Yama Rising

Qin Ye adjusted his clothes in front of the mirror. Mm… perfect.

His tongue hung out of his mouth in a grand manner. His pupils were white, his irises were black, and his flowing white hair was combed back neatly… No matter how he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he couldn’t help but feel an innate sense of pride at being one of the most beautiful Hellguards that existed right now…

He wanted everything to be flawless at the upcoming event.

Arthis didn’t understand why, nor did he bother explaining it to her. Thus, he was probably the only one who understood the true significance of this event - that is, to establish the worldview of the Yin spirits in Hell.

After all, many of the Yin spirits around might still think that Hell is no different from the mortal realm. It is only by summoning an ancient army, inducting the Book of Life and Death to Hell, and expanding Hell’s realm altogether, that he would finally be able to impress upon everyone that whilst similar to the mortal realm, Hell was a completely different place altogether.

There was still going to be the same economic, society, culture and humanities that were seen in the mortal realm. However, it also had a completely different side to things, with the mix of Yin energy, magic arts, and Yin soldiers. The accentuation of the differences is the only way to help all Yin spirits around thoroughly recognize that they are dead, and that they are currently living in a different world with different rules. This was the only way to pave the road ahead for education, research and a completely different and more suitable, open perspective. For instance, their minds would no longer be bound by the constraints of electricity, wind energy and fuel, and they would instead expand their thoughts to incorporate considerations of Yin energy, and even… life and death.

I sincerely believe that what is to come will leave a lasting impression on every single Yin spirit.

“Let’s go.” With that, he headed out without any hesitation, to the great clamor accompanying the gathering of Yin spirits.

…………………………………………………………….

Yin Xiangnan was a high school student.

One who didn’t have much luck.

He died trying to save an old lady who was crossing the road. Whenever he looked back at it, he couldn’t help but feel like giving himself two tight slap across the cheeks - The old lady should’ve known her limits! What was she doing crossing the road when the lights were red against her? Why did you even bother attempting to save her? You deserve to be hit by the oncoming vehicle!

Unfortunately, complaining was useless, because he was now in a mystical place in his afterlife.

It should have been a glorious underworld, but the present location he was in was pathetically small. The only building that stood across the lands was Hell’s Gate. However, he wasn’t a troublemaker. Even though his days in the afterlife were fraught with boredom, it was still peaceful nonetheless. At least… until a demonic young man showed up one day.

The young man’s face was filled with youthfulness, and it was evident that the young man was probably no more than a year or two older than him. But… that very young man slaughtered hundreds of people with a simple sweep of his hands! It was so frightening that Yin Xiangnan cowered under a tree, not daring to move a single muscle at all.

Incidentally, Yin Xiangnan could be considered one of the first Yin spirits of the new Hell.

After that incident, life returned to its usual, boring and uneventful state. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before a second group of Yin spirits arrived in Hell. There weren’t computers or cellphones, and the entire realm was no more than five kilometers square in size. No matter how socially inept and awkward one was, they would have no choice but to learn to socialize and interact with others. After all, there was nothing else they could do to while their time away.

They didn’t need food or drinks, nor did they have to rest at night. Their bodies were filled with energy. In fact, there was a period of time that he felt like he was going crazy with boredom, almost as though he were going to turn into a zombie from lethargy. His days were devoid of any activities of “life” altogether!

And it was precisely then that Qin Gardens Phase One was announced.

Ripples of excitement were seen in Hell for the first time.

That was when they first learnt that the old Hell had collapsed.

That was when they first learnt that the young man was the man in charge of raising the new Hell.

That was also when they first realized that the young man was working and planning incredibly hard to redevelop the new Hell.

The dark clouds over their bleak future appeared to shift away at that moment, allowing a ray of hope to peek through. At that point, it didn’t matter what it was - all they wanted was something to do! Yin Xiangnan immediately signed up to be a part of Yin Construction. Unfortunately, his application was dismissed.

And then… the sight that followed wasn’t pretty at all.

There were only a few construction machines and equipment scattered across sprawling lands, and not more than a hundred Yin spirits were involved with the construction. To make matters worse, they worked on a rotation basis. The despairing sight caused everyone’s newfound enthusiasm to fizzle out quickly. Yin spirits began to gather under trees and idle about once more, chatting with others and talking about everything from their birth to their death just so that they could kill time. Yin Xiangnan felt numb and dazed, and completely jaded at the turn of events.

And it was precisely then that a new wave of grievances and complaints ravaged through Hell.

One would know despair if they didn’t know hope in the first place. Unfortunately, the new Hell had given its citizens hope, only to dash it to the rocks in the very next instant.

