After one and a half hours, the Order was already in sight. After long draining evaluations, every time Yang Qing came back, the black building that was a constant source of his nightmares would turn into a source of relief to him.
He could remember that after his first-ever evaluation session, the day he came back he almost wept in joy at being back at the Order's compound, then a week later he was back at it, bemoaning his circumstances and ruthlessness of the Order.
Ellie lowered her altitude and speed as the gold eagle bracelet on one of her legs lit up when she was flying over. Other than acting as a tracker, the bracelet acted as a key to the invisible formation array that surrounded the Order's grounds. The bracelet was also synced with her qi and soul signature to prevent its use by anyone else.
Once she went through the formation barrier, she flew in the direction of the beast tamer hall. Just at the entrance of the hall, there was someone casually waving over, it was Zheng Hu, one of the inquisitors from Yang Qing's team.
...
Ellie dropped down and gently landed beside Zheng Hu. Yang Qing and Ma Yuan alighted from her back.
The starlight crab had already woken up during the journey back and was perched over Yang Qing's shoulders with the wisdom pearl of the cyclone arc prawn clatched between its claws.
Unlike before, the pearl had a gentle glow to it now. The starlight crab had managed to penetrate its defenses and begin the assimilation process which would take a very long time considering the disparity in strength between the starlight crab and the wisdom pearl of the cyclone arc prawn that was at the palace realm when it was alive.
"Boss, how were the evaluations? Did you meet anything interesting out there like Feng Xin?" Zheng Hu excitedly asked.
"Not good, I hope I won't have these many evaluations to do when I get to the palace courts. Old Lei really did me in, especially considering the troubles that found me along the way..." Yang Qing faintly sighed when he reached the end of his sentence. The events that happened in those three days flashed though his mind when he made that statement.
He stumbled onto a blood fiend cultivator in the first place he stopped at, then he ended up in a fight against three palace realm experts with one of them being the child of a domain-level expert with considerable means. As if that wasn't enough, he ended up getting attacked by a member of the Dark Helminth Ghost sect.
It was too much, now all he wanted was to enjoy the comfort and peace of a courtroom. However, he still had over a million things to get through before he enjoyed the comforts of a courtroom, one of which was to settle Ma Yuan first. He had called over Zheng Hu for that purpose.
....
"Were the opponents any good?" Zheng Hu pestered on.
He was a battle fanatic and had managed to sniff out something based on Yang Qing's body language. He had sparred with Yang Qing over a thousand times, though calling it spars was an understatement since it was always a one-sided beating. However, that exposure was enough for him to be able to tell if Yang Qing had been in a battle or not. He could detect a faint battle intent leaking from Yang Qing. It was something that only someone who had fought him frequently could detect.
"Mmmh, not really. Though if the attacker from the Dark Helminth Ghost sect was close to my realm, he would have been a thorny opponent to deal with. But other than that, the rest were pretty easy," Yang Qing lazily said as he raised his arms to stretch his back.
Zheng Hu lost any interest in digging any further once he heard Yang Qing's response.
Ma Yuan was silent in the background, taking everything in. He seemed a bit nervous as he tried to meld into the background.
...
"Zheng Hu, this is Ma Yuan who I told you about earlier, I'll need you to arrange a place for him to stay within the compound.
You'll also be his guide for the next few days, teaching him the do's and the don'ts of the place and you'll be attached to the case on a preliminary basis. So you will need to find someone from the Administration department, to get the particulars in order and also have a liaison from there meet with Ma Yuan," Yang Qing said as he added a few more instructions.
"Ma Yuan, this is Zheng Hu, he is an inquisitor and is part of my team. He is very capable and good at his job. Whatever assistance you need, please don't hesitate to ask him.
There will be a liaison from the Order who will come to meet you once you're settled in. They will be in charge of filling you in on the details of the case when I'm not around or Zheng Hu.
It may take a few days before we can meet again since the coming few days will be a tad bit hectic for me. I have a ceremony to prepare for, among other things that will keep me swamped for a bit. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to consult Zheng Hu if you have any queries," said Yang Qing.
"Many thanks, Judge Yang Qing for all the help and support that support that you have given including saving my life." Ma Yuan said as he gave a deep solemn bow.
