A Pawn’s Passage

As soon as the meeting presided over by Sage Qingwei had concluded, the Deputy Hall Masters ended their idle chatter, going in one by one to see him.

By the time Qi Xuansu met Sage Qingwei, the morning hour had already passed.

Sage Qingwei sat behind his desk, looking the same as ever. Perhaps it was due to his fox demon bloodline, but he always seemed to carry a faint smile.

When Qi Xuansu entered, Sage Qingwei was reviewing official documents.

There was a subtle meaning in such a situation. If a superior said, "Please wait a moment," it meant there was genuinely something urgent, which was no cause for concern. But if the superior said nothing and did not even lift his head, that was a clear display of dissatisfaction, enough to make any subordinate uneasy.

But Sage Qingwei did not keep his head down. He quickly finished browsing the documents, wrote a brief comment, and then looked up at Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu handed over the summary compiled by Lu Yuting and reported, "Sage Commander, this is the result of last night's surprise interrogations."

Sage Qingwei flipped through it and skimmed the contents. "What's your take on it?"

Qi Xuansu had already prepared his response and replied, "The smuggling is undeniably confirmed, but whether it involved reselling military supplies remains uncertain. These individuals were just following orders. They're only one part of the smuggling chain and are unaware of the whole picture. The key lies with the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion."

Sage Qingwei nodded, set the summary aside, and said, "Then detain these people for now and wait for the outcome from the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion."

Qi Xuansu finally noticed a few clues. Sage Qingwei did not seem particularly invested in the case. If he had been the one orchestrating and directing it, he would have ordered Qi Xuansu to press harder in the interrogations and dig deeper. But instead, he simply said to detain them and said nothing of any follow-up, as if he were deliberately trying to make light of the situation. Anyone unaware might even think he intended to let Zhang Juquan off the hook.

In other words, this case had not been brought to the army camp by Sage Qingwei's initiative. It had been arranged by someone else. Once Sage Qingwei took over the case, others would naturally assume he had been the mastermind. No matter what he did next, the blowback would land on Sage Qingwei.

Qi Xuansu acknowledged with a nod and said, "I'll have them transferred to the field camp immediately."

Sage Qingwei asked, "Is there anything else?"

Qi Xuansu replied, "No, that's all."

Sage Qingwei nodded. "This is just an unexpected incident. Your main focus should still be on those mountain gods and wild spirits. That's the real priority. Discuss with Deputy Hall Master Zhang, and don't make decisions on your own."

Qi Xuansu's expression turned solemn. "Understood."

Sage Qingwei gestured that Qi Xuansu could leave.

Qi Xuansu exited Sage Qingwei's command tent, feeling the trip had been well worth it. If he still did not understand Sage Qingwei's intent by now, he might as well give up trying to climb the ladder.

Qi Xuansu headed straight to Zhang Yuelu's residence. But just as he arrived at the door, he was stopped by Mu Jin.

Mu Jin was not afraid of Qi Xuansu. She spoke confidently. "Deputy Hall Master Qi, even if you and Deputy Hall Master Zhang are close, you can't just barge in without notice. There are plenty of people watching."

Qi Xuansu did not argue. "Then please inform her of my arrival. I'll wait here."

At that moment, Zhang Yuelu had already heard the commotion and came out, asking, "Any results?"

"Let's talk inside," Qi Xuansu replied.

Mu Jin no longer stood in his way. She had not meant any harm and was merely trying to protect Zhang Yuelu's reputation. After all, the two had yet to become Daoist companions, so acting too much like an old married couple would be improper.

Inside the tent, Qi Xuansu recounted his meeting with Sage Qingwei. "I believe Sage Qingwei's stance is clear. He doesn't wish to pursue the matter further and seems rather perfunctory. At the very least, he doesn't want to trigger a third Jiangnan case at this moment."

Zhang Yuelu nodded, deep in thought.

Qi Xuansu asked, "What did the Heavenly Preceptor say?"

Zhang Yuelu sighed. "Heaven's will has always been hard to divine. I could only report this matter to the Heavenly Preceptor, and he merely said, 'I understand,' and nothing more. So I couldn't press further."

Though the Heavenly Preceptor and Zhang Yuelu were nominally granduncle and grandniece, their emotional bond was weak. She had not been raised doted upon like a pampered granddaughter, so she still had to follow protocol, especially on official matters.

Qi Xuansu said, "Then all we can do is pass Sage Qingwei's intent along to the Heavenly Preceptor. What happens after that is beyond our control."

Zhang Yuelu nodded. The roles they could play in this matter were truly limited. They would do what they could and leave the rest to fate.

They then returned to discussing the recruitment of various mountain gods. After all, that was their true responsibility. Regardless of whether Sage Qingwei would remain as the Sage Commander, the strategic direction was unlikely to change. As Sage Qingwei had said, this was a matter of great importance.

Yet the subsequent developments of the matter greatly exceeded the expectations of both Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

Just three days later, news came from the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion.

