A Pawn's Passage

After the matter of the Divine Eagle Guards was reported to the Gold Council, it did indeed attract a certain degree of attention from the Western Daoist Order. However, Huangfu Ji was currently absorbed in the construction of the new port and the preparations for the new Daoist Palace, so he had no desire to take over this matter.

The other Sages were also focused on development and construction or on postwar recovery matters, each with their own responsibilities. They could not possibly have the two Great Sages or Huangfu Zhao personally step in, as it would be akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

So after going around in circles, the matter ultimately returned to Qi Xuansu and Tantai Ying. The Western Daoist Order further delegated authority, ordering the Western Tiangang Hall to cooperate with their operation, with Qi Xuansu taking the lead.

In short, Qi Xuansu now had the Western Tiangang Hall at his disposal. Unlike the Daoist Order’s Tiangang Hall, the Western Daoist Order had not established Spirit Guard forces, because most of its divine power had been given to the ancient gods. Therefore, the forces under the Western Tiangang Hall were proper military units, modeled after the Central Plains’ Black Robes.

The Western Tiangang Hall Master was currently overwhelmed by all kinds of postwar cleanup issues and had neither the time nor the mood to help Qi Xuansu personally. But they could not be perfunctory to Qi Xuansu either. Thus, the Western Tiangang Hall sent over a young Second Deputy Hall Master.

Although Qi Xuansu was also young, his promotions had followed the rules and proper procedures. His résumé was impressive, with many outstanding merits. Qi Xuansu had constantly been entrusted with important responsibilities and had never disappointed his superiors because he had repeatedly rendered new services. He also had never had his contributions withheld. As a result, he was promoted rapidly. Besides showing that Qi Xuansu had a powerful background and people above supporting him, it also demonstrated his own ability. He could get things done, shoulder responsibility, and act boldly.

Both were indispensable. Without a background, even if one had the ability, one might not necessarily be entrusted with important tasks, and the credit for one’s achievements might not necessarily belong entirely to oneself. As such, promotion was not guaranteed. Without ability, having a background alone would not work either. After all, there were plenty of people with a background, so there had to be some basis for promotion.

Things were not so rule-abiding on the Western Daoist Order’s side. It was somewhat like the imperial court of the past, where someone could rise to the top in one step. However young Qi Xuansu was, he was already over 30. Even then, he had not officially entered the Golden Tower Council.

This Second Deputy Hall Master of the Western Tiangang Hall had caught the eye of one of Great Sage Gong’s grandnieces. On top of that, he was considered capable, so he had been promoted directly to the position of Second Deputy Hall Master.

In fact, the biggest problem preventing many young people from being promoted was that their cultivation could not keep up. This was a very important factor.

Without sufficient cultivation to support one’s position, even if one rose to the top, one could not hold the seat securely. If tempers flared during a meeting and a subordinate openly challenged authority, landing a few punches and sending the superior scrambling away in panic, what dignity could that superior possibly retain?

If a subordinate was weaker than the superior, getting beaten by the superior was not particularly humiliating. But if the reverse happened, it would become a complete joke.

This was why Xu Kou’s challenge to Zhang Yuelu had not been a simple matter. If Zhang Yuelu had not been Xu Kou’s match, then regardless of how Xu Kou was dealt with afterward, whether beaten, punished, or even killed, Zhang Yuelu’s reputation as a newly appointed Deputy Tiangang Hall Master would have shattered beyond repair. That had been the malicious intent behind Li Tianzhen’s scheme.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuelu easily suppressed Xu Kou, establishing her authority in the process. Afterward, she chose not to pursue the matter, which instead won Xu Kou’s genuine respect and even persuaded him to switch sides.

Qi Xuansu’s promotions were fundamentally tied to his cultivation level, with the same principle.

This Second Deputy Hall Master was named Lin Bufan. The reason Great Sage Gong valued and promoted him was not merely due to personal connections. More importantly, his cultivation was exceptionally impressive. He had already reached the Wuliang stage before 40. While he could not compare with Qi Xuansu or Li Changge, he was on par with Tantai Ying, the eldest granddaughter of the Tantai family.

Only when one’s cultivation was strong enough to command respect could one truly be elevated to a position of authority.

Lin Bufan was a very likable person—optimistic, cheerful, and passionate. As soon as he was assigned to assist Qi Xuansu, he wasted no time and immediately came to report for duty.

In a sense, the Western Daoist Order was already treating Qi Xuansu as though he were a Hall Master, having assigned both the Chief Deputy Juesheng Hall Master and Second Deputy Tiangang Hall Master to assist him. This treatment was equivalent to that of a Hall Master.

