Yama Rising

If you gaze deep into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

As Qin Ye sat in front of the mirror, listening to the soft crackle of the flames, he was suddenly reminded of the oft-said phrase.

Lee Jung-sook must have been involved in so many supernatural incidents that… the supernatural began to take special notice of her. Perhaps that was why she was first discovered by Crow Tengu and Black Yaksha to begin with.

After all, how could one toe the riverbanks without getting their feet wet?

He understood Lee Jung-sook. She wasn’t in the slightest bit afraid of the supernatural. In fact, she would even dance along to their haunting tunes, because… she was looking for a way to die for good.

He felt slightly embittered by these thoughts. This was something he couldn’t empathize with. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t lived long enough to understand why Lee Jung-sook felt this way.

Those who lived an inordinate amount of time sought death, while those who had perished for a long time sought the hope of life once again.

It was an endless cycle of life and death.

Just then, he suddenly paused, and he turned to look at his reflection in the mirror.

Everything was blurry. The copper wasn’t polished enough to reflect his image properly.

“A copper mirror cannot distinguish between the Yin and the Yang.” Wang Chenghao’s voice sounded from right behind Qin Ye. He had at some point entered the room in the very same fashion, “It would prevent both parties from seeing the other’s appearances clearly.”

Qin Ye rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “I recall that glass is generally accepted as the best material for seances. And as far as the material holding up the reflective surface is concerned, it would ideally be constructed out of Sophora japonica, more commonly known as the locust tree. But this dresser…”

He withdrew his hand and raised his eyebrow quizzically, “Ironwood.”

Wang Chenghao frowned, “But ironwood is easy to break because of how stiff and rigid it is. Furthermore, ironwood is a type of wood more attuned with Yang energy… Adding Yang wood to a copper mirror? What kind of peculiar combination is this?”

Tap, tap, tap… Qin Ye rapped his fingers on the dresser, as though deep in thought. After some time, he looked up, “I’ve got a postulation.”

“I think that she would always contact Ahn Jun-ho through this mirror before looking for him in Zion City Church the next day. One Tail, come now, show me the great wisdom of the ancient hidden sand village. [in English] Tell me why?”

The sudden use of English instantly triggered a related memory in Wang One Tail’s heart, and he cleared his throat briefly, “Tell me why… does it have to be like this… Tell me why…”

Qin Ye stared at him as though he had just seen a ghost - When did I ever get myself such a multi talented personal assistant?

“I mean… How did you even pick up on Declan Galbraith’s song featuring the Young Voices Choir? What kind of choir are you supposed to be from?” Qin Ye was completely stunned. [1]

“Cough… Sorry, I couldn’t resist it…” Wang Chenghao normalized the expressions on his face and then coughed awkwardly, “The fact that she doesn’t want the other side to see her appearances tells us that they might pose a threat to her. That’s probably why the ironwood and copper mirror combination was used. She wanted to prevent them from ascertaining her location.”

Qin Ye stared intently at him for some time, and then sighed softly, “There’s still another purpose for this…”

He held up two fingers, “Two.”

“Huh?” Wang One Tail froze, and he began to take another deep breath.

“... If you dare even blurt out a single word of the famous nursery rhyme, Liang Zhi Lao Hu, then you’d best prepare yourself to be put right in your place! Please, can you just take your head out of your ass for once?!” [2] Qin Ye pulled Wang Chenghao’s ears and gritted his teeth, “What I meant is that there are two evil ghosts who are contacting her.”

“The first one is Ahn Jun-ho. Unfortunately, he passed on in an accident, and can no longer continue with the facade of being a living dead. Thus, the task of acting as a channel for communications was entrusted to the second evil ghost, who would continue to receive her messages, before engaging with her in person in the likeness of Ahn Jun-ho. This would ensure that they wouldn’t attract undue attention to themselves. And to that end, perhaps the evil ghosts actively reached out to her after Ahn Jun-ho’s death. She didn’t feel at ease letting them know of her whereabouts, so she specially erected this seance station for her own protection.”

