âThe emergency happens to be right here.â Zhou Xianlong appeared completely calm as he nodded softly and led them deeper into the city hall, âItâs my intention to keep it this way. Howâs Little Qin?â
âThereâs no issues. SirâŠâ
Zhou Xianlong looked up and shook his head softly, and Mo Changhao immediately fell silent. With that, the two men plodded along the corridors in silence, almost as though they were invisible to the rest, until they arrived in front of an emergency passageway. And then, they headed in.
They were already on the ground floor, and yet⊠there were still stairs within that led deeper down!
That said, neither of them appeared to be surprised by its existence. They marched through it and continued walking for approximately five minutes, until they arrived in front of an iron door.
âDS008. Thatâs the code that youâd fixed back then.â Mo Changhao sighed softly as he pulled out a keycard and tapped it over the keyhole of the door.
Strangely, the ancient-looking iron door suddenly spoke with a mechanical female voice, âHigh-level authorization detected. Please scan your iris.â
Bzzt⊠A small compartment on the iron door silently opened up, revealing the most cutting-edge iris verification instrument within.
Mo Changhao leaned in closer, âVerification complete.â The iron door clicked softly and opened up promptly, only to reveal a chamber within that was filled with high-tech implements!
It was none other than the headquarters of the Special Investigations Department, Martial City branch office!
âChief, whatâs there that we canât talk about up there?â Mo Changhao couldnât keep it within any longer, âAnd why did we have to put Mr Qin through a full body examination? Itâs completely unnecessary! Heâs got a shadow! Yin spirits canât fool us like that! Heâs undoubtedly an Infernal Judge!â
âHave you ever seen a cultivator advance so quickly?â Zhou Xianlong continued walking forward without even turning back. The corridor wasnât long, and it soon opened up into a hall with countless devices that appeared to monitor every corner of Martial City. A number of investigators dressed in camouflage uniforms and white lab coats shuttled about inside as they busied themselves with their tasks and duties.
Mo Changhao shook his head, but remained adamant about his position, âSo long as heâs a human being, I couldnât care less about what secrets heâs harbouring. Chief, you know full well the kind of situation Cathay is faced with right now! That evil ghost terrorizing Eastmount Province might well be a thousand-year ghost, and heâs running rampant about! Is now really the time to be bothered about such trivialities?!â
âI agree.â Zhou Xianlong entered the hall. At once, everyone turned and bowed respectfully to him. He nodded slightly, and then led Mo Changhao straight to another room on the side.
It was a round room that was approximately 100 square feet in size. There was nothing noteworthy within apart from the beehive structures that ran along every part of the walls.
Whoosh⊠The door shut behind them, and it was only then that Zhou Xianlong finally turned around to look Mo Changhao straight in the eye, âBut first, he has to be a human being.â
With that, he turned around and spoke loudly, âBring up Docket 871.â At once, a mechanical sound began to whir in the âhiveâ behind. Seconds later, a mechanical female voice responded, âHigh-level authorization detected. Deputy Director Zhou Xianlong, please hold on as your request is being processed.â
There was a period of silence as both men awaited what came next.
Mo Changhao furrowed his brows. Last night, he received direct orders from Zhou Xianlong to preside over Qin Yeâs promotion ceremony here in Martial City. He had never heard of such a request before! Historically, all Infernal Judges were to report directly back to Yan Capital for their promotion ceremony, enter the academy to further their studies for several months, and then hold a press conference before finally being given a new appointment after a year or so.â
Mo Changhao knew about Qin Ye.
He knew about the instructor who authored the first ever thesis to be published by the First Academy of Cultivators. Thus, he had initially thought that all of this was done because the upper echelons of the Special Investigations Department favoured a young talent like him, and they wanted him to garner a little bit more experience here in Martial City before transferring him to other tasks. Zhou Xianlong had personally called because he was Qin Yeâs mentor back in the First Academy of Cultivators, and the promotion of a cultivator to the ranks of an Infernal Judge was a matter that clearly deserved his attention. But now⊠having personally seen the instruments and devices used earlier in the conference room, he knew that there was more than meets the eye!
He knew these instruments and devices.
They were SRCâs most cutting-edge detectors that were designed to pick up the most insidious parasitic spirits or symbiotic spirits. After all, such Yin spirits that boarded and lived within the vessel of a human body were most difficult to detect. And to that end, scanning a newly-minted Infernal Judge with such devices couldnât be considered favouring him in the slightest!
