Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1122 - He might run away with it

1122: He might run away with it

1122: He might run away with it

“Thank you very much, Senior Shao An.

I will,” said Yang Qing, cupping his fists in gratitude.

The gears in his mind were already turning, fueled by the information Shao An had just shared.

He had already formulated a plan to finally pry information out of the tight-lipped Ming Wa.

With nothing else to ask—and no cheek to drink more tea after the cups he had already downed—Yang Qing bid the two soul formation experts goodbye.

But not before leaving an additional assortment of roasted nuts on the table, having noticed Shao An was already halfway through the first pile.

Having paid some of his ‘dues,’ he turned to leave.

But just as he was rounding the last corner to exit the backyard completely, he paused and slowly turned his head back.

The two soul formation experts, Ren Shu and Shao An, had already decided to indulge in some wine and light conversation, accompanied by the very snacks he had just offered.

“Do they ever work?” Yang Qing murmured thoughtfully, a deepening frown on his face.

“Almost every single time I come here, they’re always lounging.

Same with the seniors from the Judicial Review Committee.

Day drinking, openly indulging in their hobbies without a care in the world.

Even their damn office looks and feels more like a home than an office.

Must be nice…” he muttered, an envious and irritated glint flashing in his eyes.

“Must be nice having nothing to do all the time,” he added, throwing one last bitter look at Shao An and Ren Shu before forcefully turning his head away and making his way to the Black Medallion Tower

….

External Logistics Division Hall,

“Have all that information sent to my office,” said Yang Qing, addressing the middle-aged lady before him—his liaison with the Flying Shadow Hawks and a member herself.

Yang Qing needed a few pieces of information, and there was no better place to get it than from the Flying Shadow Hawks.

Their reports were guaranteed to be current, and even if they weren’t, they would be no more than a few months old.

More importantly, they were bound to be detailed—something he desperately needed at the moment.

He needed information on the Vast Expanse Merchant Company, both general details and a narrowed focus on their branch leader, Li Gang, whose actions struck him as suspicious.

Instead of transporting the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew in-house, Li Gang had outsourced its transportation—despite its immense value.

Not only that, but he had used an escort agency he wasn’t a regular client of and allowed a quasi-palace realm cultivator to handle the transport, despite the considerable risks involved.

Yes, Jiang Hao had a monarch-grade artifact with him, along with other measures to ensure his safety and protect the ship and its cargo from an early palace-stage expert.

But even with all that, entrusting him with such a valuable item was a risk that no competent merchant would reasonably take—yet Li Gang had done exactly that.

And while the transport had been successfully completed, Yang Qing still found the whole situation off.

Maybe the underlying reasons had nothing to do with Bai Chen’s and Jiang Hao’s disappearance—or maybe they did.

Either way, he needed to resolve that particular mystery to find out.

Of all the questions he needed answers to, Yang Qing felt this was the easiest to tackle first.

He could solve that particular mystery with the assistance of the Flying Shadow Hawks, and if needed, Li Gang could easily be tracked down physically.

As the branch chief of the Vast Expanse Merchant Company, his location was likely fixed, making it easy to pinpoint his whereabouts.

There was also Dong Ping to consider, which further simplified matters.

According to Fan Mei, Dong Ping was highly regarded within the rogue cultivator community.

And since the Vast Expanse Merchant Company had built its reputation on serving rogue cultivators, there was no better person to provide insider information about them than Dong Ping.

Who knows—maybe the peak palace-stage rogue cultivator personally knew Li Gang.

If that were the case, gathering information on him, or even from him, would be considerably easier.

But all that would have to wait until Dong Ping and the others confirmed their availability for the commission Yang Qing had set.

Fan Mei had yet to report back on whether the three chosen groups were available for the task.

Beyond Li Gang and the Vast Expanse Merchant Company, Yang Qing also needed to investigate the fractured Azure Sapphire Kingdom—particularly the Wan noble family, whom Bai Chen frequently did commissions for.

Yang Qing wasn’t sure how the noble family fit into all this, but they warranted a closer look nonetheless.

After all, Bai Chen had disappeared within the Azure Sapphire Kingdom.

Whether or not the Wan family was involved—or if his disappearance had even occurred within their territory—it was still worth investigating.

Who knows?

Maybe their dealings with the Wan family had painted a target on their backs, drawing the attention of the family’s enemies.

