Yama Rising

In order to investigate something, it was never enough to just look at the surface, especially when it came to matters that were likely concerning supernatural forces.

He had to search exhaustively, carefully gathering and examining every single lead he could find in order to glean the truth, especially when he had virtually no idea where to begin.

Qin Ye was tapping his fingers gently on the computer table while staring at the computer screen with a cold expression. The First Usonian Bank was now the Chase Manhattan Bank... Its history was far too complex, and if he were to investigate recklessly, he could attract a lot of unnecessary attention, which definitely wasn't a desirable thing under the chaotic circumstances present in Northern Usonia.

For an underworld emissary like him, the most direct method was to go to the underworld and directly ask the people involved in these events at the time.

However, he was extremely wary of the names Rothschild and Rockefeller. According to Xu Fu's memories, Richardman was a member of the Freemasonry, and he had clearly been aware of some secrets concerning underworld emissaries. The fact that even he was aware of these things meant that these two massive powerhouse families that had reigned supreme over the entire world for centuries definitely knew about this as well.

After 20 minutes of contemplative silence, Qin Ye massaged his own temples as he murmured to himself, "I have to go through the mortal realm. This is where I'll be least likely to arouse suspicion. If I attract the attention of certain parties while conducting my investigation in the underworld, the consequences would be far too unpredictable."

However, how was he supposed to launch an investigation in the mortal realm?

Qin Ye rose to his feet and began to pace back and forth in the room in a slightly flustered manner. Several minutes later, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he picked up his phone before quickly dialing a number.

Upon hearing the call being connected, Qin Ye immediately heaved an internal sigh of relief.

Thank heavens I haven't been blocked...

However, the person on the other side of the line then immediately declined the call.

Fuck... Qin Ye was furious as he dialed the number again, but once again, the call was declined.

Oh, so you wanna play this game, do ya?!

Qin Ye immediately made a third call, then a fourth call... On the 10th call, the line was finally connected after 30 seconds, and an enraged female voice rang out from the other end. "If you call me again, there will be mercenaries sent to your location within 10 minutes, and within half an hour, you'll have military rocket launchers aimed right at you!"

The angry look on Qin Ye's face immediately transformed into a fawning simple as he said, "You know you can't kill me like that."

"Yes, but I can get you deported!" Lee Jung-sook's voice abruptly sprang up several octaves. It was already a testament to her self-restraint that she hadn't begun swearing out loud!

Qin Ye cleared his throat and said, "Er... I can explain."

"Explain what?" Lee Jung-sook asked with a cold smile.

Qin Ye replied in a sheepish voice, "I really didn't leave you hanging on purpose on that day. I genuinely forgot that you were still waiting for me..."

"You can stop right there!" The tone of Lee Jung-sook's voice made it sound as if she were strongly considering committing murder. "So you're calling me now to explain what you did several months ago?"

Before Qin Ye had a chance to reply, she continued in a furious voice, "You offered no explanation at the time, and only after several months have you remembered my existence?!"

Daehan, Hanyang.

At the Samsung headquarters, Lee Jung-sook's assistant offered her a cup of coffee, and she grabbed the cup before slamming it onto her desk. Her assistance was greatly startled to see this. Never had she seen the young mistress lose her temper like this.

Hiding her emotions was a skill that Lee Jung-sook had honed to such perfection that her expressionless facade had almost fused as one with her actual face, yet that facade had been completely torn away!

Lee Jung-sook felt as if she were an active volcano that was on the verge of erupting! This idiot's excuses never failed to make her mad! Several months ago, he had left her in the middle of a cold night. Not only was it a foreign country for her, it was also a location prone to supernatural activity, yet he had left her and forgotten all about her just like that!

If they had been in a relationship at the time, she would've strongly considered picking up a knife and hunting him down herself! What use would she have for such a useless boyfriend?!

