A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu asked, “You mean, I need to escort Fang Linhou’s children?”

“Of course not.” Madam Qi said, “Fang Linhou knows too many secrets and inside stories, so those people won’t leave his family alone. You can’t intervene in that.”

Qi Xuansu breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, he knew that it was not something he could interfere with. Even with Zhang Yuelu’s high cultivation level and Sage Cihang’s, the Heavenly Preceptor’s, and the Earthly Preceptor’s care, Zhang Yuelu had a close brush with death. If Qi Xuansu got involved rashly, he would be dead meat.

Blocking one’s income was akin to killing one’s parents. Those people who were used to gaining kickbacks would hold a grudge against Zhang Yuelu, regardless of her background and backers.

Qi Xuansu probed. “Then who is it?”

Madam Qi explained, “Fang Linhou wasn’t the only one involved in the major Jiangnan case. Some actively participated in the corruption scandal, while others were forced into the position. Some deserved to be executed, while some innocently took the blame. But all of them knew the inside story, and they all had wives and children.

“Back then, a minion in this scandal was silenced just as Beichen Hall began their investigation. He didn’t even get to step foot into Fengxian Hall to be interrogated. He was a widower, and he only had one daughter. Before all this, he had a premonition, so he entrusted his daughter to someone else in advance. That caretaker is the old friend I mentioned earlier.

“Over the years, this old friend of mine has been taking care of the little girl, treating her as an adopted daughter. But my old friend needs to go on a long journey and can’t take the girl with him. He’s worried about her safety, so he wants to hire a bodyguard for her. After all, someone has been trying to cover their tracks and wrap things up over the years. This includes Zhang Yuelu’s assassination. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Qi Xuansu nodded solemnly. “I understand.”

Madam Qi continued, “There is no need to trouble a Heavenly Being with this matter since it won’t be cost-effective. But my friend doesn’t want someone with a low cultivation level, in case the situation goes awry. Now that you are on the Ruyi Leaderboard and you can fight against Guizhen-stage masters, I think you’re quite suitable for the job. What do you think?”

Qi Xuansu pondered for a moment before agreeing. “I think I can do the job.”

Madam Qi smiled. “Great! I’ll give you an address so you can meet him. He may test your abilities, so be careful.”

Qi Xuansu nodded.

Madam Qi wrote an address on the account book, then tore off the page and slapped it onto Qi Xuansu’s forehead. The piece of paper fused into Qi Xuansu’s skull and appeared in his mind with the corresponding content.

The address was somewhere in Longmen Prefecture, Zhongzhou. She wrote down a specific alley as well, so Qi Xuansu would not have to wander around like a headless fly in search of the place, as he did with White Jade Hall.

Zhongzhou was the center of the empire. Although the Great Xuan Dynasty did not establish its capital there, there were 13 previous dynasties that had established their capitals there in the past. Many emperors, generals, Sages, and Savants came from Zhongzhou. Daoism and Confucianism originated in this place. The Confucian classics flourished there. It was also where Buddhism was first transmitted to the Central Plains. Therefore, Zhongzhou was known as the greatest state. Longmen Prefecture was the capital of Zhongzhou, and Peony City was the biggest city that served as the former capital of nine dynasties.

For Qi Xuansu, this was considered his hometown because the Wanxiang Daoist Palace was located in the Longmen Prefecture, where he spent his childhood and youth.

However, the Lower Palace of Wanxiang Daoist Palace was isolated from the outside world, as orphans were not allowed to leave until after graduation.

Thus, even though Qi Xuansu had lived in Longmen Prefecture for more than ten years, he knew nothing about the area. After graduating from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, he never went back either.

Qi Xuansu was currently in Xiping Prefecture in Yongzhou, so he had to make quite a journey to get to Longmen Prefecture in Zhongzhou. He would have to go through Tianshui Prefecture in Liangzhou to get to Xijing Prefecture in Qinzhou. Then he would have to transfer from Qinzhou to Zhongzhou to finally arrive at Longmen Prefecture.

If he only traveled using the official roads, the total journey would be about 1,500 kilometers. Even if he could travel 500 kilometers a day, it would still take him three days to get there.

Unfortunately, Qi Xuansu could not travel 500 kilometers a day. In the past, before the invention of the rapid post talisman, the fastest urgent delivery would only cover 250 kilometers a day. But that was only if there was a rest stop every 10 kilometers, so riders could constantly change horses. That way, each horse could run at full speed. Some messages were so urgent that riders would force the horse to its limit until it died of exhaustion.

