Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 136 Even ten of you couldn't compare to him
Ye Wufeng's death was a major event for the Yama Palace, and his death at the hands of a former judge was an even bigger event.

The people in the Yama Palace's hideout in the capital dared not delay and quickly sent a message via talisman, which reached Miaoyin Mountain that very night.

The Yama Palace trembled.

Ye Wufeng wasn't a rising star who appeared out of nowhere; he also had a master.

The Five Ghost Emperors of the Yama Palace are five powerful figures, ranging from second-rank to lower-rank first-rank experts, and are of great importance within the Yama Palace. Three of them are friends of Lu Xingzhou, and others are extremely loyal to him. However, there are two who are at odds, one of whom, the Western Ghost Emperor Tan Xinhong, is Ye Wufeng's master.

Upon hearing the news, Tan Xinhong was furious and summoned the other two Ghost Emperors who were still at Miaoyin Mountain for a small meeting: "Lu Xingzhou betrayed the Yama Palace. I said on the same day that we should eliminate him completely. Otherwise, this person knows too much about our internal affairs and could easily betray our information and overturn our branches and outposts in various places! You all stammered and hesitated! And now what are you doing!"

The Central Ghost Emperor wore a mask and remained silent.

Eastern Ghost Emperor Ji Wenchuan sneered, "So which of our outposts was betrayed? Did the messenger from the capital branch mention such a thing?"

Tan Xinhong was furious: "Wu Feng is dead!"

Ji Wenchuan said calmly, "All I know is that if Lu Xingzhou wanted to wipe out the capital branch, it would be a piece of cake. But he hasn't even touched a single lackey. To this day, no outsider has been able to find the exact location of the branch. Ye Wufeng has been arrogant and domineering, repeatedly assassinating Sheng Yuanyao and Chu Qingchen, and he doesn't take the Demon Suppression Division seriously. Do you really think that the Demon Suppression Division can't wipe out the capital branch when it gets serious? The fact that the branch is still intact is, in my opinion, a consequence of Xingzhou's actions."

The Central Ghost Emperor finally nodded; this was the only explanation.

In fact, they hadn't expected Ye Wufeng to be so arrogant. Even the Five Ghost Emperors wouldn't dare to act so domineeringly in the capital. What kind of place was that? Ye Wufeng was just too young and fearless. If he really provoked a first-rank expert, his little skill of concealment wouldn't be enough to hide... He just felt it was too shameful to confront a fourth-rank rookie. No one was willing to put aside their pride. But if it dragged on for a couple more days, personal pride couldn't compare to the prestige of the system, and a powerful figure would inevitably make a move.

As for the location of the branch headquarters, it's impossible for it to be completely impenetrable. At least it's not difficult for the Demon Suppression Division to confirm a general area. If they really want to go all out, they can dig three feet into the ground in the entire neighborhood. How can you hide then?

But so far, all has been calm, with only Ye Wufeng dying. No one would believe it wasn't because Lu Xingzhou gave him face.

Tan Xinhong was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond, when Ji Wenchuan sneered, "As for why Ye Wufeng died, no one else knows, and you don't know either? What, you're allowed to try to kill him, but he's not allowed to fight back?"

"you!"

"What do you mean, 'you'!" Ji Wenchuan's voice rose as well: "Back when Xingzhou was still in the underworld, you tried to assassinate him. At that time, Xingzhou advised us not to hold it against you for the sake of internal harmony. What, you think it's no big deal that you fought amongst yourselves while he was still alive? But killing someone after he left is a heinous crime?"

This is what Lu Xingzhou said to Ying Shuang back then: If you really report the information that you tried to kill me, my friend will kill you.

The Yama's Palace is not only for adversaries.

Tan Xinhong angrily said, "He's not dead! Now Wufeng is dead! Even putting aside the internal strife, just the fact that the Soul Collector died at someone's hands, is the Yama Palace just going to admit defeat like this? Where is its prestige in the future!"

Ji Wenchuan scoffed, "Excuse me, but according to the Beijing branch, it was the Huo family who approached Ye Wufeng. In other words, this is a mission. What are the rules for dying in a mission at the Yama Palace?"

Assassin organizations have their own rules. If someone is killed in a fight or a revenge killing, then naturally everyone will retaliate to maintain the organization's prestige. But if someone dies due to a failed mission, that's not considered hatred; they'll simply discuss abandoning the mission or sending someone else. If mission failure were considered hatred, the assassin organization would never be able to exact revenge—although the Yama Palace itself rarely fails missions, the rules were established from the beginning.

The Central Ghost Emperor finally said, "If a mission fails, the rule is to reassess the mission's intensity, either return the employer's deposit to indicate abandonment, or re-dispatch a stronger person. We will not consider grudges."

Ji Wenchuan laughed and said, "So we wrote back to the Beijing branch and asked them to reconsider the mission and refund the money to the Huo family if necessary."

Tan Xinhong stood up angrily: "Even if it's based on the mission, why not reassign them? When has the Yama Palace ever abandoned anyone? Don't they care about their reputation?!"

Ji Wenchuan sneered: "Assassinating a former judge who left peacefully without ever turning against you, disregarding the bond of kinship—is this the kind of mission a normal person in the Underworld should accept? It was a wrong move to begin with, are we going to perpetuate the mistakes of an idiot? If you're not satisfied, go talk to King Yama yourself. Why are you calling us for a stupid meeting first? You're wasting my time."

The door suddenly opened by itself.

Yuan Muyu slowly entered: "Important matters in the palace are not reported to me, but instead a small meeting is held here first."