However, they weren't in a relationship, so he had no responsibility to look after her, and she was forced to swallow her rage. Several months had passed since then, and she had almost forgotten all about this, yet Qin Ye was calling her now, citing the terrible excuse that he was calling specifically to apologize for what had happened several months ago!

You fucking... I ought to give you a taste of PF-89 80mm rocket launchers!

"You were busy, right? That's a great excuse! What do you want from me this time?"

Before Qin Ye had a reply, she continued, "Don't tell me you called me just to apologize. If you don't want something from me, how could you possibly have recalled my existence? It's clear that I hold no more weight in your heart than an ant, and it's truly an honor for me that you've thought of this ant in your time of need."

Qin Ye was already feeling battered and bruised from her verbal assault, but he still persisted as he said, "Ahem... I really am sorry, and I do need something from you this time..."

A smile appeared on Lee Jung-sook's face upon hearing this.

Of course, it wasn't a joyful smile. Instead, it was a vindictive smile of someone about to exact their revenge on a sworn enemy.

You screwed me over once, so don't blame me for giving you a taste of your own medicine!

She suddenly calmed down, then picked up her cup of coffee before taking a sip. "I can consider helping you. However..."

"What is it?"

"You have to agree to a condition from me," she replied with a faint smile as she gently skimmed her fingers over the keyboard on her desk. "As for what the condition is and when I'm going to redeem it, I haven't decided yet, but you have to agree when the time comes."

"... Ahem... I thought that with our solid relationship..."

"The only relationship that exists between us is that of an abandoner and an abandonee! Mr. Qin, have you forgotten what happened last time? I was at the Huang Clan's village in the middle of the night, surrounded by the undead, calling my bodyguards to pick me up! I may not be able to age, but that doesn't mean I can't die!! If I expose what you did on the internet, you'll be the next role model for scummy boyfriends!"

Qin Ye instantly shut his mouth in an obedient manner.

"Alright, I can agree to any condition as long as it doesn't encroach upon my morals or my duties as King Yanluo..."

"Of course," Lee Jung-sook replied with a joyful smile. She didn't care about any conditions at all, what she wanted was this apology. If Qin Ye weren't being sincere in his apology, then she would ensure that he was taught an unforgettable lesson.

At the very least, she would find an opportunity to strip him nude and throw him onto the street!!

Qin Ye seemed to be able to glean her thoughts all the way from Usonia, and he added, "Also, I'm not doing anything that's related to prostitution."

"Qin Ye!" The sound of gnashing teeth was clearly audible to Qin Ye through the line. "There are countless men in Daehan who would be willing to kneel in front of me if I take so much as even a single glance at them! Do you think you're more handsome than everyone else or are you saying I'm blind?"

Qin Ye didn't reply.

In his heart, he was the most handsome man in the entire underworld.

Countless men in Daehan would kneel for you? Pffft, countless women in the entire Cathayan Underworld would flock to my bedside and beg me to take them as my concubines if I displayed even the slightest interest in them! My underworld concubine harem will beat your Daehan boyband harem any day!

Despite what he was thinking, he was putting on a pathetic display on the surface.

"Please accept my sincerest apologies and forgive me out of the kindness of your heart, my queen."

Lee Jung-sook gave a proud harrumph in response. At this point, her fury had died down significantly. After all, they were the only people able to truly understand one another in this world.

Their relationship was like that between a person and a shadow, and there was no need for her to get angry at her own shadow.

"Go on then," she said with a smile as she crossed her long and attractive legs in an elegant manner. "If it's within my capabilities, then I wouldn't mind giving you a hand. After all, favors from you are quite precious."

A serious look appeared on Qin Ye's face as he asked, "Do you know of the Freemasonry?"

Lee Jung-sook raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, then gestured to her assistant, and her assistant immediately left the room. Only then did she stand up and make her way to the window before asking, "I do. What do you want to know about them?"

