Legend Management Bureau Chapter 24

[ … words ]

Two people sprinted madly down the street, with Zhongli Chun still clamping a bone in her mouth.

A dark, swarming crowd of over a dozen thugs chased closely behind them.

“Good lord, you didn’t forget to pack some takeout after eating. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you!” Du Yu exclaimed, glancing at the bone in Zhongli Chun’s mouth as he ran.

“Woo-roo, woo-roo, roo-lah,” Zhongli Chun mumbled.

“I can’t understand a single word! Spit the bone out before you speak!”

Du Yu distinctly remembered from television shows that people running crooked inns usually were not this arrogant. After all, it was an illegal operation. If they could not catch their targets right away, they usually gave up. But now they had been chased all the way out of the city. Why were these dozen or so guys so relentlessly persistent?

Even when they reached the small river where he had bathed Zhongli Chun, the group of thugs still refused to give up.

“Huh?” Du Yu looked at the river blocking their path and the pursuers closing in from behind. “This scene feels a bit familiar. Am I about to stage an early rendition of Farewell My Concubine?”

Over a dozen burly men dressed in black slowly surrounded them, wielding wooden clubs. The one leading them was none other than the waiter from the inn.

Du Yu asked in annoyance, “You already took all my money. What more do you want?”

“What do we want?” The waiter shook his head. “Let me be honest with you, customer. We are in the same line of business. You’re going to sell this girl sooner or later anyway, so you might as well sell her directly to us. She’s got good looks, and we can offer a high price.”

‘Ridiculous,’ Du Yu thought. ‘These guys actually think I’m a human trafficker.’

However, thinking about it carefully, it was somewhat understandable. Suddenly bringing a raggedly dressed girl—who was neither family nor friend—to a tavern for a huge feast really did look like feeding her a final meal before selling her off.

Furthermore, even though Zhongli Chun was only ten years old, she looked no different from a fifteen or sixteen-year-old maiden. She was exactly the type of target that human traffickers loved to get their hands on.

“Little Zhongli,” Du Yu called out. “These are bad people. Now I’m going to teach you how to rob… no, how to punish bad guys.”

“Hey, hey, hey, Du Yu! Why do I feel like you are directly responsible for Zhongli Chun eventually becoming the head of the Ten Great Villains!” Dong Qianqiu had a nagging feeling that Du Yu’s method of tutoring children was highly questionable.

“Sister Qianqiu, look at the time! We are in a critical life-or-death crisis here!”

Du Yu pointed straight at the group of thugs and told Zhongli Chun, “Now, repeat exactly what I say.”

Zhongli Chun, still clamping the bone in her mouth, nodded. Copying Du Yu, she raised her hand and pointed at the crowd.

“You bunch of villains!” Du Yu shouted fiercely.

“Yu bunc ah vidduns!” Zhongli Chun mumbled around the bone.

“Hand over your money and food right now!”

“Han obe yu muhnny ahn foo yite now!”

“And I will spare your lives!”

“Ahn ah yi spea yu li-vuhs!”

“Spit out that bone!”

“Spi ah da bohn!”

“I’m talking to you, miss! Spit that bone out right now!” Du Yu grabbed Zhongli Chun. “You have absolutely zero aura like this! What is the most important thing in a fight?! It’s your imposing aura!”

“Ah…?” Zhongli Chun looked at Du Yu with extreme reluctance. Her entire face was practically pleading if she could please keep the bone.

Seeing Du Yu’s stern expression, Zhongli Chun had no choice but to take the bone out of her mouth. She carefully wiped off her saliva and tucked it safely into her pocket. Although she was full this time, there was no guarantee for her next meal. With this bone, she could at least endure for a bit…

“Boss, that girl seems a little slow in the head…” one of the thugs muttered to the waiter.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s dumb. That just makes her easier to control,” the waiter replied. “In all my years in this business, this is the first time I’ve seen such premium goods. We absolutely cannot let her escape.”

