Zhang Yuelu was not necessarily afraid of these people’s verbal attacks. After all, they were not professionals at this sort of thing. The real professionals were controlled by the Three Sects, handling the Qingping Publishing House and official bulletins. These people essentially relied on their own influence to spread information, inheriting the methods of ancient scholars.

Their main work lay in academic development and research. Many truly had real talent, though quite a few were merely filling space. Many Daoists who failed to make it in other paths would often switch tracks and adopt the title of instructor and mix among genuine instructors, making them difficult to distinguish.

Qi Xuansu saw it clearly. When Zhang Yuelu was alone, she was fearless. But once she had a weakness, she became somewhat at a loss. In the end, she did not want to involve Little Yin, so she chose to withdraw.

As Madam Qi had said, middle-aged men with families were the easiest to control. On the contrary, unattached men with no burdens were difficult to handle. They could drop everything at any moment and might even strike back if pushed too far.

Qi Xuansu used to be such a person, and back then, he had a somewhat reckless attitude toward life and death.

Of course, Qi Xuansu was no longer like that. But such a short time was not enough to completely change his nature. He still intended to confront the matter head-on and demand an explanation.

When others accused him of having low morals, he would truly abandon morality.

People always liked to find flaws in good people.

However, Qi Xuansu could not directly approach Great Sage Shi. It would be overly presumptuous and risk offending him, making matters worse. So Qi Xuansu went to Old Sage Sun Hewu. Their status was comparable, giving room for negotiation.

Qi Xuansu respected the Old Sage greatly and would not truly fall out with him.

Since Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Ji would soon travel with Great Sage Shi and others to the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, where there would be tours and speeches, it would be inconvenient to bring it up later. So Qi Xuansu used the last bit of time before departure to meet Sun Hewu. After that, he still needed to meet Xu Dacheng to discuss Audrey Ale’s condition.

Qi Xuansu was pressed for time, so he had no choice but to neglect his in-laws this time.

He even brought 300 grams of rare tea, in which only 5 kilograms were produced a year from the few old tea trees remaining in the world. There was barely enough to go around for the Emperor and the Three Deputy Grand Masters, yet strangely enough, despite such limited production, this tea appeared on the market every year, all claiming to be authentic.

After meeting Sun Hewu, Qi Xuansu presented the gift and chatted about his experiences in the New Continent before suddenly steering the conversation to Little Yin’s matter.

Sun Hewu was not caught off guard. He had already anticipated this when he learned Qi Xuansu would be visiting.

It was nothing more than a man whose wife and child had been wronged, so it was natural for him to demand an explanation.

Sun Hewu chose his words carefully. “Tian Yuan, you’re trying to reopen old matters.”

“Elder Sun, I’m not here to discuss official matters but personal ties,” Qi Xuansu said calmly. “You’ve spent most of your life in Wanxiang Daoist Palace. It’s your home. It’s also my home because I grew up there. That makes us family. You must distinguish between insiders and outsiders, who truly belong and who have merely slipped in. Some people don’t have their roots in the Wanxiang Daoist Palace at all.”

Sun Hewu had to admit, “That’s true. You are one of our own.”

Qi Xuansu’s tone grew firmer: “Elder Sun, if I am one of your own, shouldn’t my daughter also be considered family? I sent my kid there, thinking it’s like entrusting her to her grandparents. I was completely at ease until I found out she was bullied. What will other children who came out of the Daoist Palace think? Is this still a home?”

Sun Hewu was left speechless.

Qi Xuansu softened his tone. “I know this is difficult for you and Great Sage Shi because both sides are equally dear. So sometimes, turning a blind eye to such matters is necessary.”

Sun Hewu said, “Tian Yuan, I’m glad you can think this way.”

Qi Xuansu suddenly said, “I won’t request much. I only ask for fairness.”

Sun Hewu asked, “What fairness?”

Qi Xuansu continued, “It’s not scarcity we fear, but inequality. Do you think if Little Yin were Li Changge’s kid, they would dare act this way?”