He sighed softly, “That is to say, the entity that we’re looking for is in fact the second point of contact… One Tail, bring me the wig, dress and makeup box…”

Wang One Tail stared at him, completely flabbergasted. They locked eyes for several awkward moments, and then Wang One Tail exploded in fear, “What the hell are you doing?! Let me make this clear once and for all - I’m straight!”

And what ensued was a flurry of punches.

Several seconds later, Qin Ye huffed softly with one foot over One Tail’s body. Ahh, that felt good… It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a nice warm-up. It’s truly important to invest in the right sandbag.

“This seance is nothing to the all-seeing eyes of the King Yanluo of Hell! Sure, we might be overseas, but just give me some time, and I’ll definitely be able to get a clearer look at who the other party is! And if we are to buy time, then there’s no way I can appear in the likeness of a man! Unfortunately, this means that I’ll have to dress up to look similar to Lee Jung-sook. Otherwise, do you really think I’ll be willing to put on the garments of a lady?! Now, hurry up and fetch the things I’ve asked for!”

Wang One Tail got up with an ashen expression, “That’s good to hear… But Brother Qin, promise me you’d never open that door to forbidden love. Otherwise… I’d feel threatened with these looks of mine…”

Qin Ye gritted his teeth, “Trust me when I say that the assets I have under the skirt are still larger than yours!!”

What a downer on our conversation… Wang Chenghao mumbled and grumbled as he transformed into a nethergale and vanished from where he was. When he next showed up, he carried a small bag of items in hand.

Moments later…

Wang One Tail - Holy crap?!

“Brother Qin… Since when… did you develop such incredible makeup skills?”

Wang Chenghao sized up the svelte figure sporting shoulder-length hair that was standing in front of him, and he couldn’t help but gulp nervously.

Holy crap… Why is my heart beating faster...

Qin Ye gazed at the ceiling sullenly, “There are always dark moments in a person’s life when one has no choice but to swallow a bitter pill…”

“... Couldn’t you shed some more light on these stories of yours? I’m getting the feeling that your life might just be like a book… Perhaps the Memoirs of a Geisha?”

A split second later, a gust of wind sent Wang One Tail slamming straight into the wall of the room.

Qin Ye took a deep breath, lifted the shawl around his neck and sat elegantly in front of the mirror.

“How deeply embarrassing… This is something that I’d never thought I’d one day do! Bloody hell, this had better turn up some leads. Otherwise, I’m gonna go straight back to Clear Creek County and destroy every member of the surviving Wang Clan!”

Wang One Tail: What’s this got to do with me?!!

Qin Ye took several deep breaths to calm his heart, and then he finally proceeded to light up the candle.

Fwoosh… The candle lit up at once, and everything fell silent.

At once, the mirror in front of them felt somewhat different. The eerie silence of the night, coupled with the soft dance of the candlelight made everything feel almost otherworldly.

Qin Ye stared intently at the flame. One minute… two minutes… three minutes… And then, the candle flame flickered as though a gentle breeze had swept by.

However… this room had walls on all sides without any windows! It was impossible for there to be any wind in the room!

But make no mistake - there was in fact a soft breeze sweeping about within the room. In fact, even the scarlet curtains were starting to flutter softly, almost as though a poltergeist was toying with their minds. The wind slowly grew, quicker and stronger, and quicker and stronger! Until finally, the curtains were fluttering like waves lapping against the walls!

It was almost as though something was approaching this closed chamber of Building 6B!

Qin Ye’s eyes narrowed.

All seances were similar in some way or another. It followed the process of calling, locating, responding, and finally communicating. The medium or channel acted like a door, while the party calling and the party responding were like two parties standing on either side of the door.

This candle isn’t an ordinary candle. I believe it must’ve been fabricated using corpse oil. Qin Ye glanced around his surroundings. He was undoubtedly still in the same room, and yet something about it felt different from before.

Something’s trying to locate me. Qin Ye glanced at the fluttering curtains as he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the streetlights around the Daelim One Apartment fizzled out one by one. The trees in the vicinity rustled nervously as though something were tickling their branches. The empty roads suddenly resounded with the soft sound of footsteps.

Unseen figures were wandering the streets and searching for something anxiously, but to no avail.

Back on the 25th floor of Building 6B. The temperature in the room dipped suddenly, and then… Qin Ye’s reflection in the mirror abruptly raised its head!

