Legend Management Bureau Chapter 280

[ … words ]

“What the heck?” Du Yu clearly did not understand. “Reading a cup while galloping, recognizing a flock of women? Is this some sort of concubine-selection skill?”

“It is ‘Reading a Stone Tablet While Galloping’ and ‘Recognizing a Flock of Sheep with One Look’.”

“Let me explain,” Dong Qianqiu offered. “In modern scientific terms, Su Qin possessed a terrifying photographic memory. The phrase ‘Reading a Stone Tablet While Galloping’ refers to the time Su Qin rode a fast horse past a stone monument. In the brief moment they crossed paths, he memorized the entire inscription. ‘Recognizing a Flock of Sheep with One Look’ has a similar origin. When Su Qin passed by a hillside and saw a massive flock of sheep, he only needed a single glance to accurately count how many were white and how many were black.”

“Oh… I get it now,” Du Yu nodded. “People like that show up on television programs all the time. It is basically a superpower.”

“Exactly…”

“If that is the case…” Du Yu examined the two Glass Jars in his hands again. “Isn’t this absolutely perfect?”

“Perfect?” Dong Qianqiu was slightly taken aback. “Weren’t you just complaining that these two souls would be useless?”

“That was before I knew about Su Qin’s abilities. I thought he was just a swindling scholar from the School of Diplomacy.” Delighted, Du Yu grabbed the two jars and hurried to the side. “Sister Qianqiu, I am going to consume these two souls now. I am confident we will find Xing Tian in no time.”

Du Yu twisted off the caps and swallowed both souls at the same time.

It was only then that Du Yu realized this was his first time allowing unfamiliar souls to possess his body.

Previously, during the ‘Yi Shoots Nine Suns’ mission, Mister Kongming’s soul had used ‘Outer-Soul Projection’, which did not require possession. As for Sun Wukong, Du Yu had accidentally shattered his soul. This was his first actual possession.

“Du Yu! Wake up!” Dong Qianqiu shouted. “Do not get trapped in those strange memories! Otherwise, your five minutes will be over before you know it!”

Du Yu snapped his eyes open, a lingering sense of dread washing over him.

The sensation he just experienced was akin to having dozens of movies suddenly downloaded into his brain, leaving him with an overwhelming urge to flip through and watch them all.

Within those memories were scenes of leading hundreds of thousands of mortals into war on the battlefield, as well as moments of fierce magical duels among immortals during the battle of the Investiture Roster.

Clearly, neither Su Qin nor Tu Xingsun were ordinary individuals.

Du Yu gathered his wits and quietly murmured an incantation. Astoundingly, his entire body sank into the ground as though he had dropped into a pool of water.

He had expected the subterranean world to be pitch black. However, when he opened his eyes, it truly felt like he had dove into an ocean. Above his head, countless ‘people’ appeared to be walking on a vast pane of glass.

With just a single upward glance, Du Yu was actually able to roughly calculate the exact number of people walking above him.

There were well over two thousand three hundred of them.

‘This is truly incredible…’ Du Yu marveled inwardly. ‘I can notice every single detail…’

With no time to waste on awe, Du Yu executed the ‘Earth-Burrowing Dragon’ technique, rocketing through the underground depths. With absolutely nothing to obstruct his vision down here, Du Yu simply adopted a ‘backstroke’ posture, taking in the appearances of every single person he passed beneath.

“Not here… he is not here…” Du Yu shook his head repeatedly. Even though a mere glance allowed him to accurately filter the faces of nearly a thousand ghosts, he still saw no sign of Xing Tian.

‘Could my reasoning be flawed?’ Du Yu carefully retraced his thoughts. ‘Xing Tian… where would he go?’

Du Yu’s eyes suddenly widened. “I know! The path back!”

Even though Xing Tian had already died, he definitely would want to go back and see Houtu one last time.

Realizing this, he hastily reversed his direction and dashed back the way they came.

Fortunately, Tu Xingsun possessed the ability to travel hundreds of miles a day underground. It did not take long for Du Yu to reach the opposite direction, his eyes wide as he rapidly searched for Xing Tian’s figure.

“Sister Qianqiu! Tell A’xiang and the others to gather at my location! There is no need to search anywhere else!”

Du Yu’s gaze quickly swept over all the deceased souls on the surface, memorizing each of their faces one by one.

Sure enough, just as the five-minute time limit was about to expire, Du Yu finally spotted the burly man in the distance.

He was currently trudging forward in desolation, appearing to be deep in thought.

Du Yu sprang out from the ground, landing squarely in front of Xing Tian. At almost the exact same moment, the power of the two souls within his body dissipated.

Xing Tian was momentarily stunned to see someone touch down right before his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but then gave a helpless shake of his head and continued walking forward, pretending not to have seen Du Yu at all.

Taking a large stride forward, Du Yu physically blocked Xing Tian’s path.

Xing Tian frowned. It seemed the situation was not so simple. Could this person standing before him actually see him in his current ghost state?

Staring intensely into Xing Tian’s eyes, Du Yu slightly parted his lips and mouthed the words, “Do not leave.”

Xing Tian thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He took another look at Du Yu and asked tentatively, “You can see me?”

“I can,” Du Yu mouthed back.

Although the two of them could manage basic communication, without Shiranui Asuka present, explaining the entire situation would require an agonizing amount of effort.

After a short wait, the Seven Holy Heroes came rushing over from all directions.

“Senior Du Yu!”

