Legend Management Bureau Chapter 213

[ … words ]

Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu froze, seemingly terrified by Du Yu’s sudden outburst.

The surrounding Red Turban soldiers and villagers were equally stunned, completely lost as to what was unfolding before them.

Du Yu pulled Ah Can forward from behind him, pointing sharply at the wounds covering the man’s body. “Do you see this? Why do you think my brother is hurt? If it wasn’t to protect you two idiots, would he be in this state?!”

Only then did the two notice the shocking, gruesome gashes on Ah Can. Their jaws dropped in unison.

“Brother Ah Can… you were hurt this badly?”

“It is nothing, Seventh Lord. I cannot feel pain…”

“Nothing my ass!” Du Yu roared. “Brother Ah Can was already injured to begin with! You two can act as willfully and recklessly as you please here, but he is putting his life on the line for you! How the hell can you justify this to him?!”

Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu had been beggars since childhood. The old beggar in the temple had died early, so naturally, no one had ever lectured them this severely. For a moment, they were completely at a loss for words.

“We…”

Du Yu jabbed a finger toward the nearby Red Turban soldiers. He was standing so close that his finger nearly poked one of the soldiers in the face.

“But look at the situation now!” Du Yu shook his head in absolute frustration. “Bravo, you two are having the time of your lives, while my brother is about to lose his!”

Grabbing Ah Can by the forearm, Du Yu shot the pair a dark look. “Forget it. As the old saying goes, useless mud cannot be plastered onto a wall. From now on, your affairs are none of my business, and my brother won’t be throwing his life away for you anymore. Go ahead and fight it out right here. Whoever kills the other is the winner, and the survivor can finish off these Red Turbans. After today, we cut all ties. We will go our separate ways and never see each other again.”

With those words, Du Yu turned to leave. But how could the Red Turban Army simply let him walk away? They immediately swarmed forward, encircling him.

Du Yu’s expression turned frigid. Reaching out, he unleashed an explosive surge of divine strength, sending the Red Turban soldier directly in front of him flying dozens of meters through the air.

Every jaw in the vicinity dropped. Those present were mere mortals; who among them had ever witnessed such a terrifying display of power?

“You Ming Cultists really do not know how to appreciate mercy.” Du Yu looked up and locked eyes with Chang Yuchun. “How many times have I let you off the hook, yet you keep pestering us without end? I will overlook my brother’s injuries for now, but if you dare to block my path one more time, I will erase your name from the annals of history.”

Chang Yuchun was genuinely frightened. He knew for a fact that Du Yu was not bluffing. He hurriedly ordered his subordinates, “Do not stop him! Quickly, let this warrior pass!”

“Little Du!” Xie Bi’an finally seemed to realize the gravity of the situation. “Wait!”

“What is it?” Du Yu glanced back at Xie Bi’an, thoroughly annoyed. “Mister Xie, is there something else you need?”

“This is our fault,” Xie Bi’an said, his face flushed with shame. “In the heat of the moment, we completely forgot everything you told us last night.”

Fan Wujiu chimed in, “He is right… Even though Xiaonian’s death shatters my heart, Seventh Brother must feel the exact same way. I shouldn’t have said those things.”

Du Yu let out a slow sigh, the blazing anger in his chest finally subsiding a fraction.

“Apologize,” Du Yu demanded.

“Huh?”

“You both need to apologize to Ah Can.”

Hearing this, Ah Can panicked. “Brother Yu, there is really no need for that…”

“No, it is absolutely necessary.” Du Yu glanced between Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu. “I need to instill some proper values in them. If they turn against their own brother over a woman of unknown origins, how will they ever achieve great things in the future?”

“Brother Ah Can, we are truly sorry,” Xie Bi’an said earnestly.

Fan Wujiu also nodded at Ah Can. “My apologies…”

“Good.” Du Yu nodded. “Now, shake hands.”

“Shake hands?”

“Yes.” Du Yu pointed at the two of them. “As brothers, shake hands. Let this matter rest, and do not hold any grudges.”

Under Du Yu’s stern direction, the two reached out and firmly grasped each other’s hands.

“That is more like it!” Du Yu sighed. “What kind of deep-seated hatred could possibly exist between brothers?”

Turning back to look at Chang Yuchun, he added, “It would be as easy as flipping my hand for us brothers to wipe you out. I suggest you quit while you are ahead. Do not cause any more unnecessary casualties.”

Chang Yuchun knew he had kicked an iron plate this time. The martial prowess of these men was simply too extraordinary. If the battle continued, his entire force would face absolute annihilation.

Naturally, he no longer dared to extort wealth from the villagers and hastily ordered a retreat.

Although Du Yu had not explicitly demanded it, the Red Turban soldiers dropped the valuables they had pillaged from the commoners. Maintaining strict discipline, they retreated out of Pu County.

Many corpses were left littered across the streets, but a quick glance revealed they were all Red Turban soldiers. Not a single ordinary civilian had perished.

“Take me to see Xiaonian’s body. I still have some doubts about this entire situation,” Du Yu spoke up only after the Red Turban Army had vanished into the distance.

Just as the group prepared to leave, the villagers swarmed over, falling to their knees one after another in front of Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu.

“Great heroes!”

The villagers cried out in adoration.

“Great heroes?!” The group was caught off guard, utterly bewildered.

One of the villagers exclaimed, “You two just slaughtered dozens of those Ming Cult thieves with your bare hands! You are the very definition of ‘Anti-Ming Heroes’!”

Anti-Ming Heroes?

This was the first time Du Yu had heard the term, and he found it quite novel.

