Legend Management Bureau Chapter 234

[ … words ]

“My mind is a bit of a mess right now, and I have a lot of questions…” Du Yu rubbed his forehead, struggling to organize his thoughts.

“Take your time. We aren’t in a rush,” Zhi Nv said, looking at Du Yu. “Feel free to ask whatever is on your mind, and we can discuss it together.”

Du Yu nodded. “A Can and A Kui make sense, but why is A’xiang among them?”

He pointed at Shiranui Asuka’s portrait, his face etched with confusion.

“A’xiang’s presence certainly caught us off guard,” Zhi Nv replied. “However, it seems she had a disagreement with the other members of the Seven Holy Heroes.”

“A disagreement?” Du Yu raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“At the very last moment… A’xiang helped us,” Zhi Nv said, her brow furrowing slightly. “I don’t know her exact reasons, but judging by the outcome of this incident, she was definitely on our side.”

Overhearing their conversation, Qu Xi couldn’t help but interject. “If it weren’t for the A’xiang from the other side, things wouldn’t have gone nearly as smoothly for us this time.”

Shiranui Asuka froze, asking blankly, “What are you all talking about? Did I not only appear there but also do a bunch of amazing things?”

“Pets?” Shiranui Asuka didn’t quite understand what Qu Xi was getting at, but she thought about it for a moment anyway. “I don’t have any pets, but I do have a few Shikigami in animal form…”

Qu Xi pondered for a second before grabbing a pen and paper. With a few quick strokes, the image of a small mouse leaped onto the page. After another moment’s thought, she added a pair of large eyes and a few long claws to the little creature.

“A’xiang, do you recognize this little guy?” Qu Xi slid the paper over to Shiranui Asuka.

Even though Qu Xi’s drawing wasn’t a masterpiece, she had perfectly captured all the little mouse’s key features. Shiranui Asuka recognized it instantly.

“Oh my, it’s Kamaitachi! He is one of my thirteen Shikigami!”

“I knew it!” Qu Xi beamed at the group. “It looks like whether it’s the present or the future, A’xiang has always been on our side. She helped me on that bus!”

Qu Xi recounted how Kamaitachi had delivered the mobile phone to her. Hearing this, everyone felt their fondness for Shiranui Asuka grow even deeper.

“Are you saying… the ‘future me’ had Kamaitachi help you?” Shiranui Asuka asked with delight.

“Exactly. If it weren’t for you, I likely would have been dragged off the bus by that Masked Woman. We really owe you for this one.”

The group silently turned their attention back to the portraits on the table, their gazes settling on the Masked Woman.

Prompted by Qu Xi’s words, they recalled just how active this woman had been on the bus. First, she had tried to strike up a conversation with Du Yu, then she claimed she had “lost her mobile phone,” and finally, she had forcefully tried to drag Qu Xi off the vehicle.

“Du Yu, have you ever seen this Masked Woman before?” Zhi Nv asked, pointing at the portrait.

“Well…” Du Yu frowned as he examined the image, looking troubled. “First off, she’s wearing a mask, so it’s incredibly difficult to tell if I’ve met her just from a pair of eyes. Furthermore, this is a portrait woven from silk threads, which makes it even harder to identify…”

Hearing this, Zhi Nv could only silently slide the Masked Woman’s portrait to the side. “In that case, let’s tentatively assume you don’t know her.”

Du Yu nodded. “It’s not just her. I don’t recognize the ugly girl either.”

He pointed to another portrait before continuing. “But I do know that one of these two girls is Xiao Nian. However, regardless of which one is Xiao Nian, I have no idea who the other one is…”

Zhi Nv considered this for a moment. “The ugly girl should be Xiao Nian, making the Masked Woman someone we’ve truly never encountered before.”

“The ugly girl is Xiao Nian? What makes you so sure?” Du Yu asked in confusion.

“Because based on the Masked Woman’s speech and demeanor, she is undeniably someone from ancient times. She even referred to herself with the archaic term ‘this humble one’, which is a far cry from how Xiao Nian speaks.”

With that, Zhi Nv wrote ‘Xiao Nian’ on the ugly girl’s portrait, officially confirming her identity.

“What about these last two?” Zhi Nv asked. “Do you recognize them?”

Only the portraits of the Drunken Man and the Stern-Faced Man remained on the table.

Du Yu looked at the Stern-Faced Man and shook his head. “I’ve never seen him either, but the other one…”

The drunken scholar in the other portrait looked incredibly familiar. Du Yu felt as though they had crossed paths before, but where exactly had he seen him…?

“Ah!”

Du Yu exclaimed. “It’s that opera singer!”

“Opera singer?” The others paused, not understanding what he meant.

“This guy once stopped me and insisted on singing an opera for me!” Du Yu said, his brow creasing. “What kind of opera was it again…”

Qu Xi, standing nearby, looked at Du Yu and asked hesitantly, “Pingju opera?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Du Yu nodded vigorously. “It was Pingju! How did you know?”

