Legend Management Bureau Chapter 107

[ … words ]

“Shen, are you ever going to stop?”

It sounded like Nezha was viciously laying into someone.

“Whoa there, Nezha. I am doing this for your own good. Why are you glaring at me like that? Do you want to hit me?”

“Get lost,” Nezha commanded coldly. “I have a guest arriving soon. I will consider your goods some other day.”

“If you do not buy anything today, I am not leaving. Beat me to death if you have the guts.” The man surnamed Shen relentlessly pressed Nezha.

“If I scatter your soul, I would fall into the Animal Realm. You are not worth such a sacrifice.” Nezha shoved the man aside and began organizing the goods on his shelves.

“Nezha, do you still not understand? I am helping you!” Shen leaned in again and said, “The Heavens are filled with immortals who ascended in ancient times. Tell me, who are you going to sell your streetwear to? Has anyone even ascended in the past few decades?”

“Hmph, so I should be just like you and sell antiques?” Nezha snapped back in annoyance.

“Why don’t you get it? I do not sell antiques. I sell ancient treasures!” Shen leaned close to Nezha’s ear and whispered, “Your streetwear shop barely makes a dime. If you take some of my ancient treasures to sell, it will definitely attract a massive crowd. The sales of your clothing brand would naturally skyrocket as well.”

“Ah!” Nezha immediately put on a respectful expression. He shoved Shen to the ground, strode forward, and greeted, “God of Fashion, you have arrived!”

Du Yu offered an awkward smile. “Ah, I didn’t expect you to recognize me this time…”

“At first, I only thought your figure looked similar. But when I saw your divine ability to act separately from your magical treasure, I was absolutely certain. Very few people in this world possess such a bizarre skill!” Nezha said happily. “God of Fashion, let me show you around. This shop was built with you as its inspiration. Ever since we parted ways last time, I have devoted myself to studying fashion culture…”

“Please, don’t…” Du Yu waved his hand. “No need for a tour. I already looked around on my own just now. It is genuinely impressive, even better than the streetwear boutiques in the mortal realm. I am happy for you.”

“Really?!” A bright smile blossomed on Nezha’s face. “Am I super fashionable now? Not tacky anymore?”

Du Yu did not know how to respond and could only maintain his awkward smile. “Yes, not tacky in the slightest. I will pass the title of God of Fashion on to you.”

“Pass it to me? How could I accept that?!” Nezha exclaimed in astonishment. “My abilities fall far short of yours. You possess such wondrous divine powers, yet you always manage to make people mistakenly believe you are a mere mortal. I could never achieve that alone.”

Du Yu sighed. ‘It is not that I want to look like a mortal,’ he thought to himself. ‘But with my cultivation realm being so pitifully low, what other choice do I have…’

“Brother, are you a friend of Nezha’s?” The man surnamed Shen, who had just been shoved to the floor, slowly picked himself up and addressed Du Yu. “You look like a reasonable man. Please, help me talk some sense into him. He is always trying to sell these trendy toys and avant-garde clothes in the Heavenly Realm, but his sales are abysmally low. If he just sold some of my ancient treasures, it would definitely drive up customer traffic.”

Du Yu glanced at Nezha’s conflicted expression and asked, “Who is this guy? A door-to-door salesman?”

Nezha nodded. “He isn’t your average salesman. He is a descendant of Shen Wansan. I am honestly so annoyed that I am actually considering buying some of his treasures just to get rid of him…”

Du Yu blinked in surprise. Wasn’t Shen Wansan the main character of the Cornucopia legend? The man had been so incredibly successful in business that rumors spread claiming he possessed a magical basin at home that could generate wealth out of thin air.

The salesman hastily bowed and scraped before Du Yu. “I am Shen Shi. If Your Excellency ever needs to purchase anything in the future, please do not hesitate to seek me out.”

He shoved a QR code into Du Yu’s hand and added, “This is my contact information.”

Stunned for a moment, Du Yu asked, “Wait, what exactly do you mean by ancient treasures?”

“Oh! Is Your Excellency interested?” Shen Shi practically leaped into the air. “I have finally met someone who knows their stuff!”

Du Yu thought it over carefully before replying, “I do need something for self-defense. If your goods are truly as amazing as you claim, I might consider making a purchase.”

“Goodness! Why didn’t you say so earlier!” Shen Shi pulled a small pouch from his robes. “I was in a rush this time, so I only brought two or three items. If Your Excellency does not mind, please grace them with your discerning eyes.”

Nezha was also somewhat curious. Even though Shen Shi had come to pitch his wares dozens of times, Nezha had never actually seen a single one of these supposed ancient treasures. Taking this opportunity to finally look at them was not a bad idea.

Shen Shi suddenly retrieved a massive crossbow from his tiny pouch. The weapon pulsed with dense, fire-attribute spiritual energy and was engraved with intricate totems of soaring dragons and dancing phoenixes.

“Whoa, what is this?” Du Yu asked.

“Gentlemen, please step back. This is an ancient divine artifact, the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow used by Hou Yi when he shot down the nine suns!”

Du Yu paused. “Used by who?”

“The sun-shooting hero, Hou Yi!” Shen Shi declared proudly.

“You are telling me… Hou Yi used this thing to shoot down nine suns?” Du Yu asked to confirm.

“Of course! It is the only one of its kind in the entire world, a divine bow capable of piercing the sun itself!”

“Good heavens!” Nezha’s eyes widened dramatically. “Shen Shi, is what you are saying true? If Hou Yi really used this crossbow to shoot down the suns, then it must be the ultimate fire-attribute treasure… I want to buy it for myself…”

Du Yu grabbed Nezha by the arm. He furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

“Gentlemen, my reputation is not just empty bragging. Ancient treasures are not your run-of-the-mill antiques. Every single piece I pull out is a rare, world-shaking marvel.”

