A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu had prepared four sets of false identities in advance precisely for situations like this. It was considered a stroke of luck that the two identities known to Sun Zhongnu were unused.

Moreover, given the conditions of the Northern Continent, where each state was relatively independent and manpower was insufficient to establish a tightly controlled system, train and ship tickets were not tied to specific identities. Anyone with money could purchase them, so merely knowing two names made it difficult to trace a specific journey.

Sun Zhongnu naturally understood this. What concerned him more was something else: “Why are there two people? A man and a woman at that?”

Dennis said, “It means this Mr. Li has an accomplice. If Mr. Li is the Lotus Seat, could this woman be his secretary?”

“No,” Sun Zhongnu rejected the idea outright. “Mr. Lopez, forgive my bluntness. The Evangelical Ministry focuses first on the Western Daoist Order and Tawantin Empire, then on the Holy Court Tribunal on the Old Continent, and only after that on the Eastern Daoist Order’s Beichen Hall. Even then, it’s only in two of its six overseas regions. So it’s only natural that you are not very familiar with the personnel structure of the Daoist Order.”

Dennis was not angered, for Sun Zhongnu spoke the truth. The Evangelical Ministry had limited resources and had to prioritize. Their primary focus was on forces that could directly threaten the Steam Evangelical Sect, which were nearby heretics and internal dissidents. The Eastern Daoist Order was too distant to warrant immediate attention. Rather than studying the Lotus Seat, who spent most of his time in Jade Capital, Dennis preferred to focus on the two Beichan Hall Branch Managers in the Northern New Continent.

“Sun, it seems you know quite a lot, especially about this new Lotus Seat,” Dennis said, looking at him.

Sun Zhongnu smiled slightly. “The new Lotus Seat, Qi Xuansu, comes from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. He has served as a deacon of the Tiangang Hall, a superintendent of the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion, Deputy Hall Master of Ziwei Hall, Strategist in the Fenglin Campaign, Second Deputy and later Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion. Finally, he was promoted to Chief Deputy of Beichen Hall.”

“That’s a very impressive résumé.” Dennis nodded. “Although the Holy Court and the Daoist Order are not identical, the general principles are similar. This new Lotus Seat’s path of promotion is clear. It’s only a matter of time before he enter the Golden Tower Council.”

“No, no, no.” Sun Zhongnu shook his head repeatedly. “It’s not just about entering the Golden Tower Council. His future is boundless. Mr. Lopez, guess how old this new Lotus Seat is?”

Dennis had not studied this newly appointed Lotus Seat in detail. After all, the man had never served within the Beichen Hall itself and rotated through regional Daoist Mansions. Dennis only knew that the new Lotus Seat had made some hardline statements.

After a moment’s thought, Dennis replied, “Holding such an important position would require being at least 45 years of age.”

Sun Zhongnu chuckled. “This new Lotus Seat is only 30 years old.”

Dennis was startled. “Thirty?! As far as I know, the Chief Deputy of Beichen Hall ranks just below Omniscient Sages. Does that not mean he has the potential to join the Council of Three one day?”

Sun Zhongnu nodded. “Exactly. Many within the Daoist Order share this view, and some even consider Qi Xuansu to be one of the strongest contenders for the position of the eighth-generation Grand Master.”

Dennis couldn’t help but ask, “Although I’m not very familiar with the Eastern Daoist Order, I do know that there are three great families—Zhang, Li, and Yao—corresponding to the three members in the Council of Three. This man doesn’t seem to belong to any of these families. Without backing from a powerful family or high-ranking figures, how could he reach such a position at such a young age?”

Sun Zhongnu replied, “Of course, he has backing. Though I’m stationed overseas, this new Lotus Seat’s reputation is so prominent that I’ve heard quite a bit about him. It’s said he has an adoptive mother from the Yao family who holds great authority. He is also betrothed to a young lady of the Zhang family. Moreover, he is highly valued by Sage Cihang, Sage Donghua, and Sage Qingwei.”

Dennis was familiar with these three Daoist Heirs. From the perspective of the Western Holy Court, they were essentially the successors of the Council of Three, figures of immense power and influence.

Sun Zhongnu continued, “As far as I know, this new Lotus Seat is extremely careful about his reputation. Aside from his fiancée from the Zhang family, he keeps his distance from other women. But that’s largely forced. After all, the Daoist Order prides itself on civility and is highly sensitive about relationships between men and women. At his young age and high position, there are many who admire him and would gladly seize upon any scandal. How could he dare bring along a female secretary? That would be handing others leverage against him.”

Dennis pondered. “In that case, you believe Mr. Li is not the new Lotus Seat, Qi Xuansu.”

Sun Zhongnu picked up another case file and flipped it open unhurriedly. “Not necessarily. I’ve heard that Miss Ale seems to have gone missing. Chairman August of the City Council is quite anxious and is sending people to search for her everywhere.”

