Yama Rising

“Do you think you’re still in a position to be discussing terms and conditions right now?” Qin Ye responded placidly, “We’d earlier been prepared to discuss terms at arms’ length, but you’ve pushed us to a corner. That option is no longer on the table.”

Her heart was instantly awash with regret. Kim Tae-ji… you idiot! What the hell are you doing stirring the hornet’s nest like this? Not even the parish would be able to do anything to keep these monsters in check! Had I known these men didn’t belong to the mortal realm, I would never have made such a stupid decision!

It suddenly dawned on her that the lives of mortals were absolutely fragile.

Ahn Jun-ho is dead?!

Not bad. Lee Jung-sook’s seven lifetimes haven’t been in vain. To think that she would even be able to convince a lady as shrewd as Kim Tae-ji to serve her this wholeheartedly. On the other hand, I’ve clearly got some ways to go… I mean… I can’t even rein in the other Infernal Judge under my charge. What a great disparity in our skills…

“He’s been dead… for 12 years.”

Her voice trembled softly as she delivered the bombshell news. Then, she turned and looked Qin Ye straight in the eye, as if to say - How did you encounter Ahn Jun-ho?

Kim Tae-ji couldn’t hear the spirit pen’s voice, so she thought to go on. However, Qin Ye promptly raised his hand towards Kim Tae-ji as he sought clarification with the spirit pen with a voice that only the spirit pen could hear, “Are you certain?”

The spirit pen went silent, as if Qin Ye had hit the nail on the head.

“Are you saying that--...” The spirit pen’s trembled in response.

“Furthermore, it was probably a powerful zombie that was at least an Anitya Hellguard.”

Qin Ye grew silent. He wasn’t certain. However, the timeline of events would suit his conjectures perfectly!

How could he possibly sow the seeds of faith and cause it to sprout and be ready for harvest in a single year?

Things must have been brewing for a long time… Qin Ye swirled the wine in his glass as he began to expand his perspective to look at the bigger picture.

The Rus Underworld definitely had the power to shelter Liu Yu under their wings against Hell in its weakened state!

“His interests are incidentally aligned with that of Liu Yu’s interests…” Qin Ye muttered to himself as he took a sip of the fragrant wine in hand. And then, he delved deeper - Unless the stars were aligned, casting myths and fabricating miracles is a protracted process that takes ages to complete. Tsar Arturo must have triggered these events through Vladivostok as a channel. He’s thinking of lending Liu Yu a hand in his declaration of independence. This must have been in the works for the longest time.

Finally, given Lee Jung-sook’s unique identity, they would communicate with and through her, allowing her to act as the active conduit between the mortal realm and the underworld. If I were Liu Yu, I’d have done the same as well. Mm… That leaves no stones unchecked. So, then, would Ahn Jun-ho still be moving about within Zion City Church?

Ahn Jun-ho was the next node of information that would tell Qin Ye all about the amazing script which Tsar Arturo had written - one that was so ingenious that even the Daeian government would deign to conceal it from the eyes of its citizens.

“I don’t know…” Kim Tae-ji sighed softly, “I wasn’t aware that she’d… actually been communicating with a dead man over the last decade or so!”

We’re talking about a person that we’ve personally buried… and yet… she’s actually been in contact with him over the last ten years?! Who the hell has she been talking to?

Qin Ye frowned.

“Fool.” Qin Ye snorted coldly, “We’re on the cusp of the opening ceremony of the Hanyang Underworld. All of the main players involved in this would be tense to the extreme, and incredibly vigilant of their surroundings. Are you saying that we should risk getting noticed for something as trivial as this lead?”

The spirit pen paused, and then registered his rebuttal feebly, “But… I didn’t sense any Yama-class Yin energy from him…”

After a long time, he finally declared, “We’ve got to locate Ahn Jun-ho. But we cannot take the initiative. He’s got to be the one to do so.”

“My Lord, how are we supposed to do that?”

Kim Tae-ji thought about it for a moment, and then her eyes glistened brightly, “In fact, there is…”

Qin Ye followed Kim Tae-ji right out of the 24th floor. As soon as they emerged from the room, they saw countless bodies dressed in camouflage uniforms sprawled all over the ground. A dark figure emanating copious amounts of Yin energy was holding up his head as he respectfully waited Qin Ye’s further instructions.

“Not dead?”

Qin Ye nodded with approbation. Then, turning a blind eye to the mercenaries around, he pressed the button to the 25th floor. Kim Tae-ji followed closely after him.

The entire floor was decorated with a Cathayan flair. To be more precise, it was a massive room.

Unfortunately, neither one of them had the heart to appreciate these things right now. Kim Tae-ji turned the corner, walked past a few photographs, and arrived right in front of another tightly-sealed free-standing room within the apartment.

Qin Ye looked around. The room didn’t have any windows around it, and the main door was locked with a 9-rod Lu Ban Lock.

I see… Qin Ye nodded - Simple.

Qin Ye could hardly be bothered with the shock in Kim Tae-ji’s heart. Instead, what intrigued him more was with the contents of the room.

There was nothing in the room apart from a clean dresser located in the middle of the room.

A candle was situated right in front of the mirror, but only half of it remained. There was also a white jade comb located on the dresser itself. At once, Qin Ye pictured a single lady sitting here in darkness in the middle of the night, combing her own hair under the dim illumination of the candlelight in the room. And then, out of nowhere, the curtains would begin to sweep about eerily, just like a scene right out of a horror film!

Then, just as he was about to pick up the comb for a closer inspection, he suddenly froze.

This is… a comb made out of a human bone!

At once, the temperature in the room dipped drastically, and continued to go even colder and colder!

“She’s communicating with the spirits.”

“These elements tell me that this isn’t a ritual intended to summon righteous gods and deities of the orthodox underworlds. Rather, it’s intended to summon… evil spirits and grievous ghosts. You’ve lived for a long time now, so there’s no way you wouldn’t be aware of something like this. So… who might you be trying to communicate with using this seance of yours?”

“I wonder if the evil ghost will be surprised to see me on the other side.”

1. These are unique mechanical locks that are akin to modern day lock-boxes with hidden mechanisms.