Legend Management Bureau Chapter 44

[ … words ]

“The King of the Tenth Court, the Wheel-Turning King?” Dong Qianqiu was dumbfounded. “Why would a Yama King assassinate the Great Emperor?”

“Even you find it suspicious, don’t you?” Empress Houtu sighed. “In my opinion, a Yama King wouldn’t have that kind of nerve. But someone above him certainly would.”

“I see…” Dong Qianqiu finally understood. “Are you saying that the Wheel-Turning King was acting under the orders of the Great Emperor of Mount Tai to assassinate the Great Emperor of Fengdu?”

“That remains to be seen.” Empress Houtu shook her head. “The judges are currently interrogating the Wheel-Turning King around the clock. But regardless of the outcome, this is a monumental incident the likes of which the Underworld has never seen since its creation.”

Dong Qianqiu finally grasped the sheer gravity of the situation.

“Empress Houtu, I understand now,” Dong Qianqiu said. “You want to know who the Legend Management Bureau will support if a war truly breaks out. If that is the case, you should be speaking with the Bureau Chief, not a mere assistant like me.”

“He Suoyi?” Empress Houtu curled her lip. “I don’t like that man.”

“You don’t like him?”

“No. My intuition has always been razor-sharp. I can usually tell if a person is good or bad at a single glance, but that He Suoyi is completely unreadable to me.”

“I never said he was a bad person,” Empress Houtu retorted, snapping back to the present. She leveled a gaze at Dong Qianqiu. “Let’s not get sidetracked. Tell me, what is your choice?”

Dong Qianqiu looked up at the three of them and asked, “Then… Empress Houtu, what is your choice?”

Caught off guard by the counter-question, Empress Houtu let out a cold scoff. “When two brats get into a fight, I naturally punish the one who threw the first punch.”

Her target was self-evident; she was pointing directly at the Great Emperor of Mount Tai.

Dong Qianqiu nodded slowly. “I see. Although you have been completely honest with me, I must still apologize. The duty of the Legend Management Bureau has always been to maintain the past, not to take the offensive. Even if a war does break out, we can only stick to our own duties.”

“Sigh…” Empress Houtu breathed out heavily. “I expected as much. So you will help neither Beiyin nor Dongyue? Even if this Underworld faces total destruction…”

“We have seen too much destruction, Empress Houtu,” Dong Qianqiu replied, his expression unchanging. “If a war truly begins this time, it might eventually become a legend of its own. It would be just like when the Flame Emperor and the Yellow Emperor led the gods into battle. Though it resulted in countless casualties, it left behind a moving myth. Only then will it fall within our jurisdiction.”

“Is that so…” Empress Houtu murmured, her face etched with worry.

“However, Empress Houtu, what I just expressed is merely my own stance. I cannot speak for the new operator, Du Yu,” Dong Qianqiu added.

“Oh?” Empress Houtu paused in surprise. “He… might make a different choice?”

“Although Du Yu seems frivolous, I know he values relationships more than anyone else. Perhaps it has to do with his lonely upbringing. He cherishes everyone’s feelings and always repays the slightest favor a hundredfold. When Hou Yi was caught in the jaws of the Nine-Headed Hydra, Du Yu charged at the beast with nothing but a bow and arrow, simply because he considered Hou Yi a friend. When Zhongli Chun was about to die in battle, Du Yu refused to abandon her even when he had a clear escape route, just because she cared for him. While I don’t know exactly what he will choose, if a war truly breaks out, it is highly likely that Du Yu will stand by Cui Jue, Fan Wujiu, and Xie Bi’an.”

“Haha.” Empress Houtu suddenly burst into laughter. “It is exactly as Wangliang predicted. To win over the operator, one must first win over the Eight Great Netherworld Emissaries. The reason I had Du Yu enter the legends of the Eight Emissaries first was to confirm their allegiances. If they harbored any treacherous intentions, I would have made Du Yu alter their histories, ensuring they could never become emissaries in the first place.”

“To eliminate them at the root…?” Dong Qianqiu shook his head. “Du Yu would not necessarily obey such an order.”

“And that is why…” Empress Houtu gave Dong Qianqiu a pointed look. “I kept you here, isn’t it?”

Dong Qianqiu froze as an ominous feeling washed over him. Was he really just a hostage?

Just then, a little boy came skipping through the door. He appeared utterly innocent, possessing a pair of deer antlers and looking no older than seven or eight.

“Old lady, old lady!” the boy shouted as he ran.

“Oh, little Wangliang is back? How did it go?” Empress Houtu asked.

The boy named Wangliang marched right in, snatched an apple from the table, and took a massive bite. “They got the answers. The Wheel-Turning King was indeed acting under the orders of the Great Emperor of Mount Tai to assassinate the Great Emperor of Fengdu.”

“So it is true?” Empress Houtu turned her gaze back to Dong Qianqiu. “The war has already begun.”

…

Du Yu stood before Cui Jue, who wore an expression of deep contemplation.

“Are you certain about what you just said? A ferocious tiger devoured a man, yet the old woman never reported it to the authorities?”

“I am certain, My Lord,” Du Yu nodded with utmost confidence. He had figured it out. There was actually no need for the old woman to report the crime herself. As long as he found a way to let Cui Jue know and got the tiger to cooperate, wouldn’t everything naturally fall into place?

Cui Jue would dispatch Li Neng to capture the tiger, just as recorded in the legends, interrogate the beast directly, and ultimately sentence it to become the old woman’s adopted son as compensation.

This legend only required the participation of Cui Jue and the tiger. The old woman’s involvement was irrelevant.

