Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1411: Where lies your fate? (1)
With practiced ease, Meng Song guided Yang Qing into the features of the VIP section. Whether it was an auction house, a restaurant, a teahouse, a pavilion, or a manor, their VIP areas all seemed to follow the same basic design and functionality.
For one, in addition to being secure, they were all designed for privacy and comfort.
Just as it was at the Velvet Orchid Tea House in Hebei, or the dining area of one of Dreamscape’s restaurants in Gold Eagle City, Yang Qing’s assigned VVIP room had sound isolation arrays. On top of that, it had sensory isolation arrays that blocked spying through spiritual senses or any other scrying means.
Unless a Domain expert came by, few would be able to tell who he was within that room. Everything from his physical features to his voice, down to his cultivation base, was shielded by a top-tier Blue-grade isolation array.
The array meant for protecting his life was of the same tier. As someone serious about his own safety, Yang Qing examined those particular arrays thoroughly, well, as thoroughly as one could within the two minutes he allowed himself, since he couldn’t very well take much time from the two elders. They may not have been hosting the auction, but given it was happening at their headquarters, it was safe to assume that, just like Li Gang, they had matters to attend to before the official start, especially the closer it got.
So, as much as Yang Qing wanted to study every line and script of the protection arrays several times over for his peace of mind, he contained himself. He restricted his analysis to two minutes, and what he was able to uncover did well to settle him. The array was strong enough to handle a full-force attack from a seventh-stage Palace Realm expert for about an hour, and it could hold off an attack of the same force from a peak-stage Palace Realm expert for about two minutes.
He wasn’t too sure about the latter claim, which came from Meng Song’s narration, but the former he verified to be plausible after his two-minute analysis of the array.
But even with those abilities, it was the presence of a short-distance teleportation array in the room that truly settled his nerves. The array was near-instantaneous, which Yang Qing verified as he was allowed to give it a spin. It led to one of the many roots supporting the Dawn Cloud Oak Tree, linking to its furthest point. In his case, the root connected to his array was about thirty kilometers long, meaning the array would blitz him thirty kilometers away.
To a cultivator, especially a powerful one with high speed, thirty kilometers was nothing. But for a fleeing expert like Yang Qing, it was more than enough of a head start for him to use every available means to make a clean getaway.
The delusional part of his mind, which gave him confidence in his escaping skills, whispered that at that distance he could probably escape even from a first-stage Domain expert. Luckily for him, his highly paranoid, highly pessimistic persona sat on the other side, offering different counsel. He didn’t like listening to it much, as it never allowed him to enjoy anything and constantly filled him with fear, but over the years, he had learned to heed its advice no matter how outlandish.
As an excellent reader of people, being a merchant and a seasoned rogue cultivator, Meng Song took great care in introducing anything that touched on personal safety, which Yang Qing greatly appreciated. However, as good a reader as she was, she underestimated the person she was dealing with.
Yang Qing was a complicated individual with too many facets. He was a coward who hated going out, yet within his heart beat the pulse of an explorer who yearned to uncover the mysteries of the unknown. Yet, if the opportunity presented itself, he would do everything in his power to avoid it, treating it as a curse, only to sigh later with regret over the missed opportunity.
He could freely hand out a Blue-grade art to a stranger without much thought or hesitation, while simultaneously agonizing over sharing a single dumpling, even if that person was his own mother.
He hated expending energy, yet he would pour every ounce he had into something that interested him.
He was a selfish philanthropist. A cowardly free spirit. A lazy hard worker. He was a genuine walking contradiction.
So, for someone like him, the same room he went to great lengths to learn how to flee from, he cared with equal fervor about how much he could enjoy it and maximize his time there. He wouldn’t mind spending eternity there if it was comfortable and safe enough. That was why, however much he grumbled about it at every chance, he would have to be threatened to leave the Black Medallion Tower.
And now, as much as he cared about his ability to flee his VVIP section with swift speed, he also cared about enjoying it and milking it for all it was worth. Sadly, Meng Song didn’t realize he had such intentions, as she glossed over the room’s luxurious leisure amenities and arrays, much to Yang Qing’s disappointment.
Though this disappointment didn’t last long, since he was given the command token to control the room’s arrays. While the token had little influence over the main protective arrays(bar the teleportation array, of course), it had great autonomy over the luxury arrays. These included the prismatic display of true form array, which could capture and magnify the items meant to be auctioned. An item the size of an egg would have its projection enlarged to fill his entire room, allowing for a detailed view.
Of course the spiritual sense could do the same job of magnifying the details of objects to an even more granular level, but it didn’t hurt to have an already magnified version. Not to mention that the array also captured the innate aesthetic beauty of the items. It would work wonders with particularly beautiful items that had an ethereal radiance, as that captured beauty and immersive light would be projected throughout the entire room.
As someone who appreciated the finer things in life, even though he couldn’t afford most of them, that feature of the prismatic display of true form array was something he greatly appreciated and couldn’t wait to try out.
...
"Judge Yang Qing, I would like to thank you once more for your presence and for entrusting your business and time to us. I hope your experience with us is a wonderful one," Meng Song said pleasantly once she was done.
"If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask," Han Bai added, his expression and tone as customary plain as ever, though his eyes darted meaningfully toward the table. "They may not quite be to the level of the wine I offered earlier, but they’re still nice. Though if you do need it, I wouldn’t be opposed to sharing a drink with you later," he added.
Maybe it was because they had spent some time together, however brief, or because of his own experience with another placid, stern-faced elder (whom Yang Qing was sure was more demon than man), Yang Qing felt he could read some of Han Bai’s emotions beneath that expressionless exterior.
He could tell, deep down, that Han Bai was hoping he wouldn’t take him up on that wine offer. If not for the precious wine in his possession, gifted by that mysterious figure from the Deer Mountain Range, Yang Qing wasn’t sure if, despite sensing the deep reluctance, he would have done the considerate thing and politely refused. He would probably have shamelessly taken him up on the offer and had a generous helping... within reason, of course. He’d seen far too many cases in his courtroom of cultivators coming to blows over a lack of tact from the other party.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but if we are to drink, please allow me to pour. I happen to have a few good ones myself, and as is the way with good wine, it tastes better when shared," said Yang Qing, smiling pleasantly, lying through his teeth. His default mantra in life, especially when it came to food and drink, was: the better it tasted, the less willing he was to share it.
What he shared easily were things he could replace without feeling the pinch.
Was he ashamed of that side of himself? Yes. But would he change? Not anytime soon, if his growing love for food and drink was any indicator. Maybe if he got richer and had access to boundless food, drink, and chefs, he would. But until such a time, he would grumble over every spring roll and dumpling shared.
