Chapter 477: Wheels of Fate

Limbo.

Everything was still and silent. Not a single Yin spirit dared approach such a terrifying divine beast. Just then, there was a soft sigh, and yet the Harken remained deep in its slumber!

It was a man’s hand, bony at the joints, while a system of veins could be seen right underneath the skin. Calluses could be seen on the underside of the hands. These were a telltale sign of habitually handling weapons.

He did so right in front of the Harken’s eyes, and yet the Harken was completely unaware of his presence or his actions at all.

Let Qin Ye become a competent King Yanluo of Hell!

Whoosh! Golden light filled the lands in the moment of radiance. The Harken trembled softly, and then abruptly shot to its feet, “Who is it?!!”

Fate… had been activated!

But before it could go on, a blurry figure suddenly appeared right above the Harken’s head and gently patted it.

The blurry silhouette smiled faintly as he continued to stroke the Harken across its head, “I’ve come back because I’ve lost everything I had.”

“It’s naturally elsewhere.” The man responded placidly, “I’d say I’ve lost about a billion Yin spirit stones. I get the feeling that the fella seated opposite me called the Destroyer is cheating, but unfortunately I’ve got no evidence to back up my claims. Say, do you still have the key to Hell’s treasury that I’d entrusted you with? Do you mind if I… borrowed it for a moment?”

Those are public funds we’re talking about! Do you know what public funds are meant to be? Besides, do you really think there’s still a treasury to be exploited now?!

Silence.

“Then what about my debt--... I mean, does that mean there’s absolutely nothing left of Hell? Eh, I recall there’s still the divine molt left behind by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. That’s got to be worth at least a few billion Yin spirit stones…”

“Nobody complained when you chose to remain absent from imperial court meetings back then, but you absolutely cannot remove the divine molt from where it is right now! If you do, the blight vermin will almost certainly pour out to the rest of the world!”

Buzz… Just then, a soft sound of an unlocking mechanism echoed through the void. The man and the Harken both looked over, only to realize that Fate had begun to write in the air of its own accord.

Seconds later, the Harken coughed softly, “My Lord, why were you so intent on completing that statement of Fate?”

Moments later, he retracted his gaze and continued speaking with sobriety, “I can’t deny that Granny Meng has found us a decent successor. However… it doesn’t change the fact that his life is currently too closely intertwined with the mortal realm.”

“This is the process of growth. Growth entails retaining what is important, and discarding the rabble. And to that end, it’s about time that he cuts off his ties with the mortal realm.”

The figure laughed, “Once the wheels of Fate begin to turn, it will set into motion occurrences that form the basis of causality. Everything would happen as though it were a series of coincidences, and there wouldn’t be any traces of human manipulation in the slightest. Besides, you probably won’t recover for the next thousand years if you were to bear the weight of karma for influencing the life of a King Yanluo of Hell.”

Then, he suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question, “Do you know what being powerful means?”

The Harken chuckled, “Power could refer to both physical strength, as well as mental acuity. That said… anyone who doesn’t have a commensurately strong heart to set the stage for his display of strength would never accomplish great things.”

“While I can appreciate his perspective, I cannot indulge in his actions.”

“The one who wants to wear the crown, must bear its weight.”

The figure stood up, “He says that he needs one year’s time to tie up all the loose ends. Unfortunately, Hell doesn’t have such luxury of time to keep waiting for him at this point of inflection.”

The golden light shone brightly once more, and a line of words appeared right beneath the statement of Fate that had earlier been written - ‘Hungry Ghost Festival’.

The Harken breathed a sigh of relief as it chuckled bitterly, “That’s right. Do you know something? When I first met him, he was ridiculously weak, while the new Hell was a complete wasteland. It was difficult to even keep an eye on them. Back then, the first thought that occurred to me was to kill him, seize the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal and pick a new successor.”

“And since he’s earned his recognition, then the next best thing I could do would be to act as his auxiliary. To this end, I saw nothing wrong with his means prior to taking Qufu. After all, Hell had nothing, and it was necessary to draw from the mortal realm in order to accelerate Hell’s growth. But things are now different after seizing Qufu!”

The silhouette nodded, and then promptly vanished from sight, “Then protect him well. He’s not bad.”

With that, the figure vanished, leaving no traces behind.

Besides… nothing is insurmountable.

It stared silently and intently at the golden words in the air, completely lost in its own thoughts. Then, after an inordinate amount of time, Fate began to write in the air once again.

Another name; another coincidence.

The Harken frowned and thought for some time, but concluded that this wasn’t someone that it knew of.

Conference hall of the Mythic Palace of Reflections, Hell.

There was the smell of sparks of tension and ignition.

Just then, another voice cut through the tense silence of the room, “I’ve got something to add.” Everyone looked over.

He was one of the few who hadn’t taken sides just yet. Qin Ye nodded at him, and Zhang Zeguang picked up a document and cleared his throat, “Just like the Department of Human Resources in the mortal realm, the Department of Ghost Resources is in charge of the major districts of Hell and all neighbourhood committees. It’s the ministry that walks closest to the grassroots. And because of this, we have received word from the ground that the public have some requests, which to our minds, are rather reasonable.”

“Festivities are one of the things that remain constant throughout history. They both nurture spirituality, as well as act as a cultural carrier for Hell. Now that Ashmound is on the right track for growth, I think it’s about time to establish a few festivities for the people to celebrate.”

Besides, I’ve heard Arthis say in passing that these festivities are also an important pillar of support for the economy of Hell…

“First of all, I would propose the institution of a national day.” Zhang Zeguang explained, “I believe that this is a festivity or a holiday that every Yin spirit should remember and celebrate. As for the time, I’d humbly leave it to Yanluo Qin’s determination.”

“To that end, the most well-known festivities celebrated in hell are undoubtedly the three major ghost festivals, namely the Qingming Festival , the Winter Clothes Day, and… the Hungry Ghost Festival.”

1. That’s also called the Tomb-sweeping Day or the Ancestor’s Day, when people visit the graves of their ancestors.

2. This is the first day of winter in the Lunar Calendar, when the living would burn offerings of winter clothes to their loved ones to keep them warm.