A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 240: The Xiang Residence

The northwest was vast and sparsely populated, with many uninhabited places. Most of the population was concentrated near a few large cities.

Before Xizhou was annexed, Liangzhou was the border territory. This region had changed hands several times and was constantly at war. Thus, corpses and bloodshed were common. Besides war, the region also suffered locust plagues and droughts, resulting in famine and epidemics due to the diseased bodies that were not properly dealt with.

The Holy Court’s Book of Revelation stated that a Lamb would open the seven seals and summon four horsemen, each riding a white, red, black, and pale horse, respectively. These horsemen would bring plague, war, famine, and death to humanity, which was subject to the final judgment. At that time, the harmony of heaven and earth would be disrupted, the sun and the moon would change color, and the world would face destruction.

Back then, Liangzhou had gathered the so-called Four Horsemen, so it was no exaggeration to say that there were nine empty houses out of ten in the city. As a result, human meat markets became a common occurrence.

At the time, the 20-year-old Holy Xuan visited Liangzhou. He was not a flowerbed priest at that age and had already experienced many storms, conflicts, and wars. Yet even after seeing so much bloodshed, he was still shocked by the gory scene in Liangzhou, which was akin to purgatory on Earth. That was when the Holy Xuan vowed to save the world, leading to his future success in reviving the Daoist Order and replacing the former Wei Dynasty with the Great Xuan Dynasty.

After so many generations of recuperation, Liangzhou finally regained some of its prosperity, but compared to other states, its population was still sparse.

It did not matter to Qi Xuansu whether the city was prosperous or populated. With the Black Robes badge that Qin Wubing gave him, Qi Xuansu could travel using the identity of a soldier. Thus, with this identity, it would be safest for him to be in bigger cities.

Tianshui Prefecture had a Green Phoenix Guard Lieutenant Colonel’s Office as well as a Black Robes Camp since it was near the border. With these authorities around, no one would dare cause trouble.

That was why Qi Xuansu decided to stop in the capital city of Tianshui Prefecture to take a rest. If he wanted a leisurely stay, he could go to the Taiping Inn. He could also stay at the Qingping Society’s contact point if he wanted to save money.

However, he had just entered the territory of Tianshui Prefecture, so he would have to pass through several counties to get to the capital city.

Qi Xuansu wanted to go straight to the capital of Tianshui Prefecture without stopping, but he encountered a cold wave. Although in some places like Jiangnan and the south, the apricot blossoms were already gently falling in the spring rain, the northwest was still cold, as if it had not yet emerged from the lingering chill of winter. This cold wave did not just cause a sudden drop in temperature; it was also snowing heavily.

Fortunately, Qi Xuansu was wearing a wind-resistant cloak. As a Xiantian Being, his blood qi, innate qi, and strong physique also made him resistant to the cold. Thus, he was not afraid of this weather. However, his horse would not be able to withstand the arduous journey in such temperatures. It would get frostbite, which would hinder Qi Xuansu’s travels.

When Qi Xuansu went on the expedition to the Western Region with Tiangang Hall, they rode horses provided by the Daoist Order. Those horses were carefully selected and bred by the Daoist Order to have excellent endurance in tough environments. They could run at full speed for long distances and were resistant to the cold and drought, unlike ordinary horses.

Good horses were valuable and hard to come by. Qi Xuansu bought this grade horse for less than 50 Taiping coins, so he got exactly what he paid for. This horse could make his journey less tiring, but it could not be comparable to the Daoist Order’s troop.

Therefore, Qi Xuansu had to find temporary shelter from the cold. Since most of Liangzhou was desolate, there were not many inns on the outskirts of the city.

After the invention of the rapid post talisman, urgent messages no longer had to be delivered by people. Thus, the functions of rest stops were greatly reduced. They were mainly used to receive court officials. However, since Liangzhou was mostly occupied by military personnel and lacked government offices, there were not many visiting court officials in the region. That was why most of the rest stops were abolished.

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to continue forward in search of a temporary shelter.

After walking for about 10 kilometers, Qi Xuansu finally found a village called the Xiang Family Fortress. Different from the villages in Jiangnan and Jiangbei, this place was fortified, surrounded by high and thick walls with turrets and arrow towers. There was also a drawbridge. So in case of bandit attacks or wars, this village could transform into a stronghold for self-defense. This could be considered a relic of the past wars.

