Legend Management Bureau Chapter 296

[ … words ]

Time, the Primordial Era.

Location, the Land of Qingzhou.

Characters, Du Yu and the Seven Holy Heroes descending.

When the group opened their eyes, they found themselves completely surrounded by a vast ocean. Beneath their feet was a bizarre little island. Its surface was rather smooth, made of an unrecognizable material.

Du Yu furrowed his brows, feeling a bit strange. He immediately turned to the Seven Holy Heroes and asked, “How long was I unconscious?!”

The seven people behind him stared blankly, utterly confused.

Shiranui Jinjiro spoke up, “What are you talking about? Didn’t we all come here together?”

“I didn’t pass out?” Du Yu frowned. He had stayed with Time for quite a while, yet he had not fallen unconscious this time?

“Of course not.” Shiranui Jinjiro looked at him in bewilderment. “Did sleeping for half a month last time turn your brain to mush?”

“Senior Du Yu, I don’t think this is… Ugh!” Shiranui Asuka’s face turned a sickly pale. “This isn’t an island. It looks like… Blergh!”

Du Yu laughed awkwardly. “I get it… You’re seasick. This is definitely not an island…”

Sure enough, as the group took a closer look at the little island beneath their feet, they were quite startled.

How was this an island? It was clearly a hemisphere moving at high speed.

Right at that moment, a massive object suddenly extended from the front of the hemisphere.

Everyone stared. It was actually the gigantic head of an animal.

“Ah!” Du Yu exclaimed in shock. “This is a freaking giant sea turtle!”

The giant sea turtle slowly turned its head, staring blankly at the group.

They noticed that this sea turtle looked a bit unusual. It had sharp fangs in its mouth and long dragon whiskers on its head.

‘Uh…’ Du Yu mumbled inwardly, wondering why they had landed right on the back of a giant sea turtle.

“Where do you Immortal Beings hail from?” the giant sea turtle asked in confusion, its voice booming like a massive bell.

“Ahhhhh!” Shiranui Asuka screamed. “The giant sea turtle talked! It’s a turtle monster!!! Ugh…”

Shiranui Jinjiro quickly leaped forward, stepping protectively in front of Shiranui Asuka. “Where are you from, monster?! How dare you scare my sister!”

The siblings’ dramatic reactions left the rest of the group completely dumbfounded.

“What are you two doing?” Du Yu rolled his eyes at them. “In our Huaxia, animals speaking is basically standard procedure. Do you really need to make such a fuss? And to think you two are from the Legend Management Bureau… Besides, A’xiang, haven’t you seen the shrimp soldiers and crab generals in the Legend of the White Snake?”

“Ah! Right!” Shiranui Asuka suddenly realized her mistake. Flipping the script, she patted Shiranui Jinjiro on the shoulder and declared, “Brother Jinjianglang! Don’t be afraid! This is all standard procedure! Ugh…”

Jin Jianglang shot her a mildly disgusted look. “Who’s the one actually scared here?”

The giant sea turtle looked at the group in bewilderment and asked again, “Where do you Immortal Beings truly hail from?”

“We… uh…” Du Yu felt like he was thrown straight onto the defensive every time he entered a legend, and this time was no exception. He had prepared exactly how to interact with Nüwa, but he had never imagined needing to negotiate with a sea turtle.

Before Du Yu could speak, the giant sea turtle asked, “Do you have a referrer?”

“A r-referrer?” Du Yu paused, quickly thinking on his feet. “Of course we do!”

“Oh…” The giant sea turtle nodded. “As long as you have one. No matter who referred you, if you ride on my back, I charge a fee.”

“A fee… Of course, of course.” Du Yu nodded. “Paying is only natural.”

“Then where are you heading?” the giant sea turtle asked. “Is it Penglai Fairyland, Jimo Fairy Island, the Four Seas, or the Land of Qingzhou?”

Hearing this, Shiranui Asuka pondered for a moment and asked, “Right, Senior Du Yu, where exactly are we going? Are we heading to Buzhou Mountain first, or are we looking for the materials to mend the heavens?”

“Neither. I’m taking you all sightseeing.” Du Yu patted the giant sea turtle’s back and announced, “Big guy, take us wherever there’s fun to be had. I’ll provide you with enough Spirit Stones.”

“Alright!” The giant sea turtle happily wriggled its head, promptly picking up speed.

“Eh?”

The group was clearly lost.

Shiranui Jinjiro hurriedly asked, “Du Yu, shouldn’t we be figuring out how to complete the legend? Why are you being so laid back?”

“Like I said, there’s no rush with our legend. Don’t worry about the bet, either. Once the Saint finishes on his end, we’ll finish too.”

After swimming less than fifty meters, the giant sea turtle suddenly acted as if it had remembered something. It turned to look back at A Can and A Kui, making the two of them feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Giant sea turtle, what are you looking at?” A Can asked. “Is there something on my face?”

The giant sea turtle silently turned its head back around, only to glance back at them again shortly after. Du Yu also noticed this strange behavior and couldn’t help but feel curious. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he eagerly asked, “Giant sea turtle, do you know them?”

The giant sea turtle thought for a moment before saying, “Are you two… regular customers?”

“Regular customers?” A Can and A Kui felt a bit bewildered. They didn’t even know what this giant sea turtle did, so how could they be regulars?

