Legend Management Bureau Chapter 172

[ … words ]

“Hey, how should I deal with him? Arms, or legs?” Shuten-doji asked Shiranui Asuka over his shoulder, a cigarette dangling from his lips. “Or should I just rip his tongue out?”

“Master, be a good girl and close your eyes,” Ootengu Bankotubo said, gently covering Shiranui Asuka’s eyes with his hand. He then turned to Shuten-doji. “Just beat him into a pulp. Don’t let any blood splatter on our Master.”

“Got it,” Shuten-doji replied. He tightened his grip on his metal baseball bat, and murderous intent instantly saturated the air in the room.

“Ah! No, you can’t!” Shiranui Asuka hurriedly pushed the Ootengu away and stepped in front of Shuten-doji. “Shuten, you can’t kill him. That man is very important…”

“I don’t care how important he is; he’s dead.” Shuten-doji showed absolutely no intention of letting Xu Xian off the hook. “I’m pissed off. Nobody can save him today.”

“I said no! Are you deaf?” Shiranui Asuka suddenly yelled, startling both of the demons.

“Huh?” Shuten-doji turned around with a bewildered expression. “Bankotubo, did this woman just snap at me?”

Ootengu Bankotubo was also a bit confused. “Master, why are you acting… so strange?”

Shiranui Asuka wiped her tears and said, “I… I’m really grateful to you both, but you truly cannot kill him. We are inside a legend right now, and I am on a mission. You are my shikigami, so please listen to me!”

“Speaking of which, we aren’t in Fusang, are we?” Ootengu Bankotubo surveyed the room’s furnishings. “Is this Huaxia?”

“Huaxia?” Shuten-doji also glanced at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls. “It really is… It’s all in Chinese characters. It’s been so long since I’ve used them, I can’t read a single one…”

The Ootengu ignored him, turning instead to Shiranui Asuka. “Master, it seems this trip to Huaxia has truly helped you grow quite a bit.”

Shiranui Asuka offered a sheepish grin. “That’s right, I’ve grown up. I won’t ever willfully make unreasonable demands of you two again.”

The Ootengu and Shuten-doji exchanged a look. “Really?” they asked in unison.

“Really!” Shiranui Asuka nodded firmly. Then, glancing over at Xu Xian, she added, “Though I still want you guys to kick him a few times for me…”

…

Du Yu pushed the door open violently, only to find Shiranui Asuka standing off to the side while two strange men had Xu Xian muffled under a quilt and were frantically kicking him.

“Uh…”

No matter how much he braced himself, Du Yu never expected to witness a scene like this.

“Sister Qianqiu… what exactly is going on here?”

Dong Qianqiu stared blankly and replied, “If I am not mistaken, one of them is the leader of Fusang’s Three Great Yokai, Shuten-doji, and the other is the famous yokai, Ootengu.”

“Good grief!” Du Yu exclaimed in awe. “Asuka really knows how to hide her true strength…”

He rushed forward, shouting, “Stop fighting! Break it up!”

“Senior Du Yu?”

The Ootengu and Shuten-doji paused, looking back at Du Yu in surprise.

Although Du Yu had stepped in to stop the two yokai, he promptly raised his own foot and viciously stomped on Xu Xian.

“Stop fighting! I said stop!” Du Yu bellowed repeatedly as he wildly kicked the lump under the blanket. ‘This guy has some serious nerve,’ he thought furiously. ‘How dare he bully the person I brought along? Let’s see if I don’t kick you to death today, you filthy scumbag.’

The Ootengu and Shuten-doji had clearly stopped moving, yet Du Yu continued to “break up the fight” while ruthlessly pummeling Xu Xian with his feet.

Muffled beneath the quilt, Xu Xian shrieked in agony, feeling that these recent blows were significantly heavier than the previous ones.

After quite some time had passed, the Ootengu slowly asked, “Master… should we really not stop him?”

“Ah!” Shiranui Asuka finally snapped out of her daze and hurried over to hold Du Yu back. “Stop kicking! You’re going to kill him!”

Panting heavily, Du Yu halted his assault, still feeling like he had not vented enough of his anger.

“Are you okay?” Du Yu whispered to Shiranui Asuka, his face full of concern.

“Yes, Senior Du Yu, I’m fine,” Shiranui Asuka whispered back. “Oh, right, let me introduce you!”

Standing to the side, both Shuten-doji and the Ootengu towered a full head above Du Yu. Just their imposing auras alone were enough to make him feel a bit intimidated.

“This is brother Ootengu Bankotubo, one of my thirteen shikigami, and this is Shuten-doji, who is also one of my thirteen shikigami.”

Du Yu was stunned. “Good lord, you’ve actually got thirteen of these heavy hitters…”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Shuten-doji was clearly displeased. “Why the hell did you introduce Bankotubo first, you bastard?”

Bankotubo shot Shuten-doji a smug look and replied, “I have a better relationship with our Master. What’s it to you?”

Du Yu glanced at Shiranui Asuka and asked, “Asuka, you carry around thirteen big shots like this?”

“Oh, well, not everyone is as powerful as they are…” Shiranui Asuka laughed sheepishly, then turned to Bankotubo and Shuten-doji. “Big brothers, this is Senior Du Yu. He is a Huaxia ‘Time Master’ I met after coming here. He takes great care of me, and I’ve learned a lot from him.”

The Ootengu gave a slight nod and said, “Judging by those kicks just now, I could tell he’s a good guy.”

Du Yu offered an awkward smile. In all his life, he had never dealt with Fusang yokai before.