Du Yu prepared himself, took a step forward, and challenged, “Is this all the men you have? Are you sure you really want to do this?”

“Oh?” The waiter found this amusing. “There are fourteen of us here. How many of us do you think you can beat?”

“Hmph.” Du Yu let out a cold sneer. “Then don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“Boss, why isn’t this guy afraid of us at all? Could he actually be an elite martial artist?”

“An elite?” The waiter looked at Du Yu’s clothes. “Would an elite expert be working as someone else’s servant?”

Du Yu calmly turned his face toward Zhongli Chun and said, “I’ll handle the boss. You take care of the other thirteen. No problem, right?”

“Mhm!” Zhongli Chun nodded seriously.

“…”

“Boss, what did this guy just say?” The dozen thugs were completely bewildered. “Did he say that backward?”

The waiter was also a bit confused, but he quickly snapped out of it and ordered, “It doesn’t matter. You guys capture the girl first. I’ll finish off this idiot in a few moves.”

As soon as his voice faded, Zhongli Chun suddenly leaped into the air and charged straight into the crowd.

Before the waiter could react, Du Yu also dashed right up to his face.

“Such courage,” Du Yu declared. “You really dare to fight me.”

“Who… who exactly are you?”

“If you have elders at home, I suggest you go back and ask them. What technique was used to defeat the Nine Infant Demon back in Emperor Yao’s era?”

“Emperor… Emperor Yao’s era?” The waiter looked at him as if he were an absolute lunatic. “Are you sick in the head?!”

“You’ll soon find out if I’m sick or not.” Du Yu smiled coldly, formed hand seals, muttered an incantation, and then roared at the top of his lungs, “Qianqiu Divine Art!!!”

“Huh?!” Dong Qianqiu never expected that she could suffer such immense social death while simply sitting at home. “What does this have to do with me?! Fight your own battles! The enemy… the enemy is just one guy…”

“Hah! Qianqiu, lend me your strength!” Du Yu ignored Dong Qianqiu and continued to chant, “My injuries haven’t healed yet, I can’t hold on, I can’t hold on, I can’t hold on…”

Dong Qianqiu shook her head helplessly and sighed, “One of these days, I’m going to turn you into a white dragon horse…”

To the waiter’s complete shock, this servant-looking fellow casually shouting a few times actually triggered some sort of demonic magic. For some reason, an impatient female voice kept echoing in his ears, weakly and relentlessly calling out: “Hey, grandson.”

Du Yu seized every opening. Whenever the waiter hesitated from the distraction, he would dart to the side and land a heavy punch. After seven or eight consecutive hits, the waiter was left with a bruised face and swollen eyes.

“What kind of demonic sorcery is this…”

“I told you, it’s called the Qianqiu Divine Art.” Du Yu looked at the waiter. “Do you still want to fight?”

Knowing he was no match for the man in front of him, the waiter banked on his underlings quickly capturing the girl and rushing over to help. But when he turned his head, he was shocked beyond words.

Out of his thirteen henchmen, only two were left trembling on their feet. The rest were sprawled unconscious on the ground. He watched as the girl marched toward the remaining duo. She threw a right uppercut, launching one of the men directly into the air. He spun several times mid-flight before crashing heavily to the dirt.

“Absolutely monstrous…” the waiter muttered to himself.

The last standing thug let out a terrified shriek, dropped his club, and bolted.

“Forget it… We really kicked an iron plate today…” The waiter looked at Du Yu and asked, “What did you say right at the beginning?”

“At the beginning?” Du Yu was a bit confused. Why was the waiter asking this?

Du Yu thought about it and said, “At the beginning, I asked you—you already took all my money, what more do you want?”

“No, a little bit after that.”

Du Yu pondered again. “‘Little Zhongli, repeat exactly what I say’?”

“Almost there. A bit further down.”

“‘Hand over your money and food right now, and I will spare your lives’?”

“Yes, yes, yes, that’s the one.” The waiter gulped nervously. “Does that offer still stand?”

