A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu could not help but feel a bit emotional at how greatly Qi Xuansu had changed.

This wandering Daoist was no longer roaming Jianghu and was now studying military strategy.

Last time, Qi Xuansu used his own assassination attempt as a pretext to force Xie Jiaofeng and Qin Hengjun into compliance. Not only did they cease to be obstacles, but they even became his allies. He successfully leveraged the power of the Nanting Protectorate and used them to quell the riots in Lion City and suppress the Holy Court’s forces.

Eventually, Xie Jiaofeng and Qin Hengjun were on the same boat as him. It was far too late for them to disembark, so they could only follow the path to its bitter end.

This time, Qi Xuansu was killing with a borrowed knife.

Qi Xuansu despised Li Tianzhen, yet he could not kill him outright. After all, Qi Xuansu was not yet powerful enough to openly go against the Li family. But releasing Li Tianzhen was intolerable, and keeping the arrogant young master around him was a ticking bomb.

Qi Xuansu might not truly seek Li Tianzhen’s death, but he certainly wanted that arrogant man to suffer. So Qi Xuansu chose to use someone else to deal with Li Tianzhen, and that “someone else” was Sage Qingwei.

More precisely, it was the faction led by Sage Qingwei. The Li family had its own internal conflicts. The friction between Sage Qingwei and the Li family elders was no secret. Unlike the Zhang family, whose disputes were mostly about bloodline, the Li family’s conflicts stemmed from ideological differences and grudges formed in Sage Qingwei’s youth.

Li Tianzhen belonged to the elder faction of the Li family. Naturally, Sage Qingwei would not let such an opportunity slip by.

Qi Xuansu had considered whether Sage Qingwei might spare Li Tianzhen to win the elders’ support. But he ultimately believed that would not happen.

If Sage Qingwei had wished to do so, he would have done it long ago, not now. As the next leader of the Li family, Sage Qingwei’s position was unshakable. It was the elders who picked battles out of idle dissatisfaction because the future head of the family refused to back down.

In truth, Sage Qingwei intended to emulate the Holy Xuan in subduing the Li family, making them follow his will.

Thus, Qi Xuansu concluded that even if Sage Qingwei saw through his borrowed-knife scheme, the latter would still use the incident to suppress Li Tianzhen’s faction rather than spare him. In that case, his scheme would succeed regardless.

Li Tianzhen was no fool. He understood all of this, and that was why his expression looked so grim.

Qi Xuansu was actually doing a favor for Sage Qingwei by handing him the weakness of an opponent. He had also done a favor for the Li family by sparing Li Tianzhen, refraining from truly punishing him, and thus, preserving the Li family’s dignity.

If Qi Xuansu had not recently risen to excessive prominence by becoming the youngest second-rank Taiyi Daoist in the Daoist Order, and hence posing an actual threat to Li Changge and causing the Li family great unease, he likely could have exchanged this favor for a Xuan Jade. But now, such thoughts were futile.

From the moment he learned Li Tianzhen was captured to the moment he confronted him, Qi Xuansu used only a short span of time to catch Li Tianzhen’s weakness and force him to confess. He also immediately devised a plan to seek the optimal outcome. Even Zhang Yuelu was impressed.

Though Qi Xuansu often seemed to fear Zhang Yuelu in daily life, that was merely customary behavior. A male Daoist showing courtesy and deference to a female Daoist was just for show, nothing more.

When it came to serious matters that Qi Xuansu could decide on his own, he seldom sought the opinions of others, including Madam Qi’s or Zhang Yuelu’s.

Thus, Qi Xuansu did not ask Zhang Yuelu whether his plan was acceptable in deciding how to handle Li Tianzhen.

Zhang Yuelu could certainly object, and Qi Xuansu would consider it seriously, but he would not obey her unconditionally.

This was also the root of the conflict between Qi Xuansu and Tantai Qiong. Tantai Qiong knew well that Qi Xuansu had a boundless future. But, to her credit, her judgment of character was sharp. She instantly saw that Qi Xuansu was not someone who could be controlled at will.

This meant her son-in-law would not do whatever she said, nor would he flatter her for no reason. He would likely only obey his own mother wholeheartedly and deal perfunctorily with his mother-in-law.

However, Zhang Yuelu had no intention of controlling Qi Xuansu. That was the reason Tantai Qiong was angry at Zhang Yuelu—for not fighting for influence and for not learning how to manage a man.

Zhang Yuelu also had her own view. Their relationship was fair enough. Qi Xuansu did not cater to Tantai Qiong, and she did not cater to Madam Qi. Everyone should mind their own mothers. Why meddle with each other?

