Daily life of a cultivation judge
Chapter 1180 - 1180: Dysfunctional partnership (2)

After his rage had subsided somewhat, Yang Qing let out a helpless sigh, still laced with anger, as he moved to heal the starlight crab.

Its legs began to squirm, showing signs it was slowly regaining consciousness. The moment it fully came to, in typical fashion, the first thing it did upon regaining consciousness was attack the first thing it saw without hesitation.

Unfortunately, that "first thing" was Yang Qing.

Without missing a beat, Yang Qing flicked it on the head, knocking it out cold once again.

He was already in a foul mood to begin with, and while he'd expected the crab's reaction, it still pushed him over the edge.

"I hope you have something worthwhile to trade… otherwise..." Yang Qing muttered ominously, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes as he looked at that 'empty' pond.

But almost instantly, his expression shifted from vengeful to regretful as he gently lifted the unconscious crab, healing the small dent on its forehead.

This time, when the starlight crab came to, it didn't attack.

Mostly because, right before losing consciousness from Yang Qing's flick, it had realized who had hit it. And afterward, when it felt that familiar healing energy within its body, it recognized the source immediately.

It promptly kowtowed in apology, clicking its mandibles and making a series of strange noises with its mouth.

From its eyes, Yang Qing could more or less guess what it was apologizing for. Its simple-minded nature made it reckless—but also dependable.

Yang Qing could tell it was apologizing for failing to uphold its end of the bargain and letting Ellie get away with her thievery, even though he didn't blame it. Ellie was miles stronger than the starlight crab and far more cunning. Its defeat had been inevitable.

"I'm sorry too," Yang Qing said softly, wearing an apologetic smile.

"How about some training, so at least next time, you can get a claw in?" he suggested.

The starlight crab raised its claws in response, with a valiant fighting will, passionately radiating from its body.

Its actions—and just how weird it looked doing it—drew a chuckle from Yang Qing, lightening his mood considerably as the human and crab duo walked side by side toward the training field.

...

Elsewhere, within one of the Order's many training grounds, Ellie was tucked away in a secluded cave, greedily eyeing a milky-white spring at its center. The bottom of the spring glittered with over a dozen pearls that emitted a soft, chilly white-gold radiance, which were likely the source of the spring's milky luminous glow.

Within the spring swam about twenty fish of different species, all plump and full of vigor, darting excitedly through the water.

And how could they not, when they were soaking in such a treasured place, even with their kidnapper hungrily eyeing them from above?

The spring in question was a Pearl Glow Nectar Yin Spring. Its waters were a perfect haven for spirit fish. It greatly enhanced their constitutions, and to the fish, swimming and feeding in it was like living in a heavenly paradise, living off heavenly delights. No wonder they didn't care about Ellie's heated gaze—they were too blissfully entranced by the spring's effects to care or spare the attention.

This cave was one of Ellie's best hideouts, precisely because of the spring's presence. Its waters elevated the quality of the fish meat, enriching its flavor to unprecedented levels.

Her eyes grew even more fervent as she spotted the crystalline sheen slowly forming on the fishes' bodies, which was a clear sign that the spring was already working its magic. She cast a cautious glance around the cave, scanning for any signs of intruders in case Yang Qing had somehow tracked her down.

Once satisfied that no one was around, she quickly turned her attention back to the fish, her hunger plain as day in her gaze.

She monitored the transformation of the fish with sharp focus, like an alchemist carefully watching over his brew. Only after a good while had passed, and she confirmed everything was proceeding smoothly, did she reluctantly tear her eyes away. Her gaze shifted toward a certain corner of the cave, where a small mountain of miscellaneous objects lay in a chaotic heap.

At first glance, the pile looked like nothing more than trash. It was made up of broken, rusted weapons, worn-out book covers, weathered rocks, regular sticks, scraps of hide barely holding together by threads, and a few artifacts that looked slightly more intact—but still bore the scars of time.

Yet, despite its disheveled appearance, the pile had a faint, dreamy glow to it that hinted at there being more to it than it seemed. Now and then, a luminous sheen would flash from within the heap, evoking a sense of hidden grandeur as if sacred relics were buried among the refuse.

With a confident swagger in her step—and in her tail feathers—Ellie sauntered over to the pile and began rummaging through it like a true nouveau-riche, spreading the contents out like they really were just trash, as she searched for something she hoped would cover the price of today's 'act.'

After some time, her eyes lit up. She pulled out a branch which looked plain at first glance, save for the heart-shaped block of jagged blue ice growing from it like a fruit. At the point where the ice met the branch, a faint red hue flickered within the blue.

Ellie had no clue what it was, but she was certain it was something special. With how bizarre it looked, she was sure Yang Qing would fall in love with it and hopefully forgive all crimes.

A flicker of worry flashed in her eyes as she glanced between the weird jagged ice fruit and the pile, wondering if the fruit alone would be enough for the deal—or if she needed to add more. But in the end, a nature she had inherited from one of the people who had raised her kicked in. She scoffed in disdain and turned away from the pile, deciding the fruit would be enough. Yang Qing's stingy habits had clearly rubbed off on her.

To her, that pile was no different from beetle dung—but it was dung that let her steal without consequence. There was no way she'd be a careless wastrel with it. She had to squeeze every ounce of value from each and every piece.

Her eyes sparkled with glee and ambition as she imagined just how many more delectable fish she'd get to sample, all thanks to that pile of dung.