A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu originally intended to get closer to his subordinates and foster better relationships. However, the situation progressed beyond his expectations.

After returning from a meeting with the Hall Master, Zhang Yuelu immediately summoned everyone and instructed them to prepare for departure in three days.

Zhang Yuelu's original plan was to have at least one month to coordinate and bond with her new staff before getting into official duties. However, unforeseen circumstances arose in the Western Region Daoist Mansion because the conflict there had escalated.

While the Western Region Daoist Mansion Master and the three Deputy Hall Masters of Tiangang Hall led an army from the Daoist Order to confront the Shamanistic Sect at the borders, demons seized this opportunity to attack a Daoist temple. These demons killed 10 eighth-rank and 3 seventh-rank Daoist priests in an act of provocation to the Daoist Order. Thus, the Daoist Order issued a decree to exterminate these demons as soon as possible.

This was the reason the Hall Master had summoned Zhang Yuelu so urgently.

This assignment disrupted Zhang Yuelu’s plans. She expected Xu Kou to return a month later. Although he was a troublemaker, he was a skilled fighter. Their duel earlier was not a fight to the death. If it really came down to life or death, Zhang Yuelu knew that there was a possibility she would not have emerged victorious. With Xu Kou’s and Lingquanzi’s assistance, she believed that eradicating this demonic threat would not be too difficult.

However, with their early departure, Xu Kou could no longer participate in this operation. Although Zhang Yuelu was optimistic about Qi Xuansu’s potential, his cultivation was still lacking.

Zhang Yuelu was short on skilled fighters. Nevertheless, she was not one to complain about any shortfalls. Without hesitation, she agreed to leave Jade Capital and head for the Western Region in three days.

Since this was the decision of the Daoist Order’s high-ranking officials, no one dared object to it. Everyone hastily prepared various supplies for the journey.

In the fall, the Western Region and the grasslands were much colder than Jiangnan and Lingnan. There were even reports of snow in many places on the grasslands. Thus, warm clothing was essential, as were veils and sunglasses to provide shade against the sun. They also prepared various elixirs, Army pills, and other essential items, which would be reimbursed afterward.

The Army Pill was made by refining a secret recipe of various foods and medicinal ingredients into a pill. One could go three days without feeling hungry just by consuming one such pill, making it especially suitable for armies during a war, hence its name.

However, these pills were expensive, priced at one Taiping coin per pill. The pills only provided sustenance. They had a rough texture and tasted awful, like bitter medicinal soup. Therefore, Daoist priests generally only carried them when embarking on long journeys.

The advantage of Tiangang Hall was the uniform distribution of weapons. Each person received two swords, one made of metal and one made of wood.

The metal sword was a top-quality mortal object, comparable to the Slim Tiger Saber of the Green Phoenix Guard. It was named Executioner because it was used for killing humans.

The wooden sword was a low-quality spiritual object, far inferior to the Green Snake, Li Sanxin’s flying sword. This wooden sword was named Meridian, and it was used to slay ghosts and evil spirits.

With the development of firearms, Tiangang Hall also started to distribute pistols in the past few decades. However, they were not of high caliber like the Divine Dragon Pistol, but rather a lower-quality version known as the Green Bird Pistol.

The Green Bird Pistol was not produced by the Divine Armory but by the Tianji Hall in the 16th year of the Jiushi Era. It had a bronze handle, an iron barrel with green plating, and a muzzle resembling a bird’s beak, hence the name Green Bird.

It was a breechloader with a firing pin mechanism and rifled barrel, with an effective range of 120 meters. Within 80 meters, it could penetrate a Xiantian Being’s qi shield. It was also compatible with various types of Dragon Eye Ammunition and was priced at approximately 500 Taiping coins on the black market.

Each sword and pistol issued had a unique serial number. Thus, if anyone were to sell them for profit, they would face severe punishment.

Qi Xuansu went to Sun Yongfeng to collect his weapons. Counting his personal sword, Qi Xuansu had a total of four weapons. However, the Daoist disciples of Tiangang Hall were not issued with armor. Only the Spirit Guards had armor.

Since Qi Xuansu did not have a magical receptacle, he could only carry two weapons. He hung his short sword on his left waist and his pistol on his right.

It was evident that Zhang Yuelu had a magical receptacle because she did not carry any weapons with her. Qi Xuansu also did not see the legendary semi-immortal item on her.

Tiangang Hall offered to get them to the Western Region Daoist Mansion located on Daxue Mountain with a flying ship, which would land on the Jade Pond.

Daxue Mountain was originally a sacred place of the Shamanistic Sect, housing one of the four grand palaces of the Golden Horde King. However, in the 11th year of the Great Xuan Dynasty’s Taiping era, Daxue Mountain was conquered by the Imperial Court and the Daoist Order. From then on, the Daxue Mountain Palace became the Western Region Daoist Mansion. The Shamanistic Sect fought several wars with the Daoist Order in an attempt to reclaim their sacred land.

However, Zhang Yuelu refused to use the flying ship and decided to travel by land. That was because Kunlun itself was located within the Western Region, so the journey was not too far. Another reason was to understand the situation better by personally traversing the terrain.

In the early morning of August 20th, a group of over 60 people from Tiangang Hall departed from Jade Capital. They arrived at the final Daoist temple on Kunlun Mountain on the evening of August 22nd.

Just two days of traveling and camping exposed the differences among them. Qi Xuansu, Zhou Bai, and other seasoned travelers seemed unfazed by the journey, while those like Mu Jin who were accustomed to life in Jade Capital, struggled to conceal their exhaustion.

