Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1072: Do you want my help?
If manufactured interference was involved, then the top suspects in Jiang Hao's disappearance would naturally include those privy to his plans and routes. That meant Duan Ting and Liu Ying had to be on the list, as callous as the notion might seem.
Despite the genuineness of their emotions—so convincing that even Yang Qing couldn't detect any falsehood—it wasn't beyond reason that they could still be involved.
His experience had taught him one thing: the cultivation world was a deeply insidious place. With their extended lifespans, cultivators were master schemers. Some could spend nearly a century—the full lifespan of a mortal—meticulously plotting the perfect scheme or ensuring an elaborate plan's success.
Cultivators only schemed when they lacked the strength and or the confidence to achieve their goals directly. That meant whatever they were entangled in carried significant risks to their lives.
From an outsider's perspective, it might seem that cultivators treated their lives recklessly, given how many died every second of every day. But the truth couldn't be further from that perception.
No one cherishes their life more than a cultivator. They understood the trials and sacrifices it took to reach their current level, and the fear of losing it was ingrained in their very being. Ironically, this same fear was what often drove them to kill each other. After all, no greater threat existed to a cultivator than another cultivator.
This was why no one schemed better than cultivators. To preserve their lives and achieve their desires, they were willing to go to any lengths, pulling out all the stops to craft the perfect scheme. This necessity often became the catalyst for innovation.
Techniques, spells, formation arrays, alchemy, the study of rare treasures, and the creation of artifacts—all these fields saw rapid advancements fueled by the singular goal of outmaneuvering opponents. A cultivator's ingenuity was often sharpened by the risks they faced and the rewards they sought.
While Yang Qing's cultivation base placed him above Duan Ting and Liu Ying, their age gave them an undeniable edge in life experience. Based on their vitality auras, Duan Ting was likely nearing 300 years old, while Liu Ying had just crossed over the 100-year mark. If Yang Qing had to pinpoint it, she was probably around 130 years old.
In contrast, Yang Qing was only 23—a third-stage palace realm expert, yes, but one still in the early stages of life by a cultivator's standards. Both escort supervisors had lived at least a century longer than him. That was 100 years of experiences, lessons, and accumulated knowledge he couldn't begin to measure. Who knew what secrets and insights they'd gained in all that time?
There was a saying from the mortal world that had been borrowed and adapted by cultivators:
"Beware of the old soldier."
In the cultivation world, the equivalent was:
"Beware of the long-lived cultivator."
Cultivators might boast long lifespans, but their lives were precariously easy to lose. Those who managed to endure to the end of their natural lifespans—or who had lived significantly longer than most—were not individuals to be underestimated.
For anyone to survive as long as they had, especially in such a volatile and ruthless environment, it couldn't simply be attributed to luck. Their longevity spoke of cunning, resilience, and the ability to navigate countless dangers.
This was why everyone at the Order—whether judges, inquisitors, or even students at the Institute—was drilled to remain ever vigilant and never underestimate a cultivator. An 800-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator could be just as dangerous as a 15-year-old middle-stage Core Formation expert, albeit in entirely different ways.
It was also why Yang Qing wouldn't entirely discount the possibility that Duan Ting and Liu Ying might be capable of deceiving his senses—at least temporarily. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he'd encountered cultivators who managed to briefly mislead him. Even when they failed outright, some had still come close enough to make him wary.
One such case involved Sect Master Cheng Yuan of the Green Fog Swamp Sect. In a desperate bid to protect his sect, he, Peng Zhen, and a few others devised a bold scheme to drag the Order into their troubles, hoping to save their sect in the process. To pull off this scheme, Cheng Yuan went so far as to seal a portion of his soul within the sect's guardian tree. That fragment of his soul contained the details of their plot and certain memories crucial to it.
Because of this, during his testimony, Cheng Yuan didn't need to worry about being exposed. By all accounts, he genuinely did not know the information he had hidden away. He couldn't lie about it or conceal it—after all, there was "nothing to hide."
