Yama Rising

Zhou Xianlong and Tao Ran gasped in horror, because they knew all too well what the emergence of a Prefect-class ghost meant to humanity.

He wanted to know more. But, after three full seconds of tense silence in the room, he slowly shook his head, “Let’s not discuss these things for now. Get some rest. We’ll talk more once you get better.”

With that, he pulled open his robes and revealed his chest, “Do you see this?”

As expected, you can’t see it. But that’s good. That means there’s no way of verifying the truth after all.

Zhou Xianlong couldn’t hold back any longer. His heart was anxious, yet his voice remained calm and placid, “Don’t worry, Little Qin. Even if you’ve been targeted by a Prefect-class evil ghost, I’ll personally get you posted to the Special Investigations Department’s headquarters. You’ll be absolutely safe over there.”

Qin Ye’s felt a lump swell up at this throat - You guys are here to mess around with me, aren’t you? How can you be so adept at stabbing me where it hurts?! Each strike comes without any warning, and cuts straight at the heart and the marrows… Are you bent on blocking every possible path of retreat I have prepared for myself?!

I can’t help but praise myself for my resourcefulness and quick-wittedness!

I may be a husky that has successfully infiltrated the ranks of a pack of wolves, but that doesn’t mean that I’m ready to meet with the king of the wolves just yet!

Silence.

He gritted his teeth, “We’ll temporarily suspend your classes. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll prepare your hand-over documents. I believe that the two principals wouldn’t have any objections to this arrangement either. At that time, we’ll help you source out the best way to rid yourself of this curse altogether.”

Qin Ye felt as though he had just been struck by a bolt out of the blue. He looked up at Zhou Xianlong and Tao Ran in despair. Wait, wait, wait… that’s really not how the plot is supposed to unfold! You’ve misunderstood me completely!

The correct response should have been this - ‘You can continue to rest and recuperate in the First Academy of Cultivators. The gates of the academy are always open to you, and we look forward to your recovery and your teaching contributions next semester.’

Shouldn’t a terminally ill instructor be given the opportunity to teach at a podium until he falls in the line of his teaching duties? I promise that I won’t look to you for compensation! Besides, what do you mean hand-over my duties and focus on rest and recovery anyway? Don’t you know that even cancer patients can have periods of remission?! This… this curse of mine won’t affect my duties and obligations in any way!!!

With that, he shook off Qin Ye’s feeble grip on his sleeves and left the room so that Qin Ye could rest. He didn’t even look back. Qin Ye, on the other hand, reached out after Zhou Xianlong, like a heroine of a bitter soap drama that was on the verge of calling out after the antagonist of the story.

How did I end up digging such a huge pit for myself?

After some time, the door opened softly again.

Just then, Lin Han’s voice suddenly cut through the silence in the room, “I’m relieved to see that you’re still alive.” Qin Ye was so startled by his sudden, loud remark that he immediately sent a slap flying the way of the voice, incidentally landing it right across Lin Han’s cheeks.

Then, a split second later, he actually lifted Qin Ye up from the bed!

He had already been overstimulated today, and his mind was practically on the verge of collapse.

WTF?!!

“... Too hard, too hard… Speaking of which, how can you possibly be so violent immediately after coming to your senses? Anyway, you don’t have to be so shy… It’s not as though I’ve not seen it before…” Lin Han set Qin Ye down on the wheelchair and immediately began to wheel him to the bathroom. And then...

“Holy crap?!” Local Bully reeled back in shock. It was far too shocking that someone who had just awakened from a two-week comatose could suddenly shoot to his feet like that. After all, wasn’t he just recovering from a serious affliction?

His voice was as placid as he could muster.

“... I want to get used to the feeling of ambulating on my own earlier.” Qin Ye’s facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, “Besides, I’d like to have a break from the world. Please help me shut the door from the outside. Thanks.”

And then, he closed the door from the inside.

His heart was in turmoil! The mere thought of Local Bully having handled his untouchables stirred such intense rage in his heart that he couldn’t help but develop the urge to cast Local Bully into a swarm of blight vermin to be completely and utterly destroyed.

A few seconds later, Qin Ye plastered on his face the very best smile he could muster, before returning to his bed, lying down and beginning to use his phone once again. Lin Han didn’t disturb him either. This appeared to be a rare compromise that the two men had managed to reach.

The man was approximately 1.8m tall, with a youngish appearance. However, his movements and mannerisms said otherwise about his age. He exhaled a mouthful of cigarette smoke and nodded to the man across the room he was in, “If that’s how it is, then that would explain Albatross 032’s bizarre death.”

He folded his arms and propped up his head with a tightly clenched fist, “I didn’t expect Student Wang Chenghao to have been martyred as a result of the investigations. These are regrets that I’ll have to live with. As things are, there doesn’t seem to be any further meaning in pressing on with these investigations. After all, there’s no further complications resulting from the outburst of Yin energy at the Strait of Tsushima either.”

Zhou Xianlong lifted his head and furrowed his brows, “Hmm?”

Zhou Xianlong’s gaze flickered, and his expression grew austere. Seconds later, he shook his head to loosen up his tension.

Zhou Xianlong slowly rose to his feet, “I forbid you to continue any further with your investigations, and I hereby do so in my capacity as the second-in-command of the Special Investigations Department.”

After some time, he finally spoke up, “Actually, that’s in line with my intentions as well.”

“Who’s that man?!” Zhou Xianlong barked back.

Qin Ye… actually knows someone like that?

“Besides, Zhang Baoguo of the City of Salvation seems to know more than he was willing to disclose, and he was clearly hinting that we shouldn’t probe any further.” The man sighed, “So, let’s leave it at that and pretend nothing ever happened. From now on, we’ll divert our attention away from Qin Ye and focus all of our efforts on investigating the nature and cause of the outburst of Yin energy at the Strait of Tsushima.”

With that, he pushed on the door and left the room.

Simultaneously, Zhou Xianlong picked up the phone in the ward he was in, “Professor Tao… Mm, it’s me.”

With that, Zhou Xianlong set down the phone and gazed out the window at the distant sky, sighing deeply, “What an eventful year indeed…”