Yama Rising

"Zhao Dehan?" Qin Ye raised an eyebrow with a surprised expression. "Did you get Hou Liangping to go and detain him?" [1]

"Who?" The second King Yanluo had no idea who this Hou Liangping was.

"Nothing... " Qin Ye cleared his throat as he drummed his fingers rhythmically against the armrest of his chair. 

Another Zhao Dehan? Isn't that a bit too much of a coincidence? Is this name poisoned? 

However, this incident had also issued him a reminder that it was time for Hell to address some matters.

These matters didn't concern national affairs, it concerned the nation's public servants instead.

There were no parties here, but a new administration had just emerged. The desire to climb up the political hierarchy was virtually hard-coded into the genes of the Cathayan people, and it would take at least two or three generations to undo this mindset. The mortal realm was prioritizing economic development first and foremost, so no attention had been paid to this area. However, as the ruler of Hell, he had to banish this type of mindset from the very beginning.

Lofty positions in political hierarchies were essentially Petri dishes for corruption to grow and fester. If the second King Yanluo hadn't investigated the matter himself, who could've imagined that the one smuggling Yin jade to Mirage City would be an insignificant city god?

However, this wasn't the time to be considering things like this. The conference in Amano-Iwato was rapidly approaching, and following that conference, the priority would be to develop the new energy resource. As a result, this matter would have to wait until he had the spare time to work out a plan to address it. 

Perhaps I should get Emissaries of Hell to oversee this matter... No, that wouldn't work. Emissaries of Hell hold power themselves, so they're certainly not impervious to the temptations of corruption. In that case, should I set up a new department specifically for this? 

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing..." Qin Ye replied in an offhand manner before a cunning plan suddenly occurred to him. "Brother Xu, I've always greatly admired your ability to be able to cross through realms."

A smile appeared on the second King Yanluo's face, and he watched Qin Ye in silence with an expression that said "let's see what you're up to now".

"However, when traveling through realms and even to other planets, do you not eat during your journeys? Everyone needs food! How long has it been since you tasted genuine Nipponese cooking? How about I invite you to have some authentic Nipponese food at around the 7th of June?"

Just the presence of the second King Yanluo would alleviate an immense amount of pressure from his shoulders!

The second King Yanluo took a sip of tea before replying, "That was a very forced sequence, but you managed to make it work. You are far more shameless than the first King Yanluo ever was, I like that about you."

He then sighed before continuing, "To be honest, if it were feasible, I would also be willing to come with you."

"But?" Qin Ye asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"But all of the rulers of the other underworlds have already learned to fear me," he replied. "My power isn't true energy, nor is it Yin energy, but at the same time, it's a combination between the two. If I were to appear among a group of Yama-Kings, I would be extremely eye-catching, and anyone would be able to discover that my power is being rejected by this world, thereby rendering me unable to use it. If that happens, they will no longer fear me. Hence, I can only continue to intimidate them if I don't go."

His smile faded as he looked into Qin Ye's eyes and continued, "Go and give it a try. Regardless of what the outcome turns out to be, every King Yanluo had to experience this at one point or another. The first King Yanluo was also extremely fearful and nervous before his first meeting with the rulers of the world. All of these events are designed to test you and spur on your growth, and there's no way you can do that if you're constantly under the shadow of someone else."

He poured a cup of tea for Qin Ye, then raised his own cup as he said, "Here's to wish you a safe and productive trip."

Qin Ye looked deep into his eyes, and after a long while, a faint smile appeared on his face as he raised his teacup before gently touching it to the second King Yanluo's cup.

………………………………………………

A letter was pulled out of the envelope by a skeletal hand. The owner of the hand was an underworld emissary wearing a tattered robe whose entire body was enshrouded within scarlet karmic flames.

The Yin energy emanating from his body seemed to be churning constantly, and there were countless blood-red eyes opening and closing every single second beneath his black robes. The only region where this phenomenon didn't apply was the underworld emissary's head, which resembled the skull of an elephant with two tiny specks of netherfire burning within the eye sockets.

In the underworld, there were emissaries of all different forms and descriptions. However, anyone who saw this particular underworld emissary, even Abyssal Prefects and normal Yama-Kings, had to refer to them respectfully as the esteemed Yamaraja.

