A Pawn's Passage

The ceremonial official’s voice pulled Qi Xuansu back to the present, signalling Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu to bow at each other.

This ceremonial bow was merely a formal cupped-hand salute facing one another. That was because kneeling and kowtowing were no longer customary in the Daoist Order.

The tips of the lotus-bud ornaments on their lotus crowns happened to touch.

They parted the instant their crowns touched.

It lasted only a fleeting moment, yet to Qi Xuansu, it seemed extraordinarily long.

At that moment, countless memories came flooding back to him.

Their first encounter was in the weapons shop in Taiqing Market, followed by a stranger’s wedding banquet at Phoenix Tower. He recalled the lanterns in Taiqing Square and the beef noodles they shared. Back then, she had called herself Tantai Chu.

But later, they met again in an interview for the Tiangang Hall. From then on, they went on a mission at the Gobi Desert of the Western Region and the Daxue Mountain Palace. Their first theater show was about a man named Galileo, and she even named his short sword by combining their courtesy names, Qingyuan.

After that was their adventurous journey back to Yunjin Mountain, passing by Yulan Temple in Yishan City, the black market along the Chamagu Road, Baidi City, and Shangqing Town. By the end of their journey, their act as a couple became reality.

They attended the auction at the Dazhen Mansion, after which Qi Xuansu made a jaw-dropping leap at the Kunlun Pass to save Zhang Yuelu in the flying ship crash. They were apart for a while until their reunion outside Jiangling City.

Everything seemed as though they had been destined from the very beginning.

After Qi Xuansu’s return to the Daoist Order, they participated in the joint investigation in Jinling Prefecture and survived the burning of Zhenwu Temple and attack by True Lord Siming. They had also fought side by side in the Wuxing Mountain Operation.

The Fenglin Campaign was the first time their twin swords joined as one, and the second time was at the Lingnan Daoist Mansion. They always stood by each other and had each other’s backs.

Since then, they gradually spent more time apart than together. But in the end, after everything they had been through, they had still made it here to their grand wedding.

Qi Xuansu’s wandering thoughts finally returned to the present. He slowly straightened his back and looked at Zhang Yuelu standing before him.

At that exact moment, Zhang Yuelu looked toward him as well, and their gazes met.

It was as though everything they could ever wish to say was contained within that single glance.

Qi Xuansu smiled.

Much of the time, Qi Xuansu’s smiles did not come from the heart. They never reached his eyes and were mostly just born of habit. Sometimes they were bitter smiles or sneers.

But the smile he wore today came wholly from the heart. It was natural and pure, without the slightest trace of impurity.

There was no particular reason for it. Qi Xuansu simply felt happy, a pure, unadulterated happiness.

As though infected by Qi Xuansu’s happiness, Zhang Yuelu could not help but smile as well. After all, there was no reason not to smile.

As the newlyweds looked at each other and smiled, everything else seemed to fade into the distance. All that remained was the person reflected in their eyes.

The many guests could sense their emotions as well and quietly watched the couple.

No one even noticed that the Heavenly Preceptor had appeared at some point.

At the beginning, the Heavenly Preceptor had made a brief appearance before disappearing without a trace, seemingly because he did not wish to steal the newlyweds’ limelight. Everyone had assumed that he had merely shown his face before leaving early. Yet now, the Heavenly Preceptor had returned, silently appearing at the table of the Virtuous Great Sages and taking a seat right beside Great Sage Jiang.

Great Sage Jiang chuckled softly. “You should be sitting up there.”

“The four of them are enough. There’s no need for me to join in the commotion.” The Heavenly Preceptor had always been easygoing and was the most approachable of the Three Deputy Grand Masters.

Hearing this, he waved his hand and continued, “If I really went up there, which side would I belong to? Or should I sit in the middle?”

Great Sage Jiang replied, “That’s not necessarily a problem. You could go up there, and Madam Wu could go up as well. Then there would still be one on each side.”

While they were speaking, the ceremonial official finally came back to his senses and spoke, interrupting the newlyweds’ affectionate gaze as he invited them to exchange their Ruyi scepters.

Qi Xuansu accepted Zhang Yuelu’s scepter with his left hand while handing his own scepter to her with his right.

This was their exchange of tokens.

Next in the proceedings was thanking the guests.

There was one advantage to becoming Daoist companions—there was no need to change how one addressed the elders after marriage. Whatever they had called them before, they would continue calling them afterward.

