Daily life of a cultivation judge

It took Fan Ha a significant amount of time to compose herself enough to function properly. Despite her efforts, she still appeared visibly shaken - her forehead was glistened with sweat, her fingers were trembling, and her eyes were wide with disbelief.

Her hand trembled as she tried to pull away, but her body betrayed her by staying put. The colorful lights emanating from Yang Qing's fingers were mesmerizing, and she couldn't help but greedily soak in the energy they emitted. Each pulse of light seemed to pulsate with its own life force, drawing her in deeper and deeper. She felt a surge of warmth and vitality coursing through her veins as she surrendered to the enchantment of the lights.

Yang Qing, satisfied with his demonstration, put away the lights and set the cloud jade back on the table.

As soon as the connection was disconnected, Fan Ha quickly tried to compose herself and sat down in a hurry. In her haste, she almost sat on Fan Cai who had moved closer during the intense interaction.

"What is that?" Fan Cai asked in a raspy voice as he used his shaky fingers to point at the cloud jade on the table.

Like his mother, he had that insatiable fiery passion in his eyes, but his seemed a little more subdued. This wasn't to mean that he had more willpower than her, but rather it was because he couldn't fully comprehend the depth of the radiant light flowing within the cloud jade.

Fan Cai's reaction was purely instinctive, and even then, what he grasped only scratched the surface of the immense iceberg that was that radiant light. But that small glimpse was enough to make all four of his hearts race with a deep longing to capture and refine that light.

He would have made a pass for it if it weren't for the erratic pressure his mother had released when she lost control herself that left Fan Cai rooted to his seat along with scaring him enough to give him a bit more lucidity and control in his actions.

After Yang Qing determined that Fan Ha was composed enough to engage in a conversation, he proceeded with his proposal.

"I wanted to demonstrate that it doesn't require much effort for me to create this light. The only thing that may cost me something is the cloud jade in which it is contained," Yang Qing explained, gesturing towards the cloud jade.

The cloud jade was a monarch-grade treasure that was amorphous in its natural form and usually formed in places with dense water element and spiritual qi that had the richness of at least a lesser dragon spiritual vein. The spiritual qi needed to have the charm of dao within it.

The cloud jade was usually found entrenched within the spiritual veins where the spiritual qi was densest along with the water elements. Despite their grade, they were fragile by nature and needed the hands of a skilled alchemist, blacksmith, or geomancer to harvest it.

It was a highly coveted item because of its ability to store things in their perfect form, especially when one needed to preserve something in that form for a very long time without degradation in quality.

It operated in a manner akin to a storage ring, but it possessed the unique ability to hold onto things that traditional storage rings could not. For instance, it could store Yang Qing's universal qi and preserve its attributes and potency indefinitely, as long as it remained intact. This rarity was what made it such a coveted object.

"What is it you want?" Fan Ha finally asked,her eyes reluctantly tearing away from the cloud jade.

Even if Yang Qing had the ability to reproduce that light freely, it still held significant value to Fan Ha. It was a precious item in its right and was especially more so for her because of her current condition, a fact that Yang Qing was already well aware of.

Breathing was free, but if you became ill or injured, it would cost to use the freely available air. The condition was what changed the cost of what was once free and the degree of that condition would also affect the price. The more severe the condition, the more one would pay.

Her condition was dire, and as such Fan Ha couldn't help but be wary of the cost of treatment that Yang Qing was dangling in front of her.

Yang Qing's lips curved into a slight smile as he interlocked his fingers.

"You're correct, I do have a request for you. The jade is not just a reward for the information you provided, but also compensation for something I hope to persuade you to help me with," Yang Qing explained.

Without waiting for Fan Ha to ask what he wanted from her, Yang Qing outrightly answered it.

"I need your help in Deer Mountain Range, should you decide to go back there."

"What kind of help? If it is to be a puppet for the Order, then I will have to respectfully decline. However much I need that light, that is a cost I am unwilling to pay," Fan Ha said with a firmness to her tone.

Yang Qing shook his head, denying the claim. "No, it's not anything like that," he said firmly.

"There is no need for that with the large-scale array being put in place," he inwardly added.

Yang Qing looked at Fan Ha expectantly, "What I need is your eyes and ears. Despite the time that has passed without you being there, it's easy to tell you still hold great attachment to the Deer Mountain Range. This makes you the ideal candidate for what I need - a person knowledgeable enough with the range to easily sense something is amiss. Trust me, there is no one better suited for this task."

Fan Ha couldn't help but feel even more bewildered by this request.

"Something amiss? like what? Jiang Xiang coming back or something else?" asked Fan Ha, airing her doubts.

"In part yes, should Jiang Xiang come back I would hope to meet with him if possible and it would go easier if it was arranged by someone he was familiar with, but that is secondary to what I need you for.

How familiar are you with the history of your range?"

"Not much ... Only what my elder sister has shared on it likely being the grounds of a powerful nation back in its heyday, but what place isn't?

Everywhere we go, we are walking on the graves of civilizations and powers long gone. It is the story of our world and perhaps a thousand or maybe hundreds of thousands of years from now, the Deer Mountain Range may yet take another form, and the history that will be unearthed then will be of what it is now.

Forgive me, I digress," Fan Ha said apologetically as she bowed her head slightly.

"No, you speak sense," Yang Qing said with a sigh as he wondered if the same thing would happen to the Order in the distant future. Would they be around, or would they be some ruins that contained fragmented pieces of information about what once was, clinging desperately to any form of remembrance to a world desperate to wipe them into oblivion?

