Once he was out of the Celestial Herb Garden, Yang Qing couldn't help but take out the card once more. It released a resplendent glow as the sun's rays fell on it. Just the physical representation itself without going deeper into what it signified, its look alone gave it a worthwhile appeal.

"Kang Huilang, I have a nice surprise waiting for you when you come out.." thought Yang Qing as he wore a silly smile on his face.

He didn't gloat for too long as he put away the purple amethyst vinewood card with his gaze falling on some distant view.

"Yi Jie, I hope you went through well, old friend.." muttered Yang Qing as his gaze fell on the clouds to the west of him.

Even though the Tribulation Mountain was within a mysterious realm in a non-distinct position, he always felt if it existed in the same space as the headquarters, it would be situated in that direction.

It had already been almost four months since Yi Jie went to the mountain to break through to the palace realm, by his count, four months was already enough time for him to have already broken through, and should be now working on stabilizing his cultivation realm.Yi Jie had just as much talent as he did, and they would have broken at the same time, had Yi Jie not been conflicted about which dao to use as his foundation for the palace realm. He had the saber dao and wine dao, and he was equally passionate about both, but for his foundation, he could only choose one, while the other served as a subsidiary.

Yi Jie had been conflicted about what to go with. As an inquisitor, his choice was clear, he would have to go with the saber dao as his foundation considering the demands of his occupation, but for Yi Jie, he only became an inquisitor because he saw it as a route for improving his wine brewing skills.

The post would allow him to venture to different places and expand his horizons, and improve his skills as a winemaker as a result of it.

If you were given a chance between your hobby and your work, which would be more important to you?

To Yang Qing, Yi Jie, Feng Xin, and even Zheng Hu, the answer was simple, they worked to support their hobbies. Yang Qing chose to be a judge because it was out of the front lines, but more than that was because the remunerations were better and he would get to buy all sorts of things with the pay. He wouldn't be winning an auction bid anytime soon, but it was enough for him to splurge in restaurants and cultivation open-air markets.

For Yi Jie, the travel as an inquisitor would expose him to different wine brewing techniques,ingredients, and the like as he went from place to place, which would help with his techniques.

Feng Xin was similar in that being an inquisitor would give him access to cuisines all around the world. The difference between him and Yang Qing was in how they approached their gluttony. Yang Qing loved eating, but he would not risk his life for it, ultimately his life came above his food, but for Feng Xin, eating came above his life, which ironically gave him a strong desire to live, as he wanted to eat more and more, and he would do anything to guarantee that.

Then there was the combat maniac Zheng Hu who chose to be an inquisitor because it was the best way he could get all the fights he could ever want. He had designs on being a special inquisitor, it was just that the special inquisitors required one to be a late-stage palace realm expert as a minimum requirement for joining and have substantial amounts of merit points as a regular or roaming inquisitor.From what Yang Qing knew, it was about 20,000.

For them, while they revered the posts they occupied, to them the job itself was a means to an end and not some deep-seated devotion.

"Ultimately, I know what you will choose, we all do.." thought Yang Qing with a smile. Yi Jie was Yi Jie in the end after all.

Yang Qing stared up at the glowing sun as he said,

"It's still early, Mao Mao, Dai Chen, and the rest are probably in their courtrooms... I could check in on Hao Da and see how he is doing...mmh, Ma Yuan's daughter too, and see if she's made some progress and is at least a little more receptive of him and the progress of her memories.."

Yang Qing took out his communication talisman and contacted Deputy valley master Ren Shu to find out if Hao Da was discharged or not and how the progress for the rest of his colleagues was.

Luckily the situation was much better than it was when he had left. The previous branch chief was already mobile along with Hao Da owing to their sturdy physiques, with both being fit enough to attend the funeral of the two deceased inquisitors. As for the surviving inquisitor, even though she was not completely healed, the remaining injuries were no longer fatal, and just needed a little recuperation for a few months before physically she was back, as for the mental part, it was up in the wind. It could only be taken a day at a time for all of them.

"Good.."said Yang Qing with a sigh of relief as he made his way to the transport array that would lead him to the Medicine Valley.

It was on his way there that two people stopped him. One of them was an entrance guard, while the other looked to be an employee from the administration department.

The administrator on seeing Yang Qing, put a polite smile on his face as he cupped his fists in greetings while saying,

"Pardon for the interruption, Judge Yang Qing. My name is Shen Zemin and to my right is Senior Pan Liu, nice to meet you.."

"Nice to meet you too, daoist Shen Zemin, daoist Pan Liu..." said Yang Qing as he cupped his fists in greeting while wondering why the two had approached. From their looks, it looked like they had been deliberately looking for him.