Daily life of a cultivation judge

"What are you thinking about?" Gu Xing curiously asked.

"That it's not long now before my friends come out," Yang Qing said with a cheerful smile.

"No wonder I didn't see Daoist Luo Meili and Daoist Su Jinjing with you," commented Gu Xing.

"They went into seclusion immediately after we left. Given how much time has passed since then, it shouldn't be long before the announcements of their breakthroughs come through," said Yang Qing, his eyes faintly gleaming with anticipation.

"You miss them?"

"I do..."

"When they come out, do pass on my congratulations," said Gu Xing, a strange flicker passing through her eyes as she stared at the same stars Yang Qing was looking at.

"You can offer them in person, you know," Yang Qing casually commented. "If you want, that is. That way you can even get to meet the rest of my team," he added.

"Me? Come?" Gu Xing said, pointing toward herself. "Would the Order allow that?" she followed.

"I don't see why not," Yang Qing said with a faint smile as his gaze shifted from the sky to Gu Xing. "I constantly bring outsiders to my abode," he added in a tone that almost sounded like he was bragging.

"Mmmh, outsiders," said Gu Xing as she smiled strangely. "Women?" she added with a meaningful smile, her impromptu quiz heavily impacting Yang Qing as he nearly choked on the wine he was drinking.

Coughing from the choking and trying to regain his calm, a clearly flustered Yang Qing smiled bitterly as he said, "Please stop teasing me. You will get me into trouble, Fellow Daoist."

Gu Xing hummed a smile in response.

After mustering enough courage and fearing that if he didn't resolve the situation, he might end up becoming a roaming inquisitor just to escape the potential disaster that could arise from Gu Xing's very dangerous comments, Yang Qing said, "And to answer your question, it isn't just women I bring back."

"Oh, is that so? Then who else makes it onto this 'outsider' list?" said Gu Xing in a teasingly intrigued voice.

Yang Qing, immediately clasping at the opportunity to defend or salvage his honor and rid himself of the albatross slowly sneaking up on his neck to strangle him at the command of a certain purple-eyed gossip monger, answered,

"Well, I have brought back insects," he said as he eyed Wenling, who flinched at the sudden attention. She had been a little too jumpy since she came here, and even more so after Gu Xing's appearance.

"Bir-bees too," Yang Qing quickly added, switching from birds to bees. Gu Xing, despite being in human form, was still a Special Dao lifeform—and technically a bird type one at that, given she was a sacred flame swan. Mentioning birds right now, when he was trying to clear his name, felt like handing her more talismans to use against him.

Gu Xing's meaningful smile and the strange glimmer in her eyes told him she had seen through his ploy. But, as someone well-practiced in feigning ignorance, Yang Qing pretended not to notice and pressed on with his "list of redemption."

"There's also a crab, some trees here and there, and a few ownerless or discarded artifacts with sentient spirits..." he went on, listing more—some made up, some true, most in between.

"Fine..." Gu Xing finally said in defeat. "Well, if you'll have me, I would love to be there. I've never been to the Order," she added cheerfully.

"Good! It's settled," Yang Qing said as he toasted her, casting a sidelong glance at Meifeng, who was a few steps away, mopping.

"I'll find a way to have you there, too, Meifeng. Surely I can't have a celebration without my little sister, can I?" Yang Qing softly said with a smile.

"Really?!" Meifeng asked excitedly before instantly deflating as her gaze shifted to her main body. "But I can't cover long distances with my clone. The only way for me to be there would be if..." Her voice trailed off as she looked down.

Still speaking softly, she continued, ".... Would be if my main body was moved, and I don't know if I want to leave the range yet. Master might come back. There's senior brother too, and who knows, the others who left might return.

If they came back and found I had left, then..."

"Your main body doesn't have to be there for you to be present," Yang Qing said gently.

"Then how?" Meifeng asked. Though doubtful, her spirits had clearly lifted.

"I don't know yet," Yang Qing admitted, "but a very powerful senior of mine who once helped me did suggest there's a way. He's a spiritual tree, and one at the Soul Formation realm to boot. So if he says there's a way, then surely there is." He confidently added.

"What? No words?" he teased, flashing the silent Meifeng a playful smile.

"Thank you," said Meifeng, and this time the tears immediately started trickling down, which she quickly moved to wipe and conceal when her sixth sense alerted her to the presence of the serenity river skylark.

"Speaking of your master," said Yang Qing, his comment immediately diffusing the 'war' that was about to erupt between Meifeng and the skylark, as the former instantly perked up and swiftly shifted her attention toward him at the mention of her master.

"I met someone with some relation to her," Yang Qing continued.

"Who?!" Meifeng rapidly followed.

"A nine-hearted deer by the name of Fan Ha. She said she's your ma—"

Before Yang Qing could finish, Meifeng had already dived into his body and agitatedly pulled at his hands.

"Fan Ha... Aunt Fan Ha! She's alive?!" she asked in a rush. "You saw her?! How is she?! Did she mention me?! Was she with Master?!"

Meifeng rapidly fired over a dozen questions.

Maybe it was because she had already asked them all, or perhaps the uninterrupted outburst had sapped her strength, but she finally regained her presence of mind at the end of those questions, only to realize she had been shaking Yang Qing so hard that part of his hair had soaked in the pond's water from the force.

"Sorry," she said, her face colored by a guilty smile.

"It's okay. I have been meaning to wash my hair in gentle yin water to see how it feels. It's rather refreshing," Yang Qing joked as his hair resumed its normal appearance, all the water absorbed by it like roots in the ground.

"To answer your question: yes, she's alive, and yes, she did mention you. But no, she wasn't with your master. She hasn't seen or heard from her either since she left," Yang Qing softly said as he moved to pat Meifeng, who looked slightly downcast at the latter part of that statement.

He let her sit with that for a moment before he continued.

"She does have a son though. He's called Fan Cai, and you might get the chance to meet him when they move back," Yang Qing followed.

"A son?" Meifeng asked, her excitement rising once more.

"Mmh, she has a son," answered Yang Qing as he went on to describe Fan Cai down to the minutiae of details, knowing Meifeng would want every scrap of information about him.

"So they will be living here?" she asked excitedly, as her eyes immediately started envisioning them around. "Do you know when they will come?"

"I don't," Yang Qing said, shaking his head. "But when they do, I know you will likely be their first stop." He flashed her a faint smile, and Meifeng beamed at the response.

She followed with a few... well, more than a few— they were over a dozen questions about them. Before Yang Qing knew it, as he addressed every single one of them, the sun was already fully out, and with it, his time to leave.