Yama Rising

Scarlet 01 slowly pulled out the katana at his waist, “You’ve been resting on your laurels for far too long. I’m pretty sure Lady Izanami would praise us for taking you down.”

“Don’t worry, there’s no need to return the gift. After all, what’s dead is dead. Nippon is also a land of etiquette. We wouldn’t mind dropping some crumbs for the hungry wild dogs around.”

The other Nipponese emissary’s hands flickered slightly, and two immolating daggers immediately appeared in his hands, “Have you already forgotten how the sick man of the East[1] nearly submitted to Nippon back then? Those who lived during that era must have just entered the Cathayan underworld. If another war of the underworlds breaks out, I wonder how these people are going to come wagging their tails at us, begging for mercy once more?”

“Hah.” Qin Ye chuckled sardonically, “What a sharp tongue. Well, tell me - how do you wish to die?”

“With you and what force?” “A nascent Anitya Hellguard dares to speak with such audacity? Is this really what Cathay has become? Ahahaha…”

“I understand.” Qin Ye nodded, “That means you hope to die a swifter death. Got it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately dashed forward with his mourning staff raised in front of him. Instantly, the mourning staff opened up like an umbrella and began to spin around, while the talismans that had been pasted all over the staff began to flutter and glow with an eerie scarlet glow.

Whoosh! Qin Ye’s figure straddled the realms of corporeal and illusory as he rode along the wave of Yin energy. The gaze of the two Nipponese emissaries immediately grew heavy and somber, and they split up without hesitation. Their soldiers formed out of Yin energy had already unleashed another barrage of netherfireballs that rained down heavily on Qin Ye with a furious battle cry!

Anitya Hellguards were one of the mainstay forces of any underworld, and they were placed in charge of city-level affairs. In other words, even if they couldn’t suppress the uprising within a city, they would at the very least possess the abilities to stall for time until reinforcements arrived.

Naturally, the might of the clash between three Hellguards was no laughing matter. Even though the confrontation between emissaries was invisible to Master Kamo, Dojin, Jingo and Mr Iwasaki, they could undoubtedly feel the surrounding temperature suddenly fall by several degrees in an instant.

A multitude of ferocious blade light flickered wildly as it rushed towards Qin Ye like a crashing waterfall. But just as it arrived by Qin Ye’s side, a white “umbrella” that was glowing with a red light suddenly appeared right in front of Scarlet 01. The dazzling blade lights backed by the strength of dense Yin energy bore down on Qin Ye, even leaving sonic booms in its wake. But as soon as the blade lights struck the mourning staff, they were sent scattering into the surroundings with soft clatters amidst a series of green sparks. Qin Ye’s defense was impenetrable.

“Idiot.” Scarlet 01 gritted his teeth as the mourning stuff plunged straight through his chest. His entire body instantly transformed into a cloud of Yin energy.

However, Qin Ye’s attack meant that his entire body was exposed to the dagger-wielding emissary. Naturally, the dagger wielding emissary shrieked and bolted forward with his blazing dagger in his hand, sending a powerful straight straight towards Qin Ye’s temples.

But just as he was about to land his attack, he suddenly noticed a smile on Qin Ye’s face.

It was a peaceful smile.

Just like how a family member looks upon the deceased when sending them on their way.

Shk!

With the mourning staff in his left arm, Qin Ye still had one arm free. He immediately swung his right arm back, to which action Ming Shiyin immediately responded with, “Screw you!”

Yet the expletive quickly turned into a loud scream that went three octaves higher.

Qin Ye had armed himself with the Mirror of Eminence and swung it straight at the dagger-wielding emissary like a weapon.

Scarlet 03 was stunned.

Then, his astonishment quickly turned into fury.

Are you looking down on me?

That’s just a tattered mirror with no trace of Yin energy on it. What could it possibly do to me?

I can take the blow and still plunge my dagger straight through your skull!

Thus, Scarlet 03 didn’t hesitate at all, and he mustered all of the Yin energy in his body and sent it flowing straight through his arms. A loud thud resounded in the very next second. Simultaneously, the spinning umbrella-staff in Qin Ye’s left arm paused.

