A Pawn's Passage

The Gratitude Temple was outside the Jubao Gate of Jinling Prefecture’s inner city. Beyond the Gratitude Temple was the Ascension Platform, located near the Fengtai Gate, one of the 18 gates of Jinling Prefecture’s outer city.

The Ascension Platform was a hill, well-known for its picturesque, panoramic views of Jiangnan. Legend says that an Immortal ascended to the heavens from this very spot, giving the hill its name.

The Ascension Platform was originally located outside the city, but during the expansion of the outer city in the early years of the Wei Dynasty, it was incorporated into the city.

The platform’s scenic beauty earned it not one, but two spots in the famed “18 Best Views of Jinling.”

At this moment, the summit of Ascension Platform was deserted, with not a soul in sight.

After all, with the ominous black clouds pressing down on the city, who in their right mind would dare linger at such heights?

A lone figure ascended the stone steps, puffing on a tobacco pipe while their clothes fluttered in the wind. The bowl of the tobacco pipe was glowing intermittently.

Soon, the figure reached the summit and headed straight to the edge of the Ascension Platform, gazing in the direction of Zhenwu Lake. The clouds there were thickest, shrouding the area in pitch-black darkness like an eternal night. Beneath the clouds stood a towering figure that connected the heavens and earth.

This person was none other than Madam Qi, who had mentioned to Qi Xuansu after pulverizing Marshal Tianpeng that she was going to meet an old friend.

At this moment, she had presumably finished her meeting and was just returning to Jinling Prefecture.

Madam Qi casually tapped her tobacco pipe against a rock and tucked it into her waistband before squinting into the distance, where she could vaguely see True Lord Siming’s figure.

A powerful yin wind howled, making her clothes flap noisily. Nearby pines and cypresses swayed violently, their green leaves turning yellow and falling in droves. The yin energy in the wind was so intense that it condensed into water droplets, as if the wind carried rain.

Madam Qi adjusted the sunglasses on her nose and muttered, “Siming, Siming—whose fate are you trying to control now?”

Only the howling wind responded to Madam Qi.

Madam Qi reached into her small waist pouch and pulled out an ordinary-looking handgun, along with a bunch of parts. Upon closer inspection, these parts were inscribed with talismans.

She began assembling the parts onto the handgun.

When she finished, the ordinary-looking handgun had transformed into an exaggeratedly large long rifle.

Madam Qi set the long rifle aside and pulled out another set of oversized parts from her pouch, spreading them on the ground. Among them was a particularly striking cannon barrel.

There was no doubt that the inconspicuous pouch hanging on her waist was actually a magical receptacle. These parts, all made of steel, were crafted by Tianji Hall or the Divine Armory.

Madam Qi continued assembling the long rifle with the oversized parts.

Within moments, the long rifle transformed into a medium-sized cannon, with the original handgun now serving as the cannon’s trigger.

Clearly, this design was not typical for a cannon.

Madam Qi had deliberately made it this way, as she enjoyed the sensation of pulling a trigger. Cannons were no exception.

A cannon was but a giant firearm, anyway, so why shouldn’t it have a trigger?

Still, Madam Qi was not entirely satisfied.

She continued pulling out more parts from her magical receptacle, some of which were larger than herself. Even though she easily lifted this massive firearm with one hand, it was a comically absurd sight.

Besides this, she also took out numerous spiritual stones used to charge talismans, each of them valuable.

No one knew how large Madam Qi’s magical receptacle was, but it could surely hold an incredible amount, at least ten times more than Zhang Yuelu’s.

Soon, the medium-sized cannon turned into a giant cannon, comparable to those on armored warships. It resembled a colossal beast that dominated the Ascension Platform.

With her hands on her hips, Madam Qi inspected her creation repeatedly before finally deeming it ready. She then took out a cylindrical shell that was half her height. It was a Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bomb.

It was Madam Qi who had taught Qi Xuansu the habits of favoring firearms and relying on external objects. After all, it was only natural to pick a lethal long-range weapon when facing formidable foes.

The Grade-A Series One and Series Two Phoenix Eye and Dragon Eye Bombs were strictly regulated by the Daoist Order. They were limited in number and required the Golden Tower Council’s approval before use. So these extremely high-caliber ammunition never leaked to the black market.

Thus, the Grade-A Series Three Phoenix Eye and Dragon Eye Bombs were the highest caliber ammunition available outside of the Daoist Order. The Grade-A Series Three Phoenix Eye Bomb was too large and required the Yinglong Warship to deploy, making the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bomb the only “portable” heavy firearm.

Madam Qi loaded the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bomb into her customized cannon and began calibrating while muttering, “Siming, this shot is worth 23,500 Taiping coins per round at cost price. So the retail price would be at least double! You’re getting a deal, man.”

Once the calibration was complete, Madam Qi pulled the trigger, activating the cannon—a fusion of mechanical engineering and talisman magic.

