Daily life of a cultivation judge

Before he went to the Administration Hall to meet with the Shadow Hawks liaison, Yang Qing decided to pass by the abode given to the Wang couple as the guardians of the Zou siblings. The short vacation given to the siblings was already over and had already returned to the Institute to continue their rehabilitation to prepare them for their life there.

Yang Qing found the couple discussing a few things here and there with members of the formation hall and the alchemy department. On seeing Yang Qing they excitedly invited him for a cup of tea. Even if three days had passed by the whole thing seemed so surreal to them. They still couldn't believe that this would be their lives and some part of them even felt a little guilty as they felt they were leeching off the siblings.

The reaction was to be expected as he had the same experience with his family. After he had qualified to join the Institute, some part of him wanted to start over just by himself but a few days in he couldn't stand the solitude.

No matter how crazy his clan was, he still had the best memories with them, and it was even more so with his family. His grandfather as impassioned as he was with body refinement bordering on a crazy fanatic, never exceeded the bounds of what was possible, and no matter how busy he was, he would sit with Yang Qing every night, regaling him with all sorts of tales of which the bulk were centered on the troubles he got into as a youth.

Accompanying the stories would be his famous honey-glazed pork. It was about the only dish he knew how to prepare, but even Yang Qing had to admit to date he had not found anyone who could beat his skills in that dish.

It took him a few days to realize he needed his family with him. It took a lot of effort to convince them to come, as they too, just like the Wang couple felt that they would be leeching off his success and they didn't want to do that. It took Yang Qing vowing to quit the Order and never cultivating for them to agree to come. Once they did, whatever apprehension they had instantly disappeared when the Medical Valley offered to sponsor all their research whilst also sharing some of their research into the body refinement realm.

This was one of the means through which the Order expanded its knowledge trove. It sponsored clans, or families with specialized areas of cultivation. Just like the Yang family that had made its bones through body refinement enough to formulate a complete legacy on the subject, there were others who had managed the same feat and the Order supported them all which was how they created one of the best foundation-laying programs. Regardless of talent, every product of the Institute was guaranteed to have a firm foundation in any subject matter be it their cultivation base or the other schools of cultivation.

To ease their thoughts, Yang Qing decided to share his personal experience with the Wang couple, the doubts, fears, and mental anguish he had when he thought of living alone without his family. For what the siblings had endured, other than each other, the Wang couple was one of the anchors that kept them sane, and even here at the Order, it was more than likely they were more excited with the couple being here than even the abode itself. If the couple were to leave, they would likely never step foot there, and rather opt to stay at the Institute.

After assuaging their guilt, Yang Qing finally left for the Administration hall. Once there, he quickly located the liaison from the Shadow Hawks Division. When he met with the Assistant chief of staff of the Shadow Hawks, among the pieces of information he was provided with, one was how to make contact with them should he ever have a need, and one of the ways was through one of their members stationed in the External Logistics Division.

Yang Qing wasn't given a clear description of who they were or what they looked like, the only thing he was given, was how to notice they were from the Shadow Hawks through a distinct rhythm in their normal movements. If you didn't know what to look for, you would easily miss it even as a palace realm expert, one would hardly notice, but if you did, then the sign was like a shining moon in the night.

Yang Qing managed to find what he was looking for in a middle-aged woman who had a kind motherly face as she courteously handled the disbursement process for the cultivators on her line. She was patient, answering any questions they had, and with some, she was so familiar with them that one would think they were her nieces and nephews. She exchanged laughs and jokes here and there, teasing some, and offering kind elderly advice to others.

She looked no different than regular personnel, but Yang Qing could see a grey thread of starlight drifting from her fingertips which was the sign Yang Qing was told to look for. He didn't know how they did it, but the only way to see the starlight was to follow a set of steps. One of them was to follow the rhythm of her movements in a specific order which would then serve as the key to revealing the starlight, and the other was to circulate the nebular mist grey star art which would help him notice the starlight once he followed the rhythm correctly.

Rather than approach her, Yang Qing decided to wait at the side as he was certain she must have noticed him and knew he was there for her. The nebular mist grey star art was as much a signal checker for Yang Qing as it was for the middle-aged lady. His guess was proven correct when she announced to the cultivators who had lined up that she would be handling the next four before she took a small break, which was met by light-hearted and playful complaints from the cultivators in her line.

