Legend Management Bureau Chapter 201

[ … words ]

Legend Administration.

Several key figures were sitting together in a meeting.

“So…” Dong Qianqiu finally spoke up after listening for a long time, “Are you saying that the Underworld used to have two Impermanences, called the ‘Black and White’ Impermanences?”

Du Yu, Zhan Qisheng, Qu Xi, and Ying Ning nodded in unison.

Xiao Qi and Dong Qianqiu exchanged a puzzled look before asking, “Did a ‘flashback’ really happen? Why do I have absolutely no memory of it?”

“It is precisely because you have absolutely no memory of it that we say there was a ‘flashback’,” Du Yu said helplessly. “We also had a colleague named Fan Xiaoguo who is now missing.”

“If that is really the case, the situation is extremely dire,” Dong Qianqiu stated. “Even though everyone’s memories have been altered, the remaining loopholes are massive. For example, Chinese culture dictates that ‘good things come in pairs.’ However, the arrangement of the Underworld’s Seventh Lord is extremely bizarre. They are the Civil and Military Judges, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the Gold and Silver Generals, and the Living Impermanence. No matter how you look at it, the Living Impermanence is a solitary position. All the preceding figures come in pairs, yet when it comes to the Impermanence, it is suddenly a single person. I believe more and more people will eventually notice this discrepancy.”

Du Yu stood up and added, “I am afraid it goes beyond that. Now that the Underworld is left with only one Impermanence, his capacity to ferry souls is limited. If we don’t hurry up and bring back the Eighth Lord, the Black Impermanence, the Seventh Lord will definitely be overwhelmed…”

“So, what do we do now?” Dong Qianqiu asked.

“But there doesn’t seem to be any issue with the legend right now…” Dong Qianqiu pointed out. “What I mean is, we don’t know what exactly needs to be corrected…”

“Old Zhan.” Du Yu looked at Zhan Qisheng. “You should still remember the details of the ‘Black and White Impermanences’ legend, right?”

“I remember,” Zhan Qisheng nodded.

“Help Sister Qianqiu review it. Find the parts that differ from your memory and highlight them.”

“Understood.”

As everyone threw themselves into intense work, Du Yu took the opportunity to slip out of the Legend Administration. Slapping a teleportation talisman onto his body, he arrived at the Hall of Impermanence in the blink of an eye.

The changes to the Hall of Impermanence were indeed drastic. The main gates, originally split into black and white, were now pure white. Pushing the doors open, Du Yu found quite a few people bustling about in the courtyard, and surprisingly, every single one of them was dressed entirely in white.

Hearing someone enter, a burly man in white turned to look at Du Yu.

Du Yu recognized him at a glance; this was the same person who had intercepted him the last time he trespassed into the Hall of Impermanence.

“Xie Sha!”

The man known as Xie Sha paused in surprise, then recalled something. “You are… the Operator?”

Du Yu quickly walked up to him and said, “I need to ask you something.”

Xie Sha considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Do you still remember ‘Fan Tu’?” Du Yu asked. “A ruthless kid who guarded the Hall of Impermanence alongside you.”

“Fan Tu…?” Xie Sha thought hard before replying, “There was such a person? If his surname is Fan, why would he be guarding the Hall of Impermanence with me?”

Du Yu said nothing more. It seemed that absolutely everything related to Fan Wujiu had vanished without a trace.

“Where is the Seventh Lord? I need to see him,” Du Yu demanded.

“The Seventh Lord has been acting strange these past few days. Since you’re here, I’ll take you to him.”

Xie Sha led Du Yu all the way into the main hall. The two chairs that had previously been placed on the left and right sides were now gone, replaced by a single chair positioned right in the center.

Xie Bi’an was sitting there in a daze, lost in thought.

“Ancestor, the Operator is here!” Xie Sha announced.

Hearing this, Xie Bi’an slightly raised his head and looked at Du Yu. “Little Du…?”

“Seventh Lord… Are… are you alright?” Du Yu asked, sensing that something was very off about Xie Bi’an’s demeanor.

“Xie Sha, you may step down for now.”

Xie Bi’an waved his hand, dismissing the burly man.

“Little Du, sit with me for a while…” Xie Bi’an gently twitched his finger, and a chair glided smoothly over, stopping a short distance in front of him.

Without wasting words, Du Yu walked over and took a seat.

“Seventh Lord, what is wrong?”

“Little Du…” Xie Bi’an shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me either. I am just being overwhelmed by an intense feeling of loneliness.”

“Loneliness?”

“I feel like a huge chunk of my heart is suddenly missing, as if I’ve lost something… But when I think about it carefully, I haven’t dropped or lost anything at all. It’s a very bizarre sensation. You probably wouldn’t understand…”

“No, I understand,” Du Yu replied with absolute certainty. “You lost the brother who has been by your side for over a thousand years. Naturally, you wouldn’t be completely oblivious like the others.”

Xie Bi’an furrowed his brows. “Little Du, what did you just say?”

“Seventh Lord, have you really forgotten? Forgotten who Fan Wujiu is?”

“Fan… Wujiu?” When Xie Bi’an heard the name, a jolt like an electric current surged through his body. Numerous bizarre images flashed through his mind, yet when he tried to focus on them, he couldn’t recall a single thing.

“Fan Wujiu… A long time ago, he and I were both beggars… But he should have died ages ago! How could he possibly have gone through a millennium with me?”

Du Yu couldn’t help but silently marvel at the terrifying nature of this world. Even mighty entities like the Queen Mother of the West and Xie Bi’an were unable to resist the self-repairing power of time.

