Yama Rising

In fact, it was so tempting that even the middle-aged and elderly people in the room nearly couldn’t resist the urge to sign up. They could all tell that the conscription order was also to suss out potential leaders. And this naturally meant that the first bigwigs of the military world in Hell would make their grand entrance in the upcoming battle.

But unlike him, the news instantly caused a stir in the younger generation in Hell.

The draft would commence in a week’s time.

Qin Ye was naturally unaware of the stir he had caused.

Back on the 5th floor of the city tower. Qin Ye sat in the main seat of the conference room, flanked by the Harken and Zhao Yun. The seats below were occupied by Shang Yang at the head of the table, followed by Yin spirits who used to be provincial level leaders of the mortal realm. All eyes fell on a stack of documents before them.

“Well, then, let’s put it to a vote.” Qin Ye sighed softly and rubbed his slightly puffy eyes, “We’ve already thought about everything we could possibly think of. Just like the mortal realm, we’ve got our own team of legal advisers. However, the circumstances here are clearly different from the mortal realm, so General Zhao and the Harken have also made some alterations. It may not be perfect, but I believe this is the best we can achieve right now. We’ll check back in on the gaps and plug them if any problems surface later.”

Whoosh. At once, all hands were raised high into the sky.

“28 votes. Unanimously approved.”

“It covers 42 aspects, ranging from the humanities, to people’s livelihood, the arts, the military, and so on and so forth. Everyone… Thanks for all your hard work.” He bowed deeply, and then straightened up once more, “That said, allow me to say one final thing.”

“Unlike the mortal realm, we live under the rule of law! We’ll leave the implications of that to be discussed at another time, but in essence, if anyone is caught violating the law, or acting complicit with an offender, I will take it upon myself to send him down to where Crow Tengu resides right now!”

Shang Yang was so excited that the netherflames in his eyes instantly surged and soared three meters high!

As a legal practitioner, his greatest wish was to use his knowledge for his nation. And now… he’d finally done it!

Wait till Wu Daozi, Li Chun and Zu Chongzhi learn of this… They’d go mad! No… I’ve got to personally break the news to them later…

Qin Ye nodded. He had his own reasons for appointing Shang Yang over any of the other scholars. After all, Shang Yang was the most stringent and unwavering of the scholars. His appointment here would be tantamount to a signal to the rest of Hell that the law would be strictly enforced, and anyone who breaks the law shall face the fullest extent of the law.

Hell was the last bastion of hope for fairness and justice.

Qin Ye thought for a moment, and then waved his hand. At once, a couplet appeared in the air.

The guilty heart fears no man but Hell.

“Granted.” Qin Ye smiled. Just then, Zhao Yun suddenly interjected, “Truth be told, Mr Shang doesn’t have to feel too rushed in this regard. We will be implementing the plans in due course, but the court still cannot be formed right now.”

Zhao Yun responded placidly, “The Judgment Pen.”

Shang Yang paused, and then sighed, “It was I who had gotten ahead of myself. But if memory serves me well, doesn’t the recovery of two divine artifacts naturally point us to the third one?”

“It’s not long now…” Qin Ye smiled, “It wouldn’t take more than a year. And at that time, everyone will hear the cry of Hell. Everyone will be acquainted with the words - By Hell’s Dictum, all rabble shall disperse!”

…………………………………………………

This was an ordinary building constructed in the archetypical nineties fashion. The tiles were yellowish, while the roof was red. The building was situated in a secluded location, and there were only eight floors to the building, but it was part of a series of over a dozen buildings that formed an entire compound. That said, what was most peculiar about this development were the abundance of parking lots around it.

Moreover, the license plates of the vehicles parked here indicated that people came and went from every part of Cathay. Furthermore, the rural compound was still bustling with activity, even at 9.00 p.m. The entire compound was also brightly lit. In fact, there were even people of all nationalities coming and going from this compound.

Special Investigations Department Headquarters.

“Apologies.” An investigator dressed in an ancient Cathayan tunic glanced at the records before him, “There are still three envoys before you in the queue. We prioritize meetings based on the grade of your agenda. Unfortunately, your agenda is designated a C grade agenda, while the ones ahead of you are all C+ grade agendas.”

At least, nobody, apart from Director Lei.

And there, he saw copious amounts of Yin energy pouring into the building, forming a vortex of Yin energy from which a human figure stepped out. Moments later, he stepped straight through one of the investigators in the building and made a beeline for the top of the building.

After putting down the phone, he stood up, pulled out a container of tea leaves, brewed some tea, and then poured out two cups of tea. Then, he waited.

“Actually, this isn’t the first time we’ve met. We’ve met earlier in the Yin Mountains, but you didn’t recognize me back then.” Lei Jun stood up and reached out his hand, “Director of the Special Investigations Department, Lei Jun, peak Abyssal Prefect.”

Qin Ye took his seat and took a sip of the tea that had already been poured out, “Good tea.”

Qin Ye set down his teacup and leaned back into his seat, “The supernatural disaster will be over in five years.”

His heart thumped wildly. He didn’t know if it was just a coincidence that Qin Ye was always fronting the communications between Hell and the mortal realm, but it almost felt as though Qin Ye was a spokesperson for Hell. Meanwhile, the mortal realm had always been hoping for an indication from Hell, but Hell had always remained silent in that regard.

Five years. The next five years were going to be the last five years of their prolonged supernatural disaster. Countless lives were lost to these unspeakable terrors with each night that passed, but this protracted nightmare of theirs was finally coming to an end.

“The time has come for that.” Qin Ye responded directly to the question, “Today, Hell has finally issued a conscription order, and it will be training its Yin soldiers for the next year in preparation to march for the unification of the Cathayan Underworld. By our calculations, Hell will be able to reclaim all of its lost lands within the next five years!”

“Support us.” Qin Ye responded in a deep voice, “I’ve informed one of the top brass in Cathay’s government once that Hell needs to enter into talks with the mortal realm. Hell already has the might to control the nation. However, it still wouldn’t be able to prevent every single Yin spirit from fleeing to the mortal realm as things stand right now. Frontiers need cities as nodes of control, and that means satellite cities need to be built. Unfortunately, Hell only has two cities under its control right now, which means we have no capacity to build our own cities just yet.”

“Is this a threat?”

Lei Jun drew a deep breath.

He understood that the end of the supernatural disaster would also spell the end of the Special Investigations Department propulsion into the spotlight. With that, they would once again fade into the background. Investigators and cultivators would fade away into obscurity, protecting the various provinces and cities of the mortal realm just like how they’ve always done throughout the course of history.

How could one call this place home when everything was in turmoil?

“When do you expect to enter into these talks?”