A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu had indeed thought about where he should go after leaving Ecstasy Paradise.

He wanted to slap himself for mentioning to Eighth Tianyang that he wanted to send Liu Hu to Zhili. Even if Eighth Tianyang intended to keep his involvement a secret, there was no guarantee Eighth Tianyang would not slip up.

Thus, Qi Xuansu only thought of the worst-case scenario and assumed that his whereabouts had been exposed.

The fastest way to go from Zhongzhou to Zhili was down the Yangtze River. After arriving in Qizhou, he could head north along the Grand Canal.

The second option was to take the land route to enter Zhili. Although it was not as fast as the water route, it was the shortest distance overall.

Since his whereabouts had been exposed, these two paths were no longer feasible. He would be captured in no time if the Daoist Order issued an arrest warrant.

Qi Xuansu thought about it and decided to stay hidden in plain sight.

Thus, he decided to go from Purple Immortal Mountain to Beiyang Prefecture in Zhongzhou, pass by Jiangling Prefecture in Huzhou, then take the river route past Jinling Prefecture, going out to sea from Putuo Island. He would head north, bypassing Luzhou and Qizhou and arriving in Bohai Prefecture, which was located by the sea.

In five days, Qi Xuansu had rushed from Purple Immortal Mountain to Beiyang Prefecture without stopping.

Beiyang Prefecture was the southernmost part of Zhongzhou, connected to Luzhou in the east and Huzhou in the west and south. It was an important area of ​​the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.

However, Qi Xuansu had no interest in staying in Beiyang Prefecture. He avoided the city, counties, and Daoist temples, only stopping in remote villages and towns along the way.

Seven days after leaving Purple Immortal Mountain, Qi Xuansu and Liu Hu arrived at Jingzi Town, located at the junction of Zhongzhou and Huzhou.

There were peach trees planted all around the town, so the peach blossoms were in full bloom in spring. When the spring breeze blew, the colorful fallen petals made for a beautiful sight.

Liu Hu was obsessed with this scenery.

The two of them did not enter the town. Instead, they rode their horses along the path on the edge of the massive peach forest. After walking for a while, they found a huge stone tablet that looked weathered. Qi Xuansu stood in front of the stone tablet and read the inscription. He finally understood why the peach grove was planted here.

At the end of the Wei Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Evil spirits came to Dongshan Village behind Jingzi Town and slaughtered everyone there. The evil spirits captured their souls and practiced sorcery, making Jingzi Town a place of horror.

The young Holy Xuan and the Great Heavenly Preceptor Yan Feiqing passed by this place and went to Dongshan Mountain to drive out the evil spirits. They used peach wood and set fire to Dongshan Village, burning the ghost town to ashes.

At that time, there were many corpses at the foot of Dongshan Mountain. The Great Heavenly Preceptor ordered them to be burned with peach wood.

Since the evil spirits had set up formations that polluted the earth qi to a certain extent, over time, these places would emit strong yin energy, where evil spirits gathered. If an ordinary person entered such places, they could be easily possessed or become seriously ill. Some would even die there. That was why people often said that a certain place was cursed, as people often die by accidents or suicide.

If enough people died in such places, the souls of the dead could not escape, and it would build more resentment, like a snowball effect. If it was left alone, such places would likely cause more harm.

Due to this, Yan Feiqing asked the people of Jingzi Town to plant peach trees to ward off evil spirits and prevent this place from being cursed.

The people here kept in mind the teachings of the Great Heavenly Preceptor and planted peach trees from generation to generation. After more than 200 years, the peach grove spread all over the mountains and plains and had developed into a business.

Daoists would often come here to buy peach trees, as there was no shortage of peach trees here. Peach trees that were more than a hundred years old could be cut and planted again. At the same time, people came here for good fortune because the Holy Xuan and the Great Heavenly Preceptor had graced this place with their presence.

Liu Hu read the content on the stone tablet and said in surprise, “Is it fake?”

Qi Xuansu pondered. “The Holy Xuan liked to do heroic things when he was younger. He also met the Great Heavenly Preceptor very early in his life, so it could be possible.”

Liu Hu asked, “Uncle Wei, you also like doing heroic things. After many years, will someone build a monument for you in Purple Immortal Mountain?”

“Maybe...but only if I can become a Great Sage—one with many disciples and plenty of influence.” Qi Xuansu said with a smile, “Ancestors are only revered if their descendants are successful. Do you think the Holy Xuan would have such a high status today if the Daoist Order had crumbled soon after his death?”

