Yama Rising

With that, he transformed into a nethergale and vanished from Hell.

Establishing trade routes huh… Do you think I haven’t considered that? But the question is… with whom shall I establish trade routes?

And it would have to be a coastal city at that.

“There’s still a long way to go…” He massaged his temples in dismay. Just as he was about to head back, his pupils suddenly quivered, and he glanced at the surface of the sea, somewhat startled.

“Hmm?” He furrowed his brows slightly. An ordinary ship would never sail towards this location. After all, what was there to do around these parts? There was only a dilapidated, unused dock where no regular ship would even consider berthing or unloading their cargo at. What’s more… he could sense an air of Yin energy about the ship that was approaching him.

The vessel that was approaching him had thoroughly piqued his curiosity. Thus, he lay down on the roof of the building in a prone position and silently continued to observe the ship.

Whoosh! The ship stirred up great waves on the otherwise still surface of the waters. Qin Ye gasped, and then transformed himself into a nethergale that quickly began to retreat at once. This was because he immediately noticed it when the ship lit up in netherflames--…

The ship was rusty, and it was covered in barnacles and seaweed. There was no telling how many years had passed since its very first voyage. In fact, quite apart from the fact that there wasn’t a single person on board the deck of the ship, there wasn’t even a single human source of light around the ship!

Qin Ye glanced at his phone as he began to retreat, and his eyes immediately flickered once more.

The demonic hour… But most Yin spirits wouldn’t choose to appear at this time of the night because dawn would soon be here. So, who could possibly be so bold as to make his appearance only now?

The dark, ancient vessel had run aground, where it lay silently and motionlessly on the docks, no different from a corpse.

Toot toot toot! The high-pitched sorna began blaring loudly without warning. The fact that something like that could happen before dawn was a sight that would make anyone’s hairs stand on end. Moments later, a peculiar line of figures began to disembark from the ship.

They were dressed in ancient Cathayan eunuch garments that were beautifully and exquisitely made. Their pale faces accentuated the pink blush on their cheeks as well as their striking red lips. They carried lanterns that burned with netherflames, and they continued to march towards Qin Ye like an unstoppable procession.

An empty ghost ship had run aground on the abandoned docks, and a cold sea breeze swept through the area, sending stifling and chilling shivers down the back of the living.

They’re approaching me…. Qin Ye had already calmed down, and he was currently sizing up the procession of humanoid paper effigies. The row of paper effigies would from time to time step onto the ground, puncturing a hole in the sand and leaving a trail of footprints as they marched towards Qin Ye. They arrived in front of him in no time, and the blaring sornas ceased in unison. The three humanoid paper effigies leading the procession bowed in unison and swished their buddhist whisks at the same time. Their actions were undeniably neat and sharp, “Greetings, sir. We are the first premier, second premier and third premier of Emperor Wu of Song.”

How is this possible?!

Whose side are they on?

But he received no response whatsoever. Instead, the first premier simply opened his scarlet lips and stared vacantly back at Qin Ye, “His Majesty cordially invites you over for a simple exchange of words. Please don’t hesitate to make your way over.”

The first premier’s lips twitched slightly, and his eyes narrowed. The pink blusher on his cheeks appeared incomparably eerie under the dim illumination of the netherflames around, “What His Majesty means is that you will have to make your way over for an exchange of words by hook or by crook.”

The three premiers also laughed.

Sssssss!!!

Yin energy also erupted from the three humanoid paper effigies at the same time, enveloping their entire beings and imbuing them with great speed. In an instant, they surrounded Qin Ye and began to spin around him like a revolving lantern. In an instant, the entire docks were suddenly filled with howling nethergales and eerie spots of netherflames.

The flurry of attacks rained down like a torrential downpour, while Qin Ye’s defense appeared absolute.

This is too weird… Qin Ye could sense that his moves contained a naturally suppressive effect against the three humanoid paper effigies. This meant that they were indeed Cathayan Yin spirits. But if they were indeed Cathayan Yin spirits, he should have been able to purge them in an instant! After all, there was simply no precedent for the existence of evil ghosts that could hold their own against an Emissary of Hell of the same cultivation level.

“Interesting.” Qin Ye’s spirit streamer suddenly opened up, transforming into the shape of a large umbrella which repelled the incoming claw attacks in an instant. Qin Ye muttered, “I’ve never employed my blade release ever since entering the ranks of an Anitya Hellguard. To think that I would be forced to use it on you guys.”

The drop of blood was primed on his fingertip, ready to fall onto his spirit streamer at the moment’s notice. Qin Ye glanced coldly at the three humanoid paper effigies, “Seems like you still can’t fight back the innate fear of Emissaries of Hell, can you? What’s the matter? Scared? Are we finally able to talk things through properly now?”

Hanyang?

Hanyang… the capital of Daehan… They’re indubitably Cathayan Yin spirits, so what in the world is going on?

No response.

Thud… The humanoid paper effigies carrying the palanquin behind instantly knelt down and kowtowed to her in fear and reverence. The three Hellguard-class premiers likewise fell to their knees as they stammered shrilly, “Premiers… respectfully greets… my lady…”

“You still know to pay your respects to me? Emperor Wu of Song is forbidden from reentering these lands without an edict! The last standing order was for him to remain where he is and hold the fort! Is he trying to commit treason?!”

Arthis was just about to go on when a hand suddenly appeared in front of her and waved at her. Somewhat taken aback, she turned around, only to notice a faint smile on Qin Ye’s face.

Without missing a beat, Qin Ye raised a finger and wagged it at Arthis, “And having been abroad all this while, he wasn’t affected by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s ascension?”

Qin Ye sighed pretentiously, “No wonder... It’s no wonder you’ve been practically inseparable from me over the last few days. Do you know that you’ve given me the impression that you’ve fallen head over heels in love for me? And yet… it turns out that you’ve suddenly remembered the existence of the monarch of a vassal state. Do you know how much the truth hurts?”

“You don’t understand!” Arthis was hardly embarrassed by the fact that Qin Ye was calling out her bluff. Instead, she glared intently at the three premiers kneeling on the ground, “You have no idea of how terrifying Liu Yu, Emperor Wu of Song, truly is…”

1. These are lanterns that are often used in festivals and celebrations. A candle is lit in the lantern, and the heat from the candle causes a wheel inside to rotate, which in turn causes paper cuttings mounted inside to spin around the axles. The light from the candle thereby projects the shadow of the moving paper cuttings onto the screen of the lantern, causing them to appear no different from moving silhouettes.

2. This is the ancient name for Seoul, Korea.