Now that the region was at peace, the drawbridge was lowered so people could go in and out freely.

Qi Xuansu rode into the fortified village. Due to the heavy snow, every house had its doors shut. Qi Xuansu walked along the main road and came to a mansion. There were lanterns hanging in the corners and a black plaque with gold-painted words in the middle that read, “The Xiang Residence.”

This residence belonged to the gentry.

The reason Qi Xuansu could tell that this residence belonged to the gentry was its naming. Regardless of the change in dynasties, there were strict regulations on the naming of residences. Generally speaking, the abodes of the noble family, court officials, and commoners were called mansions, residences, and homes, respectively. Palaces and halls were reserved exclusively for the imperial family, and those who used them without permission could be charged with treason.

In the Great Xuan Dynasty, the residences of first- and second-rank court officials and princes were called mansions. Other officials’ houses were called residences, and commoners’ houses were called homes.

The Daoist community did not abide by these rules. Since the Daoist Order was powerful, the Imperial Court could not do anything about the naming of the various palaces, halls, and Daoist mansions. Strictly speaking, these palaces and halls were not residences but places of worship dedicated to the Daoist ancestors and gods. Thus, it was considered a special exemption.

The fact that this house had a plaque with the name “The Xiang Residence” meant that someone in the family was a court official, but not above the second rank.

Qi Xuansu only learned this through experience from his lone travels after his master’s death. When he was fresh out of the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, he could never identify the types of houses based on a plaque. He would only think that this residence belonged to an ordinary rich man.

He dismounted and went forward to knock on the door.

After a while, a doorman opened the door from the inside. When the doorman saw Qi Xuansu with a snow-covered cloak, he asked in surprise, “Sir, what brings you here?”

Qi Xuansu took out his badge and imitated the stern tone of the Black Robes. “I am a subordinate of General Loulan. With this heavy snowfall, I will need a place to take shelter. I hope your master will allow me to stay for the night.”

When the doorman saw the genuine Black Robes badge, he dared not neglect Qi Xuansu and bowed. “Please wait a moment, sir. I will report this to my master first. May I show this badge to my master for verification?”

“Sure.” Qi Xuansu handed over his badge and took a few steps back.

The doorman took the badge, bowed again, and quickly went inside.

After a while, the doorman came back with another servant. He returned the badge to Qi Xuansu using both hands and said, “My master would like to invite you in for a chat. Please follow me, sir.”

At the same time, the servant at the back stepped forward to take the horse’s reins from Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu walked into the residence with the doorman leading the way.

The residence was quite large, with two entrances and plenty of vegetation around. Although the plants were withered due to the cold weather, Qi Xuansu could imagine the garden’s grandeur in the warmer months.

However, not long after Qi Xuansu entered the gate, he felt his heart skip a beat and his back pricked by a needle. Something seemed wrong.

He frowned slightly and stared intently at the doorman walking in front using his Yin-Yang Eyes, a slight attainment mystical ability that he had not used for a long time. This slight attainment method came from the Diviner’s lineage. It was inferior to the Diviner’s average attainment method, Seer Eyes. Seer Eyes could immobilize ghosts, while Yin-Yang Eyes could only detect ghosts and spirits.

However, Yin-Yang Eyes was enough for Qi Xuansu. With it, he saw a change in the scene before him. However, he did not expect the Three Yang Lights on the doorman to be shining brightly. There was nothing abnormal about it.

Daoists believed that there were Three Yang Lights on the human body—one on the head and the other two on the shoulders. These were the yang flames in the human body essential for survival. Thus, when walking at night, one should never look over the shoulder when hearing one’s name being called out. That was because one would easily attract ghosts if the yang flames on the shoulders were blown out by one’s breath.

This doorman’s yang flames were burning brightly, so he should not be a ghost. Moreover, with Qi Xuansu’s strong blood qi and killing aura, ordinary ghosts could not get close to him. That was because his blood qi would be unbearably hot to ghosts—akin to a furnace.

Qi Xuansu was puzzled. He thought, Was I imagining things?

However, being an experienced traveler, he still kept his guard up.