Yama Rising

Clear Creek County was hardly large by any means, and they arrived at their destination in just under ten minutes. It was the Ethnic Minority Street.

“This is…” He couldn’t quite believe what he had just sensed, so he whipped his head around and looked straight into the sky.

Such dense Yin energy!

No!

“And it’s… actually moving closer to my location?”

Whoosh! Then, just as it drew closer and closer to Qin Ye, the meteor suddenly stopped and hung in mid-air. Qin Ye took a closer look at it. Sure enough…

And it sported the exact same cut marks.

“Leave this place… immediately.” Arthis’ voice sounded so weak that it seemed almost on the verge of disappearing, “Clear Creek County… has some experts - some true experts… They might have travelled here from Lotus City recently…”

“Are you okay?” Hearing Arthis’ voice immediately set his heart and mind at ease.

“I’m not dying… Kid, regarding these shards… It’s only when the owner of these shards die that they would automatically search out the next closest shard to fuse with it. These shards are of great use. As soon as you gather two pieces, Yin and Yang would meet… cough cough cough…”

Arthis: “.......”

“I’m going to take a rest now. And I’m afraid it’s going to be for several months at that… Take care of yourself. Remember to keep the shards safe… and wait for me to wake up…”

After squeezing the two shards together and muttering to himself for several seconds, he solemnly placed the shards into his pockets and dashed into the heart of the Ethnic Minority Street.

“Sit tight in the car!” Qin Ye responded, “Wang Chenghao, don’t be mistaken… We have just one hour, but I don’t mean one hour before we leave this place. Rather, it’s the time we have from now until we clear the borders of Clear Creek County… In other words, once tomorrow comes, we won’t be able to leave this place any longer.”

Wang Chenghao gnashed his teeth as he departed.

Incidentally, it was also the cheapest rental house in the area.

It was filthy. The trash and garbage along the doorstep hadn’t been cleared out for a long time. The curtains were tightly drawn, and traces of dark patches could even be seen on the windows. The appearance of the entire house made it look no different from a tomb of sorts.

A bad premonition arose in Qin Ye’s heart. He immediately rushed over and kicked open the door.

He had been late.

The deceased had perished in the same manner as the previous deceased persons in the hotel. Several black threads were connected to different parts of his body, suspending him from an old ceiling fan as though he were a discarded puppet. It was no longer possible to see the deceased person’s original appearances. The black threads had wrapped around the corpse so tightly that they had cut straight through his flesh in several locations. It was almost akin to fish in a hanging net. A large, crimson pool of blood lay right under the corpse.

Even though this man was dead, his Yin energy was still lingering in the air. In other words, he must not have died a very long time ago. By Qin Ye’s estimate, he should have perished earlier that day.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Qin Ye turned around and left the scene.

The moon hung high in the night sky, accompanied by bright constellations in its surroundings.

Or perhaps it was due to the fact that this was the very first incident on such a scale that had occurred, and the Special Investigations Department was simply not given the authority to call the shots just yet. The relaying of orders took time, and this provided Qin Ye and Wang Chenghao the opportunity to slip out in the interim.

Qin Ye looked at the map in his hands, thought for a moment, before responding, “Stillight City.”

Wang Chenghao nodded his head. The further away from Clear Creek County he got, the more settled his heart felt.

A sea of stars were visible in the sky tonight. Qin Ye appeared somewhat out of it as he gazed into the sky, before finally nodding his head sullenly. After pondering for several moments more, he added, “You don’t need to worry about me… I’m currently switching modes.”

“... Like I said earlier, people have a thousand faces. If I’m always giving it my all in life, I might earn the respect of some, but I might also draw flak from others. So, in order to err on the side of caution and prefer survival over anything else, I’ve learnt that you’ve got to let your hair down sometimes… Do you have a cigarette?”

“That’s right. Some people may pursue a successful career. However… I’m different from most people.”

“So, as soon as I’ve manifested these moments of courage, I would always allow myself to return to a far more relaxed state. You can call me what you want - even a piece of trash. But, I sincerely believe that people have to treat each set of circumstances with the appropriate attitude and personas.”

Wang Chenghao pursed his lips lightly. These teachings were similar to the conversations that he has had with his father on several occasions in the past. But, he had never taken his father’s advice to heart. Yet when Qin Ye expressed these thoughts in all sincerity, Wang Chenghao completely bought it.

Apart from riding on my father’s coattails, idling around, fighting and getting laid, what else have I done?

When he saw Qin Ye’s bloody battle with the puppet master on the fifth floor of the Fenglai Hotel earlier, his heart had been violently shaken.

He didn’t know exactly what kind of realization he had just come to. However, the one thing he knew for certain was that he had begun to despise his past self.

Even though Wang Chenghao’s voice had been soft, Qin Ye still picked up on it acutely, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Wang Chenghao - What’s it to do with me whether you try your best or not?

“Should we listen to some music?” Wang Chenghao felt ill at ease. He was hardly thick-skinned when all was said and done. To a person whose reputation precedes him, the admission of his fear in front of a newfound friend was something incredibly embarrassing and daunting. Thus, he immediately sought to cover it up and change the topic.

Wang Chenghao switched on his cell phone, and the first song that was played was a Nipponese song that Qin Ye had heard before. It was called “Bluebird”, and it had a pleasant melody.

The clear female voice resounded clearly throughout the car. However, the two students couldn’t help but frown in disapprobation. Given their current circumstances, they would very much prefer a softer tune.

“Wandering aimlessly on the roads...”

“Are you leaving? To where, to where? Fragile but proud… That is how I once was…”

This was one of the few songs he could actually remember the lyrics to.

Both had their stories to tell. Their stories were simple, but also stirred with undertones of being weathered and worn.

He paused for a moment before smacking his head, “Brother Qin, do you want to know what exactly happened after we left?”

Too many things had happened after they had left the Fenglai Hotel.

Yet the single most important question that was weighing on his mind was… Who killed the puppetmaster?

1. RWX - This song is one of my FAVORITES. It is called 平凡之路, ‘The Ordinary Path’, and you should listen to it at . It is so so so so SO good!