But on second thought, the people of this county had been constantly harassed by the Ming Cult. It was no wonder they viewed anyone wearing a red turban as a bandit, and anyone who killed the Red Turbans as a savior.

But what would happen if the Ming Dynasty eventually conquered the world?

Would these villagers still consider the Ming Cult to be thieves?

The commoners hastily gathered the wealth the Red Turbans had just relinquished and offered it to Xie and Fan.

“We absolutely cannot accept this!” Xie Bi’an hurriedly refused. “Please, everyone, rise to your feet! Old Eighth and I grew up eating whatever scraps the community offered us. We have received nothing but kindness from all of you our entire lives. How could we possibly take your hard-earned money now?”

But the villagers adamantly refused to get up, insisting to the point of desperation that the two accept their gifts.

“How about this…” Realizing he could not stubbornly outlast them, Xie Bi’an proposed a compromise. “Consider these items deposited with you. The next time we come around begging for food, you can give them to us then. How does that sound?”

Only then did the civilians yield. They rose to their feet, continuously praising the duo’s heroic deeds.

Du Yu was unsure if the current situation was developing normally. Were Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu destined to become Anti-Ming Heroes?

Or was this an anomaly unique to this specific legend?

After all, they had only taken action for Xiaonian’s sake.

Bidding farewell to the grateful villagers, Du Yu and Ah Can followed Xie and Fan to the tavern where they had dined the previous day. The place was entirely deserted now, save for the corpse of a young girl lying in the middle of the first-floor lobby. Ah Kui stood guard closely beside her.

“We are here… Xiaonian is right over there…” Xie Bi’an pointed a trembling finger, not daring to look at the body.

Du Yu walked over, greeted Ah Kui with a nod, and immediately began inspecting Xiaonian’s condition.

Just as Xie Bi’an had claimed, Xiaonian was dead.

Whether it was her height, facial features, or attire, this girl was the spitting image of Xiaonian.

Her body was ice-cold, and her blood appeared to have been completely drained.

“Seventh Lord, Eighth Lord, how exactly did Xiaonian die?” Du Yu asked.

Fan Wujiu let out a faint sigh, his eyes brimming with sorrow. “When we found Xiaonian, she was already unconscious. Seventh Brother told me to carry her on my back so we could fight our way out together. But there were simply too many Red Turban soldiers. Carrying Xiaonian severely restricted my movements, and it wasn’t long before I sustained injuries. In the chaos, they managed to stab Xiaonian right through her heart from behind. Not long after that, she…”

Du Yu turned Xiaonian’s corpse over. Indeed, someone had pierced her heart from behind. If he did not know Xiaonian’s true identity, everything would seem perfectly logical.

But right now, no matter how Du Yu looked at it, something felt fundamentally wrong.

He reached out and rubbed Xiaonian’s cheek. Just as he suspected.

This “Xiaonian” had cosmetic powder heavily applied to her face. That woman had likely found a beggar with a similar build and dressed her up as a decoy.

Du Yu examined the girl’s hands and quickly changed his mind.

This girl’s palms were far too fair and tender. She probably wasn’t a beggar at all. This was simply a pitiful scapegoat.

So what should he do now? Should he just stand up and openly declare to Xie and Fan, “This isn’t Xiaonian”?

Du Yu pondered for a brief moment before discarding the idea entirely.

No, he couldn’t tell them.

He had to confirm that the dead person was undoubtedly Xiaonian.

Xiaonian being dead was actually for the best.

Because this way, the two brothers would no longer have any reason to turn against each other.

Du Yu felt he was rather clever; this could be considered beating them at their own game. ‘Since you want to create the illusion of Xiaonian’s death, I will happily lend you a hand.’

‘If you think using Xiaonian’s death will cause Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu to fall out, then you are truly…’

Du Yu’s train of thought abruptly screeched to a halt.

Wait, who was the opponent here?

It was himself.

Would he really have failed to anticipate this exact scenario?

That member of the Holy Seven who mastered the art of disguise had already willingly exposed her identity. Therefore, he would definitely suspect something was wrong with Xiaonian’s corpse. All he had to do was touch her face to realize it was a disguised imposter.

But why would “Sheng” resort to such a clumsy, obvious ploy?

They could have simply made the character of Xiaonian disappear, which would have been better for everyone involved.

Yet they insisted on staging this clumsy death.

Du Yu knew this was the first direct confrontation between himself and his alternate self. He had to think deeper and look further ahead than “Sheng” if he wanted any chance of winning this round.

Thinking along these lines, there was only one possibility: “Sheng” had anticipated that Du Yu would see through the deception but choose not to expose it. If Du Yu kept his mouth shut, it would play directly into his enemy’s hands.

Du Yu carefully deduced “Sheng’s” true intentions. Last time, he had rushed into action because he found a flaw in Xiaonian, and he had nearly suffered for it. He absolutely could not repeat the same mistake.

Du Yu glanced down at the dead girl’s fair, tender palms once more, suddenly noticing a subtle anomaly.

“So that is how it is… I understand now…”

Du Yu let out a bitter chuckle. He had almost fallen into the trap again.

“Sheng” was truly no ordinary opponent. He was actually using reverse psychology against him. If Du Yu declared that the dead person was indeed Xiaonian herself, then the next step would see all fingers pointed directly at him.

At that point, Du Yu wouldn’t be able to clear his name even if he had a hundred mouths.

“Seventh Lord, Eighth Lord, the person who died here is not Xiaonian,” Du Yu declared with unwavering certainty. “Look at her wrists. The scratches I left when I grabbed her last night are completely missing.”