Yama Rising

He didn’t say anything immediately. Instead, he slowly set down the teacup in his hands and adjusted his glasses, before speaking once more, “Little Qin… you have to appreciate that everything you say today will be recorded within the SRC’s archives - in video form.”

Seconds later, Yu Guohui nodded slightly with a somber expression, “Please go on, then.”

Lin Han felt like someone was constantly watching him. It was a strange feeling - not a strong one, but he simply felt uneasy and exposed under the mysterious watchful gaze. He coughed lightly as he jolted back to his senses, “What’s going on? What happened?”

Lin Han scratched his head, “What do you mean?”

“Who’s the person he’s speaking to? It’s none other than the most renowned Yin spirit scholar across all of Cathay. Qin Ye has resolved the conundrum plaguing his research topic. And that was precisely why he had invited Qin Ye to this place to record his report on video - he had wanted to lend Qin Ye a hand and increase his visibility. After all, given Old Man Yu’s stature, these video reports would be transmitted straight to the top management of the entire organization. In other words, this is the best opportunity for Qin Ye to make an impression with all the right people…”

Su Feng shook his head, “No. How could his perspective possibly hold a candle to the SRC’s? Something like this would be tantamount to an amateur displaying his skills in front of true subject matter experts. What would the top management think when he makes a mistake? There’s no need to guess; this is what they would say - this kid isn’t too bad, but he thinks way too highly of himself. As soon as they harbour such an assessment of him, his potential would be substantially curtailed.”

He glanced meaningfully at the screen, while Lin Han muttered softly, “Unless… he speaks about something that is completely novel and eye-opening?”

“Talk is cheap.” He sighed, “SRC… is Cathay’s bastion of theory and intelligence that directly supports the war against Yin spirits. To amaze them with new insight… is something that is difficult, difficult, and difficult.”

“Then, please allow me to begin.” Qin Ye knew exactly when to lay low, and when to shine radiantly like a gleaming sword. In that regard, he knew that the amount he had just shared with the chieftain was hardly sufficient to leave a lasting impression.

He drew a deep breath, leaned forward slightly, and began with a deep, profound voice, “My view is that… there are several types of Yin spirits, and each of them have differing characteristics and pose different levels of threat to all of us!”

The video recording was still rolling, and it was too late to salvage the situation. He had initially hoped for Qin Ye to bring up a whole new insight, but… the present situation was well within his expectations.

His hope now was that others might be inspired and glean a new insight from what Qin Ye had mentioned.

“For instance?”

As soon as Qin Ye mentioned these words, Yu Guohui’s originally darkened eyes were instantly filled once more with passion and excitement. The first thing he did was to search through the knowledge databases in his mind for such a term of reference.

Nothing! And nothing!

“Is this… something coined by you?” He asked with disbelief.

“... Apologies. I’m not suspicious of you. Rather, the classification of any Yin spirit is something that is only done after accumulating sufficient information in a case file and testing the necessary hypotheses. In other words, one would have to dissect through the presumptions and make the necessary findings and proof. At your age…” He deliberately left his sentence hanging.

Qin Ye smiled.

Naturally, it was to lick the person until he shoots… No! It was to lick a person in a manner which comforts him best; it was to lick a person where he desired it most.

You don’t know?

The hook, line and sinker had all been cast…

“I’ve got a wild hypothesis.” He looked straight into Yu Guohui’s glazed-over eyes, “What if… the bloodline of the Yin spirit could be concealed and transmitted through a person’s lineage?”

Licking… must be done slowly, shouldn’t it? It wouldn’t feel good if there weren’t peaks and troughs before the climax after all.

What a novel idea!

The spirit… is something that arises after death…

“DNA… soul… Yin spirit…” Old Man Yu closed his eyes, and his mind began to whirr at top speed. Even his face grew slightly red.

Back on the first floor, the men dressed in white lab coats stared at the screen, completely aghast with their mouths wide open.

“No…” One of the men in white lab coats turned around. His body trembled slightly, and his eyes were filled with a deep, abstruse gaze, as though complex profundities and mysteries had just been unraveled to him, “He… he’s just said something absolutely remarkable…”

Lin Han and Su Feng exchanged a peculiar look, and Su Feng muttered under his breath, “Like I’d mentioned earlier, if Qin Ye sheds new light or brings new insight to the table, then… these efforts would immediately chart a smooth career path for him in future.”

He looked at Lin Han with a somber expression, “He would no longer be merely an instructor. Instead… he would be one of the core members of Cathay’s forces leading the charge against the supernatural forces of the world. Brother Lin, we’ve been in the industry for almost twenty years now. Yet after all these years, have we ever seen someone who’s climbed the ladder at such unbelievable speeds? We’re talking about someone who is even making ripples among the top brass!”

It might seem pointless now. But it would immediately come in hand as soon as Qin Ye starts running for the position of a faculty professor, or perhaps even… the position of the vice principal!

As soon as a Judge-class expert speaks of such words, the elections campaign would almost be a foregone conclusion.

The discussions on the first floor were kept within the first floor. Back on the second floor, Professor Yu’s smile had already faded away, and he gazed straight at Qin Ye’s eyes, “That is an astute hypothesis.”

“And what you’ve just spoken of earlier is the rarest, most precious 1%!”

Those who were familiar with Professor Yu knew that such words of praise was something that might not be heard even once in span of three full years.

“No.” Yu Guohui leaned back on his chair, “Nobody comes back in without my instructions. Little Qin, let’s continue.”

Qin Ye began to go into the details, “When I was in the ‘Lost Tracks’ hunting zone earlier, I learnt that the Yin spirit was in fact Song Jiafang’s ancestor, otherwise commonly known as her ancestral spirit. If not for the fact that she was hidden in Song Jiafang’s bloodline, there’s simply no way she could have surfaced right there and then. Therefore, I’ve got a few conjectures.”

“Two. The ghastly bloodline is only triggered upon certain specific conditions. I’ve given this phenomenon the name - the Great Intergenerational Heredity.”

Qin Ye reeled in the hook more and more, “I’m certain that you’re already aware of just how unique the ghost of the Great Intergenerational Heredity is. By my postulation, the incredibly onerous confluence of conditions required for the formation of such a ghost naturally means that their occurrence would only be a rate of zero-point-zero-something percent of the entire population of Yin spirits. That said, these Yin spirits are far more threatening than the ordinary hunting zones that we’ve encountered!”

The more he listened to Qin Ye, the more he felt vindicated of his own conjectures and postulations. This was validation through the process of corroboration and proof. Even though Qin Ye wasn’t speaking of these things to placate him, it nevertheless made him feel incredible.

I can’t believe that I’m actually gleaning deeper insights through the report of an eighteen year old with respect to his encounter with a special hunting zone! Old Man Yu was secretly startled, but he quickly raised his spirits and continued listening intently.

He gazed intently at Yu Guohui, “Professor Yu, I’m almost certain that there are some extremely special existences among the world of Yin spirits. These existences come about incredibly rarely. But when they do, their might and threat level to us go well beyond that of ordinary Yin spirits! I sincerely suggest the SRC and the Special Investigations Department to proceed with caution. The nightmare spirit, for instance, is one of the Yin spirits that must be destroyed as soon as they appear!”

Yu Guohui’s eyes gleamed brightly as he locked eyes with Qin Ye. Seconds later, he muttered, “Incarnate revenant?”

“Judge-class spirits.” Qin Ye whispered in a chilling voice, “While other hunting zones are still floundering about like the new spirits they are, these spirits… can already summon the wind and the rain, and cover an entire province in their reign of terror!”