A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu spent about 50 Taiping coins to buy a horse, some compacted and bundled fodder, a windproof cloak, some food, water, medicine, and a change of clothes before leaving Xiping Prefecture.

For Qi Xuansu, Yongzhou did not leave him many good memories. Yishan City, West Gobi, Eastern Oasis, Cuowenbu, Kunlun Pass, Starry Sea, Salt Lake, Zhaling Lake, and Jiuwa Hill were all places he associated with cult demons and all kinds of danger.

Thus, he gladly left Yongzhou and headed for Tianshui Prefecture in Liangzhou.

As Qi Xuansu’s horse galloped on the wide official road, it stirred up a cloud of dust in its trail.

Looking down from above, one would only see a vast plain stretching as far as the eye could see, with no signs of human habitation. Most of the view was the yellow desert sand, with sparse specks of green. The gloomy and dusty sky seemed to merge with the ground, becoming indistinguishable from each other.

In the midst of it all, a small black spot stirred up the dust. But compared with the expanse of the ground, the movement was so small that it seemed negligible.

The northwest was not as prosperous as Jiangnan, but one would feel liberated riding a horse in the seemingly endless desert. On the contrary, Jiangnan was too densely populated and had too many bodies of water, so it was impossible to gallop so freely like in the desert.

Qi Xuansu’s horse ran for a day before Qi Xuansu decided to stop and find a leeward place in the wild to spend the night. It was early spring, but the weather in the northwest was chilly, even more so at night. However, Qi Xuansu’s strong blood qi and innate qi protected him from the cold.

Even so, Qi Xuansu built a small fire and sat cross-legged in front of it to cultivate his innate qi.

As he became more proficient in cultivation, Qi Xuansu no longer needed to meditate to circulate his qi. He could circulate his qi as long as he stayed seated in a Lotus position. He could even converse with others while cultivating.

It was just like riding a horse. Beginners had to be extra careful. They would not dare to be distracted for fear of falling off. However, with enough practice, riding a horse became instinctive. Skilled riders could even shoot arrows, wield swords, and use lassos while riding at full speed.

After reaching the Guizhen stage, the three major Dantians in the body would open up, so the innate qi in the body would flow by itself. Thus, there would be no need to deliberately cultivate qi. It was similar to how a person could eat and sleep on a horse.

Heavenly Beings were the unity of man and the universe, which was a different principle altogether.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu suddenly saw a group of people hurrying over from the west side.

Qi Xuansu glanced at the group, noticing that they were wearing sheepskin coats of the same style and carrying a crate with shoulder poles. The crate was filled with a white substance. Upon closer look, it turned out to be salt.

There were four types of salt, namely: sea salt, lake salt, well salt, and mineral salt. Sea salt was concentrated in coastal areas, while lake salt and mineral salt were the main types of salt available in landlocked regions on the Central Plains. There were lake salt fields around Cuowenbu and several large salt mines in Yongzhou.

Salt was a necessity. However, salt and iron were the exclusive business of the Imperial Court and were extremely profitable. Thus, salt smugglers persisted even with repeated bans in place.

This group of people had strong physiques and looked well-trained. That was why Qi Xuansu guessed that they were a group of salt smugglers. The poles they carried on their shoulders were heavy, weighing at least 100 kilograms.

Although they were each carrying a heavy weight of about 100 kilograms, they could still walk swiftly. This indicated that they had some level of cultivation. Even if they were not yet Xiantian Beings, they were surely the best among Houtian Beings.

What differentiated this gang of salt smugglers from a secret society was that their existence did not violate the Daoist Order’s rules. However, the Imperial Court’s crackdown on illegal salt smugglers was another matter completely.

These gangs involved in salt smuggling had no shortage of money. They had a wide influence and were not lacking in skilled members.

Normally, Qi Xuansu would have gone over to investigate further. However, due to the tight schedule of Madam Qi’s errand, he could not afford any delays. Thus, he decided not to meddle in other people’s business and hurried on his way.

In the evening, he arrived in a small town near the border of Yongzhou and stayed at a small inn.

Qi Xuansu did not eat the food at the inn but took out the dry rations he had prepared. Suddenly, he heard a noise from the lobby. A group of people were looking for accommodation. Based on their voices, Qi Xuansu could tell that these people had some level of cultivation. Thus, Qi Xuansu peered out the door and saw the same group of salt smugglers.

