A Pawn's Passage

To some extent, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were not only life partners but also political allies. In a partnership, one could be strong while the other was weak, but in an alliance, both sides must be evenly matched. Otherwise, it would not be considered an alliance but a vassalage.

Zhang Yuelu agreed with Qi Xuansu’s speculation. “That possibility can’t be ruled out. If the Li family’s adopted-son faction and son-in-law faction reach a consensus and form an alliance, they’d indeed become a force to be reckoned with. The Heavenly Preceptor is restrained by the main branch of the Zhang family, and though the Imperial Preceptor’s situation might be slightly better, he’s still quite restricted.”

Qi Xuansu added, “Some things can be done but not spoken; others can be spoken but not done. In the Li family’s case, the main branch holding long-term power is something that can be done, but must never be openly promoted. The Zhang and Li families exist in different environments. The Zhangs are conservative and resistant to outsiders, which has led to a shortage of new blood. But it also allows them to rightfully insist on keeping power within the main line.

“By contrast, the Li family is open and welcoming to outsiders. That’s why they’ve been flourishing for 200 years. Their family is full of talent, but the downside is that they cannot publicly stress the supremacy of the main bloodline. Instead, they must promote the idea of a three-way balance between the main branch, adopted sons, and sons-in-law. If they acted like the Zhang family, there would certainly be fierce internal backlash.”

Zhang Yuelu sighed. “At least you can see things clearly. The Commentary of Zuo states that what raises a ruler will eventually destroy him. If the Zhang family falls, it will be from their conservatism. If the Li family falls, it will be from their openness. The Holy Xuan once advocated that the more friends one has, the better off one is. This left the Daoist Order with today’s factional complexities. The Li family preached inclusiveness and equal treatment, but that created the danger of adopted sons and sons-in-law overstepping their roles. The Taiping Sect may look united, but only relative to the Zhengyi Sect and Quanzhen Sect. Objectively, it’s far from a monolithic entity.”

Zhang Yuelu paused, then asked, “When you met with Sage Qingwei, what was his attitude?”

Qi Xuansu gave a wry smile. “People at that level have deep self-control and stay composed in major events. They wouldn’t wear their thoughts on their sleeves. Of course, he seemed calm and relaxed, chatting as if everything were fine. At first, I thought he was the one behind all this. But after thinking it through, I realized that didn’t add up.”

Zhang Yuelu nodded. “In that case, I’ll have to go sound out the old master. He’s the one really steering the ship, after all.”

Qi Xuansu had no objections. “Alright. Let’s discuss the rest in detail when we meet.”

Zhang Yuelu ended the conversation.

While the two were talking, both flying ships had drawn near the port. Qi Xuansu stepped onto the deck and looked down. He saw the other Yellow Hornless Dragon anchored at sea. It appeared the stationed Spirit Guards had already taken control of it.

As the two flying ships slowly descended, Qi Xuansu issued his orders. “Interrogate them on the spot overnight. No torture, no coercion. Record whatever they’re willing to say. Those who stay silent, leave them be for now. Give me a summary before dawn. I’ll be meeting the Sage Commander before 7:00 AM.”

Several superintendents acknowledged in unison.

Based on her earlier conversation with Qi Xuansu, Lu Yuting formed a few suspicions in her mind. Perhaps the reason Deputy Hall Master Qi was in such a rush was to use that summary to test the true intentions of Sage Qingwei.

The real question was what to do next, or rather, to what extent it should be done.

There was one thing Deputy Hall Master Qi had said that she deeply agreed with. This so-called “loyalty” was really just people being tied to the same ladder. To move against one person was not merely about that individual. It would affect the entire ladder, implicating everyone on it.

So, dealing with one person was easy, but if it involved an entire line of people, it became troublesome. Take Zhang Juquan, for example. If someone insisted he was connected to the Heavenly Preceptor, that was not exactly wrong.

In such situations, those higher up on the line usually had two options—die with the secret or cut off the tail like a gecko. Of course, if someone pulled the entire line out from the root, then no one on it would escape.

Zhang Juquan occupied a middle-tier position on that line—not too high, not too low. Thus, the case had to be evaluated in two ways. With such a commotion, Zhang Juquan was definitely finished. But whether things ended there was another matter. His case could be used as a pretext to dig further, or it could be left alone, serving as a deterrent.

At this stage, the Zhengyi Sect was definitely on the defensive, severing all ties with Zhang Juquan to sacrifice the pawn and protect the king. If the Taiping Sect chose to dig deeper but failed to make breakthroughs, a counterattack from the Zhengyi Sect was inevitable. But if the Taiping Sect refrained and merely used the case to intimidate, the Zhengyi Sect would not dare strike back recklessly.

In Lu Yuting’s view, what Deputy Hall Master Qi was probing was precisely this stance.

Meanwhile, before Li Changge arrived at the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, Lu Yushu from the Fengxian Hall had already taken action against Zhang Juquan.

