A Pawn's Passage

Meanwhile, the train was heading toward Harrisburg.

First-class compartments were essentially private cabins, complete with beds where one could even sleep.

Although Qi Xuansu and Audrey were posing as a married couple, he had no intention of turning the act into reality. He simply sat on the bed, idly flipping a special token between two fingers. It resembled a yin-yang symbol, but in this one, black dominated, with only two white dots. It symbolized how the Beichen Hall’s nature was far from bright, righteous, or morally upright. Perhaps it was even the opposite.

Qi Xuansu’s token differed from the others. It was more ornate, with a ring of lotus patterns decorated along its edge, resembling a lotus pedestal.

In a sense, the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master could be described as low in rank but high in power. This “low rank” was only relative to Omniscient Sages, as a Chief Deputy Hall Master could not take part in Golden Tower Council deliberations nor hold voting rights. Yet in terms of actual authority, commanding Beichen Hall’s vast overseas network gave him more power than many lower-ranked Omniscient Sages.

This situation was somewhat like that of a secretary. Past Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Masters who sought to go further had to learn to relinquish this power, stepping down to become ordinary Omniscient Sages without such authority in order to pursue greater power later. Just as a secretary must leave the center of power and be posted elsewhere to advance further.

Fortunately, Qi Xuansu did not yet need to worry about such trade-offs between future prospects and greater power.

Beyond identifying status, this token also served as a tool for communication. Since Qi Xuansu held the highest authority, he could initiate contact with other token holders, but unless granted special permission, no one could initiate contact with him.

Half an hour earlier, one of the operatives sent Qi Xuansu a message. “There is a traitor.”

This was one of the spies who had once helped Qi Xuansu forge new identities. Thus, Qi Xuansu had granted him direct access for communication.

The spy did not know Qi Xuansu was the Lotus Seat, which was the codename for the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master. He only knew that Mr. Li was a senior figure within Beichen Hall.

After that, the spy lost contact. Qi Xuansu’s initial judgment was that he was already dead.

There was no time to mourn, since Qi Xuansu had to consider his own situation.

The emergence of traitors was nothing unusual. Though the Steam Evangelical Sect had publicly abolished the Inquisition, another institution was bound to fill that power vacuum.

On the New Continent, that role was filled by the Evangelical Ministry.

On the Old Continent, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples was one of the Holy Seat’s sacred departments as the highest missionary body under the Holy Affairs Council. It was formerly known as the Propaganda Fide and the Missionary Council.

To reduce the Old Continent’s influence, the Steam Evangelical Sect claimed to abolish the infamous Tribunal, winning public favor. Yet its functions were indispensable. Thus, they restructured the Congregation of Evangelization into the Evangelical Ministry, which still carried out the Tribunal’s duties. Meanwhile, the New Continent’s Goddess Church—nominally loyal to the Pope, but effectively independent—took over the original missionary functions.

On the New Continent, nobles and clergy most dread being invited by the Evangelical Ministry to listen to the gospel of the Supreme Will.

Beichen Hall and the Evangelical Ministry were long-time rivals, each having won and lost their fair share of battles.

Beichen Hall planted spies, while the Evangelical Ministry purged traitors and turned those same spies.

At this moment, the appearance of a traitor meant Qi Xuansu’s movements could very well be exposed.

For Qi Xuansu, unless Strauni himself defected, it would not pose an immediate threat to him. However, it would be troublesome. He had used several spies for forged identities, train tickets, and ship tickets. These traces could easily be uncovered, even revealing his escape route.

This was something Qi Xuansu had to take into account.

Audrey sat across from him, studying his expression. She cautiously asked, “Did something happen?”

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “Nothing major.”

Even so, Qi Xuansu still issued orders for the relevant personnel to withdraw.

This order might expose that the Lotus Seat was on the New Continent. Qi Xuansu had considered that the intelligence might have been deliberately leaked by the Evangelical Ministry to flush him out, but he had no choice but to give the order.

Who exactly had betrayed the Beichen Hall?

