Yama Rising

The wind in the night was very cold.

It was raising Qin Ye's black hair, and the tea he was holding, which wasn't all that hot to begin with, was quickly cooling.

It seemed that even the wind could sense the unrest peril lurking beneath the surface, and it was howling as a warning to him.

Qin Ye sat beside his window and looked out at the moon for a while, then swept a hand through the air, upon which a stack of documents on the table flew over to him before slowly unfurling in mid-air, revealing a series of lines of names.

Celtic Underworld, Semitic Underworld, Hopi Underworld, Red Moon Underworld Federation... Right at this moment, a gentle voice rang out from outside. "Your Excellency, Ghost King Zhao and Abyssal Prefect Qin request an audience with you."

"Come in," Qin Ye said as he leafed through the documents, and soon, the sliding door was silently opened, following which Zhao Yun and Qin Changxin strode into the room.

Qin Ye raised his chin toward the teapot, but didn't say anything as he continued to read the documents. Zhao Yun and Qin Changxin didn't say anything, either, and after they had a few cups of tea, Qin Ye finally closed the documents before casting a contemplative gaze toward the night sky. "None of the powerful underworlds have arrived, and the most powerful foreign underworld emissaries present are only Abyssal Prefects..."

He picked up his teacup, but only held it up to his lips and didn't drink from it. "So what is giving them the courage not to greet one of the four pillars' representative teams?"

In this foreign land, Qin Ye knew the importance of remaining calm at all times.

Zhao Yun took a sip of tea as his eyes narrowed slightly, and he mused, "It's because they no longer think we're worth greeting."

He made his way over to the window and also looked out at the moon as he continued, "It's a very cruel reality, but it's the reality nonetheless. Ever since the establishment of the Coalition of Underworlds, each nation has had to find its own way in the world. The major nations don't have to do anything to attract attention, but that won't work for the smaller nations. They have to constantly be up to something to attract the attention of the major nations and be granted some benefits for their efforts. An example of this is Daehan in the mortal realm. Do you really think the experts in Daehan have gone insane and are constantly provoking Cathay for no reason? No, that's simply the best way for them to attract attention to themselves. In their constant provocation of Cathay, they're hoping to be able to latch onto the coattails of Usonia. The same applies in the underworld. If some smaller nations want to make their voices heard in the underworld alliance, then they have to kick up a fuss. As the saying goes, only the infants who cry will be given milk, and in order for there to be milk, there has to be a mother. We've been absent for 100 years, so it's only natural that the infants beneath us have gone to eek milk elsewhere. They're currently drinking someone else's milk, so it's only to be expected that they wouldn't dare to come and meet us in fear of being cut off by their current 'mother'."

Qin Ye smiled in response. "That's a very appropriate analogy."

Regardless of how powerful the Cathayan Underworld had been in the past, it had to face the consequences of its century-long absence, and even though they had only just arrived in Nara, they had already been taught a good lesson.

"Even despite all of that, the Cathayan Underworld has stood for several thousand years, surely there should be a few puppet nations under our control."

Qin Changxin chuckled, "Your Excellency, all of those puppet nations that you speak of have become the territory of the 12 envoys. The rulers of these puppet nations don't even have the right to participate in conferences of this caliber. In order to participate in these major international conferences, the first prerequisite that must be satisfied is a government with independent decision-making power."

Qin Ye nodded in response before putting down his teacup. "Alright, so what do we do now?"

He clasped his hands behind his own back as he slowly walked around the room, and the expression on his face was becoming more and more serious. "I was thinking about this just now. If this conference could be referred to as a massive play, then we would've already entered the final scriptless rehearsals. The conclusion of the re-signing ceremony to be held in seven days will be the conclusion of the play, and it'll also be the time when all facades of civility and geniality will be cast aside."

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He turned his gaze toward Zhao Yun and Qin Changxin as he continued in a grim voice, "We must secure more votes during the next six days!"

