Yang Qing’s deduction and scheme part (1)

"Mao Mao, I've never known you to be shy with your words. If something's on your mind, ask away. I'd be more than happy to guide my little junior on her path so she takes as few detours as possible."

Yang Qing leaned back with a knowing smile before adding, "Or is it something you can't say in front of Yi Jie and Feng Xin? If that's the case, I'd be happy to kick them out. They always stifle the air in the courtroom—unlike you, Mao Mao, who's a ray of sunshine. Life in the palace courts will be hard without you."

Toward the end, his expression turned woeful as he let out a pained sigh, casting a mournful glance at Yi Jie and Feng Xin, as if they were sharp, poisonous thorns embedded in his foot—ones he could never rid himself of.

The duo snorted in unison, throwing him an equally provocative look, as if labeling him the greater thorn—one that had grown into a parasitic vine, leeching off their nutrients.

"You three can't be normal for once," Mao Yunru muttered, shaking her head.

After a moment's pause, she looked at Yang Qing more seriously. "I've been wondering… Ever since this case started, there were times when you acted a little… off. Yes, you're an odd, quirky person—one that common sense and sanity never seem to apply to—but even so, some of your actions seemed strange, even for you."

Yang Qing let out a grumble. "Were all those jabs at me being an odd person really necessary, Mao Mao? Did you really need to use that many different words just to emphasize how much of an oddball I am?"

Mao Yunru, seemingly oblivious to Yang Qing's grumbling, continued,

"One instance was when you used the Green Cocoon of Evernight to help Wen Chang with her mental breakdown. Both Yi Jie and I detected you releasing part of your aura and invading Sect Master Cheng Yuan's mental sea with it. Then there was you sharing your oolong tea with him, specifically ordering dishes made by Cao Ying, and everything that happened during that meal. It all seemed deliberately aimed at helping Cheng Yuan improve his realm—minutes after you had just terrified him with your aura.

Then there's the matter with Peng Zhen. It's the same thing. You seem to be proactively guiding his growth, even going so far as to share a blue-grade cultivation art with him. And those so-called 'punishments' you imposed barely even seem like punishments at all.

All throughout this case, it felt like you had something against Cheng Yuan at first, but as things progressed, you seemed to be doing everything in your power to help them grow. Being this invested—doesn't that go against the impartiality a judge should have?"

Mao Yunru watched Yang Qing closely, waiting for his response.

Yi Jie and Feng Xin, however, looked completely uninterested, as if this had nothing to do with them. They were off to the side, bickering over ingredient portions and wine quantities, bargaining as if they were at a market stall.

Mao Yunru's brow twitched. "How can you two be so indifferent? Aren't you even the least bit curious about Yang Qing's odd behavior? Especially you, Feng Xin—you almost died! Doesn't it seem a little unfair that your boss is actively helping the ones who put you in that situation?"

Seeing their utter lack of concern irritated her for some reason. She had been in the courtroom with these three for the past three months and had long since learned that their train of thought could be baffling at times. But this—this was something she had expected them to be on the same page about, at least.

"Umm, Mao, unlike you, I'm just an inquisitor. I don't overthink Yang Qing's rulings. I'd rather spend that energy thinking about how to get off the blacklist of certain restaurants and how I'm going to afford another primal lotus dew. Yes, I almost got injured, but that's just another day on the job. An inquisitor's work is full of dangers and variables. If it didn't happen in this case, it would've happened in another. Plus, I got a bountiful harvest out of it. I'm glad it was me who went," said Feng Xin with some enthusiasm.

His look suddenly shifted as he frowned slightly. "Now, I wonder how I can make the most out of that corroding heron. I hope it doesn't taste as disgusting as it looks," Feng Xin trailed off, mumbling to himself about ingredients, completely forgetting himself.

"I'm on the same page as Yang Qing. Don't worry, Mao. Your doubts are understandable, but the more you do this job, the more your judgment becomes fluid. You've already sent a copy of the proceedings to the higher-ups, but haven't you noticed they haven't overruled Yang Qing's decision? They're in agreement with it," Yi Jie explained softly, offering Mao Yunru a comforting smile.

"I know, that's why I'm asking. I can't help but feel like I've missed something. Despite trying, I can't figure it out myself. That's why I need his help," Mao Yunru said reluctantly, a helpless smile tugging at her lips. It was a little embarrassing to admit she couldn't track her superior's thoughts, despite being a judge herself.

"Mao Mao is so cute when she's embarrassed," Yang Qing teased with a cheeky smile as he poked her.

"Do you want me to report you to Supervisor Lei Weiyuan for harassment?" Mao Yunru said coldly, her eyes flashing with a dangerous glint.

Cough cough— Yang Qing cleared his throat and straightened up. "Ahem. Since I'm a good boss, it wouldn't hurt to guide you through my thinking." He quickly shifted gears, adopting a serious tone. "I'll start by saying this and this is purely just my guess, but I believe Sect Master Cheng Yuan was the mastermind behind the entire plan. Roping the Order into this mess, splitting up their forces— all of it, I think was all his machination.

