Yama Rising

Viang, capital of Lan Xang.

Countless crows were converging from all directions, swiftly transforming into a tide of crows. Cell phones and cameras were flashed and snapped away incessantly. Zhou Gu glanced at the sky. Then, he made a hand seal, and one of the crows that had formed from pigeons immediately vanished from the sky and appeared on his hand.

A split second later, he rushed back into his dorm room, locked the door after him, and vanished from the room altogether.

His appearance was different from the rest of the Yin spirits around. It wasn’t lit with the usual green netherflames. Instead, the fire that blazed was a Ninefold Karmic Soulfire, striking red in colour, and qualitatively more fiery and fearsome than all others around. This was Fire God Zhou Yu’s true body - one that regular netherflames were unable to even get close to.

He had a striking gaze in his eyes, one that was so sharp and incisive it appeared to cut deep into the heart. His face was chiseled, and yet he exuded a peculiar sense of softness about him. Scarlet flames danced about in the depths of his eyes. He pulled on his cloak and gently waved it about, and the flames around him dissipated in an instant. Everyone, including the ten generals below, immediately knelt down respectfully, “Greetings, Grand Viceroy!”

An imperial edict!

The edict was written in vermillion ink over a white backdrop. The scroll itself was golden in colour, decorated with the symbol of clouds on the outside, and even had long golden tassels hanging from it. It looked simply exquisite and austere.

He could see the Mekong River roaring in the distance, with peculiarly shaped ships anchored stably on it. These ships were blazing with incessant netherflames. The coastal area marked the start of the ostensibly prosperous Tangming underworld.

“My lord…” One of the generals cupped his hands respectfully, “Are we… going?”

“Virtue dictates that we must go. Besides…”

“This is the first time the twelve envoys are being summoned since the collapse of the old Hell. Without Sun Bin, Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang, Liu Bowen, Qin Qiong, and other famous generals of the past… I’d like to see what the new Hell is going to use to keep us in line!”

“So, it’s Lu Ziming…” Zhou Yu smiled and waved his hand, causing his majestic cloak to flutter about. Then, his voice resounded like thunder throughout the Tangming underworld, “All generals, hear my command.”

“Yes!!” A unified response thundered across the entire Tangming underworld. A moment later, countless banners fluttered wildly like a surging tide, while the sky was lit up with scarlet netherflames like fireflies on a warm summer night.

Zhou Yu picked it up, skimmed through its contents, and then chuckled listlessly, “At a time like this… Hell must have a million things to do in preparation for the upcoming imperial court meeting, and yet the new King Yanluo of Hell is doing this… as a gesture of goodwill to us?”

A pen appeared in his hand, “But since you’ve extended your hand to us, I’ll happily indulge you in this game of yours…”

Kantipur, capital of Licchavi, is dissected by the Bagmati river and the Bishnimati river, amongst others.

It was ostentatious and luxurious.

This was the Licchavi underworld.

There was a room located at the highest point of this building, decorated with burnished braziers, vases of brilliant flowers and beautiful furniture. An elderly, scholarly Yin spirit wearing a red robe and a belt decorated with jade pieces was trembling as he stared at the small table in front of him.

The white-bearded man looked thin, and his face was covered with old age spots. He stared intently at the table in front of him, where a glorious scroll representing the imperial edict lay. He read it carefully, word by word, as the netherflame in his eyes burned brightly.

“Lord Yu.” The attendant beside him immediately brought over a cup of tea and placed it gently on the table. Lord Yu picked it up and gently ran his finger across the lid of the teacup, before abruptly responding, “Where’s the imperial envoy? Have you made the arrangements for him?”

Lord Yu closed his eyes and nodded gently. His voice was barely audible, and yet it was authoritative in a strange and peculiar way, “Immediately have Qiu Dehuai assemble five thousand troops. And they have to be elites! Arm them to the teeth, and be ready to march back to the capital!”

“What else should we call the location of the new Hell if not the capital?!” Lord Yu slammed his teacup back onto his table, spilling tea everywhere. His chest heaved and fell heavily, almost as though he were fervently suppressing the welling excitement in his heart, “It’s been a hundred years since the collapse of the old Hell… and the new Hell has finally appeared! The establishment of a whole new dynasty must mean that they’re facing a multitude of problems, both within and without. If we feudal officials don’t show up to help stabilize the situation for them, who will?!”

“My lord… please calm down.” His attendant patted him on the back gently.

“What do you know?!” Lord Yu waved his sleeves, “We’re doing this in order to protect the new king! What kind of military edict do we need?! I’ll bet that the number of troops gathered at the City of Salvation this time is going to be in the region of thirty thousand or more! We can’t afford to let others covet the new capital of Hell! The only trustworthy officials are myself and Yang Jiye, the Lord of Luzon. As for the others… Let’s just say that their great name and reputation would have faded away after a hundred years of silence. We would be wise not to underestimate the hearts of ghosts.”

After a long time, the attendant finally whispered, “Lord Yu, then what about the survey form that came together with the imperial edict?”

Meanwhile, in Boutan.

This was a kingdom of Yin spirits, and they looked no different from the flourishing era of the Yuan Dynasty. Countless skeletal horses mounted by Yin soldiers were seen all over the plains, while banners with symbols flew high in the sky. It was a completely different sight from some of Hell’s other vassal states.

After some time, he finally quipped, “Everyone… Emperor Wu of Song has personally sent me a missive. The new King Yanluo’s edict has also arrived. All of you are my trusted aides, so I’d like to hear your opinion on how you think we should respond.”

A general finally chipped in coldly, “My lord, Emperor Wu of Song has opined that the new emperor of Hell doesn’t even look twenty years of age. Is he really… able to firmly hold the throne?”

The Book of Life and Death… The mention of this artifact caused everyone to gasp in horror.

The head honcho looked somewhat downcast. Then, seconds later, he actually crushed the wine cup in his hands with great determination, “No. We can’t do anything to them, but they likewise won’t have the ability to do anything to us either! Get in touch with the Lord of Jiaozhi, the Lord of Siam, and the Lord of Sanfotsi… Let’s see what they think of these summons!”

The rest of the generals nodded. Seconds later, one of the generals asked, “Then, my lord, what about the questionnaire that was sent over together with the imperial edict?”

“Fill it out.” The chief general waved his hands impatiently, “We’ll indulge in his antics. After all, what can a little kid of no more than twenty years’ of age know? Does he think he’s playing house? We’ll satisfy his curiosity and let him enjoy his brief moment of peace in the City of Salvation.”

1. Vientiane, capital of Laos.

2. One of the three major states that existed from 222-280, during the Three Kingdoms Period

3. This refers to a military general called Lu Meng who lived from 178-220.

4. Kathmandu of Nepal