Yama Rising

Light?

The black veil covering the windows was rather thin, so he could vaguely make out what was outside of the carriage through the windows. Under the dark canopy of the night, in the midst of the fields around, there was a spot of light that appeared to be following the train as it chugged along.

The source of light appeared blurry at best, and yet it gave off an unusually familiar sensation. However, Ma Yuankun just couldn’t put a finger on what it was no matter how hard he thought about it. Nevertheless, he operated his true energy and imbued his eyes so that he could get a clearer look at it.

Whoosh. Everyone else in the carriage suddenly looked over. All four carriages of Operative-class experts turned to look at Ma Yuankun, only to notice that his body was twitching uncontrollably and his lips trembling as he pointed outside the window, completely unable to find the words to express the multitude of emotions and thoughts running through his mind.

He had seen it clearly.

They were presently still travelling through the wilderness, approximately one hundred kilometers away from Eastsea City.

Furthermore, he was able to tell that the entity carrying the lantern was not a human being!

It wore a Nipponese mask, and her long, disheveled hair scattered all across her body. What should have been a spider’s body was instead the figure of a lady with several hairy spider legs extending out of her body. She carried a scarlet lantern with her and followed closely alongside the train and it chugged along!

Her lips extended from ear to ear. Although she was wearing a mask, he could still see her scarlet maw peeking out menacingly from underneath her mask.

An evil ghost arrives, terror ensues.

This was at least a hundred-years evil ghost!

The furious bellow jolted everyone back to their senses in an instant. In a flash, everyone pulled out their peachwood swords, wealth of the five emperors, copper bells, bagua compasses, and other similar implements, and then swiftly took up formation within the carriage, standing with their backs against each other like they had always practised.

Chug-a-chug-a… Next to the oppressive silence of the train carriages, the incessant chugging sounds of the train didn’t bring comfort and assurance to their hearts at all. Instead, its repeated chugging even wore away at their tense spirits. Right this moment, they felt no different from prey that had been gagged, bound and strung up over a death god’s dining table as they heard the butcher sharpening his knife in the distance.

Gulp… Ma Yuankun gulped nervously. He had just breached the bottleneck to become an Operative-class expert, while a hundred-year evil ghost was clearly an opponent that was well above his weight class - these were entities to be left to Soul Hunters. Thus, the prospects of confronting such a powerful existence caused him to break out in cold sweat and shiver all over.

He wasn’t sure when it happened, but he could see that the scenery outside the carriage had completely changed!

This was an incredibly ancient-looking station. There were Nipponese words everywhere, and the entire station was in shambles, broken and dilapidated, with chairs tipped over and other equipment and apparatuses strewn all over the floor. It appeared as though nobody had been here in years. The dim light outside flickered unceasingly, filling the atmosphere with a tense ambience.

There were those with a large gash on their throats; those who cradled their heads in their hands; and those who had half a skull missing from their heads, amongst others. They all presented themselves with dark purple spots of livor mortis on their bodies. It was as though this was a parade of the dead to send them off into their afterlife!

In the dark of the night, a silent train had pulled up into a horrific platform filled with dead people, who were silently sending them into the afterworld.

Crash!

Yin energy poured out like a raging tide through the rows of ink-black teeth in its maw.

It’s that arachnid…

But why do I get the feeling that there’s another pair of eyes staring right at us - one that’s even more fearsome than this arachnid?

“Stand your ground!!” “Immediately inform our seniors!” “Stand your ground! Nobody is to retreat! I’ll kill anyone who retreats!”

The light at the farthest carriage went out abruptly.

He was fully clothed in black garbs, wearing a golden coloured headband as he hung upside down from the roof of the carriage. His body was hunched like a jackal hunting for food. His figure flickered quickly, vanishing and reappearing in different locations.

Click, click, click, click… The lights went out one by one, and the fearsome figure drew closer and closer! With each light that went out, it shifted closer to them, while they, too, got a closer look at its appearance. The gripping tension and stifling oppression in the area also bore down on them with ever greater intensity!

Is he… in our carriage right now?

T-t-t-t… The chugging sounds of the train had ceased completely. Everything was now so silent that someone’s chattering teeth could be heard by everyone around.

A small voice screamed in his mind - Run! Run away right now! This Yin spirit is on a completely different level! You’ll die… if you stay here, you’ll definitely die!

His hair stood erect. It was almost as though he could sense the frigid terror spreading through every single pore and every single cell within his body. The fear of the known was the most terrifying kind of fear! It was almost as though a cold hand were gently caressing his cheek.

Its hand was cold, and yet it emanated a distinct corpse stench. Just a little while ago, the entity had dropped silently from the roof and was now slowly and gently caressing each person’s face with its cold, frigid fingers.

“So… it’s time for us to teach you the true meaning of respect…”

Pssskkk!! A second later, blood splattered across the carriage windows, and shrieks and moans cut through the oppressive silence of the night!

“What are you doing here?” Bai Yishan asked the masked man with a pleasant surprise as the train pulled into the station.

Bai Yishan’s entourage included another Soul Hunter and three Operative-class experts. As soon as Qin Ye released a trace of his Hellguard-class energy that was disguised as true energy, everyone around immediately gasped and backed away in shock.

A living Hellguard?

Furthermore… from the looks of his voice and his skin… this man appears to be rather young?

“No, no, no!” “Sir, please don’t misunderstand us. We’re incredibly grateful that you’ve graced us with your presence!” “That’s right! With you around, this trip is naturally going to go on much more smoothly!”

He had sensed two violent fluctuations of Yin energy just a moment ago. Furthermore, he could tell that the strength of these Yin energy signatures were stronger than him!

“What do you mean…” Bai Yishan was taken aback, and his voice was trembling slightly. Qin Ye turned around placidly and gazed at the train that was slowly pulling into the station, “There’s probably no one on board left alive right now.”

Qin Ye didn’t respond. He had only sensed a powerful fluctuation of Yin energy earlier, but he didn’t know the specific extent of devastation on board the train.

There were thick splatters of blood that covered the passenger carriages, so much so that nobody could tell what was going on within these carriages. That said, they immediately knew that Qin Ye’s claim was likely true.

“But… but how is this possible?!!” Bai Yishan screamed frantically, “Two Soul Hunters!! We’ve got two Soul Hunters! How is this possible?!”

“Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl… that’s right! What happened to the bowl?!”