Yama Rising

Just as everyone was gandering at the colossal furnace in amazement, the Harken sculptures on the walls of the cavern suddenly opened up their mouths, and long wooden tongues slowly extended outwards, landing precisely onto the stone tables. It was only then that they noticed a small relief sculpture of the taotie beast located at the head of each stone slat. The Harken’s long wooden tongue extended straight into the gaping mouth of the taotie beast, while the taotie beast’s tail opened up into a groove that ran along the sides close to the lesser stone tables.

Qin Ye stared at the object with great disbelief. This is processed blight vermin carapace, isn’t it? It’s only been a while, so where have the rest of the body gone?

“I can’t believe it…” He reached out to touch the blight vermin carapace in disbelief. But as soon as he made contact, the entire blight vermin carapace immediately came apart with a soft clatter. It was only then that it dawned upon him - not only was the carapace stripped out from the rest of the body, it had even been segmented in a neat and precise fashion!

“How on earth did this happen?” He picked up a piece of the carapace and stared at the wall, “There are actually tens of thousands of Yin spirits hidden in that wall, isn’t there? How else could it be as perfect as this?!”

Of course I can’t do that…

“I’ll make sure to return with as many blight vermin corpses as we can possibly carry!” Oda Nobunaga drew a deep breath and stroked the carapace with a trembling hand, “It would be far too much of a waste to let such an amazing facility sit idle…”

This was the symbol of prosperity in Hell! It was a sign that Hell was thriving and growing!

Arthis revealed a peculiar smile on her face, “Alright. Just make sure you don’t regret it…”

The troupe of leaders were filled with anticipation. If the first floor is already that incredible, what would the second floor look like? What about the top floor?

Could there possibly be Yin nuclear weapons hidden above?

It was closed.

“What’s going on over here?” Qin Ye asked in consternation.

“But now…”

She sighed, “Assemble all the pieces of King Yanluo’s Seal as soon as you can…”

That’s easier said than done… The shards of King Yanluo’s Seal are in the hands of the daolord of the beast. It’s like asking a weak carry hero at the start of the game to go up against a well-fed core of the enemy team - I’d be killed in an instant. On what basis are you asking me to seize these shards of King Yanluo’s Seal from them?

Well… that’s possible…

“Yes!”

He didn’t care more about where the others went. That said, he didn’t immediately return to the mortal realm either. Instead, he made a beeline towards Zhou Yu’s room and arrived in an instant.

He hadn’t even left his room once over the last few days. Instead, he waited patiently in his room for Qin Ye’s arrival. Thus, when Qin Ye arrived, he immediately heard the melodious sounds of a zither.

Unfortunately, I’m not really in the mood… Qin Ye sighed softly. Zhou Yu happened to be at the end of his piece, so he promptly set his zither down and lifted his head, before cupping his hands respectfully with a smile on his face, “Lord Qin had arrived more quickly than I had anticipated.”

Zhou Yu lifted his teacup and asked placidly, “So how does Your Majesty intend to deal with the things he doesn’t have a firm hold on?”

“It’s just a token gesture.” Zhou Yu’s expressions remained placid. Destroy? The entire East Continent is hanging in delicate balance right now. Do you really take Rus’ nameless god of death and Hindustan’s Yamaraja as benign, merciful gods that are passive and gentle? If push comes to shove, and the twelve envoys grow desperate, they might very well just end up pledging their allegiance to these other two powerhouses in the region. Lord Qin, where are you going to run or hide when that time finally comes?

It’s not that we aren’t loyal, it’s just that we all have our weaknesses and selfish ambitions. None of us had expected to see such a great upheaval in Hell, nor did we anticipate that the heroic passion in our hearts would be so stirred to action. Believe me, I’ve never wished for things to come to this. Everything happening right now is no more than a byproduct of the circumstances around us.

Zhou Yu’s gaze flickered, and he responded sincerely, “If that day comes, I might very well sincerely submit and return to the fold.”

“The fact that you are able to defeat a longstanding underworld means that it would only be a matter of time before you open your borders. I believe I would still sincerely submit to you under those circumstances.”

Nobody wished to see the twelve envoys and King Yanluo duking it out against each other.

The situation in the world was complex, but Hell would undoubtedly have to open its borders to the world in no more than a hundred and fifty years’ time. Incidentally, the twelve envoys and Qin Ye represented the only seeds of fire in Hell. Would they rather unite against their common enemy, or fight against each other?

“Truth be told, it would be nice if you could achieve all that.” He gazed deeply in the direction that Qin Ye had departed, “War has ravaged these lands for far too long. Quell the fire of unrest in those unruly feudal officials, and make them submit to you. Unite the forces and face the common enemies. Let’s return Hell to its former glory. But, alas, the road ahead is fraught with much difficulty…”

……………………………………………

He was finally done packing his things today. He looked at the three large suitcases sitting in his room, before glancing out of the window with a wave of complex emotions.

Qin Ye had done a lot for the academy, and it was finally time to say his goodbyes. Even though he had only spent one year in his stint here, he was suddenly swamped with a great sense of reluctance.

He experienced emotions and relationships. He experienced care and concern. He even felt a sense of achievement and accomplishment… and now, a sense of sourness in his heart.

Just then, an old voice called out from the hallway outside, “Why are you sighing?” Qin Ye looked over and realized that Professor Tao Ran appeared to have been standing there for some time now.

Qin Ye wanted to laugh, only to realize he was unable to do so.

In fact, he had always found it stifling and depressing. It felt no different from living in the darkness, and looking at the bright world outside; or living in Hell and gazing at heaven. Yet, from the day he consumed the taisui fungus, he knew that he was fated never to live a normal life like anyone else again. He could no longer live normally, make friends, get married or have children.

That said, feelings weren’t things that would dissipate or dwindle. In fact, they would only grow richer and more profound as time went by. Qin Ye was already resigned to the fact that he was going to live the rest of his life simply cruising along endlessly and aimlessly. Yet, who would have thought that Granny Meng’s unexpected arrival would change everything for him?

His thanks were directed at all the people who had fueled his joy.

“What are you thanking me for?” Tao Ran obviously wasn’t aware of Qin Ye’s innermost feelings. He smiled faintly, “You’ve given a lot for the academy as well.”

“That’s right, when do you plan to depart?” Tao Ran suddenly asked.

“Tomorrow?” Tao Ran patted him hard on his shoulder, “Have a good trip, then. I sincerely wish you great success in Martial City.”

1. This is a MOBA reference. Cores in the team usually start off weaker than the rest of the enemy team, but they have the potential to become strong as long as they get sufficient farm.

2. Taiwan.