A Pawn's Passage

Song Luodi did not expect that Hong Lang would be defeated so quickly. His expression turned vicious as he grabbed Liu Hu’s throat and shouted, “Stop!”

Qi Xuansu glanced at Song Luodi and said, “I don’t like to be threatened.”

Song Luodi narrowed his eyes. “Aren’t you afraid that this little girl will die?”

As he spoke, Song Luodi tightened his grip on Liu Hu’s throat. The poor girl’s face immediately turned red, and she had difficulty breathing.

Still, Qi Xuansu was unmoved.

He did not think that Song Luodi would kill Liu Hu because they had plenty of opportunities to do so along the way, like in the battle at Jiangling Prefecture. If Song Luodi wanted Liu Hu dead, he could have already killed her without the need to threaten him.

Since Song Luodi did not kill Liu Hu, it must mean that their employer wanted Liu Hu to be captured alive.

As such, there was no need for Qi Xuansu to worry about Liu Hu’s safety.

Song Luodi originally thought that using Liuhu as a threat would make Qi Xuansu step back. However, Qi Xuansu did not fall for it. If he had known this earlier, it would have been better for him to join forces with Hong Lang to attack Qi Xuansu from the beginning.

Suddenly, Song Luodi felt his vision go dark.

His eyes had turned into two deep, bloody cavities.

Song Luodi was completely blind.

He did not even notice how Qi Xuansu had shot out the Bliss Needles that blinded not just his physical eyes but also his Seer Eyes as a Diviner. The Bliss Needle was made of primordial magnetite, so when pierced into the body, it could block the movement of qi and dissolve true essence. It could also disrupt the mind, distracting and confusing the victim with blissful hallucinations.

After being blinded, Song Luodi did not hesitate to break Liu Hu’s neck.

However, Qi Xuansu did not give him the chance. While shooting out the Bliss Needles, he had already drawn his cutlass and used the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique to cut off Song Luodi’s right arm without hurting Liu Hu.

Blinded and dismembered, Song Luodi was desperate. He stopped caring about Liu Hu and went all out, creating eight duplicates of himself that could each cast their own spells simultaneously to attack Qi Xuansu. This was the Diviner’s Eight Divinations.

Qi Xuansu’s response was crude—he roared.

However, different from the ordinary Blood Roar of a Martial Arts Practitioner, Qi Xuansu incorporated the Tantai Fist Intention into the roar, using blood qi to break spells and innate qi to overwhelm the opponent.

Only someone like Tantai Yun, who repeatedly jumped between the Earthly Immortal and the Manly Immortal paths could create such a special Martial Arts Practitioner’s Blood Roar.

In an instant, Song Luodi’s various spells were wiped away by the Guizhen-stage practitioner’s blood qi. A spiral of innate qi also struck Song Luodi’s chest.

The Diviner groaned as his body collapsed to the ground.

Qi Xuansu strode forward and lifted Song Luodi by the collar. “I let you escape last time in Jiangling Prefecture. I didn’t expect you to be so obsessed with money that you’d come knocking on death’s door. You brought this onto yourself.”

Song Luodi was already blind; even his Seer Eyes were destroyed, so he felt as if he were falling into an abyss. Filled with fear, Song Luodi shouted, “Are you really a Banished Immortal?! Who are you?”

Qi Xuansu did not forget to check on Liu Hu before saying, “Whether I’m a Banished Immortal doesn’t concern you. You just need to answer me, do you want to live or not?”

Countless thoughts came to Song Luodi’s mind. He had spent so much effort recruiting countless people for this job, but in the end, he had no hope of getting the commission or even hope of survival. When he heard this, the fear dissipated slightly, and he settled his mind. “What happens if I do or don’t?”

Qi Xuansu said, “If you want to live, just answer a few of my questions. If you don’t, then you can keep your mouth shut. I won’t force you.”

Song Luodi deliberated this in silence. After a while, he muttered, “Ask away.”

Qi Xuansu inquired, “I’m familiar with The Inn’s rules, so I won’t ask who hired you. I only want to know what’s so special about this little girl that makes you mobilize such a large force.”

Song Luodi kept silent.

Qi Xuansu did not rush him and waited patiently.

