A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 23: Taiqing Square

The entire Jade Capital was so tranquil that not even the slightest breeze disturbed its serenity. The Jade Capital was cold and seemed to repel outsiders, but Taiqing Square was the only exception, as it was bustling with activity, with a variety of shops and the largest crowds.

Upon arriving at Taiqing Square, the first thing that caught Qi Xuansu’s eye was a towering statue of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor. The 33-meter-tall statue of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor was located at the intersection of Shangqing Street and Yuqing Street, serving as the focal point of Taiqing Square and the center of the entire Jade Capital.

Initially, there was a proposal to erect a statue of the Holy Xuan in this spot, but the proposal was rejected by the Holy Xuan himself. Hence, they made the decision to erect a statue of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor instead.

It was not meant as a slight to the Primordial Daoist Ancestor. Rather, there were simply too many statues of him throughout the Jade Capital, at least in the hundreds, if not thousands. Unfortunately, the Holy Xuan was determined not to have a statue made for himself, so there were no statues of him in Taiqing Square or the entire Jade Capital.

There were only paintings of the Holy Xuan in the Golden Tower and Purple Mansion. Thus, only the Sages and Great Sages could witness the Holy Xuan’s true appearance.

At this moment, the sky was gradually darkening, and the colorful lanterns were just being lit.

Twenty-four lanterns with tassels hanging from them floated around the statue of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor. Each lantern was as big as a water tank, and they rotated around the statue in a peculiar orbit, illuminating the entire Taiqing Square.

After nightfall, Taiqing Square became extremely lively, with people coming and going dressed in everything from formal robes to everyday attire like Qi Xuansu.

Surrounding the square were various restaurants, inns, and shops selling swords, jade, spiritual objects, talismans, writing materials, elixirs, medicinal herbs, clothing, produce, lumber, and so on. After dark, all these shops were lit up with more than one lantern each. From above, it seemed as though the entire Taiqing Square was glowing with a border of lanterns.

Unfortunately, there was a prohibition in the Jade Capital. Daoist priests below the second rank were not allowed to fly. Therefore, apart from the sages, no one else could witness this scene from above firsthand.

The only establishments missing in Taiqing Square were brothels and gambling dens, as the Daoist Order strictly prohibited such corrupt practices. Moreover, prostitutes and courtesans were not allowed to enter the Jade Capital.

Qi Xuansu stood at the edge of Taiqing Square with his hands folded over his lower abdomen. He gazed up at the floating lanterns in the sky, reminiscing about his first visit here. The lanterns, surrounding candles, Primordial Daoist Ancestor statue, and bustling crowds suddenly felt overwhelming to him.

He had arrived from the west side of Taiqing Square, following Yuqing Street. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuelu approached from the north side of the square along Shangqing Street.

Cities in ancient times always faced the south, so the northern side of the Jade Capital was Xuan City.

Although Zhang Yuelu had just been promoted from superintendent to deputy hall master, she was not in a good mood. The infighting among the Daoist Order’s upper echelons and the underlying politics left her feeling extremely disgusted. Yet, she had no choice but to get involved.

Thus, for the first time ever, Zhang Yuelu left the Xuan City, also known as the Inner City, and came to the Outer City to take a breather.

Although Sun Yongfeng and Zhang Yuelu were both fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist masters, Zhang Yuelu’s status was far higher than Sun Yongfeng’s, especially with her promotion to Deputy Hall Master and her possession of the semi-immortal object.

Thus, Zhang Yuelu had been allocated a two-courtyard mansion in Xuan City. Moreover, Tianji Hall gave her a lease term of 30 years and waived all rental fees for Zhang Yuelu.

The Daoist Order was not lacking in what ordinary people considered talented individuals, hence the establishment of the Nine-Rank System. What the Daoist Order lacked were Banished Immortals.

With the Daoist Order’s power, they could turn a disabled person into an ordinary one or even elevate an ordinary person to a Banished Immortal. However, the cost of the latter was much higher than that of the former.

Additionally, the Sages and Great Sages also consumed various resources. Therefore, the Daoist Order treated naturally-born Banished Immortals extremely well. Compared to the cost of forcibly creating a Banished Immortal, it was definitely more cost-effective to gift Zhang Yuelu a semi-immortal object and a mansion in Xuan City.

Zhang Yuelu walked alone in Taiqing Square. Although she had a great reputation, few people had actually seen her in person. Moreover, she was wearing a simple Daoist robe without any insignia to show her rank, instead of the eye-catching hechang worn by fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist masters.

Furthermore, it was nighttime. Even though the lanterns were bright, they could not be used as a substitute for sunlight, so Zhang Yuelu didn't attract much attention.

Zhang Yuelu casually entered a shop specializing in weapons. Swords were the primary weapons used by Daoist priests, who generally looked down on firearms. However, this shop went against the norm. It did not sell a single sword and primarily sold firearms and unusual weapons.

Once someone had seen the vastness of the ocean, a mere stream would no longer hold much interest. Zhang Yuelu was indeed skilled in swordsmanship, but after acquiring a semi-immortal object, she lost interest in ordinary swords, even those of spiritual quality. Instead, she found herself drawn to these strange and exotic items.

The shopkeeper was a sixth-rank Daoist priest who enjoyed tinkering with gadgets and had a keen interest in firearms. He had previously served in Tianji Hall but had accumulated enough capital to retire and open this shop.

