Yama Rising

Arthis chuckled coldly, “Sure, your harem can include the girls with nice smiles, ice queens, and intelligent girls, but… why haven’t you considered asking me along either? Instead, one single look at a female ghost that is barely eye catching, and you immediately harbour thoughts of letting her into your harem. On the other hand, you’ve had such a national beauty queen living by your side for the past few months, yet you’ve completely turned a blind eye to my existence just like that?!”

Qin Ye was completely speechless. Finally, he tossed his hands into the air and conceded, “Alright… then esteemed national beauty queen, revered Arakshasa, are you willing to be a part of the new King Yanluo’s harem? In exchange, you’ll be bestowed a nanny and a plot land of five square kilometers as part of the betrothal gift…”

“Get lost.” Arthis barked back before he could even finish speaking. The paper crane even pointed one of her tiny wings straight towards the door.

That’s right.

That’s the feeling.

The script is now back on track.

Qin Ye’s expressions contorted slightly, “Wait… if you’ve been reluctant all this while, then why did you have to ask such things of me in the first place?!”

The paper crane languidly preened her wings with her beak, “You don’t understand, this has to do with a woman’s pride.”

Ahh… women…

“Excuse me.” Just then, a charming voice with a beautiful ring to it echoed softly, “Are you… an Emissary of Hell?”

The duo turned their heads in unison and saw that the Yin spirit had already opened her eyes.

She curtseyed softly like a beautiful golden lotus, and then sashayed before Qin Ye with a soothing smile on her face, “I died in the Republic of Cathay era[1]. May I know… what era it is now?”

“It’s…” Qin Ye was just about to answer when his face suddenly froze in shock.

He looked down stiffly like a machine, only to notice that a hand had found its way between his legs, where his unnameable parts were located!

It was a pale-looking hand of a Yin spirit.

Bloody hell… this… this opening statement… is something that I’d never expected…

The Yin spirit recoiled with a slight shock with her first grasp. She looked at Qin Ye, turned her attention back to her own hand, and then smiled sweetly, “Dear me… I couldn’t tell at all… you truly are well-endowed…”

Qin Ye wrested himself free from the female ghost’s grasp. He wasn’t ashamed. After all, the concept of shame was something that was far too foreign to him.

It was simply cold…

It was truly cold… What should have thoroughly ignited his passion had instead caused him to shrink back due to the icy ghost’s hands.

Why… why is it that all the men around me are more good-looking than the other, whether the pretty boy, Classmate Wang Chenghao, or that stupid buffoon, Comrade Lin Han… And why can’t the women around me be any more normal than the others? It’s either Arthis and her long tongue that hangs to the ground, or this Republic of Cathay lady who would freeze his appendage at the slightest touch…

If… if things continue like that… I might not be able to keep the door open any longer…

The room was suddenly filled with an awkward silence.

The female ghost looked mischievously at her illusory hand, as though enjoying the lingering feeling of warmth on it. Her brows were sharp and striking, and incredibly seductive. She glanced at Qin Ye with her peach blossom eyes, sending waves of electricity shooting through the air.

Qin Ye hadn’t seen such an unreserved woman for a long time now. Life in the mortal realm had been tough for him, and he even had to do all he could to hide his presence and remain invisible to the rest of the world. In short, it was the first time he had encountered such a passionate and fiery yet fleeting and freezing moment.

And it was also slightly embarrassing…

In that instant, the man and the ghost stared at each other without a single word.

“About that… what should I do now?” He coughed dryly.

“Ask her about her background.” Arthis responded languidly.

But before he could even ask his question, the female ghost suddenly stared at the paper crane in disbelief, and she collapsed to her knees as her entire body trembled violently.

“Esteemed heavenly officer, please pardon my ignorance. I wasn’t aware that there was another esteemed presence in the room. Please forgive my callous disposition earlier.”

Qin Ye stared at her in disbelief - What’s that supposed to mean? So, you can flirt with me just because of my big lump?

I’m warning you, don’t you dare act inappropriately with Soul Hunters!

