A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 329: Presumption of Innocence

Although the Great Xuan Dynasty successively abolished some of the old systems of the previous dynasty, it still preserved some, such as the travel permit system.

This travel permit was for people who traveled out of their area of residence. It was an official document issued by the local government. Without a travel permit or an official badge, one would be punished according to the law.

With the prosperity of land and sea trade and the frequent movement of people, this travel permit system should have been abolished. However, due to the rise of secret societies, the Imperial Court and the Daoist Order still retained this system to facilitate the arrest of secret society members.

A travel permit had to be used when entering the city and staying at an inn. Without a travel permit, the inn would report the person to the local government.

Black Robes, Green Phoenix Guards, Daoist priests, and scholars with meritorious status did not need a travel permit and could travel freely to various places as long as they could show proof of identification, such as the Daoist insignia or the Black Robes badge.

Qi Xuansu used his identity as Wei Wugui to check into an inn in Jiangling Prefecture, so the local officials quickly got wind of it and reported it to Taiping Inn, where Zhang Yuelu was.

Under Pei Xiaolou’s mediation, Zhang Yuelu released Yuan Shangdao and took a step back.

Wei Wugui’s whereabouts came so effortlessly that Zhang Yuelu felt a little dazed for a moment. However, she did not forget that Pei Xiaolou had issued Wei Wugui a badge. She thought that it was too coincidental for the two of them to be in Jiangling Prefecture at the same time, so she did not show her interest in Wei Wugui in front of Pei Xiaolou.

Instead, she excused herself by offering to help the Yuan family rescue Yuan Fengchan as an apology for being rude to Yuan Shangdao.

Yuan Shangdao did not refuse. In fact, it was not embarrassing to lose to Zhang Yuelu. After all, Zhang Yuelu was a Banished Immortal and a Deputy Hall Master. She also had a temper, as seen when she defeated Li Tianzhen, the dignified young master of the Li family.

Thus, Zhang Yuelu left the Taiping Inn and ran as fast as she could to catch up to Yuan Fengchan’s abductor. She was even faster than a galloping horse.

Zhang Yuelu did not like firearms as much as Qi Xuansu. She preferred ancient bows and arrows, and her shooting skills were excellent. At this time, she turned her Amorphous Paper into a bow and some arrows.

She shot the assassins according to their cultivation level, from high to low. First, she killed Monk Deng Hua, followed by Thunder Mage and Cripple Zhou successively. The rest were nothing to worry about.

This was a successful sneak attack. If it were a head-on fight, Monk Deng Hua would not have died in a single strike, even though he ultimately would not be able to defeat Zhang Yuelu anyway.

Monk Deng Hua was not prepared at all, just like when Zhang Yuelu was injured by two women with low cultivation levels from the Lingshan Witch Cult in the ancient temple. Sneak attacks were also how Qi Xuansu managed to kill so many opponents who had higher levels of cultivation than himself.

Zhang Yuelu did not kill Wei Wugui because she wanted to capture him alive, as he was deeply involved in many cases related to secret societies.

Seeing this scene, the other assassins shouted and fled in all directions.

Song Luodi, who had been hiding in the dark, did not hesitate to use the Earth Escape Method and disappeared in an instant.

Only Qi Xuansu stayed where he was. He turned around and stared at Zhang Yuelu. Fortunately, he was wearing sunglasses, which concealed the surprise and complexity in his gaze.

Zhang Yuelu walked slowly toward Qi Xuansu with a long bow in hand. The paper arrows she shot flew back and merged into their original form.

Qi Xuansu felt nervous. Although he did not know why Zhang Yuelu was here, he knew that it was not a simple coincidence. He still remembered that Zhang Yuelu noticed some problems in his past experiences through a few pages of information when he interviewed for a position in Tiangang Hall. That was why he pretended to tell her the truth about his master’s assassination to cover up that lie.

With such precedent, Qi Xuansu thought that Zhang Yuelu had probably noticed some clues this time.

Zhang Yuelu stopped about 10 meters away from Qi Xuansu. The long bow and arrows had already turned into a paper bracelet that wrapped around her wrist.

The two stood opposite each other.

At this moment, there was purple energy flowing in Zhang Yuelu’s eyes. She was using the Banished Immortal’s Immortal Eye of Providence in an attempt to see through the man in front of her.

Fortunately, Qi Xuansu did not have an ordinary disguise. He was wearing Su Ran’s white fox face mask, which could hide one’s aura flawlessly. Thus, Zhang Yuelu could not see anything.

