Yama Rising

Crackle... Crackle... The static on the television screen finally faded.

"Stop! Please stop! I'm begging you... Waaah!"

"Don't hurt him! Stop! You're going to kill him! I'm begging you!"

"I'll kill you!!"

The image depicted the Huang Clan's earthen building in complete ruins as over 100 bald gangsters wreaked havoc to their heart's content, forcing the residents to relocate through physical violence. Countless women were dragged out of their rooms by the hair, then slammed against the wall as they howled and sobbed. Immediately thereafter, more gangsters would rush into their houses, picking up closets, mirrors, dressing tables, and other pieces of furniture before throwing them downstairs.

The footage was shaking quite severely, indicating that it was captured by a handheld video camera rather than one with a set base. As a result, the viewing quality was naturally compromised, but it gave the footage an indescribable sense of realism.

Qin Ye looked on in silence. He saw an elderly man forcibly held down by several gangsters as his treasured photos and old military uniforms were tossed down onto the first floor one by one. The elderly man was at least in his seventies, and he was roaring like a trapped beast. His hair had completely stood up on end, and he watched with bloodshot eyes as the treasured memories in his room were crushed bit by bit into powder before being incinerated into ashes.

"All of you deserve to die! You're all pieces of scum!!" He was hurling abuse like a madman before biting down onto the arm of one of the gangsters holding him down. The image swayed violently, and amid a blurred frenzy of action, the elderly man was kicked onto the ground while a series of enraged voices rang out.

"You wanna die, you old fuck?!"

"Oi! Don't hit him on the head! What if he dies?"

"You took the money, yet you refuse to move! Do you have a death wish?!"

One punch after another was thrown at the elderly man, forcing him to curl up into a ball on the ground with his arms over his own head. He was sobbing uncontrollably with tears streaming down his face as he implored in a hoarse voice, "Stop... Please..."

Qin Ye even caught a glimpse of Huang Xiaoqing. Her face was completely stained with blood, and she was begging desperately as she kowtowed onto the ground over and over again. However, her pleas were ignored as gangsters rushed into her house, carrying out a vintage record player from inside. Huang Xiaoqing immediately began to scream like a madwoman as she rushed toward the gangsters, but she was quickly felled by a vicious slap. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth as she leaned against the wall, watching in heartbreak and despair as her beloved record player was thrown down onto the ground below.

In the next instant, a boy with puffy scars all over his face rushed out and began lashing out wildly with a wooden stick. He had no technique to speak of, but his adrenalin and hysteria granted him the strength to temporarily force back the gangsters.

"What the fuck is that thing?!"

"Holy shit! What the hell's wrong with his face? Is that even a human?!"

"Is that her kid? That's fucking disgusting!"

"There's something wrong with both of them!"

The boy seemed to have some type of speech impediment, and he was only able to make a string of random sounds as he flailed his wooden stick about wildly. However, he was then sent flying by a kick to the chest. Huang Xiaoqing screamed before throwing her arms around the boy, and tears flowed down her face as she frantically asked, "Are you alright?"

However, there was no response.

The boy had fallen unconscious, and only the slight rising and falling of his chest indicated that he was still alive. Huang Xiaoqing was rooted to the spot for two seconds before jumping up like a lioness, lashing out at the gangsters before her without any regard for her own safety. "I'm going to kill you!!"

Qin Ye also saw a middle-aged man near the entrance. There was blood all over his face, and his head was pressed against the ground, while a sheet of paper was spread out before him.

"Are you signing or not?!" The same question was asked over and over again, and each time, it was accompanied by a vicious punch. Even through the screen, Qin Ye couldn't help but wince at the dull thuds ringing out from fist on flesh.

"We gave you a chance, but you didn't take it!"

"Sign the damn thing now!!"

Thud... Thud! 

One punch came after another, and right at this moment, the gangsters suddenly parted to reveal a figure that was accompanied by several of the relocation team's leaders.

