A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 39: Provocation

After Qi Xuansu agreed to take on the role of deacon, Zhang Yuelu asked him to leave while she interviewed the other candidates.

When he left the duty room, he happened to bump into someone who was preparing for the interview. It was the sixth-rank Daoist priest carrying the glaive.

Qi Xuansu smiled slightly at him. However, the man looked disdainfully at Qi Xuansu and strode right into the duty room. Qi Xuansu did not mind this and was about to leave when Sun Yongfeng came up to him.

Before Qi Xuansu could speak, Sun Yongfeng gave him a fist-and-palm salute. “Brother Qi, can we have a word in private?”

Qi Xuansu hesitated slightly and nodded.

The Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master had dedicated, independent courtyards. The superintendents, deacons, and other subordinates also stayed there when they were on official duty.

The independent courtyard that Zhang Yuelu resided in was called the Yaoguang Pavilion. Zhang Yuelu, as the Deputy Hall Master, occupied the main hall. Sun Yongfeng, the superintendent, was assigned to the hall next to Zhang Yuelu. However, Zhang Yuelu was on duty, so the door to the main hall was locked at the moment.

According to the rules, every deacon was entitled to one room. The superintendent had two rooms, and the Deputy Hall Master had four rooms. The rest of the subordinates shared a large room.

Sun Yongfeng invited Qi Xuansu into the inner room and ordered the Daoist attendant on duty to serve them tea. Then he asked Qi Xuansu to take a seat. It was a world of difference compared to his treatment of Qi Xuansu in their last meeting at his residence.

After they sat down, Sun Yongfeng calmly placed two large cash notes worth 100 Taiping coins each on the small tea table between them.

Qi Xuansu glanced at it and said, “Mage Sun, this is—”

“There’s no need to address me so formally.” Sun Yongfeng chuckled. “I’m a few years older, so you can call me Brother Sun, just as I call you Brother Qi.”

Qi Xuansu did not dare to take this seriously. “I wouldn’t dare. I’ll address you as Superintendent Sun, then. The Deputy Hall Master prefers us to address each other by our positions in formal situations. But in private, I can address you as Brother Sun.”

Sun Yongfeng nodded and said, “Speaking of the Deputy Hall Master, I wonder what your relationship is with her.”

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Qi Xuansu had expected this. He knew that Zhang Yuelu’s move earlier had pushed him to the forefront, so he did not have to be humble when he could use her name as a backing. It would be a waste if he stupidly admitted that he had just met Zhang Yuelu. That way, Zhang Yuelu would gain all the benefits while he had to bear all the disadvantages.

Qi Xuansu pondered for a while before he said, “We’re just ordinary friends.”

Sun Yongfeng was a cunning fox. If Qi Xuansu had said that they were close friends, he would not have believed it. But hearing Qi Xuansu say that they were just ordinary friends, Sun Yongfeng was less doubtful.

In fact, Qi Xuansu was not lying when he said this. Zhang Yuelu was the one who mentioned that they were friends in their last meeting.

Sun Yongfeng observed Qi Xuansu’s expression, trying to discern something from it. “Brother Qi, since you and the Deputy Hall Master are old acquaintances, why bother asking me for a recommendation?”

Qi Xuansu quickly brushed it off by saying, “I’m sorry, Superintendent Sun, but I had no choice in the matter.”

Sun Yongfeng had suspected that Zhang Yuelu instigated Qi Xuansu to set a trap for him. Hearing this, Sun Yongfeng felt that his suspicion was confirmed and became more convinced that it was indeed a trap.

Qi Xuansu stretched out his hand to hold down the two cash notes on the table and slowly pushed them in front of Sun Yongfeng. “Please accept this as my apology, Superintendent Sun.”

A slight smile appeared on Sun Yongfeng’s face. He did not reject Qi Xuansu’s kindness. Instead, he felt that Qi Xuansu was someone worth making friends with.

Qi Xuansu was disheartened that he had lost 200 Taiping coins. However, he had to ??make the best use of this. He added, “I have one more thing that I would like to ask you, Superintendent Sun.”

“What is it?” Sun Yongfeng was slightly startled.

Qi Xuansu said, “When I came out of the duty room, I met a man with a rather unkind expression. I wonder where he is from.”

Sun Yongfeng had a good memory. “His name is Xu Kou, a sixth-rank Daoist priest. He’s a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Flesh and Blood Realm, nicknamed Little Yama. He was once a major of the Green Phoenix Guard, but he later joined the Daoist Order and worked in the Qizhou Daoist Mansion. He was demoted to a seventh-rank Daoist priest for torturing a prisoner to death.

“Later, he captured a leader of the Qingping Society and was promoted to a sixth-rank Daoist priest again due to his merits. If he clashes with you, you should just bear with him. After all, he’s of sixth rank and a brute. He also has the backing of the Qizhou Daoist Mansion, so he’s not one to be messed with.”

“Thank you for your information, Superintendent Sun.” Qi Xuansu looked surprised, but his heart was in turmoil.

That man had once captured a leader of the Qingping Society.

In the Qingping Society, a D-rank member was only a peripheral member, a C-rank member was a regular member, and a B-rank member was considered a leader. Madam Qi was a B-rank member.

Madam Qi once killed the sixth-rank Daoist priest, Zhuge Yongming, with one move. Although it was a sneak attack, it was clear how much stronger Madam Qi was compared to Qi Xuansu. If Xu Kou could capture a B-rank member of the Qingping Society, he either had a high cultivation level or a strong backer to mobilize enough manpower.

