Daily life of a cultivation judge

As Ye Xun transported King Zhou Luan and Zhang Qishan back to their kingdom, Yang Qing decided to remain in the office. The purpose was to wait for Ye Xun. He had asked her to check on the condition of King Zhou Luan's grandfather, but when she brought them over she did not bring up the matter.

Yang Qing figured she opted to do it when she was taking them back where she would have time to do a thorough check or maybe she couldn't find out.

The Twilight Sanctuary Array may have wilted down over the years however, it was still a top tier gold grade array, who knows maybe certain parts of it were still fully functional, and if they were, concealing someone from even the eyes of a domain expert should be something a gold grade array should be capable of.

With how sensitive the grandfather's condition was, it stood to reason that both the king and his grandfather would go to great lengths to prevent such information from getting out and the best means that Yang Qing could think of was through the use of the array.

Yang Qing stewed in silence as time slowly passed him by before finally Ye Xun appeared in his office about half an hour later taking more time than she did the first time when she brought the duo over.

"They have something that can shield them from the spiritual sense of a domain expert.." said Ye Xun the moment she appeared.

"I figured as much..Is it the work of the array?"

Ye Xun shook her head sideways as she said,

"No, it seems to be an artifact, but it doesn't seem to be fully functional because despite its presence I was still able to detect its location and when I concentrated further I was able to capture the aura of the king's grandfather, albeit slightly.

What the Imperial Secretary told you is the truth. Even if I could only capture a trace of his aura, I can tell that his vitality seems to be weakening, and a sense of erraticness to it, the kind you'd find on someone fighting against mental demons.."

Yang Qing's brow creased together when he heard that.

"Senior Ye Xun how much do you know about the Blue Soul Flame Crow Syndicate?" asked Yang Qing as he drummed his finger on his desk with a pensive look on his face.

"You think they may have something to do with his condition?" asked Ye Xun reading his train of thought.

"I do.."

" I haven't dealt with them much but I could have Xiang He send you all the relevant information.

What he has is bound to prove useful if you're looking to confirm something..."

Ye Xun paused briefly before her usually calm taciturn look blossomed into a smile. It was like the welcoming sun that was announcing the end of the cold winter.

Her gaze fell on Yang Qing who with no rhyme or reason thought Ye Xun was about to confess to him which made his heart race mercilessly. Every time a fair maiden smiled at him or even had a gaze that lingered on him a millisecond too long, his mind instantly assumed his handsome looks had ensnared them.

"You know if you keep going like this, the special inquisitors might decide to take you under their fold.

Xiang He did say that Assistant Director Feng Lei had his eye on you since your graduation ceremony when you intercepted that member from the Scarlet Blood Ghost Hands Syndicate.

With the way you're going, it's only a matter of time. The black-red robe rather suits you.." she said with a meaningful smile.

Yang Qing's heart instantly sped up for another reason entirely.

Seeing his palish features and trembling body, Ye Xun let out another chuckle as she disappeared from the room, but not without leaving a few words for Yang Qing.

"I will tell Xiang He to send you the information, I am sure he will appreciate the help as he is chasing other leads of his own on the case.

Also, don't worry about the Special Inquisitor snatching you up, I doubt Lei would let you go so easily, and the committee too..."

Yang Qing stood frozen for a short while before his knees finally gave out and he dropped to one of the seats next to him.

"What did she mean by that? From her tone, it seems she and old fiend Lei are friends. Was she tormenting me on his behalf, or was this her way of getting back at me for all the favors I've had her do for me.." muttered Yang Qing in defeat.

The thought of joining the Special Inquisitors gave him a level of fear he did not know even existed within him.

He would rather go without eating for years than become a Special Inquisitor. Despite the favorable remunerations they get from cultivation resources, to access to special cultivation sites under the control of the Order, the job itself was the most terrifying.

They dealt only with the most heinous of organizations or criminals. Yang Qing felt his stomach churn when he imagined day in and day out dealing with dangerous people like the figure behind the red abyssal thorn tree.

That was the last place he would ever think of joining. He couldn't help but reevaluate his actions on whether he should be less overzealous in his investigation and just pace himself.

Whatever he could think of, the special inquisitors could think of it too, and they already knew who the major culprit of the incident was.

If they found the hiding ground of the Blue Soul Flame Crow Syndicate, that was it, justice would be delivered swiftly with their complete eradication.

Other things like why they targetted the daughter of the obsidian serpents, and how they managed to infiltrate the Deer Mountain Range, all of it would be moot if they discovered their lair which was what Yang Qing suspected Special Inquisitor Xiang He was doing instead of following this little bread crumbs Yang Qing was following up and about.

A second later Yang Qing shook his head to dismiss the thought. He was already on this boat and he would see it through to the end. 

Though he knew part of the reason he was this invested in the case was because of Hao Da. Had it been a different person Yang Qing wasn't sure he would have exerted himself as he did.

He would have dug around because people from the Order did die and get hurt, but Hao Da being one of them, a close friend, that aspect made him push himself even further than he usually would.

"Maybe I can take this as me training up my inquisitor skills. With Yi Jie and the others unable to handle the palace court cases yet, I will have to do some of the leg work myself before they join me.

Those bastards, always so selfish.." muttered Yang Qing in frustration.

After the scare he got from Ye Xun, Yang Qing was in no mood than to do anything else other than eat.

He picked a few meals from the kitchen and moved to one of the peaks within the branch that Luo Meili had told him had a great view and ambient atmosphere.

A good meal and view was just what he needed to cleanse his mind. In the process, he even met Haishi and Bolin who he grabbed along to join him for a meal.

Even though the cultivation of the two was still where it was when they first joined, they had made significant progress. 

Bolin's wood rejuvenation element was finally showing signs of balancing out the different toxins within his body, while Haishi's control of her mirage was getting stronger.

Yang Qing could sense with her current mastery she could hide herself from a seventh-stage core formation expert despite being at the fourth stage.

This seemed to suit her perfectly, as she didn't seem the combative type. Yang Qing made a mental note to bring them along during his investigations to help them test their abilities.

The Deer Mountain Range wasn't as expansive as the Green Fog Swamp but it was close somewhat, especially when one considered the spirit beasts roaming about and the countless untamed regions.

Yang Qing didn't want the instincts that they had honed in the Green Fog Swamp to dull out and their current abilities were too weak for them to be thrown into the dangerous zones of the Insitute.

With a plan in place, Yang Qing smiled ever so brightly at the two unsuspecting duo who were blissfully enjoying the meals Yang Qing had brought along.