A Pawn's Passage

During the former Wei Dynasty, the empire had two capitals, one in the east and one in the west. The capital in the east was the Imperial Capital, and the capital in the west was Xijing.

Xijing also served as the former capital of several dynasties, including the Qi Dynasty. It was grand and majestic, said to be the largest capital city in the world at that time.

However, Xijing was a city with many tragedies, including several massacres in the late Qi Dynasty and the late Jin Dynasty. In the former Wei Dynasty, this city had also experienced several wars.

During the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Mingyong of the Wei Dynasty, the Golden Horde Khanate, located on the vast northern grasslands, repeatedly invaded the border from the northwest. By the 22nd year, the Golden Horde army came to Xijing City.

Emperor Mingyong issued an order for Qi Ying, the governor of Qinzhong, to form an alliance with the Ilkhanate of the Golden Horde. The Wei Dynasty compensated the Golden Horde army with 7,560 kilograms of gold, 502,731 kilograms of silver, 150 million kilograms of grain, 150,000 kilograms of tea, and 300,000 bolts of silk. In addition, they ceded the three prefectures of Liangzhou and one prefecture in Qinzhou to the Golden Horde. In return, the Golden Horde army withdrew its troops.

In the 10th year of Emperor Wude of the Wei Dynasty’s reign, Qi Ying, the governor of Qinzhong, died suddenly. The Ilkhanate led the Golden Horde army southbound again and captured Xijing City. Emperor Wude was furious and frightened, falling ill and leaving the affairs of the court to Empress Xie and the Chief Cabinet Minister, Zhang Suqing.

Under the leadership of Zhang Suqing, the court refused to negotiate peace. Instead, he mobilized troops from Shuzhou, Zhongzhou, Jinzhou, and Yanzhou, personally led by Qin Wubing’s ancestor, Commander Qin Xiang[1]. They launched a battle with the Golden Horde army in Qinzhou and forced the Golden Horde army to retreat to Liangzhou.

The following year, the Golden Horde army withdrew due to a lack of food and fodder. Just when Commander Qin Xiang was planning to regain Qinzhou and Liangzhou, the terminally ill Emperor Wude passed away. In the same year, famine broke out in Qinzhou and Liangzhou, leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees homeless.

Back then, the Earthly Preceptor took the opportunity to plot an uprising, sweeping across the two states and occupying Xijing. He even elected Tantai Yun as the co-leader.

At this time, the young Holy Xuan came to Liangzhou and witnessed hell on earth. Therefore, this ignited his ambition to bring peace to the world.

The Wei Dynasty was turbulent due to the new emperor’s accession to the throne. Thus, Qinzhou and Liangzhou were neglected. In the second year of Emperor Tianbao’s reign, Empress Dowager Xie launched a rebellion and executed four revered cabinet ministers, including Zhang Suqing.

Among the charges listed was the inability to fully negotiate peace with the Golden Horde, which led to the uprising. After Zhang Suqing was killed, Commander Qin Xiang, who was favored by Zhang Suqing, was also implicated. Commander Qin Xiang was dismissed from office and imprisoned. However, he was rescued and managed to return to his hometown.

Later, the Holy Xuan assisted Commander Qin Xiang in fleeing to Liaodong. That was how Commander Qin Xiang earned his title as a Commandery Prince, as he was instrumental in the later establishment of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

After Commander Qin Xiang’s imprisonment, the Imperial Court no longer had any capable generals. They tried several times to regain the northwest but were defeated by Tantai Yun. Countless troops were lost, and the treasury became increasingly empty, making it difficult to continue the war.

In the third year of Emperor Tianbao’s reign, Tantai Yun led her army to invade Shuzhou and defeated the Imperial Army. In just one year, Tantai Yun pacified 16 tribes in southern Xinjiang. They gained independence and established their own country, naming it the Zhou Empire and making Xijing its capital.

The Zhou Empire firmly occupied the northwest even when the Holy Xuan led the Daoist Order to defeat the Confucian School and the Great Xuan Dynasty replaced the Wei Dynasty.

After Commander Qin Xiang transformed from a criminal of the Wei Dynasty to the hero of the Great Xuan Dynasty, he once again led his army to regain the northwest with the cooperation of the Daoist Order.

Tantai Yun saw that the situation was awry, so she reached an agreement with the Holy Xuan and fled to the Western Region. As a result, the Tantai family was divided into two branches—the Confucian Tantai family and the Daoist Tantai family.

Zhang Yuelu’s mother, Tantai Qiong, was born in the Confucian Tantai family. But she married into a Daoist family and became a Daoist disciple. The Daoist Tantai family went overseas and were said to have taken root in the Western Continent.