“Are you Wei Wugui?” Zhang Yuelu finally asked.

“I am Wei Wugui. Thank you for your help, Miss. May I ask for your name?” Qi Xuansu’s voice sounded aged and raspy.

Qi Xuansu did not forget that he was now Wei Wugui, who should not be able to recognize Zhang Yuelu since this was their first time meeting.

In a very short period of time, Qi Xuansu managed to calm himself down. He temporarily suppressed all kinds of complicated emotions so as not to do anything stupid like blurting out Zhang Yuelu’s name.

Zhang Yuelu looked at Qi Xuansu and replied, “My name is Zhang Yuelu.”

“Oh, so you are the youngest Deputy Hall Master of the Daoist Order. Your reputation precedes you, Mage Zhang.” Qi Xuansu feigned surprise.

Zhang Yuelu was not surprised that Wei Wugui had heard of her name. She asked, straight to the point, “Why did you kill Wan Xiuwu?”

Qi Xuansu played dumb. “Who is Wan Xiuwu?”

Zhang Yuelu was silent for a moment before she suddenly questioned him. “Is Wei Wugui really that old?”

Qi Xuansu finally took off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of dull, cloudy eyes. “Mage Zhang, I don’t understand what you mean by that.”

“You went from Salt Lake to Xiping Prefecture. On the way, you met Eighth Tianyang and Qin Wubing. Then you went to Xijing Prefecture, the Ghost Pass, Longmen Prefecture, and Purple Immortal Mountain. Many of those who met you said you were a young man. Why do you look so old now?” Zhang Yuelu stared at Qi Xuansu’s eyes intently, intending to gauge his reaction by noticing the changes in them.

Qi Xuansu was shocked beyond words. He never expected Zhang Yuelu to have such a good grasp of his journey thus far. He lowered his head slightly and closed his eyes before replying, “It’s just a disguise that I usually use when traveling.”

“You can deceive so many people with that disguise, which shows how intricate it is. In that case, are you also wearing a disguise now?” Zhang Yuelu suddenly took a step forward.

Qi Xuansu’s body tensed up, and he quickly took a step back. “Mage Zhang, what are you saying?”

Qi Xuansu knew that now was not the time to reunite with Zhang Yuelu because Pei Xiaolou promised that he would be able to return to the Daoist Order in a legitimate way. By then, he would be able to reunite with Zhang Yuelu, so he did not want to reveal himself at this moment.

Zhang Yuelu smirked. “Someone’s guilty.”

Qi Xuansu defended himself. “Mage Zhang, I’m not sure what I’m guilty of. There must be some misunderstanding between us. If you think I am guilty, please provide proof of my crime, because the Daoist Order believes in the presumption of innocence.”

Zhang Yuelu’s eyes flickered. This was why she felt stuck. The presumption of innocence required evidence to prove one’s guilt. She had only deduced Wei Wugui’s whereabouts through many clues and suspected that Wei Wugui was a secret society member who killed Wan Xiuwu. However, she had no solid evidence to support her suspicions.

Zhang Yuelu used some tricks to get Eighth Tianyang to slip up about Wei Wugui, but Eighth Tianyang did not admit it. That was why Wei Wugui’s involvement was still just speculation and why Zhang Yuelu could not formally arrest Wei Wugui.

With her status, Zhang Yuelu could have ordered the Daoist authorities to capture Wei Wugui. However, it was not realistic to do so, as it would damage the Daoist Order’s reputation.

What made Zhang Yuelu wary was Wei Wugui’s backer, Pei Xiaolou. She was not so confident in thinking that she could successfully arrest Wei Wugui within Quanzhen Sect’s territory.

Would the Quanzhen Sect priests recognize Pei Xiaolou, who was Sage Donghua’s brother, or Zhang Yuelu, who was a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect?

Although Zhang Yuelu was favored by the Earthly Preceptor, Sage Donghua was the second-in-command of the Quanzhen Sect after the Earthly Preceptor. Sage Donghua was also expected to compete for the title of Grand Master. Even if Sage Donghua failed to be the Grand Master, he would still be able to inherit the position of Earthly Preceptor.

Moreover, Zhang Yuelu was not a direct descendant of the Earthly Preceptor, but Pei Xiaolou was Sage Donghua’s biological brother.

It was clear which one of them would hold more importance to the Quanzhen Sect disciples.

That was why Zhang Yuelu decided she had to take this matter into her own hands.

Qi Xuansu’s eyes never left the Amorphous Paper on Zhang Yuelu’s wrist, as he knew how lethal it was. He slowly reached his hands behind his back.