Tan Xinhong was a little embarrassed. He really didn't want to talk to Yuan Muyu directly. He couldn't guess what Yuan Muyu's feelings were towards Lu Xingzhou. If she directly told him not to retaliate, there would be no room for negotiation. So he decided to hold a small meeting first to try to reach a consensus, and then talk to Yuan Muyu together. He thought that would be more effective.

As a result, that bastard Ji Wenchuan kept contradicting himself, making it impossible to reach a consensus, and he even angered the King of Hell.

Since things had come to this, he simply said directly, "Lord Yama, Lu Xingzhou disregarded our past relationship and killed Ye Wufeng. There must be an explanation."

Yuan Muyu said calmly, "What kind of explanation do you want?" Tan Xinhong said, "After all, he killed an important figure of our palace. Even if we don't follow the revenge plan, we must still list him as an enemy. If we ignore it, it will be detrimental to our reputation."

That makes sense. The Soul Collector and the top rookie are among the hallmarks of the Underworld. To allow someone to be killed arbitrarily without explanation, or even a formal severance of ties, would truly damage the Underworld's reputation. That's why Ye Wufeng said before his death that Lu Xingzhou's actions severed the last thread of kinship; regardless of the feelings Ji Wenchuan and others had for him, from an organizational perspective, there truly needed to be an explanation.

"Then give us an explanation." Yuan Muyu said calmly, "Ye Wufeng is arrogant and has assassinated the daughter of Deputy Chief Constable Sheng and the direct descendant of the Huanhua Sword Sect in the capital without authorization, making enemies everywhere for the Yama Palace. He is hereby dismissed from office."

Tan Xinhong was dumbfounded: "King Yama..."

"What?" Yuan Muyu stared at him coldly: "Do you really think that the Yama Palace can make enemies everywhere so casually, disregard the safety of its branch forces, and ignore the overall situation of the Yama Palace, just to achieve its personal fame? Fame, fame! If everyone below were such fools, the Yama Palace would have been surrounded by enemies all over the world years ago. How could it have achieved its current fame!"

Tan Xinhong: "..."

You're way more arrogant than Ye Wufeng outside. You kill people without ever considering who they are, and you've done plenty of things that offend the Holy Land. Isn't that all you've learned from...?

Yuan Muyu seemed to know what he was thinking and said calmly, "In the past, every time I made an enemy, Lu Xingzhou had to clean up the mess behind me, either figuring out how to eliminate the root of the problem or trying to win over the enemy's enemy to form a balance of power. When Ye Wufeng did these things, who helped him clean up the mess? You? Or did you never even consider it?"

Ji Wenchuan finally sighed: "Old Tan... Lu Xingzhou has devoted himself to the development of the organization internally and the peaceful environment externally for so many years, which is why the Yama Palace has grown from just a few people to what it is today. You still can't see what kind of contribution he has made, but you think it's great that he has done such messy and mindless things that make enemies everywhere... You can't talk about ice with a summer insect."

After a long silence, Tan Xinhong finally said, "If that's the case, then I, Tan, shall also be dismissed from my post starting today. Let's part ways amicably."

He knew perfectly well that Yuan Muyu was right, but emotionally he couldn't accept that his disciples had all died, and instead of seeking revenge, they had been dismissed, and he was still staying there without saying a word. He simply couldn't stand it anymore.

Since the Yama King's Palace refuses to retaliate, he will leave on his own to take revenge.

It's a pity that Tan Xinhong didn't know that the "parting amicably" treatment was also exclusive to him.

His words chilled Yuan Muyu to the bone: "Are you threatening me? Do you think I can't do without you?"

Tan Xinhong's heart skipped a beat: "I didn't have that thought..."

"Is the Hall of Yama a place you can come and go as you please?" Yuan Muyu stepped forward slowly.

Tan Xinhong was horrified and immediately turned into a shadow to escape.

Yuan Muyu made a grasping motion with her slender hand.

The entire space and time seemed to stand still; the shadows swaying around us, reflected by the pearls, seemed to freeze, no longer swaying.

Tan Xinhong seemed to have been dragged out of thin air, letting out a shrill scream: "Yuan Muyu! You're a madman!"

He finally understood. What did it mean that "the Yama's Palace is a place you can come and go as you please"? Why could Lu Xingzhou do it, but others couldn't? It wasn't that others couldn't, but rather that they couldn't let him go out to deal with Lu Xingzhou!

For this reason, he did not hesitate to disqualify himself as a second-rank general of the Yama Palace, thus damaging his own power!

If this isn't insane, then who is?
You should have said you had these kinds of feelings for Lu Xingzhou earlier. Back when he was around, why didn't you react at all when we provoked and suppressed him? You should have said so sooner!
"Am I crazy?" Yuan Muyu's voice was calm, but what she said was truly insane: "I am crazy... Do you think you're important... But losing ten of you is not as important as losing Lu Xingzhou for the past year and a half. I must be crazy to drive him away..."

With a "bang," a slender hand struck Tan Xinhong's chest. Tan Xinhong, a dignified second-rank upper-level expert, had no power to resist. His chest cavity was shattered, and he died with his eyes wide open.

The deaths of the master and his apprentice were an unexpected one.

Ji Wenchuan and the Central Ghost Emperor exchanged a glance, both keeping their eyes down and not daring to utter a sound.

The Yama Palace doesn't actually lack a second-rank senior official, but without Lu Xingzhou, the various misfortunes they've experienced over the past year and a half are truly only known to those within their own ranks.

Since that's the case, why don't you, Lord Yama, go and soften your stance and say a few kind words? He'll come back easily... You've killed so many people for him, but he doesn't even know it. What's the use?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: This is a rare special chapter featuring the prison fish, so please continue to vote with your monthly tickets!
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