Daily life of a cultivation judge

Meifeng, who always seemed to have an extra layer of spiritual sense when it came to sensing departure, quickly caught on that Yang Qing wanted to leave even though there were no clear telltale signs of it.

"You're leaving?" she softly asked, trying to mask the sadness within.

"Yes," Yang Qing said gently.

"Will you be back again?" Meifeng followed.

"Probably," answered Yang Qing. "Though it might be a bit of time before I am back here," he added.

"We'll still talk via the communication talisman," he immediately added when he saw her deflated expression. "And if my team breaks through early, we might end up seeing each other sooner than you think. Then I will get the chance to be the host, and you'll get to see how my abode looks."

Yang Qing paused briefly, his tone lowering as if he was about to reveal some grand secret. "I am not one to toot my own horn, but I happen to have the best looking abode in the entire Order."

"How good?" Meifeng asked, sounding and looking clearly intrigued. Gu Xing at the side smiled wryly, thinking to herself how easily Yang Qing always managed to grab Meifeng's attention.

"Well, if I were to describe it, it would be..." Yang Qing paused, cupping his chin in deep contemplation. "I'd say it looks like a banished immortal's tea garden," he said with a serious expression.

Meifeng's gaze instantly froze at the remark, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"I'm not lying. It really does look like that," Yang Qing said defensively when he saw her reaction. "Haishi, tell her," he pleaded with the mirage dragonfly, who seemed far more preoccupied with taking measured sips from Meifeng's pond.

Caught between loyalty to herself and to her new boss, Haishi chose a middle ground by offering an exaggerated, rapid nod, full of false conviction, while still continuing to fill her belly with the yin-rich water.

Repressing the urge to drown her in the pond, Yang Qing looked around for a better witness, but the only one he could count on was still locked away in a cocoon, preparing for his breakthrough.

As he sighed in defeat, Meifeng's petrified state broke as she burst into a pearly laugh. "Banished immortal's tea garden," she repeated between chuckles. "You really know how to talk big, Brother Yang Qing. I can't wait to see how that immortal's tea garden looks," she added, before breaking into another round of laughter that Gu Xing soon joined in on.

"Laugh all you want, but it will be your faces reddening in embarrassment when you realize I was telling the truth," Yang Qing muttered in a sulking tone.

"Yes, yes, brother Yang Qing," Meifeng said humorously as she patted his back in consolation, with Gu Xing joining in to tease, "We look forward to going red, Fellow Daoist."

"When did you two get this way?" Yang Qing grumbled. Tease me all you want now, but I will make sure to record your reactions and play them back to you every single time we meet, he inwardly vowed.

Truth be told, he wasn't being his usual shameless self when he made that remark about his abode being a banished immortal's tea garden. Yes, he may have exaggerated a tiny bit, but still... his abode was extraordinary even by the Order's standards. The spiritual vein wasn't much to look at, but when it came to everything else, it was definitely among the best.

Even the random grass growing wildly by the pathways was of such quality that a long queue of alchemists regularly bribed him with all manner of pills and potions just to acquire some. And he had an entire field of them. What was most common in his abode was a treasure in theirs.

He had other spiritual plants and herbs that were far more precious, not to mention the three unique ones growing there: the green flame tree, the tree of duality, and the purple lightning bamboo field.

And if that wasn't enough, he even had a mythical creature living with him. How many cultivators could say such a thing? Oh, I have a mythical creature as my roommate. We argue all the time, and one of these fine days I might just turn them into a hot pot.

How many people could actually say that and it be true? And if that didn't give his abode immortal's tea garden status, then he would quit eating and work for free for the rest of his life— and without complaint at that.

Wait till I introduce you to him, Yang Qing schemed, imagining the faces Meifeng and Gu Xing would make when they saw the celestial nesting weaver, and when he smacked it over the head for added effect. Because why not? Hit one bird with two stones. He wasn't entirely sure that was how the saying went, but he definitely would try to hit the celestial nesting weaver with two stones when that day arrived.

Neatly storing his scheme in a safe pocket of his heart, Yang Qing's face shifted from grumbling to smiling as he turned to face his two friends.

"It was nice," he softly said with a faint smile before his attention shifted to Queen Lihua, who was hovering next to Meifeng with an egg-shaped white jade object about the size of a snail's shell.

"Thank you for agreeing to my request," Yang Qing said as he cupped his fists toward her.

"The honor was mine, Daoist Yang Qing," said the queen as she bowed her head in return.

"Do you have a name for her?" Yang Qing asked, masking the slight awkwardness behind his tone. There was always the chance Queen Lihua might have eaten the larva queen, and if that was the case, asking about a name felt rather inappropriate. But regardless of the odd dynamic between the two sides and what may or may not have happened had he not asked for the larva queen, Queen Lihua was still her mother. Perhaps she had given her a name, even if she had once intended to consume her when the moment was ripe.

"I do not," Queen Lihua serenely answered. Her response more or less confirmed Yang Qing's assumptions as to her intentions with the larva queen, and as if to solidify it further, Queen Lihua continued, "I think it would be more appropriate if you were the one to give her one."

