Yama Rising

Yin energy surged out of his fingertip as he began to quickly draw up an image in mid-air.

The image depicted the Huang Clan's earthen building, and it was a very detailed depiction. After completing his drawing, Qin Ye turned around to face Kwon Kyung-ho, Ryu Changmin, Lee Jung-sook, and Wu Daozi before declaring, "Prior to this, I had far too many questions that I had to find answers for. Now, let's dissect them one by one. The first set of questions pertain to Chu Renmei. I've always wondered why Chu Renmei hasn't killed the residents of the Huang Clan's earthen building. Even if she doesn't want to kill them, they're literally blood food that's constantly posing a temptation to her! Perhaps she could resist for a day or even a year, but how did she resist for over a century? I finally understand now..."

He took a deep breath before continuing, "It's because these people are unable to die! The Taisui fungus that they consumed has been tampered with, so at their very core, they've become inhuman creatures, just like Huang Yunqing, whom we saw in the seafood warehouse. Hence, there was no need for Chu Renmei to kill them, and as time passed, they grew accustomed to her presence and no longer feared her. My second question relates to Chu Renmei's attempt to possess me. I had always been of the opinion that she had tried to possess me as she wanted to do something that only I could do, but it's evident to me now that this is not the case."

He swept his gaze across the faces of the people before him and concluded, "It's not that she didn't want to possess other people, she simply had no choice! There was no one else she could've possessed aside from me!"

A peculiar smile appeared on Lee Jung-sook's face as she held her cup of coffee in her hands. "No, that's not all. With all the information that we currently have, the fact that she wanted to possess you allows us to draw a very important conclusion."

Before Qin Ye had a chance to speak, she immediately continued, "Have you considered why she was so insistent on possessing someone? She's an evil ghost, and a very highly ranked special Yin spirit, at that. All of her resentment falls upon two people: first and foremost is Bu Wantian, who betrayed and killed her over a century ago. Secondly, it would be the construction team that dug out her remains and tossed them into the waterhole in 1995. However, all of the construction workers and Bu Wantian have already died."

She looked straight into Qin Ye's eyes and asked, "So why is she still so determined to possess someone?"

Qin Ye drew a sharp breath upon hearing this.

He had never considered this question before, and it had to be said that Lee Jung-sook's few centuries on this earth had truly served her well. Indeed, thinking along her line of logic, the conclusion was downright horrifying!

She wanted revenge.

The most important obsession that evil ghosts clung onto was vengeance, and without vengeance as a motivating factor, there was no need for her to possess anyone. As for why she had to possess someone...

"She wants to get out of the earthen building..." Wu Daozi had arrived at the same conclusion, and he said in a trembling voice, "Lord Qin has consumed the Taisui fungus, meaning that he's transcended beyond the three realms and the five elements, allowing him immunity from their restrictions. She wants to borrow your body to leave the Huang Clan's earthen building, which means that the person she wants to seek vengeance against is outside the building!"

"Indeed, Sir Wu, but there's something else..." Now that the ideas were flowing, everything had been strung together into a cohesive picture. Qin Ye forcibly repressed the excitement welling up in his heart as he said, "This person is clearly also from the Huang Clan's earthen building, so why were they able to leave?"

Wu Daozi faltered slightly before the netherfire in his eyes began to jump sporadically. "Only those who have consumed the Taisui fungus are able to do that! That person must've also consumed the Taisui fungus, thereby allowing them to leave the Huang Clan's earthen building!"

He sprang to his feet as he spoke, and his voice was trembling slightly as he spoke. "Wait, that doesn't make sense! According to what you said earlier, Chu Renmei is an evil ghost that only emerged less than 100 years ago, but the residents of the Huang Clan's earthen building consumed the Taisui fungus over 1,000 years ago! All of them were transformed into zombies, and zombies don't have the ability to reproduce! If we think deeper about this, the secret that the Huang Clan's earthen building is full of zombies had to have been closely guarded by the Divine Protectors of the country for generation upon generation. After all, this is a matter concerning the Taisui fungus!"

"Indeed," Lee Jung-sook said with a smile before taking a sip of her coffee. "In other words, following the discovery of the Taisui fungus, anyone who attempted to leave the Huang Clan's earthen building would've been immediately captured. However, Chu Renmei's actions tell us that someone managed to slip through the cracks, and that they're still outside the Huang Clan's earthen building to this very day. How did that happen?"

