Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1251: Terms of the deal (2)

"Given what remains, I see two roads ahead of you," said Yang Qing."One," he said, raising a finger, "is to heal naturally. With the amount of residual damage left in your body, and with your vitality as a palace realm expert, you should be able to recover completely... in about three hundred years."

Xie Han wasn’t too surprised—his own estimate had been in the same ballpark, though he’d overshot it by two hundred years. He had guessed five hundred.

"It’s the cheapest option," Yang Qing continued, "but you also know what that means. For those three hundred years you won’t be making much progress in your cultivation as most of your body’s strength will be focused entirely on restoring itself.

It’s truly a wonder how you managed to break through to the palace realm with those restraints still on you," Yang Qing added with genuine praise.

"It was that senior," Xie Han whispered, lowering his head in shame.

"Yes," Yang Qing agreed, "but your own part can’t be understated either. Not many could survive a tribulation under those conditions. The pain you must’ve endured was likely twice what others would face," he said with admiration.

Xie Han didn’t respond right away. His gaze remained fixed on the ground before he finally looked up.

"And the second option?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"The second option is using something external to deal with those residues," said Yang Qing. "It’s costly—but it comes with the advantage of shortening your recovery time, especially if you find something truly suited for the job," he added with a smile.

"And I take it you have something like that?" Xie Han asked in a calm tone tone even though his palms were already sweaty and his heart was racing.

"Yes, I do," Yang Qing replied eagerly as he waved his hand.

A green-blue ginseng instantly appeared in his left palm. The moment it did, the scent of fresh spring filled the air. Almost immediately, roots surged beneath the soil, and vegetation of all manner erupted outward. Grasses grew knee-high, vines uncoiled like serpents, and flowers bloomed in bursts of different colors. Trees sprang upward with unnatural speed as their canopies intertwined, forming a dense veil overhead.

In just moments, a jungle-like expanse had formed around them, filled with the vibrancy of life.

Everyone around, bar Yang Qing, was frozen solid in stunned disbelief.

"This is a 15,000-year-old Springheart Ginseng," Yang Qing said, gesturing to the herb glowing in a mystical dusk light of blue and green. "It should be more than enough to completely remove the hidden damage in your body."

He smiled faintly as he added, "And it shouldn’t take more than three days to do it."

Xie Han, already reeling from the ginseng’s sudden appearance, felt like Yang Qing’s final words had just smashed his mind to pieces.

"T-three..." he muttered in disbelief.

He had looked into ways to deal with his injuries before. The fastest-acting method he’d found had a recovery period of three years—and it was far beyond his means. It would take at least two years of slaving away for the Huang clan just to afford it.

Yet Yang Qing was offering him something that could resolve everything in mere days?

Shock and disbelief surged through him, only to quickly give way to suspicion and apprehension.

"What do you want?" Xie Han asked, his expression turning serious.

For something of that caliber to be offered, the price had to be steep. Maybe an assassination of someone from the Huang clan? Or sneaking into their core territory? Whatever it was, it had to be at least as dangerous as those.

Xie Han couldn’t help but wonder if this was Yang Qing’s way of finding a loophole in the oath he’d made—of not killing him directly—by having him die at someone else’s hands. If he accepted the deal and perished, then technically, it wouldn’t be Yang Qing who killed him.

Yang Qing, instantly seeing through his thoughts, gave a faint smile.

That smile alone sent a chill down Xie Han’s spine, like the sharpened edge of a cold dagger slowly dragging across his back.

Xie Han wanted to open his mouth and say he didn’t want the deal—that he’d take the first route and heal naturally—but his dry throat and parched lips refused to move. Just then, his eyes caught something else in Yang Qing’s other hand, and whatever words he might have said withered in his throat.

It was a gold eagle medallion.

Its sight frightened him more than anything ever had in his life.

Stiffly, he looked up. His eyes widened with dread and disbelief as he watched Yang Qing’s lips begin to move. He prayed his ears would fail him just as his mouth had—but with the kind of luck he’d had today, that didn’t happen. He heard Yang Qing’s next words with perfect clarity.

"I don’t think I mentioned this earlier, but allow me to introduce myself," Yang Qing said warmly.

"My name is Yang Qing, a Judge of the Order, and I was hoping to request your services for something."

I’m screwed, thought Xie Han in despair. freēnovelkiss.com

"What can I do for you, esteemed Judge Yang Qing?" he asked, a bitter smile of resignation tugging at his lips.

