Yama Rising

The figure behind the veil slowly sat up, “Where did today’s medicine come from”

Silence.

“N-n-none…” The humanoid paper effigy immediately set down the bowl and began to kowtow to his master, “My Lord… it’s impossible to get it! The mortal realm is watching us far too closely. It’s impossible to dispatch Hellguard-class Yin spirits to the mortal realm to harvest what My Lord is looking for…”

The humanoid paper effigy continued to kowtow resoundingly as he responded softly, “My Lord, the two battalions have been ordered to wrap around through the surrounding cities in order to prevent Kong Mo from getting away.”

The humanoid paper effigy didn’t dare answer.

The figure within the veil continued speaking, almost as though he were speaking to himself. Then, his incomparably old and hoarse voice suddenly transformed into that of a young child, and a chorus of mourning ghosts appeared to echo alongside his voice as he chuckled eerily, “Armed with this sword, the Yellow Emperor cleaved a realm into two, forming the mortal realm and the underworld as we know it. Chaos ensued, and Yin and Yang were divided. This was the origin of the underworld as we know it. From then on, only half of the sword remained in the mortal realm. Legend has it that the other half was lost in the underworld. It was an artifact that not even Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was able to destroy.”

“But little did I expect…” A head suddenly rose up from behind the veil, staring intently at the endless darkness outside with two spots of ghastly scarlet netherflames in his eyes, “The other half of the sword was actually in the Confucian Family’s possession! And they would even entrust it to the hands of someone like Kong Mo! They’re truly worthy of their name as one of the top gentries of Hell… no wonder Kong Mo dared resist our forces at the Azurewaters City for such a long time… cough cough…”

“I won’t die from this.” The figure hidden behind the veil cackled softly as a scarlet tongue wrapped around the floating head, stroking it as though he were playing with a cat, “There’s hardly any more Yin spirits out there that have lived for over 100 years. Conversely, we see the rise of proud, arrogant young ghosts who are no more than 50 years-old. Haha… none of them can even begin to fathom how terrifying millennial ghosts truly are… Sure, the Sword of the Yellow Emperor may be powerful, but do they really think that I’m a pushover? I’ve been suppressed under the six paths of reincarnation, and yet survived thousands of years of relentless torment. Sure, had the Sword of the Yellow Emperor ended up in the hands of other Abyssal Prefects, I might have been terrified - perhaps even to the point of being unable to rest properly at night. But if it’s just Kong Mo… Haha…”

“Go. Pass down my orders to the Howling Wolves Battalion and the Mourning Apes Battalion.” The veil fluttered softly, “Wrap around the surrounding cities! Watch for any potential openings! And mobilize all Shepherds of Souls. When we finally flank Kong Mo and surround him, I want to know directly from the horse’s mouth what’s really happening back in the hinterlands.”

“One last thing.” The figure behind the veil added, “Any deserters or defectors of my army who are Soul Hunters and beyond shall be executed summarily! Even if I’m going to have to pursue them to the ends of the earth, I’m going to capture their souls and rip them to shreds, piece by piece.”

“Yes!!”

There was once again a pin drop silence in the room.

The green veil fluttered wildly, revealing a pale old Yin spirit lying restlessly on a bed within.

One could see right through the grotesque wound on his body. The wound bubbled with traces of pitch-black Yin energy.

“What a ruthless attack…” He clenched tightly to the sides of his bed, gnashing his teeth as he fought to distract himself from the pain, “Yama-class Yin artifact… How can the Confucian Family entrust something like that to you?! You cannot possibly have failed to realize that you’ve struck me squarely with that devastating attack. But, even then, you’ve chosen to pull back your forces and retreat… Something ground-breaking must have happened back in Qufu that demands your attention! Good… excellent… Once I take down your soul, I’d like to see which saint it was who had helped me take control of the entire Eastmount Province!”

………………………………………………………………

Prosperity Street.

Cathay’s silent handling of the situation had been very effective thus far. Although the government hadn’t taken an official stance on the supernatural incidents just yet, every member of the public had already more or less guessed what was going on. Across the entire populace of approximately 1.5 billion people, there was not a single household that hadn’t purchased an artifact or talisman of sorts to ward off evil spirits.

At least, he hated them for what he perceived to be inaction.

He was also afraid of waking up in the middle of the night. He slept with the lights off, in accordance with the habits he and a multitude of other people have built over the years. If he woke up in the middle of the night, he would have to face the terror of boundless darkness, as well as the peculiar sounds that seemed only to surface in the middle of the night. He was afraid that the sources of supernatural incidents he had heard so much about and even seen in news reports would suddenly creep out from the darkness, right onto his back and dribble drool all over the nape of his neck.

A constricting sensation in his bladder told him that the toilet was beckoning. He clenched his thighs tightly, doing his level best to hold it in.

Humans were naturally passive creatures.

Thus, Ding Xuan rushed straight out of his bedroom and into the toilet without switching on the lights.

The urge to pee immediately shrank back where it came from, and an electrifying sensation of fear spread from his heart and surged straight through his limbs. Fear caused his heart to thump out of his chest, while cold sweat instantly emerged from his forehead.

It was soft.

But it was incredibly familiar.

Nobody apart from his father was allowed to use the teacup!

It was clearly in the wee hours of the morning. He was scrambling through the dark living room. The doors leading into the living room were all closed, and the windows were tightly shut. He could even hear the faint sound of his father’s snoring coming from the adjacent room.

Could there have been something seated right there on the sofa, watching me at night whenever I scramble for the toilet?

The refrigerator was located right ahead of him, while the sofa was located behind him. Slowly, he turned stiffly around and glanced at the sofa.

Haah… He heaved a sigh of relief, only to discover that his palms were already soaked through with cold sweat. Even then, he still felt somewhat uneasy. Thus, he called out with a slight tremor in his voice, “Dad?”

“Mum? Mum?”

I must be thinking too much. It might have just been a rat… He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. Then, just as he was about to turn back--...

Creeaaaakk… It was the sound of something being opened.

His heart instantly began to thump wildly once more. He immediately jumped up in shock and began to scramble back in horror. He wanted to scream, but he simply couldn’t make a single peep of sound.

There’s something!

Ding Xuan knew better than anyone that there was something unclean in his home right this moment!

Right in front of his very own eyes!

His parents were right there in the refrigerator - in pieces.

The middle compartment of the fridge was where their torso was placed.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” He screamed at the top of his voice. Terror filled his entire being!

Who’s the one who responded to me earlier?!

Someone’s here!!

Thud!

Terror had faded, only to give way to endless rage that was surging from the depths of his heart.

He could tell from the shadows on the refrigerator that there was currently something standing behind him!

“AHHHHHH!!!” He shrieked even louder than before. It was a shriek of terror that had taken him by complete surprise. Something had just appeared right behind him without any warning whatsoever! He reacted reflexively, twisting his body and swinging his fist at full force at the unknown entity behind.

“Let it go… Remember this - when you report to the Death Inquisitors in Hell, tell them that Lord Qin has personally instructed them to look kindly upon you.”