Yama Rising

Chapter 493: T Minus 14 Days (2)

“It’s fine. We’re all doing our work here.” Qin Ye smiled. It was already 7.00 a.m. by the time he returned, and he immediately rushed over to the office of the Special Investigations Department as soon as he had his breakfast.

“Take me to him.”

“This is Mr Qin. He’s Martial City’s leading experts in archaeological findings.” Wu Wenqing introduced Qin Ye with an amiable smile on his face, “Mr Qin, this is the deputy general manager of Prosperity Developers, Yu Changle. He’s the one in charge of the worksite that has unearthed the Yin artifact.”

Yu Changle complied, before taking a deep breath and explaining with great anxiety, “Mr Qin, here’s how it happened. We’ve recently won the tender for the redevelopment of the Lush Garden Acres, and construction works have been ongoing for a month now. Then, something happened yesterday - something indescribable…”

Almost as though he recalled something horrific, Yu Changle shut his eyes and continued with a quiver in his voice, “We’ve sent people down to check, but… everyone who even came close to the worksite… all passed out as well…”

“In fact, anyone standing a hundred meters away from this hole would be able to hear eerie moans from below, almost this was a portal leading to the gates of Hell!”

Just then, Qin Ye raised his hand, “Did you say that… they simply fainted?”

“So, they’re not dead?”

Qin Ye nodded. Then, he turned around and asked Wu Wenqing, “Are monks and taoists even blessing worksites now?”

So desune… It looks like the outbreak of supernatural incidents have given businesses founded on superstitions and the supernatural a new lease of life. Even if things in Hell don’t work out for me, I can still make a name for myself back in the mortal realm… Qin Ye rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He knew full well that if he ever said something like that, Arthis would be the first to strangle him with the venomous locks of hair on her head, while the Harken would be waiting next in line, poised to give Qin Ye a tight slap across the cheek.

With that, Qin Ye promptly shelved the unhealthy thoughts on his mind and turned to Wu Wenqing, “Have you taken a look at it?”

“Alright, I’ll--...” Qin Ye’s voice trailed off, and then he suddenly froze. His eyebrows were even knitted tightly together, as though he were attempting to sense something.

Someone’s praying to me right now?

Rather, it was something that was only possible through elaborate rituals, strict offerings, a devout heart and precise prayers.

On the contrary, the ones more commonly spoken or preached about are the prayers to the Goddess of Mercy or the Taiyi Zhenren .

Regardless, Qin Ye’s first inclination was to ignore the prayers. After all, he wasn’t quite in the right situation to be responding to prayers. And then, he saw who the person praying to him actually was.

Whoosh… He opened his eyes back in the city hall and abruptly turned to Wu Wenqing, “I suddenly recalled something urgent that I’ve got to attend to. Let’s head over to the worksite at noontime instead. This way, we’d be sure that Yang energy would be at its peak as well.”

……………………………………………

Zhou Xianlong remained silent. Mo Changhao continued, “What have we learned?”

He adjusted his glasses and spoke in a well-considered manner, “Firstly, his actions cohere with our earlier speculations of him.”

“Secondly, he’s truly unaware of what Prosperity Developers has unearthed. In fact, if I might hazard a guess, he probably hasn’t even read the latest dossier released by the Special Investigations Department. Otherwise, he couldn’t have reacted with such calm and indifference.”

“Unlikely.” The bespectacled man shook his head, “He acts with great caution. There’s no way he will act without ensuring that he’s isolated from any possibility of audio or visual surveillance. Such caution is not something generally seen in young men his age. But that only strengthens our inference that he’s a man of many secrets.”

“And that’s not all.” Just then, another man turned around and crossed his arms, “He’s also… adept at maintaining a low-profile.”

The man shook his head, “Mr Mo, we’ve been scrutinizing Mr Qin’s dossier over and over, and we’ve discovered something interesting about it.”

He turned back and pressed a button. At once, lines of words began to show up on the computers in front of Zhou Xianlong and Mo Changhao, “He was only a Soul Hunter when he first entered the First Academy of Cultivators. Then, shortly after the incident with Mr Gu Qing’s funeral, he broke through to the realms of Anitya Hellguard. Following that, he advanced yet again during the Yin spirit rebellion back in Valley County.”

The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses once more, “It’s impossible not to leave traces in the path one has taken. In the very worst case scenario, his so-called advancement to an Infernal Judge might have been a move calculated to erase any traces of his past. Unfortunately… it’s backfired on him.”

Zhou Xianlong chuckled bitterly.

However, he held himself back.

“Carry on with what you were doing.” He snorted coldly, and waited patiently until all albatrosses had returned to their tasks at hand, before finally turning to Mo Changhao with a hushed voice, “Who else knows of the truth about what Prosperity Developers have unearthed?”

Zhou Xianlong nodded, “So, what exactly did you find down there?”

Zhou Xianlong’s eyes narrowed as soon as he took a glance at the photograph.

Rather, it was an ancient sculpture that was completely intact!

Furthermore, the image of the sculpture bore an uncanny semblance to Qin Ye’s features. In fact, it was best described as an exact replica of Qin Ye! There was also a small line of text engraved right at the base of the sculpture that read: ‘King Yanluo of Hell, born in 1938, of Liu Er Mound Village, Gazi Gully, Tang An County, Qingguang City’.

“The appearance is a 100% match.” Mo Changhao spoke in a deep voice, “Furthermore, it’s incredibly fortunate that Qingguang City is located in the western autonomous region, where the records of ancestry are well-kept and intact. I’ve already sent someone there to investigate further. We should have a response by 15 August!”

“We’ll wait for Lin Han and Su Feng to arrive, as well as the response from your agents…”

“15 August… isn’t too long away after all...”

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