A Pawn's Passage

For Qi Xuansu, it was time for a full offensive now that all obstacles were removed.

Qi Xuansu convened an emergency meeting.

This time, Qi Xuansu sat at the center. To his left were Zhang Yuelu, Yao Pei, and Chen Jianchou. To his right were Li Changge, Li Zhuyu, and Lu Yuting.

Yao Pei began the report. Her subordinate, Ruan Fengjue, had obtained evidence from Zhao Changlao—Sun Yaozhen’s lover—confirming that Sun Yaozhen was indeed involved in the business dealings of the Nanyang United Trading Company. When necessary, they could arrest Sun Yaozhen immediately.

However, Lin Qingcheng remained tight-lipped, refusing to confess even under threat of death. He denied any collusion with the Goddess Society, shouting that he was being framed and that those members were slandering him.

This was understandable. Collaborating with a foreign enemy was a capital offense. Thus, Lin Qingcheng had every reason to hold out.

Lu Yuting had discovered numerous problems through her audit, including slave trading and massive tax evasion. However, this was not the deadliest issue. The real danger lay in the flow of benefits between the Nanyang United Trading Company and the Shibo Hall’s branch.

Although the Company’s books were well concealed, many transactions were routed through the Taiping Bank. Since the Taiping Bank had already sided with Qi Xuansu, nothing could remain hidden.

In the past, when Qi Xuansu served as a superintendent, he had to read case files personally, search for evidence himself, and even interrogate suspects.

Now, as the Chief Deputy Mansion Master, his role was to set direction and make decisions. His subordinates handled the rest, and he no longer needed to involve himself in every detail. Only the final outcomes mattered.

According to Lu Yuting’s findings, eleven large ships were reported sunk last year, and all of them belonged to the Shibo Hall.

Every year, the Shibo Hall had a quota of expected losses due to shipwrecks, pirate attacks, and so on. Suppressing piracy was one matter, but accounting for losses was another. Thus, the eleven ships were filed under expected loss.

But in reality, none of them had sunk. All eleven ships—the vessel and its cargo—had been transferred to the Nanyang United Trading Company. Thus, this was essentially a free acquisition with zero cost and pure profit.

With the Shibo Hall believing its ships had sunk, new ones needed to be built. Nanyang had many shipyards, which were owned by the Nanyang United Trading Company.

Each ship was usually sold for more than twice the production cost. Or worse, they simply repainted the “sunken” ships and sold them back to Shibo Hall.

This single operation generated over 1 million Taiping coins in profit, and that was only last year. Over the years, the Daoist Sect had lost more than 10 million Taiping coins.

A scheme of this magnitude inevitably involved many sectors, like the Poluo Daoist Mansion and the Shibo Hall. The Nanyang United Trading Company alone could never accomplish it. Only with all three cooperating could they deceive everyone.

This was why the Wang family could never truly cut ties cleanly. They might claim they had no connection to the Nanyang United Trading Company, but the Daoist Mansion certainly could not say the same. Chen Shuhua had fled, and the previous Second Deputy Mansion Master had been arrested. Surely, they could not blame Great Sage Lan as the mastermind.

The Shibo Hall was the true keystone of the three-way collusion. If the Shibo Hall refused to loosen its grip, neither of the other two parties could proceed.

The Nine Halls had dispatched three branch managers for the Poluo Daoist Mansion. The Shibo Hall’s Poluo Branch Manager was Lin Tianhe, who was also Wang Jiaoyan’s husband.

Wang Jiaoyan and Lin Tianhe met in the Wanxiang Daoist Upper Palace. After Wang Jiaoyan became a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master, she did not seek any official post but became a wandering Daoist instead. Meanwhile, Lin Tianhe entered the Shibo Hall as a superintendent and steadily climbed the ranks until he was eventually assigned to the Poluo Daoist Mansion. That was when he became Wang Jiaoyan’s Daoist companion. All of this clearly bore the traces of the Wang family’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

Thus, the chain of connection was complete.

Lin Tianhe, the Shibo Hall Branch Manager, was deeply involved, making him a key figure in the case. His Daoist companion, Wang Jiaoyan, was one of the hidden owners of the Nanyang United Trading Company.

The husband-wife duo had long been transferring funds from one hand to another.

Although Lin Tianhe supervised the Poluo branch of the Shibo Hall and oversaw its trade activities, it was not his personal property. It belonged to the Daoist Order. By transferring Shibo Hall’s resources quietly to the Nanyang United Trading Company, they became the couple’s private assets.

Lin Tianhe was a stakeholder in the Nanyang United Trading Company as Wang Jiaoyan’s partner. Putting aside their marital ties, Wang Jiaohe had personally promoted him, enabling him to become the Shibo Hall’s Branch Manager, a post equivalent to a Deputy Hall Master with authority over all of Nanyang’s trade. Thus, Lin Tianhe naturally felt obliged to repay this kindness. Thus, he diligently hollowed out the Shibo Hall for Wang Jiaohe’s benefit.