“I feel like I’ve seen you two before, but your auras feel a bit different. I wonder if it’s just my imagination.” The giant sea turtle shook its head slightly as it spoke.

“It must be your imagination, we…” Just as A Can started to reply, Du Yu cut him off.

“Giant sea turtle, when did you see them?”

“I…” The giant sea turtle pondered for a long time but couldn’t recall a single detail. It finally said slowly, “Perhaps I remembered incorrectly.”

Du Yu had a sneaking suspicion that there had to be some sort of connection between this giant sea turtle and the brothers, A Can and A Kui.

Their lineage had always been a mystery. Could they possibly be turtle spirits?

Du Yu was almost amused to death by the thought. Were these fierce, capable brothers originally two clunky giant sea turtles?

Did they somehow transform into human forms through some freak twist of fate?

Was that why they had such thick skin and couldn’t feel pain?

“Giant sea turtle, what is your name?” Du Yu inquired.

“Baxia,” the giant sea turtle slowly replied. “I am Baxia.”

Du Yu nodded slightly. Having a name made things much easier. He quickly called out, “Sister Qianqiu, are you there?”

Dong Qianqiu didn’t respond, but a timid voice chimed in instead, “Du Yu… did you forget that Sister Qianqiu went to oversee another legend?”

It had been a long time since Du Yu had heard this voice. It felt inexplicably comforting. “Xiao Qi?”

“It’s me…”

“Haha…” Du Yu chuckled. “I really did forget. But having you here is great too. Can you look up the name ‘Baxia’ for me? There should be records of Demonic Beasts from the Primordial Era. We might be able to follow the clues and figure out A Can and A Kui’s origins.”

“Du Yu… are you stupid?” Xiao Qi asked quietly.

“I…” Du Yu froze. “What the hell? What does this have to do with me being stupid?”

“Do you really need to look up ‘Baxia’?” Xiao Qi sighed softly. She then pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled out a quick drawing, transmitting it directly to Du Yu’s vision. “Take a look at this.”

The image showed an enormous turtle with sharp fangs and dragon whiskers, carrying a heavy stone stele on its back.

“Why are you showing me this?” Du Yu asked. “Aren’t there statues like this everywhere?”

“This is ‘Baxia’,” Xiao Qi explained. “‘Baxia’ is also known as ‘Bixi’. He is the sixth of the Dragon Ancestor’s nine sons. He resembles a turtle, loves carrying heavy burdens, and possesses boundless strength. People often build statues of Baxia in auspicious locations.”

“Oh, my god,” Du Yu exclaimed. “So it’s the Dragon’s sixth son?”

A thought crossed Du Yu’s mind, and he asked, “Wait, that’s not quite right. I’ve heard the saying ‘The dragon has nine sons,’ but why on earth is a dragon’s child a giant sea turtle?”

“You really defeat me,” Xiao Qi shook her head in sheer exasperation. “I suppose I’ll have to force-feed you some basic knowledge. As the saying goes: The dragon had nine sons, and none were dragons; each had their own unique traits.”

“Which dragon birthed him? The genetics are way too impure.” Du Yu stared down at the giant sea turtle. Even though it had a few draconic features, it was still ninety percent turtle.

“Du Yu, stop sprouting nonsense!” Xiao Qi scolded. “If someone in the Primordial Era overhears your blabbering, you’ll bring disaster upon yourself! The father of the nine sons is ‘Yinglong’, the ‘Dragon Ancestor’ of Huaxia history. The reason the nine sons look so different from one another is because they all had different mothers.”

Xiao Qi quickly jotted down a few lines of text and sketched nine simple drafts, sending them over for Du Yu to read.

The first son, Qiuniu. Dragon head and snake body. He can discern all the sounds of the world and loves music.

Legend states he was born to the Dragon Ancestor and a snake mother.

The second son, Yazi. Dragon head and leopard body. He is incredibly aggressive, loves fighting, and delights in slaughter.

Legend states he was born to the Dragon Ancestor and a wolf mother.

The third son, Chaofeng. Dragon head and avian body. He loves adventuring and gazing far into the distance.

Legend states he was born to the Dragon Ancestor and a bird mother.

The fourth son, Pulao. Large belly, famous for his loud roars.

Legend states he was born to the Dragon Ancestor and a golden toad mother.

The fifth son, Suanni. Dragon head and lion body. He prefers stillness over movement and loves the smell of incense.

Legend states he was born to the Dragon Ancestor and a lion mother.

The sixth son, Baxia. Dragon head and turtle body. He loves carrying heavy burdens and possesses boundless strength.

Legend states he was born to the Dragon Ancestor and a turtle mother.

The seventh son, Bi’an. Dragon head and tiger body. He is fiercely just and always speaks out for righteousness.

Legend states he was born to the Dragon Ancestor and a tiger mother.

The eighth son, Fu Xi. Resembles a true dragon. He has a lifelong love for literature and writing.

He is the full blood brother of Baxia, both born to the turtle mother.

The ninth son, Chiwen. Resembles a fish. He loves swallowing and spraying water.

Legend states he was born to the Dragon Ancestor and a fish mother.

Du Yu couldn’t help but fall silent after reading the list. Just what kind of chaotic family tree was this?

Did reproductive isolation mean absolutely nothing to them?

“Good lord… So they just take after whichever mother birthed them? This guy was truly a high-class Sea King who transcended all racial boundaries…”