Indeed, this man was Death God Yamaraja, the ruler of the Hindustani Underworld.

"This is one of the four pillars, and they could only muster up a representative team of 45?" Yamaraja scoffed from under his hood. "I bet they simply couldn't increase this number no matter how much they tried."

He then handed the letter over to the side. "Take a look."

A human hand accepted the letter, and the owner of this hand was an incredibly handsome man wearing a crown of pure gold on his head, embedded into which were a series of black gems.

If it weren't for the Yin energy constantly flowing out of his orifices, one wouldn't even be able to tell that he was an underworld emissary.

This man was sitting beside Yamaraja, and he was the God of Sleep, Hypnos, the twin brother of the Argosian Underworld's death god, Thanatos.

Hypnos inspected the letter for a few seconds before a faint smile appeared on his face. "Their third speaker, this Qin Changxin, is only an Abyssal Prefect? From which corner did a piece of trash like him even crawl out from? Forgive me for being frank, but I've never heard of an underworld emissary by this name. To think that the Cathayan Underworld is allowing itself to be represented by maggots like this, do they think they still haven't lost enough of their credibility and influence on the international stage? If the second King Yanluo were coming, then I would have nothing to say about this representative team, but he isn't present on the list, either."

Hypnos picked up a cup in the Europa style before taking a casual sip. Right at this moment, a figure beside him that was standing at over five meters tall said, "The light of the dying sun is always so dim and pathetic, almost laughably so. No matter how much they try to keep up appearances, some cracks are simply too big to hide. Judging from the intelligence that we've gathered and the Cathayan Underworld's reaction in response to the Russian forbidden art incident, we can virtually be certain that the Cathayan Underworld has fallen from grace."

This figure didn't seem to be a human. Strictly speaking, they were humanoid in form, but they had the head of a dog, and on top of that head was adorned the blue and golden striped headwear of a pharaoh. The figure's entire body was inundated by Yin energy, and he gently stroked the cobra scepter in his hand as he continued, "This is why we've all come together. It's been several centuries since the rulers of three of the four pillars have met up in secret."

He swept his gaze over the other two death gods as he said in a cold voice, "This is an unmissable opportunity. Who's going to be taking the first shot?"

Silence.

Only after a full 10 minutes had passed did Yamaraja finally break the silence with a cold harrumph. "I'll do it."

"Oh?" The netherfire in Anubis's eyes flashed slightly upon hearing this.

A cold smile appeared on Yamaraja's face as he said, "Neither of you were saying anything, so it was clear that you were waiting for me to step up."

He rose to his feet, and countless venomous vipers slithered out from beneath his cloak, then dissipated into Yin energy amid a string of menacing hissing. What appeared to be a smile had appeared on his skeletal face, and he continued, "I'm in the best place to levy criticism against them for the lack of responsibility they've displayed."

His Yin energy swept through the surrounding area like a wind storm, and the entire surrounding space began to howl violently as if countless evil ghosts were wailing in unison. The tiny specks of scarlet netherfire in his eye sockets instantly erupted into pillars of fire, and his raspy voice was carrying a sense of irrepressible excitement. "I have more right than anyone to criticize them because it is my empire that has been supporting the Asian Underworld for the past century! I have more right than anyone to tell them that they should've vacated their position long ago, that they have no right to continue to cling onto their title as one of the four pillars! In addition to that, only I have the influence to sway the votes of the other nations in the Asian Underworld!"

His voice rumbled like thunder throughout the entire hall, and he turned toward another direction with a cold expression and asked, "Wouldn't you agree?"

This was a tall and spacious wooden room with all types of vastly renowned Nipponese paintings hanging up inside it. The floor consisted entirely of soft tatami mats, and there were Nipponese style gold-plated vases placed all around the room, protruding out of which were bright red spider lilies. The doors of the room were wide open, and outside was a Yin blossom tree that was burning with netherfire.

Right under the tree was a stone table, around which were seated several underworld emissaries, all of whom were either Abyssal Prefects or Yama-Kings!

