Qin Ye was going mad.

No, rather, he already looked mad.

He was practically rolling around in the copious amounts of Yin spirit stones, akin to a rat that had just fallen into the oil tank. He was so happy that he could even die right now.

He was currently in an incredibly large cellar. Everything around him was neatly paved with granite and polished to a spotless finish. The entire space was as large as a regular football field, and it was currently piled up with Yin spirit stones and open boxes. Piles after piles of exotic treasures filled the space to the brim. It could be said that Hell was suddenly overflowing with wealth! The joy of rolling around in a pile of money was something that Qin Ye had never experienced before!

“Come on~~ Pleasure and joy~~ We’ve struck it big time~~ Ahh~~” Qin Ye wrapped a string of black pearl-like objects around his waist, acting as though he were a beautiful girl enjoying a bath. He made a questionable gesture, “Ooo… that hits the spot!”

He couldn’t care less!

The twelve envoys had departed for their fiefdoms earlier this morning, and he was finally free to inspect the great harvest of the meeting. The place he was in was the first vault of Hell that he had earlier dug out. The wealth stored within dazzled his eyes as soon as he stepped in. After staring in astonishment for five full minutes, he suddenly charged towards it like a dog running towards waters for the very first time, and he dove right into the large ocean of wealth.

There weren’t only Yin spirit stones in the cellar. There were even all sorts of damask silken materials that were woven in a special way. The dense Yin energy emanating from these silken materials told him that it was probably a specialty produce of one of the lands. He glanced around him, only to realize that there was truly a wide variety of special products, all of which would undoubtedly give Hell’s monetary system a great boost!

The system of currency was still in the midst of being ironed out. Huang Liangchuan had previously initiated a long discussion with him because he felt it was better to complete the establishment of all production lines and the manufacturing industries before launching the monetary system simultaneously. Qin Ye had thought for a moment before promptly agreeing.

But… we can probably try and push for an earlier release, right?

No… now’s not the time to be thinking about such things. I’m rich! This is the pure bliss of wealth! C’mon, get up! Let’s get high!

He was swimming about in the sea of silk. Breaststroke, freestyle, backstroke… Thus, when Wang Chenghao turned back from the pile of Yin spirit stones he was inspecting, he happened to see a certain King Yanluo of Hell floundering about in the “pool” with a glorious butterfly stroke.

It was a rather awkward sight.

The two men stared at each other stiffly. Three seconds later, Qin Ye slowly got up to his feet as though nothing happened. Then, he walked forward and held Wang Chenghao by the neck, “You… didn’t see anything earlier, did you?”

There was an unusually vicious smile on his face.

“... That’s right.” Wang Chenghao rolled his eyes slightly, wondering what he must have owed Qin Ye in his previous life.

But before Qin Ye could even heave a sigh of relief, Wang Chenghao promptly raised his finger and pointed to the entrance, “But… I’m pretty sure they all saw it.”

Qin Ye gasped and turned back, only to realize that Arthis and Oda Nobunaga were both staring at him with a constipated look on their faces.

He was immediately swamped with second degree embarrassment.

AAARRRGGHHH…

 Qin Ye wanted to bury his face deep within the pile of treasures and scream for three whole days and nights to vent his frustration. 

I’m ruined… I’m totally ruined!!!

How can I possibly hold my head up high as the King Yanluo of Hell any longer… Mummy… I want to go home!!!

Speaking of which, why do people not make footsteps these days?!

“Don’t worry, I’ve long grown used to such antics of yours.” Arthis walked indifferently into the cellar. She took a deep breath, and then… dove headlong into the pile of treasures, screaming and squealing with immense joy.

“Ahhhhh~~!!! We’re rich!! We’re finally rich!!” “There’s at least tens of billions here! We finally no longer have to scrimp and save, and the days of tightening the belt around our waists are finally over!” “Qin Ye, you’ve finally done something good!!!”

Qin Ye, Wang Chenghao, Oda Nobunaga: ……

A few seconds later, Arthis emerged from the piles of treasures and waved at Oda Nobunaga, almost as though she were beckoning to him, “Do you want to come in?”

Like hell I do!!

Oda Nobunaga responded flatly, “No, thank you. Please go ahead.”

“Look at them.” Qin Ye looked at Arthis disdainfully, “And look at how Student Wang One Tail is calm, steady and not fazed in the slightest. 

He’s

 got the true making of a great general. As a talent who has been following me for some time now, don’t you feel the slightest bit of shame in your behaviour?”

