Legend Management Bureau Chapter 7

[ … words ]

Did he want to shoot down the suns?

Da Yi fell silent.

Du Yu originally thought Da Yi would readily agree, but now it seemed he still had his reservations.

“If I shoot down the suns, Heng E will leave me, right?”

Du Yu choked on his words, completely unable to provide an answer.

Everyone praised the heroic legend of Da Yi shooting the suns, but had anyone ever asked if he actually wanted to shoot down those nine suns?

“Brother Pang Meng, let us hit the road. We can talk as we walk,” Da Yi suggested.

Du Yu nodded with a heavy heart. The two of them buried Uncle Tan, bid farewell to Heng E, and set off. Da Yi carried a bow and arrow, while Du Yu brought along his Transmigration Gift Package. Together, they embarked on their journey, facing the blazing sunlight.

Unexpectedly, just as they reached the village entrance, a little boy blocked their path.

You Qiong glared irritably at Du Yu and demanded, “Just who exactly are you? Why must you take Brother Yi to fight the Jiuying?”

“I…” Du Yu had never considered how to answer this question, so he had to quickly fabricate an excuse. “Big Brother Yi’s archery skills are incredibly impressive. I actually came out of admiration to learn from him.”

“Learn archery?”

You Qiong was just a child, after all. He suddenly felt that Du Yu wasn’t such a bad person.

“So you are Brother Yi’s… disciple?” You Qiong probed further.

“Yes, a disciple.” Du Yu nodded affirmatively.

“Brother Pang Meng, is this really a good idea…?” Da Yi whispered. “How could I possibly dare to be an Immortal’s master?”

“It is fine, do not worry.” Du Yu waved a hand dismissively. “Once my identity is established, it will be much easier to move around.”

You Qiong lowered his head, feeling a little confused.

“All right, You Qiong, you should rest easy now,” Da Yi said, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Remember to help me take care of Sister-in-law Heng’e.”

Watching their retreating figures, You Qiong did not return to the village. Instead, he jogged all the way to a massive locust tree. Due to the scorching heat, the tree had lost all its leaves, standing lonely and bare.

“Little Ba, Little Ba!” You Qiong shouted several times.

The earth around the locust tree began to loosen and shift, as if some gigantic creature lurked beneath the surface.

A moment later, a massive snake over three hundred feet long, pitch-black with a dark yellow underbelly, burst out from the ground. As the serpent reared up, it seemed to blot out the entire sky.

The giant serpent lowered its head to look at You Qiong and asked,

“Master, did you call for me?”

Its booming voice was deafening, yet You Qiong showed no fear. He simply walked beneath the massive beast and gently leaned against it. His petite frame looked no bigger than a single one of the snake’s scales.

“Little Ba… I need you to do me a favor. It might be very dangerous…”

“Master, you and Da Yi saved my life. If you need it, you can take it back at any time.”

“No… Little Ba…” You Qiong shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. “I want you to live a long and happy life, and I want Brother Yi to live well too. But Brother Yi might be in danger…”

……

“Big Brother Yi, let us continue our previous conversation,” Du Yu said as they walked.

Da Yi nodded. After a moment of thought, he replied, “Brother Pang Meng, there are actually many things I have only ever told my wife and Brother Zhan. But for some reason, I felt an immediate kinship with you. Perhaps it is because you are so similar to Brother Zhan. Both of you share this aura, a feeling that you know everything that is about to happen in the future.”

‘Isn’t that a given?’ Du Yu thought to himself.

‘I still have dozens of scripts on me right now.’

“I will tell you the secret I have been hiding all this time. If, after hearing it, you still believe that the me of this very moment can shoot down the suns, then I am willing to try.”

……

Eleven years ago.

Ten-year-old Da Yi followed his parents into the mountains to hunt. Da Yi was left waiting under a tree.

When the sun set and the sky darkened, his parents returned to the tree to bring Da Yi home. Unexpectedly, all the cicadas in the tree began to chirp madly. The shrill noise echoed through the entire valley, preventing his parents from getting close.

Believing the child was an omen of misfortune, his parents actually abandoned Da Yi, leaving him behind in the deep mountains.

Young Da Yi was forced to survive on his own in the wilderness. Mimicking his parents, he crafted a bow out of branches and vines. Whether it was due to his exceptionally high talent in archery or simple heaven-sent luck, Da Yi managed to survive in a deep mountain crawling with venomous insects and Demonic Beasts.

About half a year later, Da Yi saw someone else on the mountain for the first time.

Halfway up the slope, Da Yi found a young girl about his age. She had been bitten by a venomous insect and was completely unconscious. The girl was dressed in luxurious clothes and possessed stunning beauty; at a glance, it was obvious she was not from an ordinary family.

