Yama Rising

Chapter 528: Hell\'s Legacy (1)

They lay on the deck of the boat, resting for the next thirty minutes, until the lotus leaves hanging overhead grew sparser and sparser, and a small island appeared in view over the horizon.

“This will be your home for the next few months. Don’t even think of taking a step out of this place until you’ve learnt all that you need to.” Xu Yangyi spoke placidly, “You can leave the affairs of Hell to the Harken for now. He’ll be able to do a far better job than you for now.”

The island ahead wasn’t large, but there was clearly a magnificent building situated on it, surrounded by forests of green bamboo, as well as an ancient peach tree whose blossoms carpeted the ground below. The entire place looked almost as though it was paradise.

That said, Qin Ye had also discovered that his ire for the Second King Yanluo had diminished quite substantially.

The juxtaposition of Xu Yangyi’s sloppy appearances and unorthodox methods against the aura of nobility and dignified manner of conduct made him an interesting character to behold. More than anything, Xu Yangyi felt like just any other human being.

“No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like the appropriate archetype to be succeeding the throne as the King Yanluo of Hell.”

“The Harken told me that you were tricked into it by your predecessor. You didn’t have any choice, did you?”

Awkward silence.

“You’d best worry about yourself.” He grabbed Qin Ye’s shoulders and vanished from the boat, “It’s not that easy getting through Hell’s Legacy.”

“That’s just for show, isn’t it? I can tell that you’re hardly proficient at performing tea ceremonies. Even the manner in which you’re conducting yourself isn’t quite suitable for the circumstances!” Qin Ye scrutinized every move that Xu Yangyi was making as he performed the tea ceremony. As soon as he heard Qin Ye’s comments, Xu Yangyi’s hands trembled, and he nearly splashed boiling hot tea directly onto Qin Ye’s face.

Xu Yangyi fervently repressed the murderous intent in his heart as he finished performing the tea ceremony, filled up two teacups, and gingerly set them onto the table. Then, he finally looked up, “Well then, let’s begin.”

“You probably didn’t know this, but the mortal realm had already noticed you even before I decided to steer your future with the power of Fate--... What are you doing?”

Endure…

How in the world did Arthis manage to put up with this on a daily basis?

Clang!

Hang on a minute… I thought we’d got off to a pretty good start back there… I’m just testing my boundaries over here. How could your bottom line be so shallow…

“Subscription?” Xu Yangyi sipped his tea and raised an eyebrow as he glared at Qin Ye.

“QQ?”

Qin-coward-Ye shuddered violently.

Seeing that Qin Ye was no longer playing a fool, Xu Yangyi retracted the smile on his face, “Practically every relic and monuments in the museums that purport to depict some record of the King Yanluo of Hell have been replaced with your name or your likeness.”

“It’s still early days. Give it a few months, and all Buddhists, Taoists, and even the headquarters of the seven underworldly craftsmen would discover for the very first time that the King Yanluo of Hell actually has a name.”

“Partly.” Xu Yangyi mused, “It’s also caused in part by the fact that all previous King Yanluos of Hell have always been powerful entities that were at least of the level of a Yama-King. Since that was the case, they were easily able to use their own power to suppress all information pertaining to their identity, such that none of their details or particulars would be disclosed to the rest of the world. But you, on the other hand, are the weakest piece of--... cough… the weakest King Yanluo to ever succeed the throne in Hell. There’s simply no way you can embargo the natural flow of information. This is one of the reasons why various signs have started to appear in the mortal realm some time ago.”

“This is how it all begins - with the manifestation of your identity through Cui Jue’s Law of Yin-Yang Coaction.” Xu Yangyi coughed softly as he continued, “Why do you think that the government in the mortal realm would make a move against you, despite being aware of the possibility that you could very well be the King Yanluo of Hell?”

“I can understand their actions.” Qin Ye gulped down his tea as he consolidated his thoughts, “As the government, my first priority would be to maintain stability in my citizens. Sure, there was a possibility that I could be the King Yanluo of Hell, but the prospects of something like this is simply too much for the government to deal with. What they want is an Emissary of Hell that they can grasp in the palm of their hand, and not a king of the underworld who can come and go from the mortal realm with impunity.”

Why should the government let Qin Ye off the hook just because his name appeared right after the words ‘King Yanluo of Hell’? Besides, it might have been nothing more than a coincidence that they bore the same name.

They needed answers!

Therefore, the government had adopted an active approach in seeking out answers. They wouldn’t have hurt Qin Ye in any way, but there was simply no way they would allow Qin Ye to run about with impunity without furnishing them some answers. This was the best position to take in the circumstances. The government shouldered the weight of over one billion lives on their shoulders, and there was clearly no room for any errors.

Xu Yangyi looked Qin Ye straight in the eyes, “And that’s faith.”

But Xu Yangyi didn’t immediately explain everything to Qin Ye. Instead, he asked, “What is faith? Is it merely superstition?”

“And if we go beyond the technical stuff?”

“Truth be told, I’ve always thought that the loss of faith was never a good thing. Not everything qualifies as superstition, even though they might admittedly be difficult to distinguish. Superstition is a label that should only be reserved for situations where one allows his belief to get an excessive foothold in his heart. If we craft it any wider than that, I’m afraid that many other things would end up falling within the definition of superstition, including our cultures, our fantasy novels, and even certain religions that have stood strong against the test of time. In fact, there are times when I even think that societies first formed as a result of superstitions.”

Xu Yangyi hadn’t expected Qin Ye to say so much. He raised an eyebrow and nodded with exclamation, “Very pertinent. Then, between faith and superstition, which do you think is the more important of the two?”

This was a question that was far too philosophical for his consideration right now. Since Xu Yangyi had asked it, then he naturally had an answer for it.

Qin Ye gasped, “It’s him…”

Qin Ye cleared his throat, and danced wildly on the thin ice he’d previously been treading on, “Love~~ even in death~~, do it wholeheartedly or not at all… At the end of the universe~~ Love~~ goes~~ on!!!”

At once, a massive sword plunged three inches into the ground, thrumming with power.

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1. This is a Chinese rock song known as <<死了都要爱>> You can watch it on youtube at this link.