“Sorry about that.” Wang Chenghao coughed dryly, “I’ve already swum in the ocean of wealth all night last night…”

The rest of Qin Ye’s words were immediately lodged in his throat. 

Brother… can’t you read the situation? That’s why I say that you’re honest to a fault…

“Well.” While they were distracted by their exchange of words, Arthis had somehow already made her way to Qin Ye’s side. In fact, given the way she was carrying herself right now, nobody would have believed that she was the very same person who was swimming around the ocean of treasures if not for the fact that she still had more strings of black pearl-like bracelets and necklaces wrapped all over her limbs.

“Have you managed to do a proper inventory of our takings from the imperial court meeting?” She raised her chin towards Wang Chenghao, to which he promptly nodded, “I’ve worked through the night and managed to sort out everything as soon as they sent it in. Then, pursuant to your instructions, I’ve looked through the things of particular importance that you’ve raised to my attention…”

“What do you mean of ‘particular importance’?” Qin Ye grew displeased, “Everything that we see scattered all over the floor are of importance to Hell! Please be mindful of the use of your language!”

Arthis glanced stiffly at the sky - 

Uunnnggghh…. This kid has the airs of a prodigal son and a shrewd merchant… I’m not sure I can stomach the fact that he’s also the King Yanluo of Hell…

However, she knew that sulking wouldn’t solve anything. Thus, she gathered herself and perked up her own spirits, “Ignore these useless pieces of trash. Wang One Tail, lead the way.”

Wang Chenghao didn’t dare to reveal his indignance before the three standing in front of him. He simply turned to look at a hundred black boxes that were quietly suspended in mid-air some distance away from him.

That’s right. They were just floating there silently.

There was nothing to hold them in place, and yet it was almost as though gravity were non-existent to them. The box appeared very ordinary, with regular black walls with accents of golden-coloured edges. Apart from that, there was nothing much else that separated them from any regular black box.

“What powerful chakra!” Qin Ye’s expression was filled with seriousness.

“... I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry at the situation… Do you know that once a crisis is over, you quickly revert back to your usual dirty, repulsive self, and your yapping mouth promptly becomes no different from the floodgates of the sewers? Can you please be a little bit more serious over here?!!” Arthis barked back at Qin Ye.

It was only then that Qin Ye began to reveal a more sincere expression. Arthis continued, “This is the Tailed Beast Ball that is created by Otsutsuki Kaguya. These are artifacts used to seal the One Tail through to the Ten Tails…”

[1]

Qin Ye glanced coldly at Arthis.

Wang Chenghao and Oda Nobunaga stared at the two leaders of Hell as though they were looking at two idiots.

“Why did you mention chakra in the first place?! Do you know how you’ve affected my train of thought?!” Embarrassed, Arthis shouted angrily at Qin Ye, before promptly drawing a deep breath and lifting the box, “It’s called… the Yin Padma.”

The bottom of the box was covered with black velvet, while a brilliant mirror was affixed to the back cover of the box. A golden lotus flower was placed right in the center of the box. It was only the size of a teenager’s fist, but upon closer inspection, Qin Ye soon realized that it wasn’t a physical object at all. Rather, the wisps of Yin energy in the box were slowly wrapping together to construct the physical appearance of the lotus flower, and even giving the flower its’ brilliant golden lustre!

The lotus flower appeared somewhat illusory, and there was even some Sanskrit text written all over it. Arthis’ expression grew stern and somber, “Padma means lotus in Sanskrit. In other words, it’s also known as the Yin golden lotus… What are you doing now?!”

Qin Ye had already placed one of the golden lotuses on his head, and he glanced at the mirror with an effeminate disposal, almost as though he were attempting to bring out the daintiest look he could muster. He froze for a moment, “Isn’t this supposed to be a premium cosmetic box? I couldn’t help myself there… Eh? Lady, why does there seem to be a murderous aura burning from the depths of your eyes?”

“I sincerely believe you when you mentioned that you’ve previously been adopted by a perverse doctor.” Arthis snatched the golden lotus back from his head and placed it back into the box and slammed the lit shut. Then, she slowly gazed to the skies, “And it’s only because I’m not as perverse as you that I feel so out of place right now.”

“Anyhow, there’s no need for you to put yourself down. You’re a talented individual after all--...”

“Shut up!!!” The entire cellar trembled slightly in the wake of Qin Ye’s sudden outburst. He gulped softly. He was angry. He was truly enraged. 

