Chapter 1337: The Traitor
Qi Xuansu had prepared four sets of false identities in advance precisely for situations like this. It was considered a stroke of luck that the two identities known to Sun Zhongnu were unused.
Moreover, given the conditions of the Northern Continent, where each state was relatively independent and manpower was insufficient to establish a tightly controlled system, train and ship tickets were not tied to specific identities. Anyone with money could purchase them, so merely knowing two names made it difficult to trace a specific journey.
Sun Zhongnu naturally understood this. What concerned him more was something else: “Why are there two people? A man and a woman at that?”
Dennis said, “It means this Mr. Li has an accomplice. If Mr. Li is the Lotus Seat, could this woman be his secretary?”
“No,” Sun Zhongnu rejected the idea outright. “Mr. Lopez, forgive my bluntness. The Evangelical Ministry focuses first on the Western Daoist Order and Tawantin Empire, then on the Holy Court Tribunal on the Old Continent, and only after that on the Eastern Daoist Order’s Beichen Hall. Even then, it’s only in two of its six overseas regions. So it’s only natural that you are not very familiar with the personnel structure of the Daoist Order.”
Dennis was not angered, for Sun Zhongnu spoke the truth. The Evangelical Ministry had limited resources and had to prioritize. Their primary focus was on forces that could directly threaten the Steam Evangelical Sect, which were nearby heretics and internal dissidents. The Eastern Daoist Order was too distant to warrant immediate attention. Rather than studying the Lotus Seat, who spent most of his time in Jade Capital, Dennis preferred to focus on the two Beichan Hall Branch Managers in the Northern New Continent.
“Sun, it seems you know quite a lot, especially about this new Lotus Seat,” Dennis said, looking at him.
Sun Zhongnu smiled slightly. “The new Lotus Seat, Qi Xuansu, comes from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. He has served as a deacon of the Tiangang Hall, a superintendent of the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion, Deputy Hall Master of Ziwei Hall, Strategist in the Fenglin Campaign, Second Deputy and later Chief Deputy of the Poluo Daoist Mansion. Finally, he was promoted to Chief Deputy of Beichen Hall.”
“That’s a very impressive résumé.” Dennis nodded. “Although the Holy Court and the Daoist Order are not identical, the general principles are similar. This new Lotus Seat’s path of promotion is clear. It’s only a matter of time before he enter the Golden Tower Council.”
“No, no, no.” Sun Zhongnu shook his head repeatedly. “It’s not just about entering the Golden Tower Council. His future is boundless. Mr. Lopez, guess how old this new Lotus Seat is?”
Dennis had not studied this newly appointed Lotus Seat in detail. After all, the man had never served within the Beichen Hall itself and rotated through regional Daoist Mansions. Dennis only knew that the new Lotus Seat had made some hardline statements.
After a moment’s thought, Dennis replied, “Holding such an important position would require being at least 45 years of age.”