A Pawn's Passage

The layout of the various buildings within Zhenwu Temple was highly meticulous and complex. Thus, it was easy for first-time visitors to get lost without a guide.

This complex architecture undoubtedly provided Qi Xuansu with an excellent cover as he moved through the various buildings. He also used the shadows and darkness of night to begin counter-hunting the attackers.

Qi Xuansu climbed onto the roof of a relatively intact side hall, crouched behind the ridge, and set up his newly acquired Sun-Shooting Rifle.

Although the Sun-Shooting Rifle was not equipped with a scope, Qi Xuansu could soul-project. That was how he scouted for his target’s location. While not perfectly accurate, soul travel was good enough in this circumstance because it was almost instantaneous.

After a single shot, a Heavenly Court member in the distance exploded on impact. More precisely, his entire upper body was blown into a blood mist. Only the lower half of his body remained standing upright—such was the power of the Grade-B Series One Dragon Eye Bullet.

The only drawback was the noise, making it unsuitable for stealth attacks.

After successfully landing a shot, Qi Xuansu did not linger. He immediately picked up the rifle and moved to another location.

As expected, just as Qi Xuansu slid off the roof, the spot where he had been seconds ago was struck by a shot, blowing off half the roof.

Crouching low, Qi Xuansu darted through a narrow alley behind the side hall, leaped over a wall, and entered a small courtyard.

This courtyard featured a small bamboo garden. Under the moonlight, the shadows of the bamboo fell gracefully on the stone-paved ground, resembling ripples on water—a serene and elegant scene.

Amid the bamboo garden was a stone table and a few stone stools. Nearby, a Spirit Guard was sitting on the ground, leaning against the bamboo with labored breathing. His armor was shattered at the abdomen, exposing his bloodied flesh.

Seeing Qi Xuansu, the Spirit Guard struggled to grab the spear beside him, ready for a fight to the death.

Qi Xuansu took out his badge and introduced himself. “We’re on the same side. I’m Qi Xuansu, superintendent of Ziwei Hall.”

Upon seeing the badge, the Spirit Guard let out a deep sigh of relief. He lowered his spear and said weakly, “Superintendent Qi, forgive me for being unable to salute you.”

“Don’t move,” Qi Xuansu said as he approached the Spirit Guard, crouching to examine his wounds.

The Spirit Guard smiled bitterly. “Superintendent Qi, don’t waste your efforts. We Spirit Guards are not like Daoist priests with cultivation. Without this armor, we’re just ordinary Houtian Beings. I...I know I’m done for.”

Qi Xuansu remained silent.

This Spirit Guard was gravely injured. There might still be a slim chance of survival if he could be sent to the Huasheng Hall immediately. But in the current perilous situation, how could they possibly reach Huasheng Hall?

“Superintendent Qi, as a priest of Ziwei Hall, you’ve likely never been to the borderlands. Most of us Spirit Guards here have just transferred back from the border, so while we may not claim to have transcended life and death, we’ve grown accustomed to death. Many of my comrades have died at the hands of foreigners or cultists, their blood staining the battlefield.”

As he spoke, the Spirit Guard took another labored breath. “I was lucky to survive. I didn’t die in the Gobi Desert of the Western Region, but here I am, dying in the prosperous Jinling. However—”

Qi Xuansu asked softly, “However, what?”

“However...however...” The Spirit Guard never finished his sentence. His voice grew fainter and his breathing became weaker until the light in his eyes dimmed.

At last, the Spirit Guard stopped breathing, his eyes still wide open, gazing through the bamboo grove at the vast night sky.

Perhaps in his final moments, he had seen his fallen comrades from the past. Now, they were reunited.

Qi Xuansu stood there silently, unsure of what to say.

As someone who used to travel the world like a lone wolf, Qi Xuansu never had comrades, so he could not understand such camaraderie. Yet, at this moment, he felt a twinge of sorrow.

Qi Xuansu walked out of the courtyard, passing numerous corpses—some of them Spirit Guards, while others were Heavenly Court members.

He turned a corner and came across a pavilion, where two Heavenly Court members were setting up a Grade-A Series Eight Phoenix Eye Bomb.

Qi Xuansu did not fire his gun but instead drew the Flying Shadow, quickly closing in on the two enemies.

The one setting up the Grade-A Series Eight Phoenix Eye Bomb had no time to react before he was decapitated by Qi Xuansu in a single strike. His blood sprayed like a fountain, staining the bomb in his hand.

The remaining Heavenly Court member let out a roar and swung his blade at Qi Xuansu, who swiftly thrust his sword into the former’s mouth, piercing it through.

