A Pawn's Passage

On the way, Qi Xuansu gave Great Sage Jiang a brief report. Great Sage Jiang took the matter very seriously and instructed Qi Xuansu to be sure to keep this information strictly confidential. After all, Wang Jiaohe and Chen Shuhua had operated in Nanyang for many years, and there was no guarantee that the Poluo Daoist Mansion did not still contain some of their people. If they alerted the enemy beforehand, it would be extremely difficult to find Chen Shuhua again.

From Lion City to Thanglong Prefecture, it took only two hours by flying ship.

Qi Xuansu’s flying ship landed at the Water Palace.

Qi Xuansu then headed straight for the Wood Palace, where Great Sage Jiang was staying.

Great Sage Jiang’s secretary had long been waiting at the palace gate. Upon seeing Qi Xuansu, he immediately led him inside to meet Great Sage Jiang, who had already been waiting for quite some time.

Great Sage Jiang dismissed everyone else, leaving only the two of them. Qi Xuansu then gave a general account of the entire sequence of events.

Qi Xuansu merely said that Lin Yuanmiao was an expert from the Zhang family connected to the Heavenly Preceptor, and Great Sage Jiang did not probe further. After all, which of the three Deputy Grand Masters did not have a few secrets of their own? The four Great Sages had many associations over the years and had long since established clear boundaries, so no one would rashly cross the line.

But Qi Xuansu did not disclose that Lin Yuanmiao was actually a Three Corpse incarnation of the legendary Lin Lingsu. Thus, he could not say that Lin Yuanmiao had gone searching for his true body’s Tongzhen Palace in hopes of gaining back lost memories. Instead, he brought up the case of Qian Xiangyun from the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion, saying that they found clues to her whereabouts.

In truth, Qi Xuansu now understood these great figures to some extent. What occupied their minds were always major affairs. They did not care about specific details and were not actually easy to fool. They merely turned a blind eye and chose not to dig too deeply.

As leaders, there were times when they had to feign ignorance toward the faults of their juniors. What they cared about most was the result. In this regard, Great Sage Lan had been a bit too lax. Great Sage Jiang handled this much better.

Great Sage Jiang did not care how Qi Xuansu had learned of the Tongzhen Palace’s existence. There was only one thing he cared about now. “Can you confirm the exact location of the Tongzhen Palace?”

Qi Xuansu took out the speck of spiritual light left by Lin Yuanmiao from his sleeve and presented it to Great Sage Jiang.

Great Sage Jiang casually took it and pressed it into his own forehead.

A moment later, Great Sage Jiang had already grasped the contents of the spiritual light. With a note of admiration, he said, “Lin Lingsu, the Imperial Preceptor of the Jin Dynasty, has truly lived up to his reputation as a heaven-sent genius who could defeat the Buddhist Sect. He actually modeled this Tongzhen Palace after the Heavenly Empress’s Dragon Palace, which has no fixed address. It was no wonder Chen Shuhua couldn’t be found.”

Qi Xuansu could not help but ask, “Great Sage, do you mean that the Tongzhen Palace is constantly moving?”

Great Sage Jiang nodded. “It’s not a problem. There’s actually a pattern to it, so finding it won’t be difficult. But I’ll need a few days to calculate it precisely.”

At this point, Qi Xuansu finally understood. No wonder Chen Shuhua had not pursued Lin Yuanmiao to the end. If the Tongzhen Palace was constantly moving, she likely believed that Lin Yuanmiao had stumbled upon it by accident. The next time he came, the Tongzhen Palace would already have moved elsewhere, so she need not worry about being exposed.

Moreover, Lin Yuanmiao had once mentioned that the Tongzhen Palace’s location was connected to whales. It was therefore very likely that the palace’s movement path overlapped significantly with whale migration routes.

It was said that whales traveled back and forth tens of thousands of kilometers each year, from the frigid north to the warm Nanyang. If the Tongzhen Palace only overlapped with part of these routes, then it would explain why the Tongzhen Palace sometimes appeared in waters near Lingnan and at other times in Nanyang. Strictly speaking, both claims that the Tongzhen Palace was in Lingnan and in Poluo were not wrong.

Clearly, this pattern was extremely complex. Even though Great Sage Jiang already had the clues provided by Lin Yuanmiao, he still needed several days to work out the calculations. If it were left to a Zaohua-stage Heavenly Being, it would be even harder and would take even longer. By the time such a Heavenly Being figured out the pattern, Chen Shuhua would already have recovered her strength and be able to leave the area, making everything futile. This was precisely why Chen Shuhua had nothing to fear.

Under these circumstances, the Daoist Order’s actions had to be swift. Encircling and eliminating Chen Shuhua was an urgent matter.

Just as Qi Xuansu was about to take his leave, Great Sage Jiang called him back again. “Oh, there’s one more matter. Someone just reported that Zhang Yuelu and Wang Jiaoying are deadlocked over an arrest. Wang Jiaohe hasn’t shown himself, and neither have I. Second Deputy Xu has gone to East Shakya. Since you’re here, you should handle it as the Chief Deputy.”

Qi Xuansu accepted the task.

Since he had arranged this in the first place, he had to bear full responsibility.

After leaving the Wood Palace, Qi Xuansu met Spirit Guard Jia Yin.

For some time now, Spirit Guard Jia Yin had not been stationed at the Old Port Pacification Commission Office, but in Thanglong Prefecture instead. The Old Port Pacification Office was handled by his deputy since there was little to manage. Thus, whenever Qi Xuansu needed Spirit Guards, they would simply be dispatched and placed under his command.

Upon seeing Spirit Guard Jia Yin, Qi Xuansu exchanged a few brief pleasantries and took the opportunity to request for a squad of Spirit Guards from him.

