A Pawn's Passage

On the way to Jiangling Prefecture, Qi Xuansu took the opportunity to study the white fox face mask he got from Su Ran and found that it was a good item.

Since Qi Xuansu was at the Guizhen stage and he had experience with more spiritual objects, ordinary spiritual objects like his cutlasses could no longer impress him. Qi Xuansu was quite satisfied with this white fox face mask.

This white fox face mask was also a spiritual object, but it was the best quality among spiritual objects, borderline a treasure.

Its main function was not as a weapon but as a disguise with a few magical features.

The first magical feature was to increase one’s intuition. Even without using Yin Yang Eyes or Seer Eyes, one would be able to see ghosts and spirits. One would also be able to see through some illusions and disguises through the mask.

The second magical feature was that it could be used to hide one’s aura, so much so that one would be undetectable even with the Rogue Cultivator’s Qi Observation Technique and the Banished Immortal’s Divine Observation Technique. If Qi Xuansu had this mask early on, Feng Bo would not have tracked him down using the spell.

The third magical feature was the fox clan’s special skill of altering their face and figure. Su Ran wanted to shock others, so she only used the white fox face mask to hide her aura and prevent her identity from being exposed. However, she did not change her face. Instead, she used the original appearance of the mask, which resembled a white fox.

The white fox face mask was a spiritual object, not a treasure, so it had a limited number of faces it could change into. Qi Xuansu could only choose one among the several faces and could not customize them.

This mask had three existing faces: one of a handsome young man, a charming young woman, and a wise old man.

These three faces had the characteristics of the fox demon clan, who were generally beautiful. The men had strong brows and starry eyes, while the women had sultry eyes, suitable for seducing others.

In addition, the white fox face mask also had its shortcomings. This spiritual object had to be activated by magic or the Banished Immortal’s true essence. However, it could not be activated with innate qi or blood qi.

That was because the mask was not just an illusion. It would alter one’s real face temporarily, so it had considerable physical requirements. People with weak bodies would not be able to bear the slight damage caused by the mask’s alteration because, over time, it could lead to facial paralysis.

This was somewhat contradictory because aside from the special Banished Immortal lineage, those who had magic were physically weak, while those with strong physiques did not have magic.

However, this mask was not prepared for humans. It was custom-made for the fox demon clan. Among the demons, only the fox demon was born with both strong physiques and magic. That was why they were good at transformation. It was just coincidental that Banished Immortals and Qi Xuansu fit the characteristics of the fox clan.

After Qi Xuansu put on the white fox face mask, he felt the mask integrating with his own skin, becoming indistinguishable from one another. Then he activated the mask using magic and chose the third face.

Qi Xuansu’s cheeks gradually became sunken, and deep wrinkles appeared. His eyes became cloudy, and a white beard grew on his chin and above his lips, draping down to his chest.

In the blink of an eye, Qi Xuansu turned into a mysterious old man with an ethereal air. The snow-white fox fur on the mask grew longer, turning into a flowing white wig to cover Qi Xuansu’s original hair.

Qi Xuansu took off his cloak and put on an old-fashioned Daoist robe and a pair of sunglasses. Standing with Liu Hu, he looked like her grandfather.

Seeing Qi Xuansu’s new appearance, Liu Hu could not help but laugh. “Uncle Wei, you look like an old quack!”

Qi Xuansu touched his long white beard. His voice was raspy and aged as he said, “You shouldn’t call me Uncle Wei anymore. Call me grandpa instead.”

……

When the huge Yinglong Warship landed on the lake outside Jiangling Prefecture, the bigwigs in the city quickly received news of it.

Soon, many important people in the city were aware of Zhang Yuelu’s arrival.

Although Zhang Yuelu was only a fourth-rank priest, no one in Jiangling Prefecture dared to neglect her. After all, there were not many fourth-rank priests who could command a Yinglong Warship with full authority.

There were two capitals in the empire—the Imperial Capital in the east and the Jade Capital in the west. Now that the competition for the title of Grand Master was getting more intense, the three top candidates had all chosen their own successors. Among these three successors, Zhang Yuelu was the most famous.

There were also rumors that Zhang Yuelu was just waiting for her tenure to be up by the end of the year. As soon as she fulfilled the tenure of the fourth rank, she could be promoted to the third rank. After that, she would be transferred to a local Daoist mansion or palace for practical training.

