Legend Management Bureau Chapter 89

[ … words ]

Yang Jian and Nezha exchanged bewildered glances.

Where did He Suoyi go?!

Given the scene that just unfolded before their eyes, let alone He Suoyi, even the true Vairocana Buddha wouldn’t have been able to retreat entirely unscathed!

Yang Jian suddenly noticed something writhing on the ground like a living creature. He flashed over, drew his three-pointed double-edged lance, and plunged it downward.

A spray of fresh blood erupted. The object was actually a severed leg oozing with black mist.

Startled, Yang Jian remarked, “How strange. Mother Houtu sliced off one of He Suoyi’s legs. How could he possibly escape?”

Mother Houtu stared coldly at the scene before her. After pondering for a long moment, she stated plainly, “He didn’t escape. Someone pulled him out.”

“Pulled him out?!”

Nezha and Yang Jian were taken aback. ‘Does He Suoyi have an accomplice?’ they wondered.

“Little Yang Jian, hurry up and bring that cat demon girl inside. See if the equipment is still functional. The top priority is bringing the operator back first.” After speaking, Houtu turned to Nezha. “Little Nezha, go check on Daode Tianzun immediately. I fear He Suoyi might make a desperate gamble and try to assassinate him.”

Receiving their orders, the two were about to split up when Nezha glanced back at Houtu and asked, “My Lady… what about you?”

“I’m hungry, so I’m going back to eat,” Houtu declared. “Neither of you is allowed to follow me, or I’m going to start hitting people.”

“E-eat?” Yang Jian paused. “Lady Houtu… this junior doesn’t quite understand. Putting aside why you would go eat at such a crucial moment, simply based on your constitution as an almighty figure of the Immortal Realm… you shouldn’t even need to eat, right?”

“I’m hungry and I’m going to eat, what of it?” Lady Houtu glared fiercely at the two juniors. “Are you forbidding me from eating?”

Yang Jian offered a wry smile and quickly bowed. “This junior meant no such thing. I spoke out of turn. Please go right ahead, Lady Houtu…”

“Hmph, that’s more like it.” Lady Houtu cracked her neck, stretched out a hand to recall her machete artifact, and slowly strolled away.

“That old lady is really weird…” Nezha muttered quietly, watching Lady Houtu’s retreating figure from afar.

“Watch your mouth!” Yang Jian clamped a hand over Nezha’s mouth. “Careful she doesn’t come back and thrash you!”

Nezha curled his lip and replied, “Fine, then I’ll go find the old Tianzun first. You hurry up and recall the operator.”

The two immediately parted ways to carry out their tasks.

Meanwhile, Lady Houtu slowly trekked up the mountain. She scanned her surroundings, and after confirming no one had followed her, she heavily sat down behind a large boulder. Fine beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.

“Strange… Did I overexert my magical power again just now?” Lady Houtu inspected her own body. “So annoying. I accidentally leveled up from a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal to an Almighty of the Immortal Realm again, and accidentally forgot a bunch of things again…”

Lady Houtu knocked on her own head, muttering, “Why exactly was I fighting He Suoyi in the first place? Strange…”

…

“Sir?” Zhang Jian waved a hand in front of Du Yu’s face. “Sir, are you alright? Why haven’t you spoken for so long?”

Du Yu snapped back to reality. For the past while, he had been constantly hailing the Legend Administration, but received nothing but dead silence in return. He had no idea if reinforcements had arrived or if the Legend Administration had already been destroyed. He could only pray silently in his heart.

“Boss… I… Sigh…” Du Yu let out a heavy breath, not knowing where to begin.

“Sir, you kept telling me to go help you just now, and I didn’t quite understand…” Zhang Jian said with a wry smile. “But I’m right here now. If you need help with anything, just say the word. As long as it’s within my power, I won’t refuse.”

Du Yu mirrored his wry smile and shook his head. If the current Zhang Jian could actually intervene, he wouldn’t be this stressed out to begin with.

“Du Yu!”

A familiar voice echoed in Du Yu’s mind.

“Xiao-xiao-xiao-xiao-Xiao Qi???” Du Yu yelled out in absolute shock.

Zhang Jian jumped in fright. “What Qi?”

“Ah! It’s nothing, it’s nothing! Hahahaha!” Du Yu excitedly clapped Zhang Jian on the shoulder. “Boss! Thank you! You are my absolute savior! Hahaha!”

Du Yu ran off laughing heartily, his heart blossoming with joy.

“Xiao Qi, you’re okay?!”

“Hehehehe!” Xiao Qi giggled. “I’m fine! Did you pull some crazy stunt in the legend? Why did Lady Houtu, True Lord Erlang, and Eight-Armed Nezha all show up to help?”

“Good lord, Erlang Shen and Nezha came too?” Du Yu hadn’t expected that at all. “That’s a really long story, but hearing that you’re okay makes me so happy…”

Xiao Qi smiled foolishly as well, unsure of what had come over her.

They laughed for a moment, but then both fell into silence.

They had only managed to verify each other’s safety, but the others in the Legend Administration…

When He Suoyi had suddenly appeared and started massacring the employees of the Legend Administration, Xiao Qi clearly had a chance to use a concealment art and escape. Yet, she had chosen to stay in front of the screen to warn Du Yu.

