embryo Realm.

Qi Xuansu traveled for six days, almost reaching the edge of the Salt Lake. However, the color of the sky suddenly changed. There was a huge sandstorm approaching. Qi Xuansu could not brave the sandstorm, so he had to find shelter as soon as possible.

Soon, Qi Xuansu spotted a large flag raised high in the distance, which rustled in the strong wind. It was a big sign that read, Feilong Inn.

The inns located in the Gobi Desert were very different from the common Taiping Inn found in the cities. The main building, made of rammed earth, was two stories high. There were two courtyards outside, which were used to keep miscellaneous items and horses. Most inns in the desert had underground cellars for temporary shelter, as some sandstorms were strong enough to destroy buildings.

The flagpole stood in the middle of the courtyard. Qi Xuansu entered the inn. Due to the strong winds and sand in the desert, the windows were made to be very small, so the lobby was extremely dark at this time. Not surprisingly, this was a mom-and-pop shop, unlike the big names in the cities.

The innkeeper and his wife were standing in the shadows behind the counter. The innkeeper was thin, wearing a baggy robe that looked loose on him. His wife had a plump figure with curves in all the right places. She was the definition of a mature and charming woman.

The innkeeper was startled to see Qi Xuansu. Having been able to run an inn in the desert for many years, the innkeeper was no ordinary man. He had some mystical abilities, allowing him to see one’s aura. Thus, the innkeeper could tell at a glance that Qi Xuansu had an intense killing aura.

If a person claimed too many lives, they would naturally form a killing aura. For example, butchers slaughter animals for a living, so they also had a strong killing aura. Thus, ordinary ghosts could not get close to them. A mass murderer would also have a killing aura that was intense enough to repel evil spirits.

The innkeeper could only see Qi Xuansu’s restrained killing aura with a slight red glow. But he could not distinguish its depths. As such, the innkeeper knew that this young man was not a novice but an experienced traveler.

At this time, the innkeeper’s wife came out from behind the counter and greeted Qi Xuansu. “Sir, are you looking for a place to stay?”

Qi Xuansu noticed that there was already a group of guests in the lobby, but they were just sitting in the corner. Since it was dark outside and there were no lamps indoors, they were hidden in the shadows, easily overlooked.

This group of people wore black gauze hats, brocade robes, and official boots. They also carried weapons at all times.

They were the Green Phoenix Guard.

There were more than twenty guards in the lobby, seated separately at three tables. Their leader was a white-haired old man who sat alone at a table. He was wearing a green brocade robe with narrow sleeves and a belt with a bronze phoenix-head buckle. His saber, with a one-meter-long blade and twenty-centimeter-long hilt, was hanging on his waist. Although the saber was sheathed, its shape was clear. The saber’s spine was straight, and only the blade was slightly curved.

It was the standard uniform of the Green Phoenix Guard.

When Qi Xuansu looked at the group of Green Phoenix Guards, the white-haired old man also looked at Qi Xuansu and asked, “Are you from the Daoist Order?”

Qi Xuansu knew that his clothes, which were of the typical Jade Capital fashion, had given away his identity. However, his clothes were in Zhang Yuelu’s magical receptacle, so he could not change into something more common. Thus, he gave a vague answer. “My apologies, but I can’t share that.”

The white-haired old man nodded thoughtfully and did not ask further.

Qi Xuansu looked at the innkeeper’s wife and said, “I’d like one guest room and a small pint of Fenjiu[1]. Don’t mix it with water. I’d also like a platter of cooked beef. If you don’t have beef, mutton is fine as well.”

The innkeeper’s wife responded. “Don’t worry, sir. Although our shop is small, we are honest businessmen and will never be so immoral as to dilute the wine.”

While talking, the innkeeper’s wife quickly poured about 250 milliliters of wine from the large wine jar behind the counter into a tin jug. The innkeeper then turned around and went to the kitchen to cook the meat.

Qi Xuansu took the jug and asked, “How much is the total?”

“The room is 70 Ruyi coins, the wine is 42 Ruyi coins, and the beef is 65 Ruyi coins. The total after rounding it up will be 180 Ruyi coins.” The innkeeper’s wife had already calculated the amount.

Qi Xuansu put down two small silver coins on the counter. “Let’s just round it up to 200. You can keep the change.”

The innkeeper’s wife did not refuse. She put away the two small Taiping coins, which were worth 200 Ruyi coins, and thanked him profusely.

Qi Xuansu was not in a hurry to rest, thinking he could head upstairs to his room after having his meal.

Not long after, the door of the inn was suddenly pushed open from the outside. The turbulent wind and sand rolled into the lobby. Then, a group of people slowly walked into the inn.

