Daily life of a cultivation judge Chapter 1528: Myriad Blossoms Harmony Spirit Eyes Physique (1)

The rational and fearful side of Zhang Rei was continuously warning him, screaming even, against trusting Yang Qing, despite how sincere the person looked. Four years at the Institute with him, Zhang Rei knew Yang Qing to be a skilled smooth talker and liar. As a matter of fact, Zhang Rei had learned a fair bit from him, which was how he got so good at fawning and threading the line of diplomacy while trying to be in everyone’s good graces.

As such, given what he knew about Yang Qing, and what he had seen Yang Qing do, and even just the reputation Yang Qing held over the years long after they had graduated, the deep schemes and all, Zhang Rei didn’t much trust what he was seeing. And yet, he couldn’t help but be curious and open the door to Yang Qing’s request.

"What’s the favour?" Zhang Rei asked cautiously, all the while internally regretting it for being too soft-hearted and being led by the nose, because he was fairly certain the sullenness and the cold expression put on by Yang Qing, including his words, had all likely been to guilt-trip and soften him up all for this very moment as he made this request.

Zhang Rei sighed inwardly when he saw the cheeky grin and glint in Yang Qing’s expression, who was grinning ear to ear as he stood up to refill his cup.

"Glad to see my old friend is still in there," Yang Qing said cheerily. "I know we don’t need to eat, but you shouldn’t neglect it. You look thinner... You should eat more. Just drinking tea and wine isn’t enough," Yang Qing said with concern as he selected a few of the spring rolls and plated them for Zhang Rei, who was smiling wryly at the display.

"So..." Zhang Rei commented, gazing at Yang Qing, who hadn’t forgotten to care for his needs, as he went for another spring roll. "What’s the favour?"

Yang Qing’s grin melted into a heavy look. "Some time back, I handled a case that didn’t end too well," Yang Qing began slowly, pausing to take a wistful bite of his spring roll before continuing.

"There was this cultivator, called Ma Yuan... a decent person. Great at nurturing plants. You should see the work he has done in my place. Completely transformed it. You can hardly recognise it. You’ll see when you come to upgrade the array..." Yang Qing said, his voice rising in praise before dropping into a mellow sombreness.

"His child and wife got kidnapped," he continued, pausing briefly as he shifted his pensive gaze from that slightly chewed-on spring roll to Zhang Rei.

Yang Qing smiled bitterly. "Now and then, I’d think, surely, given all the things I have seen, all the cases I have handled, a voice inside of me would say, ’Surely you’ve seen all the darkness this world has to offer.’ And then, as though this world feels slighted at the remark and is motivated to prove me wrong... it proves me wrong and humbles me, by showing that there are still levels to its darkness that I haven’t seen yet.

And I experienced one such level with Ma Yuan’s case."

Yang Qing paused, sighed, and took a sip of his tea before continuing. But just before he could continue, Zhang Rei said softly, "I think wine would be better. The tea has grown cold anyway."

A gourd in the form of a tulip’s bulb and two cups immediately appeared in his hands. He uncorked the wine, and a rich, earthy, breezy scent instantly wafted out from the gourd. He poured for Yang Qing first before his own.

Yang Qing nodded and smiled gratefully at Zhang Rei, and then they toasted. "To the never-ending surprises of the world," they both said as they raised their cups before drinking.

Yang Qing’s eyes widened in surprise after the first sip. He held the cup at a distance from his face to give the crystal-clear wine a more studied appraisal, looking in pleasant surprise as he shifted his gaze from the wine to Zhang Rei.

"You still have Yi Jie’s first batch?"

"I do..." Zhang Rei said, sighing with emotion and deep satisfaction as he took another sip. "Yi Jie is gifted," he added, savoring the sip.

"That he is," Yang Qing echoed, taking another sip that ended with a nostalgic sigh. "It was simpler times back then," he added wistfully.

"I wonder if it was simple," Zhang Rei said, smiling wryly as certain memories crossed his mind.

Yang Qing smiled back. "I guess simple is a stretch."

"Just a bit," Zhang Rei said, using his index finger and thumb to gesture the distance, his actions prompting laughter from them both.

After the laughter had settled, Zhang Rei softly and somberly asked, "How did the case go?"

"Bad," Yang Qing said, sighing as his gaze drifted to the memory of the event. "But as things go, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. At least there was some good to it," he added, through a smile that was part forced, part acceptance.

Continuing where he left off, he said, "His wife belonged to a sect called the Ice Emerald Sect, and fearing for her safety, she had fled the sect and wandered from place to place, and in the process met Ma Yuan. Saved his life. Fell in love. Wandered together until they had a daughter, quit their wandering ways, and decided to settle down in one place.

Things were going well for them, until the Ice Emerald Sect came knocking."

Yang Qing’s voice went low as he swirled the wine in his cup before finally taking a gulp.

Yang Qing looked up, back at Zhang Rei, who was already handing him the wine gourd.

"He had his cultivation crippled, and his child and wife got taken. When I met him... it was seven years after he’d lost them, and..." his gaze fell to the crystal-clear wine in his cup, which reflected the clear sky above. "I found him at the bottom of a lake, dense with frigid yin qi..."

Yang Qing didn’t expound further, nor did he need to. What he said was plenty for Zhang Rei to infer what Ma Yuan had been looking for at the bottom of that lake.

Both sighed, before Yang Qing continued. "That’s when I took up the case. Ma Yuan didn’t even know who had taken his wife and daughter at the time. All he had was a shard from when he’d been attacked. Thankfully, it was enough. That shard led me to the Ice Emerald Sect, and its trail revealed the darkness of that sect.

Turns out, kidnapping Ma Yuan’s wife and daughter wasn’t their first kidnapping. They had been hunting down cultivators all over the place who had a yin-based physique, and had destroyed various organisations that had cultivation arts tied to the Frozen Serenity Scripture."

"Why?" Zhang Rei asked curiously.

Yang Qing shrugged as he said, "I still have no clue what they needed the arts for, but..." He paused, his eyes narrowing into a grim expression, "for those with yin physiques, they were used as ’food’ for a tree they had corrupted, through assistance from some mysterious figure..."

On remembering the blood-red thorn tree that had almost ripped their lives away, Yang Qing’s expression couldn’t help but pale in fright. "We almost died there. We would have, had the Chief Inquisitor and one of the Vice Presidents not appeared in time..." he added, his voice lowering in relief and terror.

His hands shook, and his heart raced, just recalling how close to death he’d been that day.

Yang Qing pulled himself back and continued pensively, "That tree seemed to have the ability to extend lifespan."

"Lifespan?" Zhang Rei asked, raising his brow.