Yama Rising

Yu Guohui was taken aback.

He didn’t say anything immediately. Instead, he slowly set down the teacup in his hands and adjusted his glasses, before speaking once more, “Little Qin… you have to appreciate that everything you say today will be recorded within the SRC’s archives - in video form.”

Qin Ye nodded deeply, all the while maintaining eye contact with Yu Guohui.

Seconds later, Yu Guohui nodded slightly with a somber expression, “Please go on, then.”

“Outrageous!” There were five people watching the live camera footage on the first floor surveillance room, and the three men in white lab coats immediately shot to their feet anxiously.

Lin Han felt like someone was constantly watching him. It was a strange feeling - not a strong one, but he simply felt uneasy and exposed under the mysterious watchful gaze. He coughed lightly as he jolted back to his senses, “What’s going on? What happened?”

“S9527… simply… doesn’t know his boundaries!” One of the men in white lab coats with a chiseled face exploded as he paced around the room anxiously, “Old Man Yu has already been so kind to remind him that everything he says today will be recorded in the SRC’s files, and yet he insists that he still has his own perspective of the matter?! It’s… over. Everything is over!”

Lin Han scratched his head, “What do you mean?”

Su Feng answered his question, “He means literally what he’s just said. Old Man Yu had only asked out of politeness. It’s natural for an eye witness to the incident to have his own view. But what he shouldn’t have done… is to speak his mind in this very place.”

“Who’s the person he’s speaking to? It’s none other than the most renowned Yin spirit scholar across all of Cathay. Qin Ye has resolved the conundrum plaguing his research topic. And that was precisely why he had invited Qin Ye to this place to record his report on video - he had wanted to lend Qin Ye a hand and increase his visibility. After all, given Old Man Yu’s stature, these video reports would be transmitted straight to the top management of the entire organization. In other words, this is the best opportunity for Qin Ye to make an impression with all the right people…”

Lin Han still didn’t understand, “Wouldn’t discussing his perspective deepen the impression?”

Su Feng shook his head, “No. How could his perspective possibly hold a candle to the SRC’s? Something like this would be tantamount to an amateur displaying his skills in front of true subject matter experts. What would the top management think when he makes a mistake? There’s no need to guess; this is what they would say - this kid isn’t too bad, but he thinks way too highly of himself. As soon as they harbour such an assessment of him, his potential would be substantially curtailed.”

“First impressions are things that sink their roots deep in the hearts of people. It may not seem like much on any other day, but as soon as Qin Ye’s report is submitted to the top management again, it would instantly jog their latent memory of their first impressions of Qin Ye. Unless…”

He glanced meaningfully at the screen, while Lin Han muttered softly, “Unless… he speaks about something that is completely novel and eye-opening?”

Su Feng nodded, and then shook his head again.

“Talk is cheap.” He sighed, “SRC… is Cathay’s bastion of theory and intelligence that directly supports the war against Yin spirits. To amaze them with new insight… is something that is difficult, difficult, and difficult.”

Second floor.

“Then, please allow me to begin.” Qin Ye knew exactly when to lay low, and when to shine radiantly like a gleaming sword. In that regard, he knew that the amount he had just shared with the chieftain was hardly sufficient to leave a lasting impression.

He was completely oblivious to the anxiety of those watching him from the first floor. That said, the one thing he was certain of was the fact that Arthis possessed sufficient insights and knowledge to put each and every single one of them to shame!

He drew a deep breath, leaned forward slightly, and began with a deep, profound voice, “My view is that… there are several types of Yin spirits, and each of them have differing characteristics and pose different levels of threat to all of us!”

Yu Guohui’s eyes darkened slightly, and his heart fell with some measure of disappointment.

The video recording was still rolling, and it was too late to salvage the situation. He had initially hoped for Qin Ye to bring up a whole new insight, but… the present situation was well within his expectations.

Others might not be aware of the system that they had. But as an insider, he knew that all relevant videos were to be personally perused in its entirety by the Judge-class experts from both the SRC as well as the Special Investigations Department.

His hope now was that others might be inspired and glean a new insight from what Qin Ye had mentioned.

Having noticed the awkward silence in the room, Qin Ye smiled faintly, “Professor Yu, what I’m saying is… that the dangers of this concern might be far beyond your imagination.”

“For instance?”

“For instance… the nightmare spirit.”

