A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu’s methods were not enough to fool the Gong family. When Miss Gong calmed down afterward and thought things through, she would also notice all the suspicious aspects of the affair.

That was why Qi Xuansu had called it a risky gambit. If it were not handled properly, it could easily trigger internal conflict.

However, it was a last resort. The investigation into Kukulkan had reached a dead end, leaving Qi Xuansu no choice but to seek a breakthrough through Lin Bufan.

For that reason, after he and Tantai Ying captured Lin Bufan, Qi Xuansu had Tantai Ying interrogate Lin Bufan while he immediately went to meet Great Sage Gong.

After all, Great Sage Gong was the true head of the Gong family. As long as he had no objections, there would be no real problem.

Qi Xuansu arrived at Danxiu Mountain and requested an audience with Great Sage Gong. Thanks to Qi Xuansu’s special status, Great Sage Gong received him immediately.

At this point, Great Sage Gong was still unaware of Lin Bufan’s affair. Qi Xuansu was deliberately exploiting this gap in timing. If Great Sage Gong learned of the incident through another source first, he would inevitably form his own preconceived notions, greatly diminishing the effectiveness of Qi Xuansu’s report. By being the first to report it, however, Qi Xuansu left himself with considerable room to shape the narrative.

Qi Xuansu went straight to the point. “I have come to see Great Sage Gong because I have something to report.”

Great Sage Gong smiled. “You are the Daoist Order’s special envoy. If you have something to report, it should be to the Golden Tower Council or to Sage Qingwei. I am not your superior.”

Qi Xuansu replied, “I wouldn’t put it that way. The Daoist Order and the Western Daoist Order are a family. Besides, this matter concerns you personally, Great Sage Gong.”

Having led the Western Daoist Order for many years, Great Sage Gong naturally caught the deeper meaning behind Qi Xuansu’s words. He nodded and said, “Very well. Go ahead.”

Qi Xuansu took out the file Tantai Ying had given him and handed it over. “Great Sage, please have a look.”

Great Sage Gong accepted the file and skimmed through it quickly, his expression remaining unchanged. “Has this all been verified?”

Only then did Qi Xuansu briefly recount what had happened at the birthday banquet before concluding, “That is the situation. I have already taken Lin Bufan and all those women into custody.”

Great Sage Gong immediately recognized the suspicious aspects of the incident, but he chose not to point them out. Instead, he remarked, “For Lin Bufan to have done something like this, the impact is truly deplorable.”

Qi Xuansu said, “Regarding this matter, I owe Great Sage Gong an apology. The incident unfolded too suddenly, and my handling of it was somewhat hasty, affecting the reputation of the Gong family.”

Great Sage Gong reopened the file and said, “If he didn’t want people to know, then he shouldn’t have done it in the first place. These matters recorded in this file may have been hidden from me and my granddaughter, but could they really be hidden from the people below? It’s like an umbrella. Looking down from above, all you see are beautifully painted umbrella tops. But from underneath, or even at eye level, everything beneath the umbrella is exposed for all to see. Tantai Ying must have known about it long ago. Others have already been laughing behind our backs. All you’ve done is bring it into the open.”

Great Sage Gong’s words eased Qi Xuansu’s concerns. The old man sure was magnanimous. He neither flew into a rage nor turned against Qi Xuansu on the spot, which meant he had acknowledged that Qi Xuansu’s handling of the matter was acceptable.

Of course, viewed from another angle, it could also be said that Great Sage Gong was deeply calculating. Even if he disapproved of Qi Xuansu’s actions, he would never show it immediately. He could just hold a grudge until the time was right for vengeance.

Qi Xuansu still needed to offer some explanation. “The reason I had Chief Tantai investigate Lin Bufan was not that I had any personal grievance against him. I’ve only been on the New Continent for a short time, and I had never even met Lin Bufan before, so there was no possibility of any personal feud. It was entirely a matter of official duty. I suspect that Lin Bufan has connections with the ancient gods.”

Great Sage Gong raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Qi Xuansu was not completely certain, but at this moment, he spoke with confidence. “I’m 90% certain.”

This time, Great Sage Gong truly fell silent.

Within the Western Daoist Order, the three major factions each had their own sphere of influence. The Tantai family maintained dealings with the ancient gods, the Gong family controlled the military, and the Huangfu family had close ties to the Tawantin royal family. Qi Xuansu had first struck at the royal family, then moved against Lin Bufan of the Gong family, and next intended to target the ancient gods. In a sense, this maintained a certain balance.

Qi Xuansu’s explanation was meant to make his position clear. He was acting solely for the public good and had no intention of involving himself in the Western Daoist Order’s internal power struggles.

What concerned Great Sage Gong was not that, but rather Lin Bufan’s alleged ties to the ancient gods. In a sense, such conduct amounted to rebellion.

Before Great Sage Gong could ask any questions, Qi Xuansu voluntarily laid out all of his deductions and suspicions.

After listening to Qi Xuansu’s report, Great Sage Gong said, “In that case, go ahead with your investigation. I have no objections.”

Qi Xuansu rose to his feet. “Thank you for your support, Great Sage Gong.”

