A Pawn's Passage

After several resounding cannon shots, the ironclad ship that was originally sailing had stopped.

Qi Xuansu put away his short sword, slowly rose to the surface of the river, and walked on the waves.

Wang Baoyue’s cannon shots were extremely powerful, but Qi Xuansu managed to dodge them all and was not injured. But he was still in shock.

Western wizardry was developing with the world. Sorcerers no longer just held staffs and recited incantations. Their development of Arcane Alchemy was comparable to the Daoist creations.

The Holy Xuan had integrated and standardized Daoist teachings more than 200 years ago and had defied all traditions to start experimental creation projects. If he had been like the Confucians, disregarding firearms and creations and treating novel technology as unnecessary, the practice of Daoism would have depended entirely on individuals. If so, what would happen if the East were to face off with the West?

Even though the high-end combat power of the East and the West were of the same level, the weapons available for the lower levels were completely different. The East still preferred swords and cavalry, whereas the West transitioned to guns and artillery. How would the East win with such disparity? Would the Holy Court still maintain a harmonious relationship with the Daoist Order as trading partners? Would they still be so polite then?

Qi Xuansu had heard of the massacres in the New World, where natives had no power to fight back and were either reduced to slaves or exterminated. This indicated that the Colored Eye People were not friendly.

If the Central Plains were still as weak as they were in the late Wei Dynasty, would the West bother to negotiate trade with them? Perhaps the Colored Eye People would have led their army and marched into the Central Plains to claim more land.

At this moment, Xu Kou leaned out half of his body from the hole in the wall. “Are you alright?”

Xu Kou also jumped down from the gap on the third floor and asked, “What happened?”

Qi Xuansu roughly recounted the events that led to him jumping off the ship.

“The Green Phoenix Guards in Luzhou sure are useless.” Xu Kou shook his head. “But they’re lucky to have missed this confrontation. Otherwise, there would have been a lot more casualties.”

Xu Kou changed the topic. “Speaking of which, you’re skilled, Brother Wei. Anyone else would have died fighting against that pirate!”

“Brother Xu, you’re exaggerating.” Qi Xuansu changed the subject. “By the way, where is Xiao Hu?”

Qi Xuansu was not completely clueless. Although Qi Xuansu did not see through Wang Baoyue’s disguise, he liked to err on the side of caution. That was why he asked Liu Hu to look for Xu Kou while he went for a drink with Wang Baoyue. That way, Xu Kou could help keep an eye out for Liu Hu. After all, Qi Xuansu understood what kind of person Xu Kou was, so he would feel more at ease that Liu Hu was in good hands.

“The little girl is in the small hall on the second floor. She’s very obedient,” Xu Kou said.

At this moment, the captain and many crew members hurried over, looking furious.

Qi Xuansu whispered, “Brother Xu, Tiangang Hall has more weight, so I hope you can handle this one for me.”

Xu Kou nodded slightly. When the captain of the ship approached, Xu Kou had already taken out his Daoist insignia and Tiangang Hall token before anyone else spoke. He ordered, “Dock the ship immediately and notify the local Green Phoenix Guard Major’s Office now!”

Four hours later, in the living room on the ship.

The captain sat with several guests, playing the good host.

The Green Phoenix Guard Lieutenant Colonel’s Office was far away in the Prefectural Capital, so there was only a Major’s Office in the local area. Upon hearing the news, the major boarded the ship with a hostile look on his face.

However, after learning Xu Kou’s identity, the Green Phoenix Guard major immediately changed his expression and temporarily commandeered the captain’s living room. They drank fragrant tea and shared a conversation without a hint of interrogation.

Although Xu Kou was only a fifth-rank Daoist priest, he was the superintendent of Tiangang Hall.

“So, this person is the pirate leader that we have to arrest?” The major put down his gaiwan.

Qi Xuansu said, “This man has an arm cannon made from the West’s Arcane Alchemy. This kind of thing is rare in the Central Plains. Only pirates who have been out at sea might have access to it.”

“That makes sense.” The major nodded.

