Daily life of a cultivation judge
Chapter 1196 - 1196: Flow of events behind the dew

In many ways, Yang Qing felt Li Gang might do more for them than he could, given that Li Gang's experiences surviving out there could offer better insight to the father-daughter duo compared to what he himself could provide.

While Yang Qing was plenty insightful, his means weren't exactly applicable to Ma Yuan. Besides, when it came to practical exposure on how to survive outside, one could say he didn't have much experience to begin with, considering the life he'd led. The first part of his life had been spent on some barren mountain that not even a dog would deign to pee on, surrounded by crazy family members. The latter half was spent in a paradise that was also a heck—one equally filled with lunatics, arguably even worse than his family.

Outside of his own clan grounds and the Order's grounds, Yang Qing hadn't really been out there much. Yes, he had interacted with the outside world during the course of his duties, but the kind of experience he'd gained from those interactions was definitely ill-suited for Ma Yuan and his daughter. He was a member of the Order, a cultivator with prodigious talent and abilities honed to an inch of his life. Given his background, of course, his experiences and interactions with the world would differ greatly from what Ma Yuan, Ma Ling, or even Li Gang might face.

This was exactly why he felt they needed someone like Li Gang to help them. Li Gang was a merchant who'd ventured out on his own and managed to thrive. Merchants plied their craft by studying the ebbs and flows of life and adapting to circumstances, and for the truly skilled ones, they didn't just adapt, they exploited them to further their own ends.

To most people, dangerous situations were just that… dangerous. But to a seasoned merchant, a dangerous situation was simply another opportunity to turn a profit or sow the seeds for one. Ma Yuan and Ma Ling needed someone like Li Gang, someone who interacted with and interpreted the world that way, if they wanted to have a real chance at rebuilding their lives and giving it a serious, successful go.

Which was why Yang Qing hadn't hesitated to bring up Ma Yuan to Li Gang while negotiating with him. He'd lauded Ma Yuan's skills as a herbologist, which could prove useful to Li Gang. He knew that the branch chief would be able to read between the lines of that statement.

So, with Ma Yuan's next steps set, his own storage pouch soon to be filled with spirit stones, and clarity over the heart-quenching mulberry dew deal, why couldn't Yang Qing be joyful and generous with his tunes as a result of it?

As it turned out, the heart-quenching mulberry dew had been entrusted to Li Gang by some rogue cultivator for auction in four months. As for the reason behind that timeline? Other than handling the logistics necessary to properly auction such a treasure, the rogue cultivator wanted a buffer period that allowed him to change his mind about going through with the auction.

It seemed like he wasn't yet fully committed to selling it, and it may have been that circumstances were forcing his hand—something that made perfect sense to Yang Qing, given the nature of the dew.

Li Gang, however, didn't know who that rogue cultivator was, having never interacted with him before. But the rogue cultivator certainly knew of him, especially his situation within the Vast Blue, the successor position he was vying for, and the kind of opposition he faced.

According to what he told Li Gang, bringing the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew was partly to find a place to store it, or sell it if it came to that. But more than that, it was to build a favorable relationship with Li Gang, so that if Li Gang did manage to clinch the successor position, he could reap the benefits of having supported the future head of the Vast Blue Merchant Company.

He was essentially telling Li Gang he was betting on him, using the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew as proof of his sincerity.

Li Gang admitted he found the rogue cultivator extremely mysterious, like someone who could see straight through his every move and thought. Still, he agreed to the deal and took temporary custody of the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew. The rogue cultivator told him that if he didn't make contact within two months, Li Gang should go ahead with the plan to auction it.

Two months passed without a word, so Li Gang began secretly planning the auction. Given his circumstances, he had to be careful. If his competitors got wind of it, they would surely try to ruin it. But no matter how cautiously he moved, word still got out. Less than a week later, the place where he stored it was attacked.

Luckily, the measures he had put in place were enough, but the scare it gave him prompted him to move it. That's how he ended up at the doors of the Bluefin Escort Agency. They met all the criteria he needed for transportation. For one, it was an agency he had never used before, which would work well in transporting the item under the noses of his competitors, who likely already had a list of all the agencies he used. Secondly, the Bluefin had the perfect balance of being discreet while still having great connections.

He had only learned about the escort agency through a rank-four clan he had regular dealings with. The clan had hired Bluefin for their relocation, and what caught Li Gang's eye wasn't just that they had handled the relocation of an entire rank-three clan, but rather why that clan had trusted them with such a venture. It turned out the reason was a referral from an attendant of the Gold Earth Bank, with whom the clan had shared their intent to relocate and were seeking reputable organizations for the task.

That recommendation piqued his curiosity, prompting him to dig deeper into the agency. The more he uncovered, the clearer it became just how many decently powerful organizations had hired them. They may have been small and not widely known, but their resume, and the prestigious clients they had worked for, put them on par with the well-known escort agencies of similar rank.

They were perfect for handling his transport, so Li Gang carefully procured their services. Ideally, he wanted the founder to oversee the transport, but given the founder's unavailability at the time, and Li Gang's unwillingness to waste time and add more variables through delays, he opted to let the second-in-command handle the task, despite not being in the palace realm.

The reason for this decision, other than his desperation to get the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew to one of his clan's bases as quickly as possible, was the assurance the founder had given him. The founder had promised the transport would be completed smoothly, even without his presence. Bai Chen had even revealed the use of a monarch-grade treasure, along with other protection measures aboard the flying ferry. Li Gang also had confidence in the isolating artifact he had used to seal the Dew's presence.

This artifact was capable of isolating the Dew from even the senses of a middle-stage palace realm expert. It had been loaned to him by his clan after the near-robbery incident and was borrowed from the Azure Bamboo Sword Sect.

With all these measures in place, Li Gang was confident the relocation would go off without a hitch, and his competitors would be none the wiser. As it turned out, his confidence was well-placed, as the transport was completed without incident. Li Gang was relieved, and even more so when Yang Qing told him that the flying ferry, along with Jiang Hao, had disappeared not long after.

On his end, Yang Qing received a physical description of the rogue cultivator, along with his realm, which Li Gang strongly believed to be that of a palace realm expert, given that he couldn't see through him. Additionally, he learned the frequency of the rogue cultivator's communication talisman, which Li Gang intended to use to contact him and inform him of the auction date once everything was planned out. The auction was set to take place in two weeks.

Yang Qing wasn't sure yet what to make of the rogue cultivator, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to meet him and get a feel for the person. For now, though, he was at least content to eliminate one name from his list of suspects—Li Gang.