Shuten-doji also chuckled, leaning in close to Du Yu. “I can sense a strange power contained within your body. Seems like you’re quite the formidable character yourself. Hey, any interest in joining my organization?”

“Organization…?” Du Yu was taken aback. ‘Aren’t you Asuka’s shikigami?’ he thought. ‘How do you have your own organization?’

“My organization is called the ‘Armed Yokai Coalition’, and it’s gathered a great bunch of real men.” Shuten-doji pulled out a hand-drawn business card and handed it to Du Yu. “I’m the first-generation boss, and I’m currently recruiting members. If you’re interested, come hang out at my place. I’ll introduce you to the brothers.”

Du Yu suspiciously accepted the business card. Most of it was written in Japanese, but he saw a large, black skull drawn right in the center, accompanied by several Chinese characters written in thick black ink: “Armed Yokai Coalition – Present!”

Good grief… was this guy a Fusang delinquent?

Du Yu was a bit bewildered, but since they were guests, it wasn’t his place to criticize. He respectfully pocketed the business card and said, “I’ll definitely come hang out when I have some free time.”

“Haha, straightforward. I like it.” Shuten-doji laughed, patting Du Yu heavily on the shoulder. “Then it’s a promise.”

Du Yu nodded, only to see Shuten-doji pull a pack of cigarettes from his jacket and offer him one.

“Uh, never mind… I’ll pass for now…” Du Yu slowly shook his head. He simply couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to smoke a modern cigarette right in the middle of the Shaoxing era of the Song Dynasty.

“Asuka, do you think you should send them back now?” Du Yu asked, turning to Shiranui Asuka.

“Send them back?” Shiranui Asuka pondered for a moment before replying, “That’s probably for the best… Xu Xian shouldn’t dare to bully me anymore…”

She murmured a few soft instructions to the two yokai, who then slowly nodded. They turned and walked straight toward the wall. Under Du Yu’s watchful gaze, the two of them phased directly into the solid structure, a truly miraculous sight.

Shiranui Asuka was just about to step forward and lift the quilt to check on Xu Xian’s condition when Du Yu stopped her.

“Asuka, wait until I leave before you do that!” Du Yu instructed, immediately hopping out the window.

Watching Du Yu disappear into the distance, Shiranui Asuka nervously pulled back the quilt. Beneath it, Xu Xian wore an expression of sheer, unadulterated shock.

“Brother Xu…” Shiranui Asuka offered an apologetic smile. “Are you alright?”

Xu Xian looked at her with lifeless, empty eyes. Deep dread filled his heart. ‘What on earth is the deal with these women?’ he thought.

‘Why is each one more terrifying to provoke than the last?’

At that moment, a sudden knock echoed from the door.

“Husband, may I come in?” Bai Suzhen asked softly from outside. “I heard some noise inside just now. Has something happened?”

Xu Xian stared at the door, a trace of primal terror slowly creeping across his face. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he stayed here, he would undoubtedly meet a grisly end!

He frantically looked around, completely clueless as to how he was going to survive this nightmare.

Suddenly, Xu Xian noticed that the room’s window was left wide open.

Catching Shiranui Asuka off guard, Xu Xian scrambled out of bed and threw himself right out the window.

“Ah!” Shiranui Asuka cried out in surprise. She rushed to the window and shouted, “Brother Xu, where are you going?!”

Standing outside, Bai Suzhen realized something was wrong from the commotion. She immediately pushed the door open, leading Medusa inside, only to find Asuka standing alone in the empty room.

“Sister Asuka, where is my husband?” Bai Suzhen asked anxiously.

“I don’t know. The moment you knocked on the door, he jumped out the window and ran away.”

Hearing this, Bai Suzhen silently lowered her head. “So he really is still afraid of me…”

Medusa furrowed her brows. ‘What exactly is there to like about a man like that?’

“Sister Bai, aren’t you going to look for him?” Shiranui Asuka asked.

“Look for him…?” A troubled expression crossed Bai Suzhen’s face. Even if she did find Xu Xian, would he be able to accept her?

“Crash!”

While the women were discussing what to do, the pharmacy owner suddenly burst into the room.

“Huh?” The group paused, entirely confused by the abrupt intrusion.

“You girls, get out here and help, quick! A ton of patients just showed up out of nowhere!”

…

At this same moment, Fahai was hurriedly rushing out of the inn. Just a short while ago, two immense and wicked demonic auras had flashed past. A wave of panic had gripped his heart, leaving him suffocated by an ominous premonition.

‘No matter what, this poor monk must go to the Huichun Pharmacy to investigate…’

Before he could even take a few steps, a man suddenly collapsed to his knees right in front of him.

“Master, you must be Master Fahai, right?!”

Fahai fixed his gaze on the man, realizing he was nothing more than an ordinary commoner.

“This poor monk is indeed Fahai. How may I help you, benefactor?”

“Master, please save my wife’s life!” the man cried out, frantically kowtowing to Fahai. “I have long heard that the Master’s Buddhist dharma is boundless. You can definitely save my wife. She’s going to die!”

Fahai was stunned. “What exactly happened?”

Before the man could even answer, crowds of commoners began rushing over from all directions, dropping to their knees before Fahai one after another.

After carefully questioning them, he finally learned that a strange plague had suddenly erupted across the city. Many citizens were suffering from unbearable abdominal agony, and the pain was so severe that some had already died from the shock.

“Take this monk to examine the patients at once!”

Fahai followed the leading man back to his house. There, he found the man’s wife writhing on the bed, desperately clutching her stomach. Her face was drenched in cold sweat, and she looked as if her abdomen was being sliced to pieces by a barrage of knives.