A Pawn's Passage

Among the four chaotic outer cities of the Imperial Capital, the most talked-about figure lately was not the lofty five-member delegation from the Golden Tower Council. It was Superintendent Qi.

Ever since this superintendent publicly took down Old Master Gao of the North City, word had spread through the outer cities. Anyone making a living in the gray areas of society knew his name.

A few days ago, Superintendent Qi had gone quiet. Rumor had it he was suspended and under investigation for some legal matter. Everyone knew this was Old Master Gao’s backers making their move. In situations like this, the more one retreated, the more others would advance. With Gao Mingyin dead, Superintendent Qi had to be taught a lesson.

Many people breathed a sigh of relief and even felt a little smug, thinking the Imperial Capital was no ordinary place for a Daoist to stir the waters. After all, no matter one’s status outside the capital, once in the capital, even dragons and tigers had to lay low.

But no one expected that Superintendent Qi had such terrifying backing. Though his suspension had caused quite a stir, he was reinstated within a few days, as if nothing had ever happened.

Logically speaking, one should lie low after suffering a setback. But the moment Superintendent Qi returned to duty, he stirred things up again, leading forces to sweep South City, starting from the Oriental Autumn Villa.

That place belonged to Commandery Prince Langya. The commotion had reportedly been huge, so much so that even the Divine Central Guards had been mobilized. Yet in the end, they could not save Oriental Autumn Villa from being shut down for investigations.

Many people witnessed the boats ferrying extravagantly dressed courtesans and black-armored Spirit Guards crossing Penglai Pool to get to Yuhuang Palace. The women from this second-tier brothel were all stunning, able to pass as daughters of noble families. But in front of the Spirit Guards, these phoenixes became barnyard hens. Their previous glamour during banquets and tea gatherings vanished, and they now looked wilted and dim.

There was no helping it. With Su Li, a staunch guardian of Daoist virtues, overseeing the operation, she deeply despised these women and hence had no mercy for them.

The servants and guards of the brothel were even more miserable, with some escorted away in shackles.

This terrified the other pleasure houses. Anyone running such a place in the Imperial Capital had some backing. But hardly anyone had greater backing than Prince Liao or Commandery Prince Langya. If Superintendent Qi could take down the Green Den in the North City and the Oriental Autumn Villa in the South City, who was to say he would not wipe out the ones in the East and West Cities next?

The owners of these establishments secretly cursed this superintendent. They wished that some powerful figure could come up with a ruthless move to deal with this bastard. No one even expected Qi Xuansu to be killed. They just wanted him gone from the Imperial Capital, or at least, make him lie low for a few days. They would even be willing to fork out some Taiping coins for that.

But unfortunately, the bigwigs did not bother with such trifles. With Qi Xuansu being so formidable himself, he really did roam the outer cities unchecked.

Since these pleasure houses could not deal with the person causing problems, they had no choice but to deal with the problem itself. Those without legal papers rushed to get them. Any courtesans requesting release from servitude were granted it immediately. If there were cases of forced prostitution or human trafficking, the women were sent back to where they came from. Not only did the establishments cover travel expenses, but they even handed out stipends as hush money.

They also halted those services that violated Daoist moral codes, as they knew it was best to lay low for now.

These brothels had no choice but to spend some money to ward off disaster. It was better than being shut down entirely.

Many patrons were furious and cursed Superintendent Qi, calling him a nosy mutt chasing rats.

As luck would have it, those words never reached Qi Xuansu, but they did reach Su Li. In her eyes, such talk was outright defiance of the Daoist mansion’s efforts to restore order in the capital. It was immoral speech and slander against those who upheld Daoist virtues. So with a wave of her hand, she dispatched Spirit Guards to arrest the loudest offenders and charged them with stirring trouble. She had them thrown into the Nether Prison to keep the brothel managers company.

Seeing Su Li’s passion for this job, Qi Xuansu simply handed over all follow-up responsibilities to her. He only emphasized two things. First, the news about the Daoist nuns’ scandal was not to be leaked. Even if they were punished, it had to be low-profile. Outwardly, the focus had to remain on Oriental Autumn Villa. Second, if any of the Daoist nuns confessed, their sentences could be reduced accordingly.

Su Li understood the importance of preserving the Daoist Order’s reputation and agreed to the first condition immediately. But she had objections to the second. In her view, every one of those women deserved to be hanged. How could they be let off so easily?

So Qi Xuansu had to persuade Su Li based on reason. The true purpose of punishment was not to destroy them but to give them a chance at repentance and becoming better people. Their confessions were a form of atonement. Morals should not become shackles of the heart but rather medicine to heal corruption. Since it was medicine, saving lives must come first.

