Legend Management Bureau Chapter 188

[ … words ]

They walked for nearly an hour across a short bridge that appeared to be only twenty or thirty meters long before they finally felt the thick fog dissipate, revealing the silhouette of the opposite shore.

“We have arrived,” the Weaver Girl said softly.

Du Yu could not help but feel a lingering sense of dread. Had it not been for the Weaver Girl leading the way, he figured this hour-long trek across the bridge would have driven him utterly mad.

Strangely enough, lines of Black and White Impermanence guards began to materialize around the trio. Each pair was escorting a ghost. Back when they stood on the opposite shore, the bridge had seemed completely deserted, yet now these figures acted as though they had been standing there all along. He truly had no idea how this bridge was constructed.

Upon seeing the Weaver Girl, the numerous Black and White Impermanence guards nodded to her in greeting. She politely returned their gestures.

When they finally stepped off the bridge, Du Yu felt as if they had crossed into an entirely different world. The ground here was actually carpeted with blooming flowers. In all his time in the Underworld, this was the first time he had seen fresh flowers.

“It is so beautiful here…”

Du Yu looked up and saw a row of storefronts ahead of them. Unlike the pedestrian street they had visited before, every single shop here displayed the exact same signboard: “Miss Meng’s Tea”.

Du Yu could not help but chuckle. “It seems Meng Po is quite a trendy person. To think an old lady would use such a modern, chic name.”

“Do you want to drink some?” the Weaver Girl asked.

“No, no, no, not at all.” Du Yu shook his head vigorously like a rattle-drum. “I have no desire to lose my memories just yet.”

“Haha.” The Weaver Girl let out a light laugh. “Do not be afraid. ‘Miss Meng’s Tea’ does not cause memory loss. Only ‘Miss Meng’s Soup’ does that.”

With that said, she found a window with a shorter line, pulled out a few spirit stones, and bought three cups of tea.

Qu Xi, standing behind the Weaver Girl, asked, “Fairy Sister, could you lend me a little money?”

“Lend you money? Do you want to buy the ‘soup’?” The Weaver Girl turned around, handed her a cup of tea, and said, “Did you think Miss Meng’s Soup could be bought just by handing over money?”

“Is it not?” Qu Xi asked blankly.

“Of course not. If that stuff were available everywhere, the world would likely be thrown into chaos,” the Weaver Girl said to Qu Xi as she poked a straw into her vibrant green tea. “To receive a bowl of Miss Meng’s Soup, one must be accompanied by the Black and White Impermanence and present a ‘Reincarnation Certificate’. You sign this certificate with the guards on the Bridge of Helplessness. Signing your name means you willingly agree to drink Meng Po’s soup and be reincarnated. Only then can you collect the soup, take one last look at your mortal lover before the Stone of Three Lifetimes, gaze upon your former home from the Home-Viewing Terrace, and finally enter the Reincarnation Terrace.”

“So that is how it works…” Du Yu also took a cup, sipping the tea. He found it to be a kind of floral brew with an exceptionally delicate fragrance. He then remarked to the Weaver Girl, “I never knew the reincarnation process was so complicated.”

“And this is only one path of reincarnation. There are five others in the so-called Six Paths of Reincarnation,” the Weaver Girl said, waving to the two of them. “Come on, let us go meet ‘Miss Meng’.”

The two followed her, a little confused. Du Yu was quite curious. Every storefront here had quite a few employees, but which one of them was the real Meng Po?

“Du Yu, when you meet Meng Po later, be careful with your words and actions,” the Weaver Girl advised calmly. “The two banks of the River of Forgetfulness are entirely different worlds. If the side with the Gates of Hell belongs to the Eastern Emperor and the Northern Emperor, then this side with the Stone of Three Lifetimes is Meng Po’s domain.”

Du Yu was bewildered. ‘Could an old lady… really wield that much power?’

“I thought Meng Po was just an ordinary phantom official in the Underworld, yet she holds such a special status? She has her own ‘world’?”

“‘World’ is merely an expression; this place is not actually that large,” the Weaver Girl explained. “Mortals do not understand Meng Po, and the legends surrounding her origins are bizarre and varied. In truth, the two Emperors and Meng Po share the exact same immortal rank.”

Before long, the group traversed the flower-filled pedestrian street and wound their way into the back alleys. After walking a short distance, the scenery before them began to shift.

It was still a pedestrian street, but this one looked incredibly eerie and grim. Countless grotesque, vaguely humanoid creatures roamed about. Seeing Du Yu and his companions approaching, these beings clearly cast wary glances their way.

“What is going on?!” Du Yu was taken aback. “Why are there still so many people past the River of Forgetfulness?! Do they not need to reincarnate?”

His voice was clearly overheard by the “people” nearby.

They slowly began to close in, forming a circle around them.

The Weaver Girl’s expression did not change as she explained, “Every place has its dark side, and the Underworld is no exception. This is the Underworld’s alternate reality, which we call the ‘Inner Yellow Springs.’ Some ghosts have served their full sentences in Hell but refuse to reincarnate. With nowhere else to put them, Meng Po took them in.”

“Good heavens…” Du Yu gasped in shock. “So this is basically the Underworld’s ‘lawless zone’?”

A mob of bizarre figures completely surrounded the trio. Du Yu looked at them closely; every single one of them appeared vicious and wicked. Some even sported misshapen horns and jagged fangs, looking entirely inhuman.

