Yama Rising

It was eerily silent in the temple hall.

“And if she’s a demon god, then… why can’t there be other demon gods in existence?” After a long time, Director Kim continued wearily, “Haven’t you guys been following the news in Cathay? The series of supernatural events plaguing Cathay have already begun to draw interest from other countries. I reckon that… she must be an evil spirit that has escaped from the clutches of Hell! So long as Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is willing, he can definitely take her with him!”

Nobody had any further reservations. At once, they shut their eyes and began to chant softly under their breaths. But, just then, loud thumping sounds suddenly came from the doors to the prayer hall.

Pak! Pak! Pak! The doors to the prayer hall were all slamming shut!

Whoosh… The sound of rustling leaves came from outside the doors. At some point, the wind outside had burgeoned from a gentle night breeze into a terrifying gale, and the bodyguards stationed outside even fell to the ground!

No response.

Whoosh! A powerful gale swept through the prayer hall through the vents in the ancient building. It was colder than usual, and the entire hall was filled with pitch-black Yin energy in an instant.

“Don’t be afraid… We’re standing at the feet of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!” Director Kim gritted his teeth, “Even if there’s something here with us, it wouldn’t dare to behave irreverently!”

Director Kim immediately glanced at the man angrily and muttered under his breath, “What’s wrong with you?! Stand up!”

The statue?

The statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had at some point in time already opened its eyes!

“AHHH!!!” The three men screamed in unison as they scrambled back to the pillar nearby, only to realize that their backs were already soaked through with cold sweat. Director Kim grabbed the pillar with his hands as he murmured to the rest with great trembling, “Are you guys… certain that we’ve invited Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?”

Mortals?

What a big shot!

Truth be told, he didn’t know how he was supposed to communicate with them. It was only a little later that he noticed how the bodies of the ordinary human beings and Ksitigarbha’s statue alike were all radiating faint traces of golden lustre. At once, a mysterious intuition surfaced in his mind, telling him that so long as he made contact with it, he would immediately manifest in that vessel.

After all, he would never touch, much less enter the bodies of those filthy men!

The Samsung Group is one of the pillars of Daehan’s economy, while a group executive director would undoubtedly be among the top brass of the organisation. What are they doing here in Cathay seeking the aid of a foreign god? Logically speaking, shouldn’t Liu Yu be responding to his cries for help instead? After all… Liu Yu should for all intents and purposes be considered a True Infernal Judge in his own right as well. He should likewise possess the ability to answer the prayers of his people.

Just as his fantasies began to take a turn for the weird, Kim Jae-huan promptly continued, “Apart from that… I’m also the son-in-law of one of the descendants of the founder of Samsung! So long as you’re willing to lend us a hand, no form of repayment is out of the question!”

Corrections. This man is an even bigger shot than I’d earlier assessed him to be!

Kim Jae-huan was the son-in-law to a direct descendant of the Lee lineage. Quite apart from his relationship with the rest of the Lee family, the fact that his marriage was even approved by the Lee Family was already in and of itself a vote of confidence in his abilities and potential. To think that someone as amazing as that would personally come forward to personally offer up prayers in a relatively unknown temple in Cathay.

After all, maintaining his appearances was of the utmost importance right now!

Thus, he responded curtly with a soft, “Mm.”

“Who?”

He fumbled about as he pulled out a black-and-white photograph from his pocket and offered it up for inspection with great reverence, “This is… a photo that I’ve found by chance at my grandfather’s place. The Kim Family likes to think that we have a monopoly in the shipbuilding industry in Daehan. It’s for this reason that we’ve always maintained a close relationship with the Samsung Group. This is a photograph of my grandfather’s new year’s reunion…”

There were two middle-aged men in the photograph smiling genially as they sat in front of the coffee table. A lady dressed in what appeared to be a white dress sat between the two men, holding both of their hands with a graceful poise.

For a split second there, Qin Ye found himself lost for words. The lady looked fairly young. By his estimates, she appeared no older than her late teens - just like he was.

Even then, he could sense that… there was something else rather strange about this lady.

Seven silhouettes!

That said, each of the silhouettes appeared incredibly blurry, and not even Qin Ye was able to get any clarity on their images with his Judge’s Glance.

“Yes!” Kim Jae-huan responded, “But she’s definitely not a human! Nobody has ever been able to maintain their looks for decades on end!”

Qin Ye’s eyes brightened abruptly as he continued to press on with queries, “Why did you come to Cathay?”

Could it be that--... A wild postulation immediately surfaced in his heart - Lee Jung-sook… is none other than Xia Jinse?

Kim Jae-huan grew silent.

He panted softly, “This photograph was taken in December 1938, more than 80 years ago. 1 March 1938, the founding chairman of Samsung, Mr Lee Byung-chul, with 30,000 won in his pocket, established the Samsung Chamber of Commerce. That was the predecessor of the Samsung Group as we know it, and it was also when the Lee Family began to work closely with the Kim Family. The man on the left of the photograph is none other than Mr Lee Byung-chul himself.”

He glanced at the two men beside him, and they immediately got up at once and left the prayer hall. It was only then that Kim Jae-huan lowered his voice and explained in greater detail, “This concerns hearsay that I only came to learn about after joining Samsung Group… No, to be more precise, I only came to learn of this in recent times.”

“But she--… At that time, Mr Lee personally saw it--!! He saw her being burnt to a crisp in the fiery blaze!”

“Do you believe it? Someone who had obviously been burned to death actually came back to life! That said… she couldn’t remember a single thing about her past!”

Qin Ye felt his fingertips quiver slightly.

A wave of heat filled his heart in an instant.

Yet the Book of Life and Death just had to state that this was the one who was destined for him, and that he absolutely had to go after her.

That said, he knew that if there were to be a person in the world who could understand him, then it would undoubtedly have to be Xia Jinse!

Eternal life wasn’t a blissful thing.

With the advent of modern identification cards, Qin Ye was even forced to uproot his life and reinvent himself every five years or so. If not for the favours he had called in back then, he could well be among the lost members of society right now.

Fraught with complex emotions, Qin Ye drew several deep breaths and muttered softly, “Continue.”