Legend Management Bureau Chapter 63

[ … words ]

“You’re saying… you have a plan?” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai glanced at Du Yu, then asked, “I wonder… is this a plan to apprehend me, or a plan to prove my innocence?”

“Ah, that’s hard to say.” Du Yu smiled at the Great Emperor and replied, “Boss, this plan of mine might prove your innocence, or it might just conveniently get you arrested.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!” Although the Great Emperor was somewhat irritated, he couldn’t help but look at Du Yu with a modicum of respect, recalling the rumors that this very man had once accomplished the legendary feat of Hou Yi shooting down the nine suns with a mere mortal’s strength.

“Don’t be in such a hurry, Boss.” Du Yu patted the Great Emperor’s shoulder. “Listen to my method first. It won’t be too late to decide after that.”

The crowd remained silent, looking at Du Yu with hesitation.

Du Yu chuckled, walked straight up to Horse-Face, and said, “Fourth Master, since you have such an excellent lie detector, we shouldn’t let it go to waste. If you, Great Emperor, truly have a clear conscience, do you dare let us tie you up and ask a few questions?”

Bao Zheng, Cui Jue, and a few other sharp-minded individuals immediately grasped the brilliance of this strategy. It was indeed a method that could both prove the Great Emperor’s innocence and provide an opportunity to apprehend him if necessary.

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai fell silent for a moment before nodding. “This is a good method, but let me make one thing clear first. I will only answer questions related to this incident. As for the top-secret affairs of the Underworld, you are absolutely forbidden from asking about them.”

Hearing this, Cui Jue hurriedly stepped forward and bowed. “Please rest assured, Eastern Emperor. I will supervise this process. If anyone asks an unreasonable question, I will immediately have my Fourth Brother withdraw the Nine-Turn Soul-Cleansing Whip.”

“Let’s begin.” The Great Emperor nodded at Horse-Face.

Not daring to be negligent, Horse-Face muttered, “Pardon the offense,” and, just as he had done before, wrapped the Nine-Turn Soul-Cleansing Whip around the Great Emperor’s body.

The flames on the whip slowly flared up once again. The Great Emperor of Mount Tai gritted his teeth and declared to the crowd, “Whatever you want to ask, ask quickly.”

Bao Zheng was just about to step forward when Du Yu grabbed him.

“What is the meaning of this?” Bao Zheng asked, glancing at Du Yu.

“Lord Bao, why don’t you let me ask the questions this time?” Du Yu smiled at him.

Bao Zheng thought for a moment and gave a slight nod. “Very well. You came up with this plan, Brother Du, so there is nothing inappropriate about you conducting the interrogation.”

Du Yu nodded in return, thanked Bao Zheng, and stood in front of the Great Emperor of Mount Tai.

“Hurry up, kid. This will prove my innocence once and for all.” The Great Emperor truly lived up to his status as a Great Firmament Golden Immortal; even as the flames burned fiercer by the second, his expression remained entirely unchanged.

“Then, Boss… I won’t hold back,” Du Yu warned.

Everyone’s eyes fell on Du Yu. With a single sentence, he could resolve this entire ordeal.

“Boss… do you want to return to the Heavenly Court?” Du Yu asked nonchalantly.

“?!”

Hearing Du Yu suddenly ask such a bizarre, out-of-left-field question, the crowd couldn’t help but break into a commotion.

“Brother Du… what do you mean by this?”

Several people immediately questioned Du Yu.

Why ask if the Great Emperor of Mount Tai wanted to return to the Heavenly Court? Did he have some connection to them?

Cui Jue was similarly stunned. Unsure of how to handle the situation, he could only watch the Great Emperor’s expression, completely uncertain if he should halt the interrogation.

“No,” the Great Emperor answered flatly.

“Oh?” Du Yu carefully observed the flames on the whip. Surprisingly, they didn’t continue to grow; instead, a large swathe of them extinguished completely. He now had a clear picture of the situation in his mind. He didn’t even need to ask any more questions, because the key figure in this incident—the Great Emperor of Mount Tai—had already lost his motive.

“Brother Du!” Horse-Face urged, fine sweat beading on his forehead. “Hurry up and ask! The Eastern Emperor’s cultivation is too high; I won’t be able to hold on for much longer!”

Du Yu sighed. Even though he already knew the Great Emperor wasn’t the true culprit, he still needed to make sure these important figures of the Underworld knew it too. Thus, he asked, “Boss, did you send assassins to murder the Northern Emperor of Fengdu?”

“No. I have never sent assassins, nor have I ever wished to take the Northern Emperor’s life.”

As soon as the Great Emperor spoke, the flames across the entire whip shrank until they were almost invisible to the naked eye. It was clear that his words were the absolute truth.

Witnessing this scene, everyone fell into a stunned silence.

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai was actually telling the truth?!

Now the crowd was completely baffled. If King Zhuanlun and King Biancheng had spoken the truth, then this was definitively an assassination attempt. But why was the Great Emperor of Mount Tai also telling the truth?

Du Yu gave a slight nod to the Great Emperor, then turned to Horse-Face. “Fourth Master, let the Eastern Emperor go. Although we haven’t gotten to the bottom of this yet, we’ve already proven that he had nothing to do with it.”

“No!”

The crowd was taken aback. Zhong Kui stepped forward and bellowed, “We absolutely cannot let this man go! His words still require further investigation! A chance to bind the Eastern Emperor like this is incredibly rare. If we miss it, we will never get another!”

Zhong Kui shoved Horse-Face aside, grabbing the Nine-Turn Soul-Cleansing Whip himself. He then glared at the Great Emperor of Mount Tai. “Eastern Emperor, the Northern Emperor of Fengdu is my mentor. I absolutely will not allow anything to happen to him. For the time being, you’re coming with me to Hell!”

