Chapter 632: Land of Longxing

He’d never expected the Eight Great Clans to be so powerful that they could even threaten the seat of imperial power!

“They definitely will!” Qin Ye responded affirmatively, “At the very least, they would make plans to provide for their future generations.”

“As far as the Eight Great Clans are concerned, I think it is safe to say that they would all have made provisions such that, even if they were to be completely erased from the surface of the netherworld, their future generations would still be able to rise from the ashes and gain clout in Hell once more. They wouldn’t even consider establishing for themselves an empire overseas. This is their home, and their pride wouldn’t allow them to consider shifting out of these lands. Suppose, for instance, The Li Clan of the Tang Dynasty were completely and utterly crushed by the Second King Yanluo in a fit of rage, the descendants of the Li Clan would wait and bide for their time, rebuilding their power in a remote place for hundreds of years, until they finally have sufficient strength to make a resurgence in Hell.”

However, he wasn’t quite able to put a finger on it just yet. Thus, he simply continued where the Harken left off, frowning slightly as he continued with the Harken’s analysis, “And that’s not all, because rebuilding their strength would not only require a protracted period of time, it would even require an immense amount of resources. Was this what you’d meant earlier when you spoke of provisions and contingencies?”

Qin Ye nodded and came to a complete halt. Then, he proceeded to pace about in the air with his hands behind his back, “As you’d mentioned earlier, these provisions may include contacts and resources… but over and above that, they may possibly even include armaments.”

Whoosh… The Harken’s words were like a bolt of the blue that crashed straight into Qin Ye’s mind, blasting all haze and doubt away. At once, he chuckled coldly, “But… that’s only limited to Hell.”

“And what’s the best place to do that?” He smiled brightly, “The Second King Yanluo may be the master and lord of Hell, but to pry into the affairs of another realm would clearly be to act beyond his authority. Besides, he’s a lazy old fogey, just like myself…”

Qin Ye coughed dryly, “I mean… I just thought it was a suitable comparison… Besides, we’re quite similar with each other in many other ways…”

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Would you know gratitude for what I’ve done for Hell if I don’t make such comparisons?

Just like that, they stared at each other in deadlock for the next three seconds, before the Harken finally relented and lowered its head, “Fine. I concede that I’m hardly as thick-skinned as you.”

“And that is the mortal realm!”

“That’s right… That has to be the case. I was still wondering who it might’ve been who possessed such Yama-class might at their disposal. If the source of this power came from one of the Eight Great Clans, then that would explain everything. In fact, it would only make sense that they would employ such concealment techniques and traps. Otherwise, who knows whether the Second King Yanluo would incidentally spot their presence when he suddenly indulges himself in a leisurely stroll through the mortal realm?”

He licked his lips, and then transformed into a furious nethergale that dragged the Harken right along with it as it hurtled straight towards the mortal realm.

“And it’s got to be in Chuzhou, right?”

“Of course!” Qin Ye responded with pride, “I’ve gained quite a fair bit of knowledge while I was scraping by back in the mortal realm!”

“After all, Fengyang is the place where the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Emperor, otherwise known as Zhu Yuanzhang, was born! And that’s not all. Fengyang County even hides the 2,600 years old ruins of the ancient, mysterious Zhongli State, as well as the 1,700 years old ruins of the ancient city of Haozhou! It even used to be the Linhuai Pass, the place where one of the Eight Immortals of the Taoist pantheon gained immortality. It was also the place where Hongwu Emperor had once spent two years as a monk, and he later personally honored it by giving it the name of Fengyang…”

“What do you mean? Hasn’t that always been the--... Holy crap! Let go! That’s my butt! Don’t bite me! Bloody hell, can’t you find a proper resting place for your mouth?!”

Fengyang County, Chuzhou City.

It was strange. Fengyang County was a place that contained immense spiritual energy. However, it also appeared to be completely untouched by the supernatural plague that was breaking out in every other part of Cathay. In fact, there wasn’t even a single Yin spirit around these parts. It was almost as though the Yin spirits had all completely forgotten about this place.

And it was also precisely because of how unique Fengyang County was that there was only one investigator from the Special Investigations Department who was posted here. To that end, his task wasn’t to monitor the changes to Yin energy around these parts, but… to clean up the base of operations at Fengyang County.

Therefore, in the absence of any further supernatural outbreaks, cleaning was the investigator’s main function, while surveillance was only his incidental job.

“When will this finally end…” He yawned lazily, “It’s already been three years since I’ve been posted here, and yet it’s only been half of my assignment?! I’m bored to death! At least send a researcher here to accompany me so that we can still play a game of chess or two… Do you really think it’s fun watching the empty surveillance monitors and sweeping the floor everyday?”

This was an alarm for a critical situation. However, the investigator did nothing more than sweep it a casual glance, before ignoring it again.

Nobody would dare act brazenly around these parts.

Judge-class?

He calmly flicked off the ashes on the cigarette butt and got to his feet. A split second later, a deafening alarm tore through the still silence of the night!

Dead silence.

Meanwhile, the number shown on the upper right corner of the surveillance monitor only continued to go up. He glanced at it, and at once, his legs went limp and numb.

Abyssal Prefect!

“H-how can this be?! Something’s gone wrong with the machine, hasn’t it?! This is Fengyang County after all - the place blessed by the spirit of Emperor Hongwu!” He grabbed his hair and yelled at the top of his voice. Then, a split second later, he mustered every modicum of energy he could and charged right out of the door, making his way straight towards the office of the county government.

Unfortunately, those weren’t black clouds.

As an investigator of the Special Investigations Department, he immediately noticed the difference - a difference that clearly spelt trouble for Fengyang County!

He stared blankly at the sky with his phone in his hand. Then, with an equally lost and listless expression, he raised his phone and dialed a number, “It’s me… Fengyang County, Special Investigations Department… Please put me through to Chief Mo Changhao… Bloody hell, just do it already!! Right now! Right now! This is a special emergency! Prefect-class levels of Yin energy have appeared in Fengyang County! Do you want to get fired?!”

“I’m… outside right now…” The Fengyang County investigator stared at the sky with a bleak expression on his face, “The sky is overcast with clouds of Yin energy, almost as though the Gates of Hell are opening right in the mortal realm. We’re definitely talking about a powerful Yin spirit! I don’t know if it’s just passing by, or if… if… it’s destination is here in Fengyang…”

Two seconds later, Mo Changhao made the call, “Protect Fengyang with your life.”

“Yes…”

A sudden dip in the ambient temperature… This is definitely the sign of the arrival of an evil ghost… The investigator couldn’t help but recall the telltale signs that he’d learnt from the expert investigators. Shuddering violently, he sat down helplessly on the steps of the entrance to the county government building and wrapped his arms around himself.

Meanwhile, dozens of Underworldly Craftsmen plying their trade in the heart of Fengyang County stopped everything they were doing.

In another store selling talismans and spells on the second floor, an old woman trembled violently as she peeked out of the store for a glance. Then, with a shrill shriek, she immediately shrank back and locked all of the doors and windows to her store.

BZZT… The entire city went dark.

“Who would’ve thought that I would one day return to the mortal realm? Oh, I’ve missed you so…”

1. For those who want a better idea of the geography involved -