Yama Rising

But the Heaven’s End Pavilion wasn’t like this at all.

The pavilion was circular, just like any other pavilion of ancient Cathay. That said, the only difference was that a large idyllic lake sat right in the middle of the entire pavilion, spanning tens of thousands of meters from end to end. The surface of the lake was covered with crimson lotus flowers with stamens lit with gentle netherflames. Numerous islets sat atop the lake, surrounded by boats that appeared to be ancient, yet perfectly preserved. Muslin sails draped elegantly over their masts, while a closer inspection would reveal fine patterns carved onto the wooden surfaces of the ships.

Elsewhere, a bamboo forest nestled quietly in the corner of the pavilion, exuding the charm of tranquility as other miniature structures seemed to offer a peaceful getaway from the hubbub of city life. The buildings around had signboards that read “Tea House”, “Cloud Pavilion”, “Sea Pavilion”, and so on and so forth.

“I… absolutely… LOVE IT!!!” A female Yin spirit covered her lips and squealed as her eyes gleamed with brilliance. Meanwhile, the Yin spirits who had entered Heaven’s End Pavilion ahead of her likewise screamed at the top of their voices as they rushed in like a landslide!

A shopping paradise like this must be unique to Hell! I’ve got to enjoy this as best as I can before the others come in!

That said, the ones who managed to get onto the islets in the middle found themselves marvelling at the sights and sounds as they trekked on, until they suddenly seized up once more.

It was a waterfall falling from hundreds and hundreds of meters high!

It was truly a marvelous sight from afar, almost as though it was drawing from the cosmic waters in the milky way.

“And this is incidentally the largest goldmine we had in Fengdu back then, a masterpiece to be passed down to the next generation of Hell. A shopping mall of the grandest scale jointly funded by the Eight Great Clans, otherwise known as the Heaven’s End Pavilion.”

Only to notice that the waters were falling through dense clouds of Yin energy.

But if we get to the top, wouldn’t we be at the top of the entire pavilion, and be given a bird’s eye view of the entire place?

The receptionists were humanoid paper effigies, but they were hardly like the terrifying effigies that Qin Ye often encountered in the mortal realm. Instead, they were beautifully drawn, and were even decked out in soft clothes of a shopkeeper, clasping their palms together as they smiled faintly, “Welcome, welcome. This is the 2nd floor, Colours of Elegance, and we specialize in the sale of all kinds of paints, easels, canvasses - you name it! So long as it’s got to do with oil paintings, we’ve got them here!”

She wasn’t an artist.

“Don’t grab me! Don’t pinch me! Do you think ghosts don’t know pain?!!” Her friends pinched her hand excitedly. If oil paintings were around, wouldn’t that mean that other fine goods, such as eye shadows, lipsticks, BB cream, and others would naturally be here as well?!

It didn’t take long for them to get their answer.

17th floor, “Raiments of Rainbows” - Clothes.

And the 9th floor, “Taotie” - Alkebulan and Russian Food.

AHHH!!! Why can’t I split myself into multiple beings?!!

12th floor. Yin spirits wouldn’t feel tired and weary, and this was why the Heaven’s End Pavilion could draw such a multitude of Yin spirits despite being built in a high-rise fashion. But just as they entered, they already noticed several others who had arrived moments before them.

No matter. We’ll take everything!!!

“Welcome, guest number 2~~” At once, a humanoid paper effigy ran out of the back room and greeted her guest. She had a small frame, but a deceptively loud voice, “Ooohhh~~ What beauty! All you ladies need is just a little bit of touch-up to add the icing to the cake! Us women can never do without makeup! You’ve come to the right place! Our Xishi Pavilion specializes in all kinds of lipsticks. Would you ladies care to take a look at the selection of products we have?”

We’ve come to the right place! Lipsticks store!

Don’t you ever question why there isn’t a single store selling makeup of all kinds. Anyone who knows cosmetics would understand that there are easily at least five or six brands selling blushers, and that’s just products in respect of a particular skin type or tone. What do us gruff guys know? This is the reason why I’m still single… (TL: Oof… Poor author)

Holy crap! This must be a match made in heaven!

“How much is this?!” “200 HL, thanks.”

ARRGGHHH… And this is just the first store! Who’s going to get me out of this place! I need to get going, but… but why aren’t my legs moving?!

“You’re still here?!” Just then, one of her friends rushed in and forcibly dragged her away from the display counters, “Go! We have to go!”

“What the hell are you doing looking at those lousy products?! You’re just wasting your youth here!!” Her friend tugged at her forcefully, “Come with me. Once you see this, you’ll never look back!”

Lin Qingchen followed her along with a slight jog in their step. The more they ran, the more Yin spirits appeared right in front of her eyes, and the louder the clamor. Then, as soon as they dove right into the heart of the crowd, she saw it - a sprawling sign hung right in front of a massive storefront. At once, she screamed at the top of her voice, “AHHHHHH--!!!”

A large stele was placed right beside the entrance, on which was etched the floor plan of this store. From left to right, the first section of the store was named… Empress Xiao Cigao!

But that wasn’t all! In fact, that was only the beginning!

Third from the left: Imperial Consort Zhao!

Fifth: Empress Ren Xiaowen!

Seventh: Imperial Consort Zhang!

Was there any woman who didn’t dream of being an imperial consort?

This was the power of marketing.

Even then, the Yin spirits understood what this meant at once.

Lin Qingchen couldn’t control her feet and drifted into the store. Likewise, several other female Yin spirits also mustered their courage and pushed open the door under the watchful eyes of the paper effigies within.

“This is the cosmetics case of Imperial Consort Wan.” A paper effigy courteously introduced a delicate box in his hand. It was carved with the etching of two phoenixes dancing around a precious gemstone inlaid right in the middle of the palm-sized box, “To be more precise, this is the foundation that Imperial Consort Wan used to apply. You might wonder if the Ming Dynasty had such foundations to begin with? Let me assure you - there is.”

“Next to these, you see the other eye makeup products and lip makeup used by Imperial Consort Wan. The entire series is known as ‘Cherry and Passion’. Please take your time…”

“The ‘Passion’ component costs 100,000 HL, while the ‘Cherry’ component costs 78,000 JL.” the humanoid paper effigy respectfully responded.

Hang on a minute… Can you please say that again?!

Consider my ass?!!

Can’t you give me something more reasonable here?!