The former manager of the Red Maple Empire branch of the Golden Bamboo Pavilion used a similarly ingenious method. He employed a rare and unique creature, the dream crypt caterpillar, whose innate abilities allowed it to store his secrets safely. Those secrets included the evidence that he had been stealing trades from the Golden Bamboo Pavilion. Despite the pavilion being a rank two organization and the manager only a first-stage Palace Realm expert, the Pavilion remained oblivious to his scheme. Had he not been caught in a scuffle with Yang Qing, who knew how much longer he might have kept it going?
Given such examples, it was only natural for Yang Qing to be suspicious of Duan Ting and Liu Ying. To overlook them would be negligent.
Other than them, Yang Qing also suspected Ming Wa and her group. By her group, he meant all the clients whose commissions Jiang Hao had handled at the time of his disappearance. They were all suspects—both those whose commissions had been completed and those whose tasks remained unresolved, vanishing alongside the escort supervisor.
When it came to Ming Wa, his suspicions weren't on the same level as those directed at Duan Ting and Liu Ying. For one, she was significantly younger than them. Based on the essence of her vitality, she appeared to be around fifty years old. Yang Qing had less reason to worry about her out-scheming him. While the possibility existed, her actions—both passive and active—suggested otherwise. If she truly were a schemer, she wouldn't have caused such a scene at the doors of the Order.
Not unless...
Yang Qing's gaze, full of renewed suspicion, slowly shifted to Ming Wa. At that moment, she was covertly sniffing the wine in her cup, seemingly trying to discern its ingredients or check for poison. It was hard to tell based on her expression, which was an odd mix of suspicion and curiosity.
Whether by sheer coincidence or instinct, Ming Wa suddenly noticed Yang Qing's gaze on her. Her reaction was immediate and frantic. She jolted upright, inadvertently bumping into the table. Her wine and a bowl of fried lotus seeds nearly tumbled over, startling the two escort supervisors seated nearby. Her cheeks flushed crimson with embarrassment as she scrambled to regain her composure.
"Yeah, definitely not a seasoned schemer," Yang Qing thought, the earlier suspicion in his mind quickly dispelled as he observed her reaction.
While the chances were low that Ming Wa had a direct hand in Jiang Hao's disappearance and that of his ferry, there was still the undeniable fact that she seemed like someone on the run.
Her highly strung, overly suspicious demeanor hinted at a deeper issue. If she truly was fleeing from someone or something, who's to say that whatever—or whoever—she was running from hadn't somehow implicated the Bluefin Spine-tailed Swift Escort Agency in their conflict?
As Yang Qing continued his conversation with Liu Ying and Duan Ting, every time he brought up potential suspects, he made sure to keep a close watch on her. With each name he mentioned, he noticed a subtle, nervous flinch from Ming Wa. Her qi spiked faintly, and her gaze would shift momentarily before she regained composure.
Liu Ying might have thought Ming Wa was disengaged, her head perpetually lowered in disinterest. But Yang Qing knew better. She wasn't ignoring them; she was hiding. Lowering her head was her way of concealing her emotions. Yet, under his spiritual sense, nothing escaped his notice.
Every suppressed emotion was laid bare, and amidst the countless fleeting ones, two stood out as dominant: worry and guilt.
Why would she feel guilty? She was the one who'd lost someone—someone dear to her—to a botched delivery by the escort agency. What reason could she have to feel guilt?
Not unless she believed she shared some blame for what happened to the ferry and its occupants.
Whatever it was that Ming Wa was running and hiding from warranted a much closer look than the suspicions surrounding Liu Ying and Duan Ting. Her background demanded it. This was someone with a blue core, a blue-grade art, a palace realm talisman, well-informed, yet something—or someone—had her so frightened that she'd make the reckless decision to start a fight in a place governed by the Order.
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"Hopefully, she'll share what it is that has her so fearful... But first..."
Duan Ting and Liu Ying flinched suddenly, sensing the shift in Yang Qing's gaze. It felt different now—no longer soft and casual, but laden with a solemn weight.
"Do you want my help?" Yang Qing asked, clasping his hands together and resting his head on them. His piercing gaze fixed firmly on the two escort supervisors.
"If you agree," he continued, his voice steady, "then that means you'll have to share certain things with me. Things that, as an escort agency, you might not be comfortable sharing..."
