Legend Management Bureau Chapter 399

[ … words ]

A heavy flurry of footsteps stopped outside the house. The old man was so terrified that he tightly gripped the carrying pole in his hands.

He had once used this pole to beat back three wolves, making him a local hero in his village. Now, as long as he held onto this carrying pole, he felt an endless surge of courage.

“Young man, the moment the door opens, I’ll knock a few of them down, and we’ll split up and run.”

Treating the situation like a mortal threat, the old man kept his eyes glued to the crowd of villagers visible through the crack in the door.

“Uncle, put the pole down,” Du Yu said. “I have a way to deal with those Great Immortals.”

“Huh?” The old man turned his head and glanced at Du Yu. “Young man, are you serious?”

“I am.” Du Yu nodded with absolute certainty. “If I were lying to you, I’d just be digging my own grave. Don’t worry.”

Hearing this, the old man half-heartedly drew the carrying pole back. Ever since he met this young man, a slew of unbelievable things had happened. Moreover, the more he looked at the youth, the more familiar he seemed. ‘Could it be a blessing from the ancestors?’

As soon as the door opened, the villager from earlier spotted the carrying pole in the old man’s hands.

The old man was bewildered. “Hey? What are you doing? Let’s talk this out, don’t grab my pole!”

As the two engaged in a tug-of-war, more villagers surged forward, practically working together to wrestle the carrying pole away from him.

This scene left Du Yu a bit baffled as well. Everything was perfectly fine, so why were so many people fighting over a wooden pole?

Breathless after successfully seizing the pole, the villager hid it behind his back and said, “You two are guests! You absolutely must not help us with our physical labor. You cannot use this carrying pole under any circumstances!”

At those words, the numerous Fellow Villagers standing behind him echoed their agreement, “Yes, exactly!”

“What? I was supposed to do chores?” The old man was stunned.

Only then did Du Yu notice that the arriving Fellow Villagers were all holding chickens, ducks, fish, wild rabbits, pheasants, or fresh vegetables. Upon seeing the two of them, they rushed forward, insisting on treating them to a proper feast no matter what.

To the sheer astonishment of Du Yu and the old man, the crowd filled the table to the brim with food.

Their cooking methods mostly carried on the techniques of the pre-Qin era. Boiling and steaming were the most common, and there were no proper wheat or noodle dishes to speak of.

But judging by the ingredients, these were undoubtedly the best things the Fellow Villagers had to offer.

Chattering away, everyone asked Du Yu and the old man about the situation in the outside world. Every few sentences, the villagers would pour them more wine.

Du Yu was not much of a drinker, politely declining each time with a word of thanks. However, Old Man Du was a different story. The moment alcohol was involved, he seemed like a completely different person.

Not only did he completely drop his guard against the Great Immortals, but he also spoke without any restraint. If Du Yu had not continuously interrupted him, the old man probably would have recounted everything from the Marco Polo Bridge Incident all the way to the fall of the Gang of Four.

“Uncle, that is enough!” Du Yu shook the old man’s shoulder. “We need to go!”

“Ah? Oh!” The old man finally snapped out of his drunken daze. “Yes, we need to go, we need to go.”

Hearing that the two were leaving, the numerous Fellow Villagers all wore expressions of regret.

But Du Yu knew that Legends had to continue on their rightful path. Thus, he slowly stood up and supported the old man as they walked to the door.

“Fellow Villagers,” Du Yu addressed them. “I have one more favor to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“Actually, while the two of us were fishing, we spotted a water monster. We chased that monster all the way here. We suspect it has hidden itself somewhere in your village. It is covered in wounds, has a hunched posture, and its hair is a disheveled mess…”

The villagers were startled upon hearing this. “A water monster?”

“Exactly. This water monster has killed countless people and is extremely skilled at lying. It will claim that it is not a monster, saying it is either a monk or an old man. You must not believe it under any circumstances—those are all just deceptive tricks,” Du Yu declared with utmost conviction. “If it isn’t killed immediately, all the residents in the village will be in grave danger.”

“We understand.” The villagers nodded one after another. “We will dispatch people to search for it at once.”

Du Yu’s words seemed to have genuinely alarmed them. They hurriedly put down the items in their hands and scrambled to leave the house in a panic.

Seeing that the house was about to empty out entirely, Du Yu finally reached out and grabbed the very first villager they had met.

The villager paused and hurriedly asked, “Ah? Do you two need anything else?”

“Well…” Du Yu smiled and said to the man, “Like we just mentioned, we ran in here from the outside while chasing the water monster, so we don’t know the way out. Could you show us the exit, friend?”

The villager stared blankly for a moment. “You two don’t know how to leave?”

Du Yu also paused for a second. “Friend… judging by your tone… could it be that you don’t know how to leave either?”

“To tell you the truth, I have never stepped foot outside the village…” The villager shook his head. “If this village were truly so easy to enter and exit… why would you be the only outsiders we’ve seen in ages?”

“This…!” Du Yu furrowed his brows. It finally dawned on him that Legends could never be resolved overnight. If this village was truly so easy to leave, why were they stationed here as guardians all this time?

Just as Du Yu was at his wit’s end, the old man beside him spoke up:

“That ain’t right. Are you trying to fool us?”

“Huh?” Both Du Yu and the villager were a bit puzzled, turning back to look at the old man.

The old man walked over to the table, which was still littered with the leftovers from their recent meal. He sifted through the remnants for a good while until he fished out a few bones.

“Look here, what kind of bones are these? These are rabbit bones,” the old man said quizzically. “Don’t tell me these rabbits ain’t wild, alright? You mean to say you can actually pen up a beast that’s born knowing how to dig tunnels? If rabbits can get in and out, the two of us definitely can too.”

Taking a look, the villager immediately fell into deep thought. “Now that you mention it, brother… I do recall something. There truly is no road leading out of the village, but there is a ‘rabbit path.’ Rabbits regularly enter through this path.”

Old Man Du nodded and shot Du Yu a meaningful look. Du Yu caught on instantly:

“Friend, please take us to this ‘rabbit path.'”

…

As the two followed behind the villager, Du Yu nudged the old man with his elbow. “Uncle, I couldn’t tell you were this clever.”

“Of course! We folks of the Du family have had sharp minds since we were kids. Unlike you, acting all simple-minded.”

Du Yu wanted to argue back, but the old man asked another question. “But young man, what about that ‘water monkey’?”

“It’s hard to say. With injuries that severe, it’s unknown if it’s even still alive. Besides, I’ve already gotten all the villagers to search house by house. They seem extremely afraid of their peaceful lives being disrupted, so they’re taking this very seriously. If the entire village mobilizes and still can’t find it, the two of us wouldn’t be of much use anyway.”

Hearing this, the old man found it reasonable. Then he asked, “Young man, once we leave this village… how am I supposed to get back home?”

“That’s…”

Du Yu found himself at a loss for words. He actually wanted to tell the truth and inform the old man, ‘The chances of you going back are astronomically low,’ but was it really appropriate to tell him that now?

Du Yu knew that it wasn’t just the old man; his own chances of accurately returning to the past within this fractured space were also incredibly slim. But no matter what, he had to take the gamble. As long as he could continuously enter the next space, the probability of encountering someone familiar would increase.

If by some one-in-a-trillion chance he could bump into Zhan Qisheng, Houtu, the Western Queen Mother, or the others, a glimmer of hope might just appear.

While Du Yu was lost in thought, the villager had already led them to their destination.