Although the Gong family had suffered some embarrassment, Qi Xuansu’s initiative in reporting directly to Great Sage Gong helped repair some of the damage. From another perspective, it also served as a demonstration of authority. After all, Lin Bufan was not truly a member of the Gong family but an outsider by blood. Whether it was carrying on affairs behind Miss Gong’s back or colluding with the ancient gods, both constituted acts of betrayal. His downfall sent a clear message that betraying the Gong family would never end well.

In short, Qi Xuansu’s report achieved its intended effect. Taking various factors into consideration, Great Sage Gong ultimately accepted Qi Xuansu’s decision to act first and report afterward.

Next came the interrogation of Lin Bufan.

Qi Xuansu arrived at the headquarters of the Juesheng Hall, where Lin Bufan was being temporarily detained. Tantai Ying had already begun the preliminary interrogation, but Lin Bufan refused to confess, making his defiant attitude abundantly clear.

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu took over from Tantai Ying and personally began the interrogation. However, Tantai Ying did not leave. She remained in the room as an observer after stepping down as the lead interrogator.

“Second Deputy Lin.” Qi Xuansu spoke.

Lin Bufan glanced at Qi Xuansu. “Chief Deputy Qi, I truly can’t understand this. I’ve never offended you. Whatever instructions you’ve given me, I’ve never dared neglect them. So why are you determined to ruin me like this?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “No, you haven’t offended me. But are you really saying you’ve never neglected my instructions? You deliberately diverted my attention away from the Shadow Tide and toward the Heron Society. Who ordered you to do that?”

Naturally, Lin Bufan refused to admit anything. He said, “I don’t understand what you mean, Chief Deputy Qi. You instructed me to gather intelligence, and I did exactly that. Even if you’re dissatisfied with the results, there’s no need to falsely accuse me.”

Qi Xuansu continued, “Lin Bufan, there’s no point fantasizing that someone will come to rescue you. Miss Gong won’t save you, and Great Sage Gong certainly won’t either. I just came back from meeting Great Sage Gong. He’s deeply disappointed in you.”

Lin Bufan immediately fell silent. He did harbor a sliver of hope that the Gong family would save him.

The Gong family had invested enormous resources in cultivating Lin Bufan. If he were to fall just like that, all those investments would be wasted, and the Gong family would not necessarily be willing to accept such a loss. Thus, Lin Bufan believed the Gong family would save him. Even if they no longer cared about personal ties, they would surely take those sunk costs into consideration.

What Lin Bufan never expected was that Qi Xuansu had actually managed to persuade the Gong family.

Was Qi Xuansu’s influence really that great? Lin Bufan thought. He remained skeptical, suspecting that Qi Xuansu might simply be bluffing to trick him.

Qi Xuansu offered no further explanation. “Since you don’t believe me, then let’s wait for three days and see whether anyone comes to your rescue.”

With that, Qi Xuansu concluded the first round of interrogation.

Qi Xuansu had some experience in this regard. The best approach was to leave the suspect alone for a few days, completely cut off from the outside world. Deprived of any external information, people would inevitably grow anxious, and sometimes they would even talk themselves into defeat.

Interrogation was a game of feints and truths, using deception and applying pressure whenever necessary. Constantly pressuring the suspect did not necessarily produce better results. If Qi Xuansu appeared impatient, Lin Bufan would realize that Qi Xuansu lacked any concrete evidence and would naturally become more confident. On the other hand, if Qi Xuansu remained calm, Lin Bufan would begin to lose his nerve. Lin Bufan’s offenses were certainly not capital crimes, and whether he confessed voluntarily would affect everything that followed. Without resorting to violence, interrogation was fundamentally a battle of psychology.

Of course, once violence was used, whether one confessed or resisted became largely meaningless. The verdict would be whatever the interrogators decided, because they alone held the power to interpret the law.

The end of the year was fast approaching, and there was no chance for Qi Xuansu to return home for the New Year. Fortunately, the Daoist Order did not place much importance on traditional festivals such as the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Lunar New Year.

Officially, the Daoist Order regarded the Three Yuan Festivals as the most significant: the Shangyuan Festival on January 15th, the Zhongyuan Festival on July 15th, and the Xiayuan Festival on October 15th. Of these, the Shangyuan Festival was the grandest, celebrated as the day when the Heavenly Official bestowed blessings.

Yet Qi Xuansu would not be able to return even for the Shangyuan Festival. He could only remain in the Southern Continent, missing his family all the more whenever a holiday arrived.

Qi Xuansu had to check in with his family. He first greeted his master, then contacted Madam Qi.

This year, Madam Qi was spending the Shangyuan Festival in Jinling Prefecture. Once the festival was over, she planned to send Little Yin back.

After exchanging a few brief words with Madam Qi, Qi Xuansu asked her to bring Little Yin over. He wanted to chat with the little girl.

Madam Qi was not the least bit jealous of Little Yin’s attention. She cheerfully carried Little Yin over, who was happily eating a candied hawthorn skewer.

As Qi Xuansu grew older, his attitude toward children gradually changed. At first, he had regarded them as optional, even finding them somewhat bothersome. Back then, his heart had been cold and hard. But over time, it softened, especially when children were well-behaved and lovable. At that point, it became impossible not to grow attached.

That was why people said that once a man had both elders and youngsters depending on him, he could no longer remain as cold-hearted or fearless as before. His capacity for recklessness dropped dramatically.

At that stage of life, a man had many vulnerable spots, making him easier to hold in check.

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