Qin Ye stroked his own chin as he said in a grim voice, "There's only one possibility: that person is the first one who consumed the Taisui fungus and attained immortality. They were the one who turned the entire village into zombies, and it was also them who survived off the flesh of zombies until the famine passed, then left the Huang Clan's earthen building by relying on the special nature of the Taisui fungus. This is why Chu Renmei must possess me to exact her revenge."

That's it... 

The information in Qin Ye's mind had been strung together like a bracelet, and the bigger picture surrounding the Huang Clan's earthen building was finally established.

The killing intent that he had felt from Chu Renmei since the very first day, the strange state of the residents, the giant locust tree that contained the souls of all of the residents, the talismans on the second and third floors... These seemingly unrelated tidbits of information had finally been collated together to arrive at a conclusion!

Over 1,000 years ago, someone had turned all of the residents of the village into zombies in order to survive the floods and famines. They fed on the zombies one after another, and in the end, they managed to survive. They then sensed the threat posed by the Imperial City Division and escaped the earthen building in secret by relying on the special properties of the Taisui fungus. This person was almost certain to be the irredeemably heinous soul that Qin Ye was searching for!

Of course, there was no concrete evidence to support this, but in this case, the process of elimination was the best evidence!

The soul that he was searching for had to be outside of the earthen buildings.

All of the residents living inside the earthen building were zombies, and they were only able to retain some semblance of sanity under the protection of the equilibrium talismans. Chu Renmei was an evil ghost, but there was no way she deserved the title of irredeemably heinous.

None of the residents could be the person he was searching for, so that left only one possible candidate!

"The final problem that we're facing is a lack of evidence..." Qin Ye murmured to himself, "Who is this person? What did they do? Where can we find information about them? Do you know anything, Phagpa?"

The soul orb trembled slightly, and Phagpa's respectful voice rang out in response. "My Lord, the answer you're looking for lies in the ancestral hall on the fourth floor. The seal on the Huang Clan's earthen building was first placed during the Song Dynasty, and it was maintained all the way to the Qing Dynasty. However, it was most likely maintained past the founding of the Republic of Cathay. These seals can allow them to just barely hold onto their sanity, and only during the Cold Suit Festivals of each year would they turn into zombies. The rest of the time, they would be no different from normal humans. However, this equilibrium isn't perfect. The residents will believe that they're normal people and forget everything in the past. However, their instincts still remain. Their hatred, which has been brewing for over 1,000 years, must be stored in a certain place, and in accordance with ancient traditions, there's a very good chance that that place is the ancestral hall on the fourth floor. The hatred I'm referring to isn't just an abstract thing. Instead, there's a very good chance that they've instinctively placed items that are related to themselves and that person in the ancestral hall, and they won't even recall performing these actions themselves. They were transformed into zombies and even eaten at some point. On top of that, they've been trapped in this earthen building for over 1,000 years. Their hatred has surely already reached a point where it's able to take over their instincts."

The fourth floor, eh? 

Qin Ye pursed his lips as he recalled the aura of that other Prefect-level evil ghost between the third and fourth floors. The evil ghost didn't know what he wanted to do, so perhaps it was instinctively protecting their last secret from him.

All of the answers were there, including what that irredeemably heinous person had done, and their identity.

"Kwon Kyung-ho, Ryu Changmin!" Qin Ye rose to his feet, and he suddenly felt reinvigorated. The mysteries that had plagued him for the past several days had been solved, and there was only one thing left to do.

"At your service, my Lord!" The two ghosts immediately walked into the room before extending respectful bows in unison.

"Come with me, we're going to the fourth floor of the earthen building."

"Yes!"

"My Lord." Phagpa's voice suddenly rang out from within the soul orb. "If it's alright with you, I would like to volunteer my services."

Qin Ye considered this for a moment before raising a hand to summon Phagpa's soul again. Phagpa immediately joined his palms together before backing off to the side in a respectful manner. Before Qin Ye had a chance to say anything else, Lee Jung-sook smiled and said, "If you don't mind, I'd also like to come and have a look."

