Legend Management Bureau Chapter 217

[ … words ]

The surrounding commoners turned their heads, looking in the direction of Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu.

Lord Lang followed the villagers’ gazes and, sure enough, immediately spotted the two extraordinary young men standing in the crowd.

Dressed in contrasting black and white, they exuded a commanding presence. Each wore a tall hat—one bearing the words “Fortune Upon Sight” and the other “Peace Under Heaven.” They looked incredibly majestic.

Lord Lang walked over with a broad smile plastered across his face. “Could the ‘Anti-Ming Heroes’ be the two young warriors standing before me?”

Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu stared expressionlessly at the middle-aged man, offering no response.

“I wonder if you two young heroes would be interested in joining me at the county magistrate’s office for a chat?”

Xie Bian furrowed his brow slightly and spoke in a frosty tone, “My Lord, are you trying to arrest us?”

“Arrest you? Why would this official want to arrest you?”

Xie Bian retorted in annoyance, “Isn’t it obvious? We are the ‘Anti-Ming Heroes,’ and you are an official of the Ming Dynasty. No matter how you look at it, we don’t exactly walk the same path, do we?”

“Official posts?!”

Du Yu, Xie Bian, and Fan Wujiu all felt a wave of uncertainty.

“Are you saying you want the two of us to become ‘officers of the law’?” Xie Bian asked.

“Exactly. That is precisely my intention.”

Du Yu narrowed his eyes as he pondered the situation. Logically speaking, Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu really should accept the offer. It was the best possible way out for them.

But was it right?

They had killed numerous Red Turban rebels of the Ming Cult, yet now they were going to become officials of the Ming Dynasty. Was this right?

This Lord Lang had come to take up his post on the orders of Zhu Yuanzhang. The fact that he voiced his intentions so publicly the moment he arrived proved that he had planned this all along.

But Zhu Yuanzhang was a man who would eventually execute his own founding generals one by one. Would he really allow two “Anti-Ming Heroes” to serve as his officials?

Furthermore, this was a matter that could easily have been discussed privately with Xie and Fan. Yet, Lord Lang chose to announce it in front of all the local elders and villagers. The reality of the situation was definitely not that simple.

“My Lord, could you give us a day to think about it?” Xie Bian finally spoke up.

Fan Wujiu cast a suspicious glance at Xie Bian. He had expected Xie Bian to reject the offer outright, but that clearly wasn’t the case.

“Of course. Becoming an official is no small matter. It is only natural that you two should consider it carefully.”

Lord Lang gave them a slight nod and prepared to turn and leave.

“My Lord, this lowly one has a request,” Xie Bian added.

“Oh?” Lord Lang turned back, a beaming smile on his face as he looked at Xie Bian. “What else is on your mind, young hero?”

Xie Bian pointed back at Du Yu, Ah Can, and Ah Kui. “These three brothers of mine are just like us—highly skilled in martial arts and fiercely loyal. I wonder if My Lord might consider making them officials as well?”

Hearing this, a trace of difficulty flashed across Lord Lang’s face. He then turned his head to glance at the advisor standing in the distance.

Understanding the lord’s unspoken question, the advisor spoke up, “I feel this would be inappropriate. After all, the ‘Anti-Ming Heroes’ the commoners speak of have always been these two young heroes. It is these two whom the people adore. If exceptional martial arts alone were enough to secure an official position, it would make things very difficult for Lord Lang to manage the county in the future.”

“This…” Xie Bian looked back at Du Yu’s trio with a troubled expression.

Du Yu hadn’t expected Xie Bian’s first thought in such a situation to be about them. Feeling somewhat touched, he said, “Seventh Master, it’s fine. You don’t need to worry about the three of us. Settle yourselves first.”

After saying this, Du Yu discreetly glanced at the advisor, only to be surprised when the advisor actually winked at him.

“I see,” Du Yu nodded. “So you’re the advisor this time? No wonder you’re afraid of me entering the magistrate’s office…”

Xie Bian nodded and turned back to Lord Lang. “Since that’s the case, I won’t trouble My Lord with my three brothers.”

Lord Lang nodded and said, “You two must give me an answer as soon as possible. I cherish true talent.”

After bidding farewell to the new official, the commoners on the street gradually dispersed. The group also returned to the inn, their expressions complex.

“Seventh Brother.”

Inside the inn, Fan Wujiu called out in a cold tone.

“What’s wrong?”

“Could you tell me what you were thinking?” Fan Wujiu asked.

“What do you mean, what was I thinking?” Xie Bian frowned at Fan Wujiu. “What are you trying to say?”

“How many times have the Ming rebels burned, killed, and pillaged right under our noses? And now we’re supposed to become officials of the Ming Dynasty?” Fan Wujiu demanded. “What did you mean by needing a day to think about it? Shouldn’t you have rejected this immediately?”

Du Yu sensed the atmosphere taking a turn for the worse. “Eighth Master, calm down. Seventh Master must have his own reasons.”

Xie Bian let out a helpless sigh and said, “Eighth Brother, of course I know what the Ming Cult has done in our county. But they’ve already seized control of the world. What can the two of us possibly do to fight back? Are we going to keep killing Ming personnel? Are we going to keep playing the role of these ridiculous ‘Anti-Ming Heroes’?”

