Chapter 273 - 271: Sundry Affairs in the Cyan Moon Country

Chapter 273: Chapter 271: Sundry Affairs in the Cyan Moon Country

Su Qing entered the Moon Viewing Pavilion.

He was brought to a chamber in the highest part of the pavilion.

Beside him, a servant girl poured tea for Su Qing.

This was the place where the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, who was typically dispatched to stand guard here, reviewed cases.

Su Qing looked at the tall stacks of case files.

Su Qing couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

’This is the first time in my life I’ve had to handle something like this.’

’What a pain.’

Su Qing composed himself and said to the servant girl at his side, "Xiaoyu, you may leave for now. I need to take a good look at these case files."

"Yes, my lord."

The servant girl left.

Su Qing sat by the window. Opening it, he could see the entire Imperial City.

He silently picked up a case file and began to read.

Baijiao County, Haoyang County: A Demon Tiger has appeared. Its Spiritual Wisdom is awakened. It preys on humans and has already consumed 12 people. We request that Your Lordship dispatch personnel to deal with the Demon Tiger.

Su Qing glanced at the date: March 4th, 3213 of the Moon God Calendar.

’But it’s already May.’

’Has it been two months already?’

Su Qing continued reading the files.

There were many of them, each one thin.

There were reports of Demon Fiends, Demon Beasts, and suspected appearances of the Demon Race.

None of it was good news.

Su Qing even took the time to count them. There were over 120 case files that had been sent to the Moon Viewing Pavilion.

Su Qing estimated that they represented at least two or three hundred separate incidents.

And many of them involved Demon Beasts.

The Demon Race appeared rarely, because whenever they did, they were almost always eliminated by the Sects.

The reports were only of *suspected* Demon Race activity.

By the time Su Qing finished reading, it was late at night.

He silently stood up.

He summoned the only other person left there, a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.

"Greetings, my lord."

"What’s your name?"

"Zhang Yuan."

"Zhang Yuan? You can call me Ye Shengliang."

"I wouldn’t dare. It is better if I call you Lord Ye."

"Call me whatever you like," Su Qing said, unfazed. Then, he pointed to the case files at his side.

"These incidents... have they always occurred this frequently, or have they become more common recently?"

Su Qing asked this because he had a nagging suspicion that he himself was the cause of the problem, though he wasn’t certain.

"In response to Your Lordship, there have been far too many incidents recently."

"It all started a year ago, after the strange phenomenon in the sky. Things have been like this ever since."

"Whether it’s us humans or the Demon Beasts, we can all practice Cultivation now."

"As a result, many Demon Beasts have been appearing. We humans can cultivate too, but unfortunately, we’re no match for the Demon Beasts in terms of raw strength."

Zhang Yuan sighed. He had been here for a century and didn’t know why such things were happening.

When the abnormality appeared in the sky, he had received a significant fortuitous opportunity, and his lifespan seemed to have increased by quite a lot.

That was why he still looked so healthy and robust today.

Su Qing, meanwhile, silently gazed out the window.

"If an Immortal was the one who caused all this, but he doesn’t step in to resolve it, would you say such an Immortal is good or bad?"

Zhang Yuan shook his head with a wry smile. "What right do I have to judge? There are pros and cons. The Spiritual Qi is incredibly dense now, and everyone can practice Cultivation. You could say that’s a tremendous blessing."

"But it’s impossible to receive such a huge blessing without any consequences."

"It’s just that most of the common people in the world don’t live in the Imperial City, where they can be this safe."

"..." Su Qing didn’t speak. He stood quietly by the window, looking at the distant lights.

Su Qing was the one who had caused this, but he had no idea how to fix it.

’I can’t possibly spend every day here fighting and killing.’

He finally understood the meaning of the phrase "the Celestial Dao is indifferent."

Just like him—he could manage things for a while, but he couldn’t manage them forever.

Ye Sheng was as good as dead, even though he was also one of the reasons for the abundance of Spiritual Qi.

...

"If it were you, Zhang Yuan, would you wish to go back to how things were before?" Su Qing asked.

Zhang Yuan shook his head and smiled reservedly. "I’m an old man."

"I have children and grandchildren now. Since they have the ability to cultivate, I of course sent them to the Moon God Sect to train."

"Go back to the past? What has happened has happened. It’s not so easy to turn back time."

