Daily life of a cultivation judge

Fan Cai's eyes widened when he was the humanized look his mother had on. She looked remorseful, an emotion that he assumed his mother was incapable of feeling and or showing, amongst a list of other emotions he believed were absent in her.

"Sister Xie Yuan, it's not that I wish to be difficult but there is no other option here. At least this way there might be a chance for you all," Fan Ha softly said, as she tried to muster a comforting smile toward her counterpart.

But due to the heaviness that hung in the air, and the gravity of what she was discussing, the smile wasn't the least but comforting and instead a bit of somberness and sorrow to the situation.

Her smile seemed more like a prelude to a bad ending. It was no different than that of a soldier heading off to battle that he or she knew they had no chance of surviving.

Xie Yuan's eyes trembled slightly, with her lips mirroring the actions of her eyes as they shook too.

She looked like she had more to say but ultimately she decided to leave them unsaid. If her words truly had any sway with Fan Ha it would have already worked and the events of today could have already been avoided.

She let out a sigh of defeat as her attention drifted over to Meng Jiayi who unlike her was the picture of calm as he closed his eyes seemingly to revel in the taste of the wine in his mouth.

Xie Yuan couldn't help but envy his state. She wasn't sure if it was because he only had a century to live, so he didn't seem fazed too much about what fate had in store for them, or it was because of another reason, but Xie Yuan desperately wished she had the same sense of calm and equanimity to their current circumstances as Meng Jiayi did.

But as it stood, she was swallowed in an ocean of worry that she was too helpless to do anything about.

Fan Ha was about to sacrifice herself for the sect. They both knew that despite what deal she struck with the Yu family, the inevitable would still happen.

There was no way the Yu family would just leave them alone but despite knowing of its futility, Fan Ha was still insistent of going through with it, and her , while a large part of her was against it, a small part of her was for it.

Maybe then , the time she bought them, a miracle would happen for them. It was a far-fetched assumption, but with nothing else to rely on, Xie Yuan could only hitch her bets on miracles.

"Thank you very much for your testimony, Sect master Xie Yuan,". Yang Qing said as he cupped his fists in gratitude with Xie Yuan nodding in return with a helpless smile coloring her face.

The testimony had more or less filled the blank spaces Yang Qing had of the case, especially the major point on why the contract remained active.

One of the clauses of the contract mentioned both parties not exposing one another to calamitous danger and the party that violates said clause would be subject to the demands made by the exposed party as reparations for the violation.

Fan Ha injuring members of the Yu family could be considered as inviting calamitous danger to the Starlight Lake Sect despite the already strenuous relationship that they had with the Yu family.

Her actions could have pushed up the timeline of their destruction and as such she had indeed violated the contract and was subject to whatever the Starlight Lake Sect wished to do with her because of said violation.

But it didn't seem like the Starlight Lake Sect wanted to trigger said clause and it was instead Fan Ha who had triggered it herself and from the looks of things it seemed like she wanted to use it as a bargaining a chip.

She more than likely wanted to self herself to the Yu family maybe to appease them , and if they are feeling generous enough maybe they might even decide to hold off on their actions against the Starlight Lake Sect in the process.

It was all speculation on his part, sound speculation but speculation nonetheless.

"Since I have the main party here I might as well ask her for confirmation," thought Yang Qing.

"Miss Fan Ha if it's not too much trouble would you be kind to share as to what alterations you seek to have in your contract.

With it still being active, you are planning to change ownership of the contract, are you not?"

"I am," curtly answered Fan Ha.

"And what are the amended terms you wish to introduce in your agreement with them?"

Fan Ha looked at Yang Qing briefly, her gaze then moved over to Yu Hui who was as smug looking as could be before her eyesight moved back to Yang Qing.

"In exchange for the Yu clan not making a move either overt or covertly against the Starlight Lake Sect for the next 500 years, I would serve as the clan guardian for the rest of my life," Fan Ha said.

Despite the supposed implications, Fan Ha still remained the same, calm and unaffected. One wouldn't even think she was talking about herself when she said that or that she was discussing something as dire as trading her freedom.

"It's just that, there are no other clauses similar to what you had with the Starlight Lake Sect?"

"There are not,"

"Thank you," Yang Qing said as he sighed inwardly.

"She can't do that, can she?!" Fan Cai hurriedly said with a worry stricken look.

"She can't do that! Mother you can't do that!" He added with a tone that was a mix of pleading, desperation, and wrathful dictation.

"Judge Yang Qing, she can't do that, can she? She has already fulfilled her contract, why is she amending it? She is already free of it isn't she?!"

"Fan Cai, contain yourself," Fan Ha coldly said , her pressure prompting Fan Ha to close his mouth out of trepidation but a moment later his eyes blazed in fury melting away whatever fear he had been put under by his mother's cold gaze and demeanor.