Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1030: I can hear the chants

Yang Qing chuckled once more as a mischievous glint flashed in his eyes, his gaze alternating between the nest and the talisman in his hands before finally tucking it away.

"I wonder what Mao Mao got me," he said, his voice tinged with excitement.

As engaging as the fight with the celestial nesting weaver had been—requiring his full focus—his attention couldn't help but occasionally drift back to the table he and Mao Yunru had shared. On it now rested a square-shaped package.

Unable to contain himself, Yang Qing instantly appeared at the table. An eager smile crept across his face as he stared at the package for a few moments before finally reaching for it. He carefully unwrapped it, revealing a neatly folded, light blue cloth that carried the refreshing scent of a spring breeze on a cool, clear night.

Yang Qing nodded to himself as he ran his hand over the fabric. It was gentle to the touch, and just making contact with it relaxed his body and refreshed his spirits.

"Spirit cloud silk..." muttered Yang Qing as he rubbed the cloth between his fingers. That delicate softness and renewal of spirit was the trademark of spirit cloud silk, a top-tier orange-grade material, highly sought after and priced on par with some low-tier monarch-grade materials.

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"Heavenly Cloud Apparel?" Yang Qing said, his surprise evident as he saw a small golden cloud seal shimmer within the cloth as he unfolded it.

The cloud seal was the signature mark of Heavenly Cloud Apparel, a rank-two merchant organization renowned continent-wide for their cultivator robes. Many famed cultivators sought their work not only for its quality but also for the prestige that came with wearing their robes.

"How did she afford this?" Yang Qing asked, his voice soft and touched as he treated the robe like the precious treasure it was.

As someone who had once held Mao Yunru's post, he knew how much she earned. And as someone who knew her better than most, he was well aware of her "sickness" with recording talismans and information bureaus, which always drained her funds. Her lack of self-control with that particular habit only compounded the issue.

For her to be able to afford this robe, she must have diverted a significant chunk of her budget from her obsession.

As someone who had his own obsessive struggles, he could only imagine how hard it must have been for her. As such he couldn't help but feel deeply moved, the emotion compounded by the memory of the kiss they had shared.

Eager to try it on, Yang Qing carefully, but hastily, unfolded the robe. He could already tell it was a coat. However, when he fully revealed it, his expression froze, twisting into disbelief and confusion.

The cause? Glittering white petals and green sepals sewn onto the shoulders, chest, and back of the coat, giving it an unexpectedly dainty look.

"She wants me to wear t...this?!" Yang Qing stuttered as he held the robe aloft, his disbelief growing by the second. Without another thought, he quickly folded the robe and hid it within his own robes.

His eyes darted around the courtyard, scanning his surroundings with growing concern. He was especially wary of a certain resentful, foul-mouthed, beat-up bird currently nursing its wounds and grudge in the green flame tree.

Yang Qing's tense expression finally relaxed when he sensed no reaction from the nest. Still feeling uneasy, he vanished, reappearing inside his courtyard, specifically in the room where he stored his most precious wares—or random loot from the cultivation market that piqued his curiosity.

Only when inside did he muster the courage to take the coat out again, though his gaze and demeanor were still that of an apprehensive person.

"Does she really expect me to wear this?" Yang Qing whispered, feeling aggrieved by the sight he saw as he stretched out the robe, which shimmered with prismatic luster in the faint darkness of his treasure room.

"I can already see it..." he muttered, his shoulders slumping as if the weight of the world had been placed on them. He slowly crumbled to the floor, clutching the coat in his hands.

"My reputation is already questionable as it is... And now with this..." he trailed off, staring blankly ahead.

"I may as well never show my face in public again.

I can already hear the chants... 'Silk pants Yang Qing,' 'Dandy Yang Qing,' 'The Dainty Flower'..."

Each name he conjured sent him deeper into despair.

"Does Mao Mao hate me or something? Have I misread her all this time?" Yang Qing asked, doubting everything. His eyes fixated on the glittering coat once more, trying—and failing—to avoid the blinding glimmer of the white petals and green sepals.

After nearly ten minutes of staring, he finally shook his head in resignation. He slowly got to his feet, his legs wobbling beneath him.

With fragile resolve and even frailer enthusiasm, he summoned a water mirror spell with a flick of his hand. Staring at the robe with deep reluctance, he sighed.

"I might as well resign myself to this fate," he muttered sorrowfully as he put on the coat.

It was a perfect fit, without needing the activation of the form-fitting arrays commonly built into robes from Heavenly Cloud Apparel. It was a standard feature adopted by most organizations including even the Order that had the robes handed to students at the Institute outfitted with them.

Once the coat was on, Yang Qing closed his eyes for a few minutes, softly muttering something under his breath, his look and posture like that of someone who was in mourning prayer.

When he opened them again, his gaze flickered with a strange blend of dread, hope, resignation, and martyr-like bravery.

"It's... worse than I expected," he groaned, staring at his reflection in the water mirror.

Thanks to the glittering effects of the cosmos ice light lily, he, who once looked like a wildflower battered by the elements, now resembled a delicate bloom nurtured in a greenhouse—raised under the best conditions and completely sheltered from the harshness of the outside world.

"How does it have such a drastic effect?" Yang Qing grumbled, his face almost pitiful as he touched his skin, which now appeared milky and slightly glossy.

The man who once took pride in his rugged, slovenly appearance now found himself transformed into an image of delicate beauty—all thanks to the disastrous effect of that cosmos ice light lily.

"Do I really have to wear this?" Yang Qing weakly asked, already knowing the answer.

After seeing what he had expected, he quickly took off the coat, folded it neatly, and stored it in his storage ring. He dispelled the water mirror with another sigh, cutting a defeated figure as he walked out of the treasure room. The gloomy darkness of the room seemed to mirror his crushed spirit as he left.

"The delicate slacking lily..." he mumbled as he closed the door behind him.