A Pawn's Passage

Some matters could not be tolerated once they were seen as principle issues.

This incident could be brushed off as a lesson to teach an Imperial Court soldier his place. However, it could also be escalated as an abuse of power, leading to reputation damage to the Daoist Order.

Thus, this could result in either a few words of chiding to serious punishment.

In other words, some things seemed light when not weighed, but once measured, they carried an immense weight that could not be ignored.

When Pei Xiaolou questioned the young man about who gave him the authority to act like that, he was blatantly putting the young man on the spot.

In such scenarios, the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master would not protect the young man and would even distance himself from him.

Pei Xiaolou asked the young man, “What’s your name?”

The young man’s lips quivered slightly, his voice barely a whisper as he replied, “Sage, my name is Cen Li.”

“Cen Li? That’s a good name. It means etiquette, but it’s clear that you have none.” Pei Xiaolou quipped before adding, “Take off this mourning attire[1] before turning yourself in at the Criminal Justice Division.”

Cen Li did not move. The rest of the Sub-Tiangang Hall members also remained motionless.

Sub-Tiangang Hall had always been superior to others, with a special status in the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion. Even the several Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Masters had no right to interfere in the affairs of the Sub-Tiangang Hall. Only the Second Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master who was in charge of Sub-Tiangang Hall would report directly to the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master on relevant matters.

In other words, they were afraid of a Sage. However, Pei Xiaolou did not have the power to do anything to them. At most, Pei Xiaolou could only reprimand them and inform the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion. Doing any more would be overstepping his bounds and breaking the rules.

Pei Xiaolou stared at the old man intently.

The old man gritted his teeth and said, “Sage Pei, if you want to punish the members of Sub-Tiangang Hall, you must first report it to the Second Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master. Without the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master’s permission, even the Chief Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master is not allowed to interfere.”

Pei Xiaolou scoffed. “Are you trying to throw your weight around by using the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master’s name?”

This time it was the old man’s turn to bow his head. “I dare not, Sage Pei.”

Qi Xuansu only felt that these words were familiar, as Cen Li had used them on him earlier. Now, Pei Xiaolou was returning them word for word to the White Robes.

Pei Xiaolou said, “It doesn’t matter whether you dare or not.”

The old man thought that Pei Xiaolou would be furious. He did not expect Pei Xiaolou to be so calm. He had no choice but to continue, “Sage Pei, I hope you understand that the rules are set in stone.”

Pei Xiaolou glanced at the group of White Robes with sharp eyes before his gaze landed on Cen Li. “Rules, huh? So now you know that rules exist. Why didn’t you follow the rules just now? If the rules are in your favor, you say that they are set in stone. But facing those inferior to you, your word becomes the law, right?”

Cen Li had just been promoted to the fourth rank, so he was proud. Everyone would address him as Mage. As a result, Qi Xuansu accidentally stepped on his toes, so he wanted to punish the ignorant soldier. He did not expect to be caught by Pei Xiaolou, who appeared out of nowhere. That was why he was frightened at first. However, he had calmed his nerves by now.

“Sage, what you said is inappropriate,” Cen Li retorted.

Pei Xiaolou sized him up. “Pray tell.”

Cen Li mustered the courage to speak. “Sage Pei, you wanted to punish me for not following the rules, but you are surpassing the Second Deputy Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master by punishing me. This is also a violation of the rules.”

Pei Xiaolou said calmly, “Is that so? Which rules have I broken? Is it the Daoist Order’s rules? The Quanzhen Sect’s rules? Or the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion’s rules?”

Since his future was on the line, Cen Li had to fight back. “The rules of the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion, of course.”

Pei Xiaolou laughed. “I’m from the Chongyang Palace of Immortality, so I have the right to punish you. But since you say so, why don’t you show me what rule you are referring to in black and white? Go ahead and get a stamp from the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion for endorsement. I’ll wait for you here. You have two hours.”

Cen Li was speechless.

Pei Xiaolou sneered. “But I’m afraid you won’t be able to get this endorsement, right? These unwritten rules can’t be put on paper because they are inherently unreasonable. No one will dare to put them into writing.”

Cen Li did not expect this sleazy-looking Sage to be so unrelenting. He still refused to accept this punishment and retorted, “The Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master mentioned it before!”

“So what?” Pei Xiaolou asked in amusement, “Is he the Grand Master? Is there such a thing as an oral decree? If it’s not written down, they’re not considered rules.”

Cen Li was about to speak again, but at this moment the old man interrupted. “Junior Brother Cen, stop talking!”

