Legend Management Bureau Chapter 74

[ … words ]

“…Even if he personally poisoned the Black Whirlwind Li Kui, how could the Protector of Justice Song Jiang meet a good end? Although he received an official title from the imperial court, he was constantly persecuted by treacherous officials. In this grand and heroic legend, aside from the River Dragon Li Jun and a dozen others who escaped, the rest all died tragic deaths!” Du Yu finished telling the story, spit flying everywhere, and looked out the window. It was already dawn.

“This is truly… brilliant and soul-stirring…” Zhang Jian muttered to himself. He originally thought it would be a brief anecdote explained in a few words, but the man before him had woven a tale full of twists and turns. The characters in the story felt incredibly real, their emotions and hatred conveyed with perfect clarity.

“So, do you understand now?” Du Yu felt parched. He wanted something to drink, but seeing only the pot of yellow wine before him, he had to give up. “Joining the army might seem like a wonderful way out, but to the imperial court, you all are the most unstable elements. Furthermore, you need to think about whether these brothers of yours would even support your approach.”

“Zhang Zhen… no, sir!” Zhang Jian stood up and gave Du Yu a formal bow. “To have such a profound conversation with you all night is truly the greatest fortune of my life!”

“Huh?” Du Yu hurriedly helped Zhang Jian back up. “Boss, what are you doing? There’s no need to be so formal.”

“Tonight’s story gave me immense inspiration. I nearly threw away the lives of our brothers.”

“It’s not quite that serious…” Du Yu replied. “I was merely giving you an example. I’m not saying our brothers would definitely end up with the same fate.”

Zhang Jian pursed his lips, falling silent. He suddenly remembered something and asked, “Sir, the story you just told, did it take place in the previous dynasty?”

“Eh? Previous dynasty?” Du Yu paused, realizing he hadn’t specified which era the story was from.

“Uh…” Du Yu knew that if they dug deeper into this, his cover would surely be blown. He hurriedly interrupted Zhang Jian, saying, “Boss, your focus is entirely misplaced. Are we discussing historical dynasties? Are we analyzing Fang La? I am trying to discuss the lives of our brothers with you!”

“Ah! Yes, yes, yes!” Zhang Jian nodded repeatedly. “You are absolutely right, sir. I was being too short-sighted.”

“Please stop calling me sir…” Du Yu really couldn’t figure this Zhang Jian out. “You are my boss, after all. I can’t accept such a title.”

Zhang Jian didn’t reply, simply pondering something in silence.

Du Yu glanced at the brightening sky outside and slowly stood up. “Boss, if there’s nothing else, I’m going back to get some rest. I feel like I haven’t slept in two weeks.”

“Hold on.” Zhang Jian reached out to stop him. “I have one final matter. I hope you can agree to it, sir.”

“Why are you still calling me sir… What is it?”

“I want you to take over the stronghold and become the new chieftain,” Zhang Jian stated calmly.

Du Yu’s brain instantly short-circuited.

‘Why do I keep running into these kinds of situations?’

‘During Houyi Shooting the Suns, I had to personally shoot down the sun. In Zhongli Chun’s story, she wanted to marry me. In Cui Jue Judging the Tiger, Goddess Houtu wanted me to become an Underworld Emissary. And now, in the legend of the Jade Emperor, Zhang Jian wants me to take over a bandit stronghold?!’

“It seems being too outstanding isn’t a good thing either…”

“What did you say, sir?”

“N-nothing.” Du Yu shook his head and said, “Boss, you flatter me too much. I’m just a lowly bandit. How could I possibly take over such a massive stronghold?”

“I have considered everything thoroughly, and you are the absolute best person for this position,” Zhang Jian said. “You understand the greater good, you are eloquent, you clearly distinguish right from wrong, and you know the cautionary tales of other factions. I firmly believe that under your leadership, the stronghold will thrive.”

“But Boss, you’re right here. Why do you insist on me becoming the chieftain? Compared to me, aren’t you the most suitable candidate?”

“I told you, I am going to a very distant place.” Zhang Jian thought for a moment before adding, “To tell you the truth, Senior Jiang Ziya has asked me to become the Lord of All Gods, but I cannot stop worrying about our brothers in the stronghold…”

“Eh?” Du Yu was just about to leave, but hearing this, he immediately perked up.

“Tell me more about this.”

“Oh? Are you interested in this topic, sir?” Zhang Jian asked slowly.

“It’s not just a matter of being interested.” Du Yu plopped back down and said, “If you want to become the Lord of All Gods, Boss, I will do absolutely everything in my power to help you.”

“This…” Zhang Jian didn’t understand what the man before him meant, so he could only speak his mind. “Sir, if you become the chieftain, I can leave the Zhang Family Stronghold without any lingering worries and swap places back with Zhang Youren. That would be the greatest help you could offer me…”

“Wait!” Du Yu felt the sheer volume of information was a bit overwhelming; he couldn’t process it all at once. “Boss, you said… swap places? What does that mean?”

“This…” Zhang Jian knew he had slipped up, but on second thought, there was no need to hide the truth from the man in front of him. He lowered his voice and said, “Sir, Senior Jiang Ziya originally appointed me to be the Lord of All Gods, but my heart was weighed down by attachments, so I couldn’t accept it immediately.”

“Then what is the deal with Zhang Youren?”

