A Pawn's Passage

The ship sailing toward Qi Xuansu was from the Heavenly Court. Qi Xuansu recognized it due to its massive banner that snapped and cracked in the wind.

In the Central Plains, the Heavenly Court might have kept itself veiled in secrecy, but here in Nanyang, they were bold and brazen.

The massive ship cut through wind and waves, charging straight at the Daoist flying ship.

Qi Xuansu stood at the bow with his hands clasped behind his back. His expression was inscrutable, but inwardly, he thought, The Heavenly Court sure is audacious...

It was a ship with an old-fashioned Western design. This ship still bore a ram-spike prow and billowing sails, resembling a relic from the past in this age of ironclad ships equipped with cannons and steam engines. It also had a figurehead carved in the likeness of a Western goddess with both hands crossed over her chest.

However, despite the Western hull, there were many modifications of a distinct Central Plains style. It was a strange hybrid of styles that seemed neither East nor West, neither elegant nor crude.

The ship was a perfect reflection of the Heavenly Court itself—a hodgepodge of everything.

As the ship drew near, the once-bright sky darkened at once. Black clouds churned, the wind howled, and the sea grew restless. The once blue waters darkened to a deep indigo before turning ink-black.

The deck lamps on the ship flared with a dim yellow glow. Its speed was unabated as its ram-spike prow charged forward like a steel lance, piercing through the storm.

It was obvious that the weather changes came from the ship itself. That was precisely why the Heavenly Court favored these old-style ships with sails over those with steam engines.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu did not give the order for the flying ship to flee to the skies. His flying ship simply floated on the rough waters as it awaited the oncoming ship.

Just then, a voice drifted across the distance from the oncoming ship. “Greetings, Second Deputy Qi.”

Qi Xuansu turned toward the voice and saw a bald man standing behind the goddess figurehead. The man wore a Daoist robe, a Confucian headdress, and Buddhist wooden clogs. A Holy Court emblem gleamed on his chest, and he held a Shamanistic staff made of dead vines with a tip shaped like a withered hand clutching a massive red crystal.

Qi Xuansu recognized the man immediately. He was none other than Wu Guangbi, the Grand Leader of the Heavenly Court.

Clearly, Wu Guangbi had returned to Nanyang from the Central Plains.

Qi Xuansu stood with hands clasped behind his back, not responding to Wu Guangbi. His sword, the Pure Bodhi, hung at his waist while his hechang fluttered fiercely in the storm.

That heretic had first fought Madam Qi for the Xuan Jade in Jinling Prefecture and later shielded Li Changge atop Wuxing Mountain, making him an enemy of Qi Xuansu.

But Wu Guangbi seemed utterly unbothered, even though Qi Xuansu was now a Second Deputy Mansion Master and an envoy of the Golden Tower Council.

In Nanyang, Qi Xuansu had the full backing of Great Sage Lan, who had even dispatched a first-rank Spirit Guard for his protection. It was a privilege beyond comparison.

With such support, Qi Xuansu naturally looked down upon this heretic. As for Wu Guangbi, there was nothing he could do. He might have fought Madam Qi once, but that hardly made him her equal. Madam Qi could enter Jade Capital freely and banter with two Daoist heirs because she had the backing of the Earthly Preceptor. Wu Guangbi had no such benefit.

Though Madam Qi was the Earthly Preceptor’s youngest sister. She had, in truth, been raised and taught by the Earthly Preceptor, so they have a parent-child bond.

Ultimately, this was not a matter of cultivation or power, but of representation. Qi Xuansu stood for the Daoist Order.

After a moment, another figure appeared beside Wu Guangbi at the prow.

Qi Xuansu frowned. He did not recognize the man, yet some instinct deep within told him that the man was his fated enemy.

Through the rain and wind, the newcomer did not shine with the blinding radiance of Wu Guangbi. Instead, he stood quietly within that light, his features obscured.

Qi Xuansu could only discern a man’s silhouette. He wore a white inner robe and a black gauze overcoat, holding a folding fan in his hand. He was not dressed as a Daoist but rather like a refined young nobleman.

At that moment, Qi Xuansu stood at the flying ship’s bow, with Spirit Guard Ding Chou beside him.

Across the stormy sea, the wind and rain blurred everything between them. Yet despite these conditions, Qi Xuansu met the gaze of that mysterious man.

Suddenly, Qi Xuansu knew who the man was. He raised his voice. “Is that you, Daoist Li? I have long heard of your name, yet fate has denied us a meeting until now. I didn’t expect to cross paths with you here, of all places.”

Naturally, it was not Li Changge, nor was it Li Wugou, Li Changsheng, Li Tiangang, Li Tianlan, Li Minghuang, and most certainly not the Imperial Preceptor, Li Changgeng.

It was none other than Li Tianzhen.

This meeting had truly been long overdue.

Qi Xuansu could no longer recall when he had first heard the name Li Tianzhen. Perhaps it was while listening to the rumors about Zhang Yuelu. Li Tianzhen’s name had appeared merely as a supporting role, someone meant to highlight Zhang Yuelu’s brilliance by contrast.

Li Tianzhen had admired Zhang Yuelu, but she did not return his affection. So the two made a wager in the form of a duel. If Li Tianzhen won, Zhang Yuelu would grant him a single request. If he lost, he would have to leave Jade Capital and never return.

The result was evident. Li Tianzhen had never set foot in Jade Capital again.

At the time, people whispered that both the Imperial Preceptor and Sage Qingwei were fond of this young master. So the fact that Zhang Yuelu could publicly embarrass him and yet walk away unscathed took tremendous courage.