Scarlet 01’s gaze flickered - He has done something incomparably stupid. With his abilities, he would have been able to concurrently hold out against both of our attacks. And yet, he chose to focus his attacks on me, leaving his entire body exposed to Scarlet 03’s attack. This is our victory.

The fluttering talismans on Qin Ye’s mourning staff finally calmed down. And then, Scarlet 01 finally saw a completely astonishing sight.

Qin Ye’s right hand was still holding onto the mirror that had slammed straight into Scarlet 03’s head.

The dagger in Scarlet 03’s hand was but a foot away from Qin Ye’s head, but it didn’t go any further.

It was still moving.

However, it would be more accurate to describe Scarlet 03’s hand as trembling. His entire head was gone, and copious amounts of Yin energy and souls poured out furiously from where Scarlet 03’s head had been just moments ago. Furthermore, his trembling was no different from the convulsions suffered by a human just before a painful death. Then, one second later, Scarlet 03’s entire body exploded into a cloud of dense Yin energy that scattered with a howling nethergale. The remains of his body expiated mournful shrieks which reverberated throughout the cargo, before quickly scattering into the surroundings like an ephemeral, flickering flame.

He was dead.

Scarlet 01’s eyes were completely vacant. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

What the hell is that thing?! How could it possibly destroy Scarlet 03 in an instant?!

That’s impossible. Scarlet 03 is only ranked two places below me. The difference between our abilities isn’t that great. We’re both ranked among the top darkfeathers in Nippon. How could he die such an outrageous death, to a single blunt trauma to the head?!

Is he really dead?

Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

Who am I?

Where am I?

Who’s hitting me?

There was an abrupt silence in the cargo hold… at least until Ming Shiyin began to tremble with great fury, “Screw your mother! Didn’t you say you wanted to do it yourself? Then why did you suddenly surprise me like that?! Can’t you give me a little bit of mental preparation?”

Qin Ye stared at Ming Shiyin as though its reaction to the situation were unreasonable, “Why drag things out when you can end it in an instant?”

Ming Shiyin was incensed. It gritted its teeth and barked back, “I’m warning you! I said you could unleash my abilities, but this is clearly not how I’m meant to be used!”

“What the hell is this?” Scarlet 01 muttered under his breath with a hoarse voice, panting as he retreated warily. Scarlet 01 was now on full alert.

“You’ve just noticed me?!!” Ming Shiyin finally found a punching bag, and it began to unleash a barrage of verbal blows. But Qin Ye promptly interjected as he stared at Scarlet 01 with great disbelief, “You don’t know who that is?”

Scarlet 01 gritted his teeth. His heart felt like it was bleeding.

How could I possibly have seen it before?

This is a ridiculous mirror that has ridiculously smashed Scarlet 03 to smithereens before he could even react altogether. The Cathayan emissary didn’t even use any magic techniques. What the hell is wrong with this world?!

“Never seen it before.” Scarlet 01 responded through gritted teeth.

Qin Ye nodded, and then pointed to Ming Shiyin. Scarlet 01 sized up the mirror, only to hear Qin Ye’s voice continue, “That’s a brick.”

WTF?!

Ming Shiyin turned around and stared at Qin Ye as though it had just seen a ghost - You’re the brick head! Your entire family is a brick head! Bloody hell! I smash emissaries, and even perform surveillance for you! Have you ever seen a brick that can perform so many functions?!

That’s not right. How could it be a brick?

“It doesn’t matter how formidable your martial arts are. The brick can deliver a one shot kill.” Qin Ye lifted Ming Shiyin with his hand and began to approach Scarlet 01, “Speaking of which, he was lucky to perish without any pain or suffering. But as for you… I don’t think my aim is going to be anywhere as accurate as earlier.”

With that, he charged straight towards Scarlet 01 like a mad dog - brick in hand, and completely fearless.

Whoosh! A massive tide of Yin energy stirred once more. Ming Shiyin screamed in Qin Ye’s hand, “Bloody hell let go of me! Let’s start all over again and I’ll teach you how to activate my abilities properly! Don’t-- AHHHHHHHH!!!”

