Legend Management Bureau Chapter 97

[ … words ]

The Charm Demon sighed softly and shook her head.

“Little brother Du Yu, He Suoyi’s methods are incredibly formidable.” The Charm Demon felt a lingering fear just thinking about it. “We are immortals, deities, and ghosts, but he is a ‘Buddha’.”

“A Buddha?!” Du Yu stared blankly. “What kind of Buddha is He Suoyi?”

“At the time, he used a bizarre spell to seal the eight great underworld emissaries and me. I saw the eight emissaries grimace in pain; every time they used their spiritual power, their souls suffered heavy damage. Although I wasn’t hit by the spell, I knew that with my strength, I couldn’t contend against a Great Luo Golden Immortal. So I feigned injury and retreated to the side, pinning all my hopes on King Dizang, who is also a Great Luo Golden Immortal.”

“Right!” Du Yu agreed. “Why couldn’t King Dizang defeat He Suoyi?”

The Charm Demon explained, “Perhaps I was the only one who saw it. What He Suoyi used to defeat King Dizang wasn’t a particular move or technique, but his ‘realm’ and ‘Buddha heart’. He Suoyi possesses a realm and a Buddha heart that far surpass those of King Dizang. After all, King Dizang is a Bodhisattva, whereas He Suoyi is a Buddha.”

“No, I’m genuinely confused,” Du Yu said, furrowing his brows. “It’s not like I haven’t met He Suoyi before. How did he suddenly become a Buddha?”

“That I do not know,” the Charm Demon shook her head. “But he carries the aura of Shakyamuni Buddha.”

“Shakyamuni Buddha?!” Du Yu was startled. “Isn’t that the Tathagata Buddha?”

“Even so… then why is Sister Qianqiu hurt so badly?” Du Yu asked again.

“Sister Qianqiu wasn’t acting like her usual self. I don’t know what happened between her and He Suoyi,” the Charm Demon whispered. “I only felt that she was putting her life on the line that day. She even blocked many attacks for us. I truly thought she wouldn’t survive.”

Du Yu remained silent, the scene seemingly playing out before his eyes—Dong Qianqiu, with her frail figure, fiercely fighting against a giant Buddha.

“I heard He Suoyi ask Sister Qianqiu, ‘Even your flesh and bones were given to you by me, so why do you refuse to follow my will?’ But Sister Qianqiu shouted back, ‘Then I will return this flesh and blood to you!’ After that, He Suoyi broke Sister Qianqiu’s bones one by one and pierced her flesh.”

Du Yu was just about to say something when a soul-shaking scream echoed out.

“Ahhhhh!” Dong Qianqiu threw her head back, exposing her pale neck as she screamed toward the sky.

“Sister Qianqiu!” Du Yu roared.

The bone protruding from Dong Qianqiu’s arm twisted before snapping together with a loud click, like a key turning in a lock.

“The agony of broken bones must be endured a second time when setting them,” the white-haired old man said slowly. “Little girl, can you still bear it?”

“Hehe…” Dong Qianqiu chuckled softly, before tilting her head back and laughing maniacally. “Hahahaha!”

“S-Sister Qianqiu…” Du Yu stared blankly at her. Her expression was completely unhinged. Stripped bare, covered in blood, and riddled with terrifying wounds, she didn’t look like an underworld immortal at all…

Instead, she looked like a malicious demon.

“I’m asking you…” Dong Qianqiu stared blankly ahead, her lifeless eyes fixed on no one in particular. “Does my flesh smell good? Is my bone broth delicious?”

Du Yu and the Charm Demon exchanged a glance, having no idea what she meant.

“Eat more… eat more…” Dong Qianqiu muttered. “Drink my blood, tear my flesh, lick my bones…”

“Sister Qianqiu, what are you saying?” the Charm Demon asked in horror. “We are trying to save you. How could we tear your flesh and lick your bones?”

“Does it smell good…?” Dong Qianqiu turned her head to stare coldly at Du Yu, asking slowly, “Does my flesh… smell good?”