All conferences held by the Coalition of Underworlds were decided by votes. Of course, the four pillars all had veto rights, and this was something that Qin Ye had already familiarized himself with.

He didn't know what the opposing parties were going to do, but it wasn't difficult to guess that they were undoubtedly plotting to dethrone the Cathayan Underworld as one of the four pillars.

Many underworlds had prepared extensively for this conference, contacting countless death gods to set up an elaborate trap. No one could teach them what to do here, so they could only think on their feet and adapt to the situation as it unfolded. Only then would they be able to secure more votes.

He curled a finger and the documents flew over to him again. He gently stroked the documents as he said, "There are currently 34 underworlds in this world, and only 11 of them have arrived thus far. As long as we can secure 18 votes, which would be over half, then our safety would be ensured."

Dead silence.

No one said anything, and all three of them were rapidly pondering how to accomplish this.

Everyone knew what had to be done, but this was something that was far easier said than done.

No one had even turned up to greet them, and this was the first major international conference the Cathayan Underworld had appeared in in over 100 years!

This couldn't be considered to be anything other than a blatant slap to the face!

However, in this current situation, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and endure it.

Qin Changxin pursed his lips as he heaved a faint sigh. "What we're trying to do is reverse a chance that had taken place over the course of a century in just seven days..."

Even with the enormous power and influence the Cathayan Underworld had held in the past, this was far too difficult a task to complete.

However, the hunters weren't going to give their prey time to rest and recuperate.

"During international conferences, every single meeting could be seen as an indication of a party's attitude," Zhao Yun suddenly said. "For some things, all we need to do is vaguely imply something, and that'll be enough for us to find out the true thoughts of others."

Qin Ye raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Are you referring to the welcome banquet that's going to be held in a few hours?"

Zhao Yun nodded in response. "If you extend an olive branch to an appropriate degree during the banquet, I'm sure some of the underworlds will be interested. Of course, you can't make it too obvious. After all, the Cathayan Underworld of the past never stooped to something like this. There may have been a change in administration, but the overall style can't be altered too significantly. Otherwise, that would definitely not be a good thing for us in these tumultuous times. In fact, it could arouse suspicion and even fear among other nations."

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Qin Ye immediately understood what Zhao Yun was saying, and he gave a firm nod in response.

……………………………………………………

Amano-Iwato was an underworld that had stood for over 1,000 years, and for such an important international conference, the Nipponese Underworld had made extensive preparations. For example, many jet-bridge-like structures had been erected between the pavilions, allowing everyone to traverse between the pavilions as quickly as possible.

The welcome banquet for the Cathayan Underworld was going to be held in the banquet hall, the "Small Chrysanthemum" on the second floor of the main pavilion.

The banquet hall was very large, and the tables inside were round tables of the ancient Cathayan style. Each table could seat over 10 people, and there were a total of six tables. As Qin Ye arrived in the banquet hall with his entourage, Izanami, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, and around a dozen other underworld emissaries were already waiting for them.

"We welcome the representatives of the Cathayan Underworld!" Izanami stood up before extending a respectful bow, and all of the other underworld emissaries quickly followed suit. Qin Ye swept his gaze over the underworld emissaries present, and a surge of fury immediately welled up in his heart.

The fact that not a single underworld had paid them a visit had already struck him with the premonition that this was going to happen, but he was still enraged to discover that aside from Izanami and Susanoo-no-Mikoto, all of the other underworld emissaries present were Infernal Judges!

All of the underworlds that had arrived thus far were completely insignificant compared with the Cathayan Underworld, and even the Red Moon Federation was nothing more than an alliance forged by several small islands. The most powerful beings among these underworlds were only Abyssal Prefects, yet there were only Infernal Judges present.

This meant that even these trifling underworlds weren't respecting the Cathayan Underworld, even though this was the first time the Cathayan Underworld had returned to the international stage in a century.

Not even a single one of these underworlds' leaders were in attendance!

For one of the four pillars, this was an outrageous insult, and it most likely hadn't ever happened during the past several thousand years!