“Mm.” Arthis responded casually as she flapped her wings at Qin Ye. Her intentions were obvious - Go on, then? Do you expect me to do everything? You’re a village chief! Can’t you display a commensurate amount of initiative and self-consciousness?

I’ll endure this… Qin Ye drew a deep breath, took two steps forward. Then with a light cough and a simple fist-and-palm salute, “Milady…”

“Bloody hell!!” Arthis flew up and slapped him with a wing as she barked resentfully, “Tch… men. Move aside!”

Qin Ye slipped to the side obsequiously.

This wasn’t entirely Qin Ye’s fault. After all, he had been brought up with an eye for quality. This… this was simply the natural reaction of a Cicerone of the Great Demons having seen an exquisite beauty…

The female ghost cowered with fear and lowered her head as Arthis’ tiny body flew up into the air. Seconds later, Arthis asked condescendingly, “You must have seen other Emissaries of Hell before. That’s good. We can cut to the chase then. Introduce yourself.”

“Yes… My name is Su Dongxue, and I was born in November 1930. Before I died…” She bit her lower lips lightly, revealing a pitiful expression on her face, “I was a singer at a brothel…”

“Be more specific.” Arthis interjected impatiently, “What brothel? A bordello, a pleasure quarters, or a strip club? Or a call house? Or…”

She smirked and glanced at Qin Ye, “A whorehouse?”

Su Dongxue lowered her head even more. After hesitating for several seconds, she finally responded, “A strip club.”

Arthis looked at Qin Ye with a meaningful expression, almost as though she were saying - Do you understand now? I’m still the most exquisite one here.

“... What’s that?” Qin Ye asked with some measure of disappointment.

Arthis explained elegantly, “A bordello isn’t the same as a typical brothel. The ladies there only sell their crafts, and not their bodies. Bordellos are usually located in exquisite courtyard houses or western-style garden houses with restricted entry to its premises. The owners to these places are usually comparable to the rich and powerful aristocrats of their time.”

“The second grade brothels are a little less extravagant and exquisite, but they are still relatively exclusive areas. These are called pleasure quarters. Most of the workers there don’t sell their bodies. The third grade ones are called brothels. They are a little more humble than the pleasure quarters. When it comes to these places…” She drawled meaningfully, “You can say that the workers no longer own their own bodies… What’s the matter with you?”

Qin Ye clutched at his heart as he revealed a pained expression on his face, “Nothing… please continue…”

Su Dongxue was so beautiful that she would easily shoot to stardom as a goddess in any entertainment circle. She was even all natural, and there was simply no room for critique or allegations that she was plastic. That said, the pristine image of his goddess had suddenly been shattered by the news that she had shared her bed with thousands of men who knew her inside out…

Qin Ye felt extremely bitter!

Hehe… you dare mess with me? Arthis swept Qin Ye a victorious glance. I know exactly what you Cicerone of the Great Demons sorts are like, and just how to deal with you guys. As time passes, there will invariably be far more beauties in Hell than in the mortal realm. As a future Yama-King, the first thing you’ll have to learn is to have control over your own belt…

Many years later, Qin Ye sits majestically on the throne of King Yanluo, while a group of beautiful concubines below bow daintily and respectfully, “Blessings to King Yanluo.”

A woman in a magnificent dress lifts the gilded golden armor from Qin Ye’s body, “Sisters, even though we’re all considered family now, this doesn’t change the fact that we should still work hard to birth a royal heir to the throne. This way, we can continue to share in each others’ blessings, and Fengdu can continue to grow from strength to strength. Sister Ba has just arrived today, so lets have her stay in the Chamber of Everlasting Ecstasy tonight.”

Should we go on to understand the nature of the frolics in the Fengdu harem?

No… We have to stem the flow of such momentum as soon as it begins. The Cicerone of the Great Demons is already showing signs of losing control of his own belt… Arthis cleared her throat as she continued, “The fourth grade ones are even worse, and are generally targeted at blue-collared, salaried workers. These are called call houses. As to whorehouses…”

She smiled faintly, “These are basically illegal prostitutes.”