It was 1.00 a.m. in the morning. In a dimly lit room, a reflection in the mirror had suddenly lifted its head to stare at the owner of the reflection!

A wave of Yin energy erupted from behind the mirror, causing the surface of the mirror to ripple softly. The reflection in the mirror trembled slightly, and then… it stood up.

The owner of the reflection had remained just as still as before.

And yet, the reflection in the mirror was moving about on its own.

Everything in the copper mirror was blurry and hazy. Qin Ye watched on as his reflection leaned its head forward, attempting to stick its head right out of the mirror! It was incredibly peculiar!

Had it been any other ordinary human being in this room right now, he would most certainly have fainted from fear!

Fortunately, as soon as the reflection touched the frame of the mirror, it immediately let out a muffled grunt and sat back down immediately.

Ironwood frame on a copper mirror. The peculiar combination of materials was preventing the mysterious silhouette from locating Qin Ye’s exact whereabouts!

Qin Ye looked at it soullessly, and then… picked up his comb and slowly began to comb the wig on his head.

Rustle… rustle… The soft rustling sound in the room caused the entire room to feel as eerie as a morgue. Then, just as he ran the comb through his hair for the fourth time, the flame of the candle flickered wildly, turned green, and then flickered out entirely!

A ghost had just blown out the candle light!

Qin Ye sat silently in front of the mirror. He was alone at this very moment, yet… he could sense someone else standing right behind him right now!

What masterful strokes… I can tell that this entity is at least a 100 year ghost, and an Anitya Hellguard to boot! By frightening the summoner, you must be attempting to weaken the three flames over the summoner’s shoulder so that you can forcibly take control of her body, aren’t you? Qin Ye gazed intently at the mirror. He had the feeling that someone was looming right over his shoulder right now.

Well then… why don’t we play a little game of cat-and-mouse?

Why don’t we see who finds the other first?

A split second later, his eyes suddenly flickered and turned completely black. At once, an incomparably powerful wave of Yin energy erupted from his body. A terrifying shriek echoed throughout the four corners of the room, and the candle light… flickered on once more.

But this time… a line of words appeared on the surface of the mirror.

They were Daeian words.

And they were written in blood.

But it was not at all clear when exactly it had been written.

The words read - Found you…

…………………………………………………………

Saint Virtue High School.

It was late at night. The security guard was suddenly jolted awake from his slumber, and he glanced around in consternation.

The power was out…

But… he’d been awakened by the chill of the night!

“What kind of otherworldly encounter is this supposed to be?” He rubbed his eyes sleepily, “It’s September, for goodness sakes… How is it possible to be awakened by the chill of the night in these months?”

Fortunately for him, he didn’t notice the faint layer of frost that started outside the school, ran straight through the campus ground until it entered the middle of the students’ dormitories.

Whoosh… Two dark eyes opened up amidst the darkness of the night.

That’s right. They were pitch black. Both eyes were completely pitch-black in colour - devoid of the usual whites of the eyes!

The owner of these eyes was beautiful. She had a sharp chin and pronounced features. But the hair that fluttered menacingly about her made her look incomparably terrifying.

The lower half of her body remained absolutely still, while the upper half of her body was propped up straight. She stared intently at the ceiling of her room for a long time, before a smile slowly crept up the corners of her lips, “Lee Jung-sook… so, you’re actually alive…”

“That’s right… You’re just like one of us… You’re a monster…”

Just then, the girl next to her pulled the covers over her head and murmured, “Somi unnie… [3] What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

Whoosh!

Somi’s neck remained absolutely still, but her head swiveled around a horrific 90 degrees as she stared intently at the bed beside her, only to realize that the other student in the room had pulled the sheets over her head. She suddenly smiled and laughed just like how a high school girl would, “Not at all… Hyorin noona [4], I just needed to use the washroom.”

You never know what lay beneath the skin of the person closest to you.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_bmN6juR0&ab_channel=Warmanwin

2. Liang Zhi Lao Hu is a popular nursery rhyme with a song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D9mlAnCQ3E&ab_channel=EzyMandarin

3. Used by a girl to refer to a younger lady.

4. Used by a girl to refer to an older lady.