“By the way, where is He Suoyi?” Du Yu asked.

“I don’t know either,” Xiao Qi said, scanning her surroundings. “They had a huge fight just now. The Director got one of his legs chopped off, but then he just vanished.”

“Vanished?!” Du Yu was stunned. “Did Lady Houtu, Erlang Shen, and Nezha fail to beat him?”

“It’s not that they failed to beat him. I peaked out and saw those three completely dominating him the entire time, but he somehow managed to escape in the end.” Xiao Qi paused, then added with a palpable wave of grief, “All the staff members died too… I’m the only one left now…”

“That…” Du Yu also felt a pang of heartache. “Yeah… Sister Qianqiu, she…”

“Oh right, Sister Qianqiu should be fine,” Xiao Qi piped up again.

“Eh?!” Du Yu froze. “Xiao Qi, are you asking for a spanking again?! Why would you save such an important detail for last?!”

“I-I forgot…” Xiao Qi said timidly. “Daode Tianzun brought medicinal pills to save them… Judging by Nezha’s tone just now, they probably haven’t dissipated yet. I just don’t know how severe their injuries are.”

“What a simultaneously reassuring and worrying piece of news,” Du Yu sighed. “Even though I know they’re still alive and being treated by powerful figures, I can’t wait to go back and see them. Even if I can’t be of any help, I want to go back and see them… No, to be precise, to see all of you.”

“See… us…” Xiao Qi’s cheeks flushed. “Du Yu, in that case, you should hurry back. Right now, the Legend Administration’s equipment is basically totally destroyed. Only this one single machine is still working. I have no idea how we’re going to manage in the coming days…”

“Go back?” Du Yu blinked. “Go back now?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah my foot! The legend isn’t finished yet!”

“Huh?” Xiao Qi clearly hadn’t expected Du Yu to still be fixated on the mission at a time like this. “After such a huge disaster, you’re still worried about the legend?”

Du Yu offered a gratified smile. “Xiao Qi, tell me, is it possible that it’s precisely because I remained entirely dedicated to this legend and refused to abandon it that the Jade Emperor still remembers me thousands of years later?”

“Hmm…” Xiao Qi pondered for a moment. “When you put it that way, I suppose it makes sense…”

Du Yu knew that if his resolve had wavered even a little, the Jade Emperor’s reinforcements might never have arrived.

Just as He Suoyi had said: in this world, for every effect, there must be a cause.

“Knowing that the crisis at the Legend Administration has blown over for now, I can focus on my work here with peace of mind,” Du Yu declared. “Xiao Qi, hurry up and go find the Great Emperor of Fengdu and the Great Emperor of Mount Tai. Tell them the entire story and have them help with the fallout. You won’t be able to keep the Legend Administration running properly all by yourself.”

“Huh? Go find them right now?” Xiao Qi hesitated. “Then what about you?”

“Me?” Du Yu chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got backup on my end.”

“You mean Zhongli Chun?”

“Zhongli Chun?” Du Yu thought for a second before nodding. “Right, Zhongli Chun. With her around, what is there to worry about?”

Du Yu wanted to call out Zhongli Chun to let Xiao Qi witness her imposing aura, but after calling out a few times, he found that his inner world was dead silent.

“Strange… why has Little Zhongli been asleep for so long?”

Du Yu closed his eyes, treading slowly forward through a sea of darkness.

“Little Zhongli? Are you there?”

After walking for a while, Du Yu discovered Zhongli Chun still lying prone on the ground.

“Little Zhongli…”

Du Yu crouched down to get a closer look, only to find that she was still trapped in a deep, heavy slumber.

He couldn’t help but recall Zhongli Chun’s last possession. That earth-shattering aura, the power to rival True Immortals, the permeating black mist… None of it seemed like the girl she used to be. But what exactly had she done? She had always kept him company day in and day out, so why had she been asleep for two or three days straight?

Du Yu reached out to touch her forehead, only to discover that her skin was incredibly cold, as frigid as a stone.

“Little Zhongli?!”

Du Yu gave her a gentle shake, but her breathing remained steady and her expression peaceful. She was simply fast asleep.

“Du Yu, are you okay?” Xiao Qi asked.

“I don’t know… I should be fine… but Little Zhongli is acting a bit strangely.”

“Huh? How so?” Xiao Qi asked.

“Never mind that for now,” Du Yu said, shaking his head. “After all, I’ll be heading back in another day. We can find someone to look at her then. Xiao Qi, hurry up and track down the two Great Emperors. Don’t worry about things on my end.”

“Uh… okay then,” Xiao Qi nodded reluctantly.

After seeing Xiao Qi off, Du Yu strode straight toward Zhan Qisheng’s location.

From afar, he spotted Zhan Qisheng and Yingning standing together, their faces etched with anxiety.

Du Yu flashed them a wicked grin. “It really is true that you become who you surround yourself with! You two are getting smarter by the minute!”

Seeing Du Yu’s relaxed demeanor, Zhan Qisheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Is it dealt with?”

“Yeah… I still don’t know exactly what happened, but it looks like the crisis is finally over.”