Spirit Guard Jia Yin agreed without hesitation.

With an entourage, Qi Xuansu strode toward the Wang family estate.

“Greetings, Chief Deputy!”

Qi Xuansu was now famous throughout Nanyang, his name known by all. There was no one who did not fear him. Leaving aside how badly he had forced Mansion Master Wang Jiaohe into a corner, he had firmly established his authority through the series of earth-shaking measures he carried out after arriving in Poluo.

Zhang Yuelu’s reputation was great, but she was not the Second Deputy Mansion Master of Poluo and could not truly do anything to them.

Qi Xuansu was different. As the Chief Deputy Mansion Master of Poluo, he held power in the region.

Many people were already gossiping that once Chief Deputy Qi brings down Mansion Master Wang, then serves another term as Chief Deputy Hall Master in Jade Capital, he would likely return to become the Mansion Master, and Xu Jiaorong would have been promoted to Chief Deputy by then.

Due to this, no one dared to stop Qi Xuansu and his entourage. The Spirit Guards brought by Zhang Yuelu and those brought by Wang Jiaoying had been locked in a standoff. Upon seeing Qi Xuansu, they immediately dispersed, formed two lines, and saluted, greeting their superior in unison, “Chief Deputy Qi.”

There was little expression on Qi Xuansu’s face, even when facing Zhang Yuelu. That was because Qi Xuansu paid close attention to his dignity in front of outsiders and was well-practiced in putting on a proper front. Of course, Zhang Yuelu did not expose Qi Xuansu.

Amid repeated greetings, Qi Xuansu came to a stop before Zhang Yuelu and Wang Jiaoying.

Zhang Yuelu smiled faintly and stepped forward. “Chief Deputy Qi.”

“Second Deputy Zhang.” Qi Xuansu inclined his head slightly. Anyone unaware might have thought the two were merely ordinary colleagues.

Wang Jiaoying’s expression was far less pleasant. He looked at Qi Xuansu with suspicion. “Why have you come in person, Chief Deputy Qi?”

Qi Xuansu replied calmly, “The two of you caused such a commotion with your stalemate that even Great Sage Jiang was disturbed. He asked me to handle this matter.”

“This is Wang Jiaoyan.” Zhang Yuelu smoothly pointed toward Wang Jiaoyan, who was still standing on the steps. “Since Chief Deputy Qi has come in person, he can take Wang Jiaoyan away together with me.”

The moment Qi Xuansu appeared, Wang Jiaoyan’s face had already turned pale. Now that Zhang Yuelu spoke, Wang Jiaoyan’s body began to tremble in fear.

Qi Xuansu nodded. “The evidence is conclusive. Take her away.”

Wang Jiaoying watched in disgust as the couple put on their hypocritical act. Hearing that they were about to take his sister away, Wang Jiaoying immediately spoke up in protest. “Hold on! Chief Deputy Qi, I need to report something to you.”

Qi Xuansu’s attitude was icy. “What is there left to report? Withdraw your troops and hand Wang Jiaoyan over to Second Deputy Zhang.”

Wang Jiaoying was the Third Deputy Mansion Master, while Qi Xuansu was the Chief Deputy Mansion Master. Setting aside the special position of Great Sage Jiang, Qi Xuansu ranked second within the Poluo Daoist Mansion, and Wang Jiaoying ranked fourth. On the surface, the difference seemed to be only two positions, but in reality, it was far more than that. From an ordinary Deputy Mansion Master to a Second Deputy, there was an invisible threshold from a third-rank Youyi Daoist to a second-rank Taiyi Daoist. Even Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu themselves fell into special cases.

For Wang Jiaoying to rise to Chief Deputy was not as simple as moving forward two positions. Under normal circumstances, he might even have to rotate through two different postings to achieve it. The higher the position, the harder it was to climb further. Many people spent their entire lives stuck at this point.

The Daoist Order did not establish the prefixes of Chief Deputy and Second Deputy merely for appearances. They conferred real authority and status. Strictly speaking, Qi Xuansu was Wang Jiaoying’s superior.

Seeing Qi Xuansu’s men step forward to take Wang Jiaoyan away, Wang Jiaoying could only choose to resist head-on. “Stop them!”

Wang Jiaoying’s Spirit Guards could only brace themselves and move to block Qi Xuansu’s Spirit Guards.

Qi Xuansu warned in a deep, stern voice. “Wang Jiaoying, you’re being far too arrogant!”

Wang Jiaoying was no pushover. He immediately retorted, “I obey the orders of the Daoist Mansion or the Mansion Master. Though you outrank me, you’re not my direct superior, Chief Deputy Qi.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Very well, if you obey the Daoist Mansion, do you obey Daoist Order?”

Wang Jiaoying dared not leave himself open to criticism. “Of course I do.”

Qi Xuansu said, “The law clearly states that anyone who is a relative, friend, master, disciple, Daoist companion, superior, subordinate, or who has a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from major cases. Deputy Mansion Master Wang, I’m sure I don’t have to elaborate on your relationship with Wang Jiaoyan, right?”

Wang Jiaoying’s expression changed instantly as he argued forcefully. “What about your relationship with Second Deputy Zhang? Shouldn’t you recuse yourselves as well?”

Qi Xuansu sneered. “It seems you’ve been a local tyrant for so long that you no longer care about Daoist law. The recusal applies between investigators and suspects. Second Deputy Zhang and I are both investigators. No matter what our relationship is, it has no bearing on the case. So naturally, there is no need to recuse ourselves.”

For a moment, Wang Jiaoying was at a loss for words, yet he still stubbornly refused to back down.

Qi Xuansu said coldly, “Since you’re so determined to defy your superior, don’t blame me for being impolite.”