Over the next few days, he noticed that the disgruntled Yin spirits appeared to have increasing amounts of Yin energy pouring out of their seven apertures. Yin Xiangnan was young. Having twice witnessed Qin Ye mercilessly disposing of all opposition in Hell, he didn’t even dare to express a single word of complaint on his end. Push came to shove, and he witnessed the next great uprising of Hell in the form of a Yin spirit riot, only to be instantly quashed by the young man with what appeared to be a magic weapon. His reverence for Hell reached new heights in that instant.

Unfortunately, reverence didn’t do anything to kill his boredom.

His days of idleness continued, and he wandered around Hell with a glazed look over his eyes, devoid of any ambition, and with no end in sight. It was no different from an invisible wall that kept closing in on him, stifling his nerves and all of his senses. The monotony of life came to a head, and his mind began to wander to the regrets and grievances of life - If I’d known that the afterlife was like this…

I would have fought to live.

I wouldn’t have died.

I didn’t want to die!

Life isn’t fair!

Why isn’t the brave rewarded for their courageous and valiant acts?

There wasn’t anything to hope for, nor anything to desire and long for. By then, even the slightest changes in Hell would make his blood boil with excitement. Life was inane and filled with overwhelming lethargy, until one day, when all of the Yin spirits suddenly looked to the sky with great surprise. A dark hole appeared in the midst of roiling black clouds in the sky, from which dozens of containers came crashing down in an instant.

A smile curled up the corner of his lips. He could still vividly recall the atmosphere around him that fateful day, when the containers opened up, revealing its contents that were filled with books, footballs, basketballs, chess sets, table-tennis equipment, and a whole host of other sports equipment and recreational amenities. Yin Xiangnan couldn’t help but shed a tear of joy.

He didn’t bawl. Rather, he simply felt something tugging heavily on his heartstrings, almost as though his feelings over the last few months had been heard and validated, and tears simply kept flowing from his eyes. Furthermore, he wasn’t the only one who had reacted that way that very day.

Countless Yin spirits watched as container after container fell to the ground and opened up, revealing its contents. Their surroundings were filled with silence, save for the soft symphony of ragged breaths, sighs of relief, and whimpers of joy, which soon burgeoned into an earth-shattering cacophony of screams, cheers and shouts of elation! It was spontaneous and natural.

Perhaps the living might find it difficult to appreciate just how much the appearance of these things meant to the Yin spirits of Hell.

But to the citizens of Hell who walk the path of the dead, the appearance of these amenities were like a lifeline to them - a breath of fresh air when they needed it most!

Everything was now different!

That fateful day one month ago was like a point of inflexion from which a series of earth-shattering changes occurred!

The entire Hell was now buzzing with activity. Everyone was talking about Lord Qin, and not with a complaining attitude, but with a smile on their faces and heartfelt affirmation. In fact, ever since the last great assembly of Hell a month ago, everyone had been eagerly anticipating the induction ceremony of the first divine artifact of Hell!

I… feel alive again.

This was a thought that had only occurred to him since a month ago. His body felt as though it had been revitalized with energy. Hope was back in sight. When he heard Lord Qin speaking of the policies to be rolled out in the near future, his heart thumped wildly, and he even subconsciously broke out into an applause of great celebration!

He didn't abandon us!

Life has been difficult, but Hell's government is doing everything they can to improve our quality of life! We… have hope yet! The future ahead of us is incomparably bright!

The citizens could all see for themselves the great transformation Hell was going through over the past one month. A good number of Yin spirits signed up to contribute to Hell’s development in some way or other. Having interacted with the Yin spirits around him for the past year or so, Yin Xiangnan naturally had his ear close to the ground in these matters. One of his acquaintances, Mr Zhao used to be a senior locksmith back when he was alive. He applied to join a factory for building materials, and was hired on the spot as a unit director.

He knew of a lady who had died of leukemia. That lady had applied to join a packaging company in Hell, and was also hired on the spot. She was currently waiting for the production line to be fully established so that she could commence her work.

He also knew of another sorrowful looking middle-aged man who had signed up with the union of factor owners. I guess he must have been rather affluent while he was still alive… how nice…

Most of the Yin spirits were still chatting under the trees right now, but the atmosphere of their interactions were clearly different from before. Approximately 50% of all Yin spirits had signed up to be a part of Yin Construction, and there were workers working the ground all the time. Furthermore, there seemed to be a sudden lack of manpower throughout Hell, and it was now a common sight to see promoters approaching groups of Yin spirits chatting under the trees in an attempt to solicit employees to their own organizations. There would even be the occasional quarrel breaking out between the promoters and the construction workers from time to time.