Since the Western Tiangang Hall was a military organization, it maintained an independent intelligence network that did not overlap with that of the Juesheng Hall. Not wanting to waste resources, Qi Xuansu instructed Lin Bufan to investigate matters related to the humanoid insects.

Lin Bufan did not disappoint Qi Xuansu. A few days later, he brought him a piece of information concerning the humanoid insects.

Near Cusco, there was an estate that appeared highly suspicious and was suspected of being a stronghold of the humanoid insects. As evidence, Lin Bufan provided Qi Xuansu with several images. They depicted a forest behind the estate. The trees were of an unrecognizable species, twisted and deformed, with mottled bark covered in various knots and abnormal growths. That alone would have been unsettling enough, but the most disturbing feature was the abundance of coconut-like fruits hanging from the branches. Each fruit bore human facial features, with eyes, noses, mouths, and ears faintly discernible. Their expressions were also bizarre—some sorrowful, some joyful, some crying, and some laughing.

After examining the images, Qi Xuansu specifically sought Madam Wu’s opinion.

Madam Wu explained that these things were called human-faced Fruits. They shared certain similarities with the human-faced fruit trees Qi Xuansu had encountered in Fenglin. Both were malformed creatures born from an excessive concentration of yin energy or corpse qi. The fruits themselves were not particularly dangerous, but their presence indicated that a large number of corpses likely existed nearby.

Considering the recent outbreak of the Shadow Tide, even if the matter had nothing to do with the humanoid insects, it was very likely connected to blood sacrifice rituals.

Lin Bufan asked Qi Xuansu whether they should deploy troops to surround and search the estate.

Qi Xuansu rejected the proposal. Instead, he instructed Lin Bufan to stay put and avoid alerting the enemy. He intended to personally investigate what secrets the estate might be hiding.

This confidence stemmed from Qi Xuansu’s belief that as long as he was not facing an Immortal, he could handle virtually any other threat without much difficulty.

Thus, following the address provided by Lin Bufan, Qi Xuansu set out for an estate known as the Hun Manor, which was jointly owned by the Hun Brothers.

However, ever since the downfall of the Hun Brothers, the estate had gradually fallen into disrepair. Some people eventually managed to enter it and discovered a variety of bizarre occurrences, which in turn attracted the attention of the Western Tiangang Hall. In earlier times, even if someone had learned of such things, the Hun family would have silenced them, preventing the information from spreading.

Rumors also claimed that the elder brother, Hun Ahau, was an important member of the Heron Society.

This immediately caught Qi Xuansu’s attention. He had personally witnessed and directly influenced the events involving the Hun Brothers. The younger brother, Hun Chowen, had colluded with the Evangelical Ministry of the Steam Evangelical Sect and sold classified information. His actions were deemed rebellion, and he was punished according to the law. The elder brother, Hun Ahau, was implicated as a result. Although he escaped any formal punishment, he was forced to leave Cusco, where he had built his career over many years. He was reassigned to New Xijing and was placed under close supervision.

The Hun family consequently experienced a period of severe upheaval.

It was precisely for this reason that Hun Manor had been abandoned.

In Qi Xuansu’s view, even if the Hun Manor had nothing to do with the humanoid insects, it would still be worth investigating personally as long as it was connected to either the Shadow Tide or the Heron Society.

Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu quietly infiltrated Hun Manor. The estate was built entirely in a traditional Central Plains style, but it had fallen into decay, devoid of any signs of human activity. It was difficult to imagine that only a few months ago, the Hun Manor had looked completely different.

Qi Xuansu did not linger within the manor itself. Instead, he headed directly to the rear of the estate, where a vast forest stretched out. Upon entering the woods, he found that they were exactly as depicted in the photographs. The trees were grotesquely twisted, their bark mottled and scarred, covered with all manner of knots and abnormal growths. Their branches were laden with human-faced fruits, each bearing the features of a human face.

A narrow path wound through the forest, nearly swallowed by overgrown weeds. Qi Xuansu and Madam Wu followed it deeper into the dense woods, with tree canopies pressing tightly against one another, blocking out the sky and sunlight. As they ventured farther inward, the surroundings grew increasingly dark and eerie. An ordinary person wandering into such a place would likely be terrified out of their wits.

Naturally, neither Qi Xuansu nor Madam Wu felt any fear. In fact, Madam Wu seemed eager, looking as though she wanted nothing more than to set the entire forest ablaze and reduce all these ghastly abominations to ashes.