“Uh…” Du Yu rolled his eyes in realization and declared, “It stands! Of course it stands!”

Hearing this, the waiter finally breathed a sigh of relief. He rummaged around in his robes for a while, pulling out a string of knife coins and handing it over to Du Yu.

“My brothers and I came out in a hurry this time, so this is all we brought. Your bundle was left at the inn. If you aren’t in a rush, you can leave an address and I’ll have someone deliver it to your residence…”

“Forget it, there wasn’t much in my bundle anyway. The money in there can just cover the cost of our meal.”

“Ah?” The waiter thought he misheard. “No, wait, boss, I have a question. Does what you’re doing right now count as a robbery?”

“Of course it does!” Du Yu tucked the knife coins away. “We literally beat you up, so this is definitely a robbery.”

The waiter didn’t dare ask any more questions. These two were committing a robbery, yet they still wanted to pay for their meal. What kind of twisted logic was this?

“Um… boss…” the waiter asked tentatively, “Then should my brothers and I just…”

“Yeah, you guys can go.” Du Yu waved him off.

Having received permission, the waiter hurriedly woke up his lackeys. The battered group stumbled and limped as they fled into the distance.

“Little Zhongli, did you see that?” Du Yu tossed the knife coins straight to Zhongli Chun. “This is called money. With this, you can buy delicious food.”

Zhongli Chun caught the string of coins, feeling their heavy weight in her hands.

‘Was it really this easy to buy delicious food?’ she wondered.

The sun sank lower, painting the earth with the glow of the evening sunset. The two of them sat by the river, quietly watching the flowing water without uttering a single word.

After a long time, Du Yu finally broke the silence. “Little Zhongli, I’m going to be leaving very soon. Before the next time I see you, you must take good care of yourself, understand?”

Zhongli Chun gave Du Yu a profound look before nodding. “Mhm.”

After another brief pause, Zhongli Chun asked, “How long?”

“How long? Are you asking how long it’ll be until I come back? I… don’t know either. But I promise I will definitely return.” Du Yu paused for a moment, then asked, “Do you know of Guiguzi?”

“No,” Zhongli Chun replied.

Du Yu began scheming in his head. If he wanted to get Zhongli Chun’s legend back on the right track, he had to make sure she went to Ghost Valley Mountain to learn her skills. But he didn’t have much time left, nor did he know where this Ghost Valley Mountain was. What on earth was he supposed to do to ensure she went up the mountain?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit Du Yu!

“That’s it, I have an idea! Sister Qianqiu, how much time do I have left before I have to return?”

Dong Qianqiu checked her watch. “Two or three hours at most.”

“That’s plenty of time,” Du Yu said confidently. “I have a way to make sure Zhongli Chun successfully goes up the mountain, but it requires taking a little bit of a risk.”

“Oh?” Dong Qianqiu was intrigued. “Do you have another one of your wicked ideas?”

“Exactly. But I’ll need your help again.”

Du Yu stood up and patted Zhongli Chun on the head. “Little Zhongli, I have to go now. In the next few days, if someone comes looking for you and wants to take you to see Guiguzi, you absolutely cannot refuse. Otherwise, you’ll never see me again.”

“Ah?” Zhongli Chun also stood up. This was the first time in her life that she had faced a separation. She didn’t know what kind of expression to make to hide her sadness.

“Remember, you have to find Guiguzi,” Du Yu stressed.

Zhongli Chun nodded.

“Guiguzi!”

Zhongli Chun nodded again.

Du Yu was still worried. “Say it out loud so I can hear.”

“Gui-gou-zi.”

“That’s wrong!” Du Yu yelled frantically. “That is your future master! You can’t be disrespectful to the old gentleman! It’s Guiguzi! Gu-zi!”

“Guiguzi…” Zhongli Chun murmured.

“Yes, very good.”