When he saw Zhang Yuelu enter the shop, he did not rush to greet her but allowed her to browse freely.

Zhang Yuelu's gaze swept over numerous firearms, including the Divine Dragon Pistol produced by the Divine Armory in the 36th year of the Jiushi Era. In the end, her gaze landed on a smoking pipe.

No matter how talented Zhang Yuelu was, she was still young and inexperienced in the ways of the world. She could not possibly know everything, so she asked out of curiosity, “Sir, why do you sell smoking pipes here?”

The shopkeeper smiled faintly. “This isn’t an ordinary smoking pipe but a peculiar weapon known as the Face Wrecker. It has blades on the outside.”

At this moment, Qi Xuansu walked in and heard what the shopkeeper said. He looked at the smoking pipe and realized that it was the same one that Madam Qi always had with her.

However, Madam Qi had never used it as a weapon. She only used it for smoking. Madam Qi had always used her bare hands on the occasions she fought. Her speed, precision, and ruthlessness left her opponents with no time to react. Her palm strikes were sharper than actual blades, making it difficult for Qi Xuansu to gauge the depth of her cultivation.

Zhang Yuelu’s gaze shifted from the Face Wrecker to Qi Xuansu.

As a Banished Immortal at the Guizhen stage, Zhang Yuelu had already reached the Nascent Soul Realm, corresponding to the Holy Embryo Realm of a Rogue Cultivator.

Based on the names alone, it was not difficult to see that the two realms, belonging to different lineages of Daoism, were actually quite similar.

The lineage of Rogue Cultivators had an interesting history. They had taken several realms from other lineages and pieced them together, creating a sort of imitation version of the Banished Immortals lineage. In summary, while Banished Immortals were well-versed in all disciplines, Rogue Cultivators were also knowledgeable, but only on the surface.

Therefore, Rogue Cultivators were sometimes referred to as Lesser Banished Immortals, though the term was more derogatory than complimentary.

There was even a theory that the lineage of the Rogue Cultivators was an attempt by the Daoist Order to mass-produce Banished Immortals, but the experiment had failed. The Daoist Order could replicate Banished Immortals, but it was impossible to mass-produce them.

The cost of replicating a Banished Immortal was too high. Even if the cultivated Banished Immortal did not die prematurely, the Daoist Order would not be able to recoup the costs. That was how the lineage of the Rogue Cultivators emerged in addition to the Five Ancient Lineages.

As a rising star in the upper echelons of the Daoist Order, Zhang Yuelu was well aware that this theory was not mere rumor but rather a factual truth.

The Daoist Order learned from the stagnation and self-righteousness of the Confucianists in the past. Since the Holy Xuan Era, apart from valuing young talents, the Daoist Order has vigorously promoted various innovations internally. The replication of Banished Immortals was just one of the more significant examples of these bold initiatives.

The semi-immortal objects were also the result of the Daoist Order’s attempts to replicate immortal objects.

Since Rogue Cultivators originated from Banished Immortals, there was a subtle connection between the two, similar to how individuals of higher realms within the same lineage could easily see through the strengths and weaknesses of those in the lower realms.

Therefore, Zhang Yuelu immediately sensed Qi Xuansu’s presence. Even his realm of cultivation did not escape her notice—a Rogue Cultivator at the Kunlun stage in the Inner Dan Realm. This was not particularly noteworthy. What caught Zhang Yuelu’s interest was the killing aura emanating from Qi Xuansu.

This type of killing aura was not something that could be accumulated with just one or two lives. It was not something that the scions of noble families could develop by killing a few servants, either. Even most soldiers who frequented battlefields did not have such an intense killing aura.

Zhang Yuelu’s intuition and the experience she had accumulated in Beichen Hall told her that this young man was not a local from the Jade Capital. He was most likely from other Daoist prefectures.

The Tiangang Hall Master once said that the Daoist priests raised in the peaceful flowerbed that was Jade Capital could not withstand the trials of wind and rain. Thus, Tiangang Hall had to recruit Daoist priests from regional Daoist mansions. This was also the reason why Tiangang Hall was always short of manpower.

Zhang Yuelu had once asked the Hall Master, “Why not change the situation?”

The Hall Master’s answer was simple. The diligent gardener who had cultivated this flowerbed was satisfied with the current landscape and did not allow anyone to change it.

This answer was ambiguous, and the Hall Master’s hesitance implied that the status of said “gardener” was above him.

While Zhang Yuelu was lost in thought, Qi Xuansu had already inquired about the price of the weapons in the shop. He had intended to purchase a weapon for self-preservation, preferably a firearm. However, he was startled by the prices, which had a range of hundreds of Taiping coins. Without any hesitation, he turned and left the shop.

Zhang Yuelu also lost interest in browsing and left the shop as well.

As they left the shop one after the other, a young female disciple approached them and handed them two wedding invitations, eagerly asking, “May I ask if you two could grace us with your presence at the ceremony?”

Both Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu were taken aback.

That was when they noticed a crowd gathered at the City God Temple, not far away. The atmosphere was lively as a wedding was taking place.

According to custom, the groom was to fetch the bride from her maiden home in the morning for the wedding ceremony to be held at dusk.

In the twelve-hour timekeeping system, dusk specifically referred to the 11th hour, which was the hour of the Dog.[1]

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu simultaneously took out their pocket watches and opened the covers.

It was precisely a quarter past seven.

1. The Western time equivalent would be from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ☜