After a long time, Song Luodi finally spoke again. “Have you ever heard of this person?”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Who?”

Song Luodi answered, “Fang Linhou from the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion.”

Qi Xuansu’s heart stirred. He said tentatively, “The Deputy Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master who was executed by the Daoist Order for the major Jiangnan case?”

“Yes. Since you have heard of him, I won’t waste any time introducing him.” Song Luodi subconsciously lowered his voice as he explained, “Although Fang Linhou is dead, his accounts have not been settled yet. Back then, Fang Linhou held 20% of the shares. After so many years, it would have amounted to at least hundreds of thousands of Taiping coins.”

This information was consistent with what Zhang Yuelu and Madam Qi told him.

Qi Xuansu probed further. “Why is it that his accounts have not been settled even after his death?”

“It has to do with the Taiping Bank.” Song Luodi decided to tell Qi Xuansu everything he knew.

“Do you know why the most common currency we use is called the Taiping coin? Private minting became popular in the last years of the previous dynasty, so counterfeit money was rampant then, resulting in chaotic circulation and cumbersome conversions. That was why the Holy Xuan and Emperor Gaozu decided to reform the currency system and implement a unified new currency.

“The new currency would benefit the people’s livelihood and improve taxation. This first batch of trial coins minted by the Taiping Bank turned out successful, so the new currency was later fully handled by them.

“The Taiping Bank is actually on equal footing with the Daoist Duzhi Hall and the Imperial Court’s Ministry of Revenue. They are responsible for the casting and issuance of coins, and they gather the wealth of the world. The Taiping Bank has a total of seven administrators, three of whom are from the Daoist Order, three from the Imperial Court, and one from the royal family. These seven people are all high-ranking dignitaries, and they rotate every five years.

“To check the accounts from Taiping Bank, one must have the consent of at least four administrators, unless it’s a special circumstance where the Grand Master or the Emperor orders it. It sounds easy, but it’s actually a tough feat because all the administrators are from different factions, so they are hardly unified.

“The three administrators from the Daoist Order include representatives from all three Daoist sects. Two of the three administrators from the Imperial Court are Confucians, while the remaining one is from the nobility. There is also a representative from the royal family. The relationships between all of them are more than complicated.

“The shares involved in the major Jiangnan case were all transacted through the Taiping Bank using bearer accounts. Of course, Fang Linhou’s shares were not just his alone. It also included those under his command that registered their money under his name. No one knew exactly how they were going to divide the shares. After the incident, Fang Linhou was executed. His subordinates were also arrested and executed. The few lucky enough to escape didn’t dare mention this account, so the money is still lying dormant in the Taiping Bank.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood.

In the end, it all boils down to money.

From rulers of a country to the common folk, no one was exempted from the temptation of wealth.

Qi Xuansu pressed on. “But what does this have to do with her?”

Naturally, he was referring to Liu Hu.

Song Luodi said, “Fang Linhou was a dignified second-rank Taiyi Daoist master, responsible for many things in the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, so he was a busy man with no time to manage the accounts himself. That's why he had someone manage accounting matters on his behalf.”

Qi Xuansu immediately connected the dots. “Her father.”

Song Luodi nodded. “That man is long dead, and this girl is his only descendant. My employer only wants us to capture her alive, not to kill her.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood.

The mastermind behind the major Jiangnan case held a grudge against Zhang Yuelu because she cut off their source of income. Liu Hu was the only descendant of the accountant who managed hundreds of thousands of Taiping coins, so they wanted to capture her alive.

Getting the answers he wanted, Qi Xuansu let go of Song Luodi. He turned around and came to Hong Lang, putting his hand on the Imitation Spirit Guard’s back. Then he released some innate qi, shattering the man’s last vestige of vitality.

Song Luodi scampered off as fast as he could manage, wanting to leave this place.

Bang—!

The severely injured and blind Song Luodi instantly collapsed.

Qi Xuansu turned back sharply to find that Liu Hu was the one who fired that shot.

He looked vexed as he questioned her. “I promised to let him go. Why did you kill him?”

Liu Hu looked indifferent as she rebutted, “You made the promise, not me. He deserves to die.”