Qi Xuansu was not so lucky to have multiple horses. He also did not want to tire himself or his horse to death. So at most, he could only travel about 100 kilometers a day. Setting aside some time to rest, he would travel around 50 kilometers a day on average. Using that as a benchmark, a 1500-kilometer journey would take nearly a month, or 20 days at the fastest.

After Qi Xuansu roughly estimated the time, he asked, “I’ll take about a month to get there. Can he wait?”

Madam Qi nodded. “Yeah, he likes to plan ahead, so he won’t wait until the last moment to arrange these things. He still has two months before his journey, so as long as you can arrive within two months, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Qi Xuansu asked again, “What’s the payment like?”

Madam Qi stretched out one finger. “A thousand Taiping coins should be enough for you to buy a bottle of Jade Liquor.”

“Great!” Qi Xuansu readily accepted the job.

“I will send him a message now, so you should get ready to leave.” Madam Qi manifested her golden and purple fish talisman in her hand to send a message to her old friend.

After saying goodbye to Madam Qi, Qi Xuansu left the dream meeting to prepare for his upcoming journey.

......

After Shangguan Jing’s body was brought back to the Jade Capital, the Golden Tower Council reached a consensus that the late Seventh Deputy Hall Master would not be held accountable for what happened and should be praised and honored after his death.

Thus, Shangguan Jing’s body traveled through Shangqing Street and passed Taiqing Square before laying at rest in Xuan City for seven days of prayers by the Daoist priests from Ciji Hall. After that, it was transported to the cemetery in the Requiem Division of Ciji Hall to be buried.

During the seven-day funeral service, all Omniscient Sages paid their respects to Shangguan Jing one after another. It was an unprecedented grand occasion.

However, everyone understood that this funeral was just the backdrop for the show that was about to start.

Sure enough, the day after Shangguan Jing was buried, the Golden Tower Council held another meeting with only one purpose. They would not hold the dead accountable, but someone would still need to bear the responsibility. The first person to bear the brunt was the Tiangang Hall Master.

Since this was a serious matter involving an Omniscient Sage, the Heavenly Preceptor, who had been staying in the Dazhen Mansion of Yunjin Mountain for a long time, and the Earthly Preceptor, who had just returned to the Chongyang Palace of Immortality in Difei Mountain, had to return to the Purple Mansion to participate in this discussion.

The Tiangang Hall Master was prepared to take this responsibility and took the initiative to submit his resignation to the Golden Tower Council.

To the Golden Tower Council:

I am deeply ashamed of my ignorance, which had indirectly caused the deaths of multiple Tiangang Hall disciples. I am no longer worthy of leading Tiangang Hall, for my crimes are inexcusable. Please allow me to resign from my position as the Hall Master of Tiangang Hall. I will be eternally grateful for a chance at repentance.

Regards,

Ning Lingge

Ning Lingge was the full name of the Tiangang Hall Master.

The Imperial Preceptor, who was on duty as the Great Sage Lunzhi for this term, agreed to Ning Lingge’s resignation but still retained his status as an Omniscient Sage, so Ning Lingge could still participate in the Golden Tower Council’s discussions.

The next step was to elect a new Tiangang Hall Master. The three Deputy Grand Masters had different opinions regarding this matter. The Imperial Preceptor nominated Sage Qingwei, but the Heavenly Preceptor and the Earthly Preceptor reached an agreement and jointly recommended Sage Cihang for the position.

The reason was that Sage Cihang had arrived in time to rescue the Yinglong Warship and other survivors. Thus, she was the best candidate to take over Tiangang Hall.

Although the Imperial Preceptor was the Great Sage Lunzhi, he could not veto the other two Deputy Grand Masters’ nomination. In addition, due to Sage Cihang’s contributions and great achievements, the Imperial Preceptor had no choice but to agree with it. As a compromise, the Heavenly Preceptor and the Earth Preceptor agreed to another proposal from the Imperial Preceptor.

Sage Qingwei would take up the position of Beichen Hall Master, and the original Beichen Hall Master would be transferred to the Qizhou Daoist Mansion. Since Sage Cihang would be transferred to Tiangang Hall, she could no longer serve as the Duzhi Hall Master. Thus, the position of Duzhi Hall Master would be filled by the current Chief Deputy Duzhi Hall Master until they found a suitable candidate.