Legend Management Bureau Chapter 184

[ … words ]

Li Jing was somewhat amused by his sheer audacity. “Master, as a mere mortal who has yet to cultivate an immortal body, you actually dare to boast shamelessly before this king? This king has accommodated you several times already. I hope you know what is good for you.”

Fahai, however, was absolutely certain that Li Jing would not lay a hand on him. He shouted angrily, “Heavenly King Li, either you kill this old monk, or you let this old monk kill that demoness! There must be a conclusion today!”

Du Yu could see that Fahai had truly lost his mind. This entire affair originally had nothing to do with that young girl, yet he had actually developed murderous intent toward her.

“Master, this king will no longer waste breath tangling with you. I advise you to leave while you can. You have already broken numerous precepts; your Buddha heart is in jeopardy!”

Hearing Li Jing’s words, Fahai’s expression remained entirely unchanged. He directly pulled out his enchanted cassock. “This old monk no longer cares about a Buddha heart! I only want justice! You immortals cover for one another, and it is us mortals who suffer! You leave demons unslain all for the sake of saving face! Today, this old monk trusts no one but himself!”

With that, he commanded a burst of flames, actually charging headlong toward Li Jing. Li Jing did not so much as twitch. Beside him, Clairvoyant launched a flying kick, intercepting Fahai’s flying cassock.

“Heavenly King, please step back. I will deal with this mad monk!”

Li Jing nodded helplessly. “He is also a tragic soul. Do not take his life.”

Just then, four figures sped across the distant sky. Du Yu focused his gaze and saw four dignified middle-aged men racing over with panic written across their faces.

“Ao Run, that is simply unfair. I asked you at the time, and you agreed.”

“Fourth Brother, do not forget you lost that game of pitch-pot earlier. You still owe me twenty spirit stones. Remember to pay up when we get back.”

“If we make it out of this alive, I will definitely pay you…”

Still bickering, the four men arrived before Li Jing. Li Jing hurriedly stepped forward to bow.

“Greetings to the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas.”

The four middle-aged men hurriedly waved for him to rise. The one leading them spoke up, “Li Jing, what is the situation? Does the Queen Mother of the West know yet?”

“Uh…” Li Jing did not dare lie, so he could only speak the truth. “She probably knows by now… I dispatched the Four Heavenly Kings of the Mo Family to notify her ages ago… I just do not know why there still has not been a reply.”

Dispatched ages ago, and still no reply?

“Ah!” a younger-looking Dragon King cried out. “I know! Today is the Jade Pool Bath! The Queen Mother of the West will be bathing in the Jade Pool with her numerous fairy maidens all day. The Four Heavenly Kings of the Mo Family must have been blocked at the gates!”

Du Yu gave a helpless, wry smile. “Big Cat, have you been this idle ever since the Song Dynasty?”

“No wonder!” Li Jing nodded. “Given the speed of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Mo Family, they should have seen the Queen Mother of the West long ago. It makes sense why they have not returned yet…”

The leading Dragon King shifted his eyes thoughtfully and said, “Li Jing, you have always owed me a favor. It is time to repay it.”

“A favor?” Li Jing frowned slightly, knowing this man was referring to the incident with his Third Prince. He hurriedly apologized, “Answering the Dragon King of the East Sea, my son was rebellious and accidentally killed your beloved son back then. As a father, I truly feel…”

The Dragon King of the East Sea waved his hand dismissively. “Let the past remain in the past. Li Jing, you are a smart man. Tell me, could this current incident… have been caused by a sudden flash flood?”

Li Jing paused. A sudden flash flood? He quickly processed the implication, nodding repeatedly as he said, “The Dragon King of the East Sea is absolutely right! This king saw it too. A sudden flood broke out, sweeping away shrimp and crabs, and accidentally harming mortals. This king dispatched celestial troops and heavenly generals here to provide disaster relief!”

“Hahaha!” The Dragon King of the East Sea laughed heartily. “Indeed, indeed! No wonder General Li managed to reach his current position. What an enlightened man you are! From now on, the grievances between you and me are entirely written off.”

Li Jing naturally knew there was no benefit whatsoever in offending the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas. Furthermore, the Dragon King of the East Sea had always harbored a grudge over the Third Prince’s incident. Being able to repay this favor now was for the best.

