Yama Rising

My apologies, I want to send the entire nation into space, but I have no intention of venturing into the universe myself!

Qin Ye took a glance at the second King Yanluo and refrained from articulating his thoughts. He had a feeling that he would be asking for a beating if he said that.

Earth was such a good place! He was already at the very top of the food chain, and all he wanted was to stay in this safe haven and go into an easy early retirement.

With that in mind, he quickly changed the subject, turning his attention to Qin Changxin. "Congratulations!"

Qin Changxin was giving off Yama-King level Yin energy fluctuations, and in contrast with other Cathayan Yama-Kings, his eyeballs had completely vanished from their sockets, replaced by two specks of bright crimson netherfire, and there were faint flashes of electricity occasionally arcing over his entire body.

"It's all thanks to you, Your Excellency!" Qin Changxin was extremely excited. Never did he think that he would be able to reach such dizzying heights. Just this breakthrough alone made his decision to defect to the Cathayan Underworld completely worth it.

After all, even though he held the title of the governor of Nippon, the Cathayan Underworld was still above him, so it hardly mattered.

He was the one who had truly unified the Nipponese Underworld! Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the others could only wait in the tenshu pavilion down below for their fiefdoms to be assigned, unable to even come to this level!

"It's a good thing that Yama-King Qin was in the Cathayan Underworld." The Harken leaped onto Qin Ye's shoulder in a well-rehearsed motion, then reflexively moved slightly before catching itself. It seemed that its muscle memory involved jumping up a step further onto Qin Ye's head, but it refrained from doing so considering they were still in Qin Changxin's presence. "Due to the limitations of the Nipponese Underworld, Yama-King Qin wouldn't have been able to make his breakthrough there. However, after returning to the Cathayan Underworld, he was able to benefit from the vast Yin energy in the nation, thereby allowing him to make a smooth breakthrough."

"That's right." Qin Changxin took a deep breath to repress his own excitement, then cupped his fist in a salute. "I will never forget what the Cathayan Underworld has done for me."

The Harken didn't seem to have heard him at all as it continued, "However, even the Cathayan Underworld wouldn't have been able to support two Yama-King level breakthroughs at once prior to conquering the Nipponese Underworld. Thankfully, after the fall of the Nipponese Underworld, there arose a slight chance for such a feat to be accomplished. Thus, at the time, I took Yama-King Qin to the nearest island of Formosa for him to make his breakthrough."

Qin Ye raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Does he not need to make his breakthrough in the Nipponese Underworld?"

The Harken replied, "The Nipponese Underworld already belongs to the Cathayan Underworld. Seeing as it's all part of the same nation, it doesn't matter where he completes his breakthrough. However."

It turned to Qin Changxin with a meaningful expression as it continued, "If the Nipponese Underworld ever becomes independent again, it'll no longer belong to the Cathayan Underworld, and the Yin energy and power of worship there will plummet. If that happens, Yama-King Qin most likely won't be able to retain his current cultivation rank."

There were clearly some implications behind its words.

In saying this, it was telling Qin Ye that it was safe to hand over the reins of the Nipponese Underworld to Qin Changxin. As long as he didn't want to part with his current cultivation rank, he was never going to betray the Cathayan Underworld.

At the same time, this was also a subtle warning to Qin Changxin, telling him that any attempt to liberate the Nipponese Underworld in the future would be directly to his detriment.

Qin Changxin nodded with a smile while heaving a long internal sigh. Ultimately, he still wasn't a Yin spirit of the Cathayan Underworld. Even though he had been granted the Qin surname, there was no changing the fact that his true name was still Oda Nobunaga.

If Yue Fei or Zhao Yun had taken on the role of governor of Nippon, the Harken wouldn't have felt the need to issue that veiled warning. If he wanted to completely integrate himself into the Cathayan Underworld, there would still be several generations of work that had to be done, and during this time, Hell would undoubtedly always remain a little wary of his Oda Clan.

Some things were too hurtful to be directly articulated, so they were better left implied and unsaid. Thus, the Harken didn't speak any further on this matter. Instead, it whipped its tail at Qin Ye's cheek before changing the subject.

"All new Yama-Kings must be presented to the entire nation for a celebration. Now that we have universities, they will also need to tour the universities and give speeches there. Most importantly, all new Yama-Kings need to have a title assigned to them by King Yanluo in person."

Qin Ye thought about this for a moment, then said, "Among the Yama-Kings of the 10 Palaces of the old Hell, all of them were given titles based on their fiefdoms with a few special exceptions. For example, there was the Chu River King of the second palace, the Biancheng King of the six palace, and the Mount Tai King of the seventh palace. In this case, Yama-King Qin is the governor of the Nipponese Underworld, and the capital city of the Nipponese Underworld, Kyoto, was known in ancient times as Heian-kyō. Thus, I give you the title of the Heian King, and it also has a double meaning of peace, so it symbolizes a desire for peace and prosperity. What do you all think?" [In Japanese, heian (平安) translates to peace.]

Everyone turned to Qin Changxin for his opinion, and he immediately cupped his fist in a salute while extending a respectful bow. "I couldn't think of a more perfect title!"

Thus, Hell had reinstated two of its Yama-Kings of the 10 Palaces in the form of Reincarnation King Arakshasa and Heian King Qin Changxin.

In fact, there was a third one!

Qin Ye took a deep breath, then asked, "How long have I been in seclusion for? Where is General Yue?"

"You've been gone for a month," the Harken replied. "General Yue is also in the tenshu pavilion, and he was planning to meet you as soon as you emerged from seclusion, but he's been delayed by some minor inconveniences."

Before Qin Ye had a chance to reply, it said, "This is something that you have to take care of in person. No one else can help you here."

