Yama Rising

Chapter 654: Negotiations with the Mythic Spirit (2)

In negotiations, one would sometimes encounter an unforeseen problem that threw a spanner in the works, just like how things were right now.

He’d never even heard of something like that before. But the fact that the Mythic Spirit had only asked for ten Rain Swallows suggested that this was something extremely precious and valuable.

Something used for special hobbies?

At once, the mention of these foreign words acted like a sudden surge in the tide that threatened to breach the floodgates of his tightly guarded heart.

Three seconds.

“The esteemed Mythic Spirit must be pulling my leg.” Qin Ye’s heart thumped as hard as war drums on the cusp of a great battle. His blood vessels throbbed as though they were bursting at the seams, but he did his level best to maintain a placid and calm smile on his face, “I’ve never heard of something like that.”

“Hell holds a lofty status as one of the P4 underworlds. But, even then, the Black Mamba Underworld is still an underworld with the presence of a Mythic Spirit as well. In fact, there are at least 30 Alkebulan Underworlds, of which at least 20 possess the might of a Mythic Spirit. And this is the current count that we have.”

He lowered his head, and a deafening clang suddenly echoed throughout the entire grand hall, almost as though ten thousand swords clashed mightily against each other at the exact same time. It was absolutely chilling.

Qin Ye shut his eyes, and the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, “Unfortunately, you’re speaking of knowledge that comes with a continuing relationship. This isn’t something that can simply be communicated through verbal means.”

Bloody hell… I’m practically placing my life on the line!

“Mr Qin.” Babulu placed his hands on his abdomen and leaned back coldly, “Didn’t you say that you were a trusted member of the Zhu Clan?”

Qin Ye’s mind spun right into overdrive. If he were a machine, then there would most certainly be steam coming out of his head right now.

He had no other choice.

And he had no choice but to abandon his purported identity as a member of the Zhu Clan in order to survive. His best course of action now was simply to remain as vague and ambiguous as the Black Mamba Underworld would condone.

Black Mamba stared intently at him as he said these things. Five seconds later, he suddenly chuckled and finished the contents of his wine glass in one go.

“It just slipped my mind. The Rain Swallow isn’t something that the Zhu Clan had promised. I’d gotten it all mixed up… I guess I am getting old after all…”

As expected of an old Yama-King… To think that he’d come up with something to catch me off guard completely out of the blue.

Think of it this way. Both sides were posturing aggressively and yet maintaining a rock solid defense all the while. But Black Mamba’s masterstroke of a negotiation tactic had suddenly taken Qin Ye by surprise, forcing Qin Ye to dig himself a hole and tear a gap in his own defense by admitting that he didn’t in fact bear the Zhu Clan’s surname. All they needed to do right now was to seize the tempo of the negotiations before Qin Ye could get back into the rhythm of things.

“Can I ask one more question?” As expected, Black Mamba didn’t give him any breathing room at all, “Since the Zhu Clan is so bold as to take to the seas, does that also mean that our fleet of ships can start docking in Hell once more? Is the Pearl River port of Hell open for business again?”

“The Black Mamba Underworld should be aware of the lockdown that Hell is experiencing right now. Hunter-class darkfeathers and Hellguard-class darkfeathers may enter Hell under the right conditions, but none have ever stepped out of Hell to date.”

Qin Ye sighed softly.

Not only was he going to respond to this - he was going to respond well!

Silence.

If Qin Ye wasn’t planning to respond to questions about Hell’s current situation, then the easiest way out would have been to rebuff the question with a simple “no comment”. However… he was actually silent.

Were they finally going to understand the mystery surrounding the hundred-year reclusion of Hell?

Black Mamba stared at Qin Ye in consternation, but chose not to rush him in his response. Half a minute later, Qin Ye sighed softly, “Are there other Emissaries around?”

Finally, he closed his eyes and appeared to sense his surroundings for a moment, before turning to Qin Ye once more, “I swear in my capacity as a Mythic Spirit that there’s nobody else here apart from the ones you see around you.”

Tell us!

This is the secret to unlocking a century-old mystery! We’re so near, and yet so far! Hurry up and tell us!

The scales of Black Mamba’s face rattled softly.

Just a hundred years ago, he was known to have struck out at all of the major underworlds in the netherworld, and yet not a single one of them dared to speak out against him. What’s more, he had practically showed up at each of their doors, challenging their authority of his own accord, beating up all opposition forces until he arrived right before their respective gods of death, and then finally defeating all of them in one fell swoop.

And to make matters worse, he managed to achieve all of this in three days’ time.

!!!

The secret was finally about to be unveiled!

Gulp… Someone gulped anxiously in the midst of the otherwise silent grand hall.

So that’s how it is…

“Hardly so.” Qin Ye chuckled bitterly, “Only half of it has been solved.”

Why did he have to step on someone who’s passed on into another world?

Babulu couldn’t help but ask, “That is to say, if all goes well, Hell will finally end its period of reclusion in another hundred or so years?”

He was practically reciting verbatim his prepared response to the question that he knew would come up at some point in time.

Firstly, there were times when it was better to let them know why Hell was in reclusion and fill the gaps in their minds, rather than allow their imaginations to run wild. Even though the fact was that Hell was no more, it was far better to fill their minds with a cover story that they were presently merely undergoing a change in regime.

Obviously, the ten questions or the century puzzle sounded far better. Moreover, the fact that this was something that emanated from the Second King Yanluo of Hell only went to show just how difficult it was going to be.

It was only then that he would finally be able to explain why Hell couldn’t possibly make a move even though the Russian Underworld was acting up right at its doorstep!

After all, no matter how much Hell looked down on the Russian Underworld, they would never under normal circumstances condone the presence of a neighbouring underworld’s possession of Forbidden Arts!