Using various medicinal herbs and after seven days of meticulous care, Da Yi finally managed to save the young girl’s life.

However, the young girl utterly refused to mention anything about her past, only stating that she would offer herself in marriage to repay Da Yi for his life-saving grace.

But Da Yi knew he was just a rustic mountain boy. How could he possibly be worthy of a woman as pure and flawless as the moon?

No matter what Da Yi said, the young girl refused to leave. Left with no other choice, Da Yi took her in, and the two began living together.

Another half a year passed, and Da Yi encountered the second person on this mountain.

How should that person be described?

He wore a cyan robe with black-patterned sleeves and a dark purple patterned sash tied around his waist. His pitch-black hair was tied up in a high topknot. He had a tall, elegant build and a pair of unfathomable eyes.

In Da Yi’s own words, he was the kind of person who, at first glance, was “absolutely not a Mortal.”

“Little brother, is your name Da Yi?”

As soon as the man spoke, he exuded a natural, commanding aura of authority.

It was the first time in his ten-odd years of life that Da Yi had seen an Immortal, and for a moment, he did not dare to speak.

“There is no need to be afraid. I am here to help you.”

“To help me…? Help me hunt?”

“Hahaha!” The man threw his head back and laughed. “No, the matter I am helping you with is far more important than hunting. What I am about to say is of the utmost importance. You must listen carefully and keep it a strict secret from outsiders.”

“Oh… okay…”

“Tomorrow at this exact time, you will encounter an elderly man on the mountain. Help him to the best of your ability. In return, he will gift you a treasure of the Immortal Beings.”

Da Yi couldn’t fathom such a wonderful opportunity; just by helping an old man, he could obtain a treasure of the Immortal Beings.

“However, I must offer you a choice,” the man declared. “That old man will present you with a Nine Revolutions Primordial Spirit Pill and a Magical Treasure. You can only pick one. Your choice will directly shape your destiny.”

“If you choose the Nine Revolutions Primordial Spirit Pill, you will cleanse your marrow and transform your bones, gradually acquiring a Semi-Immortal Body. In your twenty-first year, a great calamity will descend upon the world. You will need to use your Semi-Immortal Body to turn the tide and save all living creatures. However, once you choose this path to immortality, you will inevitably drift apart from your wife, ultimately losing the one you love and spending your life in solitude.”

Da Yi blanked out for a second after hearing this, as if he could genuinely foresee the future the man described.

A vague image surfaced in Da Yi’s mind of himself with a Semi-Immortal Body. He no longer needed food or sleep. His daily life was completely incompatible with his wife’s. Gradually, they lost all common ground, becoming like two strangers. And the wife in those visions was none other than Heng E, with whom Da Yi had recently been growing closer and closer.

Da Yi found it bizarre. Why were these memories so vivid, as if he had actually experienced them?

The man continued, “If you choose the Magical Treasure, you will remain a Mortal for the rest of your life. The Magical Treasure will only save you in moments of critical peril and keep you safe. You will be destined to fail in saving the world’s common people, but you will be able to grow old with the one you love. As for those common people, let someone else play the hero.”

Da Yi pondered for a moment.

The common people?

Who exactly were these common people?

Were they the parents who had abandoned him on the mountain to fend for himself?

Were they the wicked people who had chased Heng E into the mountains to be bitten by venomous insects?

Da Yi could not understand.

Why should he abandon Heng E, the only person he had to depend on, for the sake of those people?

Strangely, unlike before, no matter how hard Da Yi tried to imagine it, he could not envision the future the man described of “growing old together”—as if it would never happen.

But what did that matter?

“It seems you have your answer.” The man observed Da Yi’s expression and smiled faintly. “This is how it should be. Everyone deserves the right to choose their own life.”

With a flick of his sleeve, the man vanished into thin air.

Knowing he had met a true Immortal, an excited Da Yi rushed home to tell Heng E all about it, completely forgetting the man’s warning to “keep it a strict secret from outsiders.”

Heng E’s cheeks flushed slightly upon hearing the tale. She couldn’t care less about Immortals. Biting her lip, she simply asked, “Da Yi, do you wish to grow old with me?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, are you willing to take me as your wife?”

A deep blush spread across Heng E’s pale face. She lowered her head slightly, her fingers nervously twirling the fabric of her clothes, looking breathtakingly beautiful.

“I… I am willing.”

Da Yi answered with a trembling voice.

Tears of joy streamed down Heng E’s face as the two embraced.

To Da Yi at that moment, was there anything in the world more important than Heng E?

The next day, Da Yi indeed encountered an old man halfway up the slope. The elder had snowy white hair but the vibrant complexion of a youth. Dressed in a pristine white robe, he was performing some kind of magical art. With his eyes half-closed, he sat cross-legged on a large boulder, meditating with his palms facing the sky. A black cauldron hovered and spun in the air before him. Drenched in sweat, the old man was channeling a crimson flame to roast the floating cauldron.

