Legend Management Bureau Chapter 232

[ … words ]

A truck on the road suddenly lost control, skidding sideways at a forty-five-degree angle.

The front left of the vehicle slammed squarely into the center of the bus. This accident resulted in only a single casualty.

The victim was a certain Mr. Du, an assembly line worker at a state-owned enterprise.

Reporters from several small media outlets interviewed the passengers who were on the bus. The passengers all stated that the large truck had been swerving unsteadily from the moment it appeared, as if the driver was drunk. However, when the police took a blood sample from the truck driver, it contained absolutely no alcohol. Even so, the driver kept raving like a madman, claiming that he only crashed into the bus because he was cooperating with a police investigation and shouldn’t bear any responsibility. In the end, the police penalized him for “fatigued driving.”

If one were to ask if anything else strange happened on that bus?

It would be that many passengers reported a sudden drop in the number of people on board right after the collision. The fact that so many people shared the exact same story left the reporters utterly baffled.

Qu Xi walked down the street, involuntarily quickening her pace.

Because not far behind her, Zhou Zhuangshi was quietly following, clutching his injured finger.

She had thought that after the warning from the Drunken Man, Zhou Zhuangshi would behave himself. But judging by the look in his eyes, it was as if he wanted to vent all his rage onto her. His expression had only grown more ferocious.

All the Great Pivots on the bus had evacuated the instant the vehicles collided. Unfortunately, her own abilities were lacking, so she could only get off the bus with the other passengers and walk home step by step, right under Zhou Zhuangshi’s watchful eyes.

Right now, she just prayed that someone had moved a little slower and was waiting for her in the room. Otherwise, according to the plot of this story, she would be assaulted once again.

Qu Xi wept as she walked. That overwhelming sense of helplessness and fear welled up in her heart once more, causing her entire body to tremble uncontrollably.

Soon, she arrived at the bottom of her apartment building.

She discreetly glanced back. Zhou Zhuangshi was still there.

He hadn’t actually done anything yet, so even if she went to the police, she would have no evidence.

Moreover, this old man seemed highly skilled at making excuses. He was the most difficult type of villain to deal with.

Qu Xi quickly formulated a tactic: sprint to her room and dive into the Portal. Since she walked so slowly, Zhi Nv and the others had surely left long ago, which meant the Portal would still be open. As long as she could plunge headfirst into it, everything would be over.

She slowly adjusted her breathing, then took off running. To her complete surprise, Zhou Zhuangshi started sprinting right behind her. He might look like an old man, but he wasn’t slow in the slightest.

Qu Xi reached her door and tremblingly inserted the key. Fortunately, unlike the typical clich√© in television dramas, she didn’t drop her keys on the floor. She threw the door open in an instant and dashed inside immediately. Just as she turned back to shut the door, she saw a withered arm shove its way into the gap. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she immediately slammed the door against the intruding arm.

With a loud bang, the heavy wooden door slammed viciously onto his arm.

Zhou Zhuangshi cried out in pain, a sound quickly followed by furious rage.

He kicked the door violently. The door struck Qu Xi, nearly knocking her off her feet.

Qu Xi couldn’t care less about the pain. She spun around and bolted toward the bedroom, where the Portal was located. As long as it was still open, this would all be over.

But to her absolute devastation, the moment she pushed open the bedroom door, she found the Portal closed shut.

‘Did they go back without leaving a passage for me?’

‘Or did they not go back at all, and I just got separated from them?’

A chilling wave of terror washed over her from head to toe. It seemed she had walked straight into a dead end.

Seeing Qu Xi frozen in place, Zhou Zhuangshi revealed a sinister sneer. He turned around, closed the front door, and sneered, “You can really run, little Yatou. You had someone break my finger. How are we going to settle the medical bills for that?”

Trembling from head to toe, Qu Xi silently turned around.

But halfway through her turn, she jumped in surprise.

Inside the bedroom, Zhi Nv, Zhan Qisheng, Ying Ning, and A Can were all standing against the wall, as if waiting for someone. When they saw Qu Xi, they smiled at her and pointed to the other side.

“Huh?”

Qu Xi paused, bewildered, and turned her head to look to the left.

The Stern-Faced Man, Shiranui Asuka, A Kui, a woman wearing a mask, the Ugly Woman, and the Drunken Man were all there as well, leaning casually against the wall.

Their positioning ensured that anyone entering the room wouldn’t be able to see them right away.

“What… what’s going on here?”

“Is he here?” the Drunken Man asked.

Zhou Zhuangshi felt that something was horribly wrong when he heard those words. There was actually a man in this house?

Knowing that a wise man doesn’t fight against impossible odds, he gulped and turned back to open the door, only to discover that a thick layer of ice had already formed over it.

“Excellent,” the Drunken Man declared as he slowly walked out. The rest of the Seven Holy Heroes followed closely behind.

Zhan Qisheng also stepped forward, with Zhi Nv and the others trailing behind him.

The group bypassed Qu Xi and walked straight toward Zhou Zhuangshi.

“I don’t quite understand,” Zhan Qisheng inquired. “What are you all doing here?”

The Stern-Faced Man glanced at him and replied, “Because Saint gave us orders. Regardless of whether his own problem gets resolved, once it’s over, we must rush here and kill Zhou Zhuangshi before he assaults Qu Xi. Not to mention, even if Saint hadn’t said anything, we had already agreed to do this ourselves.”

“Then our goals are the same. You wouldn’t happen to turn against us, right?” Zhan Qisheng pressed.

