Daily life of a cultivation judge

"I wonder how he is doing?" mused Yang Qing as he thought of Wen Yingjie.

"With the spirit of his saber already awakened and the leap in cultivation to the quasi-palace realm stage. It should be enough to handle whatever it is that seemed to be weighing heavily on him and pay his debts too.."

Yang Qing stretched his hand with a content smile as he felt the breeze brush up against his hands and the warmth of the sun on his face. He had decided for the remainder of the trip, rather than spend it in his chambers, he would rather spend it outdoors soaking in the scenery.

He couldn't help but feel he had misused his spirit stones somewhat. Then again if he hadn't used it, the trip would have taken longer than four days which he'd rather avoid. While the scenery was beautiful and all, he would rather not stay away from the comforts of the Order longer than he should. Who knows what fate might throw his way if he dared tempt it?

The journey to the Five Peak Valley took close to ten hours, with old passengers alighting and new ones being picked up on the way over. Bai Chen had at some point joined Yang Qing by the deck where they shared some of Yang Qing's fine stash of wine with Bai Chen bringing the dishes that would accompany the wine.

..

As they were approaching the border of the Moonpine Kingdom, a palace realm expert belonging to the kingdom approached the ship as it was about to cross into the kingdom. Because it was a palace realm expert, Bai Chen was the one left to handle the communications instead of the assigned staff member who was in charge of such things.

From the brief stop, Yang Qing noticed that the garrison stationed below had a significant number of core formation experts, numbering close to three hundred with seventeen of them at the peak of the core formation realm and two that were in the quasi palace realm. There was a palpable sense of tension and unease surrounding the entire station.

Yang Qing could sense that though the palace realm guard seemed to be communicating casually with Bai Chen, his entire body was strung like a drawn bow ready to strike at a moment's notice. It wasn't only the palace realm guard who seemed to be on guard. The guards below were already lined up in a combat formation, with their qi signatures synchronized, ready to act when needed, and though it was hidden behind layers of arrays, Yang Qing detected the fluctuations of a monarch-grade treasure.

Yang Qing couldn't help but wonder what could have put the kingdom so on edge. As far as he knew, he had not heard of any frictions coming from the Moonpine Kingdom or its neighbors.

The discussion between Bai Chen and the palace realm guard continued for a bit before the guard's gaze openly fell on Yang Qing.

"I had a feeling this would happen.." thought Yang Qing as he saw Bai Chen and the guard walking over to him with the former throwing him an apologetic smile.

From the moment the palace realm guard stepped onto the ship, his attention had been on Bai Chen and Yang Qing. Yang Qing had disguised his face but not his cultivation realm which was likely to be the reason the guard's attention was on him. The guard was at the first stage of the palace realm, Yang Qing had enough confidence that his camouflage had not been seen through.

"Sorry for the disturbance fellow daoist, my name is Su Chen, the general of the Southfront of the kingdom. Could I have a moment of your time.." said the palace realm guard as he cupped his fists.

"My name is Yang Qing. How can I be of service, General Su Chen?" Yang Qing said as he felt the general tense his muscles, even more, the closer he was to Yang Qing.

"I hope you don't take offense but the compound belonging to one of the high-ranking noble families within our kingdom was broken into and they were robbed of a precious artifact and a few of their members were killed or injured in the process of that theft. The theft occurred a few days ago and we have not found the culprit yet.

Because of said events, we are forced to verify the identity of every person who comes into our kingdom. If I may be so bold as to ask, what is your purpose for coming to our kingdom and your background too?

I'd also like to inform you, that your entry into our kingdom would only be allowed if someone of repute within the kingdom vouches for your identity and entry.."

"Does that only apply to me or to the rest too?" Yang Qing calmly asked.

"It applies to all who have affairs within our kingdom. Those that don't will be exempt from the rules, however, they will have to remain on the ship. We have come to an agreement with daoist Bai Chen on that. He has agreed to let one of our guards remain on the ship for the duration it will be within the kingdom to ensure the said agreement is observed..." Su Chen patiently explained.

"I am sorry daoist, I tried, but it seems neither of us can step foot in there without those terms. I will deduct the costs for the inconvenience caused.." said Bai Chen in an apologetic tone.

"No, it's okay. Things like this happen all the time. Very well, General Su Chen, I will comply with the rules. My name is Yang Qing and I am the owner of the Green Jade Pavilion. The reason for my visit is to check on the workings of one of our subsidiaries, Serenity Ambrosia Store in Five Peak Valley..."

The eyes of Su Chen flickered slightly when he heard of the Green Jade Pavilion and the Serenity Ambrosia Store. The store was famous for dealing in high-quality sky-ranked herbs in large volumes and wide variety. Other than its products, the other reason that made the store famous within the kingdom was its background. It was a subsidiary of the Green Jade Pavilion that in turn was a subsidiary of the White Rose Pavilion.

Even though the relationship between them and the White Rose Pavilion wasn't direct, the fact that there was a connection was enough to guarantee that those of the Moonpine Kingdom would treat it with respect.

Su Chen couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about his current predicament. If what Yang Qing said proved to be true, that he was the owner of the Green Jade Pavilion, then he risked offending someone with ties to one of the most powerful organizations in the continent.

"It can't be helped, orders are orders, but I will have to inform them after this.."

"The store owner, Mister Cui Song already knows of my arrival, he can vouch for me. I don't know if he would be acceptable as a guarantor?"

"No, no, store owner Cui Song would be more than enough.."

Yang Qing raised his brow slightly in surprise at the change in tone and demeanor of the general.