Du Yu scratched his head. “Shen Shi, why don’t you use this thing to shoot at the sun and show me?”

“Ah?” Shen Shi froze, a look of embarrassment crossing his face. “Your Excellency must be joking. There is only one sun left in the sky today. What would we do if I shot it down?”

“If you shoot it down, I will take the blame,” Du Yu said. “But if you cannot, the two of us are going to need an explanation.”

Shen Shi silently picked up the crossbow. His eyes darted around before he finally sighed. “Alas, it is not that I do not want to shoot down the sun, it is just… I ascended with a mortal body, so my divine power is limited. A bow that Hou Yi could draw, I may not necessarily have the strength to pull.”

“Sigh…” Du Yu shook his head. “Shen Shi, let me ask you. What era did Hou Yi shoot down the suns in?”

“Uh…” Shen Shi pondered for a moment. “The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties…”

“It was the era of Yao, Shun, and Yu,” Du Yu corrected. “Take a closer look at your Sun-Shooting Divine Bow. It is carved with exquisite totems, coated in vibrant red lacquer, and its bowstring is spun from golden silk thread. In an era where even the rulers walked barefoot in coarse linen clothing, where on earth did you find a craftsman skilled enough to forge this?”

“That… well…” Shen Shi scrambled for an excuse. “The Sun-Shooting Divine Bow is a magical treasure, a divine artifact. It wasn’t forged by mortals, so it is perfectly reasonable that it doesn’t match historical records… You are speaking as if you have seen the real Sun-Shooting Divine Bow with your own eyes.”

Du Yu inspected the so-called Sun-Shooting Divine Bow. Historical inaccuracies aside, the craftsmanship was undeniably exquisite.

“Shen Shi, I will give you one last chance to tell the truth.” Du Yu gave him a quiet, pointed look. “By the way, allow me to introduce myself. I am an Operator for the Legend Management Bureau, Du Yu.”

“Ah?!” The pouch in Shen Shi’s hands nearly slipped to the floor. He had been hawking his ancient treasures on this commercial street for quite some time now, but this was the very first time he had marched right into the line of fire. It was practically the equivalent of trying to sell the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow to Hou Yi himself.

“An Operator…?” It took a long time before Shen Shi finally managed to mutter, “The Operator who… completed the Hou Yi Shoots the Suns legend a while back?”

“That is me.” Du Yu nodded. “I definitely did not use this Sun-Shooting Divine Bow of yours back then. No wonder it took so much effort to shoot down the suns.”

Only after confirming this did the color completely drain from Shen Shi’s face. He tossed the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow aside and moaned, “I am really done for this time. Just let Nezha arrest me… If I am forced to reincarnate into the Human Realm, I hope I am at least reborn as a girl.”

Du Yu and Nezha exchanged a glance. Then, Du Yu asked, “Are you out of your mind? Who said anything about arresting you?”

“Eh?” Shen Shi froze. “I was caught red-handed selling counterfeits… You are not going to arrest me? Isn’t Nezha the Captain of the Heavenly Court’s Guards?”

Du Yu sighed and said, “Your craftsmanship is incredibly detailed. There are probably very few people in this Heavenly Court who could even tell it is a fake. Besides, we did not buy anything, and you did not sell anything. Let’s just drop the matter.”

Shen Shi’s eyes flew wide open, sheer joy radiating from his face. “Thank you, Operator! Thank you so much!”

“What other ancient treasures do you have? Why don’t you bring them all out for a look?” Du Yu was becoming quite curious about this Shen Shi.

“No, no, please…” Shen Shi shook his head frantically. “I shouldn’t embarrass myself any further…”

“Just bring them out.” A sudden plan was beginning to form in Du Yu’s mind. “If your work is good enough, I will make it worth your while.”

“Worth my while?” Shen Shi hesitated for a moment before saying, “Then you really cannot arrest me…”

“We won’t arrest you. Show us what you have.”

Reassured, Shen Shi silently reached into his pouch and pulled out a vividly colorful stone. Dense, five-colored spiritual energy rippled across its surface.

“This is a magical treasure I forged by fusing ordinary rock with the five elemental spiritual energies of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth… I named it the Nuwa Sky-Patching Stone.”

“My god!”

Staring at the stone, Du Yu couldn’t help but widen his eyes. He had only been able to spot the flaws in the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow because he had personally shot down the suns. But he had never seen the real Sky-Patching Stone. The ordinary rock sitting in front of him exuded a commanding spiritual aura, shining brilliantly and radiating a dazzling light. It was more than enough to pass as the real thing.

Shen Shi’s hands did not stop moving. He pulled out another item. Upon closer inspection, it was a gleaming golden ring.

“I made this by melting down an old candlestick from my house and reshaping it. I installed twenty-six tiny mechanisms and infused it with a massive amount of metal-attribute spiritual energy, allowing it to be controlled by its master. You only need to chant a specific incantation to trigger the mechanisms. I call it the Great Sage’s Golden Circlet.”

Du Yu carefully cradled the golden circlet in his hands. It was covered in countless interlocking mechanical locks, overlapping in intricate layers like mountain peaks.

“Shen Shi… did you make all of these yourself?” Du Yu asked.

“Yes, it took me several days.”

Du Yu pondered for a moment before setting the golden circlet down. “I want to offer you a permanent, secure position, a chance to officially join the ranks of the immortals. Would you be willing?”