"There's no need to worry about my safety," she continued before Qin Ye could object. She then pressed a button on her table, and a line of soldiers that were armed to the teeth immediately strode into the room. There were two preachers in black cloaks among them, and both of them were at the Infernal Judge level!

"These are all elite Catholic exorcists, carrying bullets filled with holy water and holy ashes. All of them are retired personnel from the special departments of special units, so they have extensive experience when it comes to the arcane and supernatural. I'll be sure to protect myself, so you can rest assured."

She smiled and continued, "I just want to go and see the Taisui fungus. I'm very curious about what's happened to it."

"No," Qin Ye refused firmly with a shake of his head. "There are two Abyssal Prefects in the Huang Clan's earthen building, it's far too dangerous for you."

"I'll give you a hundred million."

Qin Ye: "!!!"

Y, You can't bribe me like this! I am the ruler of the Cathayan Underworld! You can't make me swallow my words with money! 

He didn't say anything, and after a moment, Lee Jung-sook spoke again. "Two hundred million."

Qin Ye: Σ(⊙▽⊙！ [1]

You... You can't do this! I am a man of unshakeable resolve and impeccable morals! You think you can defeat me with money? In the face of your disgusting actions, All I want to say is... 

Please, Madam, may I have some more? 

"Three hundred million." Lee Jung-sook blew on her coffee before continuing, "If there's really something wrong with the Taisui fungus, then I'll purchase it at a price that'll definitely satisfy you. Alternatively, we can split it as well, and I'm open to negotiation on the price."

"If you really want to take a look at it, then I, I guess I can take you with me..." Qin Ye cleared his throat with an awkward expression before putting on a serious look. "However, let me make this clear: I'm not responsible for ensuring the safety of your staff. I'm only letting them come so that there will be more people to help me. After all, the earthen building is a massive place, and taking you with me..."

Lee Jung-sook took a casual sip of her coffee. "I understand. You're obviously only taking me with you because of my insights on the Taisui fungus. Those who understand the Taisui fungus the most are the ones who have eaten it before, and I clearly know more about it than you do."

………………………………………………

At the Huang Clan's earthen building.

This was the final day before the Cold Suit Festival, and even non-cultivators could sense the rampant Yin energy in this place.

During the Cold Suit Festival, the zombies would return to their most primitive form, and all of the ghosts and spirits would come out to roam. Currently, there’s still 18 hours left.

The gate was opened, and a group of soldiers in camouflage clothing strode in in a cautious manner. Standing in the middle among the soldiers were Lee Jung-sook, Qin Ye, Kwon Kyung-ho, and Ryu Changmin. The surrounding residents only took an errant glance at the new arrivals before turning away again, displaying no reaction whatsoever.

"Such overwhelming deathly energy..." One of the black-cloaked preachers said in an uneasy voice, "The potency of the deathly energy here ranks among the top three of all of the places I've ever been, but nothing seems to be amiss here..."

The group made their way directly over to the foot of the giant locust tree, and the strings of locust blossoms on the branches were swaying in the air like red lanterns.

"This is a Soul-locking Pillar..." The other preacher brought out a cross that he placed in front of his own chest, then said in a grim voice, "Please stand back, Madam Lee, this locust tree isn't a naturally-forming entity. In Southeast Asia, tree seeds can be made from evil things in order to nurture similar monsters. The area around this locust tree is where all of the Yin energy in this place is gathered, and once we dig into it, we'll be sure to trigger some type of extremely terrifying supernatural activity."

Qin Ye took a surprised glance at the preacher. These two preachers really did know their stuff!

"What do we need to do?" Qin Ye asked in a casual manner.

Everyone in this unit had to familiarize themselves with one another, and they only had a very limited amount of time available to them, so the sooner they could complete this familiarization process, the better.

"Rest assured, we dared to take on this job, so we're naturally confident in our ability to complete it," one of the preachers said with a smile, then raised his hands, and countless runes emerged from within his baggy sleeves. The runes were almost like sentient beings as they circled around the entire tree like a coiling dragon.

Their actions finally attracted the attention of the residents. Their bodies remained completely still, but their heads twisted around at different angles as they turned to stare intently at the massive locust tree in unison.

[1] [This is actually what the author wrote here LOL.]