A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu followed Zhang Yuelu and headed north from Bishan Temple, while Lingquanzi and Xu Zhen headed south.

Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu rode on horseback side by side. “Tian Yuan, although my cultivation level is higher than yours, I am far inferior to you in terms of real-world experience. That’s why I wanted to pair up with you.”

Since there were only two of them, Zhang Yuelu no longer called him Deacon Qi.

Qi Xuansu was a little distracted and said, “Actually, Zhou Bai also has a lot of experience in the real world.”

As soon as those words came out of his mouth, Qi Xuansu realized something was wrong, but it was too late.

Zhang Yuelu glanced at him. “What do you mean by this? You might as well explain it more clearly.”

Qi Xuansu coughed lightly. “It’s just a casual remark.”

Zhang Yuelu stopped pretending to be the deputy hall master and snorted. “I think you’re just pretending to be confused. Zhou Bai is an experienced and seasoned traveler, but he is boring. In front of him, I have to act as the deputy hall master. On the contrary, I feel more at ease in front of you."

Qi Xuansu asked, “Why don’t you have to put on airs in front of me?”

Zhang Yuelu replied bluntly, “We’re friends. It would be meaningless to pretend in front of you. In front of others, my concern is about safeguarding my reputation, which isn’t merely a woman’s honor. Rather, it’s to instill confidence in others regarding my potential. By building this positive perception, they’ll be inclined to support me as they can anticipate future rewards in return.

"Their assistance propels me forward, enhancing my prospects and garnering further aid. Consider it like ascending higher into the sky and encountering stronger winds. As I soar higher, the winds strengthen, propelling me ever closer to the sky. But, should I falter in upholding this reputation, my ascent, despite my status as a Banished Immortal, will be limited.

"Without maintaining this stature, I cannot expect to gain recognition from the Sages or Great Sages. Hence, in public settings, I must adopt an air of authority and maintain a poised demeanor that aligns with people’s expectations and perceptions of me. I may seem aloof or even arrogant, but I can’t be seen as weak, emotional, or indecisive.”

Qi Xuansu was stunned for a while before he came back to his senses. He had not anticipated such remarkable insight from her, who was still so young. He even had the revelation that listening to Zhang Yuelu speak was akin to a decade of scholarly study.

But as Zhang Yuelu said, living like this and putting up a constant act was very tiring. Since Qi Xuansu knew what Zhang Yuelu was like in private, she could take off her mask in front of him and relax a little.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Have you ever regretted choosing such a path?”

"What is there to regret?” Zhang Yuelu smiled faintly. “If I want to make great achievements, how can I do it without suffering some hardships? Since I am determined to change the Daoist Order like the Holy Xuan did, I’m bound to make some sacrifices.”

Qi Xuansu praised, “You are the second most peculiar woman I’ve met.”

"Who is the first one?” Zhang Yuelu asked.

Qi Xuansu shook his head and kept quiet. The first one was Madam Qi, but he could not mention it to Zhang Yuelu. Of course, Qi Xuansu did not interact with many women either.

Zhang Yuelu did not press further.

Qi Xuansu changed the subject. “What will happen if we fail this time? What if we suffer a disastrous defeat and embarrass the Daoist Order?”

Zhang Yuelu said expressionlessly, “Of course, I will be blamed and transferred out of Tiangang Hall. If I’m lucky, I may be able to return to Beichen Hall and continue working in my old role, or perhaps find a job in the Daoist Canon Division and wait for a comeback. If I’m unlucky, I will probably be transferred to the Requiem Division, where I’ll spend the rest of my life.”

"What’s the Requiem Division? Why haven’t I heard of it?" Qi Xuansu asked again.

Zhang Yuelu glanced at him and explained, “The Requiem Division is mainly responsible for the cemetery and the corresponding rituals. The Ciji Hall is the worst among the nine halls, and the Requiem Division is the worst department within the Ciji Hall. It is usually headed by a fallen sage.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood. “That sounds like the chief eunuch of the previous dynasty being assigned to guard the imperial mausoleum.”

Zhang Yuelu rolled his eyes at him and continued, “As for you all, you’ll just go back where you came from. If you’ve never served in a local Daoist mansion, you will probably come with me to guard the mausoleum, so we can be companions. I will spend the rest of my life with the heroic spirits who died fighting for the Daoist Order.”

The smile on Qi Xuansu’s face slowly disappeared.

Although he would be in the company of a beautiful woman and would have a Sage or Great Sage as a superior, Qi Xuansu did not think this was a good ending.

Zhang Yuelu squeezed the horse’s belly with her legs to speed up. “If you don’t want to end up in the Requiem Division, you’d better buck up and punish those demons. Then we will have a bright future.”

Qi Xuansu hurriedly followed.

At some point, it snowed again. Qi Xuansu only felt the wind and snow blowing against his face. When he looked at Zhang Yuelu, she was not wearing a hood, and her head and body were covered in snowflakes. He could not help but sigh. “The snow covering our heads makes it seem like we’ve aged together and gone through many hardships.”

Zhang Yuelu looked at him strangely and said, “If you consider snow covering our heads as aging together, no one in this world will ever be heartbroken.”

