Legend Management Bureau Chapter 2

[ … words ]

Xie Jin, Fan Xiaoguo.

‘So the legends really are true?’

Du Yu recalled reading that the White Impermanence was named Xie Bi’an, and the Black Impermanence was named Fan Wujiu.

Following Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo, the three of them moved forward with the crowd.

The procession of over ten thousand people moved much faster than Du Yu had imagined. They maintained a brisk jog for almost the entire way.

Soon, the three of them reached the front of the line.

Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo did not lead Du Yu directly through the Gate of Ghosts. Instead, Xie Jin stepped forward and addressed a dark-faced Underworld Messenger. “Hello, Leader. We have a suspected case of wrongful death here. He won’t be crossing the River of Forgetfulness just yet. Could you fetch a Judge to guide him?”

The dark-faced Underworld Messenger nodded and turned to enter the Gate of Ghosts. A short while later, a middle-aged burly man wearing a burgundy official’s robe strode out. He stood over two meters tall, sporting a full beard, and held a pure black ruyi scepter in his hand.

“Who needs a judgment? Hurry up.” The burly man’s rough voice rumbled like a low-revving engine.

“Wrongful death?” The burly man did not even bat an eyelid. He pulled a ledger from his robe and quickly flipped through it. “No can do. The quota for wrongful deaths has been full for the past few years. Just list him as an ‘accidental death’ and add five years to his lifespan in his next life. Otherwise, the workload is just too heavy.”

After saying this, the burly man snapped the ledger shut and turned to leave, leaving Du Yu and the two girls standing there stunned.

“Leader!” Fan Xiaoguo snapped back to reality and called out. “This deceased was likely killed under the influence of a Great Pivot. It’s impossible not to count this as a wrongful death!”

“So what if it’s a Great Pivot?!” The burly man whirled around. “The Legend Management Bureau has been abandoned for nearly a thousand years. Have you seen a shortage of Great Pivots? If every single person who died because of a Great Pivot was counted as a wrongful death, how could we even oversee the mortal realm? How could the Underworld ever be governed?”

As the burly man spoke, he stepped forward, radiating a faint aura of fury that forced the two girls to retreat step by step.

Just as the three of them were thrown into a panic, a powerful gust of wind swept in from behind them. The howling wind brushed past their ears and rushed straight toward the burly man. In a flash of lightning, a figure in a white robe appeared before them. Standing with his back to the trio, he faced the burly man, wielding a massive writing brush plastered with talismans.

The white-robed man’s stature was nowhere near as imposing as the burly man’s. Yet, the moment the burly man laid eyes on him, his eyes bulged with absolute terror. Before he could utter a single syllable, the white-robed man raised a hand and delivered a vicious slap across his bearded face.

The slap struck with such incredible force that the burly man literally spun a full circle where he stood.

“Three things,” the white-robed man declared in an even tone. “First, from today onward, you are never to speak to other Underworld Messengers in that manner. Second, a wrongful death is a wrongful death. No matter how many people die, it remains a wrongful death. That is the duty of a Judge. Third, the Legend Management Bureau has never been abandoned.”

This scene terrified Du Yu. The red-robed burly man had a terrifying enough appearance on his own, yet this sudden white-robed arrival had just slapped him across the face without hesitation. Just who was this person?

Before Du Yu could process the situation, the red-robed burly man dropped to his knees with a heavy thud and cried out in a voice bordering on a whimper:

“As you command, Great Judge!”

At the words “Great Judge,” it was not just the red-robed burly man who reacted. The Black and White Impermanence beside Du Yu immediately dropped to their knees. In a matter of seconds, all the Black and White Impermanence, Underworld Messengers, and guards standing nearby fell to their knees as well. Looking around, only the mass of wandering souls remained standing.

Soon after, the souls mimicked the Underworld Messengers and slowly sank to their knees. Du Yu was no exception.

Across a plaza filled with tens of thousands of people, only the white-robed man remained standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Judges are ranked by status? Who is this?” Du Yu whispered to Xie Jin from his kneeling position.

“Of course they are!” Xie Jin whispered back. “The Underworld has Four Great Judges. They are Lord Wei Zheng of the Reward Good Division, Lord Zhong Kui of the Punish Evil Division, and Lord Lu Zhidao of the Investigation Division. The one before us is the leader of the Four Great Judges, Lord Cui Jue, who oversees the Underworld Law Division! He is also the chief of the Eight Great Underworld Messengers, known as the Civil Judge.”

The white-robed man slowly turned around. He possessed the appearance of a scholar, yet carried an undeniably oppressive aura.

“Rise, all of you. I was merely passing through. There is no need to make a fuss over this; it would be troublesome if those Kings of Hell found out.”

With that, the Underworld Messengers stood up one by one, bowed respectfully to Cui Jue, and returned to their duties.

Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo also rose to their feet. It was their first time seeing the Great Judge, and they could not help but feel a surge of excitement.

“You may rise as well,” Cui Jue said, looking at Du Yu, who was still kneeling. “I will personally judge your case this time.”

