Yama Rising

Over an hour later, the beast-drawn carriage that Liu Yu was sitting in slowly departed from Yellow Springs Road.

The deeper one went down this road, the higher the rank of the officials living there. If it weren't for their historic reputations, there was no way that the 12 envoys would've been able to live here. Even so, they were still only able to live not far from where the road began.

Liu Yu lowered the curtain of the carriage before heaving a faint sigh. "Let's go."

"Your Excellency, all of your past colleagues are avoiding you! If we go back like this and Yanluo Qin decides to punish us for our transgressions, there won't even be anyone to intercede for us!" Thẩm Điền Tử said in a grim voice.

"Do you think meeting them will improve our situation?" Liu Yu snapped. "They're barely able to keep themselves afloat, what makes you think they would be willing and able to help us?!"

After many days of intense emotional stress, Liu Yu finally cracked. "I only came here to see if I could find a way out, but I always knew the chances were slim. Now that our final shred of hope has been dashed, let's just face reality and accept our fate."

He closed his eyes as he spoke, but his eyelids were trembling slightly.

He heaved a long sigh as he leaned back against his seat while stroking a red wooden box, and after a long silence, he finally instructed, "Take us to the North Yin Pavilion."

Thẩm Điền Tử, Vương Trấn Ác, and Chu Linh Thạch's eyelids twitched slightly upon hearing this, and Chu Linh Thạch gulped nervously as he said, "If we give that box to Yanluo Qin, our deaths will be sealed."

"That may be true, but at the very least, we'll have a chance of being allowed to reincarnate," Liu Yu said in a cold voice. "Alternatively, are you under the impression that we'll be allowed to live anyway?"

Everyone fell silent, and the carriage turned a corner before heading straight toward the North Yin Pavilion.

……………………………………

"Liu Yu wants to see me?" Qin Ye asked as looked up from the document that he was reading. "Where is he right now?"

"He's waiting at the front desk," Wang Chenghao replied. "Would you like to see him now?"

"Let him wait. Tell him that I'm busy." Qin Ye lowered his head to continue reading the document, yet right as Wang Chenghao was about to leave, he suddenly said, "Yu Qian and Yang Jiye are currently in Everburn for a debriefing at the moment, right? Get them to come and see me."

Wang Chenghao quickly departed, and shortly thereafter, Yu Qian and Yang Jiye arrived before extending a bow in unison. "Yanluo Qin."

This was their reward for choosing the correct side.

While Zhou Yu and the others were still toiling away in grassroots units, Yu Qian and Yang Jiye had been allowed to keep their former territory and had even been granted the entirety of Southern Asia! One of them had been assigned with the duty of keeping an eye on the Hindustani Underworld to the east, while the other was overseeing the Strait of Tsushima.

These were two extremely important locations, and only the most trusted of subordinates would've been assigned such duties.

"Take a seat," Qin Ye said with a smile as he made an inviting hand gesture.

Tea was immediately brought on by the servants, and as Yu Qian picked up his teacup, the refreshing fragrance of tea wafted into his nostrils, upon which his eyes immediately lit up. "This is some fine tea!"

"We've already prepared some for you to take with you if you like," Qin Ye replied with a smile, then took a sip of his own tea before cutting straight to the chase. "Liu Yu is here."

Yang Jiye's smile faded upon hearing this, and he asked, "What do you plan to do with him, Your Excellency?"

Qin Ye looked down at his teacup as he replied, "He's already mentally prepared for what's coming to him. I've finally summoned him to see me for the first time in over 20 years, and I'm sure he knows there's no reason why I would spare his life. On top of that, we're preparing for war against the Nipponese Underworld, so I have to recover the Hanyang Underworld. Originally, my plan was to kill him in the presence of all of the envoys, but I've changed my mind now. He came here even though he knows that his death is inevitable, so he must be trying to salvage what little reputation and honor he can. Under these circumstances, if I were to grant him the death sentence, the impact that it would have on the other envoys wouldn't be quite as potent. On top of that, Liu Yu is quite a capable warrior, so it would be a pity to kill him."

Indeed, Liu Yu was someone who had once almost united the entirety of Cathay, and there certainly weren't many people in history who could boast the same achievement.

"But Your Excellency, sparing him would compromise your authority!" Yu Qian immediately countered. "There have been countless brilliant individuals throughout history, but if Hell chooses not to use them, they'll be complete nobodies! Xiang Yu was every bit the warrior that Liu Yu was, if not more, but after entering the underworld, he was unwilling to work with Liu Bang, and he threatened King Yanluo at the time to try and get his way. As a result, he was banished from the military and never heard from again. Why should Liu Yu receive special treatment?"

"I disagree." To Qin Ye's surprise, Yang Jiye offered an objection before he could. "The events that you described took place during the reign of the first King Yanluo, where he had a vast abundance of powerful warriors under his command, so Xiang Yu was entirely disposable. In contrast, it would indeed be a pity to kill Liu Yu under these circumstances."

After expressing their opinions, neither of them said anything further, and they both turned to Qin Ye for his opinion.

After a few minutes of contemplation, Qin Ye concluded, "He definitely must be killed, but depending on his performance, he can perhaps redeem himself. If he proves himself to be useful, I'm willing to send him to the path of the beast to be reincarnated for three lifetimes before returning to serve Hell. If the opposite is true, then I wouldn't mind sending an extra passenger to Black Yaksha's paper flower boat. Servants, summon Liu Yu to see me."