This time was different from the previous two major Jiangnan cases. Those were essentially external assaults and direct confrontations, where both sides had time to maneuver, destroy evidence, and silence witnesses. This time, however, Zhang Juquan was brought down by an insider’s report. So the collapse was instantaneous.

Yet the Fengxian Hall’s swift action confirmed one thing. This was not a sudden incident. It had been premeditated. Otherwise, the response would not have been so fast, and Zhang Juquan would not have been denied the chance to destroy evidence.

Lu Yushu uncovered a lot, and news of it leaked out. Whether it was accidental was debatable. Thanks to rapid post talismans and mother-child talismans, the army camp in Fenglin had also caught wind of it even across Donghai.

When Qi Xuansu arrived at the encampment, Sage Qingwei was in a meeting, so he had no choice but to wait.

Naturally, a high-ranking Daoist like a Deputy Hall Master would not be left waiting outside. There was a designated waiting room with tea served. Several other Deputy Hall Masters were also there waiting to meet Sage Qingwei, so they engaged in casual conversation.

The hottest topic of the moment was naturally the Zhang Juquan case. Deputy Hall Master Zhao of the Huasheng Hall lowered his voice and said, “I heard the Fengxian Hall searched Zhang Juquan’s records room. Turns out this Deputy Mansion Master is quite the interesting character. They supposedly found a lot of image recording stones in his office.”

The others became intrigued. “Image recording stones?”

Deputy Hall Master Zhao continued, “Zhang Juquan had a peculiar hobby. He recorded every sexual encounter using image recording stones for later viewing. It’s said that he was well-versed in bedroom arts, blissful methods, and yin-yang exchange techniques. He was quite the expert, and many of those image recording stones could practically serve as instructional material on both Buddhist and Daoist dual cultivation techniques.”

After all, they were all people of status. None of them wore lecherous looks and generally maintained their composure. Occasionally, some faint, amused smiles tugged at the corners of their mouths.

Someone asked, “Roughly how many people are involved?”

Deputy Hall Master Zhao replied, “According to preliminary estimates from the Fengxian Hall, over 100 people. Many of them were female Daoists.”

Qi Xuansu had not cared much initially, but upon hearing that, he could not ignore it anymore.

A Deputy Mansion Master being involved with dozens of female subordinates was undeniably a major scandal.

The reason the Fengxian Hall was not afraid this scandal would harm the Daoist Order’s reputation was that this was barely worth noting compared to the Imperial Court. In fact, Zhang Juquan might even earn a reputation for being a womanizer.

The idle chatter gradually shifted to some juicy, vivid details.

For instance, a certain female superintendent reportedly sat on Deputy Mansion Master Zhang’s lap while discussing official matters. As he listened to her report, his hands were busy, leaving her breathless and blushing.

In another case, Deputy Mansion Master Zhang acted as a matchmaker to marry a female subordinate off to a junior, only to maintain intimate relations with her and engage in wild escapades frequently.

Deputy Mansion Master Zhang even visited a female subordinate’s home while her Daoist companion stood guard outside.

There were tales of him using the Buddhist Blissful Method to take on four women at once, showcasing astonishing prowess.

These female Daoists, usually paragons of chastity and restraint, revealed completely different faces. To commoners, they were untouchable goddesses, yet before power, they appeared so debased.

The Deputy Hall Masters present did not envy Zhang Juquan. They just took it all as an entertaining joke.

After all, they were all of the same rank. If they wanted to do such things, they could. It just wasn’t worth it.

Since rising to become a third-rank Deputy Hall Master, Qi Xuansu had received flirtatious advances from several female Daoists. If he so much as hooked a finger, some would gladly crawl into his bed.

Even if Qi Xuansu preferred men, some male Daoists would not mind doing the same.

To these people, it was obvious which they would prefer given a choice between an old lecher and a refined, youthful third-rank Daoist like Qi Xuansu.

Women generally had a herd mentality. If Deputy Hall Master Zhang fancied a certain man, then he must be desirable. If something came of it, who was to say who truly benefited?

That was why Qi Xuansu was very cautious around women. The most cunning hunter always appeared as prey. What looked like fortune might be a carefully laid trap. It might seem like a wolf devouring a lamb, but in truth, it was a group of ambitious female Daoists hunting the powerful instead.

In cases like this, it usually came down to mutual consent. With both sides as willing participants, no one was truly innocent.

The Deputy Hall Masters could not help but sigh. Zhang Juquan’s career was definitely over. Though moral scandals like this were not enough to warrant execution, the impact was severe. Ultimately, the severity of his sentence would depend on the extent of his embezzlement and smuggling.

From the current outlook, he would surely lose his position, and his Daoist rank would be completely stripped. The best possible outcome would be keeping his life.

But then again, so what if he survived? He would never make a comeback. As far as the Daoist Order was concerned, this man would be erased from existence.

The women involved in the case wouldn’t escape unscathed either. Who knew how many positions would be left vacant after this?