Qin Ye immediately focused his gaze on the figure to find that it was a man wearing a dark grey business suit in the style of the 90s. He had his hands clasped behind his back, and his back was facing Qin Ye, so it was impossible for him to identify the figure. The shaky footage didn't capture his face, but it did capture his neck, and on his neck was a mole!

Furthermore, this figure was very familiar to Qin Ye.

He was convinced that he had seen this person before, but this was not the time to be digging through his own memories.

The man casually strode along as he asked, "What's going on? Why isn't the relocation complete yet? I'm the one overseeing this project, is 500,000 not enough for you to kick out these beggars?"

"Mr. Huang..." One of the leaders of the relocation team put on a fawning smile as he said, "The resistance is more fierce than we anticipated, and there are quite a few residents living here, so... can you please give us two more days?"

The man didn't say anything. He made his way over to the middle-aged man on the ground, and he chuckled, "If the resistance is fierce, then quell it with violence! Otherwise, why would I have hired all of you? Isn't that right, Uncle?"

Huang Desheng faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he lifted his bloodstained head to stare up blankly at the man. Three seconds later, his entire body began to tremble, and his eyes turned completely bloodshot as he thrashed and struggled with all his might. Sounds that could only be described as guttural snarls were coming out of his throat, and he was like an enraged lion who wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into the man before him!

In the next instant, the man stomped a foot down onto Huang Desheng's head, grinding it firmly into the ground. He then gestured for a megaphone, and one of the relocation team's leaders immediately handed him one. He brought the megaphone to his lips and declared, "Listen up, residents of the Huang Clan's village! Demolishing and relocating the Huang Clan's earthen building is a government order! This is national policy we're talking about here, so you have no choice in the matter! Your relocation fees have already been handed out, yet you're refusing to sign the contract. Do you realize that you'll be held culpable if you delay the implementation of national policies? All of you must vacate this building by today! This is the government's final ultimatum!"

"Fuck off!!!" As soon as his voice trailed off, a man on the third floor forced his head in between the railings as he roared with fury, "2,000... We only received 2,000 in relocation fees!! What kind of heartless scum do you have to be to do something like this?!"

His voice was like the spark that lit a fuse, and a woman with her head being pulled back by the hair turned to the man with an expression of unadulterated hatred as she spat through gritted teeth, "Where the hell are we supposed to live with just 2,000?! You deserve to die!! I can't believe a piece of scum like you comes from our Huang Clan's village!"

"You don't deserve to live!"

"You're a heartless piece of scum!! If we hadn't taken you like one of our own, you would already be dead on the side of some street!"

Enraged voices immediately rang out from all directions.

Qin Ye heaved a forlorn sigh. He never knew that these zombie-like residents were capable of such powerful emotions, that they were capable of being so much like... normal people.

However, he could understand their angst and fury...

The main thing that all evil ghosts clung onto were their obsessions from their living days. For the residents of the Huang Clan's village, there was no place for them in this vast world. They didn't want to and weren't willing to resign themselves to the fate of living as zombies for the rest of eternity. In fact, they didn't even know how they had become like this due to the restrictions on their memories. However, they still had their instincts, and their instincts told them that they couldn't leave this place.

This earthen building was their prison, but it was also their final sanctuary.

They were monsters that were renounced by the world, and they could only hide within this fragile sanctuary, looking out longingly at the world beyond the walls of the earthen building, waiting for one cycle of eternal suffering after another.

Not only had Bu Wantian turned them into the monsters they were today, he was even going to destroy their sanctuary, essentially driving them into the most desperate of corners.

As a result, the human emotions of the earthen building's residents were finally ignited. Qin Ye looked on as the horrific scenes of the forced relocation unfolded, and he was suddenly struggling to tell which ones were ghosts and which ones were human.

Ghosts would always be ghosts, but humans weren't necessarily humans.

