Chapter 969: Night Stroll
Qi Xuansu only had some vague sense of Sage Qingwei and the Imperial Preceptor’s schemes. But he knew nothing about what stage they had reached or in what manner they would proceed.
This was hardly his fault, since he did not belong to the Taiping Sect nor to the upper echelons of the Daoist Order.
Though many counted him as a high-ranking official, Qi Xuansu knew his own standing. Only when he was a Hall Master or Mansion Master would he consider himself in the upper echelons of the Daoist Order.
This made sense, since there were hundreds of Deputy Hall Masters, Deputy Palace Masters, and Deputy Mansion Masters, but only 40 Hall Masters, Palace Masters, and Mansion Masters.
Though it looked like a single step from a deputy to a full post, the gulf between them was actually four to five levels, with the Golden Tower Council standing as the threshold.
Even within the Golden Tower Council, the Omniscient Sages were ranked into upper, middle, and lower tiers. Mansion Masters stood above Palace Masters, and Hall Masters above Mansion Masters. A Hall Master without the added status of Chief or Second Omniscient Sage—positions akin to crown princes—was still lower than the Great Sages. Above those stood the Deputy Grand Masters and the Grand Master.
Thus, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were still far off from becoming the Grand Master.
After finishing the day’s routine duties, Qi Xuansu invited Zhang Yuelu out for a stroll through Xiujing City. They had been in Fenglin for so long yet had never properly seen the city.
The ancient cities of the Central Plains were divided into neighborhoods and markets. On the other hand, Fenglin’s cities were divided into towns.
In Xiujing, there was a town called Kabukicho, which had originated more than a century ago, some decades after the fall of the Wei Dynasty, around the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Great Xuan Dynasty. The founder of this town was a woman named Okuni. Kabuki was a form of Fenglin theater, incorporating song and dance. Kabuki performances spread among the people, winning great popularity. Women across Fenglin emulated Okuni, taking to the stage. Some warriors even fought and killed each other over these women.
Later, when the Daoist Order broke Fenglin’s isolation and brought in new novelties, Kabukicho grew further, becoming a city that never slept.
Of course, Kabukicho claimed to be for singing and dancing performances, but the truth was obvious to all. Even the courtesans along the Qinhuai River had once upheld the rule of selling their art and not their bodies. However, everyone knew it was not the case. Otherwise, why would men fight over these women?