When the abbot of the Daoist temple came out to greet them, Qi Xuansu approached him with the documents from Tiangang Hall and explained everyone’s identities. Then he gestured toward Zhang Yuelu, who was surrounded by the others, and introduced her.

"This is Deputy Hall Master Zhang of Tiangang Hall. If you have a better guest room available, could you please lead Deputy Hall Master Zhang over there to freshen up?”

The abbot of the Daoist temple initially mistook the older Lingquanzi as the leader of the group. He was surprised to learn that Zhang Yuelu, the youngest among them, held the highest position. Nevertheless, having heard of Zhang Yuelu’s reputation, the abbot dared not neglect her and promptly welcomed her and her entourage into the temple. He treated her according to the standard of a third-rank Daoist priest.

However, the others were not as fortunate. They received treatment corresponding to their own ranks, regardless of their positions. Qi Xuansu, Mu Jin, Zhou Bai, and Xu Zhen were all deacons, but Qi Xuansu’s treatment was significantly inferior solely because he was a seventh-rank Daoist priest.

Everyone, aside from Sun Yongfeng and Tian Baobao, who stayed back in the Tiangang Hall for support, as well as the injured Xu Kou, accompanied Zhang Yuelu on her journey to the Western Region.

This Daoist temple at the foothills of Kunlun resembled an inn. It was warm indoors, like spring. Qi Xuansu had just taken off his outer robe, intending to rest for a while, when his subordinate, Cao Liyou, knocked on the door and said, “Deacon Qi, the Deputy Hall Master wants to see you.”

Qi Xuansu nodded and quickly put his outer robe back on before following a Daoist attendant to Zhang Yuelu’s room.

The Kunlun Mountain was vast and sparsely populated, so the Daoist temple occupied a large area. It was quite a distance from Qi Xuansu’s room to Zhang Yuelu’s. Qi Xuansu passed through two long corridors before arriving at a standalone courtyard.

The Daoist attendant who had been guiding him stopped there. Qi Xuansu entered the courtyard and knocked on the door lightly when he arrived at the study.

Zhang Yuelu’s voice came from inside. “Come in.”

Qi Xuansu pushed the door open and entered. It was warm and cozy inside, with two candles illuminating the entire study. A Western-Region-style carpet covered the floor. Zhang Yuelu, having removed her outer robe, sat behind the desk, poring over the scrolls she had brought with her.

"Sit,” Zhang Yuelu said without lifting her head.

Qi Xuansu sat opposite Zhang Yuelu and asked, “Miss Tantai, is there something you need from me?”

Zhang Yuelu pushed a scroll toward Qi Xuansu and said, “This is a summary of the demonic threat in the Western Region. Take a look and familiarize yourself with it.”

Qi Xuansu took the scroll and nodded in acknowledgment.

"The others have already taken their respective scrolls back,” Zhang Yuelu added. “As a seventh-rank Daoist priest, you only have a simple bedroom without a decent desk, and the oil lamp is dim. So it’s better if you read here, where the candles provide better illumination.”

Qi Xuansu did not reject her offer immediately. Instead, he kindly reminded her of their identities. “It’s getting late. If I linger here for too long, it may give rise to gossip, which will tarnish your reputation, Miss Tantai.”

Zhang Yuelu smiled faintly. “A clear conscience needs no explanation. I don’t even care what people think. Why should you?”

Since Zhang Yuelu expressed her indifference, Qi Xuansu had nothing more to say. Moreover, Daoist customs were not as strict regarding interactions between men and women as Confucianist customs were. Qi Xuansu sat across from Zhang Yuelu and read the rather thick scroll.

After reading the scroll, Qi Xuansu learned that these demons had actually migrated from various Western countries. They had the characteristic features of the people from those regions: high noses and deep-set, colored eyes. They were active at night and possessed supernatural healing abilities. They were also adept at using illusions. Thus far, their intentions seemed to be to establish their base in the Western Region.

Seeing that Qi Xuansu was done reading the scroll, Zhang Yuelu asked, “What are your thoughts?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Since the 10th year of the Taiping Era, the Western Region hasn’t had any peace. Various authorities like the Daoist Order, Buddhist Sect, Shamanistic Sect, Ancient Immortals, and the Rus Kingdom converged here. To this day, the Daoist Order cannot gain full control of the region.

"Moreover, the Western Region serves as a trade route to various Western countries, with significant crowds and a complex mix of traders from different nations. It’s truly a melting pot of cultures. Given the vastness and sparseness of the land, allowing these foreign demons to establish a foothold here and potentially ally with other authorities would make eliminating them more challenging.

"So, we must seize the opportunity to eradicate them while they least expect it.”

Zhang Yuelu nodded. “Your words align with those of the several senior members in Tiangang Hall. They believe these demons seized the opportunity to commit rampant crimes because the Western Region Daoist Mansion is preoccupied. Their motives could be a need for money or a desire to establish their dominance through these acts.

"But I just can’t shake the feeling that things aren’t as straightforward as they seem. If they want to establish a stronghold in the Western Region, directly provoking the Daoist Order isn’t a wise move because it will backfire. I believe these demons have ulterior motives.”

Qi Xuansu, having developed a habit in the Qingping Society of focusing solely on results without questioning the order, asked, “Regardless of the demons’ motives, there must be a conflict of interest between them and the local gangs, right? Can we use those local gangs to deal with them?”

Zhang Yuelu replied, “If these people hadn’t killed those dozen or so Daoist disciples, that method would have been feasible. But the situation has changed entirely because they killed our disciples. The Hall Master’s intention is for us to punish them publicly to set an example that there are consequences to offending the Daoist Order.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Understood.”