Cui Jue nodded firmly and told Du Yu, “You may step down. I will handle this matter immediately.”

Du Yu was in high spirits. He was practically a veteran at intervening in legends now. Sometimes, all it took was a little brainpower to effortlessly resolve a difficult problem.

As Du Yu stepped out of the magistrate’s office, he pondered the situation. For some reason, something felt off. This mission was supposed to be simple, so why did it feel so strange? Especially the suspicious details surrounding that old woman…

‘No…’ Du Yu felt a twinge of unease. ‘Just to be safe, I should go see that old woman one more time…’

He hadn’t gone far before he bumped into Head Constable Li.

“If it isn’t Yuan Xiangqin, the new recruit from yesterday,” Head Constable Li remarked.

“Oh, Head Constable Li! I have some business to take care of near Mount Yunmeng. Let’s chat later!”

Watching Du Yu sprint away in a hurry, Head Constable Li called out after him, “Make sure you come back early! The magistrate just summoned me for an urgent mission.”

“I know! That’s exactly why I’m heading to Mount Yunmeng! I’ll meet you there!”

…

At the wooden cabin at the foot of Mount Yunmeng, Du Yu tracked down the old woman for a second time.

“Officer, did I not make myself clear enough last time?” As soon as the woman opened the door and saw Du Yu, a blatant look of displeasure crossed her face. She turned sideways, trying to shut the door, but Du Yu hurriedly blocked it with his hand.

“You made it crystal clear,” Du Yu said. “I no longer care why you didn’t report it to the authorities. I’ve already informed the magistrate on your behalf. He promised me he would handle it immediately, so this whole affair will be resolved very soon.”

“What… did you just say?” The old woman’s eyes widened instantly.

“I said, I’ve already reported it to the authorities,” Du Yu repeated.

The old woman stood frozen for a long time. Then, without a word, she turned around and began searching for something on the table. Du Yu stared at her back, finding her behavior increasingly bizarre. He was struggling more and more to understand this woman.

After fumbling around for several moments, her hands finally closed around a boning knife on the table. She whipped around and violently slashed the blade right at Du Yu.

“Holy crap!” Du Yu leapt back in a massive fright. Fortunately, he had spent the last few days living on a knife’s edge, and his reaction speed had sharpened significantly. With a quick sideways roll, he swiftly put a safe distance between himself and the old woman.

“Auntie, what on earth are you doing? Trying to murder me?” Du Yu snapped in frustration.

“You… you…” The old woman’s hands trembled violently with sheer rage. “You actually reported it… That crooked official…”

“Crooked official?”

Before Du Yu could process the meaning behind her words, Head Constable Li’s voice drifted over from behind him.

“Yuan Xiangqin, so this is where you are.” Head Constable Li was flanked by the two new constables from yesterday. All three of them were armed with bows, arrows, and sabers. “Come with us. By the order of Magistrate Cui Jue, we are to execute the ferocious tiger on this mountain today.”

“Huh?” Du Yu blanked, thinking he had misheard.

“Execute it??”

“You cannot!” the old woman shrieked, charging out of the house with the boning knife in hand.

Du Yu was completely lost. Just what in the world was going on here?

The old woman stood trembling before Li Neng and his men, clutching the short boning knife. Seeing the hostility, the three constables instantly drew their sabers.

“Audacious!” Li Neng roared. “What do you think you are doing, woman?”

Du Yu rushed forward, shielding the old woman with his body. “Head Constable Li, put your blades away first. Let’s figure out what’s going on.”

“Brandishing a weapon at officers of the law is already a punishable offense. What more is there to figure out?” Li Neng scoffed coldly, showing no intention of letting the old woman off the hook.

“Brother Neng, Brother Neng! Just calm down for a second!” Du Yu desperately protected the old woman, terrified that she might get hurt. He then turned his head and urged her, “Ma’am, you should put the knife down too. It will end badly if this escalates any further.”

“No!” the old woman cried out. “No matter what, I cannot let you go up the mountain and hurt Si Huang…”

“Si Huang?” Du Yu was utterly bewildered. The questions in his mind were only multiplying. It seemed this matter was nowhere near its end.

Li Neng stared intently at the old woman for a long while before a look of recognition dawned on his face. “Are you… the same woman who reported a case to the magistrate three years ago?”

The old woman said nothing. She only gripped her knife tighter, her entire body trembling.

‘She reported a case… three years ago?’

While Du Yu remained steeped in confusion, desperately trying to figure out how to defuse the situation, Li Neng slowly sheathed his saber.

“So it really is you.” The expression on Li Neng’s face was complex, caught between a smirk and a mocking sneer. “Since you are nothing but a madwoman, I won’t waste my breath arguing with you. Magistrate Cui Jue mentioned that an old woman’s son was eaten by a ferocious tiger. Could it be that you are that same woman? We tried to talk some sense into you back then, but you refused to listen. Now you’ve finally tasted the bitter consequences, haven’t you?”

As if his words had struck a deeply painful nerve, huge tears began streaming down the old woman’s face. Shortly after, she collapsed onto the ground.

“Yuan Xiangqin, ignore this old woman. We need to head up the mountain immediately. If we delay any longer, it will be dark.” With that, Li Neng turned and led the other two constables up the mountain trail.

Knowing she was utterly powerless to stop them, the old woman could only sit there, weeping silently.

“Rest assured, ma’am,” Du Yu said softly before turning to follow them. “I won’t let them kill that tiger. That beast is incredibly important to me.”

A faint glimmer of hope gradually appeared in the old woman’s cloudy eyes. “Truly?”