Sun Hewu was once again left speechless. He was an honest man and could not bring himself to lie outright.

The answer was no, because the Li family’s prestige was not just for show.

The Li family was around 300 years before the Daoist Order’s revival. Even though the Wanxiang Daoist Palace was deep in the Quanzhen Sect’s territory, those people still would not dare bully Li Changge’s daughter.

The Li family’s authority was forged in blood. Most of those who challenged them ended up dead.

The Li family truly dared to kill, from Jiangling Prefecture to the burning of Zhenwu Temple. There was nothing they would not do.

When it came to facing external enemies, the Li family was famously united.

Thus, to provoke a daughter of the Li family was like having a death wish.

Even though Zhang Yuelu had the backing of her family, compared to the Li family, the Zhang family had fallen behind since the Holy Xuan Era. Moreover, Zhang Yuelu was not from the main branch, so she lacked the arrogance of treating others as lesser than her.

Zhang Yuelu respected everyone, regardless of their social status. This was why she was pushing for reform. As such, her respect for life and refusal to kill indiscriminately were seen as a weakness. Thus, people picked the softer target and dared to challenge her.

That was why Qi Xuansu said that Zhang Yuelu only appeared politically shrewd and capable, yet she was actually soft-hearted. Zhang Yuelu also acknowledged this as both her strength and her weakness.

But for Qi Xuansu, he had lived at the bottom rungs of society and knew what it was like for his life to be treated as worthless. Since they could disregard his life, he could disregard their lives as well. He believed in tit for tat, since he was never a saint to begin with. These people had miscalculated in bullying his daughter.

Qi Xuansu said, “Qing Xiao is a good person. But does that mean a good person deserves to have a gun pointed at them?”

Sun Hewu sighed. “In this matter, the Daoist Palace has indeed wronged Chief Deputy Zhang.”

Qi Xuansu said, “You mentioned reopening old matters. My old matter is regarding the Dragon-Tiger Camp, for which I have yet to receive a clear explanation. I can let that go, but Little Yin’s matter must be addressed. I’m not afraid of gossip behind my back. I can handle it myself. But my time is limited, so I can’t investigate slowly. I only wish that you could point me in the right direction, Elder Sun.”

Sun Hewu looked at Qi Xuansu and sighed deeply. “Tian Yuan, you’re forcing my hand and pushing me to choose one side. But as you’ve mentioned, you are family. Your roots are at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

“The instructors in our Daoist Palace tend to align with factions. Broadly speaking, there are two main groups—the Quanzhen Sect and the Grand Master’s lineage. The Taiping Sect and the Zhengyi Sect, led by the Li and Zhang families, respectively, are not heavily involved here. The Quanzhen Sect originated from the creation projects, tracing back even to the Eight Tribes and the Gezao Sect era. They are a big, impermeable group that emphasizes lineage, genealogy, and seniority. The Grand Master’s lineage originated from the Quanzhen Sect but later split off, forming its own system, gradually expanding and constantly seeking to replace the Quanzhen Sect.

“Of course, there are many instructors who belong to neither the Quanzhen Sect nor the Grand Master’s lineage. They are talents cultivated by the Daoist Palace itself. These people are like independent operators. Their teachers and predecessors mostly did not participate in the creation projects, but they have made significant contributions across various fields. However, when it comes to recognition and rewards, they are often sidelined by the two main factions.

“This circle is somewhat like the Jianghu. Aside from capability, numbers matter. Whoever has more people gets to call the shots. The fifth-generation Grand Master saw this chaos and cracked down hard on them, appointing a Palace Master from outside, which brought some stability for a time. But by the sixth-generation Grand Master’s era, they argued that having outsiders lead would hinder results, so they demanded autonomy. At that time, with the Three Sects in conflict, no one could spare the attention elsewhere, so autonomy was granted. Now it seems things haven’t improved much. After pushing out the outsiders, they’ve simply expanded their own territories freely.”