Yama Rising

Wang One Tail stared numbly into the mirror. The corners of his lips twitched uncontrollably, “No… Brother, dear brother, is this really you?!”

After shutting off communications with the Second King Yanluo, Qin Ye went on to recount everything that had transpired during the banquet, and then proceeded to put on makeup for all three of them. It was all for the purposes of what they were about to do, but none of them had expected the makeup to be that out of the world!

The originally handsome and striking Wang One Tail had now been transformed into a bloodied student with disheveled hair and several bite marks located all around his body. The inspiration? A pile of living dead located not far away from them.

Location - a convenience store.

Most of the living dead were hiding in houses. It wasn’t difficult to grab hold of a few of them for inspiration. Besides, the living dead would instinctively recognize the trio as one of their kind due to the Yin energy pouring out from their bodies.

Qin Ye smoothly grabbed a handful of blood from the face of a living dead nearby and smeared it all over Wang Chenghao’s face, “What’s the point of saying all that? Look at the situation we’re in right now. What else can we possibly do?”

“I think the question is what the hell you’re trying to do here!” Wang One Tail was going mad. His image was being irretrievably tainted and tarnished by the smearing of such disgusting gunk on his face! This was the shame of a lifetime!

He didn’t look any bit like a living human being anymore. Every single part of him appeared no different from a chewed up living dead, just like any other beside him! And what was even more infuriating to Wang Chenghao was the fact that Oda Nobutada didn’t even appear the slightest bit uncomfortable despite being given the same treatment!

Discuss: The differences between a professional secretary and a rabble on the street…

About a dozen or so minutes later, Qin Ye finally stood up with great satisfaction. He had even torn Wang Chenghao’s clothes in several places to make it even more believable. With that, he finally sized up his masterpiece, “Hey, why don’t you stand up and take a few steps around?”

Wang One Tail gritted his teeth and stood up, and then… mimicking the antics of a living dead, he began to flail his limbs and lumber about just like how any other living dead would.

“What do you think?” Qin Ye rubbed his chin and turned to the side. Oda Nobutada frowned slightly, “He doesn’t look rigid enough.”

“Then why don’t you show me how to do it?!!” Wang One Tail exploded at Oda Nobutada, “Do you know how difficult it is? It doesn’t come naturally! That’s the problem with habits, do you understand? I’ll eat my words and call you daddy if you can nail it in one shot…”

Famous last words.

Oda Nobutada rolled his eyes backwards, loosened his jaw, and then made a blank expression on his face no different from that of a living dead. His arms even hung limply by the side of his body as though they were dislocated while he hobbled about.

One shot, one kill! Nail on the head!

Bloody hell… How the hell are you so awesome? Don’t you think you’re a little bit too good for the role of a supporting cast…?

Wang Chenghao stared agape at Oda Nobutada.

Suddenly, his throat fell slightly sore.

He wriggled his neck slightly, and then even began to make several popping sounds at his lips… [1]

Qin Ye glared at Wang Chenghao coldly, “Do you get how it’s done now, Mr Pea Shooter?”

“Cough… sorry… It was a reflexive action…” Wang Chenghao cleared his throat and began to massage his temples, “Brother Qin, what exactly are you trying to do here? There’s no need to go this far, is there?”

“Shh…” Just then, Qin Ye suddenly raised his index finger to his lips, hinting that he should keep silent.

At once, the two zombies standing before Qin Ye shut their lips. A split second later, the ground trembled slightly.

“What’s this?” Wang One Tail gasped softly.

“You’ll find out soon.” Qin Ye squinted his eyes and glanced outside, “From now on, don’t speak, and blend into the crowd.”

“... It feels like we’re not quite on the same page when it comes to the definition of a ‘crowd’ over here…” Wang Chenghao glanced desperately at the throng of living dead around him, and his lips instantly went pale.

BOOM!!!

Before he could even finish speaking, an entire army of horses suddenly appeared to charge right out of the convenience store nearby!

“What’s this…” Wang Chenghao glanced over, only to notice that the man leading the charge was clad in golden armor, while his cavalry followed closely behind him in a tight formation, almost like a roaring dragon tearing through the lands. The Yin spirits behind carried massive flags that valiantly declared their allegiance - Liu.

Liu Yu had arrived!

