Legend Management Bureau Chapter 105

[ … words ]

The four of them were stunned after hearing this.

Even the Queen Mother of the West widened her eyes in surprise.

“What nonsense is this kid spouting?” the Queen Mother of the West muttered, furrowing her brow slightly as she snapped back to reality. “His Daoist title sounds impressive enough, but why did I also hear phrases like ‘none of them are me’ and ‘completely unrelated’? Did I hear that right?”

Du Yu stared coldly at the four. Seeing their furrowed brows, he wondered how those idioms would even translate into their respective languages. Regardless, he had already seized the momentum.

“S-so it is Senior Du Yu!” Shiranui Asuka flashed him a sweet smile. “You truly live up to your reputation.”

“Ah!” Du Yu waved a hand dismissively. “No need to be so polite, little junior. May I ask what brings you all here?”

Chada from Britain and Ramla from the Hellenic Domain exchanged a glance. Taking a step forward and adjusting his black trench coat, Chada said, “We heard that the legends of your country are constantly experiencing errors. We came to see if you needed any assistance. If you require any advanced technology, we can pass it on to you.”

“Oh, is that so?” Du Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. “It cannot be helped. China has five thousand years of history and tens of thousands of legends. An occasional error is bound to happen, so forgive us for showing you a joke. Sometimes I wonder if it would be better if we were like other countries, with only a millennia or two of history. Then we wouldn’t have so many troublesome matters to deal with.”

“That is not quite right, Senior.” Shiranui Asuka’s expression clearly soured, though she managed to squeeze out a polite smile. “Our Fusang might not have a long history, merely two thousand years or so, but Sister Ramla here is from the Hellenic Domain, which has at least four thousand years. And Brother Varun is even more impressive; his home of India is the birthplace of Buddhism, with a traceable history dating back ten thousand years.”

“Hmph.” Shiranui Asuka scoffed coldly. “Even if we isolate just the past millennium, your legends still have an incredibly high error rate, do they not?”

“Are you saying your legends never have errors?” Du Yu replied dismissively. “Since your legends never glitch, yet you still established positions specifically for managing them, it seems your respective lords of the gods are quite ‘prepared for a rainy day.’ I am rather envious of you all, having so much free time every day. Not only can you attend the Peach Banquet, but you also have time to visit other countries and impart your experiences. I am incredibly busy every day and cannot even take a single day off. Then again, if I were getting paid to do absolutely nothing all day, I would be so overcome with shame that I would have resigned long ago.”

“You!”

Du Yu’s words nearly made Shiranui Asuka die of anger. She was just about to lash out when Chada stepped forward and said, “Sir, I heard the only reason you are so busy is because your country has just a single ‘Controller.’ Meanwhile, each of our nations has an entire team of Controllers. The fact that we can safely entrust our work to our colleagues this time does not mean we are more leisurely than you.”

“Sometimes that is just how people are. One person can do the work of an entire team,” Du Yu said with a helpless sigh. “I do not want to be this outstanding either, but what can I do?”

Seeing Du Yu infuriate the group to the point of distorting their features with just his glib tongue, the Queen Mother of the West revealed a deeply satisfied smile in the background.

“Enough talk!” Shiranui Asuka dropped her previously gentle expression. “Since this is a rare opportunity, let us hold a ‘Legend Exchange.’ We will enter each other’s legends and help solve each other’s problems to see whose technology is truly more advanced!”

Du Yu froze. He hadn’t expected them to play this card. He shot a troubled glance at the Queen Mother of the West, who immediately understood his dilemma.

The Legend Management Bureau was currently in ruins, and they were down to their last two or three employees. How were they supposed to demonstrate the grandeur of a great nation to these people?

The Queen Mother of the West sent a telepathic message to Du Yu, “How do you think we should handle this?”

‘Big Cat, find a way to buy me seven days,’ Du Yu secretly replied in his mind.

Seven days would be ideal. Dong Qianqiu would awaken by then, and he could use that time to publicly recruit a group of talented individuals. As for rebuilding the Legend Management Bureau, they would just have to take it one step at a time.

The Queen Mother of the West gave a faint nod and spoke aloud. “Little juniors, I have no desire to spoil your fun. However, there is currently a very important legend underway, and it will take an estimated seven days to complete. Why don’t you all stay here at the Jade Pool for a short while, and we can proceed with this exchange in seven days?”

“That will not do!” Shiranui Asuka said anxiously. “You just mocked us for having too much free time, and now you want to delay us for seven days?”

The Queen Mother of the West snorted coldly. A heaven-shaking aura erupted from her body, blowing away all the flowers and desserts on the surrounding tables.

“I said, we shall proceed with the exchange in seven days. Is that acceptable?”

The Queen Mother of the West asked again, her voice icy.

The group couldn’t help but gulp at the sight. They had previously seen this woman as a quiet, elegant, and graceful figure, never expecting her presence to be so terrifying.

“S-since Senior has put it that way… we will… agree to it,” Shiranui Asuka stammered.

“Excellent.” The Queen Mother of the West nodded. “Fairy Chang’e, you and the Seven Fairies will escort these esteemed guests to their quarters to rest. They are not to be disturbed for the next few days.”

Chang’e bowed slightly before turning to the four of them. “Everyone, please follow me.”

With that, Chang’e slowly levitated into the air. However, looking at the foreign delegates, not a single one of them knew the art of flight.

“Do not be rude!” the Queen Mother of the West scolded with feigned anger. “How could we ask our esteemed guests to fly to their rooms themselves? Hurry and prepare the Heavenly Steeds.”

Chang’e nodded in compliance and went to fetch the Heavenly Steeds. She guided the guests into the carriage, and only then did they slowly fly away under the escort of the fairies.