These phrases were what Qi Xuansu often heard in the Wanxiang Daoist Lower Palace. It was like reading the Book of Three Hundred Poems. Even if one could not write poetry, one would at least be able to recite some. Having heard them often, he could recite these words fluently.

Clearly unfamiliar with the Lower Palace or such ideological teachings since Qingqiu Mountain did not have that, Su Li was easily persuaded. She agreed to give the errant nuns another chance. Moreover, she was quite impressed with Qi Xuansu’s firm devotion and profound understanding of the Dao.

Having sealed off Oriental Autumn Villa, Qi Xuansu had temporarily addressed the task Li Ruoshui had assigned him. For now, Li Ruoshui could not press him further. After all, he had cracked two major cases in a row. One could not expect him to bring down a brothel a day. Even if he wanted to, the Imperial Capital did not have that many. Internal conflicts within the Daoist Order had to stay in the shadows. If done publicly, they had to be backed by reason.

So Qi Xuansu took this opportunity to begin preparing for the second revenge operation Madam Qi had mentioned.

Last time, Dreaming Cloud had personally led the charge with Madam Qi as reinforcement. They had destroyed a branch of the Inn and killed one Heaven-rank member, two Earth-rank Waiters, and several Xuan-rank ones.

According to Madam Qi, The Inn became aware of the Qingping Society’s intentions after that battle. Coupled with their focus on Wuxing Mountain, The Inn decided to abandon several branches in Zhili. In truth, they were temporarily shutting down and pulling back their forces, consolidating several small outposts into one large stronghold to avoid being picked off one by one.

For this revenge operation, the Qingping Society upped the stakes, dispatching three A-rank members. In addition to Dreaming Cloud, they also sent Ceremony Prelude and Saintly Peace.

To the other B-rank members of the Qingping Society, these two were mysterious and unfathomable figures. But thanks to Madam Qi’s “private tutoring,” Qi Xuansu had a general understanding of them even if he had never met them in person.

Ceremony Prelude was not part of the Privy Council but rather a member of the Advisory Council. As a Wuliang-stage Diviner, Ceremony Prelude was skilled in various forms of divination, having dabbled in everything from the Banished Immortal’s Purple Astrology, the Rogue Cultivator’s Divine Calculation Technique, the Buddhist Psychic Method, Ancient Wuist Turtle Shell Divination, and many others, including Qi Observation, feng shui, and physiognomy. Though not adept at direct combat, Ceremony Prelude’s insights often worked wonders, to the point where even the Privy Council sometimes consulted her before making major decisions.

Next was Saintly Peace, who was the face of the Privy Council, a Zaohua-stage Qi Refiner. Unlike Drenched Green Robes, who had only recently reached the Zaohua stage, Saintly Peace had been at the Fusion Realm of Qi Refiners. For unknown reasons, however, he had yet to become a Pseudo-Immortal and was now outshone by Madam Qi.

This time, with Saintly Peace leading, Dreaming Cloud supporting, and Ceremony Prelude assisting, there was virtually no room for error.

Qi Xuansu was merely tagging along and did not need to shoulder the main responsibilities.

By now, Qi Xuansu more or less understood the Qingping Society’s upper hierarchy. There was a tripartite structure consisting of the Head of Society, the Privy Council, and the Advisory Council.

Simply put, the Privy Council held the power to propose policies, the Advisory Council had the power to approve or reject them, and the Head of Society functioned like an emperor, mediating between the two.

However, the Privy Council and Advisory Council had no chiefs. All decisions required internal voting. A proposal would first be passed within the Privy Council, then submitted to the Advisory Council for another round of voting. If both councils approved, the resolution would be enacted, like this revenge mission.

In most cases, the Privy Council was the stronger body, as the Advisory Council rarely vetoed its decisions. So within the Qingping Society, many viewed the six-member Privy Council as the real power and treated the Advisory Council as a mere decoration.

The Head of Society was also not as powerful as the emperor. Beyond having the authority to cast a deciding vote in ties, they also had the power to appoint members to both councils. However, they could only appoint members but not dismiss them. Removing a council member would require review by the Advisory Council.

This led to an interesting dynamic. While the Head of Society could install trusted allies into either council, those same allies might later betray them. It created a complex web of power balance within the Qingping Society. Most decisions required extensive compromise and negotiation.

The Head of Society’s role was also not hereditary like an emperor. They were elected by all A-rank members. This was the main reason the Yao family had publicly withdrawn from the Qingping Society over the years.

Of course, when it came to actual operations, even the A-rank members had to get personally involved, sometimes even on the front lines. This prevented armchair policymaking and unrealistic decisions. Thus, neither the Privy Council nor the Advisory Council made absurd decisions. After all, they would be the ones paying the price if things went wrong.