These young talents were accustomed to the glory of Sub-Tiangang Hall, thinking that they were the crème de la crème. Thus, they were arrogant and overconfident. However, this old man understood the gravity of the situation.

Although Pei Xiaolou was just an ordinary Sage and could not compare to the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion Master, he was from the prestigious Pei family.

It was the reason why most people feared offending Li Tianzhen even though he was not even a Sage, but when Zhang Yuelu dueled and defeated Li Tianzhen, she escaped unscathed. That was because Zhang Yuelu was also from a prestigious family, so infighting between them was seen as normal. If it were anyone else, the Li family probably would not let it slide so simply.

Similarly, Pei Xiaolou was from the Pei family. Although the Pei family was not as well-known as the Li family, which had seven Sages, or the Zhang family, which was known as the Three Great Families of the world, the Pei family should not be underestimated. Sage Donghua, the second-in-command in the Quanzhen Sect, was born in the Pei family. This strong candidate as the seventh-generation Grand Master also happened to be Pei Xiaolou’s elder brother.

Cen Li did not have a strong background or influence. So if this case went to the Golden Tower Council, he would have a slim chance of winning.

Pei Xiaolou glanced at the old man and the rest of the White Robes. “Come here and strip him of his white robe. Send him to the Criminal Justice Division of the Qinzhou Daoist Mansion and get the Mansion Master to preside over the case.”

Although Sub-Tiangang Hall formed cliques internally, they were united against external parties. Therefore, no one obeyed Pei Xiaolou’s orders and merely bowed their heads in defiance.

Pei Xiaolou scoffed. “I finally know what an impenetrable team means. It seems that I have no choice but to get my people from Wuxu Palace to come forward.”

In the Quanzhen Sect, the Chongyang Palace of Immortality was higher in status than the local Daoist mansions. The Wuxu Palace was an auxiliary organization of the Chongyang Palace of Immortality, just like how the Shangqing Palace took orders directly from the Dazhen Mansion. Thus, Pei Xiaolou had the authority to command the personnel in Wuxu Palace.

After that, Pei Xiaolou took out a mother-child talisman and ignited it.

Since this inn was not far from Wuxu Palace, a squad of Spirit Guards in black armor arrived shortly after. The leader of the squad turned out to be a second-rank Spirit Guard.

Pei Xiaolou pointed at Cen Li. “This person abused his power, ruining the reputation of the Daoist Order. Please take him to the Criminal Justice Department of Wuxu Palace and get the Palace Master to preside over the case.”

“Yes, Sage!” The Spirit Guards obeyed Pei Xiaolou’s orders and strode toward Cen Li.

The rest of the Sub-Tiangang Hall members were frantic, but they immediately became motionless and silent after Pei Xiaolou shot them a sidelong glance.

That was when Cen Li finally registered what was happening. He took the initiative to remove his white robe and dared not rebut.

Pei Xiaolou came to Cen Li and lowered his voice, saying, “Have fun in the Criminal Justice Division. If any Sage comes to speak on your behalf, I will argue with them in front of the Earthly Preceptor.”

Cen Li was in despair as the Spirit Guards escorted him out of the Taiping Inn.

The other Sub-Tiangang Hall people had different expressions. Some were secretly elated, some were worried, and some were astonished. However, they all stood there with their heads bowed.

Pei Xiaolou slowly scanned them. “You all resist so blatantly even when I’ve caught you red-handed. This shows how arrogant and unscrupulous you are. But don’t worry. I will report everything I’ve seen and heard to the Earthly Preceptor. Feel free to reach out to your backers and connections in the meantime. Better yet, you’d best make sure your backers can get my title as Sage renounced.”

“We dare not, Sage.” The Sub-Tiangang Hall members replied in unison; some spoke loudly, while some muttered under their breaths.

Demoting Pei Xiaolou meant going against Sage Donghua. Even Sage Cihang and Sage Qingwei were not necessarily strong enough to overthrow Sage Donghua. Someone capable of that would have been powerful enough to become the Grand Master.

Pei Xiaolou waved his hand, dismissing the members of Sub-Tiangang Hall.

Seeing this, the members of Sub-Tiangang Hall scampered off, as if they had been granted amnesty.

When everyone else left, Pei Xiaolou finally turned to Qi Xuansu. He did not ask what happened when he noticed Qi Xuansu’s severed arm. Instead, he sighed and said, “Follow me.”

1. A jab at the White Robes, as Chinese mourning attire was traditionally all white. ☜