Dennis’s eyes lit up. “Could this ‘Mr. Li’ or the new Lotus Seat take Miss Ale away? But why would they do that?”

“That, we should ask Chairman August,” Sun Zhongnu said. “I believe we’re very close to the truth. Whether it’s Mr. Li or the new Lotus Seat, they certainly didn’t take Miss Ale away because of her brilliant acting or exceptional beauty. There must be some deeper intentions involved.”

Dennis said, “There must be a special relationship between Chairman August and Miss Ale. There are rumors that Miss Ale is Chairman August’s secret lover. However, Chairman August is unlikely to reveal such secrets to us easily. Everyone has things they’d rather keep hidden. If she were willing to tell us, she would have come to the Evangelical Ministry for help long ago.”

Sun Zhongnu said, “Since Chairman August will not come to us, we can go to her.”

Dennis fell into thought. “If this Mr. Li really is the new Lotus Seat, then we cannot act rashly. It would be safer to gather more support before making a move.”

Meanwhile, on Qi Xuansu’s side, he also received news that the Beichen Hall Branch Manager of the Northern Continent’s Northern Region had been captured. This information arrived about an hour later than the message sent by the spy before his death. However, it was certain that the capture had occurred even before the spy sent his final message to Qi Xuansu.

If Qi Xuansu had issued the withdrawal order only after receiving news of the Northern Region Manager’s capture, it might not have aroused suspicion.

However, Qi Xuansu did not regret his decision. The earlier the withdrawal, the better. Sometimes, the difference of a single moment could mean life or death. In the case of this unfortunate branch manager, an hour’s advance warning might have prevented his capture.

This incident of betrayal could not be blamed on Qi Xuansu. After all, he had been in office for less than three months, while the traitor Sun Zhongnu had served in the Beichen Hall for over 10 years. Though the crisis erupted during Qi Xuansu’s tenure, any true investigation would have to be traced back further. His predecessor would not escape responsibility either.

But now was not the time to assign blame; it was time to contain the damage.

This information was reported to Qi Xuansu by another manager of the Northern Continent. Although this manager oversaw the Southern Region, such a major incident could not escape his notice.

With the Northern Region Manager absent, the Southern Region Manager temporarily assumed both roles, effectively becoming the Manager of the Northern Continent. This manager was named Li Mingzhen.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu was communicating with him remotely.

Li Mingzhen’s expression was grave as he said, “Chief Deputy, Sun Zhongnu’s betrayal led to Old Qian’s capture. We only learned of this through a spy we embedded within the upper ranks of the Evangelical Ministry. Since Sun Zhongnu came from the Northern Region, he was unaware of the Southern Region’s network, which is why it remained undiscovered and could send back a message. But it was still too late. Fortunately, you learned of the situation early and issued the withdrawal order in advance, preventing many losses.”

Qi Xuansu said, “With Old Qian captured, the Northern Region is nearly paralyzed. The headquarters cannot send someone to fill his position for the time being, and I’ve only just taken office with no prior experience in Beichen Hall. There are many things I’m still unfamiliar with, so I’ll need you to temporarily take charge of both regions in the Northern Continent.”

“Of course,” Li Mingzhen replied. “Do you have any further instructions?”

Qi Xuansu said, “Yes. Inform the Western Daoist Order as well, so they can prepare. Publicly, I am still claiming to be in Fenglin, so I won’t appear in person. Act on my behalf and have Manager Lu in the Southern Continent notify them.”

Li Mingzhen responded, “Understood.”

Qi Xuansu added, “How much do you know about Sun Zhongnu?”

Li Mingzhen pondered briefly before replying, “Old Qian valued him greatly and entrusted him with many important tasks. I’ve met him several times, so I’m somewhat familiar with him. I just didn’t expect that Old Qian misjudged him so badly. Sun Zhongnu’s sudden betrayal caused massive damage this time.

“Though Sun Zhongnu is an Easterner, he didn’t grow up in the Central Plains. He was born in Jinling Prefecture, and his mother died early. Later, he followed his father overseas to the New Continent. His father became a technical worker at the Colt Company, earning a decent income that allowed Sun Zhongnu to attend a school run by the Goddess Society. However, he was often bullied by his classmates because he was an Easterner. Old Qian happened to help him once. That was how they met. As for what happened afterward, I’m not entirely sure. I only know that Old Qian valued him greatly and often kept him by his side for personal instruction. He even went to considerable effort to secure Sun Zhongnu a Daoist Priest Kindred status.”

Qi Xuansu suddenly asked, “Did Sun Zhongnu betray us only after being captured?”

“Probably not,” Li Mingzhen replied, his tone growing heavier. “According to various intelligence sources, he had likely been in contact with the Evangelical Ministry for quite some time. This betrayal was most likely premeditated.”

Qi Xuansu fell silent for a moment before asking, “What about his family?”

Li Mingzhen answered bluntly, “I have already issued the order to wipe out his entire family.”