If things were done according to Tantai Qiong’s expectations, then how would that differ from a matrilocal son-in-law?

In truth, Tantai Qiong and Zhang Yuelu had a vast, irreconcilable gap in their ways of thinking.

......

Qi Xuansu and his group returned to Lion City overnight. He summoned Li Zhuyu and asked her to report the matter to Sage Qingwei.

When Li Zhuyu heard what had happened, she was utterly shocked.

The first shock was that Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu launched a surprise attack on Dragon Scale Island, achieved a resounding victory, and severely wounded Wu Guangbi, who was a Pseudo-Immortal. However, it also made sense because Qi Xuansu had managed to battle with Chen Shuhua before.

The second shock was that Li Tianzhen had been captured. This was a pleasant surprise.

Li Zhuyu did not delay further and immediately reported the matter to Sage Qingwei.

Judging by the time, Sage Qingwei was still in Fenglin. But the date of returning to Jade Capital was drawing near. There were only a few days left before the Zhongyuan Festival.

Since Li Zhuyu was Sage Qingwei’s adopted daughter, she could contact him directly. If Qi Xuansu were to reach out, it would require several layers of protocol.

Thus, Sage Qingwei’s response was quick and concise. He would assign an elder of the Li family to handle the matter.

Sure enough, the very next evening after Li Tianzhen’s capture, a flying ship descended upon Lion City. Li Changge had traveled from Fenglin in just 8 hours.

Disregarding Li Changge’s age, his generational rank within the Li family spoke volumes.

Li Changge came straight to meet Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu had Xie Jiaofeng prepare a small welcome banquet, inviting Li Changge, Li Zhuyu, Little Yin, Zhang Yuelu, and Li Tianzhen. Although Yao Pei was also in Lion City, she was not directly involved, so she was not invited. Otherwise, it would have been a gathering of all four Daoist prodigies.

Since everyone was already familiar with each other, they exchanged a few polite words and got straight to business.

Qi Xuansu could not state his conditions outright. He phrased things tactfully, saying he simply did not want the situation to escalate or cause unnecessary impact. Li Changge first expressed his thanks, then conveyed Sage Qingwei’s decision.

Li Tianzhen was to report immediately to Fenglin to serve at the military front as a chance to atone for his sins through service. If he committed another offense, he would no longer be granted mercy, and his punishment would be severe.

As for what exactly counted as another offense—collaborating with Wu Guangbi again or simply being caught again—that was open to interpretation.

Not wanting to owe Qi Xuansu, Sage Qingwei settled this favor immediately.

In his capacity as the Beichen Hall Master, Sage Qingwei ordered Li Changge, the Deputy Beichen Hall Master, to remain in Lion City and assist Qi Xuansu in the investigation.

This was, without question, a clear statement of Sage Qingwei’s stance.

Since the Imperial Preceptor did not have much time left in the mortal world, he would not oppose Sage Qingwei’s decision, as the latter was the next head of the Li family. Li Changge was also Sage Qingwei’s successor. With these two assisting in the Poluo investigations, it meant the Li family would no longer protect Wang Jiaohe just so they could use the Mansion Master to restrain the Quanzhen Sect.

From Sage Qingwei’s perspective, sending Li Changge to help in the investigation was a great boon to Qi Xuansu. Just as Yao Pei could mobilize the Yao family’s forces and Zhang Yuelu could mobilize Ziguang Society, Li Changge could seek out the Heavenly Court’s help. Regardless of which Li faction Wu Guangbi belonged to, Golden Patriarch would never risk offending two future generations of Li family leaders at once. With the Imperial Preceptor so near to ascension, the risk was even greater.

Thus, with Zhang Yuelu, Li Changge, and Yao Pei all gathered in Poluo, it meant the Zhang, Li, and Yao families had reached consensus on this matter.

Even Great Sage Jiang, who was representing the Grand Master’s lineage, was already in Poluo. He had attacked Wang Jiaohe during the recent emergency council.

Despite twists and turns, the outcome was now sealed. No further changes were possible.

Handing the entire Wang family over to Qi Xuansu was indeed a generous gift.

Qi Xuansu understood that he could now declare war on the Wang family.

However, Qi Xuansu could not help but lament the backgrounds of the people surrounding him. All of them were born into prestigious families. Even the suppressed Wang and Sun families came from noble lineages.

Qi Xuansu could only stand at the center of this stage thanks to Madam Qi.

Unfortunately for the Wang family, they had become just another casualty on the long road to power.