Chapter 660 Price of greed (10)
"As I said to the rest, when the details are confirmed to be true, we will do all we can to find your recompense.." said Yang Qing with a comforting smile.
Hua Ying nodded, half hopeful half distraught. Despite the heights of the Order, some part of her couldn't help but worry.
What if Long Zemin isn't found?
They searched for him all over the range for two months with the maddened desperation of four organizations working together and they still didn't find him.
She couldn't help but fear that he had either escaped for parts unknown, or worse, he had ended up in the stomach of some spirit beast.
If he did, then she could forget about having her situation healed, not unless, the Order decided to step in the gap and handle it themselves.
If worse came to worst and Long Zemin couldn't be found because he had disappeared or was dead, their four organizations had decided unanimously to empty out all their resources and get the Order to heal them.
The healing rates of the Order were known to be cheaper than other organizations but not by much lest they incur discontentment from the populace by ruining the market.
The four organizations had already decided if they couldn't find any other solution, then they would sell off all the resources they had to be able to afford treatment from the Order, no matter the cost.
Hua Ying hoped it wouldn't come to that as it would hollow out their foundations which would take hundreds of years to recover from. The Deer Mountain Range wasn't such a forgiving place that it would let them slowly recover. That damage to their foundations would leave their organizations further exposed to the dangers of the range, making the already hard situation even harder.
As Hua Ying was lost in her calculations, Ling Qi the remaining member of the group took the floor and began his testimony at Yang Qing's behest.
"Thank you for the opportunity," Ling Qi said as he cupped his fists in greeting.
"My name is Ling Qi and I am an elder of the Moon Essence Cauldron Sect. I am also an orange-grade herbologist and healer. Top tier at both.." he said, though his tone was absent of pride but more of self-mockery.
"While my sect knows a bit of self-defense to preserve our own lives, we are not combatants.
My sect was invited in the subjugation of the tricolored white-eyed tortoise because of its poison. Our role was to contain its poisoning abilities.
My abilities and interest lie in detoxification, thus the sect sent me to help in dealing with the tricolored white-eyed tortoise.
Daoist Hua Ying, Daoist Xin Zephyr, and Daoist Wu Shen would deal with the frontal assault while I would handle whatever injuries they may receive during the attack.
Before going in, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the tricolored white-eyed tortoise, and the preparations I made, I thought would be more than enough to handle what it would throw at us.
But I was grossly mistaken... I didn't know what I didn't know and I went there thinking to myself about how prepared I was, and all that I knew, the tricolored white-eyed tortoise may as well call me its ancestor because of how much detail I thought I knew about it.." Ling Qi said as he shook his head with a wry smile appearing on his face.
"My hubris almost got us killed. Daoist Xin and the rest did their jobs well..they pushed the tortoise to the brink whilst also protecting me while I failed to do the one job that was expected of me, which was to prevent them from getting poisoned..."
Ling Qi paused with his hands shaking and guilt showing in his eyes as he turned to face the three cultivators.
"It fills me with great shame to even ask considering that you all almost died, please forgive me for my incompetence.." Ling Qi said as he performed a deep bow to the three which caught them by surprise.
"W..what do you mean incompetence.." Xin Zephyr said with a flustered expression as she hurried to Ling Qi's side to help him up.
"We were the ones who were negligent and when the tricolored white-eyed tortoise dealt its blow, it was your sudden lunar petal water that saved us from being instantly poisoned to death.
If it wasn't for that, the rest would not have reached us in time to render first aid.
We are the ones who should be apologizing.." she added.
"Daoist Xin is right, Daoist Ling.. you handled your role perfectly to the end, we were the ones who left a gap for the tortoise to exploit.." said Wu Shen.
"What you did, and what your sect did, is the reason we are alive today, Daoist Ling.." added Hua Ying in support.
Yang Qing didn't put a stop to what was happening. From the moment the case started, even though Ling Qi looked calm on the outside, Yang Qing could feel the magnitude of the turmoil boiling within him.
It was to the extent that Yang Qing was worried that a heart demon might rupture from within him, throwing his whole state out of balance just like the emerald leaf cow from the Green Fog Swamp Sect, who experienced a mental breakdown in the middle of a deposition when she realized the people she thought were friends, were, in fact, traitors to the sect.
Ling Qi seemed close to that edge.
Ling Qi raised his head, at a loss for words on what to say as his gaze fell on Xin Zephyr's large limpid black eyes. The duo instantly blushed with Xin Zephyr hurriedly pulling away as she nervously looked toward Yang Qing only to find him smiling knowingly as his gaze fell on both her and Ling Qi.
"Sorry.." she said in a low soft tone as she lowered her head to hide her embarrassment.
Wu Shen and Hua Ying lightly smiled as they shook their heads at Xin Zephyr's embarrassed display while Ling Qi shyly scratched the back of his head awkwardly wondering how to proceed.
"I knew something was going on between these two....dammit, Mao Mao's nature is rubbing off on me.."
Yang Qing hurriedly dispelled those thoughts as he said,
"What happened next?"
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