A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1460: Going to Qizhou

After Li Tianlan fell from power, Zhang Jucheng personally accompanied the Western Daoist delegation on a tour of the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion.

With the tour mostly complete, the Western Daoist delegation prepared to head to the final stop of their journey—the Qizhou Daoist Mansion.

Qi Xuansu had to accompany them, after which he would depart from Qizhou by sea and return to the Southern Continent. However, before that, he still had a few loose ends to deal with.

One of them was the matter concerning Shi Luosi, who was an official representative dispatched by the Holy Court. With that status protecting him, there was little Qi Xuansu could actually do to him.

Fortunately, very few people knew about the incident. In the end, Qi Xuansu had a long private discussion with Shi Luosi. Both sides had their own faults, so each took a step back. Qi Xuansu released Shi Luosi and chose not to pursue it further. In return, Shi Luosi agreed not to report to the Holy Seat that he, an official envoy, had been detained by the Daoist Order.

It would be treated as though the incident had never happened.

In the end, although the matter seemed resolved, it was never truly settled. It ultimately faded away inconclusively.

The other issue was how to handle Gu Ying.

This woman was extremely stubborn. Even after the Daoist Mansion informed her of Li Tianlan’s situation, she still clung firmly to a single point. She admitted that framing Li Mingping had been her doing and claimed it was all for the sake of her son. As for everything else, like what Li Tianlan had done and what crimes he had committed, she claimed to know absolutely nothing.

She refused to share any hardships with Li Tianlan.

However, Qi Xuansu did not let Gu Ying off easily because a vast amount of property was registered under her name. Gu Ying had demanded these assets from Li Tianlan for a sense of security, and Li Tianlan had given them to her.

When Qi Xuansu demanded that Gu Ying explain the origin of these assets, she could only say that they were gifts from Li Tianlan. That immediately created a flaw in her story.

Surely, she would know what the legitimate income of a Second Deputy Mansion Master was. The assets under her name far exceeded the normal income of a Second Deputy Mansion Master.

If Li Tianlan voluntarily gave her all this wealth, didn’t she find it strange where he got so much money from? If she were the one asking for all these properties, then how did she know Li Tianlan had such enormous sums of money? How could she still claim she knew nothing?

Naturally, Gu Ying could not explain herself. The massive wealth that once gave her a sense of security ultimately became the very thing that sealed her fate.

Even though Gu Ying refused to admit guilt, Qi Xuansu still listed her as a major participant in Li Tianlan’s case. Combined with the false accusation charges, by the time this beauty ever got out, she would probably already be gray-haired and aged, if she even lived to see that day.

After settling these two matters, Qi Xuansu departed the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion together with the Western Daoist delegation and headed toward the Qizhou Daoist Mansion.

The Qizhou Daoist Mansion was different from Qizhou itself. The latter was merely a state under the Great Xuan Court, while the former was a massive entity encompassing an inland sea and parts of Silla. It was also the main hub for trade with Fenglin. Sage Qingwei himself had personally come to the Qizhou Daoist Mansion to preside over discussions and had not yet departed.

It seemed Sage Qingwei was specifically waiting for Qi Xuansu, either demanding an explanation from him or intending to give him a warning.

The situation in Qizhou was rather complicated. This was the homeland of the Confucian Sage. One of the three great academies, the National Academy, was located here, as was the Confucian Sage’s Estate. Although the Confucian School had declined, the National Academy was the only Confucian academy preserved intact, while the Wanxiang Academy and Tianxin Academy had both been converted into Daoist palaces.

This dissatisfied the Qizhou Daoist Mansion greatly. Why could the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion use the Tianxin Academy while they could not use the National Academy? But there was no helping it. This had been decreed by the Holy Xuan himself, that one academy had to be preserved for the Confucian School. Since Qizhou was the birthplace of Confucianism, its academy was the one that was retained.

The Taiping Sect claimed to be the Holy Xuan’s most loyal followers, so naturally, they could not oppose his decision. As a result, the question became where to establish the Daoist Mansion’s central headquarters. Neither the Qingling Palace nor the Zhenjing Courtyard was suitable because they were located on the Three Immortal Islands overseas rather than on the mainland, making transportation inconvenient. Second, both belonged to the highest central authority of the Taiping Sect rather than serving as the governing center of the Qizhou Daoist Mansion itself.

Thus, the Qizhou Daoist Mansion initially selected three candidate locations to serve as its governing center—Taiqing Palace on Taiqing Mountain, Bixia Palace on the Eastern Mountain, and Taixu Palace on Qixia Mountain.

Among them, Taiqing Mountain had once been the ancestral mountain gate of the Donghua lineage. Sage Donghua’s title originated from this place. This also explained why the Pei family, which was from the Lanling Prefecture in Qizhou, had become part of the Quanzhen Sect. They had always been geographically close, practically neighbors.

Later, the Donghua lineage relocated to Difei Mountain, and Taiqing Mountain subsequently came under the control of the Taiping Sect.

Taiqing Mountain stretched across both Lanling Prefecture and Langya Prefecture, all the way to the shores of Donghai, where the mountains connected with the sea seamlessly. It faced Penglai Island, one of the Three Immortal Islands, across the sea.

The buildings on Taiqing Mountain were also divided into three major sections—Danxia Peak within Lanling Prefecture, Juxian Peak within Langya Prefecture, and the coastal Jin’ao Peak.

