A Pawn’s Passage

It was always best to capture the ringleader first when bringing down bandits.

After boarding the Yellow Hornless Dragon, Qi Xuansu hugged the wall as he dashed toward the bridge.

Two Spirit Guards raised their rifles and fired at him. Qi Xuansu neither dodged nor flinched, emerging completely unscathed. At the same time, he struck out with both fists, knocking them to the ground.

Then Qi Xuansu drew his Flying White Shadow and slashed at the bridge's main door.

If the Dragon Pearl was the heart of a flying ship, then the bridge was its brain, serving as the command center and typically located at the front of the upper deckhouse.

The term originated from early ironclad warships, where the command area was built on a walkway between the paddlewheel housings on either side so that the view was not obstructed, hence the name "bridge." Though ship designs evolved and bridges were no longer literal bridges, the term persisted.

The Yellow Hornless Dragon was merely a cargo vessel that took off hastily on short notice, so it lacked heavy armaments, had minimal armor, and was understaffed. Thus, it could not fully activate its formations and was utterly defenseless.

If it had been the Yinglong Warship, it would have had complete formation defenses and thick, reinforced armor. Once its doors were sealed, even if Qi Xuansu managed to board, breaching the interior would be nearly impossible, unless he had brute strength like Wu Luo's.

With three slashes, Qi Xuansu broke through the bridge doors and stepped inside.

The bridge was filled with a numb, deathly silence. Vacant eyes turned to face Qi Xuansu as he entered alone. There was hardly even a will to resist.

Even if they did not recognize him, they knew what it meant for someone to withstand such violent gales unscathed.

Qi Xuansu ordered, "Descend and land immediately."

The superintendent at the command console had his back turned to Qi Xuansu. Only now did he slowly turn around and see Qi Xuansu, spotting the Five Peaks Crown that marked a third-rank Youyi Daoist master. He immediately straightened his body out of habit.

Staring at his equally emotionless face, Qi Xuansu asked, "Who ordered your escape?"

The superintendent replied, "It was the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion's orders."

Qi Xuansu said, "The Jiangnan Daoist Mansion has nine Deputy Mansion Masters. Zhang Juquan has already been arrested. Why don't you go ahead and name which other deputy gave the order?"

The superintendent said, "Superiors and subordinates are like passengers on the same boat. When a storm hits, whether one falls overboard first or later, none can escape unscathed."

Qi Xuansu sneered, "You gorged yourselves fat, and now you put on a show of resignation? Who are you acting for? People like you never regret reaching out for more and only regret getting caught. Even if given another chance, you'd only be more careful, more discreet. You'd never stop. You deserve your punishment. I'll say it again. Confess truthfully and redeem your crimes with merit. That's the only way you get to stay alive. Now, stop the ship and descend immediately."

The superintendent said nothing. He silently turned around and moved to operate the flying ship.

Qi Xuansu instinctively sensed something was wrong, lunging forward to subdue him.

But it was too late. The Yellow Hornless Dragon's prow suddenly pitched downward, plunging straight toward the sea.

Due to the sudden imbalance, everyone except Qi Xuansu lost their footing, tumbling to the deck and sliding to the other side.

"You truly deserve death!" Qi Xuansu grabbed the man by the throat with one hand, locking him in place. The man wore an expression of righteous martyrdom. It was clear this had been intentional.

But Qi Xuansu had never learned how to pilot a flying ship, so he was at a loss for what to do. With his current cultivation, it was impossible for him to fly out and physically hold up a plummeting vessel like Sage Cihang had, especially one still driven by its own power. It was not a simple free fall.

If the ship crashed into the sea, Qi Xuansu would not be in danger. He had been through this a couple of times before, so he knew surviving was no issue. But the rest aboard would not be so lucky.

Qi Xuansu turned and shouted to the others, "Anyone who doesn't want to die—take the helm!"

In ordinary circumstances, no one would respond, but these were Daoist priests with cultivation. One deacon struggled to his feet and crawled toward the control console.

Qi Xuansu grabbed the deacon's shoulder, helping to steady him. He then shouted, "You're just an accomplice in this smuggling case. Right now, your superiors are trying to silence you all. If you save this flying ship and everyone on it, I'll count that as redeeming your crimes. No matter how deep the trouble is, I'll shoulder it for you."

Cold sweat beaded on the deacon's forehead as he stared at the console, his hands flying in rapid motion, trying to salvage the situation.

The Yellow Hornless Dragon was plummeting fast, the ocean rising to meet them. At the last critical instant, its bow jerked upward and the stern dipped. The flying ship was almost parallel to the sea's surface. It groaned and creaked, as if on the verge of splitting in two, before finally descending.

The entire ship shuddered with a thunderous crash, sending up a towering spray, but it landed stably on the sea.

Only then did the deacon exhale in relief, soaked in sweat and utterly spent.

Moments later, the Purple Flood Dragon also descended, docking beside the Yellow Hornless Dragon. Led by several superintendents, a large number of Spirit Guards boarded the Yellow Hornless Dragon.

