Legend Management Bureau Chapter 210

[ … words ]

The villagers broke into bright smiles upon seeing the group arrive as promised. After all day yesterday, the two stalls had become famous. Many people had been waiting early, with even more people than yesterday.

The appearance of these two stalls transformed the entire street market into what felt like a massive festival.

Interestingly, a middle-aged man nearby had copied them and opened an identical stall. Lacking Du Yu’s audacity, however, his grand prize “Eight-Four-Zero” offered a mere thirty coins. Naturally, his stall was practically deserted, with barely a soul in sight.

Once the two stalls were set up, the crowd instantly swarmed around them.

Instead of rushing to start, Du Yu and Xie Bi’an pulled thick stacks of yellow paper from their pockets and placed them on the table. Each slip had the word “Voucher” written across it. Du Yu had stayed up through the night to make these right after they became sworn brothers.

“What is… a voucher?” someone asked.

“I believe everyone understands the rules of our game by now,” Du Yu declared. “Yesterday, many of you drew a ‘Five-Four-Three’ and lost ten coins. We are all neighbors here, and it truly pained our hearts to see that. That is why we urgently created these ‘vouchers’ as a special benefit today.”

The villagers were still a bit confused. “Then how do we use this voucher?”

“It is very simple,” Du Yu explained. “As long as you ‘invite five friends or relatives over to play the game,’ you will receive one free voucher. Each voucher can offset a ‘ten-coin loss.’ To put it bluntly, you are guaranteed to profit without losing a single coin.”

By just inviting ten relatives over to get two vouchers, they could play at least twice for free, bringing them one step closer to their goal of winning a hundred coins.

The crowd quickly dispersed, and in no time at all, they brought back an even larger sea of people.

The entire Pu County town had not been this bustling in a very long time.

Du Yu had the people who brought their friends and relatives stand together, letting them play the game in small squad units. This ensured no one was just sneaking in to make up the numbers. Although launching the voucher policy looked like a charitable act to benefit the villagers, in just one short morning, they managed to rake in as much money as they had all day yesterday.

At this moment, a ridiculous thought actually popped into Du Yu’s mind—he was tired of making money.

This was a feeling he could never possibly experience in modern society.

After a little while, Du Yu was genuinely exhausted from collecting the cash, so he wanted Xiaonian to take over for a bit. But when he turned his head, only Akui was standing beside him.

“Where is Xiaonian?” Du Yu asked.

“Huh?” Akui glanced around. Xiaonian had vanished at some point without anyone noticing.

‘This girl… could it be?’

“Oh no!”

Du Yu cried out in alarm. “Akui, pack up the stall, quickly!”

Though Akui had no idea what was going on, he could only obey.

If Du Yu’s prediction was right, disaster was about to strike.

The two of them frantically packed up their things and exchanged a few hasty words with the villagers. Du Yu handed out the remaining vouchers to the crowd, assuring them they would be valid for next time, which finally prompted the villagers to leave with reluctant expressions.

Du Yu added, “Akui, go tell your brother and the others to pack up too. I think something bad is about to happen!”

Akui nodded in agreement, but before he could even sprint off, a sudden commotion erupted down the street.

The already noisy street market now seemed utterly chaotic. However, with their vision blocked by a dense wall of people, Du Yu and Akui could not see what the problem was at all.

Du Yu squinted and frowned. Far in the distance, it looked like someone had been sent flying. Looking closer, a fine mist of blood drifted into the air.

“Something really did happen!” Du Yu gasped. “Hurry, let’s go regroup with them!”

The crowd was rapidly descending into madness. Even though the distant disturbance had not reached them yet, the flow of the crowd had been disrupted. For some unknown reason, everyone was crashing into each other in a complete state of pandemonium.

Du Yu brought Akui along as they struggled fiercely to squeeze their way over to Xie Bi’an. They had not even had time to pack up their stall; they had only managed to grab the money.

“What is going on, Little Du?” Xie Bi’an asked with a baffled look. “Why does it feel like everything just turned into a riot?”

“I don’t know either,” Du Yu replied. “It looks like an incident happened further down, but I don’t understand why the villagers are pinned in place and unable to move.”

“Where is Xiaonian?” Xie Bi’an asked.

Du Yu shook his head. “She disappeared right before the commotion started. I have no idea.”

Fan Wujiu furrowed his brow. “It looks like we are surrounded.”

Du Yu focused his gaze, realizing Fan Wujiu was absolutely right. The villagers in all directions could not leave; everyone was trapped in the center by something.

The crowd was in a state of sheer panic, the shouts of adults and the terrified wails of children blending into a deafening cacophony.

Over the noise, Du Yu faintly heard someone scream, “The Red Turban Ming Cult bandits are here!”

“Red Turban Ming Cult? What is that?” Du Yu turned his head and asked.

“They are rebels,” Xie and Fan replied, their expressions turning icy. “The last time they came, they looted quite a bit of stuff and left the streets in ruins. I never expected them to return so quickly.”

‘The Ming Cult?’ Du Yu pondered carefully.

“Seventh Lord, Eighth Lord, try your hardest to avoid clashing with them.”

If this “Ming Cult” was truly the “Ming Cult” from Du Yu’s memories, their strength would be overwhelmingly powerful. Getting into a fight with them would definitely end in disaster.

After saying that, he turned back to A’can and Akui and advised, “Brothers, if we really have to fight, stick to hand-to-hand combat as much as possible. Don’t use magic.”

The A’can and Akui brothers nodded silently.

A moment later, Du Yu saw the crowd slowly crouching down, and their group followed suit.