Among them, Juxian Peak had once housed the ancestral hall of the Donghua lineage, much like the ancestral estates of wealthy families. Although it held extraordinary symbolic significance, it was not used as a residence, and that remained true to this day. Before relocating to Difei Mountain, the core of the Donghua lineage had always been based at the coastal Jin’ao Peak, where Taiqing Palace was located.

In the end, the Qizhou Daoist Mansion chose Jin’ao Peak for its proximity to Penglai Island and its breathtaking scenery. It was famed for its towering sword-like peaks, bizarre rock formations, and sunrises over the sea. Standing atop the Jin’ao Peak and gazing outward toward the distant ocean, one could see the sea covered in a faint mist that subtly connected with the sea of clouds above. The sky and sea merged into one magnificent and dazzling scene like a paradise. On especially lucky days, Penglai Island could faintly be seen in the distance. Thus, this place was perfectly suited to serve as the face of the Daoist Mansion.

Jin’ao Peak bordered the sea, with a harbor directly below it. Massive stone discs powered by formations floated through the air between the harbor and the peak. Viewing the scenery while standing upon one of these discs was even more spectacular.

The Solar Ark of the Western Daoist delegation landed on the sea, while the shore was already filled with important officials from the Qizhou Daoist Mansion.

The Daoist Order still provided an extremely high-level reception. Although Sage Qingwei did not personally appear, the Qizhou Daoist Mansion Master came to receive them in person.

This Mansion Master was Li Changlu, who belonged to the same generation as the Imperial Preceptor Li Changgeng, Li Changsheng, and Li Changge, making him one of the true elders of the Li family. Previously, he had served as the Beichen Hall Master before switching positions with Sage Qingwei.

If Zhang Qihan had not occupied the Taiping Sect’s seat for a Virtuous Great Sage, then Li Changlu would likely have smoothly advanced from Beichen Hall Master to become a Virtuous Great Sage, rather than effectively being reassigned from a Hall Master to a Mansion Master. Even so, it was not a bad outcome because the Qizhou Daoist Mansion was immensely powerful and influential, not much inferior to the position of a Virtuous Great Sage.

A Daoist elder of this stature naturally carried extraordinary weight.

Huangfu Ji behaved with great respect toward this sixth-generation disciple.

Although Huangfu Ji intended to place his bets on Qi Xuansu, that did not mean he wanted to offend the Taiping Sect. Rumors were now widespread that after completing his current term as Chief Deputy Beichen Hall Master, Qi Xuansu would enter the Golden Tower Council and serve as the Wanxiang Daoist Palace Master. This would strengthen his credentials in administrative affairs before later becoming the Mansion Master of a regional Daoist Mansion.

This was because among the current Hall Masters, some would inevitably be promoted to Virtuous Great Sage, naturally leaving several important positions vacant.

If Zhang Jucheng were promoted to Hall Master, then Qi Xuansu would most likely take Zhang Jucheng’s place and govern the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion. If Zhang Jucheng remained where he was while Qi Jiaozheng was promoted to Hall Master, then Qi Xuansu would take Qi Jiaozheng’s position and govern the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion.

The possibility of Qi Xuansu taking charge of the Poluo Daoist Mansion was quite slim. First, Yao Shu being promoted directly from Chief Deputy Ziwei Hall Master to the Poluo Daoist Mansion Master without first serving as Palace Master was already an exceptional promotion, so there was no reason to make another exception. Second, the Daoist Order would not allow Qi Xuansu to turn Poluo into his personal territory.

However, this did not mean the Daoist Order distrusted Qi Xuansu. Both Jiangnan and Shuzhou were major Daoist Mansions, so it was obvious that the Golden Tower Council intended to heavily promote Qi Xuansu.

But who would succeed Qi Xuansu in his current position?

Most likely, it would be someone from the Li family, and very possibly Li Changge himself. Even if it was not Li Changge, it would at most be a temporary placeholder before eventually handing the position over to the Junior Imperial Preceptor.

Therefore, maintaining good relations was still important. At the very least, some of Qi Xuansu’s policies needed to continue. If the next successor completely rejected Qi Xuansu’s work and overturned all his established policies, then all of Huangfu Ji’s efforts would have been for nothing.

After exchanging polite greetings, Li Changlu introduced the senior officials of the Daoist Mansion who had come to welcome them. Since the blockade of Fenglin was a massive undertaking, neither the Chief Deputy nor the Second Deputy were present.

The Li family made no effort to conceal their absolute control over the Qizhou Daoist Mansion. Most of the Deputy Mansion Masters were from the Li family. Among them, the most memorable was a Deputy Mansion Master named Li Tianba.

Qi Xuansu had already encountered quite a few members of the Li family’s Tian-generation, like Li Tianlan, Li Tiangang, Li Tianzhen, and others.

However, the Li family members’ attitude toward Qi Xuansu was rather delicate. After all, Qi Xuansu had just sent Li Tianlan to prison. At the same time, the matter of Gu Ying framing Li Mingping had already spread among the upper levels of the Li family. Li Minghuang was originally only an adopted son, and now, this incident had harmed Li Tianlan, a direct descendant of the family. Many people thus directed their anger toward Li Minghuang instead. In contrast, Qi Xuansu no longer seemed quite so detestable, because in the end, the most hateful thing was being stabbed in the back by an adopted son.

Qi Xuansu did not care much about these attitudes. These Li family members could not really do anything to him. Things had not yet escalated to the point of going all out.

What truly gave Qi Xuansu a headache was Sage Qingwei’s summons.

Just as Huangfu Ji and Li Changlu were exchanging courtesies, Shen Yuqing appeared among the Deputy Mansion Masters and walked straight toward Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu immediately knew there was no escaping it.