A Pawn's Passage

Madam Qi pushed the door open and walked in, clicking her tongue. “What kind of world is this, where the mother-in-law has to avoid the daughter-in-law? In the olden days, she would have to follow my rules—I’d sit while she stood, I’d eat while she watched.”

Qi Xuansu felt a little awkward and cleared his throat. “What mother-in-law and daughter-in-law? Things between me and Qing Xiao haven’t been settled yet. Besides, it’s been 200 years since the Daoist Order took charge. Those rules are ancient history!”

In the past, Confucians ruled the world, prioritizing loyalty and filial piety. Especially in wealthy households, daughters-in-law were expected to serve their in-laws diligently, handling chores and showing deference day and night. If a daughter-in-law rebelled, she would be labeled “unfilial” and condemned.

There were exceptions, such as when a princess married into a family. The mother-in-law would not dare exert authority in the household. At most, she would be exempted from needing to bow to the princess. However, she would never demand the princess serve her.

This was because, in the Confucian hierarchy of heaven, earth, sovereign, parent, and teacher, the sovereign took precedence over parents, and loyalty surpassed filial piety. A princess was considered sovereign, while the mother-in-law was a subject; upsetting this order would be a grave breach of decorum and rebellion against the natural order.

Of course, after the Daoists replaced the Confucians, all these customs were relegated to history books. That was why Qi Xuansu referred to them as ancient history.

“It might be ancient, but it’s still a tradition.” Madam Qi argued as she approached Qi Xuansu. “Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t be taking in a wife. Given your situation, you would be a live-in son-in-law instead. So she wouldn’t have to follow my rules; you are supposed to follow your mother-in-law’s rules.”

At the thought of Tantai Qiong’s face, Qi Xuansu quickly changed the subject. “These days, there’s no such thing as having to follow rules set by one’s in-laws. Let’s not talk about this.”

Madam Qi smacked his chest firmly. “How do you feel?”

Qi Xuansu heard a solid thud from his chest and forced a bitter smile. “Great...”

Madam Qi sat sideways on the edge of the bed. “Tian Yuan, be honest. Do you think that I’ve treated you well or not?”

“Of course, you’ve treated me well. A biological mother couldn’t be better!” Qi Xuansu said solemnly while pressing his hand to his chest.

Madam Qi continued, “In that case, I’ll take your commission of 1,000 Taiping coins for escorting Liu Hu as your show of gratitude. Any objections?”

Qi Xuansu’s expression froze momentarily, but he said generously, “One shouldn’t be too greedy. I have already received the Xuan Jade of Divinity, so how could I possibly ask for more?”

Madam Qi nodded in satisfaction. “That’s my boy!”

Qi Xuansu silently calculated his savings in his head. Well, my 2,700 Taiping coins have just turned into 1,700 Taiping coins.

Madam Qi added, “By the way, I heard you recently got paid?”

“Who told you that?” Qi Xuansu asked, looking puzzled. “Why haven’t I heard about it?”

Before he finished speaking, Qi Xuansu noticed a very familiar large envelope in Madam Qi’s hand.

Qi Xuansu quickly checked the inner pocket of his chest, but Madam Qi had already opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of crisp cash notes, still smelling of fresh ink. With a flick of her fingers, she spread them out like a folding fan and waved it gently. “Ah! This smell is truly delightful!”

“Give it back!” Qi Xuansu jumped out of bed and reached out to reclaim his hard-earned salary, but Madam Qi easily dodged him. Then, with a tap of her finger on Qi Xuansu’s forehead, he instantly froze, unable to move a muscle.

Madam Qi patted Qi Xuansu’s cheek with the stack of bills in her hand. “Tian Yuan, what I give you is yours. But you can’t take what I don’t give you, understand? Blink if you do. If not, you can keep standing there.”

Qi Xuansu blinked.

With another tap of Madam Qi’s finger, Qi Xuansu regained his mobility. He exclaimed indignantly, “That’s my money!”

“Where did you get this?” Madam Qi asked. “Didn’t you say you weren’t paid yet?”

Qi Xuansu’s confidence waned. “I’m a superintendent of the Daoist Order, only a step away from becoming a Heavenly Being. Isn’t it reasonable for me to have some Taiping coins?”

“Of course, it’s reasonable. But just because you have money doesn’t mean you can claim the money in my hands is yours. Come on, try calling out for it—will it answer you?” Madam Qi retorted.

Qi Xuansu protested, “It’s an inanimate object; how could it possibly answer?!”

Madam Qi said righteously, “Well then, finders keepers!”

Qi Xuansu pointed to the envelope containing the money and rolled his eyes. “That envelope has my name written on it.”

“That’s odd...why would you write your name on an envelope that contains my cash notes?” Madam Qi raised her eyebrows.

