Legend Management Bureau Chapter 42

[ … words ]

Du Yu stepped out the door and began pondering the suspicious aspects of the old woman. Just like his previous experience with Hou Yi shooting down the nine suns, he listed out all the inconsistencies to help him find a clue more quickly.

First, the old woman clearly knew her son was dead, yet she hadn’t reported it to the authorities.

Second, she showed absolutely no signs of sorrow.

Third, that pheasant. No matter how hale and hearty the old woman was, it was absolutely impossible for her to hunt such an incredibly fast bird.

Xiao Qi listened to Du Yu speak, writing down everything he said so she wouldn’t forget.

“So, Du Yu, what should we do now? Go tell Cui Jue?” Xiao Qi asked tentatively.

“No, we can’t go to Cui Jue just yet. There is one key figure we haven’t met.”

“Key figure?” Xiao Qi was confused. “You’ve already met the old woman, Cui Jue, and even Constable Li. Who else is there?”

“The tiger.”

“Cui Jue is allowed to judge the tiger, but Du Yu isn’t?” Du Yu sneered. “I want to see exactly what kind of beast this man-eating tiger really is.”

With that said, Du Yu headed straight toward the adjacent Mount Yunmeng.

Although the interior of the mountain had changed over the past thousand years, its overall shape remained exactly the same. Du Yu slowly made his way up the narrow mountain path.

Countless cycles of flowers blooming and withering had taken place upon Mount Yunmeng over a millennium. He wondered if the great mountain itself possessed any feelings.

“Little Zhongli.” Du Yu closed his eyes, finding Zhongli Chun sitting right in front of him, waiting.

“Du Yu!” Zhongli Chun smiled. “I heard everything. Don’t worry, I will protect you.”

“Haha!” Du Yu chuckled along with her. “That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to ask, how does it feel being back here?”

“How does it feel?” Zhongli Chun looked out through Du Yu’s eyes, a trace of melancholy rising in her heart. She fell silent for a moment before replying, “I never thought I would actually return here one day. I had almost forgotten this place. But now, seeing it again… my heart feels incredibly warm.”

“Indeed,” Du Yu said softly. “These are the beautiful memories in your heart. Every one of us has beautiful memories we hold dear.”

“Beautiful memories…” Zhongli Chun murmured. “Speaking of which, I really miss the old man, Sun Bin, Su Qin, and Zhang Yi. The four of them.”

“Huh?” Du Yu felt something was off; she seemed to be missing someone. “What about Pang Juan?”

“Pang Juan? Who is Pang Juan?”

“Hahahahaha!” Du Yu burst into loud laughter amidst the deep mountains. “That’s just like you, Little Zhongli! Forget it, it’s better that you forgot. Just remembering those four is enough.”

Du Yu wandered through the deep mountains for four hours. The second half of the night was already approaching, yet he couldn’t find a single trace of the tiger.

“Xiao Qi, is this tiger… really on this mountain?” Du Yu asked.

“It is,” Xiao Qi said, scratching her head. “There might still be places you haven’t checked. Let me draw a map for you.”

“Draw a map?” Du Yu let out an exasperated chuckle. “Drawing a map is fine, but how are you going to show it to me?”

Just as he finished speaking, a map suddenly materialized right before his eyes. It gave him quite a fright. He reached out to touch it, only to find his hand passing right through thin air.

“What’s going on?”

Xiao Qi said timidly, “The reason I became a Transmitter… is because I have the ability to send images.”

“Send… images?” Du Yu stared at the map hovering in his vision, which indeed perfectly depicted the entire layout of the mountain. “That’s incredible! Can you send me some comic books?”

“Du Yu!” Xiao Qi scolded angrily. “Are you done looking? If you are, I’m taking it away, otherwise it’s going to block your line of sight.”

“I’m done, I’m done.” Du Yu gave a mischievous grin. “I couldn’t tell you were this impressive! Sister Qianqiu doesn’t have this kind of skill.”

“How can you compare the two?” Xiao Qi muttered softly. “Sister Qianqiu really can’t send images, but her ability is also very special. She allows you to take small items with you when you enter a legend.”

“Oh?” Du Yu finally understood. So it wasn’t a given that he could bring items along every time he entered a legend; it was only possible when Dong Qianqiu was his Transmitter. “In that case, the Legend Administration Bureau is quite a fascinating place. Does every Transmitter have a different ability?”

“Yes,” Xiao Qi replied. “But most of the time you’ll only be dealing with Sister Qianqiu anyway, so the abilities of the others don’t really matter.”

Du Yu didn’t say anything more. Following the map Xiao Qi had imprinted in his mind, he searched several more hidden mountain paths. Yet, no matter how loudly he shouted across the mountain, there was no sign of the tiger whatsoever. Could the beast really be sleeping that soundly? Didn’t it want to eat the perfectly good human walking around right here?

Zhongli Chun remained seated within Du Yu’s mind, looking out through his eyes. Anyone unaware of the situation might think she was sitting in a movie theater. After all, within the entirely black expanse of his consciousness, there was a brightly lit screen, and she sat right in front of it, carefully watching every rustle of the wind and sway of the grass displayed upon it.

“Du Yu!” Zhongli Chun suddenly called out.

“Yeah! What is it, Little Zhongli?” Du Yu paused and answered.

“Turn left here,” she instructed.

“Turn left?” Du Yu turned his head to look. The area was completely overgrown with thick weeds. “There’s no path to the left. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Zhongli Chun nodded. “This direction leads to a stone grotto. The old man used to love staying in that cave. If you can’t find the tiger anywhere else on the mountain, we might as well check there.”