"Yes," a woman replied with a smile as she extended a respectful bow. The woman was wearing a Nipponese kimono, and there were no features on her entire face aside from a mouth. "No one can just shirk their duties for over 100 years and still expect to retain their position and all of the benefits that come with it. Why should we continue to toil away for subpar reward while they continue to be rewarded for their prolonged dereliction of duty?"

"The times have changed," said an underworld emissary who resembled a black hole with only a golden eye at the center. "This is no longer the era during which the Cathayan Underworld held absolute dominance over the rest of the world. The other three pillars have become more influential, and it's about time for some changes to occur."

Another death god whose entire body was nothing more than a shadow said from behind his skull mask, "In order to retain their position, they have to fulfill their duties and bring prosperity to the rest of the world. They haven't done that for the past century, so what right do they have to continue to occupy this position?"

Of course, none of what was being said here truly mattered. What was most important was that the Cathayan Underworld wasn't an ally of theirs. 

"I'm glad we're all on the same page here," Yamaraja said with a nod, then vanished as a gust of Yin wind. "Seeing as they don't want to relinquish their position, then we'll strip them bare in front of the entire world."

Thus, only Hypnos and Anubis were left among the representatives of the four pillars present.

The two death gods exchanged a glance, and Abubis gently swept a hand through the air, upon which the wooden doors swung shut without a sound.

"I can already smell a battle on the horizon," he said as he licked his own lips, "But that's still not enough. The Cathayan Underworld has too strong of a foundation, and this still isn't enough to make them fold."

He turned to Hypnos as he continued, "Hence, I hope you've already prepared our true trump card."

"Of course," Hypnos replied as he looked down at the ruby ring that he was wearing. "We've all been waiting for this day for far too long. There are countless underworlds pining for this position, and many of them have the power to claim it. In addition to that, all of them are quite smart and easy to work with."

A smile appeared on Anubis's face, and he disintegrated into a cloud of yellow sand. "In that case, I also have a present that I'm preparing to give to this new King Yanluo. After all, negotiation is only one thing, whereas power is an indication of many things, isn't that right?"

There was no warmth to be found on the international stage. If a pillar were on the verge of falling, everyone would be more than happy to give it one final push.

In your time of need, everyone would much rather stomp you into the dirt rather than help you out of the swamp.

If all of the underworlds were a vast vortex, then the Cathayan Underworld would currently be at the heart of the vortex, and it would only have to be pushed slightly out of alignment to be swept up and utterly destroyed by the vortex around it!

Qin Ye was naturally aware of this, but he was even more aware of the fact that he couldn't not attend the conference. No underworld could detach itself entirely from the rest of the world, and he had to ensure that the Cathayan Underworld retained its position as one of the four pillars.

Thus, he arrived at Ashmound Port with his team of 44 representatives.

Only the second King Yanluo was present to bid them farewell, and Qin Ye hadn't permitted anyone else to see them off. "Good luck."

The second King Yanluo cupped his fist in a farewell salute as he said, "I'm sure you'll learn a lot from this experience."

Qin Ye heaved a forlorn sigh. There was immense pressure on his shoulders. "Didn't you say you were going to give me something before I left? Surely you're not going to just let me go without any support."

"Of course." The second King Yanluo smiled as he swept a hand through the air, and the entire port was immediately filled by a vast expanse of golden light.

All of the Emissaries of Hell present drew a sharp breath at the sight that they were greeted by.

The second King Yanluo wore a calm expression as he said, "Its name is Voyaging Immortal, and I obtained it from a certain plane. This thing will be more than enough to intimidate all of those hillbillies! Seeing as you've already set off, then show everyone the flair and might of the Cathayan Underworld! Don't let those fools look down on us!"

[1] [Hou Liangping plays an investigator and the protagonist of the hit Chinese Drama series, In the Name of the People. In the wake of the drama series' immensely successful release, the character of Hou Liangping became synonymous with the face of justice. As for Zhao Dehan, he was a minor antagonistic character who appeared at the very beginning of the drama series. Just like the Zhao Dehan in this story, he led a very modest and miserly life, but he had massive amounts of cash hidden within the walls of a mansion he had purchased in secret.]