Chapter 496: T Minus 8 Days (2)

And even if Arthis didn’t know, the Harken would definitely know something about this.

“I’m fine.” Qin Ye shook his head, “There’s something very strange here. Notify the top brass immediately.”

Wu Wenqing glared fiercely at the young man, before turning back to Qin Ye with a soft smile, “Apologies. That’s Maverick, a greenhorn who doesn’t quite know the rules. Please don’t mind him. Anyhow, I’ll notify the top brass immediately. What other preparations do we need to undertake?”

Preparations? What preparations?

Seconds later, Qin Ye responded vaguely, “Do it in accordance with our usual protocol. I’ll personally keep watch in this vicinity until our headquarters send reinforcements.”

With that, both Qin Ye and Wu Wenqing departed, leaving the star-struck investigators to their own devices. Yet, little did they realize that the ordinary-looking young man who had interjected earlier secretly fell behind the rest of the pack of investigators. It was almost as though there was a veil pulled over his existence, and his presence was barely noticeable to others.

He entered through the rear door of the car and took his seat, before bowing respectfully to the other man in the vehicle, “Deputy Director.”

“How was it?” Zhou Xianlong shut his eyes as he held the cap of a black thermos filled with fragrant black tea.

“I listened to your conversations earlier.” Zhou Xianlong pointed at the Bluetooth headset that was clearly hanging from his ears, “I didn’t pick up anything suspicious, but I naturally trust your judgment more as one of the elites among the albatross.”

Zhou Xianlong nodded.

Zhou Xianlong remained taciturn.

“Or should I say, how would you, along with 99% of the other Infernal Judges, acted in such circumstances?”

Maverick redirected the focus to the topic back at hand, “That’s right. But what did he do?”

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

After all, suspicion was something that accumulated in the smallest drops, yet the impact of these droplets would disclose a raging tsunami brewing in the distance.

He glanced around meaningfully, “I’m afraid he must have detected something that puts him in a conflicted position. He wants to resolve it, but he daren’t do so. Unfortunately, his office in Martial City puts him in a spot, and shirking responsibility here and now would clearly blow his cover. Therefore, he’s chosen to delay matters so that he can think of a better way out. His approach isn’t problematic in and of itself, but his response in the context of the situation leaves much to be desired. Naturally… this is all borne out of a suspicion on my part.”

“The camera it uses has been specially set up by the Lupin Group in order to capture the most inconspicuous of supernatural sightings. Take a look for yourself.”

The statue of Qin Ye was patently clear.

It was impossible to see just how tall or large it was. Yet what was certain was the fact that Qin Ye’s statue was located at the highest point of the building!

“So what if they are?” Zhou Xianlong responded with a booming voice, “What has Hell been doing this last ten years? Sure, the mortal realm could do with any help it can get, but we’ll still get by regardless of it.”

“We want results. Don’t you realize the implications of this? If he’s indeed one of the legendary Emissaries of Hell, then what does his presence here mean? Why does he have to hide among the mortals, and even slip into the ranks of the mortal realm’s solution to the problem just to fight against the Yin spirits? What kind of danger would this place him in? What would happen if his cover is blown? Why is he taking such risks to begin with?”

“We’ll dig and dig, and then dig some more, until everything finally comes to light! Don’t you worry, even if it so happens that he’s none other than the real King Yanluo of Hell, I’ll take responsibility for it all!”

Things at the Special Investigations Department got busy as a result of their investigations at the worksite. Wu Wenqing brought a number of documents over for Qin Ye’s personal vetting and endorsement, including their action plans moving forward. Their work took them several hours and straight through the evening. By the time Qin Ye got back to his apartment, it was already 8.00 p.m.

He appeared right next to the Harken. Without saying a word, he immediately dropped three large bags of catnip down like a carpet bomber, only to hear a cold snort from below, “What the hell?”

Qin Ye slowly drifted to the ground, before blinking vacantly at the Harken, “Have you been possessed by someone?”

That’s true… Qin Ye walked before the Harken and hugged the Harken’s head like a loving father, “Menopause?”

Qin Ye instantly backed off from the Harken - I guess that’s got to be the case… He sighed in his heart, and then sighed wistfully before explaining everything that had transpired earlier that day, “So, what in the world was that supposed to be? How will it affect me?”

Thus, Qin Ye waited patiently. Five minutes… ten minutes… fifteen minutes…

“Ah… hmm? That’s it… that’s the spot…” The Harken rolled over ecstatically, before quipping with some measure of sarcasm, “It looks like you still know the best way to elicit a response from me…”

Qin Ye stepped back sheepishly, “What do you mean… Am I not working hard enough everyday?”

“Haah? What’s that?” Qin Ye froze for a moment and searched through his memory for the answer, only to realize that his thoughts appeared to be completely covered in a thick layer of dust. He wasn’t able to peer beneath its surface, and his conclusion was naturally that it didn’t have anything to do with himself.

The Harken got up, cracked its neck, and then stared intently into Qin Ye’s eyes.

Qin Ye frowned deeply, and then shook his head.

“Are you sure?” Qin Ye pressed the point, “Is there any way in which I could make this problem simply vanish?”

Tsk… This feels like the incipience of a messy situation… Then, with a soft sigh, Qin Ye motioned to leave for Hell.

Qin Ye coughed sheepishly - I do vaguely recall something like that, but I recall that I’ve already learnt a lot that day, and it didn’t sound like it’s got anything to do with me… So, how could I possibly still remember any of that?

“Your heart clearly isn’t with Hell!” The Harken snorted coldly, “Then, go. Go on, and reap what you’ve sown.”

“My Lord… why didn’t you explain it to him?” The miniature Harken that stopped out stared nervously at the larger Harken.

“Fate is something that only I can stop.” he sighed and gazed deep into the void, “I’d even given him one last chance at that.”

The man slowly walked along the sea of flowers of paramnesia. With a casual wave, he caused the petals of the flowers to transform into various images in front of him, “Anyone who has lived long enough in the mortal realm would naturally pick up a habit or two from them. He longs to continue straddling both realms. But, alas, he’s no mere merchant. He’s… the King Yanluo of Hell - one of the rulers of the three realms of the world… and also my successor.”

The man smiled faintly, “Have you forgotten? The Hungry Ghost Festival is coming right up. This is the first Hungry Ghost Festival that is being celebrated in the last century. Do you know how symbolic something like this is? Incidentally, it also coincides with Hell’s operations coming back into full swing, and also the recognition of the future King Yanluo of Hell as a True Infernal Judge. If I tell you that Cui Jue’s Law of Yin-Yang Coaction is in operation here, what do you make of it?”

The man promptly interrupted the Harken, “Keep watching. The start of a story usually sees the appearances of various seemingly unrelated characters, their backstories, as well as their character development. But once all that is done, their lives will begin to interlace and point towards a single direction… I’ve got the feeling that every character in the great play written by Fate has already been introduced…”

“Besides, I’m also curious to see what twists Fate will bring us? What will Fate orchestrate that triggers in him such a massive change of heart in just the span of a single day?”

1. Who let the cat out of the bag?