“It has been a long time since I’ve seen fresh faces.” A man pushed through the crowd and strolled forward at a leisurely pace. The numerous grotesque ghosts readily made way for him. Du Yu peered closer and noticed that this man looked relatively normal. He had a well-proportioned build and wore a casual black T-shirt, but his eyes were a terrifying, bloodcurdling red.

“Brother Er, do not worry. We’ll teach them the rules of the Inner Yellow Springs.” A hunchbacked man stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.

Du Yu had seen his fair share of grand spectacles by now. These petty thugs before him failed to stir a single ripple of fear in his heart.

“Qu Xi, is Ying Ning still with you?”

“She is.” Qu Xi did not look anxious either. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a writing brush.

The man casually pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

“Looks like these guys have no intention of taking a beating quietly.” The man exhaled a plume of smoke and said, “Rough them up a bit, then take them to see Brother Lang.”

With that, the man turned his back and prepared to leave.

But in the very next second, the hunchbacked man flew over his shoulder and landed flat on the ground right in front of him.

Even Du Yu and Qu Xi were stunned, because the one who struck was not either of them, but the Weaver Girl.

The Weaver Girl rolled her wrists to loosen up and sneered, “Fresh faces? It seems you’ve lived comfortably for so long that your memory is failing you. If you walk away now, these lackeys of yours won’t be able to stop me.”

The man froze, slowly turning his head to carefully inspect the Weaver Girl’s face.

“Zhi…?!” The man’s jaw dropped in absolute shock, and the cigarette slipped from his lips.

“Zhi Er, is it your turn to manage this street now?” the Weaver Girl asked coldly.

She seemed to have suddenly become an entirely different person. With a swift kick, she knocked down another lackey and planted her foot squarely on his back.

Du Yu and Qu Xi exchanged bewildered glances. Up until now, the Weaver Girl had always given off the impression of a brilliantly clever, well-behaved maiden, yet now…

“Sister Zhi…” The man known as Zhi Er shuddered in retrospective fear, realizing he had almost brought a catastrophe upon himself.

“Take me to see Sister Meng,” the Weaver Girl commanded coldly. “Also, do not tell the Cowherd about my sudden arrival. I am here for a surprise inspection.”

‘The Weaver Girl knows this place so well… Is it because the Cowherd is here?!’ Du Yu furrowed his brows. This was far too absurd. Had the Cowherd not transformed into the star Altair in the heavens?

But as Du Yu thought about it more carefully, if he had merely turned into a star, how could he possibly reunite with the Weaver Girl every year?

It seemed that after their legend concluded, the Cowherd had come to this “Inner Yellow Springs”… But wasn’t this the dark underbelly of the entire Underworld? How did he end up stranded in a place like this?

“Brother Er, who is this woman?” Seeing their hunchbacked comrade sent flying, the remaining thugs asked furiously.

Zhi Er whipped his head around and viciously slapped the thug across the face. “What do you mean ‘woman’? Address her as Sister Zhi!”

The thugs were completely baffled. Since when did the Inner Yellow Springs have a Sister Zhi?

But seeing Zhi Er’s terrifying expression, none of them dared to ask. Muttering “Sister Zhi” under their breath, they hastily parted to make way.

Zhi Er led the trio deeper and deeper into the gloomy street. It was darker here than anywhere else in the Underworld.

Along the way, Du Yu felt as though he had stepped into the dark reverse side of the world. The area was teeming with horrifying evil spirits who had committed heinous crimes in the mortal realm and had spent thousands of years in Hell.

They did not possess even the slightest trace of humanity.

If Zhi Er had not been leading the way, there was no telling how many more would have tried to cause trouble for them.

After all, Du Yu was a mere mortal traveling with two beautiful young women—no matter how one looked at it, they seemed like easy targets.

A short while later, the group arrived before a massive building, guarded by countless men in crisp black suits.

“The Weaver Girl has returned. She wants to see Sister Meng,” Zhi Er stated coldly.

The suit-clad guards were noticeably taken aback upon hearing the name “Weaver Girl.” After carefully sizing up the woman behind Zhi Er, they immediately opened the doors without even bothering to announce her.

“Sister Meng said that when the Weaver Girl returns, she needs no announcement and may head straight up.”

Zhi Er nodded, turned to gesture toward the Weaver Girl, and said, “Sister Zhi, it’s not appropriate for someone of my status to go up, so I won’t accompany you any further.”

The Weaver Girl gave Zhi Er an impassive look. “If you dare to go and tip off the Cowherd…”

“I wouldn’t, Sister Zhi. The most important thing when running these streets is loyalty. I owe my current position to your support.”

“Hmph,” the Weaver Girl scoffed coldly. “You almost failed to recognize me just a moment ago. Is that what you call loyalty?”

Zhi Er looked troubled. “Sister Zhi, I’m really just not used to seeing you in these clothes… When will you return to your former glory?”

“Nosy. Is that any of your business?” The Weaver Girl turned her head and marched into the building. Du Yu and Qu Xi hurried after her.

The interior of the building was decorated in a vintage European style, complete with numerous small European ornaments scattered throughout.

Du Yu’s heart could not help but race. For Meng Po to become the leader in a place like this, just how terrifying of an old lady was she?