‘He said I needed to help this old man, but how can I do that?’ Da Yi thought, watching from the shadows. It was obvious this elder was no Mortal either.

The flames beneath the black cauldron burned fiercer and fiercer, causing the entire vessel to shake violently. It seemed the magical art had reached a critical juncture.

Right at that moment, something rustled the grass, slowly creeping up from behind the old man.

Da Yi focused his gaze and saw what looked like two wolves. However, one of them had unusually short front legs and appeared unable to walk, forcing it to ride on the other’s back. Despite its physical deformity, its eyes gleamed with extreme cunning. They had clearly been lying in wait for a long time, biding their time to strike the old man at this critical moment.

‘Is that… a Wei?!’ Da Yi’s heart sank. When he was young, his parents had told him about a type of wolf born with missing front legs, unable to walk and forced to cling to the backs of other wolves. Boasting extraordinary intelligence, they were called “Wei.” A wolf pack might not see a Wei born even once in a century, but whenever one appeared, it would invariably use its supreme intellect to lead the pack and wreak havoc upon the human world.

Making a Prompt Decision, Da Yi swiftly drew an arrow, pulled back his bow, and shot the supporting wolf dead. Deprived of its mount, the Wei collapsed to the ground. Not giving the beast a chance to react, Da Yi instantly fired two consecutive arrows at it.

One arrow pierced its throat, and the other struck its heart and lungs.

The Wei lay gasping on the ground, clearly on the verge of death.

Da Yi turned back to the old man, who remained completely oblivious, his eyes still half-closed as he continuously channeled the flames.

Suddenly, a muffled boom echoed from the black cauldron. The lid was blown clean off, and a streak of golden light shot straight into the clouds.

The old man’s half-closed eyes finally opened. “Trying to run?” he shouted in a low voice.

He pointed a finger, and a Purple Gold Red Gourd flew out from his sleeve, hurtling straight toward the golden light. The two seemed to wrestle mid-air, but the golden light was clearly no match for the Purple Gold Red Gourd. With a flash of its magical power, the gourd sucked the golden light into its belly before slowly floating back into the old man’s hand.

The old man inspected the gourd in his hand, unplugged the stopper, and tipped it over. A golden pill dropped into his palm.

“To think this tier of pill is so formidable. It actually possessed spiritual sentience the moment it came out of the furnace. Thankfully, I didn’t let it escape,” he muttered.

Turning around slowly, the old man addressed Da Yi. “Little brother, thank you for your help just now. If that Wei had managed to ambush me and obtain this pill, the world would likely have fallen into chaos.”

“Old Mister… you knew about all of that?”

The Old Mister chuckled and replied, “Of course I knew. However, if I had recklessly made a move under those circumstances, not only would the pill in this medicinal cauldron have turned to Ashes, but my heart meridians would have reversed, severely damaging my vitality.”

Da Yi nodded, wondering internally if this place was some sort of immortal mountain. Why were there so many Immortals roaming around?

“Little brother, you saved my life. This was my destiny, and it is also your good fortune.”

The old man offered the pill forward and then pulled out a Wooden Box. “I came in a hurry this time and only brought these two items: a pill that can allow your mortal body to attain immortality, and a Magical Treasure of the Immortal Beings that I frequently use. Pick one, and from then on, we will have nothing more to do with each other.”

Da Yi looked at the scene unfolding before him—it was exactly as the man had predicted yesterday.

“Nothing more to do with each other?” Da Yi asked. “Old Mister, why do you say that?”

“It is not that I am dissatisfied with you, little brother. It is simply that as an Immortal Being, I must sever all ties with the mortal realm whenever I descend,” the old man said with a smile. “Pay it no mind. Just go ahead and choose one.”

Da Yi asked no more questions. Since he had already made his choice in his heart, he just needed to follow through with it now.

Therefore, without even casting a glance at the pill, he reached out and grabbed the small, Spiritual Energy-filled box.

“Oh?” The old man seemed somewhat surprised, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

“Since that is the case, and you have made your choice, little brother, our ties are officially severed. Farewell.”

……

Da Yi looked at Du Yu and said, “Just as Brother Zhan said, I have been safe and sound all this time, and Heng E and I have shared a deep, loving bond. It is just the common people of the world who have suffered. Brother Pang Meng, am I being too selfish?”

Du Yu sighed heavily.

Da Yi merely didn’t want to leave Heng E. Who decreed that Da Yi had to sacrifice everything he currently had to save the world?

Du Yu was about to say something more when Dong Qianqiu’s voice suddenly rang out, “Du Yu, be careful! It seems a giant creature has been tailing you two this whole time.”