A Pawn's Passage

Could merchants really overturn the heavens?

Qi Xuansu did not know. In the past, probably not. But as commerce grew more prosperous, especially with the end of the era approaching, it was becoming a high possibility. But he absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen in Lion City.

However, he had underestimated these merchants’ methods.

This sudden upheaval was clearly premeditated—organized, planned, and executed. Not only were external forces stirring the waters, but there was also internal cooperation within the Daoist Mansion, creating an enormous tidal wave.

In less than half a day, all three districts of Lion City fell into chaos. Numerous unidentified individuals armed with weapons launched simultaneous coordinated attacks of indiscriminate destruction—smashing shops, looting property, attacking the patrolling Black Robes, and even committing arson, burning down Daoist temples.

By the time the news reached Tianfu Palace, Xie Jiaofeng was completely panicked.

This was precisely why he never dared provoke Mansion Master Wang, who had deep roots in Nanyang. Few could stop Wang Jiaohe from doing whatever he wanted. If Xie Jiaofeng refused to obey, all it would take was one such incident for him to be kicked out instantly.

Fortunately for Xie Jiaofeng, Qi Xuansu was taking the brunt of these attacks. All he could do now was watch how the Chief Deputy handled the situation.

This had also exceeded Qi Xuansu’s expectations, as he had not foreseen Marcheno’s disaster to arrive so abruptly.

However, Qi Xuansu was not panicking. He had seen far worse—the burning of Zhenwu Temple and the upheaval in Thanglong Prefecture—and had weathered them all. Such chaos could terrify Xie Jiaofeng, but not someone like Qi Xuansu.

However, Qi Xuansu also knew that handling such matters required great finesse. One wrong move, and what was a rumor could become real, just as Marcheno had warned. Merchants might flee en masse, damaging trade and worsening the Daoist Order’s already strained finances.

If things truly escalated to that point, someone would surely step forward to accuse Qi Xuansu of acting rashly and ignoring the greater good, which would directly jeopardize Qi Xuansu’s future career.

This was undoubtedly Wang Jiaohe’s warning to Qi Xuansu that if he continued this investigation, both sides would suffer immense losses.

Qi Xuansu found himself in a dilemma.

From a personal standpoint, continuing to investigate Wang Jiaohe could mean losing what he had already gained or potentially gaining far more. Should he gamble further, or should he cut his losses in time?

From the Daoist Order’s perspective, trade was the greater picture and could not be disrupted. Even if the Poluo Daoist Mansion was a festering sore, they could not risk catastrophic blood loss just to excise it.

Just as Qi Xuansu had yet to make a decision, the situation changed again.

This was indeed a carefully structured sequence of blows, each flowing in succession, leaving Qi Xuansu with no room to breathe so that he would be at a loss for what to do.

A superintendent from Tianfu Palace came to report that people had surrounded the palace.

They were small merchants, clerks, laborers, and sailors—about 800 of them. None of them posed any real threat to Tianfu Palace’s safety, but they were kneeling outside the main gate, forming a dense mass and creating a highly negative impression.

This posed a challenge for Qi Xuansu. These were harmless civilians, not vicious cult demons, making it impossible to use force. Any excessive action would have him condemned, losing the moral high ground.

Qi Xuansu asked, “What are they shouting? Speak freely.”

The superintendent hesitated, then said, “Some are begging you to give them some means of survival. Others say peaceful days are hard to come by. Some claim that you have malicious intent in trying to bring down the Nanyang United Trading Company and that it’ll harm the livelihood of the entire city.”

Qi Xuansu remained seated calmly. “The livelihood of the entire city, huh? That’s quite the accusation.”

Han Yongfeng muttered, “This seems like a typical Western trick.”

Qi Xuansu neither agreed nor disagreed. He merely said, “Since they’re here for me, I will go see them.”

Everyone objected at once because Qi Xuansu’s injuries had not yet healed. If he were still the Qi Xuansu who faced True Lord Siming head-on, he could go anywhere without worry. But now, his cultivation had weakened, and he had just survived an assassination attempt. What if this sudden incident was just a cover for a second assassination?

Qi Xuansu dismissed them. “With Spirit Guard Jia Yin personally protecting me, I see no reason to fear assassins. What matters now is resolving the conflict and restoring order as soon as possible.”

Afraid of being held responsible, Xie Jiaofeng offered a terrible suggestion. “To prevent the situation from spreading or being exploited by ill-intentioned people, I believe we should take decisive action and simply arrest all of them.”