Two bodies collapsed to the ground one after another.

Qi Xuansu glanced at the bomb. Unlike the Grade-A Series Nine Phoenix Eye Bomb, which was spherical and could be held in one hand, the Grade-A Series Eight Phoenix Eye Bomb resembled a square box. It seemed to require a specific method for detonation, making it unsuitable for throwing. It was also inconvenient to carry.

He placed the two corpses on top of the Grade-A Series Eight Phoenix Eye Bomb and turned to leave the area.

Under normal circumstances, Zhenwu Temple was not supposed to be this empty. However, to accommodate the arrival of the investigative team, the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion had deliberately cleared out unnecessary personnel, leaving the vast Zhenwu Temple eerily quiet, with many halls and pavilions unoccupied.

Moreover, the Zhenwu Temple’s grounds were as expansive as the Imperial Palace. After the initial surprise attack, the Heavenly Court attackers and the Spirit Guards defending the temple scattered throughout the compound, turning it into a game of cat and mouse.

This was one reason why the Heavenly Court members continued planting Grade-B Series Eight Phoenix Eye Bombs all around the area. Without such drastic measures, they would not be able to eliminate everyone in the temple by dawn.

This was only one reason. The more critical objective was to destroy evidence.

To eliminate the adverse effects of coerced confessions, the Holy Xuan decreed that confessions would carry less weight in trials, with greater emphasis placed on physical evidence.

Thus, in this investigation, they could not rely solely on Ye Xiu’s confession, which was merely a critical breakthrough point. They had also amassed a large amount of physical evidence.

This evidence included the account books from the Yanqing Merchant’s Association, partial accounts from the Purple Immortal Mountain and the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, import-export logs from Shibo Hall, transaction records from various regional checkpoints, warehouse inventory logs, and numerous other case files.

There were also some supporting documents like the post-mortem report on Feng Bo’s death submitted by Zhang Yuelu to Lei Xiaohuan, the Yuan Residence’s post-incident report, and testimonies from other witnesses.

The sheer volume of evidence was staggering, filling several rooms, far too much to be stored in any magical receptacle. Thus, these files were stored in Zhenwu Temple.

This was another reason why the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion had cleared out Zhenwu Temple.

The Heavenly Court members did not know the exact location of this evidence. Thus, with no leads, the best solution was to raze the entire Zhenwu Temple to the ground, ensuring everything would be obliterated.

If witnesses needed silencing, physical evidence also had to be destroyed.

After killing more than a dozen enemies, Qi Xuansu noticed several more halls engulfed in flames.

Qi Xuansu knew that no matter how many enemies he killed, it would not make a difference because he would eventually perish in the inferno.

Thus, the wisest choice was to leave Zhenwu Temple immediately. Yet, he could not stop worrying about Zhang Yuelu and her situation. After a brief hesitation, he turned back and headed toward the dungeon.

However, as luck would have it, Qi Xuansu found Marshal Tianpeng still guarding the dungeon entrance, showing no signs of leaving.

The Spirit Guards and other Heavenly Court members in the area were gone.

Although Qi Xuansu was still far from Mashal Tianpeng, the Heavenly Being spotted him instantly.

Marshal Tianpeng had an impression of Qi Xuansu from earlier. Seeing this Daoist again with no sign of his other subordinates, Marshal Tianpeng immediately understood the outcome.

He had underestimated this young Daoist.

But Marshal Tianpeng did not fret. He would just have to get rid of this young Daoist himself. It would be a good warm-up exercise.

With that thought, Marshal Tianpeng leaped up, soaring into the air like a giant bird as he charged toward Qi Xuansu.

Among the many lineages, Martial Arts Practitioners were exceptions, as they could not fly at the Xiaoyao stage. Bhikkhus were similar to Martial Arts Practitioners, but their immense blood qi was unrefined. However, this lack of purity had its advantages. Unlike Martial Arts Practitioners, Bhikkhus were not entirely barred from using spells and could fly at the Xiaoyao stage.

Seeing Marshal Tianpeng charging toward him, Qi Xuansu was startled. He immediately raised the Sun-Shooting Rifle and fired a shot.

A Bhikkhu’s physique was not as robust as a Martial Arts Practitioner’s, so the shot left a bloody hole in Marshal Tianpeng’s body.

However, a Bhikkhu’s body was enormous, so this wound did not qualify as a serious injury. His flesh only wriggled slightly as the bloody hole healed.

In the time it took for the shot to fire, Marshal Tianpeng had already reached Qi Xuansu.