"If I may be so bold, among all the people of your status, Immortal, you’re the only one who has ever bothered to chat with me."

"The other Immortals... when they look at me and the others in the Moon Viewing Pavilion, they’re so placid. It’s like they’re looking at complete strangers," Zhang Yuan said, a little sheepishly.

"Heh," Su Qing chuckled.

’What Zhang Yuan described is how things are supposed to be. I’m the abnormal one.’

’It’s because I just read those case files, and I feel a little ashamed.’

’Because these are all the consequences of my own actions.’

"Zhang Yuan, you may leave."

Su Qing waved his hand, dismissing him.

After he left, Su Qing went to the top of the tower and gazed at the bright moon in the sky.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

He wasn’t sure what he was thinking. His mind drifted back to how unrestrained he used to be.

Back then, he would do anything he found interesting, enjoyable, or exciting.

The Immortal Stone, the Immortal Realm.

And Qingsu Island.

He hadn’t cared about the carnage and bloodshed caused by the Immortal Stone back then.

Because back then, he was thinking:

’Look, these are Cultivators. This is a world where the strong devour the weak. They risk it all, and they die.’

’And if they don’t? They stay alive.’

’Live until they die of old age...’

’The Immortal Cultivation Realm is just that cruel. All those who died only had themselves to blame for their mistakes.’

’I did nothing wrong. It was simply their greed.’

’But now,’ Su Qing reflected, ’what about the mortals with no Cultivation?’

’They seem to be everywhere, yet they are the most insignificant and fragile of beings.’

’They can’t escape any great disaster or calamity.’

’They can only passively endure all the injustices the world throws at them.’

Su Qing recalled his own experiences, remembering that night he hid in a tree to escape the Deceitful Pig...

"Heh, this world is too cruel."

"Too blunt," Su Qing said with self-mockery.

Su Qing wouldn’t intervene in the matters of the Moon God Palace. It was just as Zhang Yuan had said.

By sacrificing himself, Su Qing had given everyone here a chance to practice Cultivation.

Of course, where there is gain, there must also be loss. It was only natural that many from the Demon Race would appear.

Su Qing didn’t owe anyone anything.

He was just feeling a bit emotional about it all.

「A night passed.」

「The next day.」

As was normal, Su Qing had nothing to do.

Su Qing generally ignored matters outside the Imperial City.

But matters within the Imperial City were almost always handled with the utmost speed.

At noon, two Cultivators, a man and a woman, returned to report to Su Qing.

Their strength was decent; one was at the Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation, the other at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.

’They’re both strong enough to go to the Moon God Palace.’

"Greetings, my lord."

"Greetings, my lord."

The two of them bowed in unison.

Su Qing gave a faint nod. "You two must be among the strongest here, correct?"

"Yes, my lord," the Female Cultivator at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer replied earnestly, though she seemed a bit reserved.

"From now on, I will handle any Demon Fiends or Demon Beasts that appear in the Imperial City. You two are to handle matters elsewhere."

"I don’t care what your names are. There are too many people, and I don’t feel like remembering," Su Qing said lightly.

He pointed to the Female Cultivator. "You, the one at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, go to Yayu County and deal with the Demon Beast there."

"It’s said to be a Yellow-skinned that has just recently succeeded in its Cultivation."

"You, at the Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation, go handle the Demon Tiger in Baijiao County."

As Su Qing gave his orders, he used his Magical Power to float the two corresponding case files over to them.

The two took the files and began reading them with grave expressions. After all, a misjudgment regarding the matters in these files could be fatal.

Su Qing thought for a moment, then took out two objects that looked like Flying Skateboards.

"These two Magical Artifacts are for you."

"A single Spirit Stone will let you fly at full speed for three days."

"If you don’t have any Spirit Stones, given the current Spiritual Qi, you just need to let it sit for a day to be able to fly again."

Su Qing handed them over.

"These Magical Artifacts are for your missions. They will allow you to reach your destinations quickly."

"The Spirit Stone rewards from your next ten cases will be deducted as payment."

"Any objections?" Su Qing asked.

The Female Cultivator shook her head. "None."

The male Cultivator also shook his head. "No objections, my lord."

’These were things similar to Flying Swords, and they didn’t even seem to require one’s own Magical Power. Who wouldn’t want one?’

...