After settling Zhongli Chun down, Du Yu took advantage of the night to slip back into the city. He wandered around until he arrived at Zhongli Chun’s original home. This was where her stepfather and biological mother lived.

He first checked the bedroom but found no one. Then he went to the main hall, where he spotted a middle-aged man harassing a maidservant. This was likely Zhongli Chun’s stepfather. Du Yu completely ignored the man and ran to search the other rooms.

Finally, in an ancestral shrine room, Du Yu found a middle-aged woman dressed in luxurious clothes. To his surprise, this woman was actually praying to a deity.

This person was undoubtedly Zhongli Chun’s biological mother, Madam Hua.

“Queen Mother of the West… I beg for your blessing… Please bless this pitiful woman so that I may never have to worry about food or drink… and enjoy a peaceful old age…”

“Hmph,” Du Yu snorted coldly. “You abandoned your own daughter. There’s no way the Queen Mother of the West would ever bless someone like you.”

“Queen Mother… if I can enjoy a peaceful old age… I will surely ensure your incense never stops burning…”

Du Yu shook his head and whispered, “Sister Qianqiu, how is it? Can you see her?”

“I see her.”

“Great. Let’s proceed according to plan. I’ll say a line, and you repeat it.”

The moonlight shone upon the face of Zhongli Chun’s mother. She would never have imagined that the Queen Mother of the West, whom she worshipped day and night, would finally manifest her divine presence on this very day.

“Mother of Zhongli Chun, Madam Hua, step forward.”

“Ah?!” Madam Hua raised her head and scanned her surroundings. There was absolutely no one nearby. Without a doubt, the one speaking to her was the divine manifestation of the Queen Mother herself.

“Queen Mother, are you speaking to me?”

“I… We command you to step forward!” Dong Qianqiu’s voice continuously echoed in Madam Hua’s ears, her tone exceptionally stern.

Madam Hua did not dare to delay. She hurriedly shuffled closer to the statue of the Queen Mother.

“Oh no, oh no. She moved too far forward. I can’t see her anymore,” Dong Qianqiu said anxiously. Not being able to see her meant she could no longer transmit her voice.

“Huh?” Du Yu was a bit taken aback. “Alright, alright, I’ll get a little closer. You handle it.”

Du Yu gathered his courage and inched forward, bringing Madam Hua back into his line of sight. Dong Qianqiu hurriedly spoke up again:

“Madam Hua, my apologies, but take a step back.”

‘This Queen Mother of the West is certainly strange,’ Madam Hua thought to herself. Yet, she did not dare to dawdle, shuffling backward while remaining on her knees.

“Alright, alright, right there is fine. That’s good,” Dong Qianqiu said.

“Sister Qianqiu!” Du Yu frantically whispered. “You are supposed to be the Queen Mother! Don’t speak so casually!”

“I know! Leave me alone! Hurry up and tell me, what should I say next?”

Listening to Du Yu’s instructions, Dong Qianqiu cleared her throat and addressed Madam Hua once more. “Madam Hua, I… We ask you, for what reason did you toss your daughter into a pigpen and abandon her to die?”

Upon hearing this, Madam Hua burst into tears with a loud wail. “Queen Mother of the West, I didn’t want to! It was all my husband’s doing…”

“Nonsense! As Zhongli Chun’s mother, do you not have the authority to pull her out of that pigpen? Your husband commits such an atrocious act, yet you turn a blind eye?”

“Queen Mother, it is truly difficult for me… I do not know how to plow the fields, nor do I know how to embroider. If a man did not take me in, I would have certainly died on the streets. I had no choice but to bring my daughter along and remarry… but my status in this household remains pitifully low. If I do not obey my husband, even I will be kicked out onto the streets…”

Listening from outside the window, Du Yu shook his head in disappointment.

In this world, there were women like Xi Shi, who relied on her own strength to sell tofu and support her family, but there were also women like Madam Hua, who could only survive by leeching off men.

“Forget it, Sister Qianqiu. Stop giving her a hard time and let’s get down to business.”