A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 528: Root Cause

Chapter 528: Root Cause

A bright, full moon hung high in the sky, casting a silvery glow across the land.

A man and a woman faced each other under the moonlight. But there was nothing romantic about this scene. All that existed between them was an unspoken awkwardness.

Yao Pei stared intently at Qi Xuansu, as if trying to find any trace of deception on his face. Once she confirmed that Qi Xuansu was not joking, her expression subtly changed.

She had assumed that Qi Xuansu was merely one of her Seventh Grandaunt's subordinates, but she had not expected this answer.

On second thought, although her Seventh Grandaunt had high seniority in the Yao family, she was not particularly old. She was around the same age as Yao Pei’s father, so taking in an adopted son of Yao Pei’s age seemed reasonable.

Yao Pei remained silent for a while before saying, “I see.”

Qi Xuansu cleared his throat lightly. “I wasn’t going to tell you.”

Yao Pei continued, “Though we share this connection, as disciples of the Daoist Order, we should avoid being too close to avoid drawing attention from those with ulterior motives. It’s also best not to publicize Seventh Grandaunt’s identity.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Of course.”

Yao Pei silently exhaled a sigh of relief before concluding, “Then I shall continue calling you Daoist Qi, and you should continue calling me Daoist Yao.”

Qi Xuansu now understood Yao Pei’s intent. It seemed that her practice of the Taishang Emotionless Sutra had not entirely stripped her of worldly sentiment, and she clearly had no desire to address him as “Uncle.”

The deeper reason likely lay with the Yao family itself. Madam Qi must have had her reasons for leaving the Yao family. Perhaps there had been some unresolved grievances between them.

Moreover, from Yao Pei’s words, it was evident that opinions within the Yao family regarding Madam Qi were divided. The only person capable of making a final decision was the Earthly Preceptor, who had yet to take a clear stance.

Seeing that Qi Xuansu did not object, Yao Pei resumed her usual calm demeanor and asked, “How has Seventh Grandaunt been lately?”

“As good as can be.” Qi Xuansu immediately recalled his last encounter with Madam Qi. “After stepping down as the Acting Mogul of the Seven Treasure Pavilion, she’s been involved in some small business.”

“Small business?” Yao Pei asked. “How small?”

He did a rough estimate. “A single transaction brings in a few thousand Taiping coins. But those add up. In a year, she probably makes several hundred thousand Taiping coins. But she doesn’t lack money, and she spends very little. Making money is just her hobby.”

Qi Xuansu then thought about how his savings had been completely plundered by Madam Qi and could not help but sigh. “The way of the heavens is to take excess to replenish the lacking. But the way of man is to take from the lacking to serve the excessive.”

Upon hearing this, Yao Pei remained silent for a long time.

Although the Yao family was not as wealthy as the Li family, they would not consider a few hundred thousand Taiping coins significant. As a core member of the Yao family, Yao Pei had never experienced the worries of earning and not spending money, so she naturally could not understand the pleasure of accumulating wealth without using it.

Qi Xuansu shifted his gaze to the still-unconscious Chen Longtu and asked, “Daoist Yao, who exactly is this person?”

Instead of answering directly, Yao Pei said, “Although Qing Xiao is not easy to get along with, her status alone attracts many admirers. But how they try to gain her attention varies. Some, like Li Tianzhen, attempted to use power to subdue her. Others, like Chen Longtu, take a different approach.

This was exactly where Zhang Yuelu suffered the most. Li Changge and Yao Pei both received the full backing of their respective families, whereas Zhang Yuelu, coming from a minor branch of the Zhang family, had almost no real support from them.

Otherwise, Tantai Qiong would not have considered an arranged marriage for her. Even Sage Cihang had not initially chosen Zhang Yuelu as her successor, as proven by Zhang Yuelu’s absence from Putuo Island.

One just had to ask—would the Li or Yao families ever place their core disciples under their rival's noses? Would they willingly send Li Changge or Yao Pei to risk their lives in Jiangnan?

Zhang Yuelu never had such privileges.

She was first sent to Beichen Hall, which was controlled by the Taiping Sect. Then she was dispatched to the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion to investigate a complicated case that was practically a death sentence. If not for Sage Cihang’s intervention at the last moment, Zhang Yuelu would have perished in Jiangnan.

However, fortune and misfortune went hand in hand. Zhang Yuelu’s performance in the Jiangnan case earned her the recognition of the Earthly Preceptor, who promoted her despite convention.

This allowed Zhang Yuelu to transfer to Tiangang Hall as a Deputy Hall Master, thereby escaping the risk of being sabotaged by her superiors in Beichen Hall.

To say Zhang Yuelu was unaffected by this unfair treatment would be a lie. Otherwise, she would not have considered joining the Quanzhen Sect. This was about far more than just an arranged marriage.

On one hand, she had the Earthly Preceptor who recognized her talents. On the other hand, she had a family that had largely neglected her. Was the choice really that difficult?

Perhaps seeing Zhang Yuelu’s dilemma, Sage Cihang used this as an opportunity to officially name her as a successor, securing her loyalty to the Zhengyi Sect through their master-disciple bond.

That being said, this was not solely the Heavenly Preceptor’s doing. A dignified figure like him would not be so petty. However, every family had its own internal struggles.

With such a large clan, everyone had their eyes on the Heavenly Preceptor’s position. If he showed too much favor toward Zhang Yuelu, many would suspect that he intended to designate her as his successor.

They would not accept the idea of the Heavenly Preceptor passing the title onto someone from a minor branch of the family. If so, some with ill intentions would start scheming against Zhang Yuelu, leading to internal strife. In fact, the decision to assign Zhang Yuelu to Beichen Hall was already quite telling.

With the Heavenly Preceptor’s authority, he could suppress any opposition if he wished. However, these were all his own family members. It would be difficult for him to be truly ruthless toward his kin.

Besides, he could still keep things in check while he was alive. But what would happen after he was gone? Thus, he deliberately remained vague in his stance, neither suppressing Zhang Yuelu nor showing her special favor. He also did not oppose the Earthly Preceptor’s overreach, seemingly content to let things take their natural course.

If Zhang Yuelu had faded into obscurity, the Heavenly Preceptor might have only sighed in regret. But if she could rise on her own merits, just as she had repeatedly shown she was capable of—defeating Confucian scholars in debate, slaying cult demons in Jinling, and making a name for herself in the Daoist Order—then he could simply go with the flow.

By then, the rest of the Zhang family would have no grounds to object. After all, who could they blame but themselves for failing to measure up to Zhang Yuelu?

As for why the Li and Yao families did not have such concerns, it was not because the National Preceptor and the Earthly Preceptor were more skillful. It was merely because Li Changge and Yao Pei’s status had been established from the start. They were born into the main branches of their families, and Li Changge’s seniority in the Li family was particularly high.

Qi Xuansu walked up to Chen Longtu and kicked his body. “What do we do with him?”

Chen Longtu showed no reaction whatsoever.

Yao Pei replied indifferently, “Let him sleep. He won’t wake up for the next 24 hours.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Fine.”