“Where is Clairaudience?” Li Jing bellowed.

“Present!”

“Quickly send a sound transmission to the Four Heavenly Kings of the Mo Family. Tell them to suppress the news and return immediately!”

“Uh… yes, sir!”

The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas hurriedly thanked Li Jing, then turned to guide the floodwaters into retreating.

The immortals and demons currently engaged in battle all stayed their hands. This conflict had begun in chaos and was now ending in confusion.

Everyone present wanted an explanation, but the difference in status was simply too vast. No one dared step forward to question a Dragon King or a Heavenly King.

Du Yu looked at the crowd that had ceased fighting and fell deep into thought. On the entirety of Jinshan, only Fahai and Clairvoyant were still clashing in a magical duel.

Li Jing was just about to shout for Clairvoyant to stand down when he noticed the pagoda in his hand trembling violently.

“Everything… is probably about to get an answer…” Du Yu muttered to himself.

“Oh?” Li Jing glanced at the pagoda in his hand, suddenly remembering that the artifact used for suppression this time was the Leifeng Pagoda, not his own Seven-Treasure Linglong Pagoda. Bai Suzhen’s demonic aura was overwhelming; she was on the verge of breaking out.

Li Jing frowned. Breaking out of the pagoda was a minor issue, but if the architecture of Hangzhou City was damaged in the process, it would be hard to explain. Thus, he proactively withdrew his magical power, allowing Bai Suzhen to manifest.

Breaking free from her restraints, Bai Suzhen looked at Li Jing in confusion. Li Jing had no desire to make things difficult for her. Who would offend a thousand-year-old snake demon for no reason? Moreover, she seemed to have a deep connection with the disciple of the Old Mother of Mount Li.

“You…” Bai Suzhen wanted to say something, but she did not know where to begin.

“Rather than maintaining a stalemate with me here, it would be better to take your little sister and leave quickly while that monk is distracted,” Li Jing said.

Li Jing had maintained his standing in the immortal realm for so many years precisely because he was a master of the art of saving face. He never wanted to offend anyone and always remained neutral.

“Little sister?” Bai Suzhen turned her head and saw a panting young girl standing in the distance. The girl seemed utterly exhausted, having just finished fighting someone.

“This little sister of yours risked her very life for you. This king will not detain you any longer. Go.”

Bai Suzhen looked around in bewilderment. Everyone she knew had vanished; only that young girl was left standing there alone.

She gave Li Jing a slight nod and flew to the girl in green’s side. “Sister, let’s go.”

“Huh?! Sister White Snake, you are out?!” the girl in green asked happily.

“Indeed. If you had not risked your life for me, I doubt I would have escaped so smoothly,” Bai Suzhen replied.

Du Yu clearly noticed that the look in Bai Suzhen’s eyes had changed. Having survived this ordeal, she had become much more mature and composed.

“Demon, do not you dare flee!” Seeing Bai Suzhen about to leave, Fahai immediately threw off Clairvoyant and flew straight toward her.

In the nick of time, Li Jing soared over, blocking Fahai’s path.

“This king said he is letting them go. Do you understand?”

Fahai glared at Bai Suzhen with furious eyes, yet he was utterly powerless to do anything.

Bai Suzhen did not quite grasp the situation either, but considering she was heavily injured, it was unwise to linger. She quickly led the girl in green away.

Du Yu smiled faintly and muttered to himself, “As expected. Bai Suzhen was never actually suppressed by the Leifeng Pagoda at all. This also explains why she never gave birth to a child.”

“Du Yu, what do you mean?” Dong Qianqiu did not quite understand.

“Sister Qianqiu, recall me, and prepare for another descent while you are at it.”

“Another descent?”

“That’s right. Gorgon and I need to descend one more time.”

…

Strangely enough, after Du Yu exited the legend, the system did not issue a failure notification. Instead, it displayed the status as In Progress.

Following Du Yu’s instructions, Dong Qianqiu began scanning the screen for the correct time coordinates to arrange his second descent.

“Du Yu, are you sure about this?” Dong Qianqiu asked. “As long as Bai Suzhen appears on the Broken Bridge, you can descend?”

“Yes.” Lying on the transfer device, Du Yu nodded.

Sure enough, after fast-forwarding twenty years, Bai Suzhen truly did appear by the Broken Bridge in Hangzhou City. Standing beside her was a graceful and slender young woman dressed in green.