“You think it’s ridiculous?” Fan Wujiu stood up in agitation. “You think saving and protecting the common people is ridiculous?”

Fan Wujiu tore off his tall hat and slammed it fiercely onto the table. He pointed at the four characters “Peace Under Heaven” written on it and demanded, “You think the eight characters on our heads are ridiculous?!”

Xie Bian also slowly took off his hat and held it before his eyes. “Eighth Brother, my hat says ‘Fortune Upon Sight.’ We’ve certainly looked very imposing acting as ‘city guards’ these past few days. But have you ever stopped to consider that the ones finding fortune are the commoners, not us? If this continues, what are we going to eat? How long can the few copper coins we earn from our street stall pay for this inn? Don’t you ever think about our future?”

“Right, right!” Fan Wujiu shouted furiously. “I’m not as good as you! I don’t think nearly as thoroughly as you do! But all I know is that we absolutely cannot help evil men! Even if we spend all our money and I have to pick up a begging bowl again, I will never help the Ming rebels!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!” Xie Bian was equally furious. “As a man, how can you have so little ambition? You’ve already reached this height, yet you’re willing to go back to being a beggar? Shouldn’t we be striving to reach higher and further?”

“Rebels are rebels!” Fan Wujiu declared. “If you want to become one, I absolutely won’t stop you! But I am going to continue protecting the people. Let’s see who manages to go further.”

“Why are you so stubborn?” Xie Bian also shot to his feet, enraged. “The commoners, the commoners—those people you care so much about are already subjects of the Ming Dynasty! And what are you? You’re an ‘Anti-Ming Hero’! How long do you expect them to keep adoring you?! Ten years?! Twenty years?!”

Hearing Xie Bian’s words, Fan Wujiu was momentarily stumped, completely choked of a response.

“Eighth Brother, I know you have always been benevolent and righteous. Even when running our stall, you couldn’t bear to deceive the commoners. But you have to understand that this merciful heart of yours will end up destroying you.”

Fan Wujiu silently lowered his head, at a loss for words.

“My name is Bi’an,” Xie Bian continued. “Since I was a child, I’ve just wanted a place to settle down and find peace. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity? The two of us can finally live a normal life.”

Seeing that Fan Wujiu was already wavering, Xie Bian added, “With the status of officials, it will also be much easier for us to search for Xiaonian in the future, won’t it?”

“This…”

Du Yu let out a faint sigh, unsure if he should speak up.

He knew that Xiaonian had now become the advisor.

What could an advisor do?

Naturally, they could come up with more than enough underhanded schemes for the magistrate to use against Seventh Master and Eighth Master.

But to put it bluntly, Xiaonian’s target wasn’t the two of them; it was him.

Therefore, the ultimate goal behind everything she did was likely to torture Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu until Du Yu couldn’t bear it anymore. Once he revealed a flaw, she would seize the opportunity to strike.

She might even sow discord between them and find a way to eliminate him using the hands of Seventh and Eighth Master.

“Little Du, what are you thinking about?” Xie Bian asked.

“I…”

Du Yu knew in his heart that the moment Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu agreed to become officials, they were as good as dead. According to the legends, the accident caused by that massive rainstorm would instantly claim Fan Wujiu’s life, and Xie Bian would commit suicide right on the spot.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything,” Du Yu replied, shaking his head.

Fan Wujiu also looked at Du Yu’s expression and asked, “Ninth Brother, you’re full of ideas. What’s your take on this matter?”

“I… I just hope you two will think about this more carefully. Will that Lord Lang really keep the two of you by his side?”

“What do you mean?” Xie Bian asked in confusion.

“I feel like his public recruitment of you today was just a show for the commoners, done to make them think he’s a good official. But the actual situation is probably far more dangerous than that.”

“Dangerous?” Xie Bian thought for a moment before turning to Du Yu. “Little Du, I’ve noticed something over this past period of time.”

“Noticed what?”

“It’s exactly as you said—our martial arts are not weak. Ordinary people are barely a match for us. If that lord brought a few dozen personal guards over thinking it would be enough to threaten me and Eighth Brother, he’s dead wrong. If he dares to make a move against us, I’ll immediately show him what we’re truly capable of.”

“Good!” Du Yu nodded. “Seventh Master, knowing you have this level of vigilance puts my mind at ease. However, you have to promise me one thing: if that Lord Lang arranges for you to go on a long journey, you must come and tell me.”

“Not a problem. But speaking of which, you don’t need to worry about me.” Xie Bian turned his head to look at Fan Wujiu again. “Instead, you should worry about this blockhead. Not only is he soft-hearted, but he also can’t read the situation. If I hadn’t spelled it out for him just now, he never would have thought of it, right?”

“I…”

Fan Wujiu wanted to argue back, but upon closer reflection, he realized it was true. He had only ever thought of them as Ming rebels, completely failing to consider that those same rebels also viewed him as an enemy.

“Seventh Brother, I’ve thought it over carefully. Since we are already sworn brothers who share both joys and sorrows, let’s take up these posts together.”