Qi Xuansu shot him a look and reprimanded, “These people are ordinary civilians. They could have been misled or instigated by others. If we arrest all of them, wouldn’t that be pouring oil onto the fire? We will just be falling into the trap set for us. Arresting a few hundred is easy, but these people have elders, children, and relatives, which means thousands more. Can you arrest them all?”

Xie Jiaofeng immediately fell silent.

Qi Xuansu instructed Han Yongfeng to continue probing the details, then rose and strode toward the exit.

As soon as he moved, the others had no choice but to follow.

Spirit Guard Jia Yin and Little Yin followed closely behind. Chen Jianchou and Xie Jiaofeng trailed a step behind them, followed by several superintendents and a few third-rank Spirit Guards.

At that moment, he received a message from Zhang Yuelu via the Daoist License.

Since others were present, Qi Xuansu used only the voice-transmission function.

The others tactfully stepped back to give Qi Xuansu some space.

Zhang Yuelu’s voice came through, straightforward as ever, “I heard you’ve been surrounded.”

“Yes, I intend to meet these people myself,” Qi Xuansu replied.

Zhang Yuelu said, “I’ve already sent people to investigate. This was incited by someone. Judging from the composition of the crowd, which are mainly dock laborers and sailors, this matter is likely tied to the Heavenly Court. So I suspect someone from the Heavenly Court is stirring things up behind the scenes.”

Qi Xuansu frowned. “Golden Patriarch just helped us defeat Chen Shuhua, and now he turns around to aid Wang Jiaohe? What is he thinking?”

Zhang Yuelu said, “The Heavenly Court is vast, like an independent kingdom. Naturally, there will be factions among them. Golden Patriarch has devoted himself to pursuing immortality these years and rarely manages affairs. Most matters are handled jointly by Wu Guangbi and Liu Gui, which are effectively two major factions. Wu Guangbi is close to the Li family, and the Li family itself contains many opposing voices. The Zhang Juquan incident already showed that. Now that Li Tianzhen has arrived in Nanyang, it’s hard to say what his attitude is.”

Hearing this, Qi Xuansu fell into deep thought.

Zhang Yuelu continued, “I won’t stop you from meeting them, since that’s the best solution. But you must keep one thing in mind...”

Before she could finish speaking, Qi Xuansu already regained his focus and said proactively, “You’re telling me to be careful, right? I will.”

Zhang Yuelu added, “Yeah, and let me know if anything happens.”

“Alright.” Qi Xuansu ended the communication.

Qi Xuansu put away the Daoist License and asked, “Who is in charge of guarding Tianfu Palace?”

As soon as he spoke, a Spirit Guard stepped forward and answered, “Chief Deputy, I am Zhou Dizhi, a third-rank Spirit Guard in charge of guarding Tianfu Palace.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Spirit Guard Zhou, I have only one request. Maintain necessary order, but try not to harm anyone.”

Zhou Dizhi answered loudly in affirmation.

As they spoke, Qi Xuansu had already reached the front gate of Tianfu Palace. The gate was shut tight, so Qi Xuansu ordered, “Open the doors.”

The Spirit Guards at the gate obeyed. Several of them pushed the heavy doors open.

Moments ago, there had been only a few hundred people outside the gate. In just this short time, the number had grown to over a thousand, and more were pouring in from multiple directions.

Lion City was a newly built city and did not follow the ancient walled structure between districts. There were no gates or walls between districts, making access relatively easy.

At this pace, the crowd could grow to several thousand, even tens of thousands.

Qi Xuansu could not help but take a quiet, sharp breath. The Wang family’s influence was one thing, but with Westerners and the Heavenly Court supporting them from both fronts, such a massive display became possible.

More and more people gathered, seemingly forming a siege around Tianfu Palace.

Zhou Dizhi quickly directed the Spirit Guards to maintain order, forming a human barrier to prevent the crowd from rushing up the steps.

Fortunately, the steps before Tianfu Palace were tall. Standing atop them, Qi Xuansu became visible to everyone, as if he were elevated on a platform.

Qi Xuansu looked around and thought to himself, Lion City only has a population of about one million. If 10,000 people gathered here, that meant one out of every hundred was opposing me. Had I done something wrong?

He did not believe he was wrong. Investigating the Nanyang United Trading Company did not mean the company would cease to exist. It meant reorganizing the shareholders and re-electing the board. Everything else would function as usual. No ordinary person’s livelihood would be destroyed. The only ones losing their income would be the Wang and Sun families. But such a grand spectacle still surfaced.

Clearly, the Wang family was flaunting their overwhelming power and vast influence in Nanyang before Qi Xuansu.

It was no wonder Wang Danqing dared to be so bold in Nanyang.