The two exchanged a brief glance, suddenly struck by speechlessness. They hastily averted their gazes in an attempt to conceal their embarrassment.

Shortly after, they stumbled upon some bloodstains on the gravel at the roadside that was shielded from the snowfall. Qi Xuansu dismounted and carefully inspected the bloodstains, lightly brushing them with his fingertips. He then brought them to his nose and took a sniff before turning to Zhang Yuelu. “It’s human blood.”

Purple energy flashed in Zhang Yuelu’s eyes as she used the Immortal Eye of Providence, also known as the Divine Observation Technique. Immediately afterward, a blood-red stream invisible to the naked eye appeared in her sight and extended into the distance like a winding path.

"Follow me.” Zhang Yuelu followed the stream and rode away. Qi Xuansu mounted his horse and chased after her.

The duo followed this path for about five kilometers before they came to a rocky beach, which was completely covered in a blanket of snow.

Zhang Yuelu dismounted first and pointed at the rocky beach. “It’s around here somewhere.”

Qi Xuansu dismounted and pulled out the wooden sword, Meridian, from his back. He pierced the Meridian into the snow while walking, using his hand to judge whether there were any corpses or living humans under the snow.

Zhang Yuelu did not stay idle and imitated Qi Xuansu to search the rocky beach.

After about 15 minutes, Qi Xuansu suddenly felt like he had poked something soft. He quickly put the Meridian back into the sheath behind his back and used his hands to dig up the snow.

Soon, Qi Xuansu dug out a body from the snow. The man was dressed like a Daoist priest and had a pale face and blood stains on his body. He looked to be about thirty years old.

Before Qi Xuansu could call out to Zhang Yuelu, she had already come over and stretched out her hand to feel the man’s pulse. “He’s a Martial Arts Practitioner, not dead yet.”

Qi Xuansu said, “It looks like we’ve found the fourteenth member of Bishan Temple. He escaped from Bishan Temple by chance, ran for dozens of miles, and passed out here. That’s why he’s covered in snow. Fortunately, he’s a Martial Arts Practitioner with a strong body, so he didn’t freeze to death.”

Zhang Yuelu tried to inject some qi into the man, whose complexion improved slightly. However, he did not wake up.

Her face turned solemn, and she said, “His breath is weak, but his vitals are not completely gone. He just can’t wake up. It looks like he has Lost Soul Syndrome.”

The Lost Soul Syndrome was when a part of the soul left the body due to extreme fear. It muddled the victim’s mind and left them in a vegetative state, like a living corpse.

A purple energy flashed in Zhang Yuelu’s eyes again. She frowned and said, “If I’m not mistaken, he’s missing a third of his soul and three out of seven parts of his spirit. That’s why he can’t wake up.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “In other words, he’s now a vegetable?”

"Yes.” Zhang Yuelu stood up. “I think he was also attacked during the incident, but he escaped based on his instincts. We need to take him back to the temple so that Lingquanzi can examine him for more details on his identity. Diviners are more proficient in this area.”

Qi Xuansu put the man on horseback and left the beach with Zhang Yuelu. They returned to Bishan Temple along the original route. During the time they left, Bishan Temple was still safe and sound. The group of demons did not return.

That was because Zhang Yuelu brought more than 60 Xiantian Beings with her this time. They were all under high alert, so even masters at the Guizhen stage would not dare underestimate this group.

Not long after, Lingquanzi and Xu Zhen also returned to the temple. Zhang Yuelu told Lingquanzi about the condition of the fourteenth person. Lingquanzi used his Thoughts to examine the person’s NiwanPalace and reported his findings.

"The way these demons steal souls was very crude. They drilled a hole in the Niwan Palace and extracted the living soul from there. The demons also drilled a hole into this man’s Niwan Palace, but for some unknown reason, this man managed to escape before the demon could take away his soul. But the damage to his Niwan Palace made his soul unstable. That’s probably how he lost part of his soul during his escape.”

Zhang Yuelu asked, “Can you summon the lost soul?”

Lingquanzi said, “As long as his soul is still within the 50-kilometer radius, I can use his body as a guide to recall the lost soul.”

The Soul Recall Technique was a skill that a Diviner in the Dream Entering Realm could master. Thus, it was easy for a Diviner like Lingquanzi, who was in the Thunder Realm.

Zhang Yuelu said, “We found him about 40 kilometers away from Bishan Temple, definitely within range.”

Lingquanzi nodded, took out four yellow paper talismans from his sleeves, and threw them out randomly. The four talismans flew in all directions and floated midair. Then, he bent the middle finger and ring finger of his left hand inward and used his thumb to press on the tips of those fingers. “I command thee, lost soul, to return urgently!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind blew, and the four yellow paper talismans spontaneously ignited.

Everyone took a few steps back, except Zhang Yuelu, who stood still. Lingquanzi’s big sleeves were billowing, but he maintained his posture.

This continued for 15 minutes until the strong wind gradually stopped and the yellow paper talisman turned into ashes. After that, they heard a groan.

The last survivor slowly awakened.