"Inquisitor Zheng Hu, my name is Ma Yuan and I thank you in advance for your hospitality and help," Ma Yuan said as he gave another bow to Zheng Hu.
"Don't worry about it and the like the boss said, if you have any questions feel free to ask. Have you eaten?" Zheng Hu asked. His carefree and cheery personality made it easy for Ma Yuan to relax around him.
"Yes, I have. Judge Yang Qing was kind enough to share his meal with me," Ma Yuan politely answered.
"HIM?" Zheng Hu who had been smiling suddenly asked in shock as he pointed his finger at Yang Qing.
"Yes,' Ma Yuan answered, slightly confused at Zheng Hu's stupefied reaction.
"Zheng Hu please have Ma Yuan settled, he has had a long day," said Yang Qing as he cast a cold and mildly threatening look toward Zheng Hu.
"Ma Yuan let's go," said Zheng Hu as he laughed sheepishly. Ma Yuan bowed once more in gratitude toward Yang Qing before he followed Zheng Hu who was headed in the direction of the inns, restaurants, pavilions, and courtyards.
In a situation like the one Ma Yuan was in, where there was a risk to his safety, the Order would host them within their grounds. However, even if the Order would technically be considered the host, they didn't use their own facilities to host them. Ma Yuan and those like him would be given shelter and accommodation in the pavilions and courtyards that were owned by the different businesses inside their compound.
As part of the agreement to start a business within the Order's premises, these organizations had to agree they would lend their services to the Order should they need it. Part of those services was providing room and board to those under the protection of the Order, for example, Ma Yuan. Zheng Hu was guiding Ma Yuan to some of those facilities.
….
Once they separated, Yang Qing left Ellie at the beast tamer hall but not before he gave out a few instructions to the personnel of the hall, one of which was the reeducation of Ellie when it came to sensibilities. He hadn't forgotten about the cheap blow she struck against the son of one of the founders of the Golden Bamboo Pavilion when he was unconscious. Yang Qing wanted to nip that petty vindictive personality of hers in the bud before she invited more trouble and disaster to his doorstep. For good measure he even decided to use his trump card, Luo Meili, to take care of Ellie.
Next Yang Qing visited the deployment subdivision of the administration department. It was already late into the night, but the hall of the administration department was still flooded with people and lively as ever with cultivators moving to and from different sections of the department.
The deployment sector had a few comings and goings, Yang Qing had to wait for a few minutes before his turn came up. Lai Han who had served him before he left wasn't around, neither were the other members he had found before. The team present was completely different.
Yang Qing couldn't help but sigh at the disparity of treatment between those from the administration department in comparison to his station. The Admin department worked on 12-hour shifts, while judges as long as you had a case going on, you would remain there till it was done, however long it took. Judges could fill in for each other but that was only after three months, when they were allowed to take leave and focus on their cultivation. But before then, they would work dog hours if need be, with no alternating shifts like the ones those from the administration department had.
…
The completion procedure wasn't as cumbersome as before when he was being deployed. All he had to do was stamp a few scrolls with his medallion and then ended with the removal of the protection of the spirit calling bell from his body. The spirit calling bell had a limit on the number of people it could support, so the moment someone completed their mission, before anything else they had to hurry back and finish their completion procedures at the deployment sector, so the spirit calling belling could have an empty slot for another person.
Once everything was completed, Yang Qing went back out with a tired look longing for some much-needed rest in his abode before the events of the next day swarmed him. He didn't have a case the next day because he would be having rehearsals for his upcoming ceremony that would be happening the day after tomorrow. In addition, he had been invited over to someplace that terrified him even more than the Order. He wasn't looking forward to going to that place at all.
When he was completing his deployment procedures, he received a call from his brother telling him that their mother asked him to come over for dinner tomorrow at the Yang family's grounds, in the Glowing respite valley.
Before the Order, the Yang family had been the sole object of his nightmares. When he came to the Order, even if it also became a nightmare of its own, it still paled in comparison to the dread he felt every time he saw some of his family members, especially his grandfather and some of his friends.
"Does mom want me to get killed, I hope she doesn't tell them I'm coming," Yang Qing fearfully thought as he made his way to his abode.
