A Pawn's Passage

A spring rain fell on Xijing City. It was gentle, dense, and continuous, like fine threads. But it did not soak one’s clothes, nor did it make much of a sound when it landed on the green tiles. It was only a slight rustling sound, like the sound of worms chewing on mulberry leaves or the sound of wind blowing through the woods.

Xijing City also had two markets, the east and the west. There was a lake in East Market called the Liberation Pond, which was close to the Changping Warehouse.

Although the Liberation Pond was called a pond, it was actually quite large, as big as two blocks within East Market, occupying 5% of the total land area. There was also a river connecting it to the famous Qujiang Pond.

At this time, Pan Cuiqing led a group of people and stood on the shore of the Liberation Pond.

He gave a routine report to Tiangang Hall regarding the progress of the crackdown on the secret societies and incidentally mentioned Wan Xiuwu’s murder. He did not really expect Tiangang Hall to take over this case. After all, Tiangang Hall was notorious for being busy.

To his surprise, Tiangang Hall actually responded this time. The response even came from the Tiangang Hall Master, Sage Cihang herself.

Pan Cuiqing was flattered because Sage Cihang was one of the three Omniscient Sages expected to compete for the title of Grand Master. If she was elected, she would make history by becoming the first female Grand Master since the revival of the Daoist Order. Even the Wuxu Palace Master had to show due respect when meeting Sage Cihang, let alone him.

What surprised Pan Cuiqing even more was that Sage Cihang had assigned her successor, Zhang Yuelu, to take over the case.

Seeing this, Pan Cuiqing immediately thought of Yue Liuli’s speculation. Was Wan Xiuwu’s death really related to Zhang Yuelu? If this was true, then it was evident why Zhang Yuelu was visiting them. But doing so would leave too many traces.

However, Pan Cuiqing thought about the possibilities. Even if Zhang Yuelu was young and frivolous, Sage Cihang was an experienced Sage who had been through countless storms. How could Sage Cihang allow Zhang Yuelu to be so reckless?

Pan Cuiqing then wondered if Yue Liuli had a slip of the tongue, so rumors of her suspicion spread.

If Sage Cihang heard such rumors, she would send her disciples to clarify the facts and find out who spread these rumors. They would be punished severely.

However, this still did not make sense. After all, the murder only happened a few days ago, so it could not have spread to Jade Capital so quickly, unless someone did it on purpose.

That made him wonder if someone in the Wuxu Palace wanted to use Yue Liuli as a sword to get rid of him, and by extension, his master, who was the Wuxu Palace Master.

Pan Cuiqing fell into deep thought, but he was still unsure about Sage Cihang’s real intention.

Knowing how efficient and decisive Zhang Yuelu was, Pan Cuiqing figured that she would not delay this order and would arrive at Xijing Prefecture soon. That was why he had to wait on the shore of this pond with his subordinates.

It was still raining, so someone held out an umbrella for Pan Cuiqing, even though Pan Cuiqing did not require an umbrella to protect him from the rain at his cultivation level. On the contrary, the person holding the umbrella was at a low cultivation level that would be affected by the rain. But in the end, Pan Cuiqing was shaded under the big umbrella, while the person holding the umbrella was drenched.

This was human nature—to diminish what was lacking and honor what was abundant. The Primordial Daoist Ancestor had clearly seen through the principles of heaven and human nature.

Yue Liuli stood next to Pan Cuiqing with a worried look on her face. She had a feeling that Deputy Hall Master Zhang had bad intentions.

From a certain point of view, the two women shared the same suffering because their loved ones were dead.

However, Wan Xiuwu and Qi Xuansu once had an open feud. What happened that year was actually Yue Liuli’s fault. She was the one scheming behind the scenes. Those who did not know the inside story were not aware of her involvement. They only thought that Qi Xuansu almost died at the hands of Wan Xiuwu.

The restless Yue Liuli approached Pan Cuiqing and whispered, “Chun Qing, we’re just inviting unwanted trouble. Deputy Hall Master Zhang—”

“We’ll take it step by step.” Pan Cuiqing calmly interrupted Yue Liuli. “Anyway, Sage Cihang sent her here, and she is the grandniece of the Heavenly Preceptor. She’s also favored by the Earthly Preceptor, so we can’t do anything to her. We can only try to counter whatever she throws at us.”

“With money?” Yue Liuli said subconsciously.

Pan Cuiqing shook his head and said, “Zhang Yuelu participated in solving the major Jiangnan case. Over the years, she has been well-known for being against corruption. People like her will never accept pure hard cash.”

“What should we do?” Yue Liuli asked.

Pan Cuiqing sighed. “Let’s take it one step at a time. The most pressing matter is to find out what is her purpose for coming here.”

Yue Liuli could only nod reluctantly.

It was truly hard to predict what the higher-ups think. Moreover, this was just Sage Cihang’s decision. There were still three Deputy Grand Masters above her.

