A Pawn's Passage

While Qi Xuansu had crossed the ocean and was stirring up trouble behind enemy lines, Zhang Yuelu had not been idle either.

Zhang Yuelu did not even have the time to deal with Little Yin, who had slipped away to roam Jianghu, which showed just how busy she truly was.

Her main focus was on internal issues.

Although Wang Jiaohe and Sun Heyu had both been eliminated by Qi Xuansu, and the entire Nanyang had appeared peaceful and orderly during his tenure, things became somewhat different once Zhang Yuelu took over.

The reason was simple. Qi Xuansu commanded such authority because he had fought his way to the top. Both the Wang and Sun families had fallen at his hands, so no one dared oppose him. That would be like wishing for an early death.

Now Qi Xuansu had left, and Zhang Yuelu had taken his place.

Zhang Yuelu had not risen through bloodshed like Qi Xuansu. She had come to power through normal succession. The difference was like that between an emperor who conquered the empire on horseback and one who simply inherited the throne. The authority and respect they commanded was inevitably different.

Moreover, during Qi Xuansu’s three years in office, his main priorities had been to stabilize internal conditions and repair financial deficits externally. His strategy emphasized stability and conciliation, so the situation remained relatively calm.

But once stability had been achieved and Zhang Yuelu assumed power, she began introducing reform policies and pushing for internal restructuring.

Back when Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu discussed how to deal with the Nanyang United Trading Company, they had already disagreed once before.

Zhang Yuelu believed that such a large company should not remain in private hands. Activities like slave trading had to be eradicated, and the Daoist Order should also hold shares—ideally 51% to ensure absolute control.

Qi Xuansu opposed the idea. First, after two major conflicts, the Daoist Order’s finances could not support deep involvement. Second, excessive involvement by the Daoist Order would inevitably create a series of personnel and bureaucratic issues, which might not be beneficial.

In the end, the two reached a compromise. The Daoist Order could participate, but without holding a majority share and without direct management. Instead, it would send representatives to exercise supervisory authority.

This clearly showed the difference between them. When dealing with large groups with entrenched interests, Qi Xuansu tended to be flexible and accommodating. Zhang Yuelu, however, was far more hardline and unafraid of offending people.

If Zhang Yuelu had been in charge of restructuring the Nanyang United Trading Company, it certainly would not have been a harmonious arrangement where everyone was satisfied.

At that time, Qi Xuansu had been the Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion, while Zhang Yuelu could only offer suggestions. Since she did not hold the position, she could not dictate policy.

Now that Zhang Yuelu herself had become the Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion, even if she could not change the personnel, she could implement new policies.

Internal reform would inevitably touch the interests of those already benefiting. Since cutting off someone’s income was akin to killing their parents, people were bound to oppose it.

People started comparing her with Qi Xuansu, saying that even with great achievements, Chief Deputy Qi had never done this while in office. Yet Chief Deputy Zhang, who relied on her family background, dared to stir up such chaos.

Zhang Yuelu did not back down. If she wanted to change the Daoist Order, she could not just preach empty slogans. It had to be implemented in reality. If she could not even push reforms through in Nanyang, how could she ever expand them to the entire Daoist Order?

In a sense, Nanyang was her testing ground.

Thus, the two factions found themselves in direct confrontation.

The nature of this conflict was different from the case of Wang Jiaohe. It could not be called disloyalty to the Daoist Order nor betrayal.

Human nature was always complicated. If an external enemy were to appear, most of these people would fight the enemy to the death. Many were even decorated Daoist priests who had participated in the Shakya war. Yet they were unwilling to surrender the interests they had taken for themselves. They were loyal to the Daoist Order and had rendered great service to it. But at the same time, they were also greedy, believing that everything they possessed was rightfully theirs.

Due to this, the situation became complex and difficult to handle.

Zhang Yuelu could not simply crush the opposition with force because the Golden Tower Council, Yao Shu, and Great Sage Lan would not approve. Yet every time Zhang Yuelu tried to push something forward, someone would obstruct it, slowing progress and creating constant resistance.

Thus, Zhang Yuelu allied with Xu Jiaorong, responding to each challenge as it came. Unlike Qi Xuansu, who had reshuffled personnel on a large scale to rebalance power, Zhang Yuelu worked on a smaller scale, removing whoever happened to stand in her way.

This was a necessary method. Zhang Yuelu had never been someone who pursued moral purity at all costs.

Some female Daoists placed too much faith in the power of rules and formal authority, which was also their greatest limitation. They believed power flowed strictly from the top down, as if holding an empty title meant one could do anything.

They often entertained fantasies such as a puppet emperor discovering evidence against a powerful minister and then issuing a single decree that wipes out the minister’s entire clan.

A powerful minister who could be executed with a single decree—without the use of force—was not truly a powerful minister, and such an emperor would not be a puppet emperor either.

The Li family eliminated witnesses and destroyed evidence because both the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect truly had the ability to punish them. The Li family did not want to fall into a passive position, so they resorted to silencing people. Only when both sides possessed comparable strength did legality, rules, righteousness, and principles carry meaning. It was not because the Li family feared rules or laws.

If those two sects combined were still no match for the Li family, the Li family could simply act brazenly because then, their word became law.