“Don’t be foolish.” The Stern-Faced Man gave a bitter smile. “Our target was never you guys; it was to kill Du Yu. If any of you get hurt, I wouldn’t be able to explain it to Saint.”

Seeing over a dozen people pour out into the room, Zhou Zhuangshi was so frightened that he collapsed onto his backside.

“Old man, did you forget my warning?” The Drunken Man swayed as he squatted down, staring intently at Zhou Zhuangshi. “Does your finger not hurt anymore?”

“Who… who are you people?” Zhou Zhuangshi’s heart hammered in his chest, and his head spun dizzyingly. “You youngsters have no respect for the elderly! I’m warning you, I have medical conditions! If you hurt me, none of you will get away with it!”

“Relax, we’re here to kill you anyway.” The Seven Holy Heroes stepped forward one by one, releasing a terrifying aura.

“Wait.” Zhi Nv spoke up, halting the group. “Do me a favor and let me handle this personally.”

Zhou Zhuangshi stared at Zhi Nv in confusion. These vicious, intimidating men were stepping down for this frail woman? What could she possibly do?

Although the Seven Holy Heroes were slightly puzzled, they knew Zhi Nv’s intellect far surpassed their own. They promptly stepped back and handed Zhou Zhuangshi over to her.

Zhi Nv offered a faint smile and pulled a massive machete out of her Cosmic Bag.

Zhou Zhuangshi had never witnessed such a bizarre sight. Terrified, he scrambled backward until his back hit the door.

Zhi Nv then pulled out a whetstone and casually sharpened the blade a few times before saying, “Don’t overthink it. There is absolutely no way you’re escaping today. In just a moment, this blade will cleave right down the middle of your face and split your head wide open. Your brains will spray out like a fountain and splatter all over the wall.”

With that, Zhi Nv closed in on Zhou Zhuangshi step by step and raised the machete high.

The crowd felt no sympathy for Zhou Zhuangshi and made no move to stop her.

“Swish!”

The sharp sound of tearing air rang out as Zhi Nv’s blade descended rapidly, only to stop barely half an inch from the tip of Zhou Zhuangshi’s nose.

Zhou Zhuangshi gasped sharply, feeling a gust of forceful wind brush past his face. Cold sweat poured down his skin, his legs shuddered violently, and he wet his pants.

“That’s how fast it’ll be,” Zhi Nv whispered. “This time was just a demonstration. The next strike will take your life. Are you ready?”

Zhou Zhuangshi panted heavily, unable to utter a single word.

Gripping the machete with both hands, Zhi Nv raised it above her head once more and, without another word, swung it down at Zhou Zhuangshi again.

Just like before, the blade stopped short.

But Zhou Zhuangshi couldn’t catch his breath. His eyes bulged wide open, and he slowly collapsed to the ground.

It turned out that Zhou Zhuangshi had been scared to death by Zhi Nv.

“All done.” Zhi Nv smiled and nodded at everyone as she put away her machete. “This way, Zhou Zhuangshi’s cause of death will be ‘sudden cardiac arrest,’ and it won’t be linked to any of us.”

Qu Xi blanked for a moment, suddenly realizing that Zhi Nv had done all of this for her sake.

If Zhou Zhuangshi had been gruesomely murdered in ‘her’ home, she would never be able to clear her own name.

“Everything is finished, so we need to say our goodbyes.” Zhi Nv looked at the Seven Holy Heroes and murmured, “This should be the last time we meet like this, right?”

The Seven Holy Heroes fell silent upon hearing her words.

The Stern-Faced Man was the first to speak. “Zhi Nv, you truly are brilliant. Have you already thought of a way to shake us off in such a short amount of time?”

“I have.” Zhi Nv nodded with a smile. “If you dare to reveal yourselves all together, you better be prepared for us to leave you behind.”

The Stern-Faced Man sighed and admitted, “It’s just a pity that Saint never knew you were a Great Pivot beforehand. If he had known you were here too, he wouldn’t have taken such a massive risk.”

“There’s no point in talking about it now.” Zhi Nv grinned. “We’re going back now. Are you coming with us?”

The Seven Holy Heroes looked at each other in dismay.

The Drunken Man finally answered, “No, we won’t be going with you. After all, Saint is very lonely, so we should go keep him company. Remember to say hello to the Cowherd for me.”

After a brief moment of thought, Zhi Nv nodded.

True to their word, the Seven Holy Heroes didn’t cause them any trouble and departed one by one.

Zhi Nv knocked on the Portal, and Shiranui Asuka poked her head out.

“Wow, you guys are back?”

Before anyone could reply, A Kui also popped his head out, peering out from within the Portal.

“Huh?” Zhi Nv blinked in surprise. “A Kui, why didn’t you come with us? Thank goodness nothing major went wrong.”

“Ah, it’s embarrassing!” A Kui shook his head. “I don’t know why, but the moment I stepped into your area, all the spiritual energy in my body started draining rapidly. I couldn’t even take a single step, so I had no choice but to retreat!”

“I see…” Zhi Nv mused. “It might be because there are too many ‘A Kuis’ present in this spacetime, causing a disruption…”

Zhi Nv had Zhan Qisheng and the others enter the Portal one by one, leaving only herself and Qu Xi outside.

Qu Xi was just about to walk in when Zhi Nv called out to her.

“Wait.”

“Hmm?” Qu Xi turned her head and looked at Zhi Nv.

“Qu Xi, once you step through this door, we might have to say goodbye to you.”