……………………………………

This wasn't the first time that Liu Yu had entered the North Yin Pavilion.

He had been here on a previous occasion many years ago, but since then, the world had changed rapidly and left him far behind.

He followed a servant into the pavilion, walking over the red carpet in the resplendent long corridor. Along the way, he was greeted by the sight of the occasional passing group of palatial maidens carrying platters that were laden with all types of delicacies and fine wines. Countless chaotic thoughts were flashing through his mind, but he was brought back to reality by the voice of the servant. "We're here, Master Liu."

Up ahead was an open redwood door with extremely life-like reliefs of the Aurogon engraved upon it. Beyond the door was a series of giant red pillars carved in the form of coiled dragons, and a figure was seated on a golden throne at the center of the spacious room.

He was giving off a vast tsunami-like aura that could only belong to an advanced Yama-King, and Liu Yu heaved a long sigh before making his way into the room.

As soon as he entered the room, the door was gently closed behind him.

The entire palace was very quiet, so much so that even a pin drop would be audibly heard, and the only sound came from the occasional sips of tea taken by Yu Qian and Yang Jiye. Liu Yu gritted his teeth tightly, then fell to his knees before kowtowing heavily to the ground. "I am here to atone for my crimes."

This was humiliation of the highest order.

He was an emperor who had once come close to uniting Cathay, yet he was forced to kowtow to the emperor of the underworld, and in the instant that his forehead made contact with the carpet, his expression was slightly twisted from shame.

All of his pride faded away like the wind with this gesture.

There was still no sound.

Qin Ye's overwhelming Yin energy was flowing through the palace as if it had substantial form, and Liu Yu didn't dare to raise his head. Only after several seconds had passed did he hear a calm voice. "What crimes do you have to atone for?"

A myriad of emotions were surging through Liu Yu's heart as he replied, "I have committed too many transgressions to count! Threatening Hell with the Hanyang Dynasty is a crime of disloyalty! Raising my troops against Everburn is a crime of insubordination, and refusing to yield even as the other envoys conceded is a crime of sin! I deserve nothing but the severest of punishments, but I implore that you give me the opportunity to redeem myself!"

He was being very open and honest. Then again, in this situation, he didn't dare to hide anything. A reminiscent look appeared in Qin Ye's eyes as he stared at Liu Yu.

Back when he was at the most difficult stage of his tenure as King Yanluo, the 12 envoys had seemed like insurmountable obstacles, but since then, all of them had been forced to concede to him one after another.

"Is that all of the crimes that you have to atone for?" Qin Ye asked as he took a sip of tea. "Have a good, hard think. Is there anything else of particular importance that you've neglected to mention?"

If Yin spirits could sweat, Liu Yu would already be drenched in cold sweat.

Of course there was!

He had colluded with Izanami and the Russian Underworld to betray the Cathayan Underworld! This was the severest of all of his transgressions!

He didn't dare to reveal this. As one of the former 12 envoys, he knew just how cruel the laws of Hell were. Furthermore, with the emergence of the Reincarnation King, the 18 abysses of punishment had most likely also been completed, and just the thought of that was enough to make his skin crawl.

Even those as mighty as Su Daji and Qin Hui didn't dare to oppose Hell after entering the 18 abysses of punishment.

He didn't dare to answer, but that didn't mean that everyone was going to wait patiently for him.

"Hurry up!" Yu Qian prompted. "Yanluo Qin has asked you a question. As his subordinate, you are obligated to reply!"

"I... I..." Liu Yu was beginning to tremble at this point, and he kowtowed once again as he said, "My crimes are too heinous to be mentioned, but I ask for an opportunity to redeem myself! From now on, I will put my life on the line and fight for Hell wherever you see fit!"

The only way he could beg for a sliver of an opportunity for redemption for himself was to rely on his prowess as a warrior, and that only further exacerbated his humiliation.

"Too heinous to be mentioned?" Qin Ye repeated in an indifferent voice. "Don't worry, the worst that could happen to you is to be sent to the 18 abysses of punishment. Do you think I wouldn't send you there as long as you don't admit to your crimes? Just the crime of raising your army against the City of Salvation alone warrants the death sentence by a hundredfold!"

He slammed the table as he abruptly rose to his feet. "In the wake of the old Hell's demise, everyone was fully dedicated to building the new Hell. You were the only subordinates that I could rely on at the time, yet what did you do?! You tried to usurp me!"

He made his way over to Liu Yu and looked intently down at him. "This is your last chance, Liu Yu. Tell me what else you did. If you display enough sincerity, I can consider not putting you through 10 lifetimes of reincarnation as a punishment!"

This was the final straw that broke the camel's back, and Liu Yu's psychological defenses were instantly destroyed.

Prior to coming here, he had thought of countless excuses and countless ways that he could try to weasel his way out of punishment, but only now did he realize that there was no chance for negotiation at all in the face of absolute power.

He raised his hands above his head, offering a red wooden box to Qin Ye.

"These are the records of everything I've done over the past century, including who I've come into contact with, how I contacted them, and all of the information I managed to gather on those people. All I ask is that you give me an opportunity to redeem myself, Yanluo Qin..."

Qin Ye's eyes finally lit up upon seeing this.

This was exactly what he wanted!