Qi Xuansu said, “How could you come to a place by yourself? Aren’t you afraid of being eaten alive? Who gave you such courage?”
Qin Xiang looked at the corpse of her bodyguard with a complicated expression.
Noticing her gaze, Qi Xuansu asked, “Who is he?”
“He’s my milk brother,” Qin Xiang replied.
Most mothers from wealthy families did not nurse their own babies. Instead, they hired wet nurses, who also had their own children. The children who were nursed by the same woman had a milk kinship even though they had different parentage. Some milk siblings had close relationships because they grew up together. That was how some of the emperors chose their confidants.
Qi Xuansu glanced at the corpse. “He’s also a child who doesn’t know the dangers of the world. Did he agree to accompany you here as soon as you asked him to?”
Qin Xiang squatted beside the corpse and kept silent.
“What about the person who tricked you?” Qi Xuansu pressed on.
Qin Xiang shook her head.
Qi Xuansu did not bother to guess whether she was shaking her head because she did not know or if she just did not want to mention it. He said, “Lead me to the nearest city. After I’m done with my work, I can help you find your way home.”
Qin Xiang slowly raised her head and glanced at Qi Xuansu. “Is this your first time here too?”
Qi Xuansu remarked, “The number of times someone has been somewhere doesn’t matter. What’s more important is having the ability to protect oneself.”
Qin Xiang said softly, “I only know how to get to one city.”
“That’s good enough.” Qi Xuansu did not mind.
Qin Xiang stood up. She stopped staring at her bodyguard’s corpse and said, “I’ve done some research about that city. Back in the Wei Dynasty, it used to be the border between the Central Plains and the Golden Horde. But today, the Great Xuan Dynasty has regained Xizhou, so Yongzhou is no longer the frontier of our empire. When Emperor Gaozu abolished the military household system, the battalion that used to be stationed in that city was disbanded.”
Qi Xuansu had an epiphany. “That explains why this place has become no man’s land. After all, this kind of place is not suitable for habitation. After the troops were no longer stationed here, the government stopped taking care of this place and gave some people the opportunity to dominate the area. If you’ve done research on this place, why didn’t you suspect that something was wrong?”
Qin Xiang shook her head. “We have strict laws in this dynasty. No one will dare to—”
Qi Xuansu laughed loudly and mocked her. “Right. The people here might not dare to openly resist the Imperial Court, but that doesn’t mean they won’t dare to commit crimes. Rebellion and petty crimes are completely different. Got it?”
“Right.” Qin Xiang nodded embarrassedly.
Qi Xuansu decided to be a nice guy. He circulated some qi to his feet and stomped a shallow pit in the ground, where he placed the body of Qin Xiang’s milk brother. He then covered the body with a pile of gravel, making a simple grave.
After doing this, he sighed and thought to himself. How did I become in just six months? I wouldn’t have done this before, nor would I be so careless.
Qin Xiang was baffled, but she still bowed three times in front of the makeshift grave.
Qi Xuansu sighed, looked around, and found Qin Xiang’s horse not far away.
Previously, Qin Xiang and her bodyguard had escaped on horseback. They only got surrounded after falling off their horses. The bodyguard’s horse had long fled. Unexpectedly, Qin Xiang’s horse did not abandon its owner. It wandered around nearby and approached Qin Xiang once the group left.
Qi Xuansu looked at the horse carefully. “This is a good horse. Judging by this alone, you must come from a good family, huh?”
Qin Xiang approached her horse and gently stroked its mane.
Qi Xuansu said, “Get on your horse. I don’t think you can travel far on foot.”
“What about you?” Qin Xiang asked.
Qi Xuansu took out the Jiamas from Zhang Yuelu and tied one to each of his legs again. “Don’t worry about me.”
Qin Xiang got on her horse, glanced at the Jiamas on Qi Xuansu’s legs, and asked, “Are you from the Daoist Order?”
“That’s none of your business. You just need to lead the way. Only talk if I ask you a question.” Qi Xuansu was not interested in talking to this brainless woman.
Qin Xiang was certainly not the brightest, unlike Zhang Yuelu, who could see through Qi Xuansu’s lies with just a few sentences. In his opinion, this noble lady was certainly brainless to get tricked into this hellhole.
Although Qi Xuansu thought that she was brainless, Qin Xiang was still smart enough to go in the right direction. They traveled for about 15 kilometers before taking a short break. Along the way, they did not see a single town and only saw a few passersby.
During their break, Qin Xiang could not hold back her curiosity. “Sir, are you a member of the Daoist Order? I also know some people from the Daoist Order. Perhaps we have some mutual friends!”
“I used to be a member of the Daoist Order, but I’m just a solo traveler now,” Qi Xuansu replied.
“You’re also a former Daoist?” Qin Xiang gasped.