If he didn’t possess the unique constitution of an Operator, how many things would he have drifted along with the tide and forgotten?

“Seventh Lord, the first time you visited the Legend Administration and watched me handle the ‘Hou Yi Shoots the Nine Suns’ legend, you were constantly talking to someone. Don’t you remember who that person was?”

Xie Bi’an thought about it carefully before answering, “I went to the Legend Administration alone that day. I only spoke with He Suoyi and Dong Qianqiu the entire time.”

“Fine. A couple of days ago during the ‘Legend of the White Snake,’ someone hooked Medusa’s soul right out of her body. Who was that person?”

“That was me,” Xie Bi’an replied. “Whether a soul in this world is good or evil, I alone handle them all.”

“Alright, let me ask you another question. Who did Goddess Houtu entrust to deliver the ‘Eight Directions Ghost Register’ I have on me?”

“That was also me,” Xie Bi’an said. “I arranged for a junior to personally deliver the ‘Eight Directions Ghost Register’ to you.”

“Seventh Lord, what was the name of the junior who delivered the ‘Eight Directions Ghost Register’ to me?” Du Yu pressed further. He refused to believe that Xie Bi’an, who had been so intimate with the Black Impermanence, couldn’t remember a single shred of the truth.

Hearing this question, Xie Bi’an visibly froze.

“I think the name was… something Xiaoguo?”

Du Yu furrowed his brows and quickly asked, “What Xiaoguo?”

Xie Bi’an narrowed his eyes, searching his mind deeply, but that memory was like a slippery fish covered in slime—slipping away as soon as he tried to grab it, escaping further the harder he tried.

“I remembered wrong.” Xie Bi’an’s expression shifted as he spoke. “It was Xie Jin. I entrusted Xie Jin to bring the ‘Eight Directions Ghost Register’ to you.”

Du Yu’s face darkened, crushing the sliver of hope he had just felt. It seemed that as time marched forward, those minute loopholes would be repaired one by one.

Deciding not to dwell on it any longer, he slowly stood up and declared, “Seventh Lord, I will heal the missing part of your heart. After that is done, I hope you will agree to one condition of mine.”

“What condition?”

“Lend me ‘Xie Yujiao’ from your estate.”

“Xie Yujiao…?” Xie Bi’an blinked in confusion. “Who is that?”

“Huh?” Du Yu hadn’t expected someone surnamed Xie to be implicated as well. “Is there no one named ‘Xie Yujiao’ among your descendants?”

“I remember every single member of the Xie family with utmost clarity. There is indeed no one named ‘Xie Yujiao’.”

Upon hearing this, Du Yu could only shake his head helplessly. It appeared that Xie Yujiao’s disappearance was also tied to Fan Wujiu. Fixing all of this would require completing the legend.

“Even though you can’t remember who Xie Yujiao is right now, please just agree to it anyway. Perhaps you’ll remember her one day, and I’ll still need to borrow her then.”

“No problem, Little Du.” Xie Bi’an nodded. “If the Legend Administration needs help, I am naturally duty-bound to assist.”

Bidding farewell to Xie Bi’an, Du Yu returned to the Legend Administration in a frantic state.

With the help of Zhan Qisheng and Ying Ning, Dong Qianqiu and Xiao Qi had already sorted out the legend. They were currently waiting for Du Yu by the round table.

“How did it go?”

“According to what Zhan Qisheng said, we did indeed find a problem,” Dong Qianqiu explained. “In the legend, Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu were originally two constables who agreed to carry out an official assignment together. Unexpectedly, a heavy downpour began. Xie Bi’an told Fan Wujiu to wait at the bridgehead while he went back to get an umbrella. However, he never anticipated that the torrential rain would cause a flash flood. Fan Wujiu refused to leave his post during the flood and eventually drowned. When Xie Bi’an returned to the bridgehead and couldn’t find Fan Wujiu, he knew his friend had surely perished. Overwhelmed with grief, he hung himself. Goddess Houtu happened to witness this scene. Moved by their deep bond and sense of responsibility, she accepted them as the seventh and eighth great Underworld Envoys.”

Listening to this logically flawed legend, Du Yu was completely deadpan. He nodded casually and asked, “So where does the issue in the legend lie?”

“The issue this time is that after seeing Fan Wujiu die, Xie Bi’an did not hang himself. He was merely somewhat heartbroken and subsequently continued his duties as a constable. His exceptional professional abilities drew the attention of Goddess Houtu, who eventually accepted him and elevated him to immortal status.”

Du Yu pondered this carefully. Looking at it this way, it seemed perfectly in line with human nature. Who would actually hang themselves for such a bizarre reason?

“Which means…” Du Yu mused, “when Fan Wujiu drowns, all I have to do is find a way to make Xie Bi’an die with him?”

“I’m afraid it won’t be that simple,” Zhan Qisheng interrupted. “I feel the problem didn’t originate on the day Fan Wujiu died. We need to find out why a rift formed between them. Brothers who were originally willing to live and die together suddenly seemed estranged.”

“So according to you… when should we descend into the legend?”

“During Fan Wujiu and Xie Bi’an’s youth, back in the beggar gang at the old City God Temple. In my memory, Fan Wujiu and Xie Bi’an always relied solely on each other to survive, but in the legend we recorded, a third person appeared.”

“Who?”

Zhan Qisheng pointed to the screen in the distance. Sure enough, Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu were two beggars. They were chatting triumphantly with a pretty girl. Although the girl was beautiful, she was covered in dirt, clearly another little beggar.

“The third beggar of the old City God Temple, Xiao Nian.”