Sure enough, once the crowd squatted, Du Yu discovered that the villagers in the distance had been entirely encircled by a group of people wearing red turbans. They were guarding every entrance and exit of the market so no one could escape. At the feet of these Red Turban soldiers lay several hacked and mangled corpses.

Those people had most likely tried to flee, only to be slaughtered as a bloody warning to the rest.

“What do these Ming Cult people want?” Du Yu turned and asked Xie Bi’an.

“Nothing more than robbing money and grain,” Xie Bi’an sneered. “They need military funds to fight their wars, and the fastest way to get it is by snatching it from the common folk.”

Du Yu swept his eyes across the crowd. No matter how you looked at it, their group was still relatively safe. After all, they were right in the dead center, quite far away from the Ming Cult members.

“Little Du, Old Eight and I are going to find Xiaonian. It is absolute chaos out here, and it is not safe for a girl like her.”

Du Yu frowned. “Seventh Lord, did you forget what I said? Do you really still value her so much at a time like this?”

Xie Bi’an shook his head. “Little Du, even if we merely see Xiaonian as a little sister, we cannot just ignore her safety. Xiaonian is beautiful; if she falls into the hands of those Ming Cult rebels, she will definitely be dragged off to their military camp.”

Du Yu thought for a moment, then patted A’can on the shoulder. “A’can, follow the Seventh and Eighth Lords. Do your absolute best to protect them.”

A’can nodded and left with Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu.

“Fellow villagers, do not panic! Do not be afraid!” rang out the voice of a young man who looked like a general in the Red Turban army. “Our intention is absolutely not to harm you! It is just that the decisive battle with the dog emperor is imminent, and we are in dire need of military funds. I hope our neighbors will generously assist us. I, Chang Yuchun, will absolutely never forget this favor!”

“Chang Yuchun? Good heavens… he is a founding general of the Ming Dynasty.” Du Yu nudged Akui with his elbow. “Brother, let’s find an inconspicuous spot and lay low.”

“Alright, Brother Yu,” Akui nodded. He slowly shuffled to the side, with Du Yu following closely behind.

“You two! What are you doing?!” a foot soldier standing near Chang Yuchun pointed at Du Yu and barked. “General Chang is speaking, where do you think you are going?”

Du Yu froze. Was he actually spotted in public from this far away?

Seeing that Du Yu and Akui did not react, the foot soldier instantly flared up. “Are you deaf? Get over here!”

Du Yu and Akui exchanged dismayed glances.

“Should we make a move, Brother Yu?” Akui whispered.

“It is tricky. That general named Chang Yuchun absolutely cannot die.” Du Yu shook his head helplessly. “Let’s just play it by ear.”

With that, the two stood up and casually strolled toward the group of Red Turbans. Their expressions were calm and relaxed, as if they were just taking a walk down the street.

Before long, they arrived in front of the Red Turban soldiers.

The foot soldier glared at Du Yu’s chest, where a bulging cloth sack rested.

“What is this?”

Du Yu glanced down and replied, “Money.”

“So much money? Hand it over!” The foot soldier reached out to snatch it, but Du Yu casually batted his hand away.

“General Chang,” Du Yu said, looking up at Chang Yuchun. “You just said you urgently need military funds and hoped the villagers would generously assist. Unfortunately, I am not a generous person, so I cannot give you this money.”

Chang Yuchun frowned and said, “Sir, judging by your extraordinary manner of speaking, you clearly aren’t some ordinary commoner. As long as you pledge allegiance to the Ming Cult, you will surely enjoy endless wealth and glory in the future. The dog emperor Yuan Shun is already on his last legs, and our Great Ming’s unification of the world is just around the corner.”

“General Chang, I deeply admire your character. Not only are you incredibly brave, but you are also fiercely loyal. However, the Ming Cult has a nasty habit of executing its founding generals, which really doesn’t appeal to me. I am sorry.”

“Ridiculous! Our master treats us with a kindness as heavy as a mountain, how could he possibly execute us?” Chang Yuchun’s face flashed with anger. “This general has offered you good advice, yet you remain completely indifferent. Do you truly want to force me into being a ruthless and unjust man?”

Du Yu looked at Chang Yuchun in exasperation, thinking to himself, ‘Even if you are ruthless and unjust, what can you actually do?’

He saw Chang Yuchun shoot a glance at the foot soldier and give a subtle signal. The foot soldier nodded and immediately led his men to surround them.

Du Yu’s brow furrowed tightly. ‘Are they really going to force my hand?’

He shook his head helplessly. It was not that he was afraid of these people, but rather that this event was entirely absent from historical records. If he actually threw down and fought them, the future consequences would be endless.

“Forget it, I don’t want the money anymore.” Du Yu sighed inwardly, tossing the cloth sack in his hands over to the foot soldier in front of him. “General Chang, look out for yourself.”

Chang Yuchun was slightly taken aback, but since he had already gotten the money, it naturally wasn’t appropriate to say anything more.

However, the foot soldier in front of him did not seem to plan on letting Du Yu off so easily. He silently took a step forward and whispered in Du Yu’s ear:

“Du Yu, I told you. Because I am one of the ‘Seven Holy Heroes’, you will definitely die.”

Du Yu froze, his eyes instantly flying wide open as he stared dead at the foot soldier standing before him.

“You…”

“I came here a whole year in advance for a second reason. Do you know what it is?”

Du Yu stared at him blankly, utterly speechless.

“Having this much time allowed me to perfectly manage multiple identities simultaneously, giving me far greater certainty in putting you to death.”

‘Xiao… Xiaonian?’