“Zhang Youren was willing to take on my appearance and go in my place temporarily. After all, the Investiture of the Gods is an event of grave importance and cannot be delayed. Therefore, on the Consecration Rostrum, Youren claimed the position of the Lord of All Gods on my behalf. This was actually all part of Senior Jiang Ziya’s plan. I was given seven days. If I don’t swap back with Youren within seven days, I will never become the Lord of All Gods… One day has already passed for the Investiture, and another for travel, leaving me with only five days.”

“So that’s how it is!” Du Yu suddenly realized the truth. So the Great Emperor of Mount Tai and the Jade Emperor swapping identities… was all planned out in advance?

“But… Boss, pardon my bluntness…” Du Yu suddenly thought of something else and asked, “Are you certain Zhang Youren will be willing to swap back with you? That is the throne of the Lord of All Gods!”

“I am not certain,” Zhang Jian replied without a second of hesitation. “But no matter what, on the seventh day, I will go to our agreed location to check. I… will always believe in Youren.”

Du Yu was about to say something, but he began calculating the situation in his head…

‘If I accept Zhang Jian’s request and transform into the chieftain of the Zhang Family Stronghold, he will no longer have any worries. The legend can then continue, allowing him to justifiably swap identities with Zhang Youren and become the Lord of All Gods. Once that happens, I can completely ignore the fate of the stronghold and return straight to the Legend Management Bureau.’

‘Wouldn’t that perfectly complete the legend?’

Du Yu then reconsidered. ‘Will Zhang Youren actually swap with him?’ he wondered. ‘Even though Zhang Jian confidently swore he trusts him, I don’t know the first thing about this Zhang Youren…’

‘Wait a minute!’ Du Yu suddenly realized a crucial point. ‘Didn’t Zhang Youren later become… the Great Emperor of Mount Tai?’

Du Yu had met the Great Emperor of Mount Tai face-to-face. He was upright, impartial, and clearly distinguished right from wrong. And the Zhang Jian standing before him was equally a man who valued loyalty and always kept his word.

If two such individuals had agreed to swap identities, based on their stellar characters, it was practically guaranteed to happen.

“Sir, why don’t you go back and think it over?” Seeing Du Yu constantly hesitating, Zhang Jian offered, “After all, I still have five days left. Take your time, there is no rush.”

Du Yu had originally wanted to grit his teeth and agree on the spot, but on second thought, delaying the matter a bit might be a good idea. Perhaps there were other hidden circumstances he wasn’t aware of.

“In that case… Boss, I’ll head back and rest first.” Du Yu smiled at Zhang Jian and said, “I’ll go get some sleep; maybe I’ll think of something else.”

Bidding farewell to Zhang Jian, Du Yu turned to leave. As he passed the door, he gave it a push and suddenly realized he hadn’t closed it last night. He didn’t think much of it and followed last night’s route back to his own barracks.

Pushing the door open, Du Yu found that Zhang San was missing. Too exhausted to care, he collapsed directly onto his bed.

“Xiao Qi, are you there?”

“I’m here, what’s wrong?” Xiao Qi’s faint voice drifted over.

“I figure this legend is just about done… Although the final outcome might be a bit inhumane, at least we can finish it quickly,” Du Yu said drowsily.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

“Yes. I will accept Zhang Jian’s request, become the next chieftain, and then abandon this stronghold. After all, a bunch of bandits can’t be compared with the Jade Emperor.”

“Hmm… your reasoning isn’t entirely flawed.”

“In the past, I absolutely never would have done this. No matter how many terrible things these bandits have done, they are still hundreds of human lives. With a single thought, I could very well send them to their doom. But now, I’m genuinely worried about Sister Qianqiu and the others… Time won’t allow me to drag this out any longer. I’ve been in this legend for over a day now, right? Is there any news from them?”

“No…” Xiao Qi said softly. “Compared to them, you should really worry more about yourself. You make it sound so easy, but haven’t you forgotten something?”

“Hmm?” Du Yu was puzzled. “Did I miss something?”

“According to you, this time you just need to help Zhang Jian solve the issue of a successor, and the legend will be successfully completed.”

“Yeah, what else could it be?”

“But have you considered the fact that this is a legend of Grade A difficulty or higher? Why would it be resolved so effortlessly?”

“Eh?” Du Yu froze for a moment. “That’s right… I haven’t even found the anomaly causing the problem in this legend yet… As it stands, everything seems to be falling into place naturally. There shouldn’t be any issues at all.”

“Exactly. You must stay highly vigilant. The problem causing the legend’s collapse is definitely lurking right around you.”

As Du Yu conversed with Xiao Qi, his eyelids felt incredibly heavy. Xiao Qi softly called out his name a few more times, but seeing he had stopped responding, she couldn’t bear to disturb him further. She knew he hadn’t slept for many days, so she decided to let him rest for now.

Du Yu’s sleep was terribly restless. He experienced a barrage of bizarre dreams. He dreamt of Dong Qianqiu lying on the ground covered in blood, of Zhan Qisheng slaughtering masses of people with a single wave of his hand, and of He Suoyi somehow becoming a Voice Transmitter, relaying messages directly to his mind. These completely unrelated nightmares ruthlessly bombarded his brain one after another.

When he finally opened his eyes again, it was already late into the night outside.

Du Yu felt a splitting headache. He slowly sat up, but as he turned his head, he discovered Zhang San standing right behind him, staring intently at him.

“Holy crap!” Du Yu jumped in fright. “Zhang San, what the hell are you doing?!”

Zhang San asked somewhat sheepishly, “Zhang Zhen… do you know how to write?”