Legend Management Bureau Chapter 401

[ … words ]

Du Yu pressed onward. The two of them crossed a deep ravine, pausing briefly for the old man to relieve himself, and before long, they reached the main road.

It turned out that it only took an hour of walking from the Peach Blossom Spring Village to reach the main road, and a county town sat just a short distance away.

“So the Peach Blossom Spring Village is actually this close to the county town…” Du Yu muttered to himself. “But who would have ever guessed that an entire village was hidden within the mountain walls?”

“There’s a village?!” the old man exclaimed. “Which village is it? An hour away from my place… could it be Wang Family Village?”

Du Yu knew that this had to be Wuling Commandery, just as the fable recorded.

“Uncle, wait for me here a moment,” Du Yu said. “I’ll be right back.”

“What? You’re just gonna leave me here all by myself?” the old man asked, clearly frightened.

“Don’t be afraid, Uncle. Don’t you have your Mountain-Opening Carrying Pole right there in your hands?” Du Yu said with a smile. “No one is going to cause trouble for you here. Plus, if you stand guard, there’s no way that ‘water monkey’ will be able to escape your clutches if it tries to run.”

“Clutches…” the old man muttered helplessly. “Since when did my hands become clutches?”

He knew that if he didn’t “report to the prefect” and have him lead men to search for the Peach Blossom Spring Village, the story would be stuck.

However, upon arriving at Wuling Commandery, Du Yu noticed something was wrong.

Even though the words “Wuling Commandery” were clearly carved into the city gate tower, the streets inside were swarming with beggars and refugees.

The streets were dilapidated, and the people were destitute—a stark contrast to the idyllic scenes within the Peach Blossom Spring Village.

…

After waiting for about two hours, just as the old man was beginning to doze off, Du Yu returned with a large group of men.

Aside from Du Yu, everyone else was dressed as ancient government officials. The leader rode atop a tall, majestic horse, while the guards behind him pulled several horse-drawn carriages, glancing around curiously as they approached.

The old man wore a bewildered expression. “What’s going on? Why are there so many officials? Didn’t the Qing Dynasty fall?”

Spotting the old man, Du Yu immediately jogged over to him and said, “Uncle, I brought some people to deal with the Great Immortal and the water monkey. Do you see how they’re dressed? They’re all Daoist Priests.”

“So they’re Daoist Priests…” the old man blinked. He had never seen Daoist Priests who looked so much like government officials before.

“Young man, this Peach Blossom Spring Village you mentioned, where everyone lives in plenty… where exactly is it?” the man on the tall horse asked slowly.

“Right here!” Du Yu pointed at the narrow path behind him. “We left markers along the way. We’ll find it in no time.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Du Yu felt that something was wrong.

According to Tao Yuanming’s fable of the Peach Blossom Spring, no one was able to find the village in the end.

But if that fisherman had truly left markers… how could they fail to find it?

Could the Peach Blossom Spring Village just vanish into thin air?

“Lead the way,” the prefect commanded, pulling on his horse’s reins. “If we truly find this Peach Blossom Spring Village, you will be heavily rewarded.”

“Well… let’s just take it one step at a time,” Du Yu muttered. He shot the old man a meaningful glance, and the two began retracing their steps down the path.

Not long after, Du Yu glanced at the old man and asked, “Uncle, do you still remember where you put the markers?”

“I remember. It’s right around here. I carved them with a rock,” the old man nodded. “Young man, help me look. They should be on a few of these nearby trees.”

Du Yu nodded, turned to ask the prefect and his men to wait where they were, and began searching through the peach blossom grove.

Since every peach tree looked more or less identical, it was incredibly easy to get turned around.

After a few minutes, Du Yu finally noticed an anomaly on one of the trees. The bark exposed a pale white hue, looking as if it had just recently been slashed open.

He hurried over to take a closer look and saw the character for “Du” carved into the bark.

“Hah, this old man sure went through a lot of trouble. Wouldn’t an ‘X’ have been easier?” Du Yu chuckled wryly. He turned back and shouted to the crowd, “Hey! It’s this way, come on over!”

Hearing this, the old man stopped searching and walked toward Du Yu, while the swarm of officials followed closely behind.

Du Yu quietly observed one of the large carriages amidst the officials, a sense of suspicion gnawing at his heart.

Earlier, when he had informed the prefect about the Peach Blossom Spring Village sitting just outside the city, the prefect immediately dispatched men to prepare “greeting gifts.” Before Du Yu could even ask what those gifts were, the carriages were already fully loaded and concealed beneath coarse cloth tarps, shrouded in secrecy.

A short while later, the group arrived at the deep ravine that Du Yu and the old man had previously crossed. The two of them leaped over it with ease, but the carriages behind them faced a much harder time.

Although ravines were to be expected on a mountain path, the heavy, wooden wheels of this era were too clumsy to handle such extreme bumps.

The guards split into two groups—one whipping the horses and the other pushing from behind—and managed, with great difficulty, to force the carriages over the gap. The vehicles jolted violently in the process.

But because of that jolt, Du Yu clearly heard a sharp clank and clatter ring out from within the carriage.

It sounded as if the cargo was not local specialties or greeting gifts at all.

It was metal.

Du Yu pondered this for a moment but couldn’t make sense of it, so he simply continued walking forward.

But after taking a few steps, he slowly came to a halt.

Wait!

Metal?

Du Yu turned his head and swept his gaze over the soldiers. He realized that every single one of them was entirely unarmed, making them appear completely sincere.

But what if those carriages were filled with weapons?

“Could it be…” Du Yu muttered to himself. “The fisherman in the story didn’t fail to find the village. He changed his mind! He realized the prefect had ulterior motives, so he deliberately led them astray!”

Wuling Commandery was currently in a state of panic, its streets flooded with refugees.

What was their most pressing need right now? Was it to establish diplomatic relations with the Peach Blossom Spring Village?

No!

What they needed was “grain”!

They had packed their carriages full of weapons so they could raid the village for its grain!

Why should the people of Wuling Commandery starve while a hidden village just outside the city in the mountains lived in plenty?

As Du Yu continued walking, he calculated his next move. All he had to do was wander aimlessly through the peach grove for a bit, falsely claim that he couldn’t find the markers, and then lead the men away.

That way, the entire narrative of the story would remain intact, and this isolated dimension would no longer need to exist.

But just as he solidified his resolve, he looked up and spotted another marker on a tree not far away.

The marker was far too obvious; trying to conceal it from the group would be impossible.

Left with no choice, Du Yu called out to the men, “Come on, this way.”

He walked slowly toward the tree and casually glanced up at the carving, only to freeze dead in his tracks.

It felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him squarely on the crown of his head, rooting him completely to the spot.

Noticing Du Yu’s strange behavior, the old man slowly walked over and asked, “Young man, what’s wrong?”

Gritting his teeth, Du Yu fiercely grabbed the old man by his collar and violently shoved him to the ground, roaring,

“Who are you?! Who exactly are you?!”

“Ah?!” the old man cried, jumping in fright. “I… I’m Du Lao’er!”

The prefect watched in confusion. Why were their two guides suddenly fighting among themselves?

He gently pulled on his horse’s reins and trotted over to the peach tree.

There, he found a fresh carving of the character for “Yu” etched into the trunk. The exposed wood underneath was still pale and tender, appearing as if it had been carved only moments ago.