Legend Management Bureau Chapter 114

[ … words ]

Du Yu followed Qu Xi into the examination room. It was packed with people. It seemed they had implemented some reforms, allowing nearly twenty people to take the test simultaneously. Xiao Qi was currently proctoring.

“Xiao Qi, I heard from Qu Xi that a top scholar emerged here?”

“A top scholar?” Xiao Qi paused in surprise, then nodded. “He really is a top scholar. An old man wrote down the entire contents of eight legends. The plots and names were perfectly accurate, and he even included his own commentary.”

“What? He even included his own commentary?” Du Yu felt like he had heard of this situation somewhere before. “Where is this old man? Let me take a look.”

“Over there.” Xiao Qi pointed. In the last row of the room sat a white-haired elder in silence. He wore a Qing dynasty queue and was currently writing furiously. However, the pen he used was different from the others; it was a newly bought writing brush.

“Holy crap!” Du Yu exclaimed. “It would be weird if this old man couldn’t answer the questions! Stop him from writing, it’s completely unnecessary!”

He ran forward in a few quick strides and helped the old man up.

“Elder Pu, what are you doing?”

“Oh?” Pu Songling looked up at Du Yu. “You really are here.”

“This old man is ashamed, truly ashamed.” Pu Songling’s eyes were somewhat cloudy. “During my life, I failed the imperial examinations repeatedly, only becoming a tribute student at the age of seventy-one. Although I called myself the Resident of Willow Spring and the Historian of the Strange, there has always been a knot in my heart…”

“What are you talking about?” Du Yu pulled him along and said, “Sir, times have changed. Even if you didn’t become the top scholar or place in the top three, your literary achievements have absolutely left a mark on history.”

“Is that so…” Pu Songling murmured softly, then continued, “Actually, this old man came here with two purposes. First, I want to properly earn first place in an exam. Second, I wanted to ask you again about… Yingning’s ending.”

“Good grief.” Du Yu curled his lips. “Elder Pu, neither of those two purposes involve working at the Legend Management Bureau? It puts me in a tough spot if you take first place like this.”

“Haha.” Pu Songling shook his head. “Aside from a head full of stories, this old man has no other strengths. How could I work in such an important place?”

“Your stories are exactly what we need,” Du Yu said. “Elder Pu, if you could come work for us, it would absolutely be an honor for all of us.”

“This…” Pu Songling hadn’t planned on this originally, so he felt a bit hesitant, but he was also tempted. “If I come to work, will I be able to learn Yingning’s ending?”

“Yingning has been here the whole time. Not only will you learn Yingning’s ending, but you can even find out the endings to many other legends.”

“This old man already knows the endings of the legends, it’s just Yingning…”

“No, you are wrong,” Du Yu corrected. “There is a difference between the legends of the mortal world and the legends of the Legend Management Bureau. You will understand after staying here for a few days. Many legendary figures are completely different from what the world imagines them to be.”

Upon hearing this, Pu Songling visibly showed an expression of intrigue, but then he frowned. “There are still many vengeful spirit vessels in my shop. Those are also individual stories. I cannot abandon them…”

“That doesn’t matter.” Du Yu grabbed Pu Songling’s hand. “Elder Pu, the Legend Management Bureau has plenty of space now. If you don’t mind, just move them all over here. If you want to open a shop here, that’s fine too.”

Pu Songling thought for a moment before asking, “Are you serious?”

“I am.” Du Yu nodded.

Pu Songling offered a bitter smile and asked Du Yu, “Do you know… what the highest position I ever held in life was?”

“The highest position you held in life?” Du Yu thought about it. He wasn’t very familiar with Pu Songling’s life, so he shook his head.

“It was a private school teacher.”

Tears welled up in Pu Songling’s cloudy eyes. “This is the first time someone has truly valued me for my abilities. Thank you…”

As he spoke, Pu Songling prepared to kneel and bow. He wept, as if pouring out all the grievances of his tumultuous life.

“Elder Pu!” Du Yu hurriedly held him up. “I cannot accept such a gesture from you! Your abilities are inherently among the best in the world. Not only do I want you to work here, but I also want you to be the team leader of the Assistants.”

Pu Songling wept and nodded, unable to speak a single word.

After settling Elder Pu in, Du Yu immediately dispatched the two sons of Kua’e to help him move. It did not take long before they brought over stone boxes one by one. These stone trunks must have been crafted on the spot by the two sons of Kua’e specifically for the move.

Once the numerous vengeful spirit vessels had been relocated, Du Yu arranged a large room for Elder Pu. This space was even bigger than his original storefront. Elder Pu thanked Du Yu and began organizing his belongings.

Du Yu nodded in satisfaction. From the looks of it, the Legend Management Bureau was truly going to be much stronger than before.

The subsequent interviews continued in full swing.

Having free time, Du Yu strolled around to observe. The more he watched, the more he felt that Xiao Qi’s method was truly brilliant. This batch of interviewees certainly lacked no capable individuals from major families. If they had to meet them one by one, it would have been an incredibly thorny process.

There was the Gongshu family of skilled craftsmen overseen by Lu Ban, the Kong family of wise sages overseen by Confucius, the fiercely martial Temüjin family overseen by Genghis Khan, and many other historically renowned factions such as the Aisin Gioro clan, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, the Mohists, and the Legalists. These factions held authority in the Underworld or the Heavenly Court, and each possessed a resounding reputation. If Du Yu had to face them one by one, the interviews probably would not finish in a year.

