Daily life of a cultivation judge

Fan Ha's gaze lingered on the cloud jade briefly before focusing back on Yang Qing.

"Are things really that dire?" she asked, with a trace of worry coloring her face and voice.

"I won't lie to you, I could be wrong. Maybe nothing is happening there and it is just a coincidence of factors and I am just seeing patterns where there are none.

Being excessively paranoid is both a prerequisite and a consequence of my job. This means sometimes my guesses come up empty.

But even so, I would rather suspect, dig, and find nothing than dismiss it and something ends up happening. I already have more than enough regrets in my life and I am not looking to add more. So anything I can do to lessen that number, I will gladly do it.

Besides, In as much as it's just unsubstantiated guesses at the moment, I have seen enough of these things to know that there is something there, and Miss Fan Ha.." Yang Qing paused as he traded a solemn look with Fan Ha.

"There is something there," he slowly added.

"I am more than happy to be wrong on this, but I still need to be proven wrong," Yang Qing said as he leaned forward reaching out for the wine, pouring one for himself and another for Fan Ha.

Fan Cai kept looking at him with hinting pleading eyes, but Yang Qing pretended not to see, much to the grumbling displeasure of the teen.

Fan Ha's look was solemn and heavy, as she sat in silence, ruminating over what Yang Qing had shared. Truth be told, as much as she had decided to go back to the Deer Mountain Range, she had not planned to do it immediately. She had planned to stay at the Starlight Lake Sect for a few years, 10 years at the most to confirm that the Yu clan was holding its end of the bargain, whilst also ensuring Meng Jiayi used the earth jade and his vitality restored.

Knowing how obstinate and prideful the man was, there was a chance he would refuse to use it if she was not there.

Only when those two matters were handled would she then consider heading back to the Deer Mountain Range.

But now, with the information at hand, even if Yang Qing said it was merely conjecture, Fan Ha had seen calamity spread from nothing but an unassuming spark, and whatever was seemingly brewing at the range, that was no spark, but a sizeable flame with plenty of kindling.

She may not have been there in over 10,000 years, but all this time, even with the separation, it was still dear to her, and in the worst of days, and there were plenty, that home had been the one anchor that kept her from being swept up by the waves of despair that constantly assailed her.

If anything were to happen to it and she had the chance to stop it but ignored it, then she would truly and genuinely lose a heart she would never be able to regrow, no matter what precious treasure she tried she used.

She clenched her fists, with her eyes burning with determination. There was no other option, she had to go back. As for Meng Jiayi's matter, she had already resolved to drag him with her to the range. The old fossil had long abdicated his duties and took to drinking and soaking in the sun and teasing her endlessly as he occasionally cursed out his junior brother and master whenever the wine got too strong.

A change of environment would likely do him some good and ease the burden on Xie Yuan's shoulders who had to play the part of sect master and also caretaker to the old geezer.

Fan Ha could feel her anger quickly rising at the thought before it settled down just as fast, replaced by a tenderness and a bit of anxiety as part of her gaze fell on Fan Cai who was sulkingly drinking his tea.

"Now is as good a time as any for them to officially know each other. Considering all I have had him sacrifice, including his childhood.." Fan Ha thought as her eyes briefly flashed with guilt before her coolness masked it.

"This will at least pay some of it back," she added with a lingering soft glance covering Fan Cai before she turned her attention back to Yang Qing and the cloud jade.

"I accept," she said as she cupped her fists.

"Great," Yang Qing enthusiastically replied as he responded in kind.

With the agreement done, Yang Qing moved to a few particulars such as the few people Fan Ha could call on the premise that she found anything. First on the priority list was the current branch chief of the Order in Deer Mountain, Fang Wen, a spirit beast herself, an ethereal swift lark that was in the quasi-domain realm.

In terms of priority of alert, she was the first on the list, not only because of her proximity and ability as an ethereal swift lark and the fact that she was a former roaming inquisitor, but also because of the formation array being laid down in the entire range. Once it was complete, it would be directly under her control, thus there was no one better to immediately respond to anything that Fan Ha might find.

After her, it would be Yang Qing, or Gu Xing depending on who was easily accessible at the time.

