A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu escaped from Jiuwa Hill before the Green Phoenix Guards and the Black Robes encircled the area. The flames behind him rose into the sky as the screams of dying people echoed in his ears.

At this moment, someone blocked Qi Xuansu’s path. It was the Lieutenant Colonel, Yan Jiuwei. He treated Qi Xuansu as a cult demon and attacked him without bothering to ask for his identity first.

Qi Xuansu wanted to say that this was a misunderstanding, but he was no longer a Daoist disciple, and he had no way of proving his identity. So he had no choice but to fight back.

He did not hold back, using all his strength to defend himself. He gathered the blood qi in his left hand and the innate qi in his right hand because he knew the Green Phoenix Guard in front of him was at least at the Guizhen stage.

If Qi Xuansu could not ambush Yan Jiuwei, it would be difficult for him to gain an advantage. Moreover, he was in a dangerous situation. If he delayed any longer, he would be surrounded by the incoming Green Phoenix Guards.

Yan Jiuwei had underestimated Qi Xuansu, thinking that the latter was just a regular cult demon that got away. He was caught off guard by Qi Xuansu, punched in the chest with surging blood qi. He could not help but stumble back from the impact.

Qi Xuansu did not want to fight Yan Jiuwei and only wanted to escape, so he continued running. Since Yan Jiuwei had a higher cultivation level than Qi Xuansu, he recovered from the punch in the blink of an eye. Just as he was about to chase Qi Xuansu, he saw Qi Xuansu throwing a crimson ball with a backhand.

The crimson ball flew at Yan Jiuwei. He instinctively reached out to catch it when he realized something was wrong. The ball looked familiar to him. When the object registered in his mind, Yan Jiuwei immediately dodged it.

The next moment, a bright light flashed as the crimson ball exploded, accompanied by billowing heat waves and flames. Yan Jiuwei barely escaped the explosion and used his qi shield to block the flames. He looked surprised as he mumbled, “The Phoenix Eye Bullet? Is he a member of the Daoist Order?”

With the help of the Phoenix Eye Bullet, Qi Xuansu managed to escape far from Yan Jiuwei. On the other side, Yan Jiuwei chose not to pursue Qi Xuansu because he had doubts about the latter’s identity.

Qi Xuansu ran for more than 15 kilometers before he dared to stop and take a breather. He swore to himself that he would never be nosy and curious ever again, especially if it was related to secret societies.

If he had not been careful, he would have died in the flames. Even Feng Bo dared not test the power of the Phoenix Eye Bomb and fled. It would be tragic if Qi Xuansu died accidentally on Jiuwa Hill.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu felt a faint warmth coming from the middle of his chest. He reached out and took out a glowing child talisman. He infused his innate qi into the talisman, which turned into flames that were not hot to the touch. Madam Qi’s slightly distorted figure appeared in the flames.

Madam Qi’s slightly distorted voice came through. “Tian Yuan, have you arrived in Xiping Prefecture?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “I’m here. Where are you? Didn’t we agree to meet at Xiping Prefecture? By the way, I heard that the Heavenly Court was holding an Eagle and Dog Slaughtering Assembly, so I came to check it out. But I almost died here.”

Madam Qi was not the loving mother type. She snorted. “I’m glad you survived. At least now you’ll learn your lesson. You should never join in this kind of fun, especially when you’re not a Heavenly Being. I have some things to do, so I won’t be able to make it to Xiping Prefecture.”

Qi Xuansu had long been accustomed to Madam Qi’s impromptu detours, so he waited for her instructions.

Madam Qi continued, “Now that you have arrived at Xiping Prefecture, I need your help with something.”

“What is it?” Qi Xuansu asked, “Can it be exchanged for merits?”

Madam Qi said, “As long as you help me with this, I will give you two choices, just like last time. Which one you choose depends entirely on you.”

Qi Xuansu was convinced. He asked, “What about it?”

Madam Qi explained. “There is a large desert about 250 kilometers north of Xiping Prefecture. There are several small towns scattered in this desert, making it an excellent hiding place. If you ever provoke the Green Phoenix Guard or any enemies, you can hide out in this place. Generally speaking, the Green Phoenix Guard won’t go there. I have a friend who owes me something, so I want you to go over and help me retrieve it.”

Qi Xuansu hesitated. “You want me to collect a debt? Can I defeat him, though? If not, I won’t be able to collect this debt for you. I might even die there.”

