Daily life of a cultivation judge Chapter 1506: The Yang family grows (1)

After closely observing Chen Yu and seeing that he didn't look like he would be calming down anytime soon, Yang Qing offered him the one thing he thought would help.

"Care for some wine?" Yang Qing offered as he gestured toward one of the tables by the patio.

Smiling awkwardly, Chen Yu nodded, and the two of them made their way over to the table, where Yang Qing, with practiced ease, was already filling their cups before Chen Yu had even comfortably settled into his seat. After a moment's pause and brief deliberation from Yang Qing, a spread of thinly shredded beef, accompanied by bowls of different sauces, appeared on the table.

After gesturing toward the meat and inviting Chen Yu to help himself, all while heaping praise on the dish and how magnificently it paired with the wine, Yang Qing took his seat. He immediately reached for one of the slices, dipped it into a spicy sesame sauce, took a satisfying bite, and washed it down with a sip of wine.

Following suit, Chen Yu did the same, though he opted for the black bean sauce.

As he enjoyed his own slices, Yang Qing discreetly monitored Chen Yu's every reaction.

Figures, Yang Qing thought when he heard the forced hum of contentment that escaped Chen Yu after taking a bite, followed by the equally forced praise he offered the dish. Chen Yu looked less like someone enjoying a meal and more like a victim forced to fawn over and bootlick his kidnappers out of sheer self-preservation.

Is Shitong really that frightening? Yang Qing sighed. For the life of him, he couldn't see a single intimidating thing about that obese-looking bird. His shadow commanded a more domineering presence than Shitong's entire body ever could. What was so scary about a colorful ball of feathers? Shitong was nothing more than a purple cloud of feathers with a nasty personality and bottomless greed.

Yang Qing was even half tempted to drag Shitong out of his nest and wallop him in front of Chen Yu just to show him there was nothing about that bird worth the level of paralyzing fear he was displaying.

He held off in the end.

Chen Yu was already as pale as a ghost. Though he tried to control himself, his eyes kept darting fearfully toward the nest. Every time he caught himself and forced his gaze away, it would inevitably drift back a moment later.

Seeing just how unnerved Chen Yu was, Yang Qing judged that if he dared follow through on his plan of beating up Shitong to settle Chen Yu's nerves, it would probably have the opposite effect on the already tense appraiser.

He would probably react the same way as Chen Yu if he ever saw one of his instructors, or Old Lei, getting thoroughly beaten in front of him. Seeing them get beaten up, his first thoughts were far less likely to be, Finally, justice has been served... Add more punches and kicks in there. No need to hold back on account of his age. That fiend has deceptively strong bones. Put some more weight behind those punches.

Instead, his thoughts would be frightfully centered on: How are they getting beaten up? Will I be next? If these monsters are getting beaten this badly, what are the odds of me surviving that beating if they decide to turn on me?

After all, the line between cheering spectator and witness was an extremely thin one.

Owing to his own experience of living in constant fear, Yang Qing silently refilled Chen Yu's cup without the latter even asking. As the seconds ticked by, Chen Yu unconsciously grew more partial to the wine than the meat, barely touching it after the first bite.

Half an hour slowly passed in silent drinking, broken only by the occasional awkward small talk. Chen Yu praised Yang Qing's abode, along with the collection of spiritual plants and spirit beasts that called it home, but he never seemed to listen much whenever Yang Qing spoke. Without fail, his attention always drifted back to the Green Flame Tree.

Fearing Chen Yu's torment would only grow deeper the longer he stayed, Yang Qing deftly guided the conversation toward sending him off in a way that didn't make it seem as though he was doing so because he was afraid Chen Yu would develop inner demons in the form of a rotund, obese bird.

Under the guise that the Order had plenty of wonderful sights and scenery to offer, enough that even dedicating an entire month to exploring it wouldn't be enough to see everything, Yang Qing even shamelessly added a few exaggerations here and there by claiming that, despite having been here for years, the Order was still as much a mystery to him as the first day he had stepped through its doors.