But the news had nothing to do with whether military supplies had been resold. Instead, it was about Zhang Juquan.

When Qi Xuansu heard the news from Zhang Yuelu, he was puzzled.

Zhang Yuelu continued, "Zhang Juquan is dead."

Qi Xuansu was shocked. "Dead?!"

"I was just as shocked when I first heard the news," Zhang Yuelu said. "After Zhang Juquan was detained, Lu Yushu transferred him to Qiantang Prefecture for interrogation. Once Li Changge arrived in Jiangnan, he had Zhang Juquan moved again to Huainan Prefecture. But last night, Zhang Juquan committed suicide."

Qi Xuansu was stunned again. "Suicide?"

Though the impact of Zhang Juquan's case was significant, his punishment typically would not warrant death unless the amount of his embezzlement or smuggling was outrageous. Personal moral failings had the least consequence, and no one in history had ever been executed merely for compulsively womanizing with consenting parties.

If it were merely a matter of tens of thousands of Taiping coins, the worst he might have faced was dismissal and demotion to a ninth-rank Daoist. At most, he would live out the rest of his days as a hermit. He could very well have written a memoir about his years of exploits, including all the scandalous tales. It might even become a sensational bestseller.

Zhang Yuelu said, "The reports from Beichen Hall and Fengxian Hall claim it was suicide, but I have my doubts. It doesn't seem that simple. Regardless of whether it was suicide or not, many leads have now been cut off, and it'll be very difficult to dig deeper into the case."

Qi Xuansu had long understood one thing. Power struggles within the Daoist Order were unusually ruthless, and they usually ended with someone's death. Zhang Juquan's death now sent a clear signal that someone wanted the investigation to end here.

Back then, a mere superintendent from Purple Immortal Mountain triggered the entire second major Jiangnan case. That was just a mid-level official. This time, it was a Deputy Mansion Master, so who knew how many people Zhang Juquan could implicate? There was even a possibility that the entire Jiangnan Daoist Mansion could collapse.

At a time like this, a bold amputation was necessary to save the body.

The only question was, which side had done it? Was it Sage Qingwei's side? Or the Heavenly Preceptor's?

At the same time, Qi Xuansu could not help but lament the impermanence of life. Just a month ago, this Deputy Mansion Master Zhang had lived like a king, being a respected High Mage. He had perhaps even attended the Shangyuan Festival in the Dazhen Mansion. Yet now, in just one short month, he was utterly disgraced, and everything had come to naught.

Qi Xuansu asked, "Putting aside any deeper investigation, has Zhang Juquan's case been fully uncovered?"

Zhang Yuelu shook her head. "How could such a major case be fully investigated in such a short time? Unless Zhang Juquan had completely given up and confessed everything on his own. But I doubt he would have the courage to implicate others. I think he still held onto the hope that the Zhengyi Sect would go all out to protect him, so he never spoke a word."

Qi Xuansu said, "Since he still had hope, then it's even less likely he would commit suicide. Usually, only people who are completely desperate take that path."

Zhang Yuelu replied, "That's exactly the issue. I've been following this case through Senior Sister Bai these past few days. According to her, Zhang Juquan admitted to all the personal moral failings, but when it came to embezzlement and smuggling, he adamantly denied everything. Not only that, he was even quite defiant. I heard he had a shouting match with Lu Yushu. That's not the behavior of someone determined to die."

Qi Xuansu asked again, "How did Zhang Juquan die? Did he rupture his Dantian? Slit his throat? A bullet to the head?"

Zhang Yuelu said, "After being detained, all his magical receptacles and personal belongings would have been confiscated, and his cultivation sealed with talismans. So the methods you mentioned wouldn't be possible. He died by poisoning—specifically, Imitation Shebishi Venom. Just a tiny amount is fatal, and it's easy to hide, like in a fingernail or between the teeth. It's very hard to detect in a body search."

Qi Xuansu remembered this poison. Saintly Peace had once been afflicted by it. Though he didn't die, he suffered terribly and only recovered after Madam Qi personally intervened.

"The guards responsible will likely be held accountable," Qi Xuansu remarked.

Zhang Yuelu replied, "On that front, I heard Li Changge has already submitted his resignation. But whether it gets approved still depends on what comes next."

Qi Xuansu was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Qing Xiao, do you think it might have been Yong Yan's doing? He's from the direct bloodline of the Li family, the same faction as Sage Qingwei. Also, out of the nine Deputy Beichen Hall Masters, at least five are in Jade Capital, including the top Chief Deputy and Second Deputy. Yet Sage Qingwei specifically sent Yong Yan, the lowest-ranked Acting Deputy Hall Master."

Zhang Yuelu was briefly stunned, then mused, "That's not out of the question. At first, everyone thought Li Changge was sent because the others might not withstand pressure from the Zhang family, and Sage Qingwei didn't feel at ease. Plus, this case, if done well, will be counted as a major contribution. But now it seems Sage Qingwei's unease had a different meaning."

She paused. "Still, all of this is just speculation between the two of us. It's far too early to know the truth."