This group had a strange mix of people—a Confucian scholar, a Daoist priest, a monk, and a few women dressed as commoners.

The white-haired old man narrowed his eyes upon seeing this group of people. The strange group was from a secret society called the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court was made up of a delusional bunch, claiming that they had integrated five entities—the Daoist Order, the Buddhist Sect, the Confucian School, the Shamanistic Sect, and the Western Holy Court—into one. They also claimed to have achieved what the leaders of the Confucian School and the Daoist Order had failed to do by integrating the three main religions.

However, unlike the Ziguang Society, the Cult of Fates, and the Lingshan Witch Cult, the Heavenly Court did not require blood sacrifices, living souls, or incense power. They preferred money. They amassed wealth ruthlessly and deceived hundreds of thousands of people.

Thus, it was mainly up to the Imperial Court to eradicate this secret society, which was causing harm to the country and the people. In retaliation, the Heavenly Court initiated several uprisings, but most of them were ineffective against the Black Robes.

Therefore, the relationship between the Green Phoenix Guard and the Heavenly Court was like fire and ice.

The Daoist Order also disliked the Heavenly Court for plagiarizing their beliefs and altering the Daoist divine figures. In Daoism, the Primordial Daoist Ancestor was held in the highest esteem. Even the Emperor of Heaven and other deities were below the Primordial Daoist Ancestor.

However, the Heavenly Court imitated the Imperial Court and formed a Divine Court. In this court, the Jade Emperor was the supreme leader, and all other deities were downgraded to ministers, including the Primordial Daoist Ancestor, Buddha, and gods from other religions.

Like the Qingping Society, members of the Heavenly Court used aliases. These aliases were mostly named after various deities, such as All-Seeing Eyes, Sharp Ears, Golden Boy, Jade Girl, God of Thunder, Mother of Lightning, God of Wind, Master of Rain, Ghost King, Mighty Spirit God, Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens, and Marshal Tianpeng, to name a few.

The Heavenly Court also imitated the three Deputy Grand Masters of the Daoist Order and established the so-called Three Officials, namely the Heaven Official, the Earth Official, and the Water Official.

There were three major festivals in Daoism, namely the Shangyuan Festival on January 15th, which was the birthday of the Heaven Celestial, the Zhongyuan Festival on July 15th, which was the birthday of the Earth Celestial, and the Xiayuan Festival on October 15th, which was the birthday of the Water Celestial.

These three days were for worshiping Heaven, Earth, and Water. The Great Sages and Sages of the Daoist Order had to fast and cleanse their bodies, and there would be a grand ceremony. The Heavenly Court simply created an incarnation of the Three Celestials and renamed them the Three Officials. Their audacity and recklessness were unparalleled.

This was also why the Heavenly Court generally did not dare provoke the Daoist Order. They had borrowed and marred Daoist deities, which was taboo in the Daoist community. However, the Daoist Order was tied up with internal fighting and secret societies related to the Ancient Immortals, so they had no additional resources to eradicate the Heavenly Court. Of course, the Heavenly Court did not just disrespect Daoism. They did the same to Buddhism as well.

The group that walked into the inn was not intimidating. They were the relatively unimposing Six Dings and Six Jias, which were twelve Daoist deities. The six Dings were female yin gods, namely Ding Mao, Ding Yi, Ding Wei, Ding You, Ding Hai, and Ding Chou. The six Jias were the male yang gods, namely Jia Zi, Jia Xu, Jia Shen, Jia Wu, Jia Chen, and Jia Yin.

The leader of this group was Jia Shen. He scanned the small inn and paused slightly on Qi Xuansu. Finally, his gaze landed on the white-haired old man.

The white-haired old man sat still and continued drinking his wine.

Jia Shen spoke slowly, with a hoarse voice. “I can’t believe we’ve encountered a bunch of Eagle Claws. We should just throw them outside in the snowstorm!”

The white-haired old man said calmly, “How bold of you.”

Jia Shen narrowed his eyes and looked at the white-haired old man. “Give me a sign.”

The white-haired old man put down the wine glass in his hand and said in a deep voice, “I don’t speak slang, as I am a major of the Green Phoenix Guard. My name is Sui Fan.”

In an instant, all the Green Phoenix Guards held the hilt of their swords or gripped their guns.

The people behind Jia Shen were not to be outdone, brandishing their weapons, including swords, spears, knives, halberds, and firearms.

Both sides were ready to fight at any moment.

Qi Xuansu had no intention of getting involved, so he retreated to the side and slowly sipped on his wine.

1. Strong colorless Chinese liquor. ☜