Legend Management Bureau Chapter 292

[ … words ]

The legends of “Gonggong Angrily Headbutts Mount Buzhou” and “Nuwa Repairs the Sky” were intertwined, unfolding one after the other.

If the Saint was destined to interfere with Gonggong, while he had to deal with Nuwa, Du Yu would be forced into a highly passive position.

Namely—

Only after the Saint completed his legend would Du Yu’s legend truly begin.

After all, Nuwa would only need to repair the sky after Gonggong crashed into Mount Buzhou once more.

Even if Du Yu entered the legend of Nuwa right now, he would have no objective. He could only wait.

In that case, a “race” was a complete joke.

Had there ever been a race where one participant only started running after their opponent crossed the finish line?

Du Yu continually rubbed his forehead.

In his panic, he had underestimated the Saint and accepted the bet. The Saint was an alternate version of himself; how could he possibly be easy to deal with?

Seeing Du Yu’s expression, Dong Qianqiu chuckled softly. “Du Yu, you do not need to worry too much. I have already prepared the descent plan. As long as we enter the legend of ‘Gonggong Angrily Headbutts Mount Buzhou’ and ensure its completion, ‘Nuwa Repairs the Sky’ will naturally follow suit. In other words, we will not need to interfere with ‘Nuwa Repairs the Sky’ at all…”

“No…” Du Yu interrupted with a heavy sigh. “I am adding a new topic to our meeting right now…”

Everyone turned to look at him, confused by his sudden declaration.

“Is there any way we can complete Nuwa’s legend on its own, without interfering with Gonggong at all?” Du Yu asked tentatively.

The group frowned, pondering his words for a long time, but they still could not quite grasp his meaning.

“What kind of logic is that?” Zhi Nv asked in bewilderment. “What do you mean ‘complete Nuwa’s legend on its own’? What about Gonggong?”

“I…” Du Yu struggled to explain. “I was just wondering… is it possible for us to finish ‘Nuwa Repairs the Sky’ before ‘Gonggong Angrily Headbutts Mount Buzhou’ even happens?”

His words were clear enough, yet everyone remained utterly baffled.

Why on earth would he suggest that? Why abandon a simple task in favor of executing a far more difficult one?

Zhan Qisheng thought for a moment before speaking up. “If we go by what you are saying, we would have to enter Nuwa’s legend, tear a rift in the sky ourselves, and then find a way to help her patch it up. That way, Nuwa’s story would stand on its own without needing Gonggong’s story to be completed first.”

“Oh?” Du Yu raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise. “Exactly! That is a great idea!”

“How is that great?” Zhan Qisheng shot him an exasperated look. “Did sleeping for half a month rot your brain?”

“How is my brain rotted?” Du Yu shot back, annoyed. “I think that plan is perfectly viable!”

“Sigh…” Zhan Qisheng shook his head. “Old Du, we are all Great Pivots. Leaving aside whether we can actually tear the sky open, even if we succeed, all the mortals who die because of that rift will have been killed by a Great Pivot. That makes all their deaths Wrongful Deaths. Are you prepared to shoulder the burden of so many lives?”

“Uh… well…” Du Yu scratched his head, having completely overlooked that aspect.

“Furthermore,” Zhan Qisheng continued, “assuming we do not have to worry about the victims of Wrongful Death, and assuming everything works perfectly—we successfully break the sky and repair it according to this plan. What happens to Gonggong? Before long, he will still angrily headbutt Mount Buzhou, the sky will crack open again, and everything will repeat itself. Is Nuwa supposed to repair the sky twice?”

“Sigh…”

Hearing Zhan Qisheng’s logic, Du Yu let out a helpless sigh. It seemed this was still a dead end, with no viable solution in sight.

A single impulsive bet had completely doomed him.

“Du Yu,” Zhi Nv called out softly. “Are you… hiding something from us?”

“Hiding something?” Du Yu froze, then gritted his teeth. Claiming everything was fine would be an obvious lie. He knew his frustration was written all over his face; he could not hide it even if he tried.

“Everyone, you might not believe this,” Du Yu began slowly, “but I have met the Saint.”

“What?!”

Everyone exclaimed in unison.

“When?! Where?!” Dong Qianqiu demanded.

“In… a bizarre dream,” Du Yu revealed softly. “Big Cat, I actually wanted to ask you about this. You are vastly experienced and might know something… I keep entering this incredibly strange space…”

Du Yu recounted every detail of the Stone Cave from his dream, asking Western Queen Mother if she had ever seen it.

But Western Queen Mother slowly shook her head. “I have never heard of such a place.”

The others, naturally, were even less helpful. They had never heard of anything resembling what Du Yu described.

Du Yu then turned to Xie Yujiao. “Ah Jiao, do you know of this place?”

Xie Yujiao looked visibly confused before replying, “I have no idea.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” Du Yu pressed.

“You are acting strange. Why do you assume I would know?” Xie Yujiao retorted. “How could I have seen a place that even the Queen Mother herself has never seen?”