Yang Qing’s identity was far greater and far more terrifying than he’d ever imagined. What royal? Even they would probably be trembling if they were in his place.

"Don’t worry," said Yang Qing with a soft smile, "I won’t ask you to do anything dangerous."

Some color returned to Xie Han’s ghostly face.

"What is it you need?" he asked cautiously.

"Nothing much," said Yang Qing. "Just report to me any strange movements around the Huang family—or any news you come across through them that you think might be interesting."

"Interesting?" Xie Han asked, brows furrowing. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just any news," Yang Qing replied casually. "Idle gossip, or anything else you hear—even if it’s not related to the Huang family."

Xie Han nodded slowly in understanding, though his expression turned grave a moment later.

"About the Huang family..." he began, hesitantly.

Yang Qing smiled as he waved his hands, "I don’t need you to go to places you’re not supposed to be. My request is this: just continue as you are, don’t do anything out of the norm for you, and in doing your normal things, should you stumble across something interesting, you can tell me about it.

He paused briefly, then added, "I don’t want you actively or proactively looking for anything. Just live your life as usual. If something comes up, let me know."

"Just that?!" Xie Han asked in disbelief.

"Yes... just that," Yang Qing reaffirmed.

"Nothing else?" questioned Xie Han, again.

"Yes, nothing else," Yang Qing patiently replied, still smiling.

"The exchange hardly seems fair," said Xie Han, glancing at the ginseng. "If it can truly do what you say it can, then its value is far above what you’re asking in return."

"Value is relative to the person," said Yang Qing. "To someone dying of thirst, a single cup of water is more valuable than a storage ring filled with gold.

Yes, the ginseng is valuable—but not as valuable as the information you’ll provide. I can obtain ginseng like this with relative ease. The same can’t be said for current insider information on the Huang family.

Whereas for you, given your circumstances, the Springheart Ginseng holds immense value. Need dictates value," he explained.

"What if you get poisoned?" Xie Han asked. "Or what if I don’t have anything worthwhile to report? Won’t you be losing out?"

"To your first question—" Yang Qing paused, then let out a small chuckle. "Sorry," he said lightly.

"My body handles poisons better than what a hundred of these could do," he added, giving the ginseng a light shake between his fingers.

"As for the second scenario, if nothing comes of it, then nothing comes of it. But—" he paused with a faint smile, "I’m fairly certain you’ll have plenty to report."

Xie Han gave him a puzzled look, feeling there was more to that statement, but decided not to press. It wasn’t important at the moment.

His gaze drifted to the Springheart Ginseng. Even just looking at it, he could feel both his vigor and vitality stirring.

"Fine, I agree," he said at last, shifting his gaze from the ginseng to Yang Qing. "But I feel I need to say this—"

"If your life is in danger, you’ll sell me out," Yang Qing interrupted with a smile.

"Yes," said Xie Han with a strained smile.

"I don’t mind," Yang Qing replied with a shrug. "As long as you don’t go out of your way to look for trouble," he added, his gaze sharpening.

"I know my limits. I’ll act accordingly," said Xia Han.

"Then we have a deal?" asked Yang Qing.

"We do," Xie Han replied.

The two exchanged daoist salutes to seal the agreement before Yang Qing handed over the ginseng and a crystal feather that transformed into a thread of hair as it disappeared into Xie Han’s hair

The feather functioned much like a communication talisman, but with a few key differences—it could only be used to contact one person, and it was a person who had the matching feather linked to it. In exchange for its limited connection, it was undetectable by anyone below the domain realm, and it carried glyphs designed to prevent any form of spying.

Just as Xie Han was about to leave, Yang Qing offered him one final piece of advice.

"You should avoid the gorge from now on," he warned. "You’ve been lucky so far not to get caught—don’t push that luck.. especially now," he added, his gaze shifting meaningfully behind him, toward the side of the Wan family’s territory.

Yang Qing didn’t explain further. The Wan clan’s internal situation wasn’t his to share; he could only hint at it. Hopefully, Xie Han understood the meaning behind his words.

"I will," Xie Han replied solemnly, bowing slightly with cupped fists as his wary gaze drifted toward the area behind Yang Qing.

With all matters settled, Xie Han took his leave, no doubt to consume the ginseng, while Yang Qing too was making preparations of his own to leave, with his next target already decided: The Velvet Orchid Teahouse.

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