Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu and Wu Niang temporarily left Xiacheng District, but Qi Xuansu himself remained in Richmond District.

Not only was his identity not revealed, but he also had an alibi. After all, when the four senior congressmen took Strawney and fled in panic in the lower town, he was drinking the finest red wine in the upper town and communicating with Archbishop Swanson. Some anecdotes.

By the time Strawney came back, the banquet had just come to an end - notwithstanding the dilly-dallying of several senior congressmen when they took the initiative to attack, which lasted for four hours, they did not hesitate at all when escaping, and it didn't take half an hour to escape from the bottom. The city is back uptown. It's like the work is never finished, but eating is always positive.

The four senior congressmen did not show up. When Strawney came back, it was obvious that his hair was burnt a lot, and he was teased by Swanson. Could it be that his hair was accidentally burned by a candle while playing a special game?

Strawney could only smile bitterly. He was inexplicably involved in the affairs of four senior congressmen, and almost died in a big explosion.

Moreover, Strawney had a vague hunch that this matter might be related to "Daqi". It was possible that not only Daqi was coming to St. York, but also other high-level officials of Beichen Hall. Although several other senior members believe that this mysterious enemy is from Xidaomen, aren't Xidaomen and Daomen from the same lineage? These senior members only know about Xidaomen, but they don’t necessarily understand Beichen Hall behind Xidaomen. Strawney is different. He knows Beichen Hall very well. After all, he is a non-staff member of Beichen Hall.

When he said Strawney, Strawney arrived and sat down opposite Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu said nothing and pointed at Strauni's collar.

Strauni was startled, then stretched out his hand to touch it, his expression changed involuntarily.

He raised the thing he touched to his eyes and examined it. It turned out to be a metal beetle, but it was only the size of an ant and was very difficult to detect.

Qi Xuansu took the metal beetle and threw it out of the window. It just happened to land on a passing carriage driver. He didn't say until the carriage was gone, "Okay."

"What is that?" Strawney couldn't help but ask.

"It's an alchemical and arcane gadget. I'm not familiar with its principles, but I guess it may be used for eavesdropping or surveillance. It doesn't matter now. Let it monitor the coachman and listen to the daily life of ordinary people. , more fireworks will help ground you," Qi Xuansu said calmly.

Strauni was startled for a moment, then clenched his fist and gritted his teeth and said, "It must be Sean, he is good at alchemical arcana."

Qi Xuansu said: "So some things are best kept in your heart and don't have the habit of talking in your sleep."

Strawney's face was a little solemn and he nodded.

Qi Xuansu changed the subject: "You and Karen are a little too close."

"What do you mean?" Strawney was a little unhappy.

Qi Xuansu raised his hand to signal him not to get excited: "I don't want to accuse you, but as a friend, I want to give you a suggestion. There is an old saying in the East, which is called 'A broken mirror will never be rounded'. If a mirror is broken in half, even if it can still be Bonded together, cracks will always exist. I can understand your desire to make up for the regrets of your youth, but you must also understand that that youthful love, let's call it love, will never come back. If you still have this mentality, you will only be manipulated by this woman. "

Qi Xuansu paused slightly: "If you are just a noble son, it doesn't matter. It's just a loss of some property. The emotional frustration may make you write some useless poems. But don't forget your identity, If you accidentally discover your secret, you will either be blackmailed by her and become her slave, or your identity will be exposed and you will never recover. "

"Don't rush to say that Karen is not such a person. She is a married lady who walks around among all kinds of men all day long and serves others sexually. Is this a sign of high morality?"

Strawney's face turned slightly pale.

Qi Xuansu said with emotion: "For love, it doesn't matter what the starting point is, nor what the end point is. What matters is the process. In the words of the Orientals, you don't know the beginning of love, and you don't know the end of love. Your process is over, she Leaving you and marrying someone else is the result. What you are repeating now are just memories that you don’t want to let go of.”

Strawney was silent for a long moment, then finally said, "I know."

Qi Xuansu did not continue this topic and instead said: "Dear Josiah, from the standpoint of a city council member, what do you think of the Eastern Daomen? Don't talk about the Queen of the East. You should know that the Daomen is a typical Eastern Men’s thinking, if one or two women are lucky enough to reach the pinnacle of power, they must also think in a masculine way.”

After Strawney thought for a while, he carefully considered his words and said: "Daqi, you are right, the master of the East has never been the queen. In my opinion, the Orientals are always good at internal fighting but not good at external fighting. This internal The difference between foreigners and foreigners is not the difference between them, but the familiarity with the rules. If Easterners are not familiar with a rule, they will appear to be at a loss, make frequent mistakes, and often suffer defeat. But wait until Easterners are familiar with the game. If you follow the rules, you will become the most experienced chess player.”