This lady… really needs to learn her place. She’d do well to be careful…

Arthis took the next three minutes to adjust her temperament, before finally explaining, “Originally, a box this size could be used to store a Golden Lotus of Ten Thousand Virtues. The one you have just seen is at best a Golden Lotus of a Thousand Virtues. The collapse of Hell must have affected the vassal states’ abilities to harvest such Golden Lotus of Virtues.”

Qin Ye sighed wistfully.

A second later, Qin-fearless-Ye interjected without any hesitation, “No wonder it didn’t look good on my head.”

Dead silence.

Wang One Tail and Oda Nobunaga sensibly retreated three full meters.

A moment later, there was a loud smacking sound, and Qin Ye was slapped to the ground by two large palms formed out of Arthis’ hair. Then, they proceeded to hold Qin Ye up as though they were about to tear through a sheet of paper. Wang One Tail was scared witless, and immediately rushed forward to appease the furious Infernal Judge, “Don’t! My lady, you must not! He’s the only King Yanluo we have!” “Let go! This was the straw that has finally broken the camel’s back! Today, only one of us is getting out of this place alive!!”

It took a long time before Arthis was finally willing to release her grip on Qin Ye. She reluctantly set him down in front of the box, before proceeding with her explanation, “Yin Padma has another name. Something practically ubiquitous in Hell. It’s called… merit.”

Merit?

Qin Ye blinked vacantly. Then, ignoring the bruises on his face, he immediately tapped on his chest, causing Hell’s Record to appear before him once more!

Whoosh.

 He immediately flipped to the entry where his own name was written.

Name: Qin Ye (Nickname - Dogballs)

Place of Origin: Liu Er Mound Village, Gazi Gully, Tang An County, Qingguang City

Family Members: Grandfather (deceased), Parents (deceased)

Date of Birth: 1 October 1938

Occupation: Anitya Hellguard (Nascent). Distance to Anitya Hellguard (Intermediate) - 120,548/200,000 merit points

Qin Ye rubbed his eyes. He was filled with disbelief, “This isn’t real, right? You’re telling me that this is no different from merit points? Wang One Tail, tell me the truth!! Why does everything seem so surreal to me right now?!”

Wang Chenghao’s lips stiffened up, “Brother Qin… your eyes are swollen…”

Qin Ye struggled to open his panda eyes, “Bloody hell… since when did I manage to obtain a hundred and twenty thousand merit points?! Ah, that’s right, aren’t there three different stages to being a Hellguard? And here I thought I was still a freshman in school. How is it that I’m already a senior, and yet I don’t even know it just yet?” (TL: I know that the author had earlier written that it would take 200,000 merit points in order to attain the next level of Anitya Hellguard (intermediate). The analogy he uses here seems to suggest that 200,000 merit points would instead promote him to Infernal Judge. I’m not sure what exactly it is, but I suppose it would be good to keep an open mind about this for now.)

Back in the Strait of Tsushima, the only kill attributed to his name was Honda Tadakatsu. The rest didn’t die, and thus… they weren’t counted.

Blight vermin weren’t counted either. Those were entities that lived beyond the three realms in the world, and they weren’t part of the system of five elements. They were beasts that were born for destruction.

Let’s take a count… Did I purge any evil ghosts lately? No. So, where did all of these points suddenly come from? And I didn’t even get a single prompt for these merits I’ve accumulated!

“Breakthroughs require initiative! You’ve always been lying around and lazing in bed, so you obviously haven’t noticed the surge in your merit points, much less the reason for the same!” Arthis rolled her eyes at him, before promptly changing the topic, “Do you know why all the high ranking officials of Hell have all once been the governor of a region?”

Is this a trick question?

Qin Ye was drawn in by Arthis’ encouraging gaze. Thus, he pondered for a few moments, and then responded sincerely, “Just like you, they’re greedy?”

Greedy my ass… how could you say something like that with such a straight face?!

“BULL SHIT!!!” Arthis’ furious roar echoed throughout the cellar. It suddenly dawned on her that ever since coming to know Qin Ye, she had slowly but surely begun to lose all measure of decorum as a lady, “Everything that you do in Hell, whether it’s incidental to or directly linked to the growth of hell, would be rewarded with a commensurate amount of merit points! For instance, your establishment of Yin Construction and their construction of buildings would get you merit points. Furthermore, you will be rewarded with more merit points as soon as you successfully roll out the monetary system of Hell. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been done just yet, but you’re already on the verge of doing so… Besides, isn’t something like that completely obvious if you just addressed your mind to it?! What the hell is growing inside of your *bleep* mind?!”

[2]