A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 694: Qi Xuansu’s Imagination

Qi Xuansu suddenly recalled the Daoist Order’s original philosophy—the more friends, the better; the fewer enemies, the better.

This was how the Holy Xuan unified the Daoist Order and brought about its revival. All its development to this day has centered around one word—unity. The three Daoist sects must unite, and so must the Three Religions.

Qi Xuansu then inexplicably recalled a saying that what a ruler used to rise would also be what brings their downfall. But he quickly dismissed the thought. That was something for the distant future. Whether that day would ever come, he likely would not live to see it.

He let out a sigh, thinking that he had gone through so much in the past year—Zhang Yuelu’s assassination, the flying ship crash at the Kunlun Pass, the fall of the Yinglong Warship at the shores of Lake Cuowenbu, the major cases at Purple Immortal Mountain, Jiangling Prefecture, and Jinling Prefecture, and now in the Imperial Capital. With Zhang Yuelu’s continued influence, even if Qi Xuansu had a heart of stone, he could not remain truly unmoved.

But to suddenly speak grandly of righteousness and think of the common folk or the future of the Daoist Order felt far too distant. He was, after all, not the Holy Xuan.

The Holy Xuan had grown up immersed in the affairs of the Daoist Order, interacting with sect leaders, regional powers, and even royals. Figures like Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei were hardly notable to the Holy Xuan. With such an environment, it was only natural that he would have grand ambitions.

On the other hand, Qi Xuansu had grown up around small folk. He was not extraordinarily talented either. After 20 years, all he had achieved by himself was a Kunlun-stage cultivation and a seventh rank. How could he possibly compare?

Qi Xuansu found himself unsure of where to go from here.

He did not look down on himself. Given the current trajectory, as long as he did not die prematurely, becoming a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master was well within reach. This was a long-held goal of his. But after achieving that, would he stop there? Or would he keep going? If he were to continue climbing, what was it that he truly sought?

Qi Xuansu did not even know who his ancestors were, so he could hardly speak of bringing glory to his family name.

But he was not entirely devoted to the greater fate of the world either.

He could not possibly be scrambling for scraps today, haggling with Madam Qi over a few Taiping coins, only to suddenly transform tomorrow into someone striving to bring peace to the world and speaking out for the people. Even if everyone had multiple faces, that kind of split would be too extreme.

Qi Xuansu was gazing in all directions, his heart lost in confusion. But he quickly shifted his attention. Rather than dwell on such vague ideals, it was better to focus on his own cultivation. Just as he had told Su Li, if he had reached the Wuliang Stage, he would not have spared Qin Hengde, much less Gan Longchi.

Even if Qi Xuansu could not reach the Wuliang Stage in the short term, if he could complete his Manly Immortal lineage and reach the Divinity Realm, he would be strong enough to gain the upper hand the next time he faced Gan Longchi.

By Li Changge’s standards, the maximum limit at the Xiaoyao stage was five Xuan Jades. Qi Xuansu currently had three, and two of them were relatively small. Only the Xuan Jade of Divinity granted him a Heavenly-Being level lineage. At the very least, he could still fuse two more jades. If he reserved one spot for the Xuan Jade of Immortality, that left one slot open.

Madam Qi held at least one more Xuan Jade—the one she had acquired from Fengtai County.

Qi Xuansu was now something of an expert on Xuan Jades. Based on his judgment, that piece from Fengtai County was very likely a Xuan Jade of Life.

However, 6,000 merits from the Qingping Society was not a small amount. He would probably need to participate in several more revenge operations to accumulate those.

He then wondered if Madam Qi would allow him to credit his merits. She was already one of the six members of the Privy Council. It would not be surprising if she became the Head of Society one day. So she could easily grant anyone 6,000 merits.

Since the idea had taken hold, Qi Xuansu returned to the secret underground chamber where he had seen Qin Hengde and the Daoist nuns’ performance. At this time, it was empty. The people there had already been taken away by the Spirit Guards.

After setting up a privacy barrier, Qi Xuansu took out his golden-purple fish talisman to contact Madam Qi.

Soon, Madam Qi appeared before Qi Xuansu. Like Sage Donghua, she was seated behind a large desk. However, she was not handling documents. She was bookkeeping because she would never delegate money matters to others. Several thick ledgers lay in front of her, and the bookshelf behind was full of them as well.

“What’s up?” Madam Qi did not exude the authority of a “Half-Step Grand Master” like Sage Donghua. Without her disguise as Mogul Yao, no one would even guess she was a Pseudo-Immortal.

Qi Xuansu spoke more casually. “Madam Qi, I want to discuss something with you.”

“I’m not lending you money,” Madam Qi replied without even looking up.

Qi Xuansu rolled his eyes. “I’m not asking for money.”

