A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu was quite satisfied with this outcome.

Perhaps some might ask, was he not afraid that the Golden Patriarch would go back on his word?

Admittedly, that possibility did exist, but doing so would come at a cost.

The stability of any organization follows certain rules. There was an underlying logic behind Wu Guangbi’s removal this time. The fundamental reason was that they had suffered two major defeats in succession, and someone had to take responsibility.

In the first major defeat, Wu Guangbi had his heart and liver ripped out, but that was merely his personal failure. Looking at the Heavenly Court as a whole, its slave trade had been completely wiped out, causing enormous repercussions. Its various businesses in the northwestern district of Lion City had been severely affected, while the Daoist Mansion had also employed a stranglehold strategy against them. Deng Yushi going to seek help from Chen Jianchou was merely a microcosm of the overall situation.

This was the second major defeat, which had resulted in the capture of Li Tianqing and Li Tianzhen. Even though Wu Guangbi might have appeared to escape and preserve his life, the Heavenly Court as an organization could not run away.

The Heavenly Court had started this by reporting members of the Daoist Mansion, hurting themselves almost as badly as the Daoists. That was not even counting the Daoist Mansion personnel they had potentially offended, who would surely give them hell. After Qi Xuansu arrived in Nanyang, he launched his retaliation. The various investigations, shutdowns, and other measures targeting the Heavenly Court’s businesses had all severely affected its operations.

There was already considerable dissatisfaction within the Heavenly Court over this. Therefore, the Golden Patriarch’s dismissal of Wu Guangbi was actually going with the tide and aligned with the prevailing sentiment within the Heavenly Court.

The Golden Patriarch could protect Wu Guangbi and give him another chance. He could also choose not to protect him, because when something went wrong, someone had to take responsibility.

Now, in order to make peace with Qi Xuansu, the Golden Patriarch chose not to protect Wu Guangbi.

Under such circumstances, those of Wu Guangbi’s faction could not harbor too much resentment either. After all, it was Wu Guangbi who had botched things. No one could accuse the Golden Patriarch of suppressing them without cause. If they were willing to gamble, they had to be willing to accept the loss.

Therefore, it was only natural for Liu Gui to take over.

As long as Liu Gui made no mistakes, it would be difficult for the Golden Patriarch to forcibly restore Wu Guangbi to power. Though it was still possible, it would come at a cost because that would mean going against the tide. Liu Gui’s faction would certainly refuse to accept it and harbor deep resentment, which would inevitably have repercussions.

From the standpoint of the Heavenly Court, the Golden Patriarch could not afford to ignore these considerations.

If the Golden Patriarch was determined to hurt others without benefiting himself and drag Qi Xuansu into mutual destruction, then Qi Xuansu had nothing more to say.

That was the guarantee.

After a round of peaceful and friendly exchanges, Qi Xuansu and the Golden Patriarch reached a reconciliation.

Qi Xuansu stood up. This time, he took the initiative to extend his hand. “Then I shall await the good news.”

The Golden Patriarch shook hands with Qi Xuansu. “Sage Qi, we shall meet again someday in the Jianghu.”

Qi Xuansu saw the Golden Patriarch out with a smile. The group waiting outside also breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions visibly relaxing.

Qi Xuansu accompanied the Golden Patriarch to the courtyard gate. As he watched the Golden Patriarch’s departing figure, the smile on his face gradually faded, returning to its usual calm.

Everyone had three levels of spirit. The lowest level was ferocity; the middle level was courage; and at the highest level was heroic spirit, or perhaps high-spiritedness.

Qi Xuansu did not lack ferocity. He had merely kept it suppressed. He also did not lack courage. It was the very reason he had made it this far. The only thing he lacked was a measure of heroic spirit.

Ultimately, the times were different now.

Heroic spirit could flourish during the fall of one dynasty and the rise of another, or in an era of sweeping change. But once society became entrenched, it became difficult for such spirit to exist, nor was it permitted to exist.

Without profound suffering, there could hardly be any talk of heroic spirit, because that was when rebellion and hot-blooded passion developed.

Thus, such spirit came with the times and departed with the times like a tide.

