Legend Management Bureau Chapter 38

[ … words ]

Du Yu had not stepped out of his room for four days. Everyone in the Legends Administration Bureau seemed to share an unspoken understanding, completely leaving him in peace.

Dong Qianqiu continued her daily routine of sitting in front of the monitors, keeping a watchful eye on every legend that could potentially go awry. If a story deviated even slightly, she would send a voice transmission to the legendary figures involved. Thanks to Du Yu’s tutelage, Dong Qianqiu now frequently masqueraded as the Queen Mother of the West during these transmissions, drastically improving their success rate.

“Knock, knock—”

On this particular day, a low series of knocks echoed through the smoothly operating Bureau. Guests had arrived.

“Who is it?”

A staff member naturally walked over to open the door. Generally speaking, the Legends Administration Bureau rarely received visitors, but things had clearly changed since Du Yu’s arrival. Nine times out of ten, it was someone looking to curry favor.

Initially, Dong Qianqiu paid it no mind, assuming it was just another wandering immortal or netherwarden delivering gifts for Du Yu. But mere moments later, the staff member who had gone to open the door was suddenly shoved backward, crashing to the floor right in front of her.

The entire Bureau froze in shock. In the thousands of years since the Legends Administration Bureau was established, no one had ever dared to cause trouble here.

“Who dares to be so bold?!” Dong Qianqiu spun around, spotting the two figures standing at the entrance.

Dong Qianqiu was certain she had never seen these two in the Underworld before, nor could she think of any prominent figures who matched their descriptions. Deciding to observe the situation first, she slowly helped the fallen staff member to his feet and asked, “What happened?”

“I don’t know…” the staff member muttered, rubbing his head. “I told them we were currently working… and it wasn’t a good time to receive guests. Then that man suddenly pushed me over.”

“How outrageous…” Dong Qianqiu murmured to herself. “Even the Heavenly Court back in the day didn’t dare openly oppose the Legends Administration Bureau. Just who exactly are these two? Since they have the audacity to trespass here, they clearly come with ill intent… Wait over there for now.”

The staff member nodded and retreated to the side.

“Where is the Director?” Dong Qianqiu asked, turning to another employee. “Hurry up and fetch the Director.”

“Assistant Dong… we haven’t seen the Director at all these past few days…” the staff member replied awkwardly.

Just then, the two intruders slowly strolled into the room. They glanced around before speaking up:

“Which one of you is Dong Qianqiu?”

Dong Qianqiu was taken aback. She had assumed these two were here for Du Yu, but unexpectedly, she was their target. However, since that was the case, there didn’t seem to be anything to worry about.

She stepped forward at a measured pace and declared, “I am Dong Qianqiu.”

“Good,” the man replied with a slight nod. “Come with me. Someone wants to see you.”

“Come with you?” Dong Qianqiu glared at him coldly. “And if I refuse?”

“Don’t reject a favor,” the man warned, cracking his wrists. “If you don’t want this place leveled to the ground, it’s best you come with us.”

“Level… this place?” Dong Qianqiu could hardly believe her own ears.

“Oh my! You should speak more nicely!” the wickedly charming woman, who also bore a pair of horns, lightly slapped the man’s arm. She then turned to Dong Qianqiu with a smile. “Sister Qianqiu, please rest assured, we won’t hurt you. A very important person wants to meet you.”

Dong Qianqiu couldn’t discern the cultivation levels of the pair before her, so she didn’t dare act rashly. But she had worked here for a millennium, knew relatively few people, and had certainly never made enemies with anyone. Why would someone want to abduct her?

“Sister Qianqiu cannot go with you,” a voice echoed from down the hall as a figure emerged from the corridor.

“Du Yu?” Dong Qianqiu glanced over. “You’re alright?”

“That’s right.” Du Yu smiled faintly, looking quite pleased. “I had a long chat with little Zhongli and figured a lot of things out.”

“Thank goodness…” The heavy stone in Dong Qianqiu’s heart finally dropped.

“Let’s put all that aside for now and deal with the trouble in front of us.” Du Yu waved his hand casually before staring down the intruders. “Who are you? And where are you planning to take Sister Qianqiu?”

“Some matters are not convenient to discuss here,” the man said, shaking his head. “Besides, it is none of your concern.”

With that, the man reached directly for Dong Qianqiu. She immediately channeled her energy, intending to deflect his hand, but the man’s strength proved to be overwhelmingly tyrannical. He clamped down on her wrist like a vice, completely immobilizing her.

“Stop!” Du Yu’s gaze turned icy in an instant, and a thick killing intent permeated the air. “Let go of Sister Qianqiu.”

“Oh?”

Seeing the sudden shift in Du Yu’s demeanor, the pair couldn’t help but raise their eyebrows.

“The Eight-Direction Ghost Record… so it’s you?”

“Hmph.” Ignoring their words, Du Yu lunged forward and grabbed the man’s wrist with tremendous force.

“An ant trying to shake a tree,” the man scoffed coldly. He released Dong Qianqiu and immediately threw a punch at Du Yu.

The fist rocketed toward Du Yu’s face like a roaring thunderclap. Du Yu cursed inwardly. Even while borrowing Zhongli Chun’s power, this man’s raw strength was clearly far above his own. He hastily crossed his arms in front of his chest to block, but the sheer impact forced him several steps back.

Before Du Yu could regain his footing, the man thrust his hand forward again, unleashing a blast of pitch-black sinister wind. Du Yu was swept right off his feet and violently slammed into the wall.