As soon as Qin Ye mentioned these words, Yu Guohui’s originally darkened eyes were instantly filled once more with passion and excitement. The first thing he did was to search through the knowledge databases in his mind for such a term of reference.

Nothing…

Nothing! And nothing!

It was a completely fresh term of reference!

“Is this… something coined by you?” He asked with disbelief.

Qin Ye was far too young.

“... Apologies. I’m not suspicious of you. Rather, the classification of any Yin spirit is something that is only done after accumulating sufficient information in a case file and testing the necessary hypotheses. In other words, one would have to dissect through the presumptions and make the necessary findings and proof. At your age…” He deliberately left his sentence hanging.

At eighteen, how much would you have been through in life?

Qin Ye smiled.

What was the best way to act as a lapdog?

Naturally, it was to lick the person until he shoots… No! It was to lick a person in a manner which comforts him best; it was to lick a person where he desired it most.

And when it came to scholars of academia, they naturally stood and fell by knowledge and insight.

You don’t know?

Sorry, I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about the entire SRC… cough… Next to Hell’s wealth of knowledge accumulated over a span of thousands of years, the SRC knows nothing about Yin spirits at all!

The hook, line and sinker had all been cast…

“There is one thing that I hadn’t mentioned to Professor Yu earlier - I had in fact asked the last Yin spirit in this incident of her origin.” He continued softly, “This was how I’d learnt that the last female Yin spirit was in fact an ancestor to Song Jiafang. She was pregnant when she was beaten to death in the cathouse, and it was the lingering grievances in her heart that caused her to become an evil ghost later on.”

“I’ve got a wild hypothesis.” He looked straight into Yu Guohui’s glazed-over eyes, “What if… the bloodline of the Yin spirit could be concealed and transmitted through a person’s lineage?”

That’s right. Qin Ye had earlier left out the requisite conditions to trigger the Great Intergenerational Heredity.

Licking… must be done slowly, shouldn’t it? It wouldn’t feel good if there weren’t peaks and troughs before the climax after all.

Old Man Yu’s eyes immediately snapped to attention and shifted in his seat - he had even almost stood up abruptly!

What a novel idea!

Yin spirit and science were two disciplines which the SRC had been trying to integrate for years on end. For instance, they had been doing their best to develop weapons and equipment that may be used specifically against Yin spirits. The crossbows used earlier in the City of Salvation was something that had been developed by them. But that said… not even the SRC had begun to consider the possibility of such intricate relationships between Yin spirits and humans!

The spirit… is something that arises after death…

Since that’s the case… why can’t the spirit be hidden within a person’s body?

“DNA… soul… Yin spirit…” Old Man Yu closed his eyes, and his mind began to whirr at top speed. Even his face grew slightly red.

He’s getting there…

Back on the first floor, the men dressed in white lab coats stared at the screen, completely aghast with their mouths wide open.

“What’s going on?” Lin Han and Su Feng tugged at the arms of the three men in white coats uneasily, “Has he said something wrong?”

“No…” One of the men in white lab coats turned around. His body trembled slightly, and his eyes were filled with a deep, abstruse gaze, as though complex profundities and mysteries had just been unraveled to him, “He… he’s just said something absolutely remarkable…”

Another man in a white lab coat gasped, “This statement alone… is sufficient to set him apart from the rest of the competition!”

Lin Han and Su Feng exchanged a peculiar look, and Su Feng muttered under his breath, “Like I’d mentioned earlier, if Qin Ye sheds new light or brings new insight to the table, then… these efforts would immediately chart a smooth career path for him in future.”

“This is a double edged sword. Remaining silent and dancing to Old Man Yu’s tune would be the most neutral option. But… he chose to place himself in the spotlight in the video to be submitted to the top management. If he successfully brings new insight to them… he would become an existence of prominence that walks among men such as Zhou Xianlong.”

He looked at Lin Han with a somber expression, “He would no longer be merely an instructor. Instead… he would be one of the core members of Cathay’s forces leading the charge against the supernatural forces of the world. Brother Lin, we’ve been in the industry for almost twenty years now. Yet after all these years, have we ever seen someone who’s climbed the ladder at such unbelievable speeds? We’re talking about someone who is even making ripples among the top brass!”

This was tantamount to the governor of a county ranking among the top ten forces within Cathay merely days after the founding of the county itself. His first impression was like a deep footprint that profoundly leaves its mark in the minds of the top brass.