After the Great Xuan Dynasty regained the northwest, they rested for 10 years before raising troops again to defeat the Golden Horde and regain Xizhou, establishing the Xizhou Protectorate.

Taking into account that Xijing was once the capital of the Zhou Empire, the Great Xuan Dynasty renamed Xijing as Xijing Prefecture.

The Qinzhou Daoist Mansion and Wuxu Palace were both located in Xijing Prefecture. Wuxu Palace was once the royal palace of the Qi Dynasty and was later occupied by Tantai Yun before falling into the hands of the Daoist Order. Legend has it that there used to be a paradise in Wuxu Palace, but it had disappeared. However, no one knew if the paradise had collapsed or if it had disappeared due to other reasons.

......

Difei Mountain was located just outside Xijing Prefecture. Thus, once Qi Xuansu left the boundary of Difei Mountain, he had already entered the boundary of Xijing Prefecture.

Although Qi Xuansu did not know that Feng Bo was chasing him or that he had accidentally escaped Feng Bo’s grasp twice, he did not forget that he had offended the Heavenly Court, so he still took precautions.

That was why Qi Xuansu would take the route with more people wherever he went, since the more populated places would have more governance from the Imperial Court and the Daoist Order. Hence, there would be fewer secret society members daring to act rashly.

Feng Bo could tell that Qi Xuansu was heading to Xijing. He could not help but curse the young man for being so shrewd as to choose such populated places, making it all the more difficult to get rid of him.

Xijing Prefecture was not a stronghold like Difei Mountain, but it was still risky to kill someone there. Feng Bo could hide his identity and sneak into Xijing Prefecture, but he would only have one shot at killing Qi Xuansu. Whether he succeeded or not, he would have to retreat in time. Otherwise, he would likely fall into danger.

Feng Bo was certain that Qi Xuansu was a member of the Daoist Order or the Imperial Court. Thus, he believed that Qi Xuansu would seek help from these behemoths. If that were the case, the Imperial Court and the Daoist Order would not sit idly by. What Feng Bo did not know was that Qi Xuansu was a fraud.

After much consideration, Feng Bo decided to make his move in Xijing City. The reason was that he was afraid Qi Xuansu would cause more trouble, especially since Qi Xuansu had already escaped from his grasp twice. Feng Bo was impatient to get rid of this young man.

Secondly, if he kept pursuing Qi Xuansu, they would enter the densely populated Central Plains, like Yongzhou, Xizhou, Liangzhou, and other places. The Daoist Order and the Imperial Court were more powerful there. It was also the core sphere of influence of the Quanzhen Sect, with checkpoints everywhere. That was why secret society members had to hide their identities and dared not blatantly reveal themselves.

Feng Bo also noticed that Qi Xuansu was taking the Beimang Mountain route. It was the second most famous mountain of the Quanzhen Sect after Difei Mountain. This was the base of the Gezao Sect back then. Huasheng Hall had also set up three huge manufacturing plants and a paradise there.

Past Beimang Mountain was the Longmen Prefecture and the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. The Wanxiang Daoist Palace had a special status within the Daoist Order since all high-ranking priests would have to train at the Upper Palace before being promoted to the fourth rank. It was considered the core area of ​​the Daoist Order, so it would be difficult for Feng Bo to escape if he made a move there.

Another reason was that the connection between Feng Bo and Qi Xuansu was getting weaker by the day as the tracking spell waned. If Feng Bo did not make a move this time in Xijing Prefecture, he would lose track of Qi Xuansu.

Thus, Feng Bo decided to take a risk and kill Qi Xuansu as soon as possible. It would be best if he could succeed, but if he could not, he could just behead a person of a similar size to Qi Xuansu and burn it until it was unrecognizable. This was so that he could provide an explanation to his subordinates and boost morale within the Heavenly Court. The only drawback was that his subordinates would inevitably have doubts if he were to produce a charred head. If that happened, it would hinder the opening of a new local altar.

On the other side, Qi Xuansu kept going until he finally arrived at Xijing City.

As the secondary capital of the former Wei Dynasty and the capital of the Zhou Empire, Xijing was more prosperous than Xiping Prefecture and Tianshui Prefecture. However, it could not compare to Shangqing Prefecture and Jiangling Prefecture.

Qi Xuansu led his horse and stood in front of the city gate, looking up at the Xijing city walls. The city wall seemed to cover the sky, with no end on the left and right sides. It was said that six horses could run parallel on top of the city wall. Only such a wide city wall would be equipped with rows of artillery and crossbows, making it an awe-inspiring sight.

The city wall, with thousands of years of rich history, exuded a solemn and oppressive air.

This city had witnessed the rise and fall of many dynasties as well as many heroes and talents.

What a majestic city!

1. A different character from the District Princess Qin Xiang. ☜

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