Qin Ye turned a deaf ear to it.

But despite the somewhat incongruous picture, Scarlet 01 couldn’t help but feel shivers down his spine.

It had been too long since he had felt such a terrifying sense of crisis.

However, he didn’t dare to hesitate any longer.

“Renpu Ninjutsu Secret Technique.” Qin Ye was incredibly quick, and Scarlet 01 could already see the palpable murderous intent that laced Qin Ye’s gaze. Scarlet 01’s eyes narrowed, and his hands immediately began to perform a series of complex hand seals, before swiftly slapping his palms together, “Dance of a Thousand Ghosts.”

Whoosh! A number of threads formed by Yin energy suddenly shot out of Scarlet 01’s body, quickly transforming into a massive spider web laden with countless overlapping figures. These were the silhouettes of countless ancient warriors brandishing their katanas as they charged straight towards Qin Ye.

Fast.

Incredibly fast.

Unbelievably fast. As soon as they appeared, their attacks quickly formed a web of blade lights that roared as it shot straight towards Qin Ye.

BANG!!

They clashed directly against a brick--... no, a mirror.

CRASH! A crashing sound resounded through the air, just like the shattering of glass, except that it was the space around them that had cracked and shattered. As the deafening shattering sound faded away, so did the lingering netherflames in the air.

And as the lingering netherflames vanished, so did Scarlet 01’s Dance of a Thousand Ghosts.

The illusory ancient warriors and their multitude of fancy techniques were rendered completely useless in the face of an unpretentious brick--... I mean, a mirror, and they were promptly reduced to clumps of netherflames that quickly faded away like snow in the spring sun.

“What the hell is this?! What the hell is this?!!!” Scarlet 01 was at his wits’ end. It felt as though he had just seen a ghost. But then again, he was a ghost. That said, he had never seen something as outrageous and unreasonably tyrannical like the mirror in Qin Ye’s hands.

Are you supposed to be Snow White’s evil stepmother?!

Whoosh… Two more hands stretched out from his back, and all four hands quickly performed a series of hand seals at the same time. The Yin energy around him promptly twisted and contorted. And then, a split second later, he shrieked at the top of his voice, “Dance of Arachnids!”

A fearsome five-meters tall asura formed entirely out of Yin Energy roared at the sky. Wisps of Yin energy condensed into what appeared to ten thousand strands of white hair that danced about like venomous snakes. Its iris was black, and its pupil was white. It’s dangerous, sharp fangs extended out of its mouth in a criss-crossing fashion. Two crimson horns peeked out from its disheveled hair. It had purple skin, and was dressed in a pale yukata. The asura stretched out its hands and clapped its palms together at a blazing quick speed.

It had managed to catch Qin Ye in the palm of its hands.

“Just die already!” Scarlet 01 looked up with its body that was filled with Yin energy, and a scarlet eye with a deranged gaze opened up at right where a person’s heart would have been located. He mashed his hands together with another sequence of hand seals in an instant, “Ghost Dragon of Renpu--...”

But before he could even finish his technique, the entire asura suddenly wailed in excruciating pain, and it was instantly reduced to ashes. The next thing Scarlet 01 could hear was Ming Shiyin’s cry of despondence, "I’m going crazy! Why are you ignoring me?!!” Qin Ye turned Ming Shiyin around and fanned himself elegantly.

How the hell…

Scarlet 01’s eyes grew blank and distant. These were the secret arts that he was most proud of. These were the secret ninjutsus that he had been painstakingly practicing over the last twenty years, and yet they couldn’t withstand even the slightest blow from this mirror!

Is he too strong? Or is that mirror simply too demonic?!

But this was an exchange between two powerful experts, and a moment of distraction could most certainly spell disaster. In that moment of distraction, Qin Ye closed the gap and smashed the brick - that’s right, we’ll call it what it is - smashed straight onto Scarlet 01’s legs.

“AHHHHHHH!!!” A miserable scream filled the cargo hold.

1. Referring to China in its weakened state, especially after the Opium wars.