Legend Management Bureau Chapter 219

[ … words ]

After the advisor left, Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu exchanged a glance.

Neither of them expected to be entrusted with such a heavy responsibility. On their very first day, they were actually dispatched to Fuzhou Prefecture to meet with the prefectural magistrate.

“I am a little nervous, Seventh Brother,” Fan Wujiu admitted. “That lord seems to genuinely favor the two of us.”

“Indeed, but Little Du did warn us to be careful in all things.” Xie Bi’an patted Fan Wujiu’s shoulder, a joyful smile on his face. “Do you remember? Little Du said that if Lord Lang ever arranged for us to travel far, we absolutely must let him know.”

“That is right, he did say that,” Fan Wujiu agreed with a nod.

The two immediately decided to skip their meal and instead head straight to the inn to look for Du Yu.

However, to their surprise, they could not find a single trace of Du Yu even after searching the entire inn. The innkeeper told them that Du Yu had gone out earlier with his two brothers and had yet to return.

Xie Bi’an furrowed his brow. Of all times, they could not find Little Du when they needed him most.

At that exact moment, Du Yu was in the Legend Administration Bureau, urging Dong Qianqiu to quickly send a voice transmission to Xie Bi’an to warn them to tread carefully.

No matter how loudly she called out, Xie Bi’an remained entirely deaf to her warnings.

Du Yu even opened a portal directly, intending to rely on his own power to cross over. Yet, an impenetrable barrier blocked the other side of the portal, barring his entry no matter what he tried.

“This is not good, Du Yu,” Dong Qianqiu murmured, her face etched with worry. “With things like this, you cannot enter the legend anymore either. Without the help of a Voice Transmitter, you will be left in a very passive position.”

“No!” Du Yu refused firmly. “If I give up now, all our previous efforts will be in vain. Sister Qianqiu, hurry up and activate the equipment. The moment descent becomes possible, send me over immediately!”

Du Yu rushed over and lay down on the transmission apparatus, connecting all the equipment to himself to ensure he would descend the exact second the machine finished cooling down.

Taking this opportunity, Du Yu kept his eyes glued to the nearby screen. He could only pray that the legend would not enter the fog phase right now, or he truly would be helpless.

On the screen, Seventh Brother and Eighth Brother waited at the inn for a while longer. Seeing that Du Yu still had not returned, they eventually had to get up and leave so as not to delay their official duties.

Watching from afar, Du Yu could do nothing but simmer in anxious frustration.

Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu returned to the county office and paid their respects to Lord Lang. Lord Lang had already prepared a letter, handing it over to the pair the moment he saw them.

According to him, this letter was of paramount importance and absolutely had to be delivered directly into the hands of the prefectural magistrate. He then issued them matching sabers and offered them a farewell toast.

The two accepted the sabers but hesitated to drink the farewell wine. After all, they had yet to accomplish a single task for Lord Lang, yet he had treated them with such profound grace. It left them feeling rather ashamed.

Lord Lang insisted repeatedly, claiming it was a tradition for Ming Dynasty soldiers embarking on a long journey, and that they must drink this bowl of farewell wine before they could safely set off.

Du Yu thought to himself that this was disastrous. ‘If there isn’t something wrong with that wine, I’ll be damned. It seems Eighth Brother absolutely did not die from an accident, but from a calculated, cold-blooded murder.’

Unable to decline any further, Xie and Fan could only down the large bowls of farewell wine right in front of Lord Lang. Afterward, they packed their bags and departed the county office.

Knowing that Fan Wujiu was always bold yet meticulous, Xie Bi’an entrusted him with the safekeeping of the letter.

As the two stepped onto the streets, the thunder in the sky grew more intense. Even though it was only early afternoon, the sky was as dark as dusk, with massive, pitch-black clouds rolling heavily overhead.

Flashes of lightning constantly threatened to burst from amidst the dark clouds, as if the heavens themselves were seething with a hidden fury over what was to come.

The two men completely ignored the ominous phenomena in the sky, which left Du Yu utterly bewildered.

“Strange…” Du Yu muttered. “According to the legend’s records, wasn’t Seventh Brother supposed to go back and get an umbrella?”

But upon second thought, Du Yu realized that the act of “fetching an umbrella” was indeed quite illogical.

The two of them had grown up as beggars on the streets. They had likely been drenched by the rain more times than they could count.

Not only did they completely lack the concept of “using an umbrella,” but they also did not even own one. So how could Xie Bi’an possibly go back to get one?

In less than two hours, the pair had left Pu County.

By this time, a light drizzle had begun to fall from the sky, quickly dampening their clothes.

To prevent the letter in his chest pocket from getting soaked, Fan Wujiu tightly wrapped it with his own sash before stuffing it securely back into his shirt.

Arriving by a river outside the city, they were met with pleasant scenery. Not only was there a babbling river, but there was also a field of golden rice paddies nearby. Rushing to escape the rain, the farmers had abandoned their tools right in the middle of the fields.

A wooden bridge stood quietly over the small river.

The two were just about to cross the bridge when someone suddenly called out to stop them.

They turned around to see a bailiff.

“Are they finally making their move?” Du Yu stared fixedly at the screen.

“You two young heroes, please hold on!” the bailiff called out, panting heavily. “I finally caught up with you…”

“Is something the matter, fellow colleague?”