"According to my knowledge, the highest-ranking members of the Freemasonry are referred to as Master Masons. How many Master Masons are there in total right now, and how many of them are in Northern Usonia?"

"Hold on a second." Instead of giving an immediate reply, Lee Jung-sook ended the call, then picked up another phone before dialing Qin Ye's number.

The call was quickly accepted, and she said in a serious voice, "Don't discuss topics like this on satellite systems supported by Usonia. This phone uses Samsung's satellite system and will filter our conversation. There are a total of 12 Master Masons, but none of them should be in Usonia right now."

She paused momentarily before her brows furrowed slightly. "The number you're using is a Usonian number... Are you in Usonia right now?"

"Yes."

After another brief pause, Lee Jung-sook said in a serious voice, "My advice to you is to leave Usonia right now."

"Why?" Now that they had cut to the chase, both of them had become as calm as automatons, and they were speaking to one another in a concise and straightforward manner.

"Two months ago, all of the Master Masons in Usonia left the continent within a short span of time. I don't know the reasons behind that, but I'm certain that a major crisis is about to befall Usonia. The fact that you're in Usonia right now makes me even more convinced that something is about to happen there."

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Lee Jung-sook gently combed her fingers through her own hair as she continued, "If I had to guess, it's most likely going to be something to do with a threat from the underworld. In the mortal realm, there are very few things and people that can pose a threat to them. Only an extremely massive and uncontrollable change on the horizon would force them to leave the continent on such short notice. Did I guess correctly?"

It had to be said that after accumulating so much knowledge and experience over her long life, Lee Jung-sook had become terrifyingly sharp and alert.

Qin Ye didn't deny this. Instead, he took a deep breath before asking in a serious voice, "Are you one of the Master Masons of the Freemasonry?"

Silence.

After a long while, Lee Jung-sook finally replied, "Yes. There are two Master Masons in Asia in total, and the other one is in Nippon."

I knew it!

Qin Ye heaved an internal sigh of relief. As expected, Lee Jung-sook was his best ally if he wanted to pursue the investigation in the mortal realm.

The mortal realm was constantly shielded from all of the turmoil of the underworld, and no one paid much attention to it. If a Master Mason could issue an order to recover something from several centuries ago, he would be able to obtain the notes in just several more hours!

Special rights like these were extremely useful under all circumstances.

"Do me a favor," he said in a serious voice. "I need something that Xu Fu deposited at the First Usonian Bank, which should currently be called the Chase Manhattan Bank, 300 years ago. I need to get my hands on it no matter what."

He received no response, and only after 10 more seconds of silence did Lee Jung-sook reply in an extremely grave tone, "Qin Ye, I'm warning you right now, make sure to be extra, extra careful when dealing with this organization. There are many monsters among them, not figurative ones, but actual monsters! I can tell you that the Freemasonry currently harbors the patriarch of the werewolf clan, as well as the first generation of vampires, which were the first people to have been converted by Count Dracula. There are also some other non-human creatures that can only be seen in legends, and a member of the undead like me is actually among the most harmless members of the organization. As for the First Usonian Bank, that name is strictly taboo in the Freemasonry. I may be a Master Mason, but I'm not among the Freemasonry's founders, so I'm not a core member. I only became a Master Mason when they were selecting the wealthiest and most influential people in the world. According to the limited information I've managed to gather, this bank has ties with past presidents, ministers of finance, vice-presidents, secretaries of state, the list of important figures goes on... Are you sure you need to do something to do with this bank?"

Qin Ye replied in a determined voice, "I'm absolutely certain."

Lee Jung-sook fell silent again.

Three seconds later, she suddenly chuckled, "I must say, your determination and courage is very commendable. Alright then... You're in Los Angeles right now, right? Go to the foot of Hollywood Hills in three hours, my people will be waiting for you there, and they'll show you some interesting things concerning the First Usonian Bank and the Chase Manhattan Bank. Even as King Yanluo, I'm sure you'll be shocked by what you'll see."