A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu was unsure whether he was overthinking it, but the Qizhou section of the Grand Canal seemed eerily calm. He did not even see a single official from the Qizhou Daoist Mansion.

However, after their encounter with the four thugs at the restaurant, Qi Xuansu vaguely sensed something wrong, so he decided not to leave the ship until they arrived in Zhili. Thus, he spent most of his time in his room, refining his innate qi.

The ironclad ship passed two more checkpoints and arrived at the 3rd checkpoint, which was the junction of Qizhou and Zhili. There were only two more checkpoints on the Grand Canal, namely the 2nd checkpoint in Bohai Prefecture and the 1st checkpoint near the Imperial Capital.

Qi Xuansu chose to disembark at the 3rd checkpoint and get to Bohai Prefecture by land.

Although they were indirectly involved in the entanglements between the secret societies and the Daoist Order, Qi Xuansu did not forget that Liu Hu’s greatest immediate threat was not these people, but The Inn’s assassins.

If the Inn’s assassins were persistent, then the 2nd checkpoint would be their last chance to ambush Qi Xuansu and Liu Hu. Thus, Qi Xuansu changed his route at the last minute. Even he had acted on a whim, so no one could possibly predict his sudden change in plans.

Getting to Bohai Prefecture from the 3rd checkpoint was just a few extra kilometers, so hopefully, these assassins would have retreated by then.

During their journey, Liu Hu had a good grasp of Uncle Wei’s character. He liked to do the opposite of what was deemed “logical,” as shown in the route he chose after the Purple Immortal Mountain incident. However, it did not work because he failed to dodge the hunting dog Zhang Yuelu’s tracking. Instead, he even got dragged into the Yuan family’s annihilation.

Therefore, Liu Hu did not have high hopes for Uncle Wei’s decision-making skills. Even so, she did not raise any objections when she noticed that he was repeating his old tricks. After all, she was just a little girl with no experience. It would be better to see how the experienced Uncle Wei would adapt to the situation. If anything went wrong, it would not be her fault anyway.

The two of them disembarked the ironclad ship and walked on foot.

Although Liu Hu was at the Kunlun stage of cultivation, she could not compare to when Qi Xuansu was at the Kunlun stage. Her stamina was not great, so Qi Xuansu had no choice but to temporarily lend her the Jiamas[1] that Zhang Yuelu gave him.

Taking out the Jiamas again made Qi Xuansu feel a little nostalgic. It was only half a year ago when he was in the Kunlun stage. Back then, he could barely keep up with Zhang Yuelu, even with the Jiamas. But now, it was Liu Hu who could barely keep up with him.

It made him feel as if a whole decade had passed, even though it had only been half a year. Zhang Yuelu and Liu Hu were about ten years apart in age, but the Jiamas seemed like a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation.

Their speed was actually faster than taking the ship.

After running for about 100 kilometers, Qi Xuansu and Liu Hu were chased by two people, who blocked their way.

Liu Hu was not too surprised by this. While taking out the Divine Dragon Pistol, she quipped, “One’s cleverness can often backfire.”

Qi Xuansu’s face flushed in embarrassment.

The person who blocked their path was none other than Song Luodi, who had previously asked the four thugs to find trouble for Qi Xuansu. He had set a trap for Qi Xuansu, thinking that the latter would kill the thugs. That way, Qi Xuansu would be arrested, and Song Luodi could abduct Liu Hu. But Qi Xuansu did not fall for it.

However, Qi Xuansu miscalculated. He thought that Song Luodi would set up an ambush like last time outside Jiangling Prefecture. What he failed to consider was that the deaths of Thunder Mage, Monk Deng Hua, and several other assassins had frightened the rest, so no one was willing to confront Qi Xuansu anymore.

As such, Song Luodi only asked his subordinates to keep an eye on Qi Xuansu’s whereabouts. Then he found a helper, offering him half of the commission.

Song Luodi’s plan was to intercept Qi Xuansu outside Bohai Prefecture. After all, the last ambush failed because Zhang Yuelu was there to disrupt the situation. This time, Qi Xuansu would be all alone and helpless.

Unexpectedly, Qi Xuansu changed his route at the spur of the moment, which somewhat disrupted Song Luodi’s plan. Upon receiving news of Qi Xuansu’s whereabouts, Song Luodi rushed toward Qi Xuansu, forming this two-on-two situation.

However, from Song Luodi’s point of view, Liu Hu was only at the Kunlun stage of cultivation, which was nothing. So in essence, it was two against one, with Song Luodi holding the advantage.

Qi Xuansu stared down at the helper that Song Luodi hired.

A burly man about 2.5 meters tall in black airtight armor and a strong killing aura stared back at Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu did not know what kind of armor this was, but it was similar to that of the Daoist Spirit Guards.

This was an imitation of the Daoist Spirit Guard Armor. The Imperial Court supposedly had similar craftsmanship, but it was not as complicated as the Daoist Spirit Guards, with nine types for each rank.

The Imperial Court only had three types of armor: the Thirteen Protectors used by the Green Phoenix Guard, the Great Xuan General used by the Emperor’s personal guard, and the Black Shroud used by the Black Robes in the frontier army.