"As for why Dongfang Dao Sect refuses to 'take off its gloves', of course it has nothing to do with the Queen. It is not that it is shy to see people. In my opinion, it should be due to two reasons. The first is that it is not ready yet, mainly because Its internal problems. The second point is that it is not sure to put the opponent to death. On the surface, Easterners believe in "moderate", but in fact they are very extreme, especially in matters of life and death, they pay attention to whether to do something or not. Do it without leaving any trouble. They will either not go to war with the Holy Court, or they will completely defeat the Holy Court and not give the Holy Court a chance to come back. Looking at the various foreign races in the East, no foreign race can prosper for a second time. . This is also the basis of many theories of 'Tao disaster'."

Qi Xuansu held the black tea and pondered for a moment: "It's interesting. You just mentioned the internal problems of the Taoist sect."

"Yes. Since the pope in the East was deposed..." Strawney said.

Qi Xuansu interrupted him: "I can understand the so-called Pope in the East. You are talking about the Grand Master. But where does the word 'deposed' come from?"

Strawney said: "In fact, this is the consensus of many senior leaders of the Holy See, that is, the three Eastern Patriarchs jointly emptied out the weak Eastern Pope, and finally deposed the Eastern Pope in fact, and then the three formed a triumvirate. The people's council co-governs and shares the highest power. Although it is not as good as the pope, it is higher than the patriarch in the normal sense. This incident has also indirectly aggravated the conflicts between the pope and several patriarchs. Both sides are very vigilant. Zong was afraid that the patriarchs would imitate the East, and the patriarchs may also think that the Easterners provided a new way of thinking."

Under the Holy See system, the supreme leader of each archdiocese is the Patriarch, and the Patriarch of the central diocese becomes the Pope. Because the central diocese is where the Holy See is recognized by the Goddess herself, popes of all ages have to hold the Holy See and claim to inherit the Goddess’ mantle to show their orthodoxy.

This is somewhat similar to the fact that the eldest son among the kings will become the emperor, but other kings also have the right to inherit. Because the kings have the right of inheritance, it is often the vassal kings who rebel. The kings are the most powerful competitors that threaten the emperor's status, which is incomparable to his relatives.

The emperor and the kings are the true reflections of the pope and the patriarch. If any of the Patriarchs can compete with the Pope, it will actually mean that one side is separatist or even divided across the river to rule.

Qi Xuansu coughed slightly and didn't know what to say for a moment. It is said that a country cannot live without a king for a day, and it is indeed unreasonable for the Grand Master to remain vacant for so long. Westerners believe that the Third Division actually deposed the Grand Master, which makes some sense.

Qi Xuansu asked: "What if the Taoist sect re-elects a great leader?"

"That is the successful restoration of the pope in the East, overthrowing the three-person parliament and re-establishing the authority of the pope." Strawney said matter-of-factly.

Qi Xuansu was speechless.

In Western thinking, the supreme leader of the Taoist sect should be the "United Supreme Council of the Three Patriarchs", which is the three-person parliament.

Qi Xuansu changed the subject: "What plans do we have today?"

Strawney took out two theater tickets: "Tonight, there is a performance at the Magellan Theater on White Avenue in Midtown, starring Audrey Eyre, who is known as the 'Nightingale'."

Qi Xuansu said: "Banquets and performances, this is the upper class society."

"The lower society breeds huge power, but before this power breaks out, the upper class often leads the direction." Strawney said, "So, Dutch, you need to have a deep understanding of the upper class society in St. York, and know that What are they thinking?"

Qi Xuansu was noncommittal, but still accepted the ticket: "The last time I went to the theater was a few years ago. I hope I won't be disappointed this time."

Strawney joked: "I guess the last time you went to the theater, your companion should be a woman, but this time you have to be with me. From this point of view, you are already disappointed."

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but smile: "I have to say, you guessed it right."

When Qi Xuansu mentioned going to the theater, the first thing that came to his mind was Zhang Yuelu, and the second thing that came to mind was Xiao Yin.

This little girl is quite an amateur, and she came up with a way to reward actors by turning stones into gold.

I don’t know what this little girl is doing now.

What is Xiao Yin doing?

Of course he is traveling around the world.

In fact, what Qi Xuansu didn't know was that not only Qi Xuansu often dreamed, but Xiao Yin also started to dream. Qi Xuansu always went to Lingshan in his dreams, and Xiao Yin often dreamed of two women in his dreams.

This did not happen in the past. After Xiao Yin secretly touched the "Guizang Lamp" and fell asleep holding the "Guizang Lamp", she began to dream continuously.

In fact, she mentioned it to Qi Xuansu once. Qi Xuansu was angry at the girl for moving the "Gui Zang Lamp" randomly, so he just thought she was looking for excuses to change the topic and didn't take it seriously.

After that, Xiao Yin didn't mention it again.

Xiao Yin walked around the world this time. In addition to her playful and active nature, the recurring dreams were also one of the reasons, like a guide from the underworld.