“Do you think I’m so stupid to make losses?” Madam Qi rolled her eyes at Qi Xuansu. “You owe me so much money. If you die, who should I collect this debt from? Should I look for Miss Zhang? I doubt she’ll bear your debts. So don’t worry about it. I have already talked to him in the dream meeting and negotiated the terms. You just need to go there and retrieve it.”

Qi Xuansu thought about it for a while and mumbled, “That doesn’t sound difficult...”

Madam Qi warned, “But you should still stay on guard. Those who live there aren’t decent people. There are all kinds of local gangs, so you might fall into their trap if you’re not careful.”

Qi Xuansu already knew it was not so simple. If it was just running errands, Madam Qi would not be so generous as to give him two choices as a reward. After all, a task’s difficulty and danger were inseparable.

He asked, “Who is the debtor? What’s his specific location?”

Madam Qi replied, “He is also a member of the Qingping Society. His alias is Mountain Ghost. As for his specific location, he kept it a secret. I can only give you an approximate location. You’ll have to find it by yourself.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. “I knew you wouldn’t be so generous in dishing out rewards.”

“Do you want it or not? Just give me a straight answer.” Madam Qi became a little impatient. “Even if you don’t go, plenty of people are willing to.”

“Of course, I’ll go!” Qi Xuansu hurriedly answered. Last time, Madam Qi gave him two choices. One of them was to work in Tiangang Hall. If he were given two more choices this time, perhaps he would have some hope of returning to the Daoist Order. After all, Madam Qi was all-powerful. She was capable of anything.

Madam Qi flashed a loving smile. “My Tian Yuan is still the best for helping me with my burdens. That place is called White Jade Hall. Besides collecting that debt, you can take whatever I’ve left over there.”

Qi Xuansu asked suspiciously, “When did you become so generous?”

Madam Qi chuckled. “Well, I won’t be going to White Jade Hall for a while. Rather than giving it to Mountain Ghost or random people, I might as well benefit you. Treat it as a deposit for your services.”

Qi Xuansu wanted to say that he had never seen a deposit paid in such a way, where an employer would paint such a nice picture to entice him but would not actually give him anything.

Madam Qi reminded him. “Be careful. I will send your allotment of mother-child talismans and elixirs to the Qingping Society’s contact point in Xiping Prefecture, where you can retrieve them using your fish talisman. As for your Wuyou coins, I’ll save them for you first.”

Qi Xuansu was accustomed to this for many years, like when parents said that they would help save their children’s pocket money. He said indifferently, “Fine.”

He never thought that Madam Qi only saved him with the intention of exploiting him because he was not worth anything. Instead, Madam Qi had to spend a lot of money to bring him back from the gates of hell. She even had to teach him for years. No matter how he thought of it, it was not a good deal for Madam Qi. Even to this day, Qi Xuansu was still just an insignificant, nearly-sixth-rank Daoist priest.

Qi Xuansu was more curious about what Madam Qi wanted to do with so much money. She was certainly not short of money, nor was she a spendthrift. It seemed to him that amassing money was just her hobby. That was why Qi Xuansu was perpetually broke. The only time he got to use money at will was after he started working in Tiangang Hall.

He even thought that perhaps he would never get to see the money that Madam Qi saved for him in this life. For most men, their money was managed by their parents when they were young, by their wives when they got married, and by their children when they got old. That was such a meaningless life.

Qi Xuansu did not want to become like that. In any case, Madam Qi helped him advance the cost of the Auxiliary Heart implant. So he allowed Madam Qi to hold his money and regarded it as repaying his debt. But he would never let anyone else manage his money, not even Zhang Yuelu, if they ever got married. He was not the kind of man who would give up on his principles because of a pretty girl.

Of course, Zhang Yuelu was also not the kind of girl who would restrain Qi Xuansu on such matters. She was much more ambitious than Qi Xuansu. She only wanted his thoughts and goals to be consistent with hers. Money was nothing more than an external possession for her.

Qi Xuansu reflected on it. No matter what, he would still have to listen to Madam Qi and Zhang Yuelu in the end. But Madam Qi and Zhang Yuelu were complete opposites. No wonder Zhang Yuelu and Madam Qi did not have a good impression of each other, even though they had never met.

Zhang Yuelu believed that Madam Qi had instilled many bad habits in Qi Xuansu, and Madam Qi felt that Qi Xuansu had forgotten about her because he only cared about Zhang Yuelu. Was this what people meant when they said that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law would never get along?