Du Yu’s lips trembled slightly, his eyes filled with a myriad of complex emotions. He took two steps forward and grabbed Dong Qianqiu’s hand.

His expression froze. It felt like he was grasping a handful of snow—freezing and loose. To his horror, even the bones in Dong Qianqiu’s hands had been crushed to pieces.

“Sister Qianqiu… it’s all my fault…” Du Yu choked out. “I’m right here now. If anyone tries to hurt you again, I’ll fight them to the death.”

Feeling a sudden warmth in her hand, Dong Qianqiu raised her head and looked vacantly at Du Yu.

“Du Yu?”

“Yes, it’s me. Are you awake, Sister Qianqiu?” Du Yu asked.

“Right, there’s still Du Yu.” Dong Qianqiu lowered her head again and spoke weakly. “I can’t sleep… I still need to return to the Legend Management Bureau… I have to help Du Yu complete the legend… This time, it’s a Grade-A legend… I need to keep a close eye on it… I can’t sleep for even a moment…”

Hearing her words, Du Yu couldn’t hold back his tears any longer. He wanted so badly to pull her into a tight embrace, but he was terrified of hurting her.

“Sister Qianqiu… if you’re tired, just sleep for a while.”

“I can’t let Du Yu… see me like this…” Dong Qianqiu said with a bitter smile. “The one and only time I went out with him… and I’m not even wearing nice clothes…”

Du Yu could only hold her hand tightly, unable to utter a single word.

“Why don’t I have… any nice clothes?”

Xie Jin and the Charm Demon both sighed silently. As women, they completely understood what Dong Qianqiu was thinking.

“If my hair is messy… he’ll point it out… If I look haggard… he’ll laugh at me…” Dong Qianqiu shook her head again. “I can’t let him see me like this…”

“Sister Qianqiu… I wasn’t really laughing at you,” Du Yu leaned in and whispered softly in her ear. “I was just… worried about you…”

It was unclear if Dong Qianqiu heard him, but she murmured again, “Take my flesh if you must… but don’t feed it to Du Yu…”

Du Yu choked on a sob and asked, “Why?”

“Because eating my flesh… brings death…” Dong Qianqiu smiled bitterly. “They will die… but I will become an immortal…”

Du Yu gritted his teeth, holding her hand firmly. “Sister Qianqiu, rest easy. No one is going to eat your flesh. I’ll stand guard right here.”

Dong Qianqiu seemed to lose consciousness again, though her lips parted to murmur, “Father… Qianqiu hurts so much…”

Du Yu gently called her name a few more times, but she had grown completely unresponsive.

“Little friend.” The white-haired old man walked over slowly and addressed Du Yu and Xie Jin. “You two young ones, if there’s no urgent matter, please wait outside. You’re only getting in my way here.”

“You must be the Supreme Old Venerable…” Du Yu said absentmindedly. “I can’t leave. I have to stay and guard Sister Qianqiu.”

“I’m not the Supreme Old Venerable, I’m Taishang Laojun.” Taishang Laojun shook his head. “Either go wait by the door or leave. You cannot cause trouble here.”

Du Yu cast a few more reluctant glances at Dong Qianqiu before he finally agreed.

“Then I’ll head out first, Daode Tianjun.” Du Yu turned around despondently and walked out the door.

“Alas, my title is Daode Tianzun, not Daode Tianjun.”

…

Du Yu sat outside the door, waiting in silent vigil. The Charm Demon and Xie Jin stood beside him.

“Little brother Du Yu.” The Charm Demon’s heart ached slightly for the man before her. “Since Daode Tianzun is taking action, there’s naturally no need to worry. Sister Qianqiu’s life can be saved.”

“Of course I know her life can be saved.” Du Yu kept his head down, obscuring his expression. “I just… I hate seeing her suffer so much…”

“You might not know this, but women are often much stronger than men,” the Charm Demon said with a gentle smile. “Women can endure hardships that many men cannot; they can suffer torments that men would break under. Sister Qianqiu is a formidable woman. She is stronger than anyone.”