With that, Yang Qing escorted Chen Yu out of his abode, both of them carefully avoiding the obvious, which Chen Yu was immensely grateful for, along with being allowed to leave Yang Qing's abode.

Watching Chen Yu's swiftly departing figure that was so fast that it threatened to leave his assigned guide behind with how fast he was moving, Yang Qing rubbed his nose and smiled sheepishly as he wondered if this would quite possibly be the last time Chen Yu ever set foot in the Order.

Yang Qing could see much of himself in the way Chen Yu conducted himself from the moment he laid eyes on Shitong. They didn't speak much during those thirty minutes, but from observing him, and with the emotion dominating Chen Yu being a subject Yang Qing was thoroughly educated in, having had it as a constant companion since he was young, safe to say, Yang Qing felt confident he had perfectly read Chen Yu's thoughts.

He saw Chen Yu's adventurous spirit slowly die over those thirty minutes, every time his gaze drifted to the Green Flame Tree. Wasn't it the same for him? He'd wanted to roam the world, see the sights, eat the phoenix, rob the dragon, ride a kunpeng to the moon, but then the big slap of cruel reality smacked those fanciful dreams right out of his mind when he was "educated" on just how dangerous the world truly was.

Yang Qing also saw the resolve that briefly flickered in Chen Yu's eyes amidst that ocean of fear. Yang Qing didn't need Chen Yu to verbally say what resolve he had made when he stared at the Green Flame Tree for a record twenty seconds. Yang Qing knew it by heart. After all, hadn't he made that very same resolve during his days as a student, which even went on to influence the career path he eventually chose?

What a sense of deep satisfaction he had felt when he finally took his first step toward realizing that resolve. It happened when his gaze fell on the Black Tower as a newly promoted judge, undergoing his orientation and being given the lay of the land. How his eyes had burned with tears of gratitude and satisfaction when the person in charge of his orientation told him that with his Gold Eagle Medallion, as long as he remained within his courtroom, even with just a Core Formation cultivation base, a peak-stage Domain Realm expert would be hard-pressed to lay so much as a finger on him.

Those trusty arrays and hidden trump cards that could threaten even an early-stage Soul Formation Realm expert. All of it controlled through a palm-sized medallion. The fearsome power he held in his hands. The overwhelming sense of safety.

Right then and there, Yang Qing vowed never to leave the comforts of the Black Tower and the Order's compound. Not even under threat.

How naive he'd been.

He broke that vow not long after, and, painfully, not of his own volition. He had been threatened and punished into it, and out of self-preservation, he had no choice but to leave the nest after a few vividly delivered threats, followed by practical demonstrations from seasoned monsters who knew exactly which buttons to push to force him into submission.

But while he may have broken that vow, the promise he made beneath the shadow of the Black Tower was one he still intended to fulfill. Someday, in the near future, he would have the autonomy to truly become a recluse who would never set a single toe outside the Order's compound.

But until that day came, Yang Qing could only silently cheer on his kindred spirit, Chen Yu, who was likely to have better luck in that endeavor. Yang Qing certainly thought he would. After all, the Jade Leaf Academy was unlikely to threaten him into leaving and frame it as though it were for his own benefit like the Order did. And unlike the Order, the Academy's affairs were mostly kept within its own grounds rather than beyond them.

Chen Yu might actually realize their shared dream of staying in the nest and never leaving. He definitely now carried the resolve of someone willing to see it through to the very end.

Yang Qing sighed deeply, feeling a profound sense of gratification as he watched Chen Yu's figure gradually disappear into the glow of the setting sun.

"So this must be how the instructors feel when one of their profound teachings finally sinks into us and becomes a part of our very being," Yang Qing thoughtfully murmured as he clasped his hands behind his back and walked back toward his abode, adopting the air and mannerisms of a seasoned sage.

The feeling is quite addictive. No wonder they're so dedicated to their craft, Yang Qing thought as he gave a sage-like nod to himself.