A Pawn's Passage-Chapter 1283: Conditions

Sage Donghua stopped painting and straightened up from his chair. “You opened a coffin and examined a body?”

From Sage Donghua’s reaction, he appeared to be unaware of what Qi Xuansu did last night.

However, people at his level were naturally skilled at acting, often more convincing than professional performers, so who could say for sure?

Qi Xuansu continued, “Yes...I dug up my master Qi Haoran’s grave.”

Sage Donghua said something that seemed unrelated. “I once thought it a pity that you already had a master. If you hadn’t had one, you could’ve become my disciple. Do you have any plans to change allegiances now?”

Qi Xuansu gave a wry smile. “Sage Donghua, you’re still in the mood for jokes?”

“I’m not joking. Master and disciple are like father and son. Although the Daoist Order rejects Confucianism, the Confucian ideals of loyalty and filial piety still linger deeply in our society. If word got out that you dug up your master’s grave, it would be a massive scandal, far worse than those baseless scandals about your romantic exploits.” Sage Donghua set down his brush. “By the way, did Qing Xiao tell you about the complaint letter against you?”

Qi Xuansu looked confused. “What complaint? Qing Xiao never mentioned it.”

That was not Zhang Yuelu’s fault. Given Qi Xuansu’s state yesterday, how could she possibly bring it up? Most of her energy had gone into comforting him, so she had left this for later.

Sage Donghua stared at him. “Though there is a saying that husband and wife are one entity, you two aren’t officially Daoist companions yet. She resolved the matter for you, so you should at least show some appreciation.”

Qi Xuansu hurriedly replied, “Yes, Sage.”

Sage Donghua lost interest in painting and sat behind the desk, wiping his hands with a cloth as he asked, “What did you find after opening the coffin?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “Nothing.”

Sage Donghua’s hand paused slightly as he wiped, but he said nothing.

Qi Xuansu continued, “To be precise, there was no body, but a sword remained. I think it’s a Liberation Incarnation from a Corpse Liberation Immortal.”

Sage Donghua’s eyes lit up briefly before returning to normal. “What made you suddenly decide to open the coffin?”

Qi Xuansu fell silent for a moment, then decided to bet on Sage Donghua protecting him. “I went to the Lingshan Paradise.”

Sage Donghua’s tone turned solemn. “How dare you go to the Lingshan Paradise without the Earthly Preceptor’s permission?”

Qi Xuansu did not defend himself and instead admitted his fault frankly. “I failed to seek approval beforehand and acted rashly. I am willing to accept punishment.”

In truth, Qi Xuansu could have refused to admit fault without much consequence, since he had gone back to the Lingshan Paradise of decades past, before his current self even existed. This paradox made it difficult to gather evidence. However, doing so would have made it harder for him to demonstrate his sincerity to Sage Donghua.

Sage Donghua merely acknowledged it and showed no intention of holding Qi Xuansu accountable. He did not even ask about the details of what happened in Lingshan Paradise. “How does this relate to your master, Qi Haoran?”

Qi Xuansu explained, “The Lingshan Paradise has nothing to do with my master, but it does involve Madam Qi. After returning from the Lingshan Paradise, I had a long talk with her and learned certain details, which led to this coffin examination.”

Sage Donghua did not need further detail. He seemed to have grasped the general chain of events and fell into thoughtful silence without immediately expressing an opinion.

Qi Xuansu simply waited quietly.

After a long while, Sage Donghua finally spoke. “I understand.”

Qi Xuansu did not immediately take his leave. Instead, he looked at Sage Donghua.

Normally, Qi Xuansu would not have been so impatient, but this time was an exception. He wanted a clear answer.

Sage Donghua was tolerant toward him and offered reassurance. “I will investigate personally. A mysterious Corpse Liberation Immortal hiding within the Daoist order must surely be pursuing something significant.”

Hearing those words reassured Qi Xuansu, so he finally stood to take his leave.

Qi Xuansu had the impression that Sage Donghua was only startled initially and later seemed to piece something together, as though connecting existing clues. Perhaps Sage Donghua knew part of the truth and had certain suspicions, but was still unclear of the full picture. Qi Xuansu’s report seemed to provide him with an important missing piece of the puzzle.

Sage Donghua did not urge Qi Xuansu to leave. Instead, he even made a suggestion. “Since your master may not truly exist and has a questionable identity—perhaps with hidden motives—your master-disciple relationship can be annulled. As the Ziwei Hall Master responsible for personnel matters, I can authorize this official annulment of your relationship with Qi Haoran.”