Han Yongfeng was the first to rush into the command bridge, but before he could ask if Qi Xuansu was all right, the Deputy Hall Master had already tossed the suicidal superintendent into his arms and ordered, "Watch him closely. If anything happens—if he escapes or dies—I'll hold you accountable!"

Han Yongfeng's expression turned stern as he answered loudly, "Yes, sir!"

Coming from a local Daoist mansion like Xu Kou, Han Yongfeng was not as refined as the Daoists from the Nine Halls. He first checked the superintendent's mouth for poison, removed all belongings, dislocated a few joints, and then tightly bound him with a special cord. He did not care about the criminal's pride or dignity. Then, two Spirit Guards hauled the superintendent off. Since Qi Xuansu had already sealed the man's cultivation, escape was utterly impossible.

The others were also taken into custody, but Qi Xuansu specifically pointed out the deacon who had saved everyone in the end. "He redeemed himself in this crisis. If not for him, the Yellow Hornless Dragon would have plunged to the bottom of the sea. No restraints are necessary."

The Spirit Guards acknowledged and spared the deacon the shackles, only assigning two guards to accompany him.

Qi Xuansu strode off the command bridge and returned to the Purple Flood Dragon, leaving the rest to take over the Yellow Hornless Dragon.

Moments later, both flying ships took off, heading back toward the port.

The return trip would take some time. Qi Xuansu sat in the Purple Flood Dragon's command seat, reclining against the backrest with his eyes closed, as if he were napping.

Lu Yuting approached him. Though she knew he was not actually asleep, she instinctively softened her footsteps.

"What do you make of this smuggling case?" Qi Xuansu opened his eyes, staring forward as if speaking to Lu Yuting, or perhaps to someone unseen.

Lu Yuting hesitated slightly before replying softly, "This is just the tip of the iceberg. The full picture is unclear. Perhaps it's just a coincidence?"

Qi Xuansu let out a laugh. "Superintendent Lu, you're a clever woman."

Lu Yuting was slightly taken aback, unsure of his meaning. It certainly was not flattery, as this Deputy Hall Master never struck her as one to flirt around.

Qi Xuansu went on, "You know what can and can't be done. If you were in that Superintendent Su's position, you would never have ended up like this. Sure, using one's body to climb the ranks, pleasing men, and reading their moods is easy, but when it comes to real work...that's another matter."

Lu Yuting began to grasp his implication and tentatively asked, "Deputy Hall Master, do you suspect that there's something wrong with Superintendent Su's official complaint?"

Qi Xuansu replied with a question of his own. "What do you think, Superintendent Lu?"

Lu Yuting's mind spun quickly, unsure of his true intentions. After all, Qi Xuansu came from the Quanzhen Sect and was close to the Zhang family, while she belonged to the Taiping Sect. This kind of conversation between them felt a bit too close for their level of familiarity.

But in the end, she decided to voice her honest opinion. "In my view, there's a mastermind behind Superintendent Su, or rather, someone's using her as a gun to fire their shots."

Qi Xuansu sighed. "It looks like the Zhang and Li families are about to stir up waves again. Some butts are bound to get exposed."

Though Qi Xuansu had ties with the Zhang family, he was not a part of their family. Lu Yuting was close to the Li family too, but she was not a Li either.

Moreover, Lu Yuting did not serve in the Fengxian Hall like her cousin Lu Yushu, so she and Qi Xuansu could be considered partial outsiders at best.

Lu Yuting carefully chose her words and said cautiously, "Since the Jin Dynasty, Jiangnan has been rich. Half the empire's taxes come from there. Today, the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion is even more of a trouble-prone land. Be it the Daoist Mansion Master or the Deputy Mansion Masters, few have emerged clean, except perhaps a few from the Cihang lineage. In the end, wealth stirs the heart, and opulence clouds the eyes. It's true that Jiangnan is the easiest place to make a name, but also the easiest to get into trouble. Whether a Zhang or a Li, none are exempt."

Qi Xuansu said, "Watching that superintendent who tried to kill everyone on the ship with him got me thinking. The Nine Rank System was created by the Holy Xuan to counter the Buddhist Sect. It was essentially a wartime system. First came cultivation level, second loyalty, and third merit. In wartime, these were easy to assess. But in peaceful times, this selection mechanism hasn't evolved. Besides cultivation, loyalty and merit are no longer so clear-cut, especially loyalty. Without a clear enemy, how do we even measure it?

"When it comes to loyalty, the first thing to ask is, loyalty to whom? The Daoist Order? Or one's superior? In my opinion, most people are loyal to the one holding their lifeline. Also, how is loyalty shown? Flattery and blind obedience are the bare minimum. More importantly, there are two things. One, shared interests—being passengers on the same boat. Two, benefit exchange—whoever delivers more gain is seen as more loyal. Eventually, the person holding the Daoist crown will place it on the head of the most loyal follower.

"From that perspective, that superintendent was indeed loyal, but he chose the wrong person to be loyal to and the wrong way to express it."