Du Yu felt a bit flattered. “Oh, oh, thank you!”

Cui Jue waved his right hand, and the Soul Capturing Brush in his grasp glowed with a cyan light. The talismans attached to it peeled off and drifted away. With a flip of his left hand, an object resembling a ledger appeared out of thin air, bearing the words: Book of Life and Death.

As the Book of Life and Death flipped open naturally, the cyan light of the Soul Capturing Brush intensified. Du Yu slowly got to his feet and said, “Leader, do you need my name? I am Du Yu…”

Cui Jue smiled without saying a word. Just as he was about to write Du Yu’s name, his gaze locked onto Du Yu’s face.

“You…” Cui Jue wanted to say something, but the words seemed to escape him as soon as they reached his lips. He hesitated for a long while before asking, “What did you just call me?”

“Leader. Why?” Du Yu looked at Cui Jue in confusion.

Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo did not dare speak. They could clearly see the bewilderment plastered across the Great Judge’s face. As a Great Judge who understood yin and yang and the past and present, what could possibly confound him?

After a long pause, Cui Jue finally asked, “Did we meet in the 19th Year of Zhenguan?”

“The 19th Year of Zhenguan?” Du Yu was startled at first, then chuckled. “Never mind the 19th Year of Zhenguan, I couldn’t possibly have existed even in the 19th Year of the Republic of China.”

Xie Jin also felt something was off and said to Cui Jue, “Great Judge, have you forgotten that he is a mortal? He wouldn’t remember anything from the 19th Year of Zhenguan.”

“It is very strange,” Cui Jue mused. “Before I saw this young man, I had no recollection of such a memory. But the moment I laid eyes on him, those memories came bursting forth like a fountain.”

But why was this? Cui Jue had seen countless souls over the past millennia. Why was Du Yu the only one who appeared in his memories?

After a moment of thought, a bold hypothesis formed in Cui Jue’s mind, and he could not help but feel a surge of excitement.

“Young man, let me ask you: did you choose to reincarnate or serve as an official?”

“Reincarnate. Second-generation rich.”

Seeing Du Yu answer without a second thought, Cui Jue shook his head.

“Young man, although I can rule your case as a wrongful death, you must understand that the number of wrongful deaths has been massive in recent years. You will have to queue up for reincarnation.”

Du Yu nodded. “I know. The two Underworld Messenger sisters just told me.”

“You only know that you must queue, but do you know how long it will take?”

“That, I don’t know.”

“Seven hundred and twenty-six years.” Cui Jue smiled faintly. “Until then, you will be nothing more than a wandering soul in the Underworld.”

“Over seven hundred years??” Du Yu was truly flabbergasted. In over seven hundred years, would that world still be the one he held in his mind? Would it still be the world he wanted to return to?

Noticing Cui Jue’s meaningful expression, Du Yu suddenly realized things were not that simple.

“Leader, do you have something else to say?”

Cui Jue smiled and nodded. “Indeed. I need you to do something for me. If you do it well, I will use all my connections to drastically cut down your wait time for reincarnation. Do we have a deal?”

Do something?

It was not just Du Yu; Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo were equally perplexed. Cui Jue was, after all, an Underworld Immortal. Even if his magic did not reach the heavens, he still possessed immense supernatural power. With such cultivation, what could he possibly need a wandering soul’s help for?

“Then I need to ask you straight, Leader,” Du Yu said. “Is this dangerous?”

“Extremely dangerous. If mishandled, the living will die, and the dead will scatter.”

“This…”

Du Yu had only asked as a formality. He had not expected Cui Jue to admit it so bluntly.

“…Leader, are you being serious? You’re making it really hard for me to say yes.”

“I have no desire to deceive you. This matter I need your help with is truly perilous, but it is all based on my speculations and hypotheses. It’s possible I won’t need you at all. So I want you to think it through carefully. A seven-hundred-year wait, or a chance to take a gamble?”

“I…”

Du Yu was clearly hesitating.

When he was alive, there had clearly been many such opportunities, but Du Yu had abandoned every single one without exception. From birth, he was never the type to fight for things. Even during his days in the orphanage, he had never actively competed for anything, which was likely why he was never adopted.

“I accept.”

Du Yu answered very carefully.

“I will help you handle this extremely dangerous matter, and you will let me return to the mortal realm.”

Cui Jue nodded, turning to Xie Jin. “Twenty kilometers west of the Gate of Ghosts is a gloomy mountain wreathed in nether energy. Half of the mountain is green, the other half black. The world calls it Bugui Peak. There is a house at the foot of the mountain; the two of you shall escort Du Yu there.”

Not daring to delay, Xie Jin hurriedly pulled Du Yu and Fan Xiaoguo along to set off.

After bidding farewell to Cui Jue, the three returned to the minivan.

“Sister Bai, what was that all about?” Fan Xiaoguo muttered as she started the vehicle. “The Great Judge felt so weird.”

“How could we possibly understand the thoughts of those big shots? Just follow orders.”

Du Yu looked out the window, his mind swirling with complicated thoughts.