Madam Qi still did not look up. “You created your own mess, so fix it yourself. You’ll be 30 in a few years. It’s time you learned to be sensible and independent.”

Qi Xuansu said helplessly, “I’m not asking you to stand up for me either.”

Only then did Madam Qi lift her head to look at him. “Then what do you want? Didn’t I say that I’ll go see Zhang Yuelu and Su Yuanyi when the time comes? You don’t need to remind me.”

Qi Xuansu finally blurted out. “Madam Qi, can you please give me a Xuan Jade? Put it on credit. I really need it urgently.”

“No.” Madam Qi rejected without hesitation. “You little brat! Do you think you can just gain something without working for it? There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

Qi Xuansu had anticipated that and changed tactics. “Speaking of gaining something without working for it, why did you give me the Longevity Stone Heart for free when you saved me back then? What was that about?”

Madam Qi was momentarily stunned. She did not answer directly. “You rascal! You’re getting bolder now, huh? Even trying to trick words out of me.”

Qi Xuansu was not one to give up easily. He added, “They say that all gifts of fate already have their price secretly marked.”

“Then have you considered that maybe the payment was made in advance?” Madam Qi said cryptically.

Qi Xuansu froze before he had a shocking epiphany. “Don’t tell me I’m actually a descendant of the Holy Xuan but was secretly sent to the Wanxiang Daoist Palace to experience hardship. All of you are guardians appointed by the Holy Xuan. My master isn’t dead; he just faked his death after completing his task, handing the baton to you. Zhang Yuelu is the predetermined candidate as my Daoist companion, which is why the Earthly Preceptor keeps promoting her. All these years, everyone has been acting around me, waiting for the right moment to push me onto the Grand Master’s seat, which has remained vacant only to wait for me to grow into it.”

At first, Qi Xuansu was merely joking. But halfway through, he almost believed this story himself. Everything seemed to tie together surprisingly well.

Madam Qi was stunned too. After all these years, she had not realized Qi Xuansu had such a wild imagination.

Then she looked at Qi Xuansu like he was an idiot. “And you say I read too many novels? It’s clearly YOU who’s been reading too many. How did you even come up with that? First off, you’re seven generations removed from the Holy Xuan—the math doesn’t even work. Even if you had been sealed at birth and only released 20 years ago, do you think a descendant of the Holy Xuan would even need something like the Longevity Stone Heart? The Holy Xuan’s descendant would have been a natural-born Banished Immortal!”

Qi Xuansu cleared his throat, masking his embarrassment. “You’re the one who said the payment was made in advance. So, of course, I’d start imagining it had to do with my birth parents. Maybe they were some extraordinary figures, and my background was kept a secret all along.”

Madam Qi said bluntly, “I can tell you with certainty that you have no special bloodline or powerful background. Your ancestors, going back eight generations, had nothing to do with the Holy Xuan. You’re also not some reincarnated bigshot or the Chosen One, and certainly not unique.”

Qi Xuansu added, “Madam Qi, you said you have a son. Who did you have him with? How come I’ve never heard you mention him?”

Madam Qi glared at him. “What does it have to do with you? Can’t the man be dead?”

Qi Xuansu goaded her. “Madam Qi, did your man run away? Maybe you had feelings for my birth father, but he was devoted to my birth mother. So out of resentment and vengeance, you kidnapped me and threw me into the Wanxiang Daoist Palace to fend for myself. Years later, you saw me again and recognized me at once, so out of guilt and perhaps transferred affection, you rescued me and raised me as your own.”

Madam Qi stared at him for a long while, tempted to slap him through the talisman again. But after thinking about it, she let it go. This was not something a slap could fix. Half amused and exasperated, she sighed. “Tian Yuan, it’s a real pity you’re not writing novels. If you start today, I’ll pay you 1,000 Taiping coins right now.”

From Madam Qi’s reaction, Qi Xuansu could more or less confirm he had guessed wrong again. Then what else could it be?

Madam Qi rolled her eyes. “If you have any more guesses, go ahead and spill them all. I want to see what other wild ideas you’ve got.”

Qi Xuansu blinked innocently. “Madam Qi, can’t you just tell me the truth?”

Madam Qi replied, “I did. You look just like my son, practically cast from the same mold. That’s the truth.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. Seeing that he could not get anything useful from her, he returned to the main topic. “Like I said, I’ll take the Xuan Jade on credit and repay it later.”

Madam Qi was not buying it. “You and I already have a messy ledger between us. You say you’ll repay, but you’ll just drag it out and wish that it disappears. I have plenty of ways to deal with people who default on payment. But what am I supposed to do with you? Kill you if you don’t pay?”

Qi Xuansu suggested, “I’ll write a promissory note.”

Madam Qi paused before saying, “There’s another operation in a few days. If you perform well, I’ll consider it.”