Chapter 126: Executing a Hundred to Warn Ten Thousand

"Very well." Qin Ye closed his eyes. His clothes rippled and billowed without any wind. "I'll give you one last chance. Three seconds. Step aside."

Four men dressed in prison garb attempted to leave, but a fierce glare from Gao Daha halted them instantly.

An eighteen or nineteen-year-old Underworld Emissary?

And he was wearing a down jacket and jeans?

Even if he was truly formidable, he was just a single person without a gun, while they numbered in the hundreds! He had already died once; could he possibly die a second time?

The standoff between three people and several hundred seemed calmer than the previous one, yet it felt like the ocean surface right before a violent storm—quiet to the point of being dead, dead to the point of being oppressive, and oppressive to the point of suffocation.

"Three..." Qin Ye's bell-like voice resonated through the Underworld. Here, whomever he wanted to hear his words would certainly hear them.

No one backed down.

It was tit for tat. Hundreds of people formed a human wall, tightly surrounding Qin Ye.

"Two."

Still, no one moved.

Tens of thousands of ghosts held their breath as they watched the scene unfold.

"One. Very well." After the third count, Qin Ye opened his eyes. "Fools who have only died once truly understand nothing..."

"Mere specters, and you dare to challenge an Underworld Emissary?"

Boom!!

The moment the last syllable fell, a powerful wave of ghostly energy erupted violently! Within the pitch-black vortex of yin Qi, two pale white eyes slowly opened. "Today, I will let you witness what the laws of the Underworld truly are!"

Swish! The ghostly energy abruptly expanded. Amidst the swirling netherwinds, Qin Ye stepped forward slowly in the attire of a judge of the dead. Pitch-black yin Qi spewed from his facial orifices, his dark robes danced like wild dragons, his full head of white hair fluttered, and his pristine ghost-head saber burned with an eerie green fire.

The white rabbit had torn off its disguise, revealing sharp, gleaming fangs.

"The Underworld Emissary is here to make an arrest! All bystanders, stand back!!"

Thud! As he slammed his ghost-head blade onto the ground, a violent gust of netherwind surged outward. Right before him, the pupils of Gao Daha and his cohorts violently constricted, and with a loud crash, they were blown flying over a dozen meters away! They slammed into the human wall behind them and tumbled down with faces full of shock.

Dead silence.

After three seconds of stunned silence, the crowd screamed and scattered like madmen!

Shoving and shouting, countless ghosts were trampled to the ground. In an instant, aside from the hundred people surrounding Qin Ye, an empty space of at least fifty meters cleared up around him.

An Underworld Emissary!

This was the true Underworld Emissary they had imagined—the enforcer of the Underworld!

"Cough... cough, cough, cough!" Gao Daha looked at Qin Ye in disbelief, clutching his chest as he struggled to his feet. His mind was an absolute mess.

Not just him, but the four prisoners in death row uniforms were all gasping in cold horror as they stared at Qin Ye. Before their very eyes, netherwinds swarmed wildly in front of the light barrier, as if rejoicing over the arrival of the Lord of the Underworld, while ghostly fires flickered in the air, mocking their supreme arrogance.

What was this...

A ghost? An Underworld Emissary? No... why had he initially appeared so harmless and gentle? Why... did he suddenly turn into this?

This wasn't a white rabbit turning into a tiger; this was a white rabbit turning into a dinosaur!

"Gulp..." Countless gazes were pinned on him. Qin Ye walked toward them leisurely. *Scrape...* The bone blade dragged across the ground, producing a hair-raising sound. Gao Daha felt as though his soul was about to shatter; he abruptly stood up, only to drop heavily to his knees with a thud.

"My Lord!!" The intense fear caused goosebumps to break out all over his body. Right in front of tens of thousands of ghosts, he completely abandoned all pride and bowed deeply, knocking his head hard against the ground. "Just now... just now..."

Tap... A pair of shoes stopped a short distance in front of him. He could even make out the intricate silk stitching on them. Qin Ye's voice rang out flatly: "Bargaining with the Underworld? Hmm?"

His voice carried no discernible emotion—neither fierce nor murderous—yet it caused all five men to shudder simultaneously.

It felt like a ghost's tongue licking across their spines, sending a chill deep into their bones.

"My Lord..." If ghosts could sweat, Gao Daha would have been drenched in cold sweat. He bit his lip and rasped, "No... I, your humble servant... your humble servant just now..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a dazzling blade of light abruptly blossomed!

No one could see how Qin Ye made his move.

By the time their vision cleared, Qin Ye was already holding his blade in one hand, the slashing motion complete. A brilliant arc of light lingered in midair, as if it had cleaved the air itself in two.

Right in front of him, the ferocious wind pressure caused the spiritual bodies of the ghosts in the rear to sway wildly. As for Gao Daha and the others who had been standing there a moment ago, they were entirely gone without a trace.

"Hiss..." The sound of people gasping in horror from all directions converged into a river and gathered into a sea. Tens of thousands of people watched the Underworld Emissary with trembling scalps, involuntarily retreating a few more paces.

Too terrifying...

Too ruthless...

He slaughtered hundreds of people without hesitation, leaving no margin for mercy!

Swish!!

With a single slash, the spiritual bodies of Gao Daha and his companions turned entirely to flying ash, and faint green soul fires drifted from within them, sinking directly into the Gates of Hell. Instantly, green flames flared brilliantly within the Gates of Hell, brimming with an eerie ghostly aura.

Not a single person spoke. If the gazes directed at Qin Ye when he first descended were filled with apprehension and anxiety, now there was only one emotion left.

Awe.

Awe so profound that the silence was absolute.