Now that the veil to the goddess’ appearances had been completely rent apart, she finally directed things back to the topic at hand, “How did you die? And how did the circumstances of the Great Intergenerational Heredity arise?”

Qin Ye looked at Su Dongxue expectantly, thinking that he would hear of a tragic love story - one that told of how an exquisite, talented lady was unable to peddle her craft and was forced to perish as a result of the circumstances… and thus she ended up turning into a ghost.

This wasn’t a result of him thinking with the brain between his legs. Rather, it was the first time he had seen a normal Yin spirit apart from himself and Arthis. Incidentally, it was also a female Yin spirit - a pie that he could consider dipping his fingers into in future. After all, wouldn’t understanding the women of the future Fengdu Necropolis also be considered a part of his duty?

Besides, if a man saw an incredibly beautiful woman, or if a woman saw an incredibly handsome man, wouldn’t it be a lie if both said that they didn’t harbour any illicit thoughts about their eye candies?

“My mistress forbade me to receive guests, but I broke the rules, and even accidentally got pregnant. I was beaten to death in the cathouse.” Unfortunately, her response was like a bolt out of the blue to Qin Ye.

He felt his worldview crumbling, and his mouth twitched uncontrollably as he asked, “Was it because you faced some form of difficulty or other? For instance… you had a lover, and you wished to elope with him, yet your mistress discovered this and thus prevented you from receiving guests… or something along those lines?”

Su Dongxue looked up at Qin Ye in astonishment. Even though it was a fleeting look, Qin Ye knew she had just given him the look which said - Why do you think there’s such complex drama surrounding everything?

“No… It’s just as I’d said.” Su Dongxue no longer pretended to be reserved, and she kowtowed softly, “My body was in good condition. Four or five times a night wasn’t a problem to me. Unfortunately, I’d inadvertently stepped on my mistress’ toes because I’d seized the business of my other sisters.”

Qin Ye gazed at the ceiling. Why is the script of life always always so unpleasant…

Arthis chirped back, “What’s there to be displeased about? Isn’t the money earned at the end of the day the same?”

Su Dongxue bowed graciously as her lips twitched, “... Milady… when I get… ecstatic, I often forget to collect money…”

How “ecstatic” do you have to be to forget the collection of fees… can’t you take a little bit more pride in your work?!

Qin Ye could feel his heart wrenching in pain, and he finally waved his hand weakly, “Stop, stop… I understand. Arti, you don’t have to continue this line of questioning. Just tell me where you intend to place her. We can’t just bring her along like that, can we?”

Having a silicone doll following him around was worrying enough. He didn’t want to be tied down to any more peculiar objects.

“Why do we need to bring her along?” Arthis asked in surprise, “Do you think that’s all there is to the progenitors of the Great Intergenerational Heredity? They possess another incredible ability. It’s called mimicry.”

“Mimicry?” Qin Ye furrowed his brows.

The smile on Arthis’ face faded away as she explained seriously, “That’s right. Yin spirits are formless to begin with. As soon as the Great Intergenerational Heredity is triggered, the host’s body would immediately grow chaotic with the intermingling of Yin energy and Yang energy. Since the Yin spirit has no form to begin with, it is naturally able to take the form of any object or body. You should’ve heard of the saying that water is formless and shapeless.”

Qin Ye nodded his head immediately.

“They can mimic any creature they have ever seen, even Emissaries of Hell. And the scariest part about their mimicry ability is that your appearance isn’t the only thing they can mimic - they can even mimic your energy signature and the realm of your abilities. Naturally, the mimic can only unleash approximately half the amount of strength as the original. But even then, that is more than sufficient for our purposes.”

Qin Ye thought for a moment. Several seconds later, he asked, “So, when Li Cheng blocked my attack earlier, was it also because of the mimicry ability?”

“That’s right. So where do you think would be the most suitable home for her? Which place needs a powerful Netherworld Operative most right now?”

1. 1912-1949