After that, it casually swatted its tail against the back of Qin Ye's head, earning itself an indignant glare.

"General Yue, I'm not to blame for what happened back then!"

Before Qin Ye had even fully made his way down the staircase, he was greeted by the sound of a sobbing voice on the first floor.

"Think about it, General Yue! During our dynasty, generals weren't granted any military power! In the early stages after the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, large numbers of soldiers were deployed to ensure stability. Once the nation was stabilized, the emperor naturally wanted to kill off some of these armed forces. Generals at the time had an abundance of both wealth and soldiers at the time, so they posed a threat to the emperor himself, and you were one of the leading figures among the generals!"

Qin Ye had already made his way to the bottom of the staircase, but he stopped there and continued to listen with an intrigued expression.

There were countless depictions of Yue Fei's death in different history books, and he wanted to hear the truth.

The hall fell silent, and only after a long while did Yue Fei's calm voice ring out in response. "Is that all you have to say?"

"No, that's not all!" The sobbing voice rang out again. "After you quelled the rebellions, you accepted donations to fund your army. Of course, a large proportion of those funds were provided by the local officials and the general public in the hope that you'll continue to advance your army northward, but the emperor wasn't willing to accept that! Also, there was an instance where you spoke directly to the emperor regarding the issue of an heir. His Majesty had no sons, and no one in the imperial court dared to bring up this subject! Please pardon me for being blunt, but you were digging your own grave! "

There was silence once again.

A faint smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he turned to the Harken on his shoulder, then asked, "When did Qin Hui come here?"

Before the Harken had a chance to reply, the second King Yanluo's voice rang out from behind him. "He first came about a month ago, and ever since then, he's been coming every day to cry and repent."

Qin Ye turned around to find the second King Yanluo eavesdropping with glee in the corner.

"Do you have to eavesdrop so blatantly?" Qin Ye scoffed with a disdainful expression.

As soon as his voice trailed off, the second King Yanluo gently cleared his throat, and a table in the corner was instantly reduced to dust. He didn't appear to have done anything, and there were no signs indicating that any power had been released from his body.

Qin Ye's eyelids twitched violently upon hearing this, and he immediately put on a fawning smile as he said, "What I meant to say that you shouldn't be so dashing and handsome even when eavesdropping as that places undue pressure on your fellow eavesdroppers. You should learn to blend in with the masses and not be so outrageously perfect all the time."

The second King Yanluo smiled as he patted Qin Ye on the head. "I know none of that was true, but I'll let you off the hook for now."

Before Qin Ye had a chance to say anything else, the second King Yanluo withdrew his hand, then gestured toward the room as he asked, "What are you going to do?"

Qin Hui was renowned as a slimy character in history, but he was also very capable of contributing greatly to the construction of the new Hell. Furthermore, he had surrendered himself to the Cathayan Underworld, so killing him would make Qin Ye seem like an ungracious and unforgiving ruler, but leaving him alive could lead to discontent from Yue Fei.

"It's not my decision, it's about what General Yue wants to do," Qin Ye replied.

The second King Yanluo raised an eyebrow with a surprised expression, then nodded in response.

Qin Ye's intentions here were very clear. They were in a tenshu pavilion in the province of Nippon, so if Yue Fei really wanted to kill Qin Hui here, then no one from the Cathayan Underworld would find out. The only witnesses nearby were the daimyos, and they were only interested in securing their fiefdoms, so Qin Changxin would only have to issue a non-disclosure order to silence them in order to prevent them from spreading the news. After that, they could simply proclaim that Qin Hui had been killed by the residual resistant forces in the Nipponese Underworld.

Indeed, the Nipponese Underworld had already been conquered, but there were still armed rebellions taking place in many of the cities, and the Cathayan Underworld's forces were all waiting for Qin Ye to come out of seclusion to issue them with instructions in how to deal with the rebellions.

The room was silent for a full 10 minutes before Yue Fei finally said, "I actually already knew all of that."

The sound of chair legs scraping across the floor rang out, and Yue Fei seemed to have stood up as he said, "During the past few centuries, I've been confined to this room, and during that time, I've thought about many things."

Qin Hui offered no reply aside from his incessant weeping.

"You're not to blame," Yue Fei said, and a faint smile appeared on Qin Ye's face upon hearing this.

If Yue Fei really had killed Qin Hui, Qin Ye wouldn't have punished him, but his image of Yue Fei would be negatively affected as a result.

If Yue Fei had killed Qin Hui for the sole purpose of exacting vengeance and venting his fury, then Qin Ye would be quite concerned about such a petty and potentially volatile figure serving as one of the Cathayan Underworld's Yama-Kings.

Thankfully, Yue Fei hadn't disappointed him.

"You were only being used by the emperor at the time. Given my status, there was no way you could've killed me without the emperor's approval, so you were never the true perpetrator."

As soon as his voice trailed off, Qin Ye burst into applause and made his way into the room.

"Yanluo Qin!" In the instant that Qin Ye appeared in the room, Qin Hui rapidly scurried over to him on his knees, then kowtowed onto the floor so heavily that the entire room trembled slightly as he said in a sobbing voice, "I swear that I never resented General Yue! I would've never plotted against him had the emperor not exerted so much pressure on me! You have to believe me!"

"You can get up," Qin Ye said. "Seeing as General Yue has already forgiven you, I'm certainly willing to let things slide. From now on, both of you will be serving Hell, so you have to work together and help one another. Also, who's overseeing proceedings in the three eastern provinces in your absence? You should go back as soon as possible to resume your official duties."

Before Qin Hui had a chance to express his gratitude, Qin Ye's smile faded as he declared, "Get ready. In 10 minutes, we'll be holding our first meeting between Yama-Kings."