Chen Jianchou compiled a file on Lin Tianhe, which Qi Xuansu skimmed through.

Before meeting Wang Jiaoyan, Lin Tianhe had been an ordinary fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist, high in rank but with no real power. It was nothing compared to a Deputy Hall Master. This was because his family did not support him. The Lin family was a major clan in the southeast. The Heavenly Empress came from that family, as did Lin Lingsu, Lin Yuanmiao, and others. Lin Tianhe’s mother came from the Zheng family that had once rivaled the Wang family.

Under such circumstances, Lin Tianhe should have risen swiftly. But his family had little faith in his official prospects and preferred he manage the family’s business. Thus, although his rank rose steadily, his posts remained stagnant in powerless departments.

In this regard, countless people envied Qi Xuansu. His promotions in office came so quickly that his rank struggled to keep up. Rank had limits, but positions did not. Every position Qi Xuansu held carried real authority. To put it simply, without power, how could one gain achievements? It was a positive cycle.

Years of sitting on the cold bench bred resentment in Lin Tianhe, a man skilled in commerce who felt deeply unrecognized. Wang Jiaoyan’s arrival changed his fate because Wang Jiaohe’s appreciation and promotion reshaped his career. For such life-changing grace, Lin Tianhe was willing to abandon all moral boundaries for the Wang family.

To be fair, while the other great clans could hardly claim the moral high ground, they did not behave with such blatant greed.

The Jiangnan case had caused quite an uproar, but the three sects constantly checked one another, each having spies in the rival sect. As a result, no one dared overstep too far, and everyone was constrained. The three sects kept sabotaging each other in a tug-of-war, forcing issues into the light. This was why there were so many major cases.

Poluo was different, as one faction dominated everything. Thus, they acted however they pleased. The entire region worked together to deceive the Golden Tower Council, unified and seamless. Thus, the truth stayed buried under the sea, and outsiders assumed all was peaceful.

After hearing all reports, Qi Xuansu said, “Since the evidence is conclusive, we can begin making arrests. Our primary targets are Lin Tianhe, Wang Jiaoyan, Sun Jiaofeng, and Sun Yaozhen. Let’s divide the work. Lin Tianhe is a branch manager directly under the Golden Tower Council’s jurisdiction, not the Daoist Mansion’s, so the Fengxian Hall should handle this—Su Yi will take the lead.”

Yao Pei said nothing and simply nodded.

Qi Xuansu continued, “Since Sun Jiaofeng is a wandering Daoist but still technically part of the Daoist Order, Beichen Hall is more suited to take this case—Yong Yan will take charge.”

Li Changge nodded in agreement.

Qi Xuansu turned to Zhang Yuelu. “Wang Jiaoyan’s situation is similar because she’ss also a wandering Daoist. But her case involves matters tied to the Lingnan Daoist Mansion, so Qing Xiao should handle her.”

Zhang Yuelu replied softly, “Leave it to me.”

Qi Xuansu turned to Li Zhuyu. “I publicly promised to uncover the truth within one month and give Lion City an explanation. So we must break through Lin Qingcheng quickly. Dan Jin, I’ll have to trouble you for this.”

Dan Jin was Li Zhuyu’s courtesy name.

Li Zhuyu answered solemnly, “Rest assured, Chief Deputy Qi.”

Finally, Qi Xuansu said to Chen Jianchou, “Compared to the others, Sun Yaozhen is of lesser importance, so there’s no need for a Deputy Hall Master to act personally. Get Superintendent Han to handle it.”

Han Yongfeng was not present, so Chen Jianchou would relay the instructions.

Chen Jianchou noted it down.

Qi Xuansu’s arrangement intentionally placed the Zhangs, Yaos, and Lis at the front.

If others attempted the arrests, chaos could erupt, assuming they even succeeded. But if these three prodigies took action, the situation would be entirely different.

Even if these people caught wind of the situation and went into hiding, they would be easily located thanks to the Heavenly Court, Ziguang Society, and Beichen Hall’s intelligence network.

Sun Heyu could not pull seniority because these three prodigies would not care. They would redirect his complaint directly to the Imperial Preceptor, Earthly Preceptor, or the Heavenly Preceptor.”

Qi Xuansu concluded. “After they’re arrested, bring them all to Lion City, Xu Youyi and Sun Yaoping included. Place them in the Nanting Protectorate’s military camp under strict guard, and interrogate them separately. If there are no objections, let’s proceed.”

At that moment, Xie Jiaofeng hurried inside, bent toward Qi Xuansu, and whispered, “Chief Deputy, Wang Danqing is here. He says he wishes to beg for your pardon.”

Qi Xuansu raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t going to look for him, yet he walks to my door. Unfortunately, it’s too late to apologize now. Tell him I’m busy and have no time for him.”

Xie Jiaofeng was about to leave and relay the message when Qi Xuansu suddenly changed his mind. “Nevermind. I’ll meet him once to hear what he has to say. Bring him to the Taiping Inn. I’ll go shortly.”

Xie Jiaofeng accepted the order and departed.