“Zhong Kui, you’d better think this through,” the Great Emperor said coldly. “I just told the truth while under the interrogation of the Nine-Turn Soul-Cleansing Whip.”

“There’s nothing to think about! As long as you are a potential suspect, I have every right to arrest you!”

Everyone was at a loss for what to do. But thinking it over carefully, Zhong Kui’s words weren’t unreasonable. If they lost this opportunity, they might truly never be able to restrain the Great Emperor of Mount Tai again. The group exchanged helpless glances in heavy silence.

By now, the Eastern Emperor was visibly enraged. He hadn’t expected that, even under these circumstances, not a single person would step up to speak for him.

“Hold it right there!” Just as the Great Emperor was feeling thoroughly disheartened, Du Yu shouted coldly, confronting Zhong Kui. “Aren’t you being far too unreasonable?”

“Oh?” Zhong Kui turned around, shooting Du Yu a nasty glare as he cursed, “What the hell are you? You dare point fingers at me?”

“The Great Emperor of Mount Tai clearly volunteered for this interrogation, and the results definitively prove he had nothing to do with this. Yet you’re taking advantage of his vulnerability to drag him away?” Du Yu stared icily at Zhong Kui. “This whole thing was my idea. If you do this, you’re putting me in a very difficult position.”

“Difficult position…?” Zhong Kui scoffed. “Who cares about your position?! You’re just a mere mortal strutting around because you became an Operator! Since when does a mortal have the right to interfere in the affairs of the Underworld?”

Du Yu let out a cold laugh. “It’s true that I’m a mortal, but a mortal has his principles, and morality is morality. The Great Emperor gave me face and agreed to my request. I absolutely cannot just abandon him now. Today, I am simply not going to let you take him away.”

Steam practically blew from Zhong Kui’s nostrils in fury. He tossed the Nine-Turn Soul-Cleansing Whip aside, conjured a precious sword out of thin air, and threatened Du Yu. “I don’t care if you’re an Operator or a Divine Soldier! If you dare stand in my way again, this sword will scatter your soul to the winds!”

Du Yu showed absolutely no sign of backing down. Instead, he took another step forward. “I’ll say it one more time. That’s not going to happen. You cannot just take him away!”

Cui Jue and Xie Bian exchanged a nervous glance, both realizing that things were taking a turn for the worse. Zhong Kui had a violent, tyrannical temper and was the most combative among the Eight Great Emissaries. Of all the people to provoke, Du Yu just had to pick him.

“Second Brother,” Cui Jue stepped forward to intervene. “I don’t think this is appropriate either. Setting aside whether the Eastern Emperor is guilty or not, this move of yours will give you a terrible reputation for kicking a man when he’s down. You are one of the leading figures of the Eight Great Emissaries; you cannot act so rashly.”

“Big Brother, you know as well as I do that with our cultivation alone, we could never capture the Eastern Emperor.” Zhong Kui was still somewhat polite to Cui Jue. “Right now, the Northern Emperor is severely injured. How can I possibly swallow this anger?”

Cui Jue looked at Du Yu in dismay. He knew Zhong Kui’s temper all too well; once he made up his mind, no one could talk him out of it.

“Brother, how about we drop this for now? I will find a way to keep the Eastern Emperor safe,” Cui Jue sent a voice transmission to Du Yu.

“If that’s the case…” Du Yu ignored Cui Jue. In an instant, traces of murderous intent enveloped his body, and his eyes grew incredibly sharp. “If you want to take the Eastern Emperor away, you’ll have to get past me first!”

“Reckless fool!”

Zhong Kui shouted coldly, driving his precious sword down in a vicious slash. Du Yu didn’t retreat an inch. Jolting his hands forward, he shockingly caught Zhong Kui’s magical artifact, the Ghost-Slaying Sword, bare-handed, forcing himself back three steps in the process.

“Oh?”

Zhong Kui was stunned for a moment, but he quickly regained control of his magical artifact. Forming hand seals and chanting an incantation, the single sword instantly transformed into nine smaller swords. They hovered in the air for a brief moment before cascading down toward Du Yu. The fierce sword aura carried the wails of countless ghosts, sweeping up waves of yin energy that nearly suffocated Du Yu.

Du Yu was alarmed. This Zhong Kui was indeed no ordinary opponent; he was probably the strongest person Du Yu had ever fought. He could only wonder if Little Zhongli’s abilities would be enough to fend him off.

Relying on phantom-like movement techniques, Du Yu flickered and wove through the nine soaring, flashing blades. Every single flying sword was aimed directly at his vital spots; if he failed to dodge even one, his soul would be scattered on the spot.

Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Xie Bian was just about to intervene when Fan Wujiu pulled him back.

Xie Bian shot him a confused look, unsure of what he meant.

Fan Wujiu spoke plainly, “Given the current situation, it’s not a good idea to help either side. Let’s just watch for now.”

After narrowly evading all the flying swords, Du Yu channeled all his strength and threw a heavy punch straight at Zhong Kui. This strike concentrated all the power of Zhongli Chun. Du Yu’s face twisted ferociously, and a faint trace of ghostly energy rippled from his body.

“Boom—”

With a deafening crash, Zhong Kui’s nine sharp swords merged back into one, forming a shield in front of him to block Du Yu’s punch.

“Interesting… you’re actually using an evil spirit possession?” Seeing Du Yu’s current state, Zhong Kui couldn’t help but reveal a mocking sneer. “Do you have any idea what I, Zhong Kui, am best at?”

Du Yu looked at Zhong Kui, a trace of lingering fear flashing in his eyes. He naturally knew what Zhong Kui was best at. After all, folklore mentioned it everywhere—Zhong Kui was the absolute master of catching ghosts.