A Pawn's Passage

At this time, there was a crowd gathered in front of the gates of Tiangang Hall. Qi Xuansu found that the tall man with the glaive was also there, but the man did not interact with other people. He stood alone with his arms folded at his chest, and his eyes were closed.

As if sensing Qi Xuansu’s gaze, the tall man opened his eyes and stared back at Qi Xuansu, who smiled slightly and looked away.

There was a sundial placed on one side of the gate of Tiangang Hall, with the hour marked, which meant that the door would open in another hour.

Qi Xuansu found a quiet corner and waited patiently.

Not long after, Qi Xuansu was startled to feel someone tapping him on the shoulder.

As someone who was accustomed to traveling the world, Qi Xuansu was extremely vigilant. Thus, it was impossible for someone with the same cultivation level to approach him and tap his shoulder without him noticing. This indicated that the person’s cultivation level was far above his.

Qi Xuansu turned around and saw Zhang Yuelu standing beside him.

However, Zhang Yuelu looked a little different than usual. This time, she wore a hechang, round-tipped boots, and a Chunyang headdress—the formal attire of fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist masters.

Qi Xuansu was somewhat surprised, but somehow, everything clicked. He smiled helplessly upon the realization.

Zhang Yuelu smiled back at him. “Brother Tian Yuan, you don’t seem to be very surprised.”

Qi Xuansu answered truthfully, “That day, when you said that I would be able to get into Tiangang Hall, I pondered about it for a while. Your confident tone, age, and gender matched those of the new Deputy Hall Master, so there was only one possibility.”

Zhang Yuelu asked knowingly. “Which is?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Miss Tantai, you’re the Deputy Hall Master Zhang of Tiangang Hall.”

Zhang Yuelu smiled slightly. “It is said that friendship is based on sincerity. Brother Tian Yuan, do you think I deliberately deceived you? To be honest, Tantai is my mother’s last name, and she named me Tantai Chu. I use this name in private, so if you want, you may continue addressing me as Miss Tantai in the future.”

While the two were talking, others also noticed Zhang Yuelu’s attire as that of a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master. They were all a little surprised.

The identity of this young woman at the fourth rank who appeared outside the gates of Tiangang Hall was self-evident. She was undoubtedly the new Deputy Hall Master, Zhang Yuelu. But who was the seventh-rank Daoist priest who looked like he was familiar with Zhang Yuelu? Was he a young master of a prominent family?

After all, everyone wore formal uniforms displaying their rank, so it was difficult to tell where someone was from based on their clothes. They could only guess blindly at this point. For a while, everyone had various speculations.

Some guessed that Qi Xuansu was from the Zhang family, born in the Dazhen Mansion, and was Zhang Yuelu’s childhood sweetheart. Some speculated that Qi Xuansu was from the Li family, a direct descendant of the Holy Xuan, more noble in status than Li Tianzhen, who was a direct descendant of Li Donghuang.

Some people thought that Qi Xuansu was not from the prominent Zhang and Li families but the son of Zhang Yuelu’s family friend. What was even more outrageous was that some people even associated Qi Xuansu with the royal family.

Although Qi Xuansu was unaware of everyone’s thoughts, he could feel the various gazes falling on him, including envy, jealousy, hatred, contempt, and flattery. This feeling was not pleasant.

Qi Xuansu even suspected that Zhang Yuelu deliberately put him on the spot. Previously, Qi Xuansu could not figure out how he had exposed his flaw, which captured Zhang Yuelu’s attention.

At this moment, it was as clear as day to him. Their chance encounter was the one that attracted her attention. Zhang Yuelu remembered Qi Xuansu’s name, so when she saw the list submitted by Sun Yongfeng, his name naturally caught her eye.

At first glance, many things did not seem problematic. As long as they did not attract special attention from others, there would be no issues. But if one examined it carefully, one would find loopholes. With his status, how could he stand in front of everyone so openly?

At this moment, an ox cart slowly came to a stop. Someone dressed like a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master got out of the car. It was Sun Yongfeng, who had received a bribe of 200 Taiping coins from Qi Xuansu.

For a fourth-rank Daoist priest, 200 Taiping coins was not a big sum. However, Sun Yongfeng did not just receive money from Qi Xuansu alone. After accumulating all the bribes he received, it was a sizable sum.

From July 15th to August 15th, Sun Yongfeng was in a good mood because he had full pockets. He was thinking about buying a residence in Xuan City so that it would be more convenient for him to be on duty in the future.

But Sun Yongfeng did not expect to see Zhang Yuelu already one step ahead of him. His expression tightened as he hurried toward Zhang Yuelu.

Although they were both of the same rank, their positions were different. Just like an Omniscient Sage and an ordinary Sage, who were both second-rank Taiyi Daoist priests but had vastly different statuses.

Zhang Yuelu did not even need to compare their age, potential, or backing. She could suppress him in official matters alone.

“Deputy Hall Master.” Sun Yongfeng bowed to Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu accepted his bow and did not return the greeting. She said with a faint smile, “Superintendent Sun, I can’t thank you enough for recruiting so many talented people for me.”

Sun Yongfeng heard something off in Zhang Yuelu’s tone and subconsciously raised his head to look at her. That was when he noticed Qi Xuansu standing next to Zhang Yuelu.

