Daily life of a cultivation judge

"It wouldn't hurt to have the death of his daughter checked out. Maybe the Shadow Hawks have something. That reminds me, I still haven't met the members of my network.

To think I thought life in the palace courts would be slow-paced.." muttered Yang Qing with a wry smile.

He chose to become a judge because he assumed it would be one of the safest jobs out there and he wouldn't have to do much other than sit in an opulent courtroom and pass verdicts on cases.

He had been disillusioned that it would be smooth sailing but it was the farthest thing from it. From the first week, he was swarmed with cases from dusk to dawn with little to no breaks in between.

It was from that moment that he hatched the idea of rapidly scaling up the ladders of justice within the Order. The higher up he moved, the less he would deal with. 

He moved from the outer core courts to the inner core courts believing the situation would be better, but the number of cases was just as numerous as the ones from the outer core courts, then he moved to the superior core courts and he thought to himself surely the cases should reduce.

Yes, the number of cases reduced, but they became more complex and draining. In addition to working cases more duties were added to him as a superior core court judge. He felt he was worked harder by the Order as a superior core court judge than he ever did as an outer core court judge. 

After that realization, he cultivated like a dog and worked like a donkey to ensure he would reach the palace realm and the outer palace courts by association.

He told himself, that maybe it was because he was still in the core formation courts that he still felt swamped, and maybe once he jumped to the palace courts above him, things would be easier.

He never tried to ask Dai Chen or Zhang Qinggee how life as a palace court judge was, or the number of cases they dealt with for fear their response might not be what he expected.

The idea that life would be easier at the palace courts was what kept him going, but now that he was here, he realized it was the furthest thing from the soft life he envisioned it being.

He destroyed a sect, got attacked by a soul formation expert almost dying in the process, and now here he was doing a job that up until a few months ago he would have never accepted for how dangerous it was.

Yang Qing sighed as he lay his back on one of the cushions in the gazebo.

"Now that I think about it, life was easier back then. I dealt with a dozen cases a day but they had no lingering surprises in them unlike now.

Maybe the domain realm will be easier.." he muttered conveniently ignoring that he had said that exact same thing when he was in the palace court.

"I'll have to meet them after I get back before I'm swarmed with unexpected things...." added Yang Qing with another tired sigh as he thought about the intelligence network handed to him by one of the division leaders of the Shadow Hawks during his induction after his promotion ceremony.

Yang Qing feeling too lethargic to do anything else, remained in the gazebo as he stared at the moving clouds above him which seemed to oddly resemble meat dishes and cozy futons the longer he stared at them.

Time quickly passed by with him drooling over the clouds and before he knew it he sensed a few familiar presences headed in his direction.

Yang Qing got up as his gaze fell on the four approaching figures. One of them was Mo Guang and he was flanked on the other side by a valiant-looking woman in red hair wearing black robes.

Between the red-haired woman and Administrator Mo Guong was a man and a woman who looked to be in their early sixties both with greying hair, similar-looking robes, and deep black eyes that glinted like a crystal.

The duo seemed to be fidgeting and extremely vigilant of their surroundings. Their bodies were tense with their eyes darting around them almost as if in fear of something suddenly attacking them.

"Branch chief Yang Qing this is..." the administrator had just begun his introduction when Yang Qing smiled as he said,

"Senior Fan Tao, I didn't expect it would be you. Last I heard you were at the Bestial Churning Sea.." 

"Seems like you know each other.." said Mo Guang with an awkward smile.

"We do.." answered the lady with a smile of her own.

"Seems like you've grown manlier since last I saw you, Yang Qing. That little fledgling clung tightly to my robes at the Blood Charcuterie Market town is now a full-fledged palace realm cultivator .."

Yang Qing who had already puffed up his chest at being called manly quickly deflated as a huge wave of embarrassment washed over him.

"Senior, you promised not to tell.." Yang Qing bashfully said as he warily looked around at the reactions of those present. The elderly man and woman were too fidgety to react, while Mo Guang was seasoned enough to contain his mirth.

"How's the weaver?" asked the red-haired lady with an amused smile as she saw Yang Qing's aggrieved look.

"Foul-mouthed, insufferably arrogant, world's greatest parasite, loathful.." Yang Qing rattled on, getting more heated up by the second.

"I bet he'd say the same thing about you if I asked him.."

"Well, he's a vindictive liar. Of course, he'd badmouth me given the chance.." mumbled Yang Qing which drew a peal of pearly laughter from the red-haired woman.

"I am glad to see you're doing okay.." said the red-haired lady as she threw Yang Qing a concerned but relieved look.

"Thank you.." said Yang Qing with a thankful smile.

The red-haired lady before him was one of the few instructors he wasn't terrified of at the Institute. She was one of the heads of the beast hall department.

They have always been close since his Insitute days, especially with her being a fellow glutton.

When Yang Qing wanted to visit the blood charcuterie market, she was the one who took him. Though she bled him dry of his merit points. So much for being fellow eaters.

Being bamboozled out of his merit points aside, when it came to spirit beast zoology, there was no one better. She was the one who helped him hatch the celestial nesting weaver and source the right materials for laying the skeleton of its nest.

She was also the bane of spirit beasts because of the inherent fear she induced in them owing to her taotie bloodline.

Yang Qing could understand why the elderly couple before him seemed overly agitated. Taoties could devour anything from the earth to the river of stars and everything in between. Anything was considered a delicacy to them.

The red lady named Fan Tao had a thin bloodline of the taotie, but that thin bloodline still had a suppressive and domineering effect on spirit beasts. It made them feel like they were about to be devoured which was likely what the elderly couple were feeling hence their behaviour.