“A stone grotto?” Du Yu slapped his forehead. “Right! You know about the hidden places on this mountain. You might actually be a huge help this time.”

Pushing aside the thick weeds, Du Yu ventured deeper into the mountain.

After walking for about another hour, a concealed stone cave suddenly appeared before him. It was impossible to tell how long it had been since anyone maintained the place; the weeds at the entrance had completely blocked the opening. If not for Zhongli Chun guiding the way, anyone would have assumed it was just an ordinary rock face.

Du Yu carefully approached the entrance and peered inside, but it was pitch black. He couldn’t see a thing.

“Du Yu, it’s too dangerous here. I’ll lend you my power,” Zhongli Chun said coldly. “I can hear breathing coming from inside.”

“So it really is in there?” Du Yu paused. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze had instantly turned sharp and stern.

“Let’s go, Little Zhongli.”

Lightening his footsteps, Du Yu slowly walked into the cave. To his surprise, the cavern was not only exceptionally deep but also boasted a complex, winding layout.

“I’m going to get lost at this rate…” Du Yu stared at the three-way fork in front of him and asked, “Which way do we go next, Little Zhongli?”

“I’m not sure. I only knew the location of the cave, but I’ve never actually been inside.”

Du Yu had no choice but to rely on the breathing sounds Zhongli Chun heard to slowly navigate the darkness. Much to his astonishment, it wasn’t long before he spotted a faint glow.

“Someone is here?!” Du Yu never would have imagined finding candlelight deep within this pitch-black stone cave.

Listening to the soft rustling sounds coming from around the corner, Du Yu grew exceptionally tense. Could someone really be living down here?

The only way to find out was to keep moving forward. Summoning his courage, Du Yu walked toward the light glowing just past the distant corner.

After all, with Zhongli Chun’s power at his disposal, there was nothing to fear, whether he was facing a human or a tiger.

Yet, when Du Yu finally turned the corner and saw the source of the candlelight, a chill of fear still crept over him.

Man or tiger, it wouldn’t have mattered. At least both were within the realm of comprehension.

But the tiger currently in front of him was holding up a candle, sitting cross-legged on a stone bed, and carefully reading the text inscribed on the wall. What kind of bizarre situation was this?

It was neither a mere tiger nor a man.

The ferocious beast suddenly sniffed the air. It hurriedly turned its head, and its eyes met Du Yu’s.

“Who is it?” The tiger suddenly called out in human speech with a thick, gravelly voice.

“Huh??” Du Yu jumped in fright. “What the hell!? How are you the one speaking first?”

Seeing this scene, Xiao Qi seemed to realize something. She told Du Yu, “This tiger seems to have developed a spiritual consciousness. It’s cultivating to become a demon.”

“A tiger… demon?” Du Yu was also starting to understand. “So demons, ghosts, and monsters actually do exist…”

“Eras overflowing with spiritual energy are highly prone to producing demons and spirits. Moreover, this Mount Yunmeng was once the residence of Mr. Guigu, making the spiritual energy here even more abundant. It isn’t strange for a demon to be born here,” Xiao Qi explained.

“Then what should I do?? Slay the demon and eradicate evil?” Du Yu asked tentatively.

“Let’s observe the situation first…” Xiao Qi whispered. “Although demons are anomalies born by gathering the essence of heaven and earth, animals are inherently good-natured. Most of them won’t harm humans.”

‘Won’t harm humans?’

Du Yu found that a bit absurd. This tiger demon had eaten that old woman’s son!

But on second thought, could the reason the old woman didn’t go to the authorities be precisely because of this tiger demon?

“Who… are you?” The tiger glared with emerald eyes, watching Du Yu warily.

“I…” Du Yu had never considered how to handle a situation like this, leaving him somewhat at a loss. “Brother Tiger, hold on a second. Let me think about how to phrase this.”

“Leave quickly. This is… my… territory,” the tiger told Du Yu. “If you don’t leave… I won’t be… polite.”

Du Yu scratched his head. He hadn’t expected the fierce tiger to actually be so polite. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to hold back either.

Du Yu walked straight up to the tiger and sat down on the stone bed. “Brother Tiger, it’s rare for us to get together like this. Don’t be in such a rush to chase me away. What are you reading here?”

The beast instantly bared its fangs, glaring viciously at Du Yu.

“Huh? This is…”

Du Yu casually glanced at the text covering the stone wall, and he couldn’t help but stare in dumbfounded shock.

Carved boldly on the wall before him were the words: “Thirteen Chapters of the School of Diplomacy.” Below that was dense, tightly packed tiny writing. Looking around the entire cave, he saw not only the life story of Mr. Guigu inscribed on the walls, but also his various theoretical works, including the “Letters of the School of Diplomacy,” the “Seven Secret Strategies of the Fundamental Classic,” and the “Inner Biography of Yinxi, the Warden of the Pass.” This cave was a complete collection of Guiguzi’s lifelong knowledge.

Seeing this, Du Yu practically wanted to weep. “Brother Tiger, staying up in the dead of night to read Guiguzi by candlelight… You’re a true role model for our generation. If I had your sheer willpower, I would have gotten into an Ivy League university by now…”

Seeing Du Yu act so strangely, the tiger was also utterly bewildered.

“I don’t… understand… what you’re saying. Can you understand… what is written… on this wall? I often don’t understand… the words here myself,” the tiger said with a hint of shame.

“Brother Tiger, forgive my bluntness, but since your spiritual consciousness has just awakened, the things you’re reading are far too profound. When human children first learn to speak, they start with basic primers like the ‘Three Character Classic’ or the ‘Hundred Family Surnames’. Who on earth starts their education with ‘Guiguzi’?”