Even though their hands and feet were trembling, they tightly clamped their hands over their mouths, not daring to make a single sound. Trembling eyes stared at the dark figure standing before the blazing white light barrier. Behind him, golden characters flowed; before him, ghostly energy swirled. The intense contrast in their eyes made him... resemble a deity.

"Do not be afraid." Qin Ye hoisted the saber onto his shoulder and slowly spoke: "The old Underworld has fallen, and the new Underworld waits to be rebuilt. The heavy burden of rebuilding the Underworld must be entrusted to all of you. To annihilate the ghosts that ought to be annihilated, to punish the sins that ought to be punished, and to reward the merits that ought to be rewarded—this is the guiding principle of the Underworld. Here, this official shall impart a few more things. All of you... keep them firmly in mind."

His gaze swept across the entire crowd like lightning; not a single person dared to meet his eyes, and all lowered their heads.

There were things Qin Ye had thought about many times in his heart, and as he spoke now, his words were methodical: "First, the eighteen hells, the ten courts of hell, and the six paths of reincarnation no longer exist. This signifies two things. First, you will not die. Unless this official personally takes action, you will live forever."

"Second, those who committed crimes in the mortal realm will temporarily receive no punishment. Those with merits will temporarily receive no retribution."

He paused, his expression turning solemn. "However, although that is the case, this is not the purpose for which the Underworld exists!"

"Good and evil shall be rewarded; the heavenly way is cyclical. This is what the Underworld ought to do!"

"If evil bears no consequence and goodness bears no reward, what is the meaning of doing good and accumulating virtue? The price of committing heinous crimes is far too light! Therefore..." He took a deep breath. "The first task in rebuilding the Underworld is registration. I do not wish for any of you to conceal your evil deeds. The Book of Life and Death still wanders the mortal realm. Once this official retrieves the Book of Life and Death one day, should anyone be discovered concealing anything, this official... will surely make him taste the eighteen hells and suffer ten lifetimes of reincarnation in the animal realm!"

His voice was like thunder. Yet at this moment, quite a few people in the crowd quietly raised their heads.

In the three realms of the mortal world, you may commit all sorts of heinous acts.

In the Underworld, through the ages, whom has it ever spared?

The people of China were the most simple and honest, and the retribution of good and evil was their most fundamental expectation.

This was a scale.

A scale measuring the human heart.

It seemed... this Underworld Emissary was not as terrifying as they had imagined...

Amidst the stillness, the ghosts looked thoughtful. Qin Ye scanned the crowd once more and continued, "Good and evil shall be rewarded, and the heavenly way shall cycle. Fengdu City waits to be rebuilt; actively participating in the reconstruction work is your only opportunity for redemption."

"Those who have committed evil shall not serve in engineering management positions. Your crimes, once the Book of Life and Death is retrieved, will be offset against an equivalent punishment in the hells based on how much you contribute to constructing the new Underworld. As for the rest of you, this is also your chance to accumulate nether-virtue. This official promises that once the six paths of reincarnation are re-established, whether you are reborn as a person of virtue or an ordinary person without great good or great evil, this official guarantees you a good reincarnation in your next life."

Absolute silence reigned.

From the initial fearful listening to the current state where many ghosts strained their ears to listen and carefully ponder his words.

They already understood that this was no longer the mortal realm they were familiar with, and right now, these were the governance principles of this underworld ruler.

If they wanted to survive comfortably here, they first needed to know what the policy of the ruler here was—whether he was a hawk or a dove.

Qin Ye's voice softened: "Now, I have a few questions, and I hope you will answer them truthfully."

Even if he had never been an administrator, he knew some basic principles of managing subordinates. He hadn't lived for decades in vain; for instance, one could not rely solely on high pressure. That was a fundamental rule.

"Those who served as soldiers in the military or police officers during your lifetime, please step forward."

No one answered.

After a few seconds, a dozen people raised their hands: "Reporting, I was." "Me too." "I served in a certain brigade of the Second Artillery during my lifetime." "I served in a certain division of the Navy..."

Qin Ye exhaled a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat gratified.

Soldiers were the ones he trusted the most.

"Good. Please step forward and stand by my side."

The group moved over. Qin Ye continued to ask, "Those who worked in construction companies or the judicial system during your lifetime, step forward."

This time, more people stepped out—roughly a thousand. However, those from the judicial system numbered only twenty or thirty.

"My Lord, I previously served in the Intermediate People's Court of Anhui Province." "My Lord, I am a lawyer from a private law firm. My firm is on Jiangbei Road—Zhou's Law Firm. You can verify this. Because I refused a malicious lawsuit, my car had an accident afterward." "My Lord, I was an officer in the evidence collection department and met with some unexpected misfortune. You can check my employee ID in the mortal realm..."

Qin Ye nodded and instructed, "Those from construction companies, stand on the other side. Those from the judicial system, stand by my side."

With everyone assigned and organized, Qin Ye finally turned around and gently placed his hand upon the light barrier.

The very moment his hand touched it, the entire light barrier trembled violently, and then... it transformed into countless pure white butterflies of light that drifted away and quietly dissipated.

Behind it, the majestic and solemn grand hall of the Gates of Hell had finally appeared before his eyes.

"Everyone, stand by in your positions. Those who just stepped out, follow me."

He walked forward slowly. His heart beat a little faster, but he forced himself to calm down.

Without the six paths, without the hells, how many times harder was his current job compared to the former Underworld?

So what if it was?

The First Yama started from scratch just like this. Who said a village official couldn't become the chairman?

Everything waited to be rebuilt... which also meant anything was possible!

Ghosts were a double-edged sword. With a large population came countless riots and rebellions. But... it also brought abundant human resources!

Soldiers, construction departments, judicial departments... These were the personnel he needed most right now. And now, he had almost enough manpower, allowing the grand infrastructure project of the Underworld to finally kick off!