During an age of expansion, the pie could be made larger, and everyone felt there was hope.

Now that development had reached a bottleneck and social classes were becoming increasingly fixed, it took a lot more to stir sympathy in people’s hearts.

Thus, in the current era, there was no room for heroic spirit. There was only stability, order, and stagnation.

Forcing Qi Xuansu to blindly imitate the Holy Xuan would be like trying to draw a tiger only to end up with something resembling a dog.

Zhang Yuelu had that heroic spirit, but she had ended up battered from running headfirst into reality.

Qi Xuansu lacked that high-spiritedness, which was precisely why he could thrive like a fish in water.

The times had changed. When fortune came, even heaven and earth lent their strength. When fortune departed, even heroes were no longer masters of their own fate.

After seeing off the Golden Patriarch, Qi Xuansu turned his attention to waiting for a response from Yao Yi.

The Yao family was still able to keep its composure, unlike the Li family’s reaction.

After all, the Yao family was certain that Qi Xuansu would not truly dare to do anything to Pei Shenfu. Even if Qi Xuansu did not care about the Yao family’s standing, he still had to show respect for Sage Donghua.

Before Qi Xuansu heard from Yao Yi, he heard from Liu Gui first.

Of course, Liu Gui did not come to see Qi Xuansu in person. Instead, he had someone pass along a message, expressing his gratitude to Sage Qi.

Liu Gui did not specify what exactly he was thanking him for or why he was grateful, but everyone understood perfectly well what he meant.

Without Qi Xuansu, Liu Gui would never have been able to bring down Wu Guangbi. He had bet on the right horse.

If Qi Xuansu wanted to consolidate Nanyang, he could not limit himself to integrating it at the Daoist Mansion level. He could not neglect the Jianghu either. The Heavenly Court was an issue that could not be avoided. The Golden Patriarch was advanced in age and would eventually ascend, after which the struggle would be between Wu Guangbi and Liu Gui. The former had chosen the Li family, while the latter had chosen Qi Xuansu. Both sides had already taken their respective positions, and for now, Qi Xuansu’s side held a slight advantage.

However, every gain came with a loss. Qi Xuansu had gained something with the Heavenly Court, but he had suffered a loss when it came to the Qingping Society. The Qingping Society had two major backers—the Yao family and the Zhou family. Qi Xuansu had offended both Pei Shenfu and Zhou Mengyao thoroughly. Thus, even though Qi Xuansu himself had come from the Qingping Society, it would probably be difficult for him to draw upon its strength again in the future.

Zhou Mengyao practically despised Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu would not even be surprised if Zhou Mengyao joined forces with the Taiping Sect.

The Zhou family had originally come from the Taiping Sect, so there was already a foundation for such an alliance.

It would not even be surprising if the two sides eventually ended up swapping allies entirely. After all, each side already had people intertwined with the other.

During this period of relative leisure, Qi Xuansu took the time to study Great Sage Yan.

In recent years, the Zhang family had been somewhat in decline, with a shortage of capable successors. However, the Zhang family possessed a heritage spanning a thousand years. No matter how severe its shortage of successors might be, the middle generation still had Zhang Jucheng, while the younger generation had produced Zhang Yuelu. Thus, despite not being able to compare with the Li family of the Taiping Sect, its succession remained orderly.

Compared with the Zhang family, the Yan family’s situation could not even be described merely as a shortage of successors. It was a setting sun upon the horizon. Aside from Great Sage Yan, there were barely any accomplished figures among its middle and young generations.

For now, with Great Sage Yan still alive, things were still fine. The Three Deputy Grand Masters showed Great Sage Yan due courtesy. But once Great Sage Yan was gone, the situation would become difficult to predict. The Yan family would have no choice but to rely entirely on the Zhang family and become its vassal. Otherwise, it would be marginalized and might even risk falling out of the Daoist Order’s highest circles altogether.

Thinking back to those days, when Elder Yan was still alive, he was the only Heavenly Preceptor who did not bear the last name Zhang. It was also Elder Yan who made the final decision to preserve the descendants of True Lord Ziguang. Yet now, the Yan family had to look to the Zhang family for approval in everything. Such were the times, and such was fate.

