Daily life of a cultivation judge

"Thank you once more for your assistance. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Yang Qing said, offering his gratitude again as he got up, appearing ready to leave.

However, he paused midway, his gaze lingering on the teapot. Curiosity flickered in his eyes, shifting to reluctance, then to embarrassment, before finally settling into firm resolve.

Ren Shu, well aware of Yang Qing's habits, didn't even need to think to guess what was coming.

"It would be rude of me to leave while the pot is still full, not after you so graciously offered it," Yang Qing shamelessly declared as he sat back down and reached for the teapot. But his shamelessness didn't stop there. Instead of using the tea cup he had been offered earlier, he retrieved one of his own—and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Size.

The "cup" he produced from his storage was closer to a wine jar or a tankard than a proper tea cup.

"Why are you like this?" Ren Shu sighed helplessly.

Yang Qing responded with a cheeky laugh as he brazenly filled his oversized cup. But perhaps out of guilt—or at least some lingering embarrassment—he took out a few snack dishes from the Dreamscape Swallow's Nest restaurant. He was clearly reluctant, but considering all he had gained from the two Soul Formation experts, even he wasn't thick-skinned enough to drink their tea without offering something in return.

The assortment of spicy roasted nuts and pork buns he placed on the table was his way of repaying them—at least a little—for the information and insights they had shared.

"You're sharing your food with us?" Ren Shu asked, clear surprise in his tone as he reached for one of the pork buns, examining it closely. "What's wrong with them?" he muttered, still unable to believe that the shameless glutton he knew was actually sharing food—and willingly at that.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with them," Ren Shu murmured, his eyes flickering with surprise. "The quality of the ingredients and the cook is high… mmh, a blue-grade chef and top-tier sky-rank ingredients…" He looked at Yang Qing strangely.

"Tastes like work from the Dreamscape," Shao An remarked softly, showing a rare expression of appreciation as he sampled some of the ground nuts.

"You've been there?" Yang Qing asked in surprise. With how unexpressive Shao An usually was, he hadn't taken him for someone interested in the simple pleasures of life.

"Mmh." Shao An nodded gently as he reached for a few more nuts. He clearly had a fondness for them, and Yang Qing made a mental note to get him more when he returned the auspicious four-clover wooden talisman.

"I am a member," Shao An mentioned in between bites. "So is he," he added, gesturing toward Ren Shu with his eyes.

"You're a member?" Yang Qing asked, his tone laced with coldness as he turned to face Ren Shu. "What grade?" His voice was heavy, his expression severe.

"Violet."

What's with him? Why is he looking at me like I owe him spirit stones? Ren Shu wondered. Come to think of it, did he ever repay the 500 middle-grade spirit stones he borrowed to 'further' his herbology research? He never even shared the results. Knowing him, he probably spent it all on food, some weird plant that tastes like meat, or that broker he uses to source information about the tastiest ingredients.

Will he even pay it back if I ask?

Ren Shu's thoughts trailed off as he took in Yang Qing's annoyed expression—the gritted teeth, the soft angry mumbles between sips: "Lost my earnings on cold leek soup… can't trust people…"

Seeing Yang Qing's present mood, Ren Shu quickly dispelled the thought and wrote the debt off as a loss. If Yang Qing, even in a good mood, would try to weasel his way out of repaying, then with his current vindictive look, there was even less hope of recovering a single spirit stone.

His judgment proved correct when Yang Qing suddenly drained his entire tankard of tea in one go before immediately refilling it—his cold stare fixed unblinkingly on Ren Shu as he did.

"What?" Ren Shu asked in confusion. "You want my card or something?" He reached for his storage ring to take it out, only to pause when Yang Qing snortingly replied, "There's no need. I got one."

Yang Qing casually took out Wei Shen's card, placing it coolly on the table before slipping it back into his storage ring.

Ren Shu almost blurted out, How did you afford that? but seeing how touchy Yang Qing was at the moment, he wisely chose to keep that particular question to himself.

After a few more sips, as the anger and shock of Ren Shu's 'betrayal' slowly faded, Yang Qing's thoughts shifted back to Bai Chen's missing case, eventually centering on Ming Wa—more specifically, her missing partner and his travel destination.

He had already gotten what he came for, but before leaving, he figured he might as well pick their brains one last time while finishing his tea, which he constantly debated whether to add another before he left. He knew there was still plenty left in the pot. Despite its deceptively small size, he could tell it probably held about a hundred drums' worth of tea, and his little antics had barely put a dent in it—hence his audacity with the tankard.

But he quickly shook his head, dispelling the idea. As shameless as he was, and as tasty as the tea might be, he had already decided to limit himself to just two cups. As thick-skinned as he was, or as free as he was with Ren Shu, he couldn't in good conscience go beyond that.

Conscience played a significant role in actually enjoying a dish—at least for Yang Qing. That was a lesson he had thoroughly failed in teaching Ellie. That bird had no shame. Or conscience.

Before his temper could get riled up, Yang Qing quickly pushed away the anger-inducing thoughts of her 'takes' over the years, choosing to focus on the matter at hand.

"Are there any good hiding places in the Turtle Lapis Lazuli Empire?" Yang Qing asked, firing the question that had been gnawing at his mind. Zhu Fa, Ming Wa's partner, had chosen the empire as his destination with the escort agency.