“Also? Who else do you know who is also a former Daoist? Is it the person who tricked you into coming here?” Qi Xuansu was quick to catch on.
Qin Xiang did not expect Qi Xuansu to deduce the truth from just one word. She did not know how to cover it up, so she answered reluctantly, “Yeah.”
“Then what is his current identity?” Qi Xuansu asked.
Qin Xiang mumbled, “He is now a member of the Eight Tribes.”
“The founding fathers of the Eight Tribes used to be high-ranking Daoist priests who betrayed the Daoist Order. Over the years, they have continued to recruit Daoist disciples to join them.” Qi Xuansu was surprised. “The Eight Tribes is a secret society. Didn’t your parents warn you about the dangers of secret societies? Or are you at a rebellious age where you like to go against your parents?”
Qin Xiang remained silent.
Seeing this, Qi Xuansu shook his head in disapproval.
It was not necessarily wrong to rebel against one’s parents. Even Confucius, who was an advocate of filial piety, agreed that children should speak up if a parent was doing something unjust. That was because justice came before obedience. However, it was only allowed if the reason was justified.
Rebelling against one’s parents was still frowned upon. But it was highly dependent on the situation. Take Zhang Yuelu as an example. Her opposition to her mother could be viewed as right or wrong. At least, Zhang Yuelu’s reason was justified. Qin Xiang’s reason was fundamentally wrong.
At the same time, Qi Xuansu became more vigilant because there were members of the Eight Tribes around this area.
According to Madam Qi, the reason the Eight Tribes betrayed the Daoist Order was that their ideas were rejected by the Holy Xuan and the second-generation Earthly Preceptor for being too radical or cruel. That was why they left the Daoist Order to continue their research.
The Earthly Preceptor and the Heavenly Preceptor were titles that had been passed down for a long time. However, the Earthly Preceptor lineage was very chaotic, unlike the Heavenly Preceptor’s. Therefore, after the Holy Xuan revived the Daoist Order, he appointed his teacher, Xu Wugui, as the first-generation Earthly Preceptor.
The second-generation Earthly Preceptor was the Holy Xuan’s junior apprentice sister. She was a legendary figure who served as the Great Sage of the Quanzhen Sect and was put in charge of inventions. She also bombarded Shangqing Town before the Holy Xuan integrated the Daoist sects.
After the Holy Xuan integrated the Daoist sects, she married the Heavenly Preceptor, becoming the matron of the Zhang family. She was a ruthless and decisive figure, like Donghuang, whose merits and faults required a deeper understanding of the situation before jumping to a conclusion. Such a ruthless figure had rejected the founders of the Eight Tribes, which indicated just how radical those people were.
Different from the Ziguang Society, the Cult of Fates, and the Lingshan Witch Cult, most people classified the Eight Tribes in the same category as the Qingping Society, the Seven Treasure Pavilion, and The Inn, which were more neutral. They did not deliberately oppose the Daoist Order. But among these secret societies, the Eight Tribes was the most unpredictable.
If these secret societies were described as people, the Ziguang Society would be a charming woman; the Cult of Fates would be a dying old man; the Lingshan Witch Cult would be a madman with bloody hands; the Heavenly Court would be a delusional person; the Qingping Society would be a mysterious person; the Seven Treasure Pavilion would be a businesswoman; The Inn would be a businessman; and the Eight Tribes would be a stubborn scholar.
At first glance, the stubborn scholar looked like a normal person with a bookish temperament, but no one knew when he would go crazy because of his ideas. That made him unpredictable, so most people were careful when dealing with the Eight Tribes.
The Qingping Society had interactions with the Eight Tribes and could be considered partners. The Eight Tribes needed money, and the Qingping Society needed all kinds of weird research from the Eight Tribes, such as the technology to implant Auxiliary Hearts.
As Qin Xiang and Qi Xuansu continued on their journey, Qin Xiang turned to stare at the mysterious man next to her, full of curiosity.
Qi Xuansu did not have any feelings for Qin Xiang. After meeting a woman like Zhang Yuelu, he had no interest in other women.
The duo walked for more than five kilometers until they finally saw a town in the distance.
As Madam Qi mentioned, there were indeed small towns scattered in the desert. This town was far smaller than Xiping Prefecture.
Qi Xuansu signaled for Qin Xiang to rein in her horse. Then he took out his cloak from his satchel and handed it to Qin Xiang. “Don’t forget to return it to me.”
Qin Xiang was stunned for a moment. She took Qi Xuansu’s cloak and put it on with a complicated expression, but it was covered by the hood.
Qi Xuansu looked at the town in the distance and gently stroked his silver fish talisman.
This city was constructed of rammed earth. It was not what Qi Xuansu imagined to be the location of the White Jade Hall.
It seemed that finding this White Jade Hall would not be an easy task.