Qi Xuansu did not expect similar imitations to be used outside the Imperial Court and the Daoist Order. But on second thought, it was not surprising. In the past, the Imperial Court strictly prohibited the private possession of armor among the public, but there were skilled craftsmen who could forge armor.

If his guess was correct. This armor was indeed an imitation of the Spirit Guard Armor. Although the Daoist Order had strict control over this type of craftsmanship, it was inevitable for some Daoist disciples to betray the Daoist Order and take with them some precious Daoist craftsmanship.

These people were the Eight Tribes.

This Imitation Spirit Guard Armor was made by the Eight Tribes, but their technology and craftsmanship were older than the Daoist Order. Huasheng Hall had made many improvements since the Eight Tribes formed their own secret society. The Daoist Order also had access to all kinds of precious materials.

Thus, the Eight Tribes’ imitation armor could not compare to that of the upper third-rank Spirit Guards. It was probably only equivalent to a Guizhen-stage cultivation, given to fourth-rank Spirit Guards. The Daoist Order called such people Imitation Spirit Guards.

The Imitation Spirit Guard in front of Qi Xuansu spoke in a loud voice because he was wearing an airtight helmet. “My name is Hong Lang from the Eight Tribes. This time, Brother Song approached me for a deal. I’m the type who believes in negotiation, so I would like to make a deal with you.”

Song Luodi brought his right fist to his mouth and coughed lightly. Then he rolled up his sleeves and saluted Qi Xuansu. “I’m Song Luodi.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “What deal?”

Song Luodi pleaded. “I don’t want to be enemies with you. I just want to ask you to hand over someone.”

Qi Xuansu asked calmly, “Who do you want?”

Song Luodi raised his hand and pointed at Liu Hu, who was standing beside Qi Xuansu.

“What if I don’t want to take this deal?” Qi Xuansu asked back.

Song Luodi was not surprised by Qi Xuansu’s reply. He said, “We’re all just trying to make a living, so why should we make life difficult for each other?”

Qi Xuansu stopped talking and clenched his fists.

Song Luodi stared at Liu Hu. “Since you’re unwilling to back down, we have no choice but to resort to violence.”

Before Song Luodi finished his sentence, Hong Lang punched Qi Xuansu straight in the face.

Qi Xuansu crossed his fists, using the Mountain Fist to block the punch. His body remained unmoved like a towering mountain.

Liu Hu was watching from the side when she suddenly felt pressure on her neck.

The moment Hong Lang punched Qi Xuansu, Song Luodi used the Earth Escape Method to come to Liu Hu’s side, and then he pressed his cold fingers on her neck.

Liu Hu had no chance to resist and froze instantly.

Qi Xuansu did not seem to notice what was going on with Liu Hu. He took a step forward and used the Tiger Fist to punch the Imitation Spirit Guard in the chest, knocking the latter back.

Hong Lang staggered back about seven steps before he regained his footing, but there was a dent in his armor. However, he was uninjured.

The next moment, Hong Lang charged at Qi Xuansu like a bull seeing red.

Qi Xuansu used the River Fist to draw a circle with both hands, deflecting the overwhelming momentum from this head-on collision. Then he used the River Dragon Fist to counterattack, leveraging on this momentum.

Hong Lang was knocked back nearly 30 meters by the force of the countershock, his feet plowing two ravines in the ground.

Qi Xuansu pursued him closely and punched again using the Dragon Tiger Fist while Hong Lang was shaken to a standstill.

Hong Lang’s armor cracked while he staggered back again.

But Qi Xuansu was relentless, taking another step forward and punching the Imitation Spirit Guard with the Thunder Wind Fist.

The reason why Spirit Guards were inferior to Daoist priests was because their cultivation was obtained by external forces like their armor. Such cultivation was akin to prosthetic limbs, which could not compare to actual limbs due to the slight delay in the signal.

Although part of Qi Xuansu’s cultivation was obtained from the Xuan Jade, Qi Xuansu had integrated the Xuan Jade into his body. However, the Spirit Guards could not integrate their armor into their bodies. Without their armor, they would immediately lose their cultivation.

After all, the Daoist Order invented the Spirit Guard Armor so that someone without cultivation could fully rely on the armor for offense and defense.

Thus, Qi Xuansu’s cultivation that was obtained through the Xuan Jade was akin to a regenerated limb. It took him time to adapt, but it was still connected to his body, unlike a prosthetic that could be removed.

Even if Hong Lang’s armor provided him with a Guizhen stage of cultivation, it was not fully integrated into him, so he was still easily defeated by Qi Xuansu, who was also in the Guizhen stage.

This battle was a sure win for Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu’s punch struck Hong Lang’s chest in the same spot as before, deepening the cracks on the Imitation Spirit Guard Armor.

Hong Lang’s burly body flew backward from the impact.

Qi Xuansu followed him everywhere like a shadow.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu used the Tiger Fist, which contained the strength of five tigers.

Hong Lang was clearly at a disadvantage, so he had no choice but to retreat as blood seeped out from the cracks in his armor.

Qi Xuansu’s last punch hit Hong Lang hard in the abdomen, completely penetrating the armor.

Hong Lang bent over like a cooked shrimp. The gaps in his face shield continuously dripped with blood, and he was no longer able to fight back.

1. Special talismans tied around the legs to make traversing long distances seem effortless. ☜