Ellie, the cloud-swallowing kite had just pinned Haishi to the ground with her talons as she mockingly made gloating chirps in Haishi's face who was terrified beyond measure.
"Ellie you never grow up, do you?" said Yang Qing in beratement.
Ellie quickly flinched on hearing Yang Qing's voice before she nervously turned her head to confirm if it was really Yang Qing.
Once she confirmed it really was him she hurriedly let go of Haishi as she lowered her head submissively while making her eyes rounder to draw more sympathy from Yang Qing.
Yang Qing could only shake his head in exasperation at her display.
"There's not a shred in you of the fearsome reputation that cloud-swallowing kites get as the predators of the skies who would even give golden rocs a run for their money. All you have in you is gluttony, shamelessness, and petty tricks.
You spend too much time with us Ellie, maybe I should have you transferred to some of the forests under the supervision of the beast hall to help trigger the ingrain rawness of the cloud-swallowing kites out of you," said Yang Qing which triggered an even more adverse reaction from Ellie who chirped and quivered at the same time as she looked up pitifully like an abandoned kitten.
Ellie has been part of their group ever since she was a young chick who didn't know better. Because she was small and most of her interaction was with Yang Qing and his team she picked up some of their habits over the years.
She gained Yang Qing's shamelessness especially when it came to fawning and asking for apologies for the trouble she created which was also another habit she picked from him, she became a gluttonous eater from associating with Feng Xin, she tries to act like a seasoned expert sometimes from trying to imitate Yi Jie, her bullying personality is from hanging out with the battle maniac Zheng Hu as for Su Jinjing, Yang Qing is not quite sure what Ellie learned from her but he was sure there was something. Maybe it might be revealed when she finally gains the ability to transmorph and talk.
…..
"K..R.RR..N..O..chirp," Ellie tried to utter the human tongue but failed at the end.
Despite her small failure Yang Qing couldn't help but commend her attempt. She was just in the tenth stage of the core formation realm she couldn't transmorph yet into a human to be able to speak like one nor did she have the monarch sense of a palace realm expert to transmit her thoughts to the other party.
Her attempt was out of sheer willpower and ingenuity as her current anatomy made it almost impossible to speak the human language. However, her efforts would not be for naught as the strides she makes now would help her later as she practices transmorphing skills. Her adaptation to the human physique later would be much easier.
It was due to this factor that most of the spirit beasts that reach the seventh stage of the core formation realm are forbidden from using voice transmission beads in their communication by the Beast hall. An overreliance on external objects would stifle their progress, adaptation, and creativity later on.
"Greetings master Yang Qing," said Haishi. Even though she was currently trembling from her earlier 'match' with Ellie her voice was still without any ripples. It had nothing to do with her ability to mask her fear and more to do with the voice transmission beads' inability to convey deep emotions.
It could project different tones and pitches of a voice but one couldn't tell if someone was sad, melancholic, or fearful as the subtleties that a real voice would present are absent when done via the voice transmission bead which just vocalizes thoughts.
"Hey Haishi, how are you finding your stay at the Order?" gently said Yang Qing as he ignored Haishi's strange posture created by her trembling body.
"It's great Master Yang Qing. It's more than I deserve," Haishi humbly said as she bowed her head.
"Good, good, but if Feng Xin mistreats make sure to tell me or Ellie over here," said Yang Qing as he added emphasis when it came to Ellie's name who bowed her head deeper that she almost burrowed to the ground.
"Master Feng Xin has been most accommodating there's nothing bad I can say. I even owe him a lot for sparing my life and allowing someone lowly as myself to consume the precious primal lotus dew," Haishi reverentially said which helped her alleviate some of the fear and trauma Ellie had left on her a few seconds ago.
"Well, that's good then. I won't be around for three days so you can ask the others for help if you need anything and make sure to follow the guidance and instructions of the beast hall.
Don't be afraid to consult them on matters concerning your cultivation. There are a lot of seasoned experts here, some of them spirit beasts who have successfully cultivated to the palace stage and can now transmorph.
Their insights and experience will be invaluable to you especially in refining the primal lotus dew still in your body and strengthening your wisdom pearl.
The stronger you are the more you can help me and the Order by association. All the best Haishi and don't slack off. I hope you and Bolin can grow strong enough to share the burden we bear," Yang Qing righteously said.
He may have sounded like he wanted to pass the mantle to them but in the real sense he wanted Bolin and Haishi to be strong enough so he would have less to do with them being around to carry the slack.
However Haishi had no way of knowing Yang Qing's true thoughts as she vigorously said,
"I will work my hardest to not let Master Yang Qing and the Order down," said Haishi despite not having any deep sentiments or knowledge about the Order. She was swallowed by Yang Qing's vortex of spiel without even noticing it.
"Good," Yang Qing nodded appreciatively.
Meanwhile, Ellie who had earlier been bowing her head so low that she could see the porous holes of the soil below had raised her head and was gazing at Yang Qing with shock and deep admiration in her eyes with a look that seemed to say,
"I have much to learn from Yang Qing."
She even bowed reverentially to Yang Qing towards the end which drew quizzical looks from him.
"Ellie is getting stranger by the day," Yang Qing worriedly thought before he pushed those thoughts away and did what brought him here.
"Ellie we will be flying around with you for the next three days. We will be handling evaluations and we do not have a lot of time to do it. It will take its toll on both of us but with all the fish you've eaten and stolen from my pond, I know you have more than enough energy to complete the journey in THREE DAYS," said Yang Qing with a smile that did not look like a smile which made Ellie shiver more as she nodded her head repetitively in acceptance.
Even though Yang Qing could fly by himself with his abilities as a palace stage expert he decided against it. The journey would be a long and tiring one without even putting into account the cumbersome evaluations. He would much rather have Ellie go with him and have a few short naps and rests on her back than make the whole journey himself. In addition Ellie was a spirit beast that specialized in extreme speeds. She maybe only at the later stages of the core formation realm but at her top speed she could match a normal early stage palace realm cultivator.
"Haishi, see you later," said Yang Qing as he leaped on Ellie's back who started flying the moment his feet touched her back.
Haishi didn't even have time to reply back as Ellie had already sped away at an alarming speed till she was the size of a mere dot in the sky.
…
50 kilometers away from the Order's main headquarters
"Mmmh I should start my evaluations from the middle as I make my way northwards toward the White baobab kingdom then come back to the center again and drop downwards toward the boundary of the Bluesky carp sect. This way when I'm done with the last evaluation, the journey back will be shorter," muttered Yang Qing as he examined the map he was given by Lai Han from the deployment office.
"The central point is mmh the Purple grass county in the Red maple empire. Let's see if there are any interesting organizations in the area," said Yang Qing as he unsealed the scroll that had the updated list of organizations and their ranks within the southern quadrant.
The list was so long that it took a bit of effort to spot the organizations in the Red maple empire which were further subdivided by counties.
"Oh this is a pleasant surprise," said Yang Qing as his lips tugged into a small smile when he saw the list of businesses in Purple grass county.