It might seem pointless now. But it would immediately come in hand as soon as Qin Ye starts running for the position of a faculty professor, or perhaps even… the position of the vice principal!

“Ehh? Little Qin? I’ve seen his docket. He’s incredibly insightful. A trailblazer of his times.” “Oh, Little Qin is running for vice principal? I recall the video account he’s made back then. It was refreshing. Pretty good.”

As soon as a Judge-class expert speaks of such words, the elections campaign would almost be a foregone conclusion.

The final man wearing a lab coat rubbed his temples gently. Likewise, his face was also slightly flushed, “Research is sometimes all about a moment of brilliance - just like Newton and his apple. And tonight… I’ve just seen the light!”

The discussions on the first floor were kept within the first floor. Back on the second floor, Professor Yu’s smile had already faded away, and he gazed straight at Qin Ye’s eyes, “That is an astute hypothesis.”

“Research topics are formulated upon 1% inspiration, 49% conjectures and postulations, and 50% hard work.”

“And what you’ve just spoken of earlier is the rarest, most precious 1%!”

The three men in lab coats on the first floor gasped in unison.

Those who were familiar with Professor Yu knew that such words of praise was something that might not be heard even once in span of three full years.

Old Man Yu’s cup of tea had already turned cold by now. The Hunter-class expert from earlier walked in and asked softly, “Professor Yu, do you need…”

“No.” Yu Guohui leaned back on his chair, “Nobody comes back in without my instructions. Little Qin, let’s continue.”

Now that’s what I call a good lick.

Qin Ye began to go into the details, “When I was in the ‘Lost Tracks’ hunting zone earlier, I learnt that the Yin spirit was in fact Song Jiafang’s ancestor, otherwise commonly known as her ancestral spirit. If not for the fact that she was hidden in Song Jiafang’s bloodline, there’s simply no way she could have surfaced right there and then. Therefore, I’ve got a few conjectures.”

“One. It’s likely that these Yin spirits require a matriarch to become a ghost while she was still alive as a human being. Furthermore, the matriarch must be pregnant with her own flesh and blood before she transforms into a ghost.”

“Two. The ghastly bloodline is only triggered upon certain specific conditions. I’ve given this phenomenon the name - the Great Intergenerational Heredity.”

“The Great Intergenerational Heredity…” Yu Guohui savoured these words and nodded his head with approbation, “How apt.”

Qin Ye reeled in the hook more and more, “I’m certain that you’re already aware of just how unique the ghost of the Great Intergenerational Heredity is. By my postulation, the incredibly onerous confluence of conditions required for the formation of such a ghost naturally means that their occurrence would only be a rate of zero-point-zero-something percent of the entire population of Yin spirits. That said, these Yin spirits are far more threatening than the ordinary hunting zones that we’ve encountered!”

Yu Guohui nodded slightly. This was in line with his deductions as well. Unfortunately, his deductions had not been as comprehensive as Qin Ye’s.

The more he listened to Qin Ye, the more he felt vindicated of his own conjectures and postulations. This was validation through the process of corroboration and proof. Even though Qin Ye wasn’t speaking of these things to placate him, it nevertheless made him feel incredible.

It was hard to find a soulmate like that.

I can’t believe that I’m actually gleaning deeper insights through the report of an eighteen year old with respect to his encounter with a special hunting zone! Old Man Yu was secretly startled, but he quickly raised his spirits and continued listening intently.

Qin Ye spoke freely, “And it was also because of this that I was reminded of the nightmare spirit.”

He gazed intently at Yu Guohui, “Professor Yu, I’m almost certain that there are some extremely special existences among the world of Yin spirits. These existences come about incredibly rarely. But when they do, their might and threat level to us go well beyond that of ordinary Yin spirits! I sincerely suggest the SRC and the Special Investigations Department to proceed with caution. The nightmare spirit, for instance, is one of the Yin spirits that must be destroyed as soon as they appear!”

“And this is because… they can reach the incarnate revenant level in an astonishingly short span of three years’ time!”

Yu Guohui’s eyes gleamed brightly as he locked eyes with Qin Ye. Seconds later, he muttered, “Incarnate revenant?”

“Judge-class spirits.” Qin Ye whispered in a chilling voice, “While other hunting zones are still floundering about like the new spirits they are, these spirits… can already summon the wind and the rain, and cover an entire province in their reign of terror!”