Qu Xi explained, “Earlier, this man helped teach Zhou Zhuangshi a lesson for me. He said something along the lines of ‘I’ll treat you to some Pingju opera’ to him…”

Zhi Nv looked at Du Yu and asked, “Where did you see this opera singer?”

“I think it was near Cowherd’s bar…” Du Yu recalled. “I thought he was just a street performer busking outside, but to think he actually ended up following me and becoming one of the Seven Holy Heroes…”

Zhi Nv nodded and tucked away the portrait of the Drunken Man. “I’ll go ask Cowherd for you. If that Drunken Man is really there, I’ll figure out a way to have him meet with you.”

“Oh… alright…” Du Yu agreed.

Now, only the final portrait remained on the table.

It was the portrait of the Stern-Faced Man.

Upon seeing this man, Shiranui Asuka quietly lowered her head.

“Since Du Yu has never seen this person, we’ll just have to wait and see. He might just show up on his own someday…” Zhi Nv said. “Zhan Qisheng, you fought against him. Did you manage to discern anything about his background?”

Zhan Qisheng frowned in thought for a moment before replying, “It’s very strange. His martial arts don’t follow any conventional path. Every stance and technique is quite bizarre, yet he doesn’t seem to be an evil cultivator. His cultivation base is roughly on par with mine, but I’ve never seen him in the Immortal Realm before.”

Zhi Nv nodded in agreement. “This Stern-Faced Man seems very much like the captain of the Seven Holy Heroes during this mission. I caught glimpses of several people taking orders from him.”

“The captain?” Du Yu was puzzled. “Why wouldn’t it be A Can or A Kui, whom I met first? Why this man instead?”

“We’ll only find out once we meet him.” Zhi Nv swept her gaze over the group. “So far, we have confirmed the identities of five of the Seven Holy Heroes. Only two remain elusive: the Masked Woman and the Stern-Faced Man. I encourage everyone to rack your memories for anyone you might have met. After all, it’s possible that Du Yu will cross paths with the Seven Holy Heroes because of us. We need to track down the five remaining members—excluding A Can and A Kui—in a very short timeframe. Otherwise, Du Yu will be in even greater danger.”

The group nodded one by one, preparing to split up and get to work.

However, Shiranui Asuka looked up at the group, appearing as if she had something to say.

“What is it, A’xiang?” Zhi Nv asked.

“I…” Shiranui Asuka glanced at the portraits on the table and pointed to her own. “I’m also one of the Seven Holy Heroes… don’t you have anything to ask me?”

Zhi Nv looked at her with a hint of bewilderment. “A’xiang, do you want to kill Du Yu?”

“Huh?” Shiranui Asuka stared blankly. “Why would I want to kill Senior Du Yu…?”

Du Yu flashed a wicked grin. “Then there’s your answer. Whether it’s the present or the future, you’re our good friend!”

“Good friend…” Shiranui Asuka murmured, lowering her head in silence.

With the meeting concluded, the group dispersed.

Zhi Nv informed Du Yu that she needed to report this matter to the Western Queen Mother immediately to see if she could ‘seal’ Du Yu’s past. Doing so would prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future. She then penned a letter for A Can and A Kui to take to Cowherd, instructing them to inquire about the drunken scholar.

The mention of the Western Queen Mother reminded Du Yu of a task he hadn’t completed yet: building a ‘teleportation array’ connecting the Underworld to Heaven. Now that the Eighth Lord had returned, it was time he made an appearance at the Impermanence Hall.

Once everyone had cleared out, Qu Xi—following Du Yu’s arrangements—led Shiranui Asuka to an empty room.

Finally, A’xiang’s numerous bags of luggage had a place to rest.

“A’xiang, from now on, we’re family. If you ever need help with anything, just let Du Yu and me know,” Qu Xi said gently.

“Mhm, thank you, Sister Qu Xi.”

Because Shiranui Asuka had stood up for her and driven Zhou Zhuangshi away on the bus, Qu Xi’s affection for the girl had soared. The two exchanged a few more words before parting ways.

Sitting alone in her room, Shiranui Asuka quietly pulled out her mobile phone. After hesitating for quite a while, she dialed a number.

On the other end of the line was her older brother, Shiranui Jinjiro.

“Brother Jinjianglang…” Shiranui Asuka called out softly.

“Little Xiang?” The person on the other end of the line jumped at the sound of Shiranui Asuka’s voice. “What’s wrong with your voice? You’ve called me twice in one day. Are the people in Huaxia really not bullying you?”

“They really aren’t…” Shiranui Asuka gave a wry smile before continuing. “I’ve just run into a few strange problems, and I wanted to ask Brother Jinjianglang to clear them up for me.”

“Strange problems?”

Shiranui Asuka took a deep breath and asked, “Brother Jinjianglang… do you know someone named Du Yu?”