At first, it was just a tiny suspicion, but that changed when I detected something while removing the gu from Peng Zhen and forcibly awakened Dong Yanlin who was hibernating within it. I found remnants of qi in there. By the looks of it, it looked to be the result of someone trying to tamper with the art but stopped themselves to avoid triggering anything. The feeling was faint, but it couldn't escape my senses." Yang Qing paused slightly when he saw changes in Mao Yunru's expression.

"No questions until the end of the presentation, Mao Mao," Yang Qing declared, turning away from her and striding to the middle of the courtroom, attempting to evoke an expert-like demeanor. He paused, standing still, gazing ahead as if lost in profound contemplation.

Mao Yunru sighed, shaking her head. "Even in a moment like this, you just can't help yourself, can you? How obsessed are you with posturing like some enlightened sage?"

"I refuse to believe that someone of Cheng Yuan's level wouldn't notice a group of elders scheming right under his nose. Peng Zhen's betrayal was suspicious from the start. I find it hard to believe that two people who have saved each other's lives so many times as they have, and them being fellow disciples under the same master at that—would break ties so easily. 

But my main suspicion was always on Cheng Yuan," said Yang Qing with certainty in his tone.

"Working behind this desk, I've come across countless sect masters, and not a single one—even those leading rank five sects—was a simple character. They all have one thing in common: a breadth of vision and a calculative mind capable of anticipating and planning ahead.

There's no way someone of Cheng Yuan's caliber would fall short in that regard. In fact, given his circumstances i'd rate him higher than most at his level. After all, he inherited his post fairly young and at the worst possible time- the death of his master, losing their most powerful member. He not only had to help the sect weather through that loss, but he had to do it in one of the most dangerous places on the continent.

The fact that he was able to help his sect survive through all that, and in a place like the Green Fog Region to boot, that is a testament of his abilities. Which is why I find it hard to believe that someone so capable, could easily be deceived within his own sect and by his sect members no less.." 

"Following that line of thought, after hearing Peng Zhen's version of events, I assumed that he must have gone to Cheng Yuan first—not Gui Bingwen. Cheng Yuan knew his junior brother well, so if anything seemed off, he'd be the first to notice. He likely tried to remove the gu from Peng Zhen but realized it was too complex. 

So in such a case what does he do?" asked Yang Qing, though the question was more directed to himself than the audience.

"It is simple: Kill the initiator of the art, hoping that the technique would unravel on its own. Only there is a problem.. Dong Yanlin," Yang Qing said, pausing briefly.

"Somebody that devious, and capable would not make for an easy opponent. If they were careless in any way, they risked not only their lives but the sect's too, and someone as fastidious as Cheng Yuan would likely look for means that have less risk to the sect.

So he and Peng Zhen devised that little ruse, using the long-standing dispute between him and Wen Chang as a smokescreen. While at it, they used the situation to weed out the sect's tumors with a borrowed knife.

He had Peng Zhen deal with Dong Yanlin, knowing he would be less wary of him. He supplied him with artifacts carrying the might of a Core Formation expert and enlisted the help of the Tupelo Tree, which possessed the strength of a peak Core Formation cultivator and dragged him away from the sect to deal with him. 

They must have believed these measures were enough to deal with him," said Yang Qing as he walked a few steps forward, his hands clasped behind his back.

Mao Yunru felt the irrepressible urge to trip him and break his pompous display, but she held off in the end.

Yang Qing, unaware of the danger he had narrowly escaped, continued his deductive reasoning.

"The Tupelo Tree being taken out of the sect was another clear giveaway of Cheng Yuan's involvement. It's the sect's most prized possession, yet Peng Zhen got his hands on it far too easily—even if he was the vice sect leader. There's no way Cheng Yuan, as sect master, would neglect his due diligence and leave it so unguarded.

I believe they had two plans," Yang Qing said as he raised up two fingers. 

"Plan A was for Peng Zhen to deal with Dong Yanlin with the help of the Tupelo Tree. However, if something unexpected happened—something even the Tupelo Tree couldn't handle—then Plan B would come into effect. Cheng Yuan, with Wen Chang's assistance, would start over and preserve the sect's embers. I'm willing to bet that most of the people in the sect master's entourage coming here are the sect's most promising seedlings. 

Feng Xin, you saw them—can you confirm this?" Yang Qing paused, turning to Feng Xin.

"By their sect's standards, they were definitely promising. There were about fifteen of them, all young and at the Foundation Establishment realm, with two still at the peak of Qi Refinement. Among them, there was one who seemed to be around thirty years old, already at the middle stages of the Foundation Establishment realm. That level would be considered a talent even in a rank three sect, possibly even a rank two sect," Feng Xin replied.

Yang Qing nodded in appreciation.

"To Cheng Yuan, ensuring the sect's continuity is more important than his own life, his junior brother's life, or even the Tupelo Tree. If it came down to it, he would be willing to gamble everything, including sacrificing even the Tupelo Tree, in case their plan met an unexpected mishap. The only one who truly seemed clueless in all this was probably Wen Chang and given the mentality she showed, I could understand why she wasn't involved in the scheme.

One single misstep and it would have come tumbling down."

Yang Qing paused, taking a sip from a container that resembled a small cylindrical green log, its surface made of rich green wood with visible natural grain patterns.