Seeing her at work Yang Qing could clearly see why the Shadow Hawks had one of their own stationed at the External Logistics Division. It was the best place to interact with cultivators from all walks of life and different regions around the continent and different stations. The cultivators before him were treasure fruits of information ripe for harvesting, and with the excellent rapport the middle-aged lady had established with them, she could do it so easily in the comfort of her station.

It wasn't too long before she was done with the four cultivators and politely excused herself, which Yang Qing took as a cue to head to a particular room that was hidden in illusory and antiscrying arrays. Though they both seemed to be headed in different directions, a few seconds later they were in the same room.

"Good morning, Senior Mei Cheng, my name is Yang Qing.." Yang Qing politely gestured as he cupped his fists in greeting when they were both in the room.

"Nice to meet you, Yang Qing, and sorry for making you wait.." said the middle-aged lady still wearing the same motherly demeanor which Yang Qing couldn't help but wonder if it was her true nature or part of her cover. He couldn't see through her, then again if he did, then she would not make a competent member of the Shadow Hawks.

"No, No, it is I who should be apologizing for coming without notice.."

"Well, you couldn't well have prepared without knowing who I was in the first place could you?" said Mei Cheng with a teasing smile on her face as she took a seat.

"That is true.." answered Yang Qing as he chuckled, taking a seat himself.

"I take it you're here because of your intelligence network? You have not yet established contact with them, but considering the number of things that you have been dealing with since your promotion, it's understandable why you haven't.."

"As expected.." thought Yang Qing in response to Mei Cheng's statement which implied she knew the ins and outs of his activities since he became an outer palace court judge and it was more than likely she was current with all the information she had on him.

Yang Qing's mind quickly wandered as he wondered if the failures of his previous schemes had anything to do with them considering how thorough they seemed to be.

Pushing the matter to the back of his mind, Yang Qing answered,

"In part yes, but I would also like your assistance on a case I am working on.."

Mei Cheng on hearing this slightly narrowed her eyes whilst still wearing the same smile.

"Does it have to do with what happened at the Range?" she asked.

"Yes.."

As soon as he answered, Yang Qing saw what looked to be regret and self-reproach flash in Mei Cheng's eyes before it went back to normal where she smiled when she caught Yang Qing's slightly surprised look.

"We are not rocks you know. We too feel things.." she lightheartedly said before she sighed.

"What happened there is an oversight on our part. We are meant to notice the things that lurk in the shadows, and cracks, to cover the Order's blindside, but we were completely negligent in our duties and missed a lot of things there and the cost was the lives of our own.."

"The blame is not yours, senior Mei Cheng, the Shadow Hawks do so much already, I doubt even the Holy Lands with all their abilities can claim to know everything that happens around the continent. If they did, there would be no stories of cultivators stumbling onto unique treasures and having miraculous encounters. They would have already swallowed it themselves.." said Yang Qing trying to cheer her up.

continent. If they did, there would be no stories of cultivators stumbling onto unique treasures and having miraculous "Thank you..." said Mei Cheng with a gentle smile.

"What is it that you needed our help with.."

Yang Qing's look turned solemn as he said,

"I need your help investigating someone. His name is Jiang Xiang, an eclipse spiritweave fox from the Deer Mountain Range. From the information I have gathered, he works for the White Rose Pavilion.

I need any and all information that concerns him. How he joined them, his journey since he joined them, and if he still works there.."

Feeling he had not given enough context, Yang Qing went on to mention his suspicions of Jiang Xiang being potentially involved with the Blue Soul Flame Crow Syndicate on how they knew about the treasure bone belonging to a flood dragon, as he was one of the few people who knew who had it.

"White Rose Pavilion.." murmured Mei Feng in a slightly constrained tone before she relaxed it again as she said,

"Merchant organizations especially the well-established ones are the most difficult to pry information out of, especially when it concerns one of their own. We may have to part with a few valuables, hopefully, he isn't someone high up the ladder, if he is, then we may have to involve the Chief of staff.

Give me two days... You can either come here, or I can bring it to your chambers, no, pardon my memory, age is catching up. You're on vacation, and from what I've heard, I doubt you'd step foot in your courtroom during that period.."Mei Cheng said with a meaningful smile.

Yang Qing smiled sheepishly as he said,

"I'll come here... in the afternoon if that is okay.."

"That's okay.."