Liu Hu pursed her lips. “A Great Sage? That’s a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist priest. That’ll be tough.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. “It is indeed a tough journey.”

Since there were a lot of people from the Daoist Order who often came to Jingzi Town to buy peach trees, Qi Xuansu and Liu Hu completely gave up the idea of ​​resting there and continued riding along the edge of the massive peach grove. The whole journey was filled with peach blossoms, beautiful and relaxing.

After passing Jingzi Town, they entered the borders of Huzhou and took another two days to get to Jiangling Prefecture.

Based on the division of territories between the Daoist sects, this area, including Bohai Prefecture in Zhili, belonged to the Taiping Sect.

Qi Xuansu breathed a sigh of relief. In his opinion, even if someone saw through his identity, it would take some time to track them down. By then, he would have already taken a ship out to sea with Liu Hu. He did not plan to take the Daoist Order’s maritime ship, but the Imperial Court’s official ship as part of the Black Robes, which would be the best cover for him.

This was where his cleverness backfired. Qi Xuansu planned it well, but he neglected something.

When he first pretended to be Qin Wubing’s personal soldier, he said that he was under Qin Wubing’s orders to meet the Commandery Prince of Jiangling, who was located in Jiangling Prefecture, Huzhou.

Since he was pretending to be Qin Wubing’s confidant, he had to fabricate some sort of relationship with the Commandery Prince of Jiangling. His story was reasonable, and it could avoid many unnecessary inquiries.

At this moment, it was no longer a lie. He was really going to Jiangling Prefecture.

……

On the other side, after Zhang Yuelu dealt with the matter at Ecstasy Paradise, she decided to use the Yinglong Warship to send Su Ran’s body and Liu Futong back to Jade Capital.

Due to the impact of this case and the involvement of high-ranking priests, Zhang Yuelu should have personally escorted the prisoner and presented the case to Sage Cihang. However, Zhang Yuelu did not want to return to Jade Capital, so she decided to let Mu Jin and Tian Baobao report this case to Sage Cihang while she stayed behind with Spirit Guard Xu.

The other superintendents would continue exterminating small groups of cult demons. Afterward, they would return to Jade Capital by flying ship from their locality. Tiangang Hall would reimburse their expenses.

Although Spirit Guard Xu and the others objected, Zhang Yuelu had absolute authority over this. She was not only the Deputy Tiangang Hall Master, but also the special envoy appointed by the Golden Tower and Sage Cihang to deal with the aftermath of Ecstasy Paradise. No one could disobey her and could only reluctantly oblige.

The main reason Zhang Yuelu was unwilling to return to Jade Capital was because she was fixated on catching Wei Wugui herself. She felt that she was getting close.

However, there was one problem. Although she had figured out Wei Wugui’s past itinerary, she did not have much clue about where Wei Wugui would go next.

Eighth Tianyang, afraid of slipping up again, avoided her like a plague. There was nothing Zhang Yuelu could do about it since Eighth Tianyang was from the Imperial Court. Also, Zhang Yuelu had no way of forcing Eighth Tianyang to tell her what she wanted to know.

Zhang Yuelu did not know that Qi Xuansu was still alive, let alone that he was traveling to Bohai Prefecture in Zhili.

What she knew was that Wei Wugui claimed to be Qin Wubing’s personal guard under orders to head to Jiangling Prefecture. Since this was her only lead, Zhang Yuelu decided to go to Jiangling Prefecture. Even if she failed to find Wei Wugui, she could also follow up on the progress of the Yanqing Merchant’s Association.

Yanqing Merchant’s Association was deeply involved with Liu Futong, and they were operating under the jurisdiction of Jiangnan Daoist Mansion. But their main office was located in Jiangling Prefecture, Huzhou.

At this time, seven days had passed since Qi Xuansu left Purple Immortal Mountain. Logically speaking, it was almost impossible to catch up to him. However, Zhang Yuelu could mobilize the Yinglong Warship.

Although Zhang Yuelu did not intend to return to Jade Capital, she could take the Yinglong Warship to Jiangling Prefecture and disembark there before the warship continued its journey to Jade Capital.

As such, Zhang Yuelu did not even have to spend a day’s journey. Instead, she arrived at Jiangling Prefecture ahead of Qi Xuansu.

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