Rather, it was suspicion.
Extreme suspicion!
With Judges around, it was impossible for Yin spirits to conceal their identities and pull a shade over their eyes unless they were Prefect-class Yin spirits. Coupled with the examination results, Mo Changhao thought that these suspicions would be snuffed out there and then. Yet, little did he expect things to go on endlessly like this!
Docket 871. Mo Changhao swiftly recalled the numbering system of dockets. It runs chronologically and sequentially from the smallest number, which means that this⊠must be one of the newest dockets?
And quite possibly one that was opened only in the last three months?
He recalled reviewing some of the dockets just over three months ago, and their serial numbers at all started with â86â.
Just then, one of the hive structures buzzed softly, and a small tablet was pushed out from the recesses of the hives. The screen of the tablet flickered softly, and then a video appeared on it.
It was the video of an excavation site that had excellent protective measures in place. A series of cultural relics were in the process of being excavated from the ground.
Mo Changhao wasnât familiar with such artifacts. That said, he could tell from the way they looked that these artifacts were clearly hundreds of years old. They appeared ancient and dated, but he couldnât tell from the style what dynasties they were from. More than anything, he couldnât understand why Zhou Xianlong was showing him this video. After all, Zhou Xianlong had never struck him as one for cultural appreciation.
Could it be that these archaeologists would come to excavate an ancient coffin? Or perhaps a Yin artifact?
Alas, he was wrong.
This was one of the most ordinary excavation sites of cultural relics. The largest artifact excavated was nothing more than a stone tablet. Five minutes later, the video of the excavation came to an end, and the screen toggled to reveal each piece of artifact unearthed. Unable to fend off his curiosity any longer, Mo Changhao finally queried, âWhatâs all this about?â
Zhou Xianlong also hit the pause button at about the same time.
The video paused at one of the stone tablets that had been excavated.
The image revealed the front of the stone tablet. It was very old, and even covered with black decay marks. The entire tablet was approximately four or five meters from end to end. There was also an ancient relief sculpture atop the stone tablet depicting the image of a man, followed by two lines of words that ran down. One line was long, while the other was short.
Zhou Xianlong zoomed into the frozen image, and it became clearer and clearer. Mo Changhao could now see the two rows of words, and he couldnât help but read them aloud, âKing Qinguang, Bao Tianzi, King Zhuanlun⊠these are the names of the Yamas of the Ten PalacesâŠâ
He continued to scan through the long line of text. If the long line of text was etched with the names of the Yamas of the Ten Palaces, then the short line of text would in all likelihood reflect the name of King Yanluo himself.
But as soon as he turned to the shorter line of text, he abruptly straightened his back and did a double take at the screen. Mo Changhao was a provincial governor, and yet even he wasnât able to conceal the great astonishment in his heart.
âT-this isâŠâ He shook his head with great disbelief. Even his lips were trembling uncontrollably, âThis has got to be a coincidence, right? A coincidenceâŠâ
There were only four words on the next line.
King Yanluo: Qin Ye!
Mo Changhao muttered to himself, âHeâs only 19 years-old. The fact that their names happen to coincide doesnât mean anythingâŠâ
âBut, is it really a coincidence?â Zhou Xianlong nodded in silence, and then tapped on the screen, âThen⊠this⊠must also be a coincidence, right?â
The docket revealed a photograph of Qin Ye taken from right in front of him.
Thick eyebrows, large eyes, pale skin and a faint smile on his face. He was charming, youthful and rather good-looking.
Just then, Zhou Xianlong booted up another software where he superimposed Qin Yeâs photograph onto the relief sculpture of the stone tablet.
In that instant, Mo Changhaoâs heart skipped a beat.
The face on the stone tablet was wearing a Zhongkui headdress and the robes of an Infernal Judge, and yet⊠his facial features were exactly the same as that of Qin Yeâs photograph! They were practically two peas in a pod!
Thump, thump, thump⊠Mo Changhaoâs heart was practically thumping out of his chest right now. He had experienced a multitude of peculiar things in his life, and yet this coincidence was so otherworldly that it felt no different from a dream right now.
Just then, Zhou Xianlong released the click of his mouse and allowed Qin Yeâs photograph to directly âfallâ onto the image of the stone tablet. At once, a series of numbers began to show up at the sides and corners of the screen, while a progress bar began to fill from the left to the right.