Yang Qing made sure to contact Fang Wen with Fan Ha present as he did the introductions between the two parties and the favor he had asked of Fan Ha which the Deer Mountain Branch chief was all too glad for.

With everything already in place, the agreement between the two could finally be considered done and dusted. Fan Ha made an interesting choice immediately after as she chose to refine the light within the cloud jade right then and there in the office after everything had been settled.

As for why she decided to do it immediately and right there, it was for several reasons one of which was safety. As effective as the lights were to her condition, it would take a bit of effort and concentration on her part to maximize its effects, and doing so would leave her vulnerable.

There was no safer place to do it than at the Order, and being watched over by one of their judges and in his office at that, which was bound to be a fortress on its own.

The second reason was because of Yang Qing. As the originator of that light, there was no one better to refine it in front of than him as he would be able to provide the best support and guidance.

Fan Ha wasn't much for caring about face, it was one of the first things that were quickly carved out of her the moment she left the Deer Mountain Range. Face was a luxury the weak could not afford to have, which ironically was also the thing the weak were constantly obsessed about. The truly strong never cared for it, as it would be given to them regardless of whether they asked for it, like how the specter of her elder sister was enough to quell a feud between the Starlight Lake Sect and the Yu clan, forcing the entire clan and its domain expert into compromising, without even being there, or appearing.

Just by existing she could create such a change. After experiencing countless humbling upsets over the years, strength was about the only thing Fan Ha cared for. As long as it did not violate her principles, she would do anything to acquire it, her face and pride be damned. So right now, no matter how shameless it seemed, she would use everything available to her including maximizing as many benefits as she could reasonably get from Yang Qing and luckily for her, Yang Qing was of the same mind.

For her to be truly effective in what he wanted her for, she needed to be as strong as possible, and if he could help with that, he would be all too glad to do so which included producing the purest origin universal light he could, which he intended to add to the one stored away in the cloud jade.

With Yang Qing's assistance, the process went smoothly. It took three hours for Fan Ha's hollowed-out foundation to be restored with the reformation of her missing hearts which had not only been restored in full but had also been improved on as they had a certain aetheric and ancient quality to them that had not been there.

Her aura had also transformed in the process, becoming more reserved and natural, like the air of one who had returned to one's roots. Beneath that reserved aura, hid refined and potent strength. Her cultivation realm was still at the eighth stage of the palace realm, but Fan Ha could already tell she could easily defeat her past self even before she lost the four hearts, and with the energy left over she knew within a few months she could make an attempt for the ninth stage and her odds of success were high.

She couldn't help but sigh as she sensed the massive changes within her. After she left the Deer Mountain Range, she risked so much to gain the strength she had to the point of even despairing several times over in the process, especially during the latter stages of her cultivation when the progress started slowing down. She had long given up hope of breaking through to the ninth stage of the palace realm let alone the domain realm, which had been part of the reason it was easy for her to sacrifice her hearts for her son in the hopes that he would succeed where she failed.

But now, even though she was still unsure of her odds of reaching the domain realm, she at least had the hopes of aiming for the peak of the palace realm and all of it had been done with the assistance of someone weaker than her but had hold of a power that made her hearts shudder in excitement and venerated fear at the same time.

All of it felt so surreal to her, the whole day felt surreal to her. She placed her hand over her chest, as a light smile reflecting the light-hearted state of her heart appeared on her face. It was the first time in a long time that she could see beyond the suffocating fog of urgency and despair and the relief of it all resulted in a small tear dropping from her eyes as she smiled.

"Mother, are you okay?" Fan Cai asked fraught with worry as he saw his mother tear up.

"I am," Fan Ha said with a warm and tender look coloring her face as she gently rubbed Fan Cai's head.

"I am okay. We are going home," she softly said, once more.

With everything now settled, Yang Qing released the mother and son, with Fan Cai thanking him profusely to the point of tears as they were about to leave.

Yang Qing ended up giving his mother the wine the young teen had been eyeing which would be handed to him on the day he would be making his attempt for the palace realm which left the young lad both disgruntled and fired up at the same time, and his mother appreciative.

"Hopefully there isn't another case today," Yang Qing muttered as he rested in the tranquil silence of his office.