Qi Xuansu was stunned speechless.

Sage Donghua continued, “Besides this, I have another suggestion. Ever since my previous disciple, Qi Jianyuan, died, his vacancy among my disciples has yet to be filled. Would you be willing to take me as your master? Though I am currently only at the Pseudo-Immortal stage, I’m not far from the Longevity stage and can still offer you guidance.”

Qi Xuansu had never expected Sage Donghua to propose such a condition, so he did not know how to respond for a moment.

A master-disciple relationship resembled that of father and son, but in the end, it was not truly the same.

Parent-child relationships were fated at birth, but master-disciple bonds were not necessarily so.

Over the years, it had been increasingly common to see masters and disciples turning against one another.

People often said disciples need not be inferior to their masters, with some even surpassing their elders. At that stage, a master would no longer be a source of support and would become a burden instead, leading some to seek a new allegiance and find a stronger master and a more powerful backing. The downside was moral condemnation and damage to one’s reputation. A prime example was Li Minghuang.

Qi Xuansu had never entertained such thoughts before. He had fully committed himself to Qi Haoran, often speaking at length about how good his master was and how he would not be who he was today without his master. He had even placed his master alongside Madam Qi, practically regarding him as a father figure.

Due to this, the revelation of Qi Haoran’s fake identity was a devastating blow to Qi Xuansu.

Now that everything was fake, Qi Xuansu’s steadfast devotion toward his master felt pointless. It only made him look like a fool.

Sage Donghua was in the midst of competing for the position of Grand Master, so he would not want to risk any stain on his reputation. After all, snatching a disciple from a dead master would sound terrible.

Likewise, such a move would not reflect well on Qi Xuansu either. Changing allegiance could raise doubts about his character, beliefs, and moral integrity. In this age where people were obsessed with moral purity, criticism was inevitable.

However, the situation was different now that they discovered something wrong with Qi Haoran’s identity.

Now, renouncing Qi Haoran as a master became justified. That was because a Corpse Liberation Immortal who deliberately hid his identity and pretended to be killed by The Inn’s assassin was surely up to no good. There was certainly something fishy here.

That was why Sage Donghua proposed taking Qi Xuansu as his disciple.

Qi Xuansu immediately recognized two problems.

First, if Sage Donghua took him as a disciple, it could not be done in secret and had to be done openly to avoid gossip. As such, the full situation would have to be explained, painting Qi Haoran as a fraud. Making Qi Haoran’s fake identity public would amount to an open showdown with the mastermind behind it all, which was not Qi Xuansu’s original intent.

Second, Sage Donghua was not really offering to teach Qi Xuansu anything. Qi Xuansu was a manmade Banished Immortal who relied on Xuan Jades for progress. Their master-disciple relationship was actually a matter of political succession.

Long ago, people had already likened Qi Xuansu to Sage Donghua’s “legitimate eldest son.” By contrast, Yao Pei was Sage Donghua’s “stepdaughter” gained through marriage. If Sage Donghua formally accepted Qi Xuansu as a disciple, it would make that relationship explicit, which would signal Yao Pei’s exit from the race of eight-generation Grand Master. This would also bind Qi Xuansu and Sage Donghua together. If Qi Xuansu wanted to compete for Grand Master, reputation was crucial. He could not betray his master. It would also imply going against the Earthly Preceptor and the Yao family.

What had pushed Sage Donghua into making this decision? Was it the puzzle piece Qi Xuansu provided that made Sage Donghua connect many dots?

But Qi Xuansu was not ready. Everything had happened too suddenly. When facing Yao Liu in Lingshan Paradise, Qi Xuansu had still been stressing the importance of leaving a way out. Whether in mindset or in practical action, Qi Xuansu was nowhere near prepared.

Besides, Qi Xuansu still had not fully let go of Qi Haoran.

Qi Xuansu fell silent for a moment. “It’s too sudden. I don’t quite know how to answer you, Sage.”

Sage Donghua showed his tolerance yet again. “There’s no need to rush. You can go back and think it over carefully. Ask Qing Xiao, Madam Qi, and the Heavenly Preceptor for their opinions, then give me your answer.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. If he wanted Sage Donghua fully on his side, he would have to become the Sage’s disciple. Only by binding them completely would they leave no room for betrayal. Would Sage Donghua withstand the pressure and help him with his whole heart?