As it happened, Great Sage Yan had never married in her entire life and had no direct descendants. Both Yan Mingchen and Yan Yongzhen were her grandnephews, much like the relationship between Zhang Yuelu and the Heavenly Preceptor. Therefore, Great Sage Yan’s concern for the Yan family was limited. As the saying went, descendants had their own fortunes, so there was no need to toil like an ox for their sake, much less when they were not even her direct descendants.

It was precisely because they were not her direct descendants that the conflict was relatively easy to resolve.

This was not where Qi Xuansu’s difficulty lay either. The real problem was still Great Sage Yan’s personality. She was far too domineering. Some even called her overbearing.

Qi Xuansu roughly went through Great Sage Yan’s records and had to admit that she was indeed rather difficult to deal with.

Great Sage Yan and Sage Cihang were complete opposites.

Even setting aside factional interests, Qi Xuansu would be happy to see Sage Cihang become his master’s wife. But he could not say the same if it were Great Sage Yan.

Great Sage Yan had reached her current position partly thanks to the platform provided by the Daoist Order, but her own abilities had also been indispensable. In terms of competence, there was nothing to criticize about her. She had started out at the Wuzhou Daoist Mansion, where her outstanding abilities earned her a promotion to become the youngest Deputy Mansion Master there.

Later, she served in several different posts and distinguished herself in every one of them.

However, her personality was far too domineering. When she served as a deputy, she insisted on overshadowing the person in charge. When she herself held the top position, it simply became a one-woman show. She had to have the final say on everything, tolerated no dissenting voices, did as she pleased, and made decisions entirely on her own.

Her personality also caused one of her romantic relationships to end without ever coming to fruition.

Still, she did possess a strong sense of righteousness. Back when she served as Deputy Mansion Master, whenever she encountered something she could not tolerate, she would slam the table in front of the Mansion Master and even flip tables during confrontations with the Chief and Second Deputies, without showing the slightest respect.

That was why Great Sage Yan was so fond of Zhang Yuelu. She probably felt that Zhang Yuelu bore some resemblance to her younger self.

There was, however, one respect in which she was worse than Zhang Yuelu. She had a penchant for power struggles. Years ago, she had served at the Lingnan Daoist Mansion, where a devastating windstorm happened to strike during her tenure. The Mansion Master oversaw the overall situation, while she, as the Chief Deputy Mansion Master, was responsible for organizing some disaster relief measures. Whether intentionally or otherwise, she assigned the most difficult area to the Second Deputy Mansion Master, with whom she usually did not get along.

Although the Second Deputy Mansion Master had done his utmost, objective circumstances still prevented him from completing the task on time. Afterward, he voluntarily admitted his mistake and made a self-criticism, but she refused to let the matter go. She unleashed a torrent of abuse at him in front of the Mansion Master, calling him insults such as “useless trash” and “wretched thing.” The Second Deputy Mansion Master was finally provoked into attacking her, but he was no match for her and ended up being thoroughly humiliated once again.

The Second Deputy Mansion Master was also a person of considerable status. After being berated and beaten, he could no longer bear the humiliation. He voluntarily resigned and retired as an old Daoist.

Even Qi Xuansu and Li Changge had yet to openly fall out with each other. They still addressed one another politely as “Brother Tian Yuan” and “Brother Yong Yan.” From this alone, one could imagine what Great Sage Yan’s personality was like.

Later, as Great Sage Yan rose higher and higher in rank, her temper only grew worse, and she made numerous enemies. Eventually, others could no longer tolerate her temperament. These people were already among the highest echelons of the Daoist Order and had no reason to fear her, so they simply sent her off to East Shakya.

Qi Xuansu figured that if he lost the struggle for the Grand Master position and Li Changge did not kill him, he would most likely end up being sent to guard Shakya. That alone showed just how “desirable” such a posting was.

Had there not been a need for a female Virtuous Great Sage, given her personality and way of doing things, even that position might not necessarily have fallen to her.

Thus, winning over someone like her would be no easy task.