“Phew!” Seeing them depart, Du Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Big Cat, the situation is pretty serious this time. We really need to talk this over.”

“Insolent! What did you just call me?!” the Queen Mother of the West snapped angrily.

“Q-Queen Mother of the West.” Knowing better than to act impudently in public, Du Yu obediently corrected himself.

“Hmph.” The Queen Mother of the West looked at him and said, “You asked for seven days, but are you confident?”

“Ugh! If you ask me, why are we even wasting our breath on them? Couldn’t we just beat them up and chase them back?” Du Yu was puzzled. These people possessed such meager magical power, yet they dared to clamor in front of the Queen Mother of the West. No one in the entire Heavenly Court would dare attempt such a thing.

“Easier said than done. Sparking an international war between the immortal realms is no small matter. If war breaks out, natural disasters will ravage the mortal realm, and innocent lives will inevitably be lost,” the Queen Mother of the West said, shaking her head slowly. “We can only outsmart them this time; we cannot use brute force.”

“Well, in that case, there is a favor I must ask of you,” Du Yu said. “Boss, you know that the Legend Management Bureau is currently in ruins, and we are without a Director.”

“Naturally, I am aware.”

“Could I ask you to become the new Director of the Legend Management Bureau?” Du Yu asked straightforwardly.

“The Director of the Legend Management Bureau?!” The Queen Mother of the West had not expected him to suddenly make such a request.

“Yes, Boss. You have so much free t— I mean, your magical power is boundless. You are the perfect fit for this position.”

The Queen Mother of the West pondered for a moment before saying, “But I do not care to visit the pitch-black Underworld. Not seeing the sun all day is terrible for the skin. Even if I were to become the Director, I would work from the Heavenly Court.”

“What?!” Du Yu was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected her first reason for hesitation to be something like that.

“What is it? Do you disagree?” The Queen Mother of the West gave him a look. “The Underworld is dark and damp. It causes breakouts.”

“I will need to discuss that with Sister Qianqiu and the others,” Du Yu said. “But do not worry, Boss. Even if you agree to be the Director, you will not be burdened with a lot of work. You will only need to help out on occasion.”

The Queen Mother of the West nodded slightly, not saying anything more.

“Now I just need to get the Jade Emperor on board, and I can start working immediately.” Du Yu sighed in relief. The reconstruction of the Legend Management Bureau was just around the corner.

“You asked the Jade Emperor for help too?” The Queen Mother of the West looked somewhat displeased. “What matter could he possibly resolve that I cannot?”

“Uh… that wasn’t what I meant,” Du Yu said with an apologetic smile. “It’s just that it came up when I was chatting with the Jade Emperor earlier…”

“What favor? Speak,” the Queen Mother of the West demanded coldly.

“I…”

“Speak.”

Realizing that the Queen Mother of the West was truly not to be trifled with, Du Yu could only oblige. “I have a friend named Zhan Qisheng. I need his strength to rebuild the Legend Management Bureau, so I need the Heavenly Court to pardon his…”

“Bring the Orthodox Deity of the Thunder Ministry here,” the Queen Mother of the West interrupted, turning her head to speak to a fairy. Her tone carried an undeniable, oppressive weight. “That Nine Something Something Venerate.”

Du Yu shook his head in exasperation. The Queen Mother of the West remembered even fewer syllables of the title than he did…

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Although the fairy’s appearance couldn’t quite rival Chang’e’s, she was still considered top-tier within the Heavenly Court. With a slight nod, she vanished from her spot. Du Yu was certain her cultivation base was absolutely on par with the Eight Great Netherworld Emissaries.

It wasn’t long before two silhouettes appeared in the exact same spot.

Alongside the fairy was an elderly man with hair standing on end.

“Ah!” The old man jumped in fright at the scene before him. He hastily turned to the fairy beside him. “Zhi Nü, didn’t you say the Queen Mother of the West wanted to see me… Why did you bring me to the Peach Banquet? If Her Majesty finds out… I’ll…”

“I am right here.” A cold, clear voice sounded from behind the old man. Startled, he shuddered and quickly turned around to bow.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

“Rise.” The Queen Mother of the West looked at him coldly. “There is a sinner of the immortal realm named Zhan…”

“Zhan Qisheng,” Du Yu prompted.

“Correct. Do you have a record of this person’s crimes?”

“Ah! Yes! Yes, I do!” The old man hurriedly pulled a scroll out of thin air and slowly unrolled it. “This man was once an operator for the Legend Management Bureau, but he defied orders during his duty, deserted the Bureau, and repeatedly disrupted legends. According to Heavenly Law, he is to be punished with one hundred thousand heavenly lightning strikes…”

“Pardon him,” the Queen Mother of the West stated.

“Pardon… him?” The God of Thunder looked as though he hadn’t heard correctly. “What do you mean by pardon him?”

“I am in a good mood today, so I am granting him a pardon. Do you have any objections?”

The God of Thunder felt thoroughly perplexed. The Queen Mother of the West rarely interfered in such matters—why was she suddenly pardoning someone?

However, since the Queen Mother of the West had given the order, he naturally didn’t dare to disobey. He hurriedly handed the scroll over to her, saying, “This humble immortal dares not have any objections. This is the case file for Zhan Qisheng. Its disposal is entirely up to Your Majesty.”

Taking the scroll, the Queen Mother of the West applied a slight amount of force, and the entire document instantly combusted into a roaring ball of fire. She tossed the flames onto the ground, turned back to Du Yu, and said, “It is handled.”

“Holy crap…”

Du Yu could hardly believe his eyes. The very matter that had proven so difficult for the Jade Emperor just moments ago had been resolved by the Queen Mother of the West in less than a minute.