CHAPTER 1334: SUSPECTED MEMBERS OF THE ORDER THAT ARE ONE

Dai Chen’s lazy eyes blurred slightly as he contemplated Yang Qing’s words, a slight furrow forming on his brow the more he thought about them.

"I’ve never really thought about it," he said. "I kind of assumed they were always there, or that I’ve seen them given the folks we hang around with here," he added, his frown easing back to normal.

"Mmh," he hummed in surprise at the realization. "I’ve never actually met a full-blooded mythical race member," he said, more like admitting to himself than anything, his smile curling in intrigue in the midst of it. "Surely there should be one in the Order, like in the Spirit Council, maybe?"

Yang Qing nodded in agreement. "If there was one place that had them, it would probably be there," he said, as he gazed deeply into the clouds above. "The mysterious chancellor or the president could be one. If I were a chronic gambler like Huilang, I’d probably bet all my spirit stones that one of those two is likely to be one."

"You think?" said Dai Chen, before offering guesses of his own. "I’d add the Chief Justice too, maybe even one of the vice presidents or the Chief Inquisitors."

"Head of Logistics, too, maybe," Yang Qing chimed in.

"What?" he asked, on noticing the curious look Dai Chen was giving him.

"Why Logistics?" Dai Chen asked curiously.

"Well..." Yang Qing said, pausing briefly as his eyes fell on the nest of the celestial nesting weaver, which made him gnash his teeth in anger and resentment. "When I was a kid, I heard that dragons loved hoarding wealth and all manner of precious things. But after living with him," he said, glaring venomously at the nest before turning his gaze back to Dai Chen.

"I’m starting to wonder if that obsessive love for precious things is a dragon trait or a mythical race trait. And if it’s the latter..." Yang Qing’s voice lowered slightly as he clasped his hands and brought them closer to his mouth. His expression carried the weight of someone whispering a taboo truth he had just uncovered.

His tone grew even more solemn. "If it’s the latter," he repeated, "then it makes sense why the Order is so stingy with resources. For us to draw even a single drop from it, we’d have to trade an arm and a leg."

Yang Qing’s expression grew heated as he felt his guess was right on the mark. "At first, I thought the Order was stingy for the sake of being stingy," he said hotly, excitement rising in his voice as if he had finally unmasked a great beast. "But if the president or the head of logistics is a mythical race member, then it all adds up!" he exclaimed, grabbing his wine and emptying the cup in one go.

"Yes, yes, it all makes sense now," he said wildly, a crazed smile spreading across his face as his fanatical gaze drifted elsewhere. Where it drifted, he revealed with his next words.

"It is often said that the behavior of subordinates is usually informed by their head," Yang Qing said sagely, before shaking his head. "Though the saying isn’t completely foolproof, since there are cases where subordinates end up adopting completely different molds from their superiors," he softly muttered, a hint of helplessness showing in his tone and expression as Ellie’s figure flashed through his mind.

"But all in all, the saying generally holds true," he said, perking up again.

"I don’t know about that," Dai Chen replied with an awkward smile. "Bar Lai Lei, and even with him, I might be pushing it. As for the rest... well, you’ve seen them. Are we similar?" he asked with a wry shake of his head.

"Well, with a carefree boss like you, it can’t be helped that they adopted an assiduous nature," Yang Qing commented, as a hint of envy showed in his tone. All of Dai Chen’s inquisitors went beyond just being diligent. The level of commitment and effort they put into their work was exactly the kind of exploitative standard the Order praised and constantly tried to mold Yang Qing into.

If even half the members of his team were as diligent as Dai Chen’s, then he could afford to take it easy, slack off, and day drink like their boss here was doing. But alas, thanks to his cursed luck, he ended up with a team full of weirdos who, barring Luo Meili, always put their hobbies first and their duties second. Not to mention, they were pretty rebellious and traitorous, too. It was always curious how the Order managed to get wind of all his plans and foiled them at just the right moment when he couldn’t weasel his way around it. Very curious indeed.

Sighing away the sting of betrayal, Yang Qing continued, "There are always exceptions to these sayings, but they do hold water most of the time. And continuing with that... the Order being stingy—where did it get its stingy side from?" he asked before raising his index finger and pointing it upward.

"It can only be from the top," he said, with a hint of mystique in his tone. "And if not them, then the head of logistics will do, after all, the stinginess is being executed by their office. Plus, if I was some dragon," he said as his expression drifted off to a pleasant imagination, "If I was to take a job here, I would probably take the role that allows me to get into contact with as many precious resources and treasures as possible, and there is no better position for that than the Head of Logistics," said Yang Qing, finishing it off with a smug grin.

"Come to think of it, even the Chief Librarian could be a mythical race member too," Yang Qing murmured thoughtfully as he cupped his chin. "Having all that access," he added dreamily as he imagined himself being the chief librarian and having unrestricted access to all the contents of the main library. If he were being perfectly honest, if he were ever given a choice between being the head of logistics or the chief librarian, he would instantly jump for the latter without hesitation.

Bar a paradise of endless delicacy that he didn’t have to pay for, a library filled with a sea of manuscripts covering all manner of things was a close second when it came to his dream location.