He did not care about their presence. Instead of sleeping, he continued qi training.

In the middle of the night, Qi Xuansu suddenly woke up from his trance when he heard a noise.

He looked out from the crack in the window and saw the group of salt smugglers carrying their crates out.

Alas, Qi Xuansu’s curiosity got the best of him when he saw this group of people sneaking around. So he quietly left the room and trailed them.

In the dark night, he could vaguely see the salt smugglers carrying crates and walking rapidly in the wilderness. Qi Xuansu followed behind them silently. This gang of salt smugglers did not look back, as they seemed to be in a hurry. So they did not notice Qi Xuansu.

Along the way, more people continued to gather from other directions, also carrying poles tied to crates filled with white salt. In the end, Qi Xuansu counted about a hundred people heading in one direction.

After walking like this for more than an hour, the gang came to a dry river close to the border between Yongzhou and Liangzhou and finally stopped. Another group of people with carriages were waiting there.

A man exclaimed, “Finally!”

One of the salt smugglers said, “Ten tonnes of top-grade mineral salt. Do you have the money?”

Based on their mannerisms, both parties were familiar with each other.

“Yeah, I had it prepared well in advance. The official cash notes of the Taiping Bank are immediately redeemable for 200 Taiping coins.” The man responded, “The Green Phoenix Guards have been strict with their investigations recently. Large transactions are too easily exposed, so we can only do small businesses discreetly. You’ve worked hard to transport salt manually.”

Someone in the salt smuggling gang took the cash notes and complained. “There are 100 of us. After dividing the profits, we’ll only get 2 Taiping coins each.”

The other party said, “That’s a good deal! If you earn 2 Taiping coins a day, that’ll be 60 Taiping coins a month. A fifth-rank Daoist priest from the Daoist Order only earns 50 Taiping coins a month. You earn more than a fifth-rank Daoist priest! Are you trying to compete with a Mage?”

“This is hard-earned money through our sweat and blood. Not only that, we even risk being beheaded by the Green Phoenix Guard. Those Daoist priests can make money while drinking tea. How can you compare us to them?” A salt smuggler protested.

The man laughed. “Of course we can’t compare to them. They’re just lucky. Brother, just accept your fate.”

In the early years of the Great Xuan Dynasty before new coins were introduced, every bag of 500-gram salt from Huzhou, Wuzhou, and Jinling Prefecture was sold for 3 to 4 fen, which was equivalent to 30 to 40 Ruyi coins.

Later, after salt production stabilized, a 500-gram bag of salt from Huzhou, Jiangzhou, and Wuzhou sold for 15 Ruyi coins, while a 500-gram bag of salt from Jinling Prefecture sold for 12 Ruyi coins. For ordinary people, it was considered expensive.

Since 200 Taiping coins could buy 10,000 kilograms of mineral salt, this meant one Taiping coin could buy 50 kilograms of mineral salt. It was no wonder salt smuggling was so popular. It was indeed profitable.

However, Qi Xuansu was greatly disappointed. He thought the group of smugglers was up to something big, but it turned out to be an illegal salt trade.

This was the reality. Swords and bloodshed were only a small part of life. Most of the time, people just wanted to make ends meet. As long as it involved profit, even grievances and grudges were secondary.

Just as Qi Xuansu was about to leave, he suddenly heard horses galloping in the distance. From the sound of it, more than ten horses were approaching rapidly. Someone shouted from the distance, “The world is at peace with the yellow sky!”

The two groups of salt smugglers were silent for a moment before someone trembled in fear. “They’re from the Heavenly Court…”

Qi Xuansu heard it clearly from where he was hiding. He could not help but find the phrase funny.

The original slogan this phrase was taken from was, “The blue skies are gone, and the yellow sky will stand. The world is at peace in the Jiazi year.”

This was a popular slogan from the Taiping Sect during an uprising about 2,000 years ago. At that time, the Zhengyi Sect was still called the Heavenly Sect, and they had just defeated Ancient Wuism. Back then, there was one generation where the Heavenly Sect entrenched Shuzhou for a generation and proclaimed their own king.

The Heavenly Sect died out, establishing a new Zhengyi Sect. The Taiping Sect also abandoned this slogan. Instead, they focused on rules, principles and laws.

Unexpectedly, the Heavenly Court picked up the discarded slogan of the Taiping Sect and made it their own with some slight changes. They were truly a group of delusional people.

After a while, the people from Heavenly Court arrived.

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