Qin Ye was still maintaining a smile on his face, but he was wringing his hands so tightly together behind his own back that his joints were cracking. Regardless of how enraged he was, he had to endure it. This was the nature of politics, and there was no room for emotion here.

"No need for formalities." His smile was impeccable, and Izanami stood up straight again to look directly at Qin Ye, then smiled as she said, "It's a pity that you came at a time like this, Yanluo Qin. All of the governor-generals and leaders of the underworld that have arrived thus far went on a night trip to Mount Fuji, and they haven't returned yet, so I'm afraid they won't be able to show up for this welcome banquet."

At this point, the anger that Qin Ye had just repressed had already completely faded.

There was no way that these underworlds would be unaware of the Cathayan Underworld's arrival, it was clear that this supposed night trip to Mount Fuji was nothing more than a lie.

Did these people not dare to meet him or did they not want to? Were they bowing to pressure from other underworlds, or simply unwilling to risk losing the benefits they were receiving from the powerful underworlds standing against the Cathayan Underworld?

Qin Ye's thoughts were racing, and he immediately figured out what expression he should be displaying in this situation. He should've been angry, but he couldn't show it. He had to put on a display of nonchalance. After all, there were only a few insignificant underworlds present.

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With that in mind, he merely smiled and said, "What a coincidence!"

After that, he didn't say anything as he followed Izanami to the main table.

As soon as everyone took a seat, an Infernal Judge immediately said in a respectful voice, "My sincerest apologies, Yanluo Qin, but there's going to be a ghost worship ceremony on Mount Fuji tonight. The ceremony takes place once every 50 years, and it's an extremely rare opportunity. Our governor-general says that he'll be sure to visit you in person in a few days to atone for his absence here."

"Our leader also says that it is with the utmost regret that he has to be absent from this welcome banquet," a man who appeared to be from a tropical nation chimed in in a genuinely concerned voice. "Our Red Moon Federation will be offering up a present of apology to make up for our leader's absence today."

Qin Ye swept his gaze around the room, and including the Nipponese Underworld, there were a total of 12 underworlds present.

If possible, he really wanted to erase all of these underworld emissaries who were lying to his face out of existence, but instead, what he had to do was to display some benevolence.

"The Red Moon Federation?" Information on the Red Moon Federation quickly flashed through his mind as he smiled and said, "If I recall correctly, this is a federation of islands that specializes in agriculture and stock farming. 100 years ago, we signed a contract with your federation to purchase 50% of the Yin beast meat and over 40 types of fruit that your federation was producing."

This was a very understated display of friendliness.

Under normal circumstances, if the leader of the Cathayan Underworld were to say something like this to the representative of a small nation, they would immediately reply with something like: "Was the quality of our meat and fruit exports to your liking? Would you like to consider renewing the contract?"

However, the representative's actual reply was: "I didn't think you would remember all of that so clearly, Lord Qin."

He seemed intent on not mentioning a contract renewal!

Qin Ye was gripping his wine cup tightly as his mind began to race even more rapidly. He needed a point of breakthrough, one that would allow the other nations to see the Cathayan Underworld's sincerity and agree to negotiate terms with them!

Only then would he be able to extend the conversations, at which point he would be able to try and sway their votes!

He could threaten them verbally, but if he couldn't back up his threats by deploying its troops in the future, then the reputation of the Cathayan Underworld would truly be ruined. Furthermore, the entire world had their eyes on the Cathayan Underworld, and this was definitely not a good time to be making threats.

Qin Ye lowered his head slightly as he maintained a calm smile and took a sip of his wine.

There was a very good chance that he wouldn't be able to sway the votes of the underworlds present.

He couldn't continue to insist on prolonging the conversation as that would be far too demeaning to the Cathayan Underworld, and the killing intent in his heart was constantly building.

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He was already extending an olive branch, only for it to be slapped aside, yet he couldn't afford to get angry!

He finally understood why the second King Yanluo disliked this position.