“It is nothing major. It is just that Lord Lang noticed a heavy downpour is imminent. He was worried, firstly, that you two young heroes might catch a chill, and secondly, that the letter for the magistrate might be ruined. Therefore, he specially sent me to notify you to go back and fetch an ‘umbrella’.”

“Go back and fetch an umbrella…?” Xie Bi’an could not help but frown. “You mean the ‘umbrella’ that people hold over their heads when it rains?”

“Yes, exactly…”

Xie Bi’an eyed the bailiff suspiciously and asked, “Colleague, since you came all the way out of the city to find us, why didn’t you just bring the umbrella with you?”

“Ah, you two do not know the whole story,” the bailiff replied with a bitter smile. “The county magistrate arrived in such a hurry that there were actually no umbrellas in the county office. So, he dispatched me to inform you while simultaneously sending someone else to buy one. By the time I delivered this message to you, they will have already purchased an umbrella back at the office.”

“I see…” Xie Bi’an nodded. “In that case, the two of us will make a trip back.”

“That will not be necessary!” The bailiff waved his hand dismissively, addressing Xie Bi’an. “Does a trivial matter like fetching an umbrella really require both of you to make the trip? Seventh Lord, you just need to come with me. Eighth Lord can wait right here.”

Xie Bi’an had always possessed sharp intuition, and he felt an indescribable eeriness about this whole situation.

After all, they would reach the next town in no time. If they truly needed to buy an umbrella, wouldn’t it be far more convenient to just buy one there? Why insist on making him go all the way back?

Eighth Brother Fan Wujiu smiled faintly and offered, “Seventh Brother, you go ahead. Lord Lang has shown us such profound care; we must not disobey his wishes.”

Du Yu shook his head vehemently upon hearing this. ‘Oh, Eighth Brother, Eighth Brother, you’re the Underworld’s God of Slaughter!’

‘In my memories, you’ve always been a cautious, ruthless man of few words. Why were you so naive back then?’

Hearing Fan Wujiu say this, Xie Bi’an had no choice but to nod. Still feeling a bit uneasy, he turned back and instructed Fan Wujiu, “Old Eighth, I feel like something is fishy about this. You wait right here and absolutely do not leave. Do you understand?”

“Alright, I understand!” Fan Wujiu nodded earnestly, then sought shelter from the rain under a large tree.

Du Yu kept asking Dong Qianqiu when he would be able to descend. According to her, it would still take nearly an hour.

“However… Du Yu, what exactly are you planning to do once you descend?” Dong Qianqiu asked.

“I…!” Du Yu was about to reply when he froze.

That was right. What exactly was he going to do? Was he going to save the Black and White Guards of Impermanence?

Didn’t the legend specifically record that they were supposed to die here?

“I don’t know either… but I have a terribly ominous feeling,” Du Yu admitted. “If I don’t descend and intervene, this legend will definitely hurtle towards a disastrous ending.”

The rain poured heavier and heavier. Fan Wujiu’s hair was already completely soaked, clinging flat against his face.

His body was naturally weak to begin with, and now that he had caught a chill, he coughed incessantly.

Suddenly, a large horde of bailiffs armed with blades burst out of the surroundings, completely encircling Fan Wujiu.

Fan Wujiu paused in surprise. Recognizing these men as the trusted aides Lord Lang had brought from the capital, he broke into a smile. “Why have you lords come as well? Does Lord Lang have another message for us?”

“Fan Wujiu, today is the day you die!” the bailiffs snarled viciously.

“The day I die…?” Fan Wujiu’s expression turned frigid. “Have you betrayed Lord Lang? Do you not know that he has entrusted us with a heavy responsibility? And yet you dare try to assassinate me here?”

“You are far too naive!” The bailiffs advanced on him step by step.

Fan Wujiu felt somewhat conflicted. He owed a debt of gratitude to Lord Lang. Should he really kill these men?

Du Yu was about to die from anxiety watching this. How could Fan Wujiu merely be considered “naive”?

He was practically a fool! Could he really not see through such an obvious plot?

Initially, Du Yu had thought that Fan Wujiu was only merciful to the common folk, but now it seemed he treated absolutely everyone the same way.

“I advise you to drop this wishful thinking. With just the few of you, it is impossible to defeat me,” Fan Wujiu warned. “Give up now, and I will pretend none of this ever happened. I absolutely will not breathe a word to Lord Lang.”

Instead of replying, the group of bailiffs charged straight at him.

Fan Wujiu frowned, swiftly kicking away the man in front of him, but immediately erupted into another violent fit of coughing.

“Strange, hasn’t the drug taken effect yet?” the bailiffs muttered, staring at Fan Wujiu in confusion.

Fan Wujiu declared coldly, “Since you stubbornly refuse to see reason, do not blame me for showing no mercy.”

He was just about to draw his saber when his legs suddenly gave out, nearly causing him to collapse.

“Huh?”

He felt that something was horribly wrong with his body; he was even weaker than usual.

“He’s about to fall! Get him!”

The bailiffs swarmed forward. Forcing himself to stay conscious, Fan Wujiu steadied his footing and unsheathed the saber at his waist.

One of the bailiffs swung his blade in a vicious downward chop at Fan Wujiu. When Fan Wujiu moved to block