Zhang Yuelu had no intention of probing whether these people had grievances or difficulties. She had only one principle. If someone blocked her path and they were not clean, then they would be removed and sent to the Nether Prison to slowly repent. Even if they were clean, she could still transfer them elsewhere so they could contribute their talents in another place, not where they stood in her way.

In this kind of struggle, there was no room for even the slightest softness. If she did not move against others, others would move against her.

Zhang Yuelu’s ruthlessness was no less than Qi Xuansu’s.

During this period, Zhang Yuelu had already taken down four superintendents in succession and handed them over for legal punishment. The branches of Beichen Hall and Fengxian Hall were handling the cases too slowly, so Zhang Yuelu suspected deliberate delay and replaced one of the branch managers, appointing Lu Yuting to personally oversee the investigation and close the cases in the shortest possible time.

For a while, quite a few people began saying that Chief Deputy Zhang was carrying out persecutions.

Early that morning, just as Zhang Yuelu arrived at Tianfu Palace, she saw an elderly Daoist with white hair and beard waiting at the gate.

The old man’s name was Zhou Hegang. Although he was not quite on the same level as Sun Heyu, he had also retired as a second-rank Taiyi Daoist. Before Du Yuhua and Wang Jiaohe, he had served as Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion and later went to Jade Capital to become a Chief Deputy Hall Master. After Sun Heyu was removed and Du Yuhua fell silent, he became one of the leading figures among the elders in Poluo.

Zhang Yuelu naturally knew why Zhou Hegang had come, but she still did not wish to tear off all pretense of politeness. She said with a smile, “Elder Zhou, one does not visit the temple without reason. What guidance do you have for me today?”

Zhou Hegang kept a stern face. “I wouldn’t dare speak of giving guidance. I have come to request an audience with you, Chief Deputy Zhang.”

Zhang Yuelu seemed not to notice the resentment in his words. She simply said, “Let’s talk inside. Elder Zhou, you should have sent word beforehand so I could have someone receive you.”

Zhou Hegang replied coldly, “Chief Deputy Zhang, you’re burdened with countless affairs, while I’m just a useless old man, so I wouldn’t dare waste your precious time. If you have no time to see me, I’ll simply stand here and wait until you do.”

Back when the fifth-generation Grand Master personally led the army to West Shakya, the ancestors of the Wang family and Zhou Hegang, who was still very young at the time, had been among the troops. In the blink of an eye, Zhou Hegang was now old and frail. Zhang Yuelu respected his past record, so she remained polite despite his mocking tone.

She said, “Since you are already here, I will make time to see you, Elder Zhou.”

After all, he was a senior who had risked his life for the Daoist Order. As such, Zhang Yuelu was willing to give him the respect he deserved.

After entering the reception room, Ke Qingqing made tea, and Zhang Yuelu and Zhou Hegang took their seats separately.

Zhang Yuelu spoke first. “Elder Zhou, if there is anything I have done wrong, you may point it out. I will certainly accept it humbly and correct myself.”

Zhou Hegang was not polite at all. “I’ve heard that you are betrothed to Chief Deputy Qi, which is why he recommended you as the Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion. Since the Poluo Daoist Mansion carries his hard work and dedication, he feared others might ruin what he built, which was why he recommended you succeed him. But what have you done? You’ve acted on a whim, one moment after another, changing his policies as if Poluo were a place for you to fool around and make a mess.

“Chief Deputy Qi spent three years setting things right and creating such a favorable situation. Aren’t you afraid it will all be destroyed in your hands? How will you answer to Chief Deputy Qi? I don’t know what Sage Qingwei is thinking. Chief Deputy Qi was doing quite well in Poluo, so why did he have to remove him? Now things have turned out like this, and you’re still here talking about humbly accepting criticism and sincerely correcting mistakes. Who are you trying to fool?”

The smile gradually faded from Zhang Yuelu’s face. She instructed, “Qingqing, write down Elder Zhou’s words. When we hold discussions later, we’ll examine them carefully.”

She then turned to the old Sage and said, “Elder Zhou, if you have other grievances, you might as well say them all at once. Don’t keep things so vague. It’s best if you can be specific about particular matters or particular people.”

Zhou Hegang showed no fear. “Don’t try that on me. Back when your father hadn’t even been born yet, I was already following the fifth-generation Grand Master on the battlefields. I crawled out of the mountains of corpses in West Shakya and have devoted my whole life to the Daoist Order. I’m not Wang Jiaohe. I’ve been upright my whole life. Do you think I would be afraid of a junior like you?”

Zhang Yuelu’s tone turned cold. “Elder Zhou, you may be old, but Sun Heyu was even older. He also rendered meritorious service to the Daoist Order. Where is Sun Heyu now? Let me remind you that in the Daoist Order, merit and fault never cancel each other out. No matter how many achievements you have, they are never an excuse for wrongdoing. You may have been on the battlefield, but I am not some delicate flower from a flowerbed. I’ve been to the Fenglin battlefield and even took part in wiping out Wang Jiaohe’s rebellious faction with Chief Deputy Qi. If you intend to raise problems seriously, I welcome it. But if you intend to rely on your seniority and throw your weight around here, then I advise you to get rid of that thought before you ruin the reputation of your final years.”