Legend Management Bureau Chapter 212

[ … words ]

Du Yu looked at the unfamiliar woman in front of him with great interest. Her appearance wasn’t particularly beautiful; instead, she looked rather plain.

‘Perhaps it is because she isn’t wearing any makeup?’

After all, her previous appearances were all the result of her heavy cosmetics.

Thinking about it this way, whether it was Xiaonian, Zhang Qi, or the Fan Wujiu he had seen just moments ago, they were all her in disguise. What Du Yu couldn’t figure out, however, was why her strength seemed to change depending on who she was impersonating.

“I am your… only audience?” Du Yu pondered for a moment before asking, “You mean the future me, right?”

“Of course,” the woman replied with a slight nod. “It is just a pity that after this, there will be no one left to appreciate my performances.”

Du Yu felt that this was a perfect opportunity. This makeup-loving woman seemed easy to talk to, and he might be able to coax more information out of her regarding Sheng.

“There is something I have always wanted to ask…” Du Yu prompted.

“Ask away. Since it is you, I will answer everything. After all, once this legend concludes, I will never be able to speak to you again.”

“Haha.” The woman chuckled softly. “That is because he has already done certain things that you have yet to do. Killing you will save the future in which he exists.”

“Well, that is just way too selfish,” Du Yu argued, finding it hard to comprehend. “He could just try another approach. For example, he could simply tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. I might just agree to it.”

“It is precisely because you would absolutely never agree that things have turned out this way,” the woman explained, pulling a Red Turban Army uniform out of her spatial pouch.

“How does he know I wouldn’t agree?!” Du Yu felt that his future self was being entirely unreasonable. “Why don’t you just tell me right now what kind of outrageous things I am going to do? That way I can avoid doing them ahead of time, and you can save Sheng all this trouble.”

“That will not do,” the woman replied, reaching up to unbutton her collar.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Du Yu asked in stunned disbelief.

“Please turn around. I need to change.”

Helpless, Du Yu turned his back, wondering to himself, ‘What exactly is wrong with this woman? Why is she changing into a Red Turban Army uniform right in front of me?’

“Hey, why won’t that work?” Du Yu pressed again while facing away from her.

“Because Sheng once said that your history is like a train that has lost its brakes, rushing headlong toward destruction without hesitation. Even if we kill everyone on board, the train will not stop. The only way to halt this out-of-control train is to destroy the tracks, derail the train, and grant it destruction ahead of time.”

“Good grief, I am even more confused after hearing that,” Du Yu muttered, shaking his head.

“I am done changing. You can turn around now.”

Du Yu faced her again, realizing that she changed incredibly fast. She was already fully dressed in the Red Turban Army uniform.

He watched as she brought out a pile of cosmetics and began applying powder to her face.

“I have another question,” Du Yu continued. “If Sheng comes into these legends so openly to kill me, doesn’t anyone else in the Legend Administration care? Do none of my friends in the Immortal Realm care?”

As she patted the powder onto her cheeks, the woman replied casually, “Everyone is dead. Who is left to care?”

Those words struck Du Yu like a thunderbolt. It took him over a minute to fully process that short, simple sentence.

“Everyone is… dead?” Du Yu repeated blankly. “Are you saying that in the future world, I am the only one left?”

“Not exactly.” The woman shook her head. “You still have Sheng’s Seven Heroes.”

‘That makes it even more bizarre!’

Du Yu truly could not wrap his head around it. Had the Queen Mother of the West died too? Were all the Celestial Venerables of the Immortal Realm dead as well?

Were the massive numbers of Great Luo Golden Immortals, True Immortals, High Immortals, Yin Immortals, and Loose Immortals all dead?!

“Are you joking with me? You have already deceived me so many times in this legend. Do you honestly think I will still believe you?” Du Yu challenged.

“Oh?” Half of the woman’s face had already been transformed into Zhang Qi, giving her an incredibly eerie appearance. She thought for a moment, curling her lips. “Have I ever deceived you in this legend? Think back carefully. Every single word I have spoken to you has been the absolute truth.”

Du Yu did not dare dwell on it. If this woman was telling the truth, it would be far too difficult for him to accept.

“That should be enough questions, shouldn’t it?” The woman finished her makeup. As soon as she spoke, even her voice had changed, sounding exactly like the Zhang Qi from moments ago.

“What are you going to do?”

“What am I going to do?” The woman pulled a signal flare out of her spatial pouch and lit it with a fire starter. “I am going to continue our little game of cat and mouse, of course.”

As soon as her voice faded, the flare shot high into the sky.

“I am calling for backup first, otherwise I will not be able to defeat you on my own,” Zhang Qi stated.

“So damn annoying,” Du Yu cursed loudly, turning on his heel and sprinting away. He certainly couldn’t kill Chang Yuchun.

‘But where can I go now?’

‘Now that I think about it, since Xiaonian was just that woman in disguise, why did Xie Bi’an say they found Xiaonian just now?’

‘When he found Xiaonian, Zhang Qi was also present.’

‘Isn’t that way too strange?’

‘Whatever… I should head back to the City God Temple first and take a look!’

Du Yu dodged the Red Turban Army soldiers patrolling the streets, intentionally sticking to narrow alleys. Before long, thick smoke caught his eye. Looking into the distance, he was shocked to see a massive fire blazing in the direction of the City God Temple.

Knowing this was a bad sign, he quickly dashed forward a few more steps. Sure enough, someone had set the City God Temple on fire, and the acrid smell of burning wood washed over him.

“Oh no… what should I do now?”