Sage Donghua rose to his full height and said, “Now that the two of you have become Daoist companions, the Heavenly Preceptor has bestowed quite a generous gift upon you. As Tian Yuan’s master, I would not dare compare myself with the Heavenly Preceptor, but I can’t afford to be too stingy and become the laughingstock of everyone here.”

Since today was a joyous occasion rather than official business, Sage Donghua was not nearly as solemn as usual and spoke in a rather casual manner.

Put simply, he wanted to give the newlyweds a wedding gift.

Taiping coins would be far too vulgar, which would hardly befit Sage Donghua’s status. Besides, even if he really wanted to give them Taiping coins, how much would be appropriate? Giving too much would certainly look impressive, but it would cross a line. Giving too little would keep him out of trouble, but people would laugh at him.

More importantly, the Heavenly Preceptor had given them an immortal object. Even if it was technically only lent to them, that was still extraordinary. Immortal objects did not truly belong to any one person in the first place. They were passed down from one generation to the next. From that perspective, everyone merely held their immortal objects temporarily. With so many people in the world and so many members of the Daoist Order, why should such an artifact be lent specifically to them? That alone made it a gift bestowed by the Heavenly Preceptor.

Courtesy called for reciprocity, so Sage Donghua also had to offer something of his own to the couple.

Then again, Sage Donghua had yet to ascend to the highest position and was not yet the Grand Master of the Daoist Order. Whether he would ultimately advance to that position was still uncertain. Even if he did, he would have to wait until the Three Deputy Grand Masters depart this world before consolidating power once more. Thus, the resources currently at his disposal could not compare with those of the Heavenly Preceptor.

If it came down to a contest of wealth, Sage Donghua could not hope to win. Yet he did not want to lose face either, so he had to find another way.

Sage Donghua already had something in mind. He said, “Back then, the Holy Xuan and his wife left behind a fortuitous opportunity within the Kunlun Paradise. If disciples of later generations are fortunate enough to enter and pass the trial within, they will receive a gift left by the Holy Xuan. That can also be considered a form of blessing.”

As soon as he said this, the guests below were immediately intrigued.

If one claimed that the Holy Xuan himself had left some fortuitous opportunity within the Kunlun Paradise, it would not sound particularly convincing. But if it had been the work of the Holy Xuan’s wife, then it would make perfect sense. It was entirely her personality.

Only Sage Donghua knew of this fortuitous opportunity because the ancestor of the Pei family had been the Holy Xuan’s first and only true disciple. The Zhou and Shen families fell somewhat short in this regard. Strictly speaking, the ancestors of those two families had studied under other masters and had merely received guidance from the Holy Xuan. There was a considerable difference between the two. It was much like attending classes at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. A student merely listening to the lessons was still different from one personally taught step by step by the instructors.

Sage Donghua paused before continuing, “Perhaps some fellow Daoists are wondering, if such a fortuitous opportunity exists, why haven’t I gone myself? I won’t hide the reason from you. This opportunity requires a pair of Daoist companions, so I do not meet the conditions. Moreover, it places rather demanding requirements on the cultivation of both Daoist companions. Even Tian Yuan and Qing Xiao still fall slightly short, much less anyone else.”

The guests burst into laughter.

Whatever might happen in the future, Sage Donghua was still a bachelor for the time being. As for the cultivation requirement, it was presumably Zhang Yuelu who still fell somewhat short, while Qi Xuansu most likely already met the standard. That was why Pei Xiaolou and the other descendants of the Pei family, as well as their ancestors, had never qualified. Finding one person who met the requirement was manageable enough, but finding two people who both met it and were also Daoist companions was considerably more difficult.

Needless to say, these conditions had surely been set by the Holy Xuan’s wife. The Holy Xuan himself probably had little interest in such romantic matters. In fact, many of the more interesting things from those days had something to do with the Holy Xuan’s wife. Most of the time, the Holy Xuan had simply been pushed along by her and might not have had any intention of doing such things himself. His interests lay more in grand undertakings such as unifying the Three Daoist Sects and personally leading campaigns against the Buddhist Sect.

Sage Donghua then flicked his finger, sending out two motes of spiritual light that flew separately into the couple’s foreheads. Qi Xuansu’s and Zhang Yuelu’s expressions changed slightly.