No matter what, Xu Kou was indeed a difficult person to deal with.

At this moment, Sun Yongfeng’s Daoist attendant came over to report that the Deputy Hall Master requested his presence.

Thus, Qi Xuansu stood up and bid him goodbye. “In that case, I won’t bother you any longer.”

Since Zhang Yuelu had something on Sun Yongfeng, he did not dare to neglect the Deputy Hall Master, nor did he try to retain Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu left Yaoguang Pavilion but did not leave Tiangang Hall. After all, he had been appointed as one of the six deacons. After Zhang Yuelu completed the interviews, she would gather everyone to announce the official appointments.

With some time on his hands, Qi Xuansu found a place under the shade of a tree and waited patiently. During this time, a few people came over to make friends with him because they saw how close he was to the Deputy Hall Master, Zhang Yuelu.

When Qi Xuansu was not killing people, he was a talkative and friendly person. He was like a knife placed in its sheath, without a sharp edge, as he entertained those people politely.

Zhang Yuelu’s interviews finally came to an end in the afternoon. More than 30 people were eliminated, not including the superintendent and deacons. Only 72 people were left, with 12 people serving each deacon.

The Deputy Hall Master did not rest after the interviews and immediately summoned everyone to Yaoguang Pavilion.

Qi Xuansu followed the crowd there.

In the courtyard of Yaoguang Pavilion, Zhang Yuelu first introduced the two superintendents who were appointed by the Hall Master. One of them was Sun Yongfeng, while the other was Lingquanzi. Lingquanzi was a Daoist nickname, not his real name. Both of them were fourth-rank Daoist priests, but Sun Yongfeng was the Left Superintendent and had a higher status.

Below them were the six deacons appointed by Zhang Yuelu herself.

As a seventh-rank Daoist priest, Qi Xuansu held the lowest rank among the six deacons. The others were all in the sixth rank, and there was even a fifth-rank deacon.

However, to Qi Xuansu’s surprise, everyone had expected this result. Many of them even nodded knowingly, as if they had predicted that Qi Xuansu would be appointed as a deacon.

Qi Xuansu smiled helplessly. This confirmed his identity as Zhang Yuelu’s confidant. The advantage was that people would fear him and would not dare provoke him. The disadvantage was that they would stay away from him. After all, another nickname for the boss’s confidant was the henchman.

After announcing Qi Xuansu’s appointment, Zhang Yuelu announced Xu Kou’s.

Based on Xu Kou’s ability and qualifications, he could have been promoted to the fifth rank long ago. However, he stayed at the sixth rank because he made too many mistakes. Thus, being a deacon was a reasonable position for him.

Even though they were both deacons, Xu Kou still looked down on Qi Xuansu.

It was amusing how people’s fates intertwined. If Qi Xuansu had just met Zhang Yuelu today, then Zhang Yuelu would not have noticed Qi Xuansu. However, the two of them attended some stranger’s wedding ceremony and drank together without knowing each other’s true identities. That small episode brought them closer than ever before.

In the same way, if Qi Xuansu had met Xu Kou outside the Jade Capital, they might have befriended each other. However, the first time they met was at the gates of Xuan City. The Spirit Guard’s discrimination against Xu Kou, coupled with Zhang Yuelu’s favoritism toward Qi Xuansu, made Xu Kou form a prejudice against Qi Xuansu.

Zhang Yuelu did not rush to announce the candidates for the other four deacons. “Deacon Qi and Deacon Xu are two candidates that I am extremely optimistic about. I hope you two can work well together in the future.”

Qi Xuansu saluted Xu Kou, but the latter merely glanced sideways at him.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Deacon Xu, do you have an eye problem? Why can’t you look straight ahead? Please don’t get offended by my questions because I am merely worried that you're visually impaired. It’ll be a pity if you accidentally slash me with a knife in the future.”

As soon as he said this, several people almost laughed out loud. However, they did not dare to offend Xu Kou, so they quickly lowered their heads and stifled their laughter, but their shoulders were shaking from trying to suppress giggles.

Even Zhang Yuelu curled her lips, feeling amused.

Everyone could tell that the Little Yama was a tough person to deal with. Zhang Yuelu appreciated his talent, but she did not like his temper and style.

Xu Kou did not show his anger, but he finally looked Qi Xuansu straight in the eye, the way he would look at an enemy. “Are you courting death?”

Qi Xuansu said, “So, you can see normally. Why are you so snobbish, then? You can be frank with what you dislike about me.”

Xu Kou narrowed his eyes and sized Qi Xuansu up. “How can a seventh-rank Daoist priest be a deacon? Happy now?”

“Ecstatic.” Qi Xuansu nodded, then glanced at Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu told Qi Xuansu that he had to convince the crowd based on his own capability, but the “crowd” referred to the group of subordinates, not his peers and superiors.

Xu Kou was also a deacon, not Qi Xuansu’s subordinate. In terms of rank, Xu Kou was also one rank higher than Qi Xuansu, so he was not considered part of the “crowd.”

Since Zhang Yuelu wanted Qi Xuansu to be his confidant, she had to give him some support as well.

Zhang Yuelu quietly glared at Qi Xuansu. In the end, she stated, “I appointed Qi Xuansu as a deacon. Deacon Xu, are you questioning my decision?”