While the kingdom was said to have settled down, with the warring nobles slowly working toward a truce that would forever fracture the land with the agreement being centered on each noble ruling as king over their domain—it didn’t erase the fact that they had been fighting for thousands of years.

Cultivators were not as magnanimous as bards and storytellers made them out to be.

They were vindictive and selfish, and their long lifespans, coupled with an unfailing memory, only made matters worse.

The nobles might be working toward peace, but that didn’t change the blood-soaked history between them.

While they could set aside their grudges for the sake of self-interest or the bigger picture, those grievances wouldn’t simply disappear.

If an opportunity arose where settling a past score also served their ambitions, Yang Qing had no doubt that nearly all of them would seize it without hesitation.

The way Yang Qing saw it, sabotaging the growth and development of a rival noble could easily be justified as serving one’s own interests.

And with the Bluefin Spine-tailed Swift Escort Agency playing an integral role in the Wan noble family’s expansion plans, it stood to reason that other noble families would target them—if only to hinder the Wan family’s progress.

This was especially true now, with each noble vying to establish themselves as kings over their own domains, where the development of one’s territory would become a crucial factor.

Beyond the Azure Sapphire Kingdom, there were also the two treefolk tribes to investigate.

But on that front, Yang Qing couldn’t help but sigh—he would have to rely on himself for that one.

Prior to today, he had never even heard of them, a testament to how scarce information about them was, likely even within the Order’s vast archives.

As skilled as the Flying Shadow Hawks were in intelligence gathering, even they would struggle to provide current details on the two tribes. freeweɓnøvel.com

One had hidden so deeply that they bordered on extinction, while the other existed under the protective halo of another mythical race—the black tortoise.

Obtaining information on the two tribes, especially current information that might provide relevance or even a lead in his case, was bound to be difficult.

Yang Qing suspected that the details Ren Shu and Shao An had shared with him were likely the most comprehensive he would get.

It may have been more historical than recent, but it at least gave him enough to establish a starting point.

Still, just in case, he made a point of requesting information on the two tribes from the Flying Shadow Hawks.

Who knew?

They might have something that Shao An or Ren Shu hadn’t covered.

And if they didn’t, they could still redeem themselves in other areas—such as providing intelligence on merchant organizations or other groups with bases in the Turtle Lapis Lazuli Empire and the Ocean Vortex Shield Talisman Manor that specialized in helping people disappear.

That was information he was certain they would have in spades.

While Shao An had presented a sound case for the Banyan Battlefield as a serious possibility for why Ming Wa’s partner might have headed to the Turtle Lapis Lazuli Empire, Yang Qing still had to consider the other avenues and ensure all his bases were covered.

“How long will it take?” Yang Qing asked after structuring his plans.

“Information on the Azure Sapphire Kingdom is up-to-date, so it should be in your office by the time you arrive.

As for the rest, it will take at most an hour to confirm and bring everything up to the current timeline,” the liaison explained.

“But if you’re in a hurry, we can send the most recent available reports first and supplement them with the updates later within that one-hour timeframe,” she added.

“That will be fine.

Send me everything you have on hand, and you can forward the rest later,” Yang Qing said, thanking the liaison before making his way to his office.

Now all that’s left is Ming Wa.

If she hasn’t reached out by the time Fan Mei sends her update on the commission, I’ll have to go to her and force her hand, Yang Qing mused as he left the hall.

…

Ren Shu’s courtyard

“If Yang Qing discovers the true value of the talisman you gave him, he might not give it back,” Ren Shu remarked teasingly, glancing at Shao An, who looked to be enjoying his groundnuts—if the slight nods were any indicator.

“I doubt it.

Considering the nature of his physique, he likely has some sense of its grade.

He may be a little thick-skinned…”

“A little?” Ren Shu interjected, raising a dubious brow as he shook his head, a wry smile tugging at his lips.

Unaffected by the interruption, Shao An calmly continued, “He may be thick-skinned, but he’s also highly paranoid.

I doubt he’d run off with it unless he was absolutely certain he could get away with it clean.”

“That’s true…” said Ren Shu as he chuckled lightly.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

Daynightdreamer

Hi, so i realized the previous two chapters erased spacing

after I published them.

There seems to be a glitch with novelkiss but I have rectified the chapters once more..

hopefully it doesn’t happen again with this chapter