Seeing the change in their expressions, everyone realized that this fortuitous opportunity truly existed. This only made them even more curious. What could the Holy Xuan possibly have left behind? Most of the Holy Xuan’s possessions had gone to the Daoist Order, either passed down through successive Grand Masters or stored within Zixiao Palace. Another portion had been entrusted to the Li family and passed down from generation to generation. The Pei family, as descendants of his disciple, had received some as well. As such, virtually all of the Holy Xuan’s worldly possessions had already been divided up.

It was unlikely to be some secret inheritance either. The Holy Xuan’s philosophy had been to break down barriers between the sects, which was precisely why he had gathered the teachings of the entire Daoist Order, reorganized them, and made them widely accessible. Thus, it was unlikely that he would have secretly withheld certain cultivation methods, as that would have gone against his own ideals.

Unless, of course, such a cultivation method had serious flaws and the Holy Xuan deemed it unsuitable to pass on to later generations. Yet because it represented the painstaking work of those who came before him, he could not bear to destroy it and therefore deliberately hid it away. Still, that possibility was rather unlikely.

As for what exactly this fortuitous opportunity entailed, only Sage Donghua, Qi Xuansu, and Zhang Yuelu probably knew.

Qi Xuansu was deeply astonished at this moment.

That was because Sage Donghua had not mentioned the most crucial information aloud at all, revealing it only to Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

The exact location of this fortuitous opportunity was unknown, much like the Heavenly Empress’s Dragon Palace and Lin Lingsu’s Tongzhen Palace. Its location was constantly shifting, so they would have to find it themselves.

As for the requirements of this fortuitous opportunity, the cultivation realms of the two Dao companions were actually secondary. The crucial requirement was a key, which happened to be the Longevity Stone Heart.

That was why, after all these years, no one from the Pei family had ever managed to claim this fortuitous opportunity.

Sage Donghua also admitted frankly that this fortuitous opportunity was most likely something the Holy Xuan’s wife had left for the descendants of the Li family. After all, the Pei family did not possess a Longevity Stone Heart, and the Holy Xuan’s wife had not known at the time that Elder Yao had refined another Longevity Stone Heart.

No matter how one looked at it, this was clearly a fortuitous opportunity that the Holy Xuan’s wife had tailor-made for the descendants of the Li family.

Though the Holy Xuan might not have known about the Li family’s possession of a Longevity Stone Heart at first, he should have learned of it later.

However, by then, the reforms had entered their most difficult phase. Measures to unify the Three Daoist Sects, such as abolishing the creation project, had provoked fierce opposition. The Eight Tribes had broken away, the war against the Buddhist Sect had suffered setbacks, some members of the Confucian School had begun harboring divided loyalties, and the Ancient Immortals backed by the Buddhist Sect were stirring up trouble. With the internal and external situation growing increasingly complicated, the Holy Xuan had no choice but to rely on the Li family, even entrusting the Taiping Sect with authority over the defense of Jade Capital.

Under such circumstances, the Holy Xuan simply could not afford to pursue the matter. He could only turn a blind eye and tacitly allow it to continue.

But what else could he have done besides tacitly allowing it? Without the Holy Xuan’s wife and without the Li family, it was difficult to say whether the Holy Xuan could have kept the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect under control solely through the Grand Master lineage and his own prestige.

Once chaos erupted, the Daoist Order would immediately face the danger of falling apart.

By the time the Holy Xuan returned victorious from personally leading the campaign against the Buddhist Sect, he had problems of his own. Thus, he spent most of his time in seclusion and rarely concerned himself with political affairs. He could not even spare the attention to continue integrating the Three Daoist Sects and consolidating authority under the Nine Halls. In the end, he ascended in haste, so how could he possibly have had time to concern himself with such a minor matter?

As for why they had not simply told the Li family directly, that was probably where the Holy Xuan had exerted his influence. Although the matter had been spearheaded by the Holy Xuan’s wife, the Holy Xuan himself had also been involved. His attitude toward the Li family had always been complicated. He suppressed them while simultaneously entrusting them with important responsibilities. He did not particularly want to leave this fortuitous opportunity to the Li family, yet he did not wish to slight his wife. Thus, he likely intended for the Pei family to serve as gatekeepers.

The Pei family had indeed lived up to that responsibility. After all these years, they had stubbornly kept the matter from the Li family, acting as though the fortuitous opportunity did not exist at all. Instead, they had finally encountered a turn of fortune and waited long enough for a disciple who possessed the Longevity Stone Heart to appear.