At this moment, an assistant major walked into the living room and hesitated to speak when he saw the others.

The major said, “They’re with us, so you may speak freely.”

The assistant major reported, “Among the three corpses, one of them was severely damaged. But judging from the tattoos on the other two corpses, we can confirm that they are pirates. The crime scene has traces of shelling, but we can’t find any shrapnel.”

The major was silent for a while. “Although that pirate leader has jumped off the ship and fled, there are Black Robes patrolling along the canal, so he won’t be able to get far. He’s probably hiding somewhere.”

Xu Kou suddenly asked, “How is the ship?”

The captain hesitated and glanced at the major. “The shellings cause quite some damage, which will require a few days of maintenance. Many guests are frightened and need to be appeased, so we can’t leave for the time being.”

Xu Kou laughed. “Are you asking us to help you apprehend that pirate?”

The major coughed lightly. “Well, that would be best. After all, we’re all on the same side.”

Xu Kou did not comment. Instead, he turned to look at Qi Xuansu and asked, “What do you think, Brother Wei?”

Qi Xuansu pondered. The reason he decided to use the Grand Canal route was so he could avoid encountering people from the Taiping Sect on land. Naturally, he did not want to just abandon this ship and go ashore at this time. Moreover, he was interested in Wang Baoyue’s arm cannon, so it was not a bad idea to help the Green Phoenix Guard in apprehending the pirate leader.

“What exactly is Arcane Alchemy?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Xu Kou explained, “I have served in the Qizhou Daoist Mansion for a long time and encountered many tourists from the West. Arcane Alchemy is the combination of arcanum and alchemy. Western arcanum is magic that derives its fundamental power from secret knowledge. In a sense, it’s somewhat similar to the Confucians nourishing their qi by reading and studying.

“Western sorcerers believe that they can deduce the application of certain rules and laws of magic through more research and experimentation. An example would be chanting a spell and pairing it with certain gestures or corresponding props to cast an arcane spell.

“Their spells can be similar to ours. But unlike our spells, arcanum is an occult practice, and the Western sorcerers practicing it guard their secret knowledge tightly. Since I’m a Martial Arts Practitioner who can’t use spells, I don’t understand it much. But arcanum has the power to distort reality and the laws of motion.

“Arcane magic is similar to our divine power because both rely on external sources of magic. There is also a thing called black magic, which comes from the Devil. Under the suppression of the Holy Court, black magic has declined, but the Devil is not dead, so the source of black magic remains. The principle is the same with how cult demons get their power from the Ancient Immortals and how Spirit Guards get power from their armor.”

Qi Xuansu nodded slightly. He was not surprised that Xu Kou would know so much. After all, Xu Kou was favored by Sage Qingwei, just like how Zhang Yuelu was favored by the Earthly Preceptor. That was why Xu Kou dared to duel with Zhang Yuelu on behalf of Li Tianzhen when he first joined Tiangang Hall. However, he failed to defeat Zhang Yuelu, and the rest was history.

Xu Kou continued his explanation. “Alchemy is similar to what Huasheng Hall does. The ultimate goal is to create the elixir of immortality. Our emperors consume elixirs to seek immortality, while the kings in the West rely on alchemy to prolong their lives. Two of these paths lead to the same goal.

“This Arcane Alchemy is the combination of arcanum and alchemy, which is very similar to Huasheng Hall’s creation projects. However, because alchemy and arcanum can only coexist in the human body, it led to two different directions of development.

“One of them is to modify the human body and replace different parts of the body with alchemical items that are strengthened with arcane magic. The Western sorcerers call this complementation. That’s how the pirate leader used this to replace his own arm with a cannon.”

Qi Xuansu maintained a calm expression, but his heart skipped a beat as he thought of his Auxiliary Heart and the Rogue Cultivator’s finishing touches.

Xu Kou added, “The other faction creates new life through alchemy and gives it a soul with arcane magic. According to the Western sorcerers, this is a process that is perfected through death and resurrection.”

This reminded Qi Xuansu of the Eight Tribes, the Three Yin Beings, and the legendary manmade Immortal project.