“This is the place, Sister Qianqiu. Send Gorgon and me over.”

…

After descending, Du Yu and Medusa observed Bai Suzhen and the girl in green from the shadows.

“Gorgon, are you ready?” Du Yu asked in a hushed whisper.

“I am ready… but I do not understand the point of doing this…” Medusa looked thoroughly confused. She was completely cloaked, keeping anyone from seeing her true appearance.

“There really is not much of a point. I just… want to draw a perfect conclusion to this legend.”

Gorgon gave a slight nod. Pulling an item from her spatial pouch, she stepped forward.

In the distance, Bai Suzhen and the girl in green slowly made their way onto the Broken Bridge.

“Sister, what are we doing here?” the girl in green asked.

“Xiaoqing, do you remember what I told you? About why I gave you this name?”

“I remember. You said it was to honor that older sister dressed in teal.” Xiaoqing nodded. “Does that have anything to do with the Broken Bridge?”

“She and I first met near this very bridge. In just a few short days, we became life-and-death friends.” Bai Suzhen offered a bitter smile. “Now, I do not even know where she is. I miss her deeply, so I could only come back to this Broken Bridge to take a look. Besides, this bridge… carries another memory for me, one that is incredibly hard to let go of…”

Just as Bai Suzhen was speaking, her shoulder was suddenly bumped by someone walking past.

She looked up. The person’s face was completely obscured by a heavy cloak, but those dark green eyes struck Bai Suzhen as remarkably familiar.

The cloaked figure locked eyes with Bai Suzhen for a split second, then hurried away without lingering.

Bai Suzhen stared blankly at the retreating figure, momentarily falling into a daze.

Twenty years ago, it felt as though she had seen that exact same proud and cold figure…

“Sister! I think that person dropped something!” Xiaoqing glanced down. An envelope lay quietly on the ground.

Emblazoned on the front of the envelope were a few stark words: “Xu Xian’s Confession.”

This was the written confession Xu Xian had penned for Bai Suzhen all those years ago. Although Xu Xian was already dead, this letter ultimately belonged to Bai Suzhen. Du Yu had decided that, no matter what, he needed to deliver it to her.

A light, pattering drizzle began to fall from the sky, as if even the heavens were weeping over these painful memories.

Bai Suzhen gave a faint, bitter smile. “Did you reappear on these misty, rain-soaked streets just to give me this letter?”

She bent down and slowly picked up the envelope, yet she had absolutely no desire to open it. With a slight squeeze of her hand, the letter disintegrated into powder, carried off by the falling rain and tumbling into the depths of the lake.

Let this ill-fated romance remain forever sealed beneath the waters of the West Lake.

The two women stood on the bridge amid the drizzling rain, quietly gazing into the distance.

Listening to the rhythmic splash of rain upon the lake, it felt as if the hidden sorrows clinging to their bodies were finally washing away.

Out on the water, a boatman grabbed his bamboo hat and pulled it over his head. Amidst the fine mist, he began to sing a boat song, gently rowing away.

Slowly, an oil-paper umbrella appeared from behind the two women, extending out to shield their heads.

That oil-paper umbrella acted like a gentle wall, softly isolating them from the rest of the cold world.

Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing both paused in surprise, turning around at exactly the same time.

Standing nervously behind them was a young man who looked barely twenty. He stammered,

“T-two ladies… it is currently raining… please do not catch a cold…”

Bai Suzhen stared in shock at the man’s face. He looked so much like Xu Xian, yet at the same time, he did not.

“Who… are you?” Bai Suzhen asked softly.

“Ah?!” The young man’s face instantly flushed a vibrant crimson. “I have been incredibly rude! My surname is Xu, and my given name is Xuan. Stepping forward to hold the umbrella for you was terribly presumptuous of me. I shall simply lend this umbrella to you two ladies! Men and women should not touch hands… I will take my leave now!”

Watching the man’s flustered, retreating figure, Bai Suzhen fell completely silent.

“Sister, do you know that person? That Xu Xuan?”

“I feel like I do, and yet I feel like I do not.”

Amid the continuous, gentle drizzle, Du Yu watched this entire scene unfold from afar. He turned his head toward Medusa and simply said, “Let’s go back.”