A burst of static flashed across the screen, but the image didn't disappear. In the face of an entire village's fury and hatred, the man didn't even sway in the slightest.

Qin Ye shook his head with a wry smile.

This was a man who had dissected his own son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. He transformed an entire village into zombies for his own selfish ends; of course the weight of these words meant nothing to him.

The power of these residents' emotions wasn't enough to kill someone, but for those who still had a conscience, it would eat them up from the inside, making them unable to sleep at night and unable to live with themselves. However, to him, it was no different from a gentle breeze blowing past his ear...

"Continue..." His voice was completely devoid of emotion. "If the residents are opposed to relocation, then increase the severity of your measures. We must abide by the nation's policies and ensure that the reform of rural areas goes smoothly."

"Mr. Huang..." Even the leaders of the relocation team were growing rather hesitant. "Isn't this... going too far?"

The man smiled and made his way over to Huang Desheng. Their eyes met, and Huang Desheng's entire body was trembling as he roared with all his might, "Bu Wantian! You're a monster!! You don't deserve to live!!"

"What a lackluster vocabulary you have," Bu Wantian scoffed before gesturing to the gangsters around him. "Do all of you still have some energy left?"

"Of course..." The gangsters exchanged a few perplexed glances, unsure of where this was going.

"Alright, come and lift him up," Bu Wantian instructed, and several gangsters gathered to lift up Huang Desheng at his behest. Bu Wantian then made his way over to the railing. "Well? Get over here! What are you waiting for? Come on, yes, that's right, carry him over here... That's it."

The leaders of the relocation team were stunned by what they were seeing, and even they felt like things were escalating out of hand.

This was the fourth floor, and Huang Desheng was being held aloft by several gangsters outside the railings.

The leaders of these gangsters had always thought that they were sufficiently cruel, willing to harm children and the elderly without discrimination, but at this moment, they were suddenly struck by the feeling that they were still far too tame.

"Mr. Huang..." The leaders of the relocation team were growing quite anxious now. "Is, is this really a good idea?"

"Shut up," Bu Wantian replied without even turning his head. "Nothing's going to happen. If something goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility. You just do as I say, understandd?"

"Yes..."

Of course nothing was going to happen, the residents here were incapable of dying!

"Bu Wantian..." Huang Desheng's bloodstained body was being held aloft in mid-air as he turned to the man with pure hatred in his eyes. "You deserve the most painful of deaths!! When you go down to the 18th level of the abyss, I'll be there waiting for you!!"

Bu Wantian seemed to smile as he replied, "Don't be silly, none of us are capable of going there."

"Let me ask you this one final time: are you signing the contract or not?"

"Piss off!!!"

As soon as Huang Desheng's voice trailed off, the gangsters' hands slipped, and Huang Desheng plummeted down from the fourth floor with an incredulous expression.

One of the leaders of the relocation team drew a sharp breath before frantically rushing forward. "Have you gone insane?! We can't go around killing people like this!"

"It wasn't me!!" The gangsters were also completely terrified, and they shook their heads vigorously as they turned toward Bu Wantian with an aghast expression, as if they were appraising a monster. "It was him... He pried our hands away... He, he's so strong..."

The image on the television screen began to flicker, and finally, the audio and the image faded into static.

The room was very quiet.

Qin Ye calmly appraised the television screen, and he was finally beginning to understand why this man deserved the title of "irredeemably heinous".

He hadn't brought about the downfall of nations, nor was he responsible for the deaths of countless people like Dong Zhuo when he set fire to the entirety of Luoyang.

However, in terms of the distortion of one's humanity, in terms of the pure "evil", Bu Wantian was on a more extreme level than even the two daolords!

At the very least, the two daolords had weighed up their options before making the choice that benefitted them the most, but that wasn't the case for Bu Wantian.

All of his actions stemmed from the purest and most fundamental form of evil, it was the darkest side of human nature.

"You really do deserve to die..."