Legend Management Bureau Chapter 110

[ … words ]

Du Yu led Qu Xi to the only functioning screen and said to her, “Originally, the Legend Administration was supposed to have many screens like this, but they were all destroyed in an incident. When I first came here, hundreds and thousands of screens were broadcasting all kinds of legends. It was quite a spectacular sight.”

Qu Xi nodded and looked at the screen.

On the screen, two young beggars were asking for alms along the street, so she asked, “What legend is this?”

Du Yu looked at the screen. The two young beggars were incredibly ugly, and he had never seen them before. At a loss for words, he quickly turned to look at Xiao Qi. Catching his meaning, Xiao Qi stepped forward and explained, “It’s the Black and White Impermanence.”

“Ah?!” Du Yu exclaimed. “Who did you say? These two ugly kids are Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu?!”

Qu Xi also looked at Du Yu in confusion. “I thought you were some kind of boss here. How come you don’t know anything?”

Du Yu let out an awkward laugh. “I’ve embarrassed myself. I’m not a boss, and I haven’t been here for long either.”

After saying that, he led Qu Xi to a bed-like device and continued, “If you’re an Operator, you lie down here to undergo soul transference, which then sends you into a legend.”

Qu Xi gave a slight nod. “Can I be transferred into a legend too?”

Du Yu took the helmet device and placed it on Qu Xi’s head. “You can put this on and experience it for yourself. I’ve worn it several times.”

Qu Xi reached up to steady the device on her head, suddenly feeling a dull ache in her skull. She furrowed her brows, and in an instant, all the strength drained from her body.

On the nearby transfer device, four words slowly materialized: “Operator in position.”

Du Yu glanced at the transfer device and smiled at Qu Xi. “See? I told you it wouldn’t work. It says the Operator is already…”

‘Holy crap?’

Du Yu and Xiao Qi’s eyes widened at the exact same time.

‘Operator in position?!’

“I feel dizzy right now…” Qu Xi mumbled.

“Du Yu, take it off her quickly! Otherwise, she’s going to end up in the legend of the Seventh and Eighth Lords!”

Hearing this, Du Yu practically flew forward and snatched the equipment off Qu Xi’s head.

“What’s going on?!” He and Xiao Qi exchanged bewildered glances. Could there really be such a coincidence in this world? This Qu Xi actually had the constitution of an Operator?

‘Are Operators just a dime a dozen nowadays?’

Du Yu lowered his head in thought for a moment before turning to Xiao Qi. “Xiao Qi, has the Legend Administration ever conducted experiments to figure out exactly what kind of person can become an Operator?”

“No…” Xiao Qi shook her head. “The number of Operators is extremely low. The only known ones right now are you and Zhan Qisheng. It’s impossible to study what you two have in common.”

“That’s not right,” Du Yu argued. “Those foreign envoys, no matter how small their countries are, all have a team of Operators. I feel like we just haven’t pinpointed the exact reason why Operators appear.”

“Then what do you think the reason is?” Xiao Qi asked.

Du Yu didn’t know Zhan Qisheng’s situation, but he knew that he and this girl shared only one thing in common: they had both died wrongful deaths!

“Could it be that all the wrongfully dead have the potential to become Operators?” Du Yu asked tentatively.

“I doubt it…” Xiao Qi murmured. “The Legend Administration has recruited the wrongfully dead in the past. After all, they can freely choose whether or not to become Underworld Emissaries, but none of them ever displayed the traits of an Operator.”

“True.” Du Yu nodded. If simply dying wrongfully was enough to become an Operator, it sounded far too common.

Qu Xi, who had been listening from the side, suddenly interjected. “You keep saying… that I’m a Taishu. Could being a Taishu be the prerequisite for becoming an Operator?”

“A Taishu?!” Du Yu and Xiao Qi were stunned. They had never considered such a question. Could a Taishu really become an Operator?

“That can’t be right…” Du Yu muttered. “I’m not a Taishu…”

The moment the words left his mouth, he froze. He turned his head and asked Xiao Qi, “Am I… a Taishu?”

“How would I know?!” Xiao Qi said in surprise. “You should ask the Black and White Impermanence who summoned your soul… If they didn’t tell you, it means your name isn’t recorded in the register. You probably aren’t a Taishu.”

“Recorded in the register?” Du Yu furrowed his brows. “Then, by your logic, just because they didn’t tell me doesn’t entirely prove I’m not a Taishu. It only proves I wasn’t recorded… So what Qu Xi said might actually make sense…”

Xiao Qi thought for a moment before replying, “There hasn’t been an Operator in this world for nine hundred years, but quite a few Taishus have appeared during that time. If every Taishu was an Operator, there would be way too many of them.”

Du Yu analyzed it in his mind and suddenly came up with a bold hypothesis. “Could it specifically be a wrongfully dead Taishu?”

“A wrongfully dead Taishu?!” Xiao Qi paused, then pondered the idea carefully. “If the conditions are that strict, then maybe…”

The more Du Yu thought about it, the more reasonable the condition seemed. A Taishu was inherently an entity detached from this world. And after dying a wrongful death, there was absolutely nowhere that could take them in. To the entire world, they were an “anomaly among anomalies.” Therefore, theoretically, they could travel through any time and arrive at any place, completely free from the constraints of time and space.