"Okay," said Yang Qing. Luckily, he already had a name in mind.

"I will go with Zhilan. What do you think?" he asked, directing his question to the audience of three.

"Zhilan it is," commented Queen Lihua in her unchanging, serene tone.

Her response wasn't surprising to Yang Qing, as it was the sort of 'doesn't give anything' reply he expected from the pragmatic queen. When he asked for thoughts on the name, it was the other two's opinions he had been seeking.

"It's really good and soft. Zhilan," Meifeng cheerfully said before leaning into the egg-like jade where 'Zhilan' was housed. "Zhilan, you be good, okay," she gently whispered into the mini jade hive, "and produce a lot of honey for Brother Yang Qing."

At the side, Yang Qing nodded appreciatively at the 'sage advice' Meifeng was giving the larva queen. He felt so moved by it that he was about to praise her, but his actions were cut short by her next remark.

"You're so lucky you get to live in a banished immortal's tea garden...ppft.."The goading chuckle that followed after, showed it was anything but sincere. It was just another chance to take a dig at Yang Qing.

Yang Qing once again pulled out his secret plot stored in his heart's hidden space, read its contents to calm himself, then stored it back when he felt composed. Smiling pleasantly at Meifeng, he said, "You're the best, Meifeng. I won't forget this."

Which, when transcribed with the secret code in his heart, translated to, "I won't forget this, little sister. Only the best vengeance for you."

"Zhilan... mmh, like the orchid," said Gu Xing, gazing deeply at Yang Qing. "You seem to love your flowers," she commented. "Are orchids your favorite?"

Playing dumb at her obvious insinuation and secretly marking her for the same vengeful treatment as Meifeng later, Yang Qing replied with a roguish smile, "Flowers aren't bad," before his expression quickly eased.

"But as for why I named her that," he added meaningfully, bending his gaze toward the hive in his hand, "well, I recently heard an interesting tale about orchids when I was in Hebei. There, orchids are like a symbol of gratitude, acknowledgment, and a promise..."

"A promise of what?" Gu Xing curiously asked.

Yang Qing raised his gaze from the hive to Gu Xing, his lips curling into a heartfelt, cheerful smile. "That we will do this again," he said, his eyes sweeping meaningfully around the alcove, taking in everything and everyone there.

"Mmh," hummed Gu Xing with a faint smile. "Zhilan," she softly said, "it's beautiful."

"I think so too," Meifeng sweetly chimed in.

It was then that Queen Lihua said something uncharacteristic of her.

"Thank you," she said softly, her voice drifting as her gaze lingered on the hive. "Thank you for the name," she repeated, this time meeting Yang Qing's eyes. Her voice was still serene, but now he could sense more emotion within it.

Yang Qing smiled, nodding toward her, before saying his final goodbyes to the rest. The diamond beetle, however, looked like it wanted to leave with him. It kept throwing him pleading looks that in no uncertain terms said, Please let me leave with you. It's bad for me here. You've seen how crazy they get...

It even cast alternating wary, sneaky glances toward Meifeng and the skylark before turning its pitiful gaze back to Yang Qing, who was holding it aloft in his outstretched arms like a young baby.

On seeing the comforting and understanding smile Yang Qing gave it, the diamond beetle's eyes shone with excitement, only for that excitement to shift into panic when it realized its body was moving. And where was it moving, one might ask? Straight toward one of the very beings it had been trying to escape from.

"Take care of him," Yang Qing gently said as he handed the diamond beetle over to Meifeng, who hugged it tightly and rubbed her cheeks against its polished gem-like carapace.

"I always do. After all, he's my most favorite," she said while rubbing her cheeks against him once more, this time throwing the skylark a taunting look as she did so.

The diamond beetle, however, shot Yang Qing a series of desperate, betrayed looks that had a hint of growing despair in them.

Yang Qing only answered with another comforting smile, one that seemed to say, I know, I know. It can't be easy. But we all have to do things that aren't easy at times for the greater good. Without you here as the buffer, these two will likely sing each other into insanity. For the peace of the alcove and the Deer Mountain Range, I can only entrust this task to you, brother beetle. I know you'll handle it well.

The beetle's retort was, "Why me when there is sister Crescent?" Its gaze fell into even more despair when it saw Sister Crescent clap her wings excitedly, its attention darting between Meifeng and the skylark, who seemed ready to go.

"I am doomed," thought the diamond beetle, its head sinking low. Though seemingly unwilling to give up, it looked up hopefully at Yang Qing once more, only to be met with a smile that seemed to say, "Not possible. You're the only one who can handle this."

"NO I CAN'T!" the beetle inwardly yelled. But sadly, no one present cared to listen.

"Don't worry, brother beetle. At the end of this journey, you will have forged an immovable heart and tempered will for the Dao. Hang in there," said Yang Qing with his eyes. The beetle wanted to hear none of it as it closed its eyes, sinking further into despair.

With the goodbyes and the betrayal out of the way, Yang Qing left, making his way back to the Order.