Another sigh escaped Yang Qing's lips as he tried to push away these heavy thoughts and clear his mind.

"The thing about ghosts and vestiges of the past is that some persistently hold on and haunt the future, hence the reason we continuously try to study our past as we try to listen to those voices and the wisdom and warnings they offer, and right now the remnants of the Deer Mountain Range are talking and warning," said Yang Qing, with a seriousness to his tone.

One of Fan Ha's eyebrows raised slightly as she gave Yang Qing a suspicious glance. Something in his words sparked her curiosity.

"Have you seen it?" she asked, searching for more information.

"I have," nodded Yang Qing, fully aware of what Fan Ha was alluding to despite his vague response.

Yang Qing then proceeded to take out a regal-looking antique golden white urn surrounded with golden almost holy-like glyphs at its edges.

Fan Ha's pupils instantly constricted when she saw the urn, especially when she detected the familiar aura radiating from it.

If before had only been a suspicion, seeing the urn and knowing whom it belonged to more than confirmed what she suspected when Yang Qing was talking about the vestiges of the past.

"You met with her?" she asked in utter disbelief.

"I did," answered Yang Qing as he passed over the urn.

"And she allowed you to leave with that?" Fan Ha asked as she gently grabbed hold of the urn.

"She did."

Fan Ha's eyes widened as she sensed something deeper within the urn.

"She even used her blood essence on it?!"

She tore her gaze from the urn and turned to Yang Qing, giving him a questioning look.

"What's going on between you two? Are you..?"

"We're just friends," Yang Qing interjected hastily, making sure to cut off her next question before quickly checking if anyone was coming into his office.

Fan Ha kept her incredulous expression, and Yang Qing wisely chose silence on that matter, knowing any further explanation might just add to her doubt.

With practiced ease, Fan Ha's fingers danced over the intricate carvings on the urn's lid, unlocking its secrets. The urn was a precious gift from Gu Xing, the sacred flame swan who was acting as the guardian of the graveyard torch in Deer Mountain Range.

The sacred flames that danced within flickered and glowed as Fan Ha activated the recording, ancient voices echoing through the air. In that moment, it was as if the spirits of the mountain had come alive, whispering their stories to those who were willing to listen. One voice in particular managed to stand out against the rest. It was the voice of the lunar fury crane, the spirit beast whose voice Gu Xing had purposefully entombed in the urn.

The lunar fury crane sang warnings about a human it had lost a fight to, about 38,000 years ago. It described the dreadful nature of that human, especially his eyes that were said to be whirlpools of the abyss which matched the feeling Gu Xing had experienced at some point in time that forced her to flee in search of help from one of her seniors before rushing back to the graveyard torch.

The reason that account became important to Yang Qing was because of the elaborate frame job done on four human organizations within the range who had the location of the graveyard torch of flames leaked to them. Tempted by the allure of a path to the palace realm for one of them and the promise of joining the Deer Mountain Kingdom once successful, the four turned blind and deaf to the risks, and tried to invade that sacred ground and eventually paid steep prices for it, with three of those organizations getting destroyed as a result of it.

When Yang Qing interviewed them, they all said that it was the Imperial Secretary who had told them of the location and made them the promise of granting them a chance at entry as nobles into the Deer Mountain Kingdom once one of them broke through to the palace realm.

The individual in question was an impostor, not the true Imperial Secretary. The real Secretary would never suggest something like this, especially given the kingdom's precarious situation with recent losses from the obsidian serpent couple, internal conflicts, and external enemies. The kingdom was already struggling to handle these issues and harboring or rewarding those who desecrated the sacred graveyard torch would only invite further disaster that would make their current troubles pale in comparison.

The Imperial Secretary wouldn't risk the annihilation of his kingdom for a reckless act. But whoever impersonated him must have known him well enough to be able to fool the eyes of the four leaders. It seemed that they were purposely inviting disaster upon the Deer Mountain Kingdom, but Yang Qing couldn't fathom their intentions.

Given this scheme and the Blue Soul Flame Syndicate's activity in the range, add to that the chaos around the continent, Yang Qing sought additional precautions. Even though a large-scale array was being laid out, he still felt it wasn't enough. A formation, while powerful, reacts only when threats arise, whereas Fan Ha's vigilance could offer preemptive insight.

After Fan Ha finished the recording and returned the urn, Yang Qing spoke again.

"I need your help. I need you to tell me if you sense anything unusual in the range. It doesn't have to make sense; it only has to feel out of place," he said as he put away the urn.

I may not know your full story, but I can see the haunted look of someone who has lived through the darkness this world has to offer. It is both a blessing and a curse; it opens your eyes to harsh realities while also exposing you to things that can never be forgotten.

You are in a unique position, Miss Fan Ha. You understand the deceitfulness of the world and have thrived despite it. And you also know the Deer Mountain Range.

Although it may have been years since you last visited, home is always home. Some things may have changed, but others remain constant... familiar," Yang Qing said softly, his voice carrying an ethereal quality that seemed to bring a sense of peace and tranquility.

"I need you to use that sense of familiarity and your prudent nature to look for the out-of-place. Use everything that the world has been teaching you and help me and your home in the process. I need eyes in places I may not think to look or notice things I might not, and ears that will reach places I would not think to listen to or make sense of voices I would not.

For that, I am willing to offer this," said Yang Qing as gently nudged the cloud jade toward Fan Ha.

"What do you say, Miss Fan Ha?"