Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1084: Setting up a commission (1)
Yang Qing shook his head slightly, pushing aside those suffocating thoughts. He had already taken up the case, and as unreliable as he could be, he always kept his word—at the very least.
He couldn't deny the flicker of anxiety gnawing at him about what lay at the other end of this investigation. If history and experience were any indicators, it wasn't going to be pretty. Still, whether the outcome was bad or good, he resolved to give his utmost and see it through to the end.
To him, regret was a far scarier notion than whatever awaited him.
Life was filled with countless variables outside one's control. Cultivators often liked to think of themselves as gods, but the truth was, they faced limitations just like mortals—no matter how vast their abilities seemed. The only thing anyone could truly control, mortal or cultivator, was their actions.
Deep regret was often born from having both the chance and the ability to act but ignoring it for one reason or another. Taking action didn't guarantee better results, but it at least meant being able to look at yourself in the mirror, knowing you had done all you could.
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To Yang Qing, that sense of conviction was invaluable—especially in the morbid and unpredictable world he lived in. Sometimes, in an environment where bad news was the norm, the biggest victory wasn't changing the outcome but knowing you gave your best.
Maybe that's why, despite his fears, he kept finding himself taking on cases like Bai Chen's—or Ma Yuan's before this—or the Zou siblings' case, or the countless other things he'd involved himself in only to later complain about.
Regardless of how some of those turned out, he wouldn't have it any other way.
"These bastards really did a number on me…" Yang Qing thought with a bitter smile as his gaze shifted to the Black Medallion Tower.
"Have you ever been here?" Yang Qing asked, his tone tinged with a wistfulness that even he didn't fully understand. His gaze lingered on the towering structure as he directed the question to Ming Wa, who looked just as unnerved by the building as he usually felt—though likely for different reasons.
It took a moment for Ming Wa to gather herself enough to respond. Her head stiffly shook from side to side. She had tried to speak, but for the life of her, her mouth refused to open. The monolithic tower loomed over her, its inviolable aura seeming to pierce through every layer of her defenses, condemning her for every hidden guilt she had buried in her heart.
The sensation was suffocating. She was almost surprised her legs hadn't given out, considering how weak and terrified she felt.
"Don't worry. I feel the same exact thing every time I come here," Yang Qing said, his voice low but reassuring. He tilted his head back slightly, trying to glimpse the top of the tower, which disappeared into the silver-gray clouds above. The swirling mist gave the unsettling illusion that the tower pierced the heavens themselves.
"You do?!" Ming Wa blurted out, her voice soft yet carrying the sharp edge of disbelief.
Yang Qing lowered his gaze back to her, his expression gentle and reassuring.
"Yes, really. This building unnerves me too," he said with a pitiful smile tugging at his lips.
"But why?" Ming Wa asked, her brows furrowing in confusion. "You work here..." She hesitated, adding silently, And it's not like you have anything to be judged for.
"It's because I work here that I know how terrifying this place is," Yang Qing replied, a flicker of mild fear and grievance flashing through his eyes as the figure of a certain silver haired taciturn middle aged man flashed in his mind.
"Let's go in. We won't take long," he added softly, turning toward the entrance and beckoning the still-befuddled Ming Wa to follow.
Using his medallion, Yang Qing activated the teleportation array in the tower's hallway which transported him and Ming Wa to the administration hall, where he had her details recorded by one of the staff members and officially notified them of the case he had just undertaken.
Despite being relatively free, Yang Qing was still on call for walk-in cases. Since he had picked up this case on his own initiative, he had to inform the administration hall—specifically the Cases and Courts department, which maintained regular contact with the Judicial Review Committee. With their assistance, any walk-in cases that came in could be scheduled around his current investigation, ensuring he wouldn't be stretched too thin or run into conflicts.
Once the case was officially filed, Yang Qing left Ming Wa in the hallways of the administration hall and made his way toward his court-assigned external logistics advisor, Fan Mei.
She had been assigned to him when he first became an outer palace court judge, and her primary role was managing his discretionary funds. She handled payments for any commissions Yang Qing issued using those funds—precisely why he had sought her out now.
Although the case involving Bai Chen and his missing disciple was now on record, the ground-level investigation still fell squarely on Yang Qing's shoulders. Since he had taken it on voluntarily, and given the Order's constant shortage of staff, there was no one else to handle the bulk of the legwork for him.
He could have sought assistance from Xia Ting and Yu Gen, the two roaming inquisitors assigned to him, but they were currently occupied with a mission for another judge. Roaming inquisitors often shuffled between multiple cases under different judges, and with Yang Qing tied up handling walk-in cases, his requests had naturally fallen lower on their priority list.
That left him to tackle the investigation largely on his own.
But Bai Chen's case wasn't just a matter of searching for clues—it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and at this stage, Yang Qing wasn't even sure where the haystack was. That was where Fan Mei came in.
