Daily life of a cultivation judge



Yang Qing's courtyard

"Judge Yang Qing.." Ma Yuan on detecting the gaze of Zheng Hu looked behind him and spotted Yang Qing walking over.

He had been brought over by Zheng Hu who had been the person who had been feeding him the progress of the case during the past month.

However, the updates stopped almost a week ago when Zheng Hu disappeared, and the person from the administration department attached to his case, only gave him the barest of minimums.

Over the past week, he had not heard anything, and then Zheng Hu came out of the blue and told him Yang Qing wanted to see him later in the evening at his abode.

He had received that notice in the morning, and the whole day, he had been a bundle of nerves. He was anxious, excited, and filled with dread. 

The seven-year-old nightmare was about to end. He guessed Yang Qing called him over to potentially tell him about the conclusion of the case. That news excited him but also terrified him. 

On one hand, there was a chance he would finally be reunited with his wife and daughter, and on the other, he may get the news that he had half expected, dreaded, and buried in the deepest recess of his mind, the expectation that was so terrifying to him that it drove him to madness and despair that he tried to take his life.

That news was the confirmation that his wife and daughter were dead. Even though he tried to hold on to hope that they might be okay, he couldn't completely remove that conclusion from his mind.

He had seen how ruthless the world was, especially the cultivation world, and when Yang Qing helped him recall the memories of that night with the thought-clearing incense stick, he didn't only recall the events of that night, but he also managed to see his wife's look that night. She was abjectly terrified when the white-haired woman broke into their home and when she went for their daughter.

His wife always had a stoic face. While over the years he had learned how to tell if she was happy or mad, especially the latter along with an array of other emotions, those emotions were not clearly written on her face but that night, even a blind stranger could tell she was afraid.

His mind couldn't help but wander to dark places every time he remembered the fear she had and what potential future awaited them.

He had experienced and seen a lot of things as a rogue cultivator, so he had no shortage of ideas of how bad it could get, and those ideas terrified him. They terrified him so badly, that occasionally some part of him hoped they died a peaceful death seven years ago. 

"Ma Yuan, thanks for coming.." Yang Qing said trying to pull out the most comforting smile he could.

Yang Qing wanted to unpack the dishes he had picked from the Thousand Flavors Restaurant, but he decided against it and instead took out a gourd that had a flowing blue mist emblem on it.

The gourd was a natural treasure. It was made from the tranquil mistgourd and had the ability to add calming properties to anything that was stored in it, along with chilling it. The gourd wasn't expensive, so Yang Qing used it to store his wines.

He decided to take out the spirit lake rice wine which had a mellow undertone that refreshed and renewed the mind, which added to the effect of the tranquil mistgourd, he hoped would be able to help Ma Yuan handle the news.

Yang Qing poured a cup for himself, Ma Yuan, and Zheng Hu, then sat down.

"Ma Yuan, we have made progress with your case, and we already know who has your wife and daughter.

The lady you saw is called Deng Yaozu and she is an elder of the Ice Emerald Sect. There's a high likelihood that your wife was a member of that sect too. 

Though the name ' Shun Fei' you gave us, doesn't appear in the list of recorded members we have. Which is not strange as she may have changed her name when she left the sect..."

Ma Yuan's hand trembled as he held on to the wine urn which caused some to spill over. His eyes immediately became hazy, with his lips quivering.

"Are...are...are....they?" It seemed like it took every willpower he had to get those words out of his mouth. 

Yang Qing and Zheng Hu, despite trying to hide their true thoughts so as not to startle Ma Yuan, couldn't help but sigh when they saw his current look.

"I can't confirm if they are alive or dead yet, but I can confirm they were taken by Deng Yaozu and more than likely the sect knew about it, and supported it. So it's very likely that they are there, as per their states, I honestly don't know..." 

Yang Qing paused as his look turned sympathetic.

"There's something else I also need to tell you, and it's not easy..." 

Ma Yuan who had been out of sorts immediately froze at Yang Qing's words as he looked at him.

"What?"

His gaze slowly moved to Zheng Hu who spotted the same look as Yang Qing. His stomach immediately churned, and he felt like his blood was freezing over by the second, and his tongue had a bitter aftertaste forming.

Even without them saying, he knew it wasn't anything good. His mind couldn't help but wander to those horrendous scenarios he had imagined happening to them over the years.

"What happened to your wife and daughter, it isn't the first time the Ice Emerald Sect has done this. It has been doing so for the past 40,000 years as far as we can tell.

And...."

Yang Qing felt his tongue get heavier, and whatever words he had rehearsed on the way over seemed to be quickly escaping him, but in the end, he steeled himself and broke everything to Ma Yuan.

While Yang Qing was mindful enough to leave out the gory details of how the sect conducted its affairs, the much he did reveal was enough to drain the color out of Ma Yuan's skin, and in the end, Ma Yuan couldn't take it as he laughed and cried hysterically, teetering close to breaking down.

When it seemed like he was about to lose it, Yang Qing swiftly knocked him out.

"Watch over him. He should be out for three days, by the time he comes to, all this will all be over. In the end, he will have a concrete answer, whichever it may be.." Yang Qing said with a tired sigh as he handed over Ma Yuan to Zheng Hu.

"When are you leaving?" Zheng Hu asked.

"A day from now. There's a report from the Committee I'm waiting on, and I also need a day to prepare myself. 

We all decided to take a day for it.." Yang Qing said as his gaze turned distant.

Zheng Hu closed and opened his mouth a couple of times before he finally said,

"You're sure we can't come?"

"I appreciate the sentiment Zheng Hu, and I feel the weight would feel lighter if you were all there with me, but if I were to take you all with me as you are, part of my concentrations would drift towards your well-being..." 

"But thank you.." he added with a gratified smile.

"Okay.." said Zheng Hu with complicated emotions flashing through his eyes as he clenched his fists as he walked away.