A Pawn's Passage

Heavenly Fairy replied, “I’ll continue to monitor the Xuanhui Court.”

Qi Xuansu could not help but click his tongue inwardly. Judging by Heavenly Fairy’s tone, being able to monitor the Xuanhui Court implied this person could freely enter and exit the Palace City, likely holding considerable power.

He did not even know the precise location of the Xuanhui Court. Even if he did, he would not be able to enter the palace, let alone keep watch over it. He also wondered if Heavenly Fairy was royalty. If so, Madam Qi truly had connections in all places. She could even recruit someone of that caliber.

But there was another possibility—Heavenly Fairy had been nurtured by Madam Qi from the beginning from a neglected peripheral figure, providing her with covert aid before gradually rising to prominence and gaining real power within the royal family.

It was just like Qi Xuansu. If Qi Xuansu had achieved his current status on his own before ever meeting Madam Qi, and she later invited him to join the Qingping Society, he would have refused her outright. After all, why risk his bright future by joining a secret society? He would be more likely to report her to the authorities.

Unfortunately, Qi Xuansu did not have that kind of talent. His current position was largely due to Madam Qi’s guidance, so now, he had to listen to her. The same logic probably applied to Heavenly Fairy as well.

Madam Qi nodded. “For that intel, I’ll award you 500 merits.”

Qi Xuansu’s eyelid twitched.

Though he often claimed not to care about the Qingping Society’s merits, he still remembered that he had only 600 merits. If he had turned in the Xuan Jade of Death, he would have achieved 1,000 merits. This was equivalent to several years of hard work. However, since he ended up merging with the Xuan Jade of Death, he could not claim the merits.

He was not awarded any merits after escorting Liu Hu to Liaodong either. However, Madam Qi and Pei Xiaolou pulled some strings to help him return to the Daoist Order and granted him admission to the prestigious Ziwei Hall. This was something no amount of merits could buy.

Heavenly Fairy thanked Madam Qi.

Qi Xuansu could not help but sigh inwardly. When one’s status was high, earning merit was so much easier. A single piece of intel could equal years of his own toiling in the wind and rain.

Madam Qi then turned to the others.

Another person, whose alias was Drunken Whip, spoke. “Lately, there have been frequent movements from the Black Robes and the Green Phoenix Guard. As everyone knows, the Green Phoenix Guard has seven Lieutenant Colonel’s Office. The First Office monitors the officials in the Imperial Capital, the Third Office oversees officials across the 19 states. The Fifth Office manages the Imperial Prison. The Sixth Office is in charge of palace security and the emperor’s retinue. The Seventh Office handles major criminal cases and is unrelated to this matter. The Second Office, which handles intelligence and is closely tied to the Black Robes, and the Fourth Office, responsible for assassinations and closely associated with The Inn, have been particularly active of late, both within and beyond the inner city.

“As for the Black Robes, the key force is the Capital Garrison. Some 3,000 troops have been deployed to Wuxing Mountain under the pretense of drills. They didn’t bring heavy cavalry, but they’re loaded with advanced firearms. The key point is, the Ministry of War knows nothing of this. I can’t tell whether the Cabinet is aware, but this is definitely a covert operation.”

After three months of advanced training in the Upper Palace, Qi Xuansu had become thoroughly familiar with the various government offices and their administrative structures.

This Capital Garrison referred to the imperial guards protecting the Imperial Capital, following the legacy of the previous Wei Dynasty.

During the Wei Dynasty, the Capital Garrison was split into three divisions—the Five Armies Camp, the Three Thousand Battalion, and the Divine Armory.

The Five Armies Camp had the largest numbers, including the central, flanking, and forward guards. The Three Thousand Battalion consisted of 3,000 elite heavy cavalry, rivaling even the frontier forces. Meanwhile, the Divine Armory specialized in firearms.

After the Great Xuan Dynasty replaced the Wei Dynasty, it reorganized the Capital Garrison by merging the Five Armies Camp and the Three Thousand Battalion into the Divine Central Guards.

All previous subdivisions, such as watch commanders and eunuch supervisors, were dismissed. A single person now commanded the garrison, with a Deputy Director beneath him. Below them were Deputy Chief Military Officers, Regional Generals, Mobile Corps Generals, and Camp Commandants.

The Divine Armory was split off entirely, led by a Chief Military Officer with two subordinate generals. Though they were still a military unit, they were no longer part of the Black Robes’ combat corps and had instead become akin to the Daoist Tianji Hall, focusing on weapons research and production, especially firearms. Their technology rivaled each other, so the two institutions often collaborated.

Back when Qi Xuansu was pretending to be Qin Wubing’s personal guard, he had dealt with someone from the Divine Armory. He had even bought a pair of blades from them.