“Du Yu, did you ever meet Lord Cui Jue in the mortal realm?” Xie Jin asked.

“No, this is my first time seeing him.”

“That really is strange.”

Just as she spoke, Xie Jin’s mobile phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Xie Jin quickly straightened her posture.

“Hello? Greetings, Ancestor,” Xie Jin answered the phone respectfully.

“Oyo, Good Granddaughter Jin, who are you with?”

“To answer Ancestor, I am with Xiaoguo from the Fan family. We are currently escorting a victim of wrongful death.”

Hearing Xie Jin mention her, Fan Xiaoguo also called out toward the phone, “Hello, Seventh Ancestor.”

“Ah, Xiaoguo? Hello, send my regards to the Eighth Lord.”

“Thanks to your blessing, Eighth Ancestor mentions you every day at home.”

“Mentions me? That old ghost still owes me a meal. I say, Good Granddaughter Jin, we agreed you would teach me how to use photo-editing software today. It’s been half the day already; are you still not finished over there?”

“Ah, Ancestor, I am so sorry.” Xie Jin apologized profusely, then recounted the entire sequence of events to the person on the other end of the line.

Du Yu thought to himself, ‘To be addressed as Ancestor by Xie Jin, this must definitely be the White Impermanence, Xie Bi’an, known to the world as the Seventh Lord.’

After listening to Xie Jin’s explanation, Xie Bi’an paused for a moment. “Good Granddaughter Jin, what did you say the name of the person you’re escorting was?”

“His name is Du Yu.”

For some reason, the other end of the line fell silent.

“What’s wrong with the Seventh Ancestor?” After waiting a moment, Fan Xiaoguo whispered while driving.

“I don’t know…”

Suddenly, the minivan soaring through the air began to shake violently, and the color of the sky abruptly shifted.

“Huh?”

Seeing the constantly rocking minivan, Xie Jin panicked at first, but quickly regained her composure. She hurriedly turned to Du Yu and said:

“Hello, passenger. Our vehicle is experiencing some turbulence due to air currents. Please remain seated, fasten your seatbelt, fold up your tray table, and note that the restroom is temporarily out of service…”

“What the hell? What tray table and restroom? Where did you guys even learn this stuff?” Du Yu complained, reaching down to grope his seat, only to find there wasn’t even a seatbelt.

After a few seconds of violent shaking, the space in front of the minivan abruptly twisted. Fan Xiaoguo slammed on the brakes, halting them in mid-air. A figure flashed out of the distorted space, standing with both feet treading empty air, suspended in the void.

The figure was dressed entirely in white, wearing a tall hat that bore four large characters: “Fortune Upon Sight.” A cascade of silvery-white hair flowed down like a waterfall. The most astonishing aspect was the person’s breathtaking beauty. He was clearly a man, yet possessed a soul-stirringly gorgeous appearance.

What was somewhat baffling was that he also had a few slices of cucumber stuck to his face.

“Seventh Ancestor?!” Fan Xiaoguo shouted.

“Ancestor?!” Xie Jin gasped in shock. She hastily opened the passenger door and stepped out, forgetting that her cultivation was still shallow and she had yet to master the arts of flight. Her body tilted, and she nearly plummeted. With a gentle wave of Xie Bi’an’s hand, Xie Jin stabilized in the air.

“Good Granddaughter Jin, skip the formalities. I’m just taking a look and leaving.”

It was Du Yu’s first time seeing the legendary White Impermanence, Xie Bi’an, and he was so nervous he could barely speak. Compared to the black and white work uniforms worn by Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo, Xie Bi’an’s official hat and long robes were much more intimidating.

Xie Bi’an stared fixedly at Du Yu inside the car for a long time, making Du Yu’s hair stand on end. Finally, he spoke slowly:

“Du Yu…”

Xie Bi’an’s expression gradually contorted into something bordering on madness before he threw his head back and laughed at the sky.

“Brilliant, Cui Jue! Brilliant! Hahahaha!”

Staring at Xie Bi’an’s heaven-shaking aura, the three of them stood frozen in place.

“What is going on? This is my first time seeing the Ancestor act like this,” Xie Jin said.

“Good Granddaughter Jin, I won’t be learning how to use the photo-editing software today. I’m going back to do a face mask. Make sure you safely escort Du Yu to Bugui Peak.”

Having said that, Xie Bi’an waved his sleeves and vanished into thin air.

“Sister Bai, what is going on today? Why are the Great Judge and the Seventh Ancestor both acting so strangely?”

Xie Jin pondered for a moment before turning back to look at Du Yu.

“I don’t know. I only know that it all seems to be connected to this Du Yu.”

…

Ten minutes later, the three of them indeed found Bugui Peak, entirely wreathed in nether energy.

At the foot of Bugui Peak stood an almost completely dilapidated concrete house.

“Could this really be the place?”

The three of them parked the car and slowly walked toward the house. Next to the door, they spotted a sign completely overgrown with vines. It read:

Legend Management Bureau Underworld Office.