Qi Xuansu lowered his head when Sun Yongfeng showed up, so the latter failed to notice him at first. This time, Qi Xuansu could no longer hide. He just coughed awkwardly and looked away.

Sun Yongfeng was a veteran, so he understood the situation in an instant. For a moment, he felt a chill on his back and became speechless.

Under everyone’s gaze, Zhang Yuelu still showed Sun Yongfeng basic respect. She glanced at the sundial on the side of the gate and said calmly, “Superintendent Sun, get ready to start.”

Sun Yongfeng responded quickly. “Yes, Deputy Hall Master.”

Zhang Yuelu looked at Qi Xuansu again and said softly, “Brother Tian Yuan, come with me.”

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to follow Zhang Yuelu toward the main entrance of Tiangang Hall. For a moment, everyone’s eyes were fixated on him and Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu was calm, but Qi Xuansu felt like his back was burning from the intensity of everyone’s gazes.

Only then did Sun Yongfeng take out a white handkerchief from his sleeve to gently wipe the sweat on his forehead. At the same time, he cursed Qi Xuansu, thinking, Since he knows the Deputy Hall Master, why can’t he go straight to her? Why bother coming through me? He’s just making me look bad!

Then a thought struck him. Could this be Zhang Yuelu’s trap for me?! First using Qi Xuansu to bait me into accepting bribes, but waiting for the perfect moment to punish me.

Sun Yongfeng felt like a sharp sword was dangling over his head.

Although the Deputy Hall Master had no power to remove a superintendent, Zhang Yuelu could hand over the evidence of Sun Yongfeng’s violations to Beichen Hall. That would get him in trouble. Not to mention, Zhang Yuelu was originally from Beichen Hall.

This way, Sun Yongfeng would have no room for excuses in the future and could only obey her orders.

Thinking of this, Sun Yongfeng no longer dared to underestimate the young Deputy Hall Master based on his seniority. He put away the thoughts of revenge and began to think about how to butter up Qi Xuansu. After all, if Qi Xuansu could help Zhang Yuelu execute this trap, he must be her confidant.

At this time, Qi Xuansu did not know that Sun Yongfeng thought of him as Zhang Yuelu’s confidant. However, he managed to guess Zhang Yuelu’s intentions. Zhang Yuelu was new to Tiangang Hall and was too young to have established herself. She needed to build her own inner circle from this pool of newcomers. That way, she could gain a firm footing in Tiangang Hall. It was obvious that Zhang Yuelu had plans to make Qi Xuansu her confidant.

Zhang Yuelu came to the main entrance of Tiangang Hall. Two Spirit Guards in full armor slowly opened the heavy bronze doors. Behind the door was a huge courtyard, with the main hall to the north, the duty room on the west, and the official study on the east.

She walked straight to the duty room to the west, and Qi Xuansu had no choice but to trail behind her. Others did not have such treatment and had to wait patiently outside.

When the duo entered the duty room, Qi Xuansu could not help but ask, “Deputy—Miss Tantai, don’t you want to interview me first?”

“It’s done.” Zhang Yuelu walked to the desk and sat down.

Qi Xuansu hesitated before asking, “What do you mean?”

Zhang Yuelu took off her Chunyang headdress and placed it on the table. She said with a smile, “I have already interviewed you as early as August 1st. Have you forgotten?”

Qi Xuansu was taken aback. “That counts? Don’t you think it’s too casual?”

Zhang Yuelu interrupted him in a tone that left no room for discussion. “Whatever I say goes.”

Qi Xuansu was speechless. He could not refute a senior official so many ranks higher than him.

Zhang Yuelu continued, “Brother Tian Yuan, you and I are old acquaintances, so I won’t beat around the bush. This time, with my new position as Deputy Hall Master, I was assigned two superintendents, six deacons, and other subordinates.

“The candidate for the Deputy Hall Master was decided by the Great Sage, and the positions for the superintendents were decided by the Hall Master. Choosing the deacons is up to me, as the Deputy Hall Master. Other lower-ranking candidates will be decided by the superintendents. In other words, I have six deacon positions to fill, and I want you to serve as one of them. Brother Tian Yuan, are you willing to take on the role?”

Qi Xuansu was moved, but he did not rush to agree. “In theory, a deacon of the Nine Halls should be a fifth-rank or a sixth-rank Daoist priest. I am only a seventh-rank Daoist priest. I’m afraid that—”

Zhang Yuelu chuckled and interrupted him. “By your logic, a Deputy Hall Master should be a second-rank or third-rank Daoist priest. I’m only a fourth-rank Daoist priest, so are you saying that I shouldn’t be the Deputy Hall Master?”

Qi Xuansu quickly responded, “No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Since I can be a Deputy Hall Master, you can be a deacon. There’s just one thing. I’m only giving you a title. Whether the people will obey you depends on your own capability.”

Qi Xuansu looked hesitant.

Zhang Yuelu raised her voice slightly. “Brother Tian Yuan, don’t act like a flowerbed Daoist priest in front of me. I know you used to fight for a living, so there’s no need for you to pretend to be intimidated by me.”

Speaking of this, Qi Xuansu could only agree. He smiled bitterly and thought, This new boss is clearly not as easygoing as Madam Qi.