Additionally, most of the conversation now went along the lines of - “Which department did you join?” “You’ve been selected to join the government? You’ll be a civil servant! Not bad!” “Hey, you there, wanna join us for soccer? It doesn’t matter if you don’t know us. We can still play on the same team! Do you have anyone else you can ask?” “Old Zhao, how about a game of chess? And then, we’ll pop over to the factory this afternoon to see if they’ve got more application forms available.”

Hell had undergone a complete overhaul, and it was now filled with bubbling enthusiasm.

Thus, he was more excited about the induction ceremony today than ever, so much so that he couldn’t even sleep properly at night!

He was brimming with excitement to see what else Hell had to offer.

He was brimming with excitement to see what else he could look forward to.

The current Hell was like a mystical box that filled him with layers upon layers of great expectations. He couldn’t wait to get to the final layer of the box, to see if the truth that lay hidden within… was something truly unimaginable.

“Little Yin?” As soon as he turned the corner, he bumped into two old men in the middle of a game of chess, “Are you going to the ceremony?”

“Yes I am, Uncle Wang.” Yin Xiangnan smiled, “Have you managed to secure a job for yourself?”

“Nearly.” Uncle Wang smiled back, “What time is it now anyway? Isn’t it a little bit too early for the ceremony?”

“I’m just heading there early to get a good spot.” Yin Xiangnan chuckled as he scuttled off towards Hell’s Gate.

However, the closer he drew, the more he realized something was wrong, and he suddenly began to sprint to Hell’s Gate as quickly as he could.

Yin spirits… Yin spirits were everywhere!

Hell’s Gate was now closed, and there was a huge mirror set right in front of the gate acting like a clock. The divine artifact induction ceremony was scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. It was currently only 8 a.m., and yet he could see that the open space in front of Hell’s Gate was already packed full of Yin spirits!

What the hell?!

How early are these people?!

He continued to run forward for a few hundred meters, until he was soon blocked by the Yin spirits converging around him. Then, he found himself wedged tightly between a crowd of jostling Yin spirits, where he could do no more than to move forward slowly, inch by inch.

He was caught in the midst of a sea of ghosts.

There was now a sprawling sea of Yin spirits around him, and there were even more who were pouring in from every direction at this moment. How large was the space in front of Hell’s Gate? How could it possibly accommodate a hundred thousand spectators? It was practically worse than watching a New Year’s Eve celebration up close back in the mortal realm!

They were packed so tightly like sardines that it was impossible to move about. If not for the fact that everyone present were Yin spirits, there would most certainly have been a stampede, and quite possibly injuries or even death. Yin Xiangnan couldn’t help but grumble, “What the heck… is this really necessary?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” A bespectacled young spirit beside him smiled as he responded, “This is the first citizens’ event of Hell, almost akin to a spring festival gala! It’s naturally going to attract a massive crowd!”

The smile on his face was one filled with satisfaction and abundance.

“But, even then, would that really justify the attendance of practically every citizen of Hell?” Yin Xiangnan glanced back at the throng of Yin spirits that were still pouring towards Hell’s Gate from every direction, and he couldn’t help but gulp nervously.

The young spirit sighed with great emotion, “If this had happened more than a month ago, perhaps only a third of the Yin spirits in Hell would be in attendance… But if an approval rating poll were carried out right now, I dare say that Lord Qin would have at least 95% approval, if not 100% altogether! There’s no doubt that he would have something great hidden in store for us! Do you think anyone would want to miss out on that?”

Yin Xiangnan sighed. I guess I’ve got no other choice but to suffer like the rest of the Yin spirits around.

But there’s just too many Yin spirits… It was only 9.30 a.m., and there was already a gathering of a hundred thousand Yin spirits right outside Hell’s Gate like a great black tide. Oda Nobunaga and his Umamawari horse guards were dressed in their full battle armor, maintaining security in the area. 9.40 a.m… 9.50 a.m… Then, as the clock struck ten, the entire Hell went silent.

Everyone was abuzz with excitement just a moment ago, and yet completely silent the very next second. Yin Xiangnan looked at the crowd around him with great surprise. A large number of them still appeared to be screaming at the top of their voices and chattering with one another, but there was no sound. Everything appeared to be muted in an instant. Very soon, everyone turned to look at Hell’s Gate with a burning gaze in their eyes.

Then, a cool horn sounded amidst the silence, followed quickly by the sound of drums and sornas as a line of ghostly women dressed in ancient Tang costumes drifted right out of Hell’s Gate.

Yin Xiangnan gasped and watched with bated breath.

No introduction was needed at all. Everyone instantly knew that the divine artifact induction ceremony had just begun!