“A’xiang! Perfect timing! Hurry up and set the formation!” Du Yu ordered. “If we are any later, he will slip away!”

Xing Tian turned his head, utterly perplexed as he watched this large group from the ‘National Male Tribe’ running over.

Did these people genuinely have some ulterior motive?

But now that he was dead and his existence wiped away, what could they possibly hope to accomplish?

The moment Shiranui Asuka landed, she immediately began arranging the formation without a word, while Xie Yujiao assisted from the side.

Before long, the ground around Xing Tian’s feet was planted full of small black flags.

“This is…?” Xing Tian looked down at his feet in confusion. “What is the meaning of this, everyone?”

Du Yu blinked in surprise. “Fantastic! You can be heard!”

“Heard?” Xing Tian shot Du Yu an inquisitive look. “Little Sage, brother, did you need me for something?”

“I do.” Du Yu’s expression turned entirely serious. “Where are you heading right now?”

“I should already be dead, so I was going back to take one last look at Houtu.”

Xing Tian’s answer matched perfectly with what Du Yu had anticipated.

“Big Brother, could you hold off on going back for now?”

“Hold off? Why?”

Du Yu lifted his head to look at Xing Tian. Even though they could communicate freely now, figuring out how to persuade him remained the biggest hurdle.

“Big Brother, what I am about to say might sound absolutely absurd to you, but you have to believe me. Everything I am doing is to help Houtu.”

Xing Tian stared at Du Yu with skepticism, as if weighing the truth of his words.

“Brother Little Sage, it is not that I do not believe you…” Xing Tian said slowly. “You have only known Houtu for two days. What could you possibly do for her?”

“Two days?” Du Yu let out a helpless sigh. “If I had truly only known her for two days, that would be wonderful. I wouldn’t have to worry so much.”

Xing Tian realized Du Yu was implying a hidden depth to his words, but he genuinely could not grasp the meaning.

“Then how long exactly have you known her? Houtu is only fifteen years old this year. Did you know her back when she was just a child?”

Looking at Xing Tian with a profound earnestness, Du Yu replied, “Big Brother, I have met Houtu across multiple different periods of time. I have met many versions of her. The youngest I have seen her was fifteen, and the oldest was five thousand years old.”

“I do not understand.” Xing Tian shook his head. “Are you saying you can see the future Houtu?”

“I do not need you to understand,” Du Yu stated. “I only need you to know that whether it is the fifteen-year-old Houtu or the five-thousand-year-old Houtu, they both share one thing in common.”

“What is that?”

“It is you.” Du Yu pointed right at Xing Tian. “From this very moment all the way into the future, there is one person in her heart that she can never let go of, and that person is you.”

Hearing this, Xing Tian’s expression froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered. “Brother Little Sage, you must be joking… Even if you say that…”

“I am not joking.” Du Yu stepped forward, looking directly into Xing Tian’s eyes. “Big Brother, five thousand years from now, Houtu will trigger a massive catastrophe. In an effort to forget you, she drank Meng Po Soup, but her sheer obsession caused her to undergo demonic deviation. The Western Queen Mother is currently trying to figure out a way to stop her. Our entire group comes from the future. If we cannot sever the romantic ties between you and Houtu right here and now, the future Immortal Realm will plunge into utter chaos. In the best-case scenario, Houtu’s cultivation will be crippled, and she will be imprisoned forever. In the worst-case scenario, her body and soul will be entirely obliterated.”

This influx of information was incredibly difficult for Xing Tian to process. He strained to comprehend it, but there were still many elements he could not make sense of.

“I have never heard of these immortal beings named ‘Meng Po’ or ‘Western Queen Mother,’ and I hardly understand half of what you just said. But judging by your aura, you do not appear to be lying.”

“That is because I am not lying,” Du Yu said solemnly. “We came here with this exact goal in mind from the very beginning. We thought we were on the verge of success, only to realize we were still one step short.”

“On the verge of success?” Xing Tian knitted his brow. “Brother Little Sage, although I always felt your actions were somewhat peculiar, I do not believe you severed any ties between Houtu and me. You even let me bid her a proper farewell, did you not?”

“That is a long story. We made a temporary change of plans. Severing the romantic ties completely would make it impossible for Houtu to undergo demonic deviation, which is not our objective. We decided to leave the ties ‘lingering but broken,’ just like lotus roots connected by silk threads. An earnest farewell was perfectly suited for this moment.”

“Alright, assuming everything you just said is completely reasonable, is it not already entirely over?” Xing Tian mirrored Du Yu’s serious gaze. “You all should have known long ago that I was going to die, right?”

“Correct.” Du Yu had no desire to lie and spoke the honest truth. “According to the records of the Legends, you died right here.”

“In that case, has everything not proceeded exactly as it should?” Xing Tian argued. “I gave Houtu a proper goodbye, and then I died battling the Yellow Emperor’s faction. All of this should match the ‘history’ you know.”

“Up until this moment, it does match perfectly. But there is still one crucial link missing, and because of that missing link, we need your help.”

Xing Tian sat cross-legged right where he stood and said, “Speak. I am listening.”

Du Yu swallowed hard before saying, “According to the records of the Legends, you didn’t simply die fighting the Yellow Emperor’s faction. After your head was chopped off, you actually stood back up. Using your nipples as eyes and your navel as a mouth, you fought them fiercely in another round of combat.”

Hearing this, Xing Tian’s expression froze for a slight moment before he let out a heavy sigh. “Is it because I said I believed you that you decided to start feeding me these brazen lies without a shred of restraint?”