But this entire hypothesis rested on a very unsettling premise: that Du Yu himself was a Taishu!

Du Yu’s heart pounded wildly in his chest. His hypothesis was far too bold. If he really was a Taishu… were his memories even real? Could he have just suddenly arrived in this world one day out of nowhere? And to prevent any logical paradoxes, the world had automatically generated the traces of a person named “Du Yu,” much like a system patching its own bugs.

‘Is that why I’m an orphan? Is that why I don’t have any friends?’

‘But which legend spawned me as a Taishu?’

‘Are Zhan Qisheng and Yingning also Taishus?’

Du Yu thought about it further. Yingning had indeed suffered a wrongful death. If she was also a Taishu, then all the conditions would be met perfectly.

Thinking of this, he immediately pulled out his phone and called Xie Jin.

“Emissary Sister, it’s an absolute emergency.”

“Du Yu, what’s wrong? We parted ways less than ten minutes ago, and you already have an absolute emergency?”

“Yeah, I want to ask—do you currently have any wrongfully dead Taishus over there?”

“A wrongfully dead Taishu? I’d have to ask the whole family about that. Xiao Guo and my next target is just an ordinary old man. That condition of yours sounds pretty rare. A Taishu usually causes other people to die wrongful deaths. Whether they themselves die wrongfully just comes down to chance and coincidence.”

“Emissary Sister, this matter is incredibly important. Please help me run the numbers right away…” Du Yu pleaded. “If there are any wrongfully dead Taishus, you absolutely must not let them reincarnate! Bring them to see me immediately!”

Hanging up the call with Xie Jin, Du Yu pulled the green pen from his waist and called out, “Yingning, Yingning, come out quick! I have something to ask you.”

A flash of green light streaked past, and Yingning landed lazily on the ground.

“I heard everything,” Yingning remarked.

“That makes things even better!” Du Yu asked anxiously. “Yingning, are you a Taishu?”

Xiao Qi was stunned. She had seen this vengeful spirit attached to Du Yu before, but why was he asking if she was a Taishu? Could she be an Operator too?

“I shouldn’t be a Taishu.” Yingning’s words were like a bucket of ice water poured directly over Du Yu’s head.

“This…”

“But what you said does make some sense…” Yingning added.

“You’re not even a Taishu, yet you’re saying I make sense?”

“Although I know I’m not a Taishu, you should remember that I was brought by a certain someone from the Qing Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, then taken back to Ancient Times, and I’ve survived from Ancient Times until now. Other than the Qing Dynasty, neither the Song Dynasty nor Ancient Times were places I should have appeared. To those two eras, I am indeed a Taishu, right?”

Du Yu’s eyes widened as he carefully chewed over Yingning’s words. According to the normal flow of history, Yingning really shouldn’t have appeared here. To this world, she was a complete anomaly, an accident manufactured by Zhan Qisheng. She was an “artificial Taishu.”

Therefore, she truly was a “wrongfully dead Taishu.”

Du Yu never in a million years thought he would actually find a commonality between Yingning and Qu Xi, and indirectly discover the condition for becoming an Operator. He felt both thrilled and apprehensive. He might actually be able to form a team of Operators. If he did, the Legend Administration would become the most exalted existence in the entire Immortal Realm.

‘Now, I just need to ask “him” if he’s a Taishu, and then we’ll know for sure, won’t we?’ Du Yu thought to himself.

“Xiao Qi, take Miss Qu Xi here for a stroll around the place first. Introduce her to the Legend Administration’s workflow. Yingning and I have something to discuss.”

Without waiting for Xiao Qi to agree, Du Yu grabbed Yingning and bolted. The two sprinted down the corridor and ducked into a random empty room.

“What are you doing?!” Yingning snapped in annoyance. “Is there something you couldn’t say outside?”

“Yingning, can you help me contact Zhan Qisheng?”

“I can, but I don’t want to,” Yingning huffed, turning her head away.

“Oh, come on, Sister Yingning—no, Great-Aunt Yingning! You have to help me! This concerns the dignity of the Legend Administration, and the honor of our great nation!”

“You’re so weird,” Yingning grumbled, furrowing her brows. “What does the dignity of the Legend Administration and the honor of a great nation have to do with a vengeful spirit like me?!”

“It also concerns Zhan Qisheng’s very survival,” Du Yu added.

“Concerns Zhan Qisheng’s survival?” Hearing those words, Yingning’s expression finally wavered.

“Exactly! If our deduction is correct and all Operators are Taishus, I need to know which legend Zhan Qisheng originated from as a Taishu. What if I accidentally ‘correct’ him one day?”

“That…”

Du Yu’s reasoning was flawlessly logical, leaving Yingning without any excuse to refuse.

“Fine. I can use the Cross-Time Sound Transmission Art to help establish a connection between you two.” Yingning nodded helplessly. “Grab my hand.”

“Huh?” Du Yu blinked blankly. “I have to hold your hand?”

“Yes! Quit babbling! We need physical contact for me to establish the connection for you. Otherwise, why do you think I made you carry my jade pendant around before?!”

“Ah, right, right, right…”

Du Yu carefully reached out and grasped Yingning’s cold, slender hand. At the touch of his skin, Yingning seemed to tremble slightly, but she quickly pretended nothing had happened and began chanting an incantation.