If everything went smoothly, Zhang Yuelu would most likely serve in the Wuzhou Daoist Mansion. After all, that was the core territory of the Zhang family. Even if something went wrong, the Dazhen Mansion and Shangqing Palace could aid her. After Zhang Yuelu became familiar with various affairs of the Wuzhou Daoist Mansion, she could be promoted to be the Second Deputy, then she could transfer to the Quanzhen Sect’s Wuxu Palace or Chongyang Palace of Immortality as the Chief Deputy.

Eventually, Zhang Yuelu would be transferred to the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion as the Chief or Second Deputy. At that time, Sage Cihang would have either become the Grand Master or the Deputy Grand Master, or at worst, a Virtuous Great Sage. By then, Zhang Yuelu would be able to take over Sage Cihang’s previous position as an Omniscient Sage. Once Zhang Yuelu became an Omniscient Sage, she could take charge of a Daoist mansion.

Back then, Sage Cihang also rose to fame after being the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master. In this regard, Zhang Yuelu would be inheriting her master’s path.

At that point, she would be able to act freely. She could stay in one place like Sage Qingwei did to strengthen her roots, biding for the right time. Or she could become the Hall Master at one of the Nine Halls. Even if she failed to become the Grand Master, she could still compete for the position of the Heavenly Preceptor because she was from the Zhang family.

This was what countless people considered a promising future, and it was definitely not an empty compliment.

Of course, this was only if everything was smooth sailing. No one could guarantee whether something would happen midway. After all, plenty of promising young talents had died tragically before their time.

Furthermore, the incident in Purple Immortal Mountain had already spread. However, the public did not know about Su Ran. They only thought that Zhang Yuelu went to Purple Immortal Mountain because of Liu Futong’s corruption and malfeasance and that Zhang Yuelu was tasked to do this because fighting corruption was considered her forte.

This made many people in Jiangling inexplicably guilty. After all, the Yanqing Merchant’s Association was involved, so many people were eager to get information from Zhang Yuelu.

The moment Zhang Yuelu checked in to the Shenxiao Temple in Jiangling Prefectural City, the gentry came to pay her a visit.

Zhang Yuelu refused to meet people, saying that she was tired from the journey. She asked the abbot of Shenxiao Temple to receive these guests on her behalf.

Since these people had heard about Zhang Yuelu’s temper to some extent, they knew what to expect and did not get offended. They just left an invitation for a reception banquet for Zhang Yuelu, hosted by a respected Confucian scholar in the city.

Over the years, in order to suppress the seemingly submissive but actually duplicitous Buddhist Sect, the Daoist Order had been supporting the Confucian School and vigorously promoted the friendship between the two parties. It was comparable to the time when the Daoist Order joined forces with the Buddhist Sect to fight against the Confucian School.

Since this banquet was hosted by a Confucian scholar, it would be hard for Zhang Yuelu to blatantly reject the invitation.

After the gentry left, Zhang Yuelu met the abbot of Shenxiao Temple, Chen Shouchen, who was already in his sixties.

Although Chen Shouchen was also a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master, he was very respectful to Zhang Yuelu, treating himself as a subordinate at all times.

Zhang Yuelu looked at the gilded invitation and asked, “Abbot Chen, what kind of official is Master Yuan Chongzong?”

The Confucian School had three Grand Libationers, equivalent to the three Deputy Grand Masters. However, the Confucian School was not as structured as the Daoist Order, with an unclear hierarchy. However, most people in the Confucian School served as court officials. That was how one could gauge someone’s rank.

For example, a first-rank cabinet minister in the Imperial Court was roughly equivalent to a first-rank Tianzhen Daoist master in the Daoist Order.

Chen Shouchen replied, “Old Master Yuan has not served as a court official, but he is well known and revered in Jiangling Prefecture. There is a saying that he and the Old Commandery Prince rule Jiangling hand in hand.”

Zhang Yuelu questioned, “Is he related to the Yanqing Merchant’s Association?”

Chen Shouchen opened his mouth, but did not say anything for a long time.

After a while, Chen Shouchen responded. “I dare not make any judgments regarding this. The Yuan family is complex, with a long history and strong roots. Many court officials will have to obey the Yuan family’s orders. The vigilantes and thugs in the city had also become the Yuan family’s lackeys. Even though the Yuan family has a Confucian background, they also have a good relationship with several Sages in Huzhou. At least in the Jiangling area, no one dares mess with them.”

Zhang Yuelu nodded and muttered, “What a powerful family.”

Clare's Thoughts

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