‘With the City God Temple burned down, we no longer have a rendezvous point. Where am I supposed to find them?’

As Du Yu hid in the shadows, trying to figure out his next move, he noticed the Red Turban Army soldiers on the streets suddenly becoming restless.

Someone came running from afar to deliver a message, prompting the soldiers to abandon their patrol routes and rush toward the marketplace.

‘Something happened at the marketplace?’ Du Yu watched the soldiers run off, a wave of suspicion rising in his heart. ‘The marketplace is just filled with unarmed civilians. Who else could possibly make the Red Turban Army panic like this?’

‘Could it be…?’

Du Yu had a sinking feeling. Had those guys started a fight with the Red Turban Army right in the middle of the marketplace?

At that thought, he hurriedly followed after them.

Along the way, Du Yu realized that every single Red Turban soldier had vanished from the streets. He couldn’t help but worry. Just how big of an incident had occurred at the marketplace to require so many reinforcements?

It didn’t take long for Du Yu to reach the marketplace.

The scene before him left him utterly shocked. Xie Bi’an, Fan Wujiu, and A’Can stood there, completely drenched in blood. The ground at their feet was littered with the corpses of Red Turban soldiers.

The remaining Red Turban soldiers had them tightly surrounded, while Chang Yuchun stared at the trio with an expression of sheer terror.

On the other hand, the thousands of local villagers had completely forgotten to flee, staring blankly at the gruesome scene unfolding before them.

Du Yu rushed over, forcefully shoving his way through the encirclement of Red Turban soldiers. “Seventh Lord, Eighth Lord, what happened?” he yelled in concern.

Taking a closer look, Du Yu realized that the blood on the two lords did not belong to them; it was likely from the Red Turban soldiers. However, A’Can’s condition seemed dire, with several new, deep wounds on his body.

“Brother Yu, don’t worry. I am listening to your orders. I will fight to the death to protect the Seventh and Eighth Lords,” A’Can gasped.

“Why are you two brothers exactly the same?!” Du Yu yelled frantically. “Can’t you just treat my words like a passing breeze? You need to prioritize your own safety too!”

“Little Du…” Xie Bi’an slowly raised his head to look at Du Yu before dropping his gaze again. “Xiaonian is dead. All these people must pay with their lives,” he declared grimly.

Du Yu froze. Xiaonian was dead?!

Turning to look at Fan Wujiu, Du Yu asked, “Eighth Lord, didn’t you just say you found Xiaonian? What exactly is going on here?”

Fan Wujiu shook his head in despair. “It is all my fault. I failed to protect her… Seventh Brother specifically entrusted Xiaonian to my care… yet I failed to keep her safe…”

Xie Bi’an snapped his head back, glaring viciously at Fan Wujiu. “You sickly ghost, why didn’t you just die with her?”

Du Yu was stunned. “Seventh Lord, what kind of thing is that to say?! Is that any way to speak to your own brother?”

Filled with remorse, Fan Wujiu kept shaking his head. “Seventh Brother is right. It is all my fault…”

Xie Bi’an violently grabbed Fan Wujiu by the collar. “What is the point of saying that now?! Xiaonian laughed at your frailty, so you harbored a grudge and took the opportunity to get her killed. Isn’t that right?!”

Fan Wujiu also flared up in anger. “I admit that I failed to protect her, but why on earth would I want her dead? She also called you ugly, does that mean you hate her too?!”

“Hey, Eighth Lord, why are you acting like this too?!” Du Yu exclaimed. “Can both of you just calm down for a second?!”

“You…!” Xie Bi’an gnashed his teeth. “Fine! You finally spoke your true mind, didn’t you? Becoming sworn brothers with an ugly freak like me is a disgrace to you, isn’t it?!”

Fan Wujiu grabbed Xie Bi’an’s collar in return, roaring, “I never said that! You are just overthinking things! You knew full well how sickly I am, yet you forced me to take Xiaonian with me. Do you bear absolutely no responsibility for this?!”

“You…!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sensing things were spiraling out of control, Du Yu hurriedly stepped in to hold them back. “If you two have something to say, talk it out calmly! Don’t you dare start throwing punches!”

Forcing the two men apart, Du Yu was genuinely baffled. Why was there a Xiaonian here in the first place?

‘Could it be that the woman doesn’t just know disguise techniques, but cloning techniques as well?’

“Seventh Lord, Eighth Lord, stop arguing for a moment. Where is Xiaonian’s body? Can I go take a look?”

The two men merely glared furiously at one another, neither of them moving an inch.

“This is such a headache…” Du Yu sighed, turning to look at A’Can again. “A’Can, how is your body holding up?”

“I am fine. I cannot feel any pain,” A’Can replied slowly.

It was then that Du Yu finally got a clear look at the horrifying wounds covering A’Can’s body, and a surge of furious rage washed over him.

The two idiots behind him were still squabbling over that female con artist, completely ignoring the fact that A’Can had suffered so many brutal injuries for their sake.

Before Du Yu could even speak, Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu were at each other’s throats again, shoving and pulling.

Unable to tolerate it for another second, Du Yu gritted his teeth. He spun around and delivered a swift kick that sent Xie Bi’an tumbling to the ground, then immediately pivoted and slammed his fist right into Fan Wujiu’s face. Neither of them had expected Du Yu to suddenly attack, and they both froze in utter shock.

“Are you two done with this bullshit?! Come on, fight! I will stand right here and watch you continue. Whoever doesn’t beat the other to death today is a cowardly son of a bitch!”