Du Yu could not shake the feeling that the mysterious Stone Cave was somehow connected to Xie Yujiao. After all, the bizarre man and the Saint had heavily implied it with all the clues hidden within their words.

Yet her expression showed no sign of deception. She genuinely seemed completely ignorant of anything regarding the cave.

“Du Yu,” Zhi Nv called out, drawing his attention. “Are you saying you met the Saint inside a Stone Cave within a dream?”

“Yes.” Du Yu nodded.

“That…” Zhi Nv was clearly skeptical. “Could you have just been having a normal dream?”

“A normal dream…?” Du Yu frowned in thought. “I never really considered that possibility…”

“You have been exhausted lately, and under an immense amount of pressure. Having a nightmare now and then is perfectly normal,” Zhi Nv reasoned. “Besides, it is fundamentally impossible for you to exist in the same space as the Saint. How could you possibly hold a conversation with him?”

“Well…” Du Yu still felt something was off. If it was merely a dream, why would he visit the exact same location three times in a row?

Even stranger was how the passage of time in the dream was completely disproportionate to reality.

The first time, he had taken only three steps in the dream, yet an entire night had passed in reality.

The second time, he had walked up to the Stone Door, and a day and a half had flown by in reality.

The third time, several things had happened in the dream, and by the time he regained consciousness, half a month had vanished.

All these signs indicated that what Du Yu was experiencing was far more than a simple dream. It was much more like he was entering an entirely different dimension.

“Everyone, I do not believe it was just a dream,” Du Yu stated, his expression serious. “It was all far too uncanny. I slapped myself repeatedly inside that Stone Cave, but even though my face stung, I could not wake up. Moreover, there was a third person there… This person was incredibly peculiar. He seemingly possessed the ability to suppress the natural repulsion generated when the Saint and I met.”

The group ended up looking at each other in dismay upon hearing this, entirely at a loss for words. After a moment of thought, Zhi Nv asked, “Then… what exactly did you and the Saint discuss?”

“I… made a bet with him…”

Du Yu relayed every detail of his encounter with the strange man and the Saint to the group, explaining exactly how he ended up making a wager with the Saint.

“I get the feeling I fell into a trap…” Du Yu admitted, troubled. “It is a bet I simply cannot win.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. If what Du Yu said was true, they really had backed into a corner.

After a long pause, Western Queen Mother suddenly spoke up. “I still do not quite understand… Is this matter truly that difficult?”

Everyone turned to look at Western Queen Mother. Du Yu lit up with hope. “Big Cat, do you have a way to win this bet?”

“Forget about the stupid bet…” Western Queen Mother huffed. “I have two solutions. Just listen.”

“Go ahead, Big Cat.”

“Insolent! Call me Queen Mother.”

“Oh… please go ahead, Queen Mother…”

Western Queen Mother spoke slowly, “The first method is the simplest. Just flat-out refuse to acknowledge it. If you invalidate the bet, isn’t the problem solved?”

“Huh?” Du Yu muttered, thrown off. “Big… Western Queen Mother, this is my very first direct confrontation with the Saint, and you want me to just cheat?”

Western Queen Mother gave Du Yu a curious look. “What is wrong with that? That is exactly the sort of thing you would do.”

The rest of the group nodded in unanimous agreement. Resorting to shameless tactics was entirely in character for Du Yu.

“Wait, is that really how you all see me?” Du Yu let out an exasperated sigh. “And here I call myself a man of iron will and unwavering integrity, yet you all assume I would cheat?”

The group stared at Du Yu in deadpan silence, not entirely sure what he was trying to prove.

“…If I made a bet with anyone else, I would absolutely cheat a little, but the opponent is literally myself. That would be far too humiliating… No, no, tell me your second idea.”

Looking down to inspect her long, elegant nails, Western Queen Mother continued, “Since you refuse the first option, we will simply have to go with the second. This method is incredibly effective and will completely cure your current predicament without any need to worry about your little bet. I guarantee your total victory.”

“Is it really that amazing?” Du Yu looked at Western Queen Mother. “What exactly is this plan?”

“In the past, you were constantly persecuted by the Saint because you were in the light and he was in the dark. He knew your timeline, but you had no idea which exact day in the future he originated from. Things are different now. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to accurately pinpoint the Saint’s movements.”

“I still do not understand…” Du Yu furrowed his brow. “Even if we pinpoint his movements, what does that mean for us?”

“What does it mean? Hmph.” Western Queen Mother slowly stood up and called out, “Zhan Qisheng.”

“Present!” Zhan Qisheng responded, standing up.

“Shiranui Jinjiro.”

“Present!” Shiranui Jinjiro answered as he rose to his feet.

“Liu Ling.”

“Present!” Liu Ling stood.

“In my capacity as Bureau Chief, I hereby order the three of you to form a Special Operations Team. You will enter the legend of ‘Gonggong Angrily Headbutts Mount Buzhou’ and personally sever the Saint’s head. Do you have any objections?”

Western Queen Mother’s words sucked all the sound from the room, leaving behind a pin-drop silence.

Even the normally composed Zhi Nv let her mouth fall open slightly in shock.

Travel back into the legends to assassinate the Saint?