In an instant, countless streams of essence from heaven and earth began converging on the cannon, forming a vortex that absorbed the surrounding energy.

A fiery red glow emerged from deep within the cannon’s barrel.

The next moment, a deafening explosion resounded.

The entire hilltop seemed to tremble as a shockwave radiated outward, more forceful than the yin wind from True Lord Siming. A few nearby pine trees could not withstand the force and snapped instantly.

However, Madam Qi remained unfazed. Aside from her fluttering clothes, she did not budge an inch.

She had already whipped out a monocular to observe the results of her shot.

The Grade-A Series Three Phoenix Eye Bomb had once reduced the entire Cuowenbu manufacturing plant to rubble, as it had a large destruction radius. Since this was Jinling Prefecture with millions of lives at stake, who would dare use a Phoenix Eye Bomb here?

That was also why Madam Qi thought that the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bomb was the best choice in this scenario.

Compared to the wide area destruction of the Phoenix Eye Bomb, the Dragon Eye Bomb’s power was concentrated on a single point, making it more effective at penetrating armor.

For ordinary targets, this “single point” could easily obliterate an entire three-courtyard mansion. However, against the massive body of True Lord Siming, this Dragon Eye Bomb was like a sharp arrow.

This Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bomb was not particularly fast, far from the speed of a flying sword. However, this type of weapon was rarely aimed at people. It was primarily designed for stationary targets.

Though True Lord Siming possessed boundless power, maintaining the dark clouds and the yin energy blanketing the city rendered him immobile, making him a sitting duck.

With Madam Qi’s high level of cultivation, she did not actually need the monocular to track the Dragon Eye Bomb’s trajectory because she had exceptional vision.

In fact, the monocular was more of a hindrance with its narrow field of view and need for constant adjustment.

However, Madam Qi enjoyed the feeling of holding a monocular, just as she enjoyed pulling a trigger when firing a shot.

That was because this monocular reminded her of the days as a captain out at sea.

During those times, every self-respecting businessperson would go out to sea if given the opportunity. Madam Qi always considered herself a businesswoman. She owned ships, sailed the seas, and made a living with her sword.

Of course, “making a living with her sword” was a euphemistic way of saying that she had dabbled in piracy while out at sea.

However, Madam Qi had little interest in robbing ordinary merchants; she preferred preying on other pirates.

That was many years ago.

Besides her seafaring exploits, Madam Qi had also traveled along the Silk Road in the Western Region.

Since the mighty Kunlun Mountains were in the west, she would visit Jade Capital whenever she returned to the Central Plains, stopping by for a short stay to visit some friends.

For someone as resourceful as Madam Qi, entering Jade Capital was no challenge. She even had her own residence in Taishang Place, the best neighborhood there—though it was registered under someone else’s name.

It was on one of her journeys to Jade Capital that Madam Qi casually saved the pitiful, weak, and helpless Qi Xuansu, pulling him back from the brink of death and keeping him by her side.

For Madam Qi, it was not a deeply considered decision. It was just a fleeting act of kindness, like how Qi Xuansu had given 100 Taiping coins to the innkeeper and his wife before fleeing from the salt smugglers and Feng Bo.

He did not have any specific intentions, nor was it something he would do every time. It was just done on a whim.

To Madam Qi, granting Qi Xuansu an Auxiliary Heart was not a significant cost. She saw it as an investment in expanding the Qingping Society.

In the years that followed, Madam Qi mainly observed Qi Xuansu, who remained unaware of her intentions. He simply followed her lead, living under her guidance and obeying his savior’s instructions.

As a result, Qi Xuansu only advanced from an eighth-rank Daoist priest to the seventh rank, with a Kunlun-stage cultivation.

Years later, Madam Qi found Qi Xuansu to be filial, trustworthy, and pleasing to her. That was why she decided to nurture her adopted son. However, she would not spoon-feed him. It was much like the concept of how a child was required to do chores in exchange for an allowance.

Thus came Qi Xuansu’s journey to Fengtai County, where he had the opportunity to rejoin the Daoist Order.

In just a year, he advanced from a seventh-rank Daoist priest to a fifth-rank Prospective Mage and Superintendent. He had a bright future, and he was only one step away from becoming a Heavenly Being.

Qi Xuansu was a mere pawn—insignificant compared to other chess pieces. Yet, he surpassed 90% of people in this world, most of whom did not even qualify to be on the chessboard.

Madam Qi placed Qi Xuansu on the chessboard, but if he did not prove himself worthy, he would quickly be devoured by others. His current standing took equal parts effort and opportunity.

In a sense, it was Madam Qi’s years of guidance that enabled Qi Xuansu to accumulate enough experience and thrive once he stepped onto the chessboard.

Madam Qi watched the trail of the Grade-A Series Three Dragon Eye Bomb and murmured to herself, “I’ve done all I can. Whether you make it across the river is up to you now.”