As she spoke, Madam Qi stuffed the stack of cash notes into her pouch and handed the empty envelope back to Qi Xuansu. “Since you’ve written your name on it, I’ll give it to you. No need to thank me.”

Qi Xuansu collapsed backward onto the bed with his arms and legs splayed out, utterly speechless by Madam Qi’s shamelessness.

As expected, even though Madam Qi was Mogul Yao, she continued to scheme against his meager salary. Some things never change.

However, since Madam Qi had given him a piece of Xuan Jade, Qi Xuansu knew he had gained far more than he had lost. He could not fault her for anything and lacked the leverage to argue with her.

This was one of Qi Xuansu’s strengths—unlike some privileged children who lived off their parents while also demanding independence and freedom, he never took Madam Qi’s efforts for granted.

Madam Qi sat beside Qi Xuansu again. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” Qi Xuansu replied sullenly.

Madam Qi chuckled. “Let this be a lesson for you. You may be able to fool little girls, but you think you can fool me? Have you forgotten who taught you everything you know?”

Qi Xuansu rolled his eyes so far back that he could see his brains.

Madam Qi slapped Qi Xuansu’s thigh. “Well, since I’m here, do you have anything else to say to me? If not, I’m leaving.”

After some thought, Qi Xuansu sat up and took out the thumb ring Feng Bo had left behind.

Madam Qi glanced at it. “We can split it, half and half.”

Qi Xuansu said, “It’s locked.”

“Simple.” Madam Qi took the ring from Qi Xuansu’s hand and rubbed it between her fingers for a while. The ring suddenly emitted a radiant glow, followed by a sound resembling ice cracking.

“All done!” Madam Qi tossed the ring into the air and caught it. She repeated this game of catch by herself, showing no intention of returning the ring to Qi Xuansu.

Perceptive as ever, Qi Xuansu asked, “How do you plan to split it?”

Madam Qi said, “I’ll give you two choices. The first option is that you keep the contents, while I keep the magical receptacle. The second option is, I keep the contents while you keep the magical receptacle. Go ahead, pick one.”

“What’s inside?” Qi Xuansu asked.

“Hmm...there may be a semi-immortal object or nothing at all. Telling you what’s inside will just spoil the fun, won’t it?” Madam Qi replied, smiling like a sly fox.

This was one of Madam Qi’s typical styles, giving him two options to choose from.

Back then, she made him choose between a chance to return to the Daoist Order and a Divine Dragon Pistol.

The chance to return to the Daoist Order was a long-term gain, while the pistol was an instant reward. Qi Xuansu chose the former and ended up with better gains, proving he had made the right choice.

However, Madam Qi would not always let him hit the jackpot, so an occasional empty result was to be expected.

After some deliberation, Qi Xuansu said, “To be safe, I’ll take the magical receptacle.”

Without wasting time, Madam Qi extracted all the items from the magical receptacle and laid them out before Qi Xuansu. Besides various documents and rosters, there were a dozen large cash notes and several hundred Taiping coins. The most valuable item was a treasure shaped like a feather fan. It was comparable to Marshal Thunder’s Azure Thunderbolt but fell short of being a semi-immortal object.

Madam Qi put the other items in her pouch, leaving only the feather fan behind before returning the now-empty magical receptacle to Qi Xuansu.

Thumb rings were actually used for archery, with a groove underneath to hook the bowstring for drawing arrows. This would prevent the string from scraping the finger during release.

However, with the invention of firearms, thumb rings gradually became a decorative accessory. Feng Bo’s ring, made entirely of green jade without a vertical groove for hooking the bowstring, was clearly not meant for archery.

Qi Xuansu slipped the ring onto his right thumb and slowly infused it with his innate qi.

After a few breaths, a door slowly opened before Qi Xuansu.

Behind the door was a cabinet-sized space, now completely empty—more so than Qi Xuansu’s own pockets and sleeves.

Still, Qi Xuansu was quite satisfied. He placed various items inside, including the special compass used to detect the Xuan Jade, the fish talisman signifying his membership in the Qingping Society, what little remained of his Taiping coins, his short sword Qing Yuan, his Daoist insignia, his superintendent’s badge, pills, elixirs, ammunition, and various miscellaneous items like the mother-child talisman.

He even kept his old satchel that had accompanied him all this while.

In the end, Qi Xuansu only hung the Flying Shadow and the Nine Yang Fiery Dome Replica on his waist. Since his Divine Dragon Pistol had been eaten by Marshal Tianpeng and the Sun-Shooting Rifle he obtained from the ambushers was nowhere to be found, he no longer had a long-range firearm.

Qi Xuansu finally looked a bit more like a high-ranking Daoist priest without an arsenal of weapons hanging off his body.