“Is that so?” Du Yu murmured to himself, his voice so soft that only he could hear it.

“Yes. You have to believe in Assistant Dong,” Xie Jin chimed in.

For several agonizing hours, Du Yu sat by the door without moving an inch. Every minute or so, Dong Qianqiu’s screams would pierce through the door. Sometimes she laughed hysterically; other times, she wailed in agony. Those sounds were like countless sharp knives carving into Du Yu’s heart over and over again.

Reconnecting every single broken bone in her body and realigning all her meridians—how could such a thing be easy?

“He Suoyi, are you even human?” Du Yu cursed through gritted teeth. “If I ever see you again, I swear I’ll use every method at my disposal to take your life.”

After waiting a little while longer, Du Yu heard heavy footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor. He looked up to see a figure in white approaching slowly.

“Little Du…”

“Seventh Lord?!” Du Yu hurriedly stood up and rushed over to support White Wuchang. “Why are you here?”

Xie Jin walked over and smiled. “Greetings, Ancestor.”

“Good.” Xie Bi’an beamed at Xie Jin. “My precious granddaughter Jin is the most well-behaved.”

“Seventh Lord, your injuries…” Du Yu asked hesitantly.

“I’m fine… I heard you fought with the Impermanence Guards, so I came to see if you were dead yet…” White Wuchang said with a slight chuckle.

“I already died once.” Du Yu let out a long sigh. “What about you? Are you still holding up?”

White Wuchang leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to a sitting position. “I’m fine, I’m fine. My injuries are much lighter than Old Eighth’s… After all, I’m young and handsome…”

“How is Eighth Lord doing then?” Du Yu asked in concern. “When I passed by you two earlier, I didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly for fear of disturbing your healing.”

“That guy should be waking up in a few hours.” White Wuchang rested against the wall and rolled his neck slightly. “What about Assistant Dong? Is her treatment finished?”

Just as White Wuchang finished asking, another agonizing scream rang out from the room.

Du Yu sighed heavily. “It’s been like this the whole time… I’m on pins and needles out here…”

“Assistant Dong saved all our lives,” White Wuchang said. “I wanted to come and properly thank her, so I’ll wait here a bit longer.”

“Mn.”

“By the way,” Xie Bi’an suddenly remembered something, “how did the legend turn out?”

“The legend?” If Xie Bi’an hadn’t mentioned it, Du Yu would have almost forgotten. “Oh, you mean the Jade Emperor’s legend. It went fine. Everything’s been resolved.”

“The Jade Emperor?” White Wuchang let out a soft laugh. “Even that old ghost ran into trouble? But thinking about it, with Zhongli Chun protecting you, it’s only natural that everything turned out fine.”

“Zhongli… Chun?” Du Yu’s eyes instantly widened in horror. “Crap! I almost forgot!”

Startled, Xie Bi’an asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Seventh Lord, you have to help me check on her. Something’s not right with Little Zhongli!” Du Yu grabbed White Wuchang’s hands in a panic.

“Not right? What do you mean?”

“She seems… sick…” Du Yu was unsure himself. “In the legend, she suddenly gained boundless strength and drove back Zhan Qisheng. But ever since then, no matter how much I call out to her, she’s remained in a deep slumber. Seventh Lord, you have a profound understanding of souls. Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

Xie Bi’an was taken aback. “She drove back Zhan Qisheng? And then fell into a deep slumber? Such a situation is entirely unheard of… Where is she now?”

“In the Eight-Directional Ghost Record!” Du Yu replied.

“But aside from you, no one else can inspect the malicious spirits within the Eight-Directional Ghost Record…” Xie Bi’an said with a troubled expression. “If I could just see her condition, I might be able to figure something out.”

“No one else can inspect it?” Du Yu was dumbfounded. “Then what should I do?”

“I think… your only option is to go find the previous owner of the Eight-Directional Ghost Record, Lady Houtu, and ask her for clarity.”