So when Drunken Whip spoke of the Capital Garrison, they actually meant the famed Divine Central Guards. However, the Black Robes still preferred the old term.

From this, Qi Xuansu deduced that Drunken Whip likely hailed from the Black Robes and was at least a mid-level officer. He might not rival Qin Wubing, but he was still a figure to be reckoned with.

Madam Qi thought for a moment and offered, “I’ll award you 400 merits.”

Drunken Whip did not object.

Qi Xuansu once again lamented the “devaluation” of merits. However, he understood that all this intelligence was not something his former self could have ever uncovered.

The third person to speak was called Red Robes Lover, which carried a hint of romantic longing.

Qi Xuansu had noticed that everyone’s chosen alias often reflected something essential about them. His alias, Gold-Plated Knife, did not refer to a weapon but to the ancient knife-shaped currency. Qi Xuansu constantly fretted over Taiping coins and often engaged in witty banter with Madam Qi due to this.

Li Qingnu’s alias was Crimson Lips, which evoked the image of a woman applying lip color before a mirror. This was common among brides, courtesans, or women accustomed to presenting themselves in public. After all, makeup was not cheap, and most women at home would not bother with it unless necessary.

Madam Qi’s alias was simply Lady Qi, meaning seven, due to her rank within the Yao siblings of her generation.

By this logic, it was safe to assume the others’ aliases were also tied to their personal identities or histories.

Thus, in Qi Xuansu’s eyes, Red Robes Lover screamed of romantic sentiment. Red robes were traditionally reserved for women unless it was a court official’s robe from the previous dynasty or wedding attire. Even among women, young girls wore green, grandmothers wore yellow, and red was exclusive for happily married women. Widows and concubines were forbidden from wearing this color.

By that logic, Qi Xuansu deduced that Red Robes Lover was probably a man who loved a married woman. However, he thought, I hope the Red Robes in his alias is his own wife and not some other married woman. Otherwise, that just means he’s coveting someone else’s wife, and that’s pure scoundrel behavior!

Qi Xuansu hoped it was the former—a sincere love between a devoted couple.

Red Robes Lover spoke. “My intel isn’t related to the Imperial Court. It concerns the Ziguang Society.”

It was common knowledge that the Ziguang Society was primarily composed of women, from the highest-ranking Ancient Immortal to the lowest maids. Men like Zhang Juyan were few and far between, but that was only because of his bloodline.

Qi Xuansu silently marveled. Good grief! To be able to gain access to the Ziguang Society and gather intel, Red Robes Lover is indeed a lovestruck fool.

Madam Qi was not surprised. She commented, “I figured as much. The Lingshan Witch Cult stirred trouble in Cuowenbu, the Cult of Fates struck opportunistically in Jinling, and now, the Ziguang Society has to make an appearance. Otherwise, how else could the Three Great Cults remain equals?”

Red Robes Lover continued, “Madam Qi, your foresight is uncanny. The Ancient Immortal Wu Luo descended in Cuowenbu. The same happened with True Lord Siming in Jinling. Though neither descended with their true bodies, their power was still terrifying. From what I’ve gathered, someone in the Ziguang Society is trying to invite True Lord Ziguang to the mortal realm. Apparently, her method of descent differs from that of Wu Luo or True Lord Siming.”

Qi Xuansu had noticed that Ancient Immortals did indeed descend in different ways. Wu Luo had not used any Xuan Jades and simply manifested as a projection. However, True Lord Siming used a piece of Xuan Jade and a vast network of rituals, resembling a spiritual avatar. Of course, their goals were also different. Wu Luo merely aimed to destroy the Yinglong Warship, while True Lord Siming intended to devour the entire city of Jinling. Naturally, the magnitude of power required varied greatly.

What would it be if not a projection or avatar?

Red Robes Lover did not keep them guessing. “It’s possession. She requires her followers to prepare a suitable host body for her, tied to one’s destiny. She’ll descend into that vessel, incarnating as a human. Compared to Wu Luo and True Lord Siming’s methods, this approach consumes less energy and is much harder to detect. But once she descends, she’ll be weak initially and will need time to restore her strength.”

Qi Xuansu suddenly recalled the Lingshan Witch Cult stronghold that he and Zhang Yuelu had destroyed in Yishan City. As he remembered, they had been attempting the same type of descent through possession, with him as the vessel. However, the cult’s plans were foiled before completion.

Madam Qi, who had once blasted True Lord Siming’s face, was not intimidated by any Ancient Immortal. She nodded. “Very well. I’ll award you 600 merits for this information.”

Qi Xuansu did not even bother sighing this time.

The remaining six had no significant intelligence to report and stayed silent.

Needless to say, Qi Xuansu also had no input because he was just there to listen. He had been too busy wrestling with the local powers of the Imperial Capital lately to gather intel.