But that was then.

Now, no one dared to gossip about Zhang Yuelu. She was soon to become the youngest Sage, personally acknowledged by the Heavenly Preceptor and endorsed by the Zhang family’s main branch as the leader of her generation. Only the Junior Imperial Preceptor Li Changge was a worthy opponent, not Li Tianzhen.

Back then, Zhang Yuelu was still not yet a Deputy Hall Master and merely served in Beichen Hall. Though she possessed astonishing talent, she had been sidelined by the Zhang family’s elders, treated as a discarded pawn. Naturally, she could not compare with a scion of the Li family.

Qi Xuansu in those days was far humbler. He was wandering the muddy backwaters of Jianghu alongside Madam Qi, unsure if he would ever step foot in Jade Capital again.

But fate was a funny thing. Who could have foreseen that Qi Xuansu would rise to become the fourth prodigy of the Daoist Order only a few years later? He was now a third-rank Youyi Daoist serving as the Second Deputy Poluo Daoist Mansion Master. He had a boundless future.

Meanwhile, Li Tianzhen had retreated to the shadows of the Li family, his role similar to Madam Qi or Qi Muyu.

When Qi Xuansu first began working with Zhang Yuelu, he often heard Li Tianzhen’s name mentioned in passing. For a time, he even thought the man might become his love rival. Though Zhang Yuelu clearly despised Li Tianzhen, the fact that Li Tianzhen had once stood as an obstacle qualified him as one, at least loosely.

But to Qi Xuansu’s surprise, from the day he and Zhang Yuelu first returned to the Dazhen Mansion on Yunjin Mountain to his acquaintance with Li Changge, his steady ascent within the Daoist Order, his meetings with the Imperial Preceptor and Sage Qingwei, and even up to purchasing Princess Xuanzhen’s Mansion and beginning marriage discussions with Zhang Yuelu, Li Tianzhen never once appeared. It was as if the man had vanished from the world entirely.

What kind of love rival would be so indifferent?

So, Qi Xuansu figured that Young Master Li was not one to cling to romance. He had honored the wager, accepted defeat, and turned the page without regret.

Of course, Qi Xuansu also had no reason to travel to Qizhou or the Three Immortals Islands just to provoke Li Tianzhen for sport.

Thus, this day marked the first true meeting between Qi Xuansu and Li Tianzhen.

But the two had long known of each other’s existence, and had even clashed indirectly. For instance, during the Jinling case, Li Tianzhen had overseen the extermination of the Yuan family, silencing every witness in a cruel, efficient, and merciless way.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu had been the one who stirred up trouble in Purple Immortal Mountain and later lured Zhang Yuelu to Jiangling Prefecture, thereby setting off the second major Jiangnan case. In that sense, they could be called fated enemies.

Li Tianzhen said with a faint smile, “I have long heard of your reputation as well, Second Deputy Qi. It truly is a rare fortune to meet you today.”

He neither confirmed nor denied his identity, his tone deliberately ambiguous.

Qi Xuansu took it as acquiescence. “Daoist Li, what brings you here today?”

Li Tianzhen remained silent. Instead, Wu Guangbi spoke. “Since Second Deputy Qi has graced Nanyang, it is only proper that we pay our respects.”

Qi Xuansu kept an indifferent expression, but his tone was icy. “Grand Leader Wu, you serve the Heavenly Court, while I serve the Daoist Order. I see little cause for conversation between us.”

Wu Guangbi chuckled lightly. “Second Deputy Qi, you must be mistaken. I’ve heard you have dealings with certain members of the Qingping Society and maintain a close friendship with Mogul Yao of the Seven Treasure Pavilion. If you can associate with those two, then why not make friends with the Heavenly Court as well?”

Qi Xuansu’s face betrayed no emotion as he replied coolly, “Grand Leader Wu, this is slander. Tell me—are these the words of Sage Qingwei, the Imperial Preceptor, or the Junior Imperial Preceptor? Or perhaps from Daoist Li beside you?”

Since Wu Guangbi had chosen to sully Madam Qi’s name, Qi Xuansu saw no reason to remain polite. He directly exposed the Li family’s ties with the Heavenly Court in return, retaliating tit for tat.

A first-rank Spirit Guard like Spirit Guard Ding Chou was no stranger to the inner workings of the Daoist Order. She showed neither shock nor anger, as though she had heard nothing at all.

Such was the expectation of Spirit Guards. They were not to show their thoughts. All they had to do was obey orders.

Wu Guangbi simply smiled, offering no reply.

Qi Xuansu no longer pressed the topic, considering it as a truce of words.

Wu Guangbi began leisurely, “In summer, the seas are rife with typhoons. These storms are so fierce that even Immortals must yield before heaven’s might. But in Nanyang, there is an old legend that the Heavenly Empress’s Dragon Palace will reveal itself amid the storms. So, every summer, seekers set sail in search of her divine legacy.

“The Heavenly Empress is merciful. Should a ship be ruined by the typhoon, no lives are lost. The difference lies in one’s fate. Some return empty-handed, while others gain her blessings, like divine arts, sacred treasures, and her legacy.”

Qi Xuansu’s expression remained unmoved. “So, have you and Daoist Li journeyed all this way from the Central Plains to Nanyang for this?”

Li Tianzhen suddenly interjected. “Second Deputy Qi, are you not intrigued?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “The Daoist Order has ten thousand paths of cultivation. I have yet to master even those of my own lineage. Why should I covet the Heavenly Empress’s legacy?”