Legend Management Bureau Chapter 103

[ … words ]

“Hey, I just came over to visit, and you’re already acting so formal,” Du Yu said with a smile. “Besides, half the Heavenly Court or whatever…”

Huh?

Du Yu blinked. “Boss, did you just say something? Is the wind in the Heavenly Court too strong, or did I mishear…”

“Sir, I sincerely invite you to become one of the Heavenly Emperors and co-manage the entire Heavenly Court with me.” Zhang Jian stood up in the carriage, cupped his hands toward Du Yu, and declared, “If you agree, sir, I will grant you a divine title immediately.”

Du Yu rubbed his forehead with a distressed expression. He held his silence for a long time before finally asking:

“But why exactly is that?”

“Why?” Zhang Jian paused, momentarily stunned. “Sir, aren’t you asking a question you already know the answer to? Without your help, forget about my brothers and I smoothly dividing the management of Heaven and the Underworld, I wouldn’t have even been able to resolve the Zhang Family Village rebellion three thousand years ago. You deserve half the credit for my ability to sit securely on this throne. Since my friend has become one of the Great Emperors of the Underworld, I naturally cannot treat you unfairly, sir. It is just that your identity is special, and I have waited bitterly for you for three thousand years.”

Du Yu pursed his lips. Gazing at the distant scenery of the Heavenly Court, he could not help but feel a bit flustered and irritable.

“Sir… what do you think?”

“Boss, come here, sit down.” Du Yu kept his eyes on the distance and waved Zhang Jian over.

Zhang Jian was confused, but he slowly shuffled over and took a seat beside Du Yu.

“Sir…”

“Boss, do you understand me?” Du Yu asked.

“Of course I do!” Zhang Jian stated confidently. “I have thoroughly investigated all your life experiences before you died, sir. This includes the date you first wet the bed, the date you first failed to court a girl, and even which crematorium your unclaimed ashes were placed in after your death. I know it all.”

Du Yu shot Zhang Jian an incredibly awkward look. “Boss, who asked you about that… I mean, do you understand me as a person? Do you know why I went out of my way to help you become the Jade Emperor?”

“I do!” Zhang Jian replied immediately. “I also know about your experience becoming an Underworld Envoy, sir. It is nothing more than wanting to be reincarnated to obtain wealth and status in the mortal realm.”

Du Yu remained silent, saying nothing.

Zhang Jian continued, “Sir, you simply want to become a wealthy second-generation heir in the mortal world. Not to boast, but whatever the mortal realm has, the heavens have in even greater abundance. Even if you truly wish to walk the mortal world once more, sir, I only need to put in a good word with my friend. You could immediately set off for reincarnation. A mere century passes in the blink of an eye; we can wait for you.”

“Boss, I have to say, you might be the person who understands me the most in this world,” Du Yu said with a bitter smile.

“Indeed!” Zhang Jian chuckled. “I know everything about you like the back of my hand, sir…”

“But I feel a bit sad.” Du Yu glanced at Zhang Jian, his expression complex.

“Sad…? Why the sadness, sir?”

“I just feel that if the person who understands me best in the world does not even know what I truly want, then everyone else probably has absolutely no clue.”

Hearing Du Yu’s words, a trace of disappointment appeared on Zhang Jian’s face. However, he still managed a smile, sighed, and said, “Sir, since that is the case… why don’t you tell me about it?”

“Boss, did you know? The place where I grew up… was called an orphanage.”

“I know, it is a place that takes in mortal orphans.” Zhang Jian nodded.

“I have no relatives, so what you just said about my ashes still sitting in a crematorium is not surprising at all.” Du Yu smiled, yet his expression seemed remarkably empty. “It’s impossible for anyone in this world to claim my ashes. I have no lingering attachments to the mortal world, which is why I never felt that death was a terrifying thing.”

“Yes, and I heard that you even chatted and laughed merrily with the Black and White Impermanence when they came to ferry your soul, sir. Such boldness is unlike that of ordinary mortals.”

“Boss, you don’t need to flatter me.” Du Yu shook his head. “As an orphan, I just wanted someone to talk to… But the children my age were adopted one after another. Only I was left behind. I never fought or vied for attention. Even my schooling was entirely funded by the orphanage.”

Zhang Jian opened his mouth but did not speak.

“At school, every classmate had parents and friends. They all had a place they could ‘return to’, but I did not. There was not a single place in this world I could ‘return to’, nor did I know where to go. Sometimes I wondered… is it that only people who ‘have parents’ are allowed to have friends? So, I lied and claimed that I had a father who doted on me and a mother who loved me. I spent all day boasting to my peers about how good they were to me. But doing that didn’t help me make any friends; it only made me look even more lonely.”

“I never expected you to have had such experiences, sir…”

“I treated everyone with sincerity, yet I was always mocked as an ‘unwanted child’. When I was young, I was never needed and never understood. However, I noticed that those wealthy and powerful classmates had a huge group of friends, even if they constantly beat and scolded the people around them.”

Du Yu scratched his head, as if trying to organize his thoughts.