Qi Xuansu pondered deeply. Perhaps the explosion in the Lower District had alerted the Evangelical Ministry, or perhaps Sophia had reached some sort of agreement with them.

To be fair, espionage was not his strength. He was practically an amateur. Sage Qingwei had not deployed him to gather intelligence or purge traitors, but to act as a mediator in the Southern New Continent.

Qi Xuansu was not meant to stir the tides of covert warfare. Yet events had unfolded regardless, catching him slightly off guard. Now, he could only take things one step at a time.

Thus, Qi Xuansu issued a withdrawal order to the many operatives in St. York. There was no need for him to worry about how they would retreat, as there were established protocols.

People like Strauni did not need to retreat, since his true identity was known only to Sage Qingwei, Qi Xuansu, and the previous Chief Deputy. The merchant guild’s support for him was public knowledge, and figures like Leopold were aware of it. Many council members engaged in similar activities—smuggling, trade, joint ventures—all for profit. Even the Evangelical Ministry could not interfere.

The real concern lay with the ordinary spies.

If a mid-level or high-level figure had defected, they would have extensive personnel lists and could wipe out the lower-level spies in one sweep. That was why a withdrawal order was essential.

Since Qi Xuansu did not yet know who the traitor was, he could not block them in advance, which meant the traitor would also receive the withdrawal order.

Under such circumstances, if the fallen spy had been deliberately exposed by the Evangelical Ministry to flush them out, then they had succeeded.

......

In an inconspicuous two-story building in St. York’s Central District, a slightly excited voice echoed, “Our hypothesis was right!”

Another calm voice replied, “You’re right, sir.”

In the second-floor sitting room, a Western man paced back and forth. Instead of formal trousers, he wore a black clerical robe, which looked similar to formal wear above the waist but with long flowing skirts below. In this regard, the East and West were alike, as both Daoist priests and the Western clergy favored elaborate robes.

The other man who was seated had a distinctly Eastern face, with black eyes and black hair.

This Eastern man held a glass and spoke calmly. “We deliberately allowed that spy to send a message to Mr. Li before dying. Soon after, the Lotus Seat personally issued a withdrawal order. This suggests two possibilities. First, Mr. Li is a close subordinate of the Lotus Seat and reported the message immediately. Second, Mr. Li is the Lotus Seat himself.”

The Western man stopped pacing and looked at him. “Sun, which possibility do you lean toward?”

The Eastern man set down his glass. “Mr. Lopez, it’s still too early to say. The transition just happened. The former Lotus Seat has been promoted to Omniscient Sage, and the new Lotus Seat has only just taken office. Everyone is still unfamiliar with this new Lotus Seat.”

This Eastern man was named Sun Zhongnu.

The external operations of the Beichen Hall were mainly divided into four branches: administration, intelligence, operations, and creations.

These four sectors were of very high standing, equivalent to the branches in a high-level Daoist Mansion, each led by a manager. At the moment, the Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master had 10 managers under his command, which included 6 managers from the eastern and western regions of the Western Continent, West Shakya, the southern and northern regions of the Northern New Continent, and the Southern New Continent.

Sun Zhongnu was the Deputy Manager of the Northern New Continent’s Northern Region Branch. He was a Daoist Priest Kindred whom the Manager of the Northern New Continent’s Northern Region Branch valued highly, and hence allowed him to be closely involved in various confidential matters.

Sun Zhongnu’s betrayal caused tremendous damage, so much so that even the Manager of the Northern New Continent’s Northern Region had fallen into the hands of the Evangelical Ministry.

While assisting the Evangelical Ministry in capturing Beichen Hall spies, Sun Zhongnu inadvertently discovered a special figure known as “Mr. Li.” He was certain that no such person had existed before, which piqued his interest. After discussing with Dennis Lopez of the Evangelical Ministry, they finalized this plan.

Sun Zhongnu opened the case file. “Train tickets to San Antonio, along with two false identities—one named Vincent Keener and the other Valerie Keener.”