A short while later, Fan Xiaoguo walked in through the door carrying a large bundle. Her eyes immediately met Du Yu’s.

“Huh? Why are you here now?” Du Yu asked. “You don’t start work until tomorrow.”

“The ancestor told me to deliver something.” Fan Xiaoguo tossed the bundle onto the floor. “Delivery complete. I’m leaving.”

“Hey?!” Du Yu paused in surprise, quickly rushing up to grab her. “What is it? Did he find the unjustly deceased Tai Shu?”

Fan Xiaoguo rolled her eyes at him. “How could the unjustly deceased Tai Shu be found so easily? This bundle contains many items possessed by vengeful spirits. The ancestor heard that you like keeping a pretty vengeful spirit by your side, so he found some beautiful female ghosts for you.”

“Ah?!” Du Yu was so startled he nearly fell on his backside. “A whole bundle of female ghosts?!”

“I really don’t know why the ancestor wants to curry favor with someone like you,” Fan Xiaoguo muttered under her breath. “Inspect them yourself.”

“Wait, wait a second!” Du Yu grabbed her. “Is there some kind of misunderstanding? What does the Eighth Lord mean by giving me beautiful female ghosts?”

“Hmph, you said it yourself in the Impermanence Hall,” Fan Xiaoguo replied. “I wasn’t there at the time, so I don’t know the specifics, but everyone in the hall knows you keep a pretty vengeful spirit around because you’re a pervert. Am I wrong?”

“Of course you’re wrong!” Du Yu shook his head like a rattle drum. “I keep that vengeful spirit with me because…”

The words reached his lips, but he froze—because she was the Operator?

His face flushed entirely red, and he could finally only squeeze out a few words: “There… really isn’t a proper reason…”

“So that means you admit to keeping that female ghost around for some improper reason?” Fan Xiaoguo waved her hand dismissively. “Since that’s the case, stop bothering me. Go play with your female ghosts by yourself.”

“No, no, no,” Du Yu protested. “Tell the Eighth Lord that I appreciate the sentiment, but I absolutely cannot accept this bundle of female ghosts. Hurry up and take them back to him.”

“How could I do that?” Fan Xiaoguo exclaimed. “The ancestor will blame me if he hears that.”

“You guys are being totally unreasonable. At least talk about human rights… no, ghost rights!” Du Yu grabbed the bundle and shoved it back into her hands. “These are actual ghosts! They have their own thoughts. Tying them up and giving them away as gifts—what would they think?”

“These vengeful spirits haven’t had anyone accompany them in a long time. They are severely lacking in yang energy. They will probably look at you like a grand feast. Relax, they won’t have any complaints.”

“Holy crap! That’s even worse!” Du Yu retorted in exasperation. “They might not mind, but I certainly do!”

“You… mind?” Fan Xiaoguo looked slightly confused.

“Yes, exactly! I only need to keep that one vengeful spirit. The others don’t catch my eye.”

Fan Xiaoguo looked down at the bundle in her hands and muttered softly, “You’re clearly a pervert, yet you’re surprisingly devoted?”

“I—!” Du Yu gritted his teeth. He was about to retort but shook his head and sighed instead. “Forget it, whatever you say. Just don’t bring this up again. Thank the Eighth Lord for me, and release all these female ghosts.”

Fan Xiaoguo stared at him for a moment before throwing the bundle onto her back. “You’re really weird.”

“You’re still young, you wouldn’t understand.” Du Yu shook his head. “There are some things you will only get when you grow up…”

“Young? Du Yu! Do you have any idea how old I am?” Fan Xiaoguo shot him a cold sneer. “If you don’t want them, fine. You can explain it to the ancestor yourself when he asks.”

Only after seeing Fan Xiaoguo out did Du Yu breathe a sigh of relief.

Involuntarily, his guard against Fan Wujiu went up a few notches. Whenever he had any sort of issue, the man would immediately send someone bearing gifts. It always felt bizarre. Du Yu couldn’t help but recall Xie Bi’an’s warning: he absolutely could not let the Eighth Lord find out that Yingning was the Operator.

The interviews continued for another day. Fortunately, neither the candidates nor the interviewers were mortals, so most of them didn’t feel tired. Only Qu Xi looked a bit fatigued, so Du Yu sent her back to her room to rest for a while.

After daybreak, Du Yu relieved Qu Xi from the Assistant interview station, assigning her to the much easier Voice Transmitter station before heading over to help Xiao Qi.

Watching the candidates one by one, Qu Xi thought to herself, ‘This position is indeed much more relaxing than interviewing Assistants.’

Just as she was thinking this, a woman wearing black work clothes walked through the door.

“Hello.” Qu Xi smiled at the woman. Following the procedure, she instructed the candidate to transmit a message to someone in a legend.

The woman slowly stepped up to the screen and called out, “Mr. Dongguo.”

In the legend, the man immediately looked around and asked in a panic, “Who is it?”

Qu Xi beamed. “Wonderful! It seems you are qualified to be a Voice Transmitter!”

Picking up a sheet of paper, she said, “I need to record your name here. How should I address you?”

“My name is Dong Qianqiu.”

The woman replied softly.