“Shut up!” Qin Ye rolled his eyes back and worked hard to blend into the spiritually unaware living dead situated all around him. He couldn’t afford any mistakes right now.

There was dead silence all around as the living dead wandered about aimlessly. After some time, there was another thunderous cry, “Find him!” At once, Qin Ye heard the sound of Liu Yu’s cavalrymen scattering into the surroundings like flowing waters.

The three men stared intently at the door to the supermarket. Seconds later, it burst open, and a shadowy spirit dressed in the spanking new Tigerform Battle Armor and riding a skeletal war horse immediately appeared at the doorway. Copious amounts of Yin energy poured out all around him, and he swept a deadly gaze around as he surveyed the supermarket.

Ten seconds later, he turned around and rode back to where he’d come from.

Surprisingly, no other Yin soldiers came by afterwards. Approximately half an hour later, the streets outside finally began to calm down. Wang Chenghao whispered, “Can we finally head out now?”

“Not yet.” Qin Ye seemed to be enjoying himself. He looked just like a fish among a pool of living dead, and he relished the feeling of being the most intelligent among the crowd.

“Stop with the acting!!” Wang Chenghao was on the verge of losing his mind. The nauseating stench of corpses around him was killing him slowly from within!

Hang on… something’s not right…

I’m already dead!!

“Don’t you get it?” Qin Ye finally put a stop to his acting and began to draw on the air using his Yin energy, “According to the map, we’re currently here, while the MV Sewol is located here. Gijang County isn’t that large, but even then, we’ll still have to cross seven intersections and down a few neighbourhoods if we are to get to the MV Sewol.”

“So?” Wang Chenghao queried back, “Why do we need to get to where MV Sewol is located?”

Qin Ye nodded deeply, “Because… I’m going to Gonjiam Asylum, and that vessel is most likely going to take us straight there.

Wang Chenghao blinked his eyes vacantly. The information was slowly sinking in.

Without missing a beat, Qin Ye went on to sketch his own plans in the air. He had personally named this plan the “Crazy Dave” plan - a name he was incredibly proud of. [2]

“Why did Liu Yu appear at this time? It’s because the Russian Underworld has finally alerted him to our existence. This is slightly unexpected, but still makes sense. Liu Yu is undoubtedly the one most uncomfortable with our presence in Daehan. His first reaction would undoubtedly be to increase the number of his soldiers stationed in Gonjiam Asylum. Meanwhile, the Second King Yanluo had mentioned that the script of death was located well beyond the bottom line of any underworld.” His eyes burned with passion as he glanced at the map of relationships he had just outlined in the air, and his mind began to spin with thoughts.

He wasn’t too sure what would happen if he encroached on their bottom line. But if the consequences were as serious as the Second King Yanluo had described, then there’s no doubt that Rumyantsev’s first reaction would be to station himself at Gonjiam Asylum as well!

Qin Ye had depicted Pusan as a mountain with an axe above it. [3] He then proceeded to draw a red cross above Pusan, had a rethink, erased the symbol and replaced it with a coil.

Wang Chenghao’s mouth twitched slightly, “Look, I can understand where you’re going with the axe-mountain, but… what’s this coil supposed to represent? Asylum? Gonjiam?”

Qin Ye rolled his eyes, “Doesn’t this symbol generally mean dizziness or giddiness? Isn’t that a form of mental illness? Any other questions?”

Wang Chenghao: ……

No.

Qin Ye was just like a soul painter!

Qin Ye drew a line connecting the coil and the axe-mountain representing Pusan, and then murmured softly, “In other words, that place would be no different from the dragon’s lair. We’re talking about the allure of a harvest of faith sufficient to found an entire underworld. The risk of having the function of their death god seized from right underneath their noses might drive them absolutely insane. After all, to be able to create a monster like Choi Tae-min, this script of death would have to be absolute madness in and of itself. And if I still wish to head right into the dragon’s lair and intercept Liu Yu’s harvest of faith, the best way to do this would naturally be to…”

Dance with the dead!

With that, Qin Ye proceeded to carefully sort through his thoughts once more. These plans were incredibly risky. He didn’t have any information on the depth of security forces surrounding MV Sewol, or how exactly they should blend in or fit in. To this end, he would have no choice but to take things one step at a time.

Do it, and there would be a slim chance of success. Retreat, and he would foreclose any possibility at that.