Dead silence.
Ten seconds later, with a soft ding, a mechanical female voice delivered the startling results, âFacial recognition scan completed. The results are as follows.â
âDistance between eyebrows: 2.2cm. Width of nose: 4.57cm. Philtrum: 2.87cm⊠The tilt and angle of all five senses are exactly the same. Image detected on the photograph is a 100% match to the image of comparison. Result: Same person.â
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Mo Changhao closed his eyes once more and immersed himself in the wild palpitations of his heart. His lips had grown completely parched by now.
Three minutes later, he muttered hoarsely, âWhen did this⊠happen?â
âOne month ago.â Zhou Xianlong crossed his arms and pinched between his brows, âKnow how we found out?â
Mo Changhao shook his head. He didnât know what to believe anymore.
There were too many questions lingering on his mind right now. King Yanluo⊠what a reverential figureâŠ
King Qinguang, King Dushi, King Zhuanlun, and the other Yamas of the Ten Palaces can all be traced back to the mortal realm. King Yanluo was the only one who couldnât.
Heâs practically a nameless god.
But now⊠we finally have some evidence of his name?! By whose account?
That 19 years-old boy is none other than the King Yanluo of Hell?
No⊠Letâs take a step back. If heâs really the King Yanluo of Hell, then whatâs he doing in the mortal realm in the first place? And how did this stone tablet appear? The fact that King Yanluo is in the mortal realm means that there is necessity for his presence. So why would a stone tablet disclosing his identity like this suddenly appear in the mortal realm?
A series of queries continued to surface on his mind just like bubbling, gurgling waters.
Zhou Xianlong leaned back on his chair and tapped his fingers on the table, âWe were able to discover this because⊠in the span of a single month, 364 pieces of similar stone tablets were found to bear the very same line of text that says âKing Yanluo: Qin Yeâ.â
âDo you know something? It feels almost as though these stone tablets were all hiding and waiting for us to notice them at the exact same time. But is that even possible?â
âKing Yanluo⊠If heâs truly the King Yanluo of Hell, then there would have been records of his identity across monuments, temples and other ancient steles. But there isnât. Every single record alleging his identity as King Yanluo of Hell had only just suddenly appeared, almost as though⊠something⊠has approved of his office, and is doing everything it can to force our agreement!â
Mo Changhao grew somber and stern, âAre you suggesting that⊠a new god has appeared?â
He paused for a moment, and then continued, âAre you certain that⊠this isnât the works of an evil ghost?â
Zhou Xianlong shook his head firmly, âNo. Thatâs not possible.â
âThe 364 stone tablets that I was referring to earlier werenât all newly unearthed artifacts. Itâs not possible to unearth so many new artifacts in a single month.â Zhou Xianlong cast a deep gaze at Mo Changhao, âDo you⊠get my drift?â
Mo Changhao furrowed his brows, and then suddenly gasped as he stared at the image on the tablet with a soft quiver in his eyes.
âAre you saying that⊠over three hundred artifacts relating to the records of King Yanluo⊠had all been changed overnight to reflect Qin Yeâs name?!â Even an Infernal Judge had limits to their composure, and the magnitude and implications of this occurrence had clearly exceeded that of Mo Changhao. After all, something like that⊠represented the change in the entire dynasty of Hell!
It was the ascension of a new king!
Zhou Xianlong stared intently at the screen as he continued softly, âAll of our records about the King Yanluo of Hell, whether Taoism, Buddhism, or other ancient tablets or steles, appeared to be altered by an invisible hand overnight. The words âQin Yeâ have been added to these records without any measure of concealment whatsoever. In fact⊠it almost feels as though that mysterious entity is⊠notifying us.â
With that, both men grew silent.
Whoâs this mysterious person declaring the truth about the identity of the King Yanluo of Hell? Why would all signs be pointing towards Qin Ye?
Hell?
Impossible. If itâs truly Qin Ye, then the fact that heâs currently back in the mortal realm means that heâs got his purposes and objectives. How could Hell be attempting to blow the cover of its own head honcho?
An evil ghost?
Thatâs even less likely!
Would evil ghosts dare to blaspheme against the name of the King Yanluo of Hell? To date, weâve not heard of Yin spirits even tampering with records pertaining to the Emissaries of Hell - even those pertaining to lower officials including Hellguards and Judges. And this held true even when the incidents involved incarnate revenants.
So⊠who the hell could this be?!
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