“Boss, I don’t know if you’ll understand when I say this… When I found out I could choose to become a wealthy heir after death, I was incredibly happy. Because that way, not only could I have ‘parents’, but I could also have ‘wealth’ and, more importantly, a lot of ‘friends’. It was a completely different life from before. I felt like I would never be lonely again.”

“If you put it that way, sir… I think I understand…” Zhang Jian was a smart man and naturally grasped what Du Yu was thinking.

“Yes, Boss.” Du Yu nodded. “The current me… is very satisfied with my life now. Not only have I become someone who is ‘needed’, but I also have a group of fiercely loyal friends. Although I am just a mere mortal and often need others to protect me, I treat them as the most important people to me. They would risk their lives for me, and I would do the exact same for them.”

Du Yu turned his head to look at Zhang Jian again. “For you, I could do the same.”

Zhang Jian was visibly moved. He fell silent for a moment before saying, “Who would have thought that your desire to become a wealthy heir, sir, was simply to find someone to talk to, to find a few true, loyal friends…”

Du Yu laughed heartily and said, “Honestly, I don’t care about any of this fame, wealth, divine rank, or status. I appeared here today not to claim credit or demand the position I deserve, nor is it because you are the Jade Emperor with a supreme status. It is simply because you are my friend, and you wanted to see me. That is why I came to the Heavenly Court. Even if it meant fighting the Four Heavenly Kings, I wanted to see you. This was a promise between us bros. Even if you were just a lowly deity sweeping the floors in the Heavenly Court, I would still come to see you.”

Zhang Jian lowered his head slightly and said, “You value our bond so much, sir. By acting like this… I feel I have been rather presumptuous.”

“The ‘Legend Administration’ allowed me to meet a lot of friends, and I love that place,” Du Yu added. “It’s a pity that it’s currently sick and broken. I want to cure it and fix it. If you truly consider me a friend, then help me with this favor. That will be more than enough.”

Zhang Jian felt a strange sensation in his heart. Despite being completely rejected by Du Yu, he found himself liking the man’s character even more.

“Sir…” Zhang Jian thought for a moment before correcting himself. “No, brother. Since you have asked, I will definitely help you.”

“That’s great.” Du Yu smiled and patted Zhang Jian’s shoulder. “Boss, please never bring up co-managing the Heavenly Court with you ever again. If you really care about me, just come visit me when you’re free. We can hit up a restaurant and grab a meal together or something, and that’ll be perfect.”

“Hit up a restaurant… and grab a meal?” Zhang Jian was taken aback. He had never heard such a request before.

“Ah, I forgot you immortals don’t need to eat…” Du Yu said. “I can eat while you watch, that works too…”

“Hahahahaha!” Zhang Jian burst into uproarious laughter. “Excellent, absolutely excellent!”

Du Yu furrowed his brows and looked at Zhang Jian, asking, “Boss… why do I feel like you’re actually pretty happy about this?”

“I… just…” Zhang Jian pondered for a moment. “I just feel that these three thousand years of waiting were not in vain. You are a ‘friend’ worth opening my heart to. It makes this long wait and our reunion completely worthwhile!”

“Ha, haha…” Du Yu chuckled along awkwardly and said, “Boss, I actually never mentioned this, but I only entered your legend a few days ago. To me, it wasn’t a long time at all…”

“Of course I know that!” Zhang Jian exclaimed. “It wasn’t long for you, but it was excruciatingly long for me. I often wondered if you only took such good care of me because you were within a legend. Looking at it now, whether inside a legend or outside of it, you are still you. You are the sir that I trust implicitly.”

Hearing this, Du Yu finally let go of the burden in his heart and smiled at Zhang Jian.

“Brother Du, since you’ve brought it up, I’ll ask directly. Regarding the rebuilding of the Legend Administration, how do you want me to help you?”

Du Yu pondered slightly. He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly beforehand.

“Boss, I need you to agree to three requests. That would be a huge help to me. It’s just that these three requests might sound a bit…”

“Brother, please speak freely.”

Du Yu gritted his teeth and said, “The first request is to pardon all the sins of the previous Legend Administration Operator, ‘Zhan Qisheng’. I need him to return to the Legend Administration and continue his work.”

“Zhan Qisheng?” Zhang Jian thought for a moment, a troubled look crossing his face. “I have heard of this person… but hasn’t he already gone missing?”

“Boss, not only have you heard of him, but you’ve also had deep contact with him… He was the black-robed immortal who helped us establish the ‘Five Great Sects’ three thousand years ago. The one I called ‘Zhang Pockmark’.”

“Ah?!” Zhang Jian was stunned. He truly had never seen Zhan Qisheng’s face, yet he never imagined this person had swaggered right into his own legend.

But thinking about it carefully, this person had also dedicated himself wholeheartedly to protecting and maintaining his legend.

Zhang Jian deliberated for a moment before saying, “I will have to discuss this matter with the ‘Nine Heavens Response Primordial Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Lord’. He is the head of the Thunder Department and in charge of the Heavenly Realm’s penal laws. It shouldn’t be a big problem. What is the second matter you wish to ask?”