A Yinglong Warship landed in the Liberation Pond, stirring up fog. Since the hull was gigantic, it almost occupied the entire surface of the pond. It could no longer accommodate another flying ship.

The water in the pond rippled and even overflowed the embankment.

When the ramp was lowered, Pan Cuiqing immediately plastered on a friendly smile and hurried forward to greet the guests, with his entourage in tow.

Zhang Yuelu was the first to appear on the ramp, dressed meticulously in the formal attire of a fourth-rank Daoist priest. But no one held an umbrella for her.

Next were two women, Mu Jin and Tian Baobao, followed by Sun Yongfeng, Lingquanzi, Xu Kou, and the rest.

The second-rank Spirit Guard who had just beheaded a Heavenly Being at the manor did not show up because he did not think that anyone would dare do anything to Zhang Yuelu in Wuxu Palace. Thus, he stayed on the warship.

Zhang Yuelu walked down the ramp and greeted Pan Cuiqing, who returned the salute in Daoist etiquette.

One was the Junior Wuxu Palace Master, and the other was the Junior Tiangang Hall Master. Although Pan Cuiqing was a third-rank Youyi Daoist Master and Zhang Yuelu was only at the fourth rank, they were of the same status due to their positions. In fact, Zhang Yuelu’s status was higher because she was the Deputy Hall Master in the Three Great Halls.

Pan Cuiqing was polite. “My apologies for bothering you to make this trip in person, Deputy Hall Master Zhang.”

“It’s my duty. There’s no need to stand on ceremony, Deputy Palace Master Pan.” Zhang Yuelu got straight to the point. “I’ve already read the case file on the way here, so I have a general understanding of what happened. Where’s the body? I’d like to examine it first.”

Pan Cuiqing’s face froze slightly. But he quickly smiled and persuaded her. “Deputy Hall Master Zhang, there is no need to rush this case. I have already prepared a banquet for you and your entourage. You can see the body tomorrow.”

Zhang Yuelu was not completely inflexible. She might not care about this banquet, but her subordinates were not like her. They would be tired from the journey, so she had no choice but to agree. “That’s fine. Thank you very much, Deputy Palace Master Pan.”

“It’s my honor to be able to receive you, Deputy Hall Master Zhang.” The smile on Pan Cuiqing’s face grew wider.

This reception banquet was thoughtfully arranged. Since the Liberation Pond and the Qujiang Pond were connected, Pan Cuiqing simply found a few high-quality ornate boats to set up the banquet. Compared with the huge Yinglong Warships, these ornate boats seemed extremely small. However, they were exquisite and elegant.

Everything was served, mainly Jiangnan cuisine. A 30-year-old yellow rice wine was just taken out of the cellar. The main course featured pufferfish that were raised in Wuxu Palace, specially made by a master chef from Jinling. They also hired Wuzhou chefs to make two famous dishes from the Shangqing Prefecture in Wuzhou as well as three vegetarian dishes from Putuo Island. These were all specially prepared for Zhang Yuelu.

In addition, considering that Zhang Yuelu was a conservative woman, Pan Cuiqing did not arrange for female dancers or courtesans as entertainment. Instead, he specially hired ladies from good families who were proficient in music and elegant in appearance to provide some entertainment. The servers waiting on the guests were also Daoist nuns from the Wuxu Palace, all of whom looked presentable.

Imagine riding a boat and listening to the rain while drifting down the river toward Qujiang Pond, which was covered in mist. Hometown delicacies were served while soft music played inside the boat. One could enjoy the beautiful scenery from the comfort of the boat. It was pure enjoyment.

It also did not matter if one got drunk because they could just rest on the boat. By the time they woke up, the rain would have stopped, and the sky would be filled with stars that reflected onto the surface of the water.

This was the kind of elegance that showed the prosperity of the dynasty.

To be fair, one had to be knowledgeable and educated to be able to plan such an elegant banquet. It was no wonder Pan Cuiqing could be the Junior Wuxu Palace Master. He was certainly attentive in serving the higher-ups.

Sun Yongfeng, Xu Kou, Lingquanzi, and the others were on another boat. That boat had less elegant but more sensuous courtesans who could make men smile. Even if the men on that boat were worried about being reprimanded by Zhang Yuelu and did not dare to call on these courtesans, the sultry women still served as eye candy.

Pan Cuiqing was indeed good at catering to different people’s preferences.

Not many would be able to withstand such temptations. Moreover, this was just an appetizer. The main course was yet to come.

This was the reason many Daoist priests fell for the luxuries in life and died from them, not on the battlefield.

Zhang Yuelu boarded the boat with not much expression on her face. However, her gaze was cold and disapproving.

How could one use ivory chopsticks for simple meals? If these people were accustomed to such luxurious treatment, how could they still tolerate the minimalist Daoist lifestyle?

She did not think that this was the right way to live as a Daoist priest.