It was the difference between 1% and 0%, yet he was still willing to push forward with it. Qin Ye couldn’t believe the inclination in his mind right now.

But… with Fate in my hands… I’ll at least be able to survive until the Second King Yanluo appears to rescue me, right?

Meanwhile, Wang Chenghao tried desperately to find inspiration from Qin Ye’s soul painting. But, alas, the two were on completely different planes of understanding, and they simply couldn’t understand what the other was thinking.

Ignoring him, Qin Ye began to draw a big oblique, and then proceeded to murmur to himself with a bright glow on his face, “Even though these contingency plans have been developed on the fly, it still gives us certain hidden advantages!”

“What advantages?” Wang Chenghao promptly pressed the point on the statements he could actually understand. Meanwhile, Oda Nobutada was clearly deep in thought.

Qin Ye smiled and tapped the air once, “Firstly, Rumyantsev and Liu Yu wouldn’t expect an Infernal Judge of Hell to stoop so low and be mixed in with the rabble that is known as the living dead! The fact that the Yin soldiers were scouting the area so callously earlier is the perfect proof of that!”

Wang Chenghao rubbed his chin, “But that’s not right… Hasn’t Liu Yu crossed paths with you before? Surely he wouldn’t expect anything more of you given your cowardly demeanor…”

Qin Ye smiled faintly, “Who am I?”

“The Third King Yanluo of Hell?”

Qin Ye shook his head.

“Lord Qin? Daddy Qin? Brother Qin?”

“No.” Oda Nobutada suddenly interjected, “He’s Zhong Kui.”

At once, Wang Chenghao understood where this was all going.

Ah, that’s right… Qin Ye is currently Zhong Kui. Liu Yu would most certainly have encountered Zhong Kui and even exchanged words with him in the past. To their minds, a high and mighty Infernal Judge of the Fengdu era would never stoop so low as to hide among the living dead! Rather than that, Zhong Kui was more likely to have been a domineering Judge who would trample over Liu Yu’s face if he could help it and threaten to cut off a certain appendage of his!

In other words, Hell would never stoop so low!

Qin Ye gave Oda Nobutada a nod of approbation, “That’s right. The search earlier had clearly been done under the instructions of seeking out any inconspicuous hiding places of the renowned Zhong Kui. The Yin soldier that we saw at the entrance earlier told us everything we needed to know about their attitude in this search. Besides, Rumyantsev would have suddenly lost track of our whereabouts, but he would most certainly assess that we can’t have gone far from the Gijang County vicinity. However, so long as his search remains fruitless, this assessment of his will slowly fade away, and self-doubt will slowly begin to creep into his heart.”

Oda Nobutada nodded deeply, “The ability to be critical about oneself is a quality that a high-ranking official of any underworld should possess. After all, it’s this quality that enables one to broaden his horizon and expand his perspective quickly. That said, isn’t this attribute now our greatest advantage?”

Qin Ye nodded, and then raised a second finger, “The second point builds on the first point, and that is that they probably aren’t even aware that it was the sound of a ship’s horn that had let the cat out of the bag.”

“To their minds, I’m still unaware of the exact transport route used by them for the shipment of the living dead! It was by complete coincidence that I’d heard the sound of the ship’s horn during the dinner banquet. However, this was probably something that they’re already accustomed to hearing from time to time, especially when Rumyantsev gets upset. Unfortunately… I caught wind of it.”

There was no need to say anymore than that.

Wang Chenghao shook his head and glanced at Qin Ye with great exasperation, “Brother Qin… This isn’t like you at all.”

“In the past, you would undoubtedly have turned tail and run at the earliest sign of trouble…”

“What’s that?” Qin Ye lifted his sleeves and revealed the bulging muscles on his arm, “Could you repeat yourself? I didn’t get you earlier.”

“...... You’ve always been cowardly and all for safety and security. But to think a day would finally come when you would even think of seizing the initiative, and even be so bold as to dive right into the lion’s den without any knowledge of the extent of their defenses! Do you know how dangerous things are?! Your persona… has completely collapsed!”

1. I’ve got no idea where or why this reference suddenly came up btw.

2. Crazy Dave is something like the storyteller/narrator in Plants Vs Zombies.

3. In Chinese, Pusan is 釜山, which sounds like 斧 and 山, which would mean axe-mountain.