Du Yu let out a muffled groan. While this man’s strength was absolutely terrifying, it didn’t seem like he was trying to deal a lethal blow. Scrambling to his feet, Du Yu executed Zhongli Chun’s phantom-like footwork, flashing behind the man in the blink of an eye. Channeling all his might, he aimed a devastating strike at the back of the man’s head.

The man casually tilted his head, dodging the attack with ease, before driving his elbow sharply back into Du Yu’s ribs.

“Argh!”

Du Yu cried out in pain, slowly collapsing to his knees.

“Not bad at all,” the man commented, glancing back at him. “You can borrow their strength without needing to be possessed by the spirit? It seems the ghost you chose trusts you deeply.”

The wickedly charming woman standing nearby leaned down, grinning playfully at Du Yu. “Little brother Du Yu, you look a bit pathetic right now. If you need me to help beat him up, just beg me. I might actually consider it.”

“Who exactly are you people…?” Du Yu asked, struggling to lift his head. This man’s power surpassed even that of Zhongli Chun. That meant he had to be a renowned, top-tier figure in the Underworld. And although the woman beside him hadn’t made a move, Du Yu could clearly sense that her strength was on par with the man’s.

“We are merely insignificant messengers not worth mentioning,” the man declared, his expression radiating absolute disdain for everything around him. “Dong Qianqiu, are you willing to come with us now?”

Still reeling from the shock of the brief clash, Dong Qianqiu hurriedly replied, “I’ll go with you! Just don’t hurt Du Yu.”

“Good.” The man nodded. He turned toward the door, but just as he looked ahead, a fierce, razor-sharp palm wind came hurtling toward them.

“Boom!”

The man threw up his hand and deflected the blast, but the sheer force caused the entire Legends Administration Bureau to shudder violently.

“Chief Magistrate!”

Both Du Yu and Dong Qianqiu immediately looked toward the entrance, their eyes landing on the figure dressed in fine brocade robes.

“How truly rare,” Cui Jue remarked coldly as he strode into the room, his expression unreadable. “To think someone would actually dare to cause a ruckus at the Legends Administration Bureau.”

“Cui Jue?” The man recognized the newcomer instantly. “I advise you not to interfere in this matter, or things will end very badly for you.”

“Oh?” Cui Jue sneered. “Is there a single mess in the Underworld that I cannot clean up? Aside from absurdly ridiculous scenarios like the Ten Yama Kings waging war against the Five Ghost Emperors, there is absolutely nothing that I, Cui Jue, cannot resolve.”

“Heh.” The man smirked. “In your mind, the Ten Yama Kings battling the Five Ghost Emperors is the greatest possible disaster? Your horizons are far too shallow.”

“You…?” Cui Jue narrowed his eyes, perplexed. This intruder spoke with terrifying arrogance. Although Cui Jue couldn’t identify him, anyone capable of casually parrying his palm strike possessed strength at least equal to the Eight Great Netherwardens. He had no choice but to take this threat seriously.

Ceasing his banter, Cui Jue summoned his Soul-Reaping Pen into his right hand and surged his spiritual energy. In an instant, the pen erupted with a dense nether aura, and the talismans plastered across its surface faded away. Thousands of wailing souls swarmed in from all directions, diving into the brush. The surrounding temperature plummeted drastically as the massive Soul-Reaping Pen radiated a brilliant, blinding spiritual light.

“Death-Urging Decree!” Cui Jue roared. The Soul-Reaping Pen shot into the air, rapidly tracing out a line of glowing incantations before rocketing straight toward the horned man.

“Oh?” The man furrowed his brows. “Now this is a bit troublesome. Do you really want to get serious with me here?”

Stomping heavily on the ground, the man unleashed an earth-shattering aura. His hands blurred into a rapid series of seals, and a crimson pillar of blood energy erupted into the sky. A faint metallic scent of blood instantly filled everyone’s nostrils:

“Blood Wave Art!”

The blood light radiating from the man violently exploded outwards, colliding head-on with Cui Jue’s Death-Urging Decree. Following an earth-shaking, mountainous boom, both overwhelming forces dissolved entirely into wisps of green smoke.

Du Yu, Dong Qianqiu, and the others watched in utter bewilderment. A magical clash of this magnitude was completely beyond their realm of interference. The two combatants were unmistakably at the level of True Immortals.

Suddenly, the void shattered once more, and two massive figures arrived on the scene. Upon landing, their identities were clear—it was Ox-Head and Horse-Face.

“Who dares to lay a hand on my little brother Du?!” Ox-Head bellowed the moment his hooves hit the floor, his voice deafening. Horse-Face stood beside him, still sporting flecks of blood on his garments, making it painfully obvious he had just been in the middle of torturing sinners in Hell.

“What’s going on… why are they all here?” Dong Qianqiu murmured in confusion. Turning around, she spotted Du Yu sporting a wicked grin, his smartphone firmly in hand. Sometime during the chaos, he had stealthily fired off a few messages on GhostChat to call in reinforcements.

Horse-Face darted his eyes around, assessing the tense atmosphere. He quickly grabbed onto his companion’s arm. “Third Brother, what exactly is the situation here? Shouldn’t we ask some questions first?”

“Ask?! Ask what?!” Ox-Head snorted, twin plumes of hot steam blasting from his snout. “Since ancient times, the Legends Administration Bureau has been under the collective protection of all immortals! Anyone who comes here looking for trouble can be directly beaten into scattered souls! Those are the rules!”

“My, my…” The wickedly charming woman couldn’t help but giggle at the escalating spectacle. “Now we’re really in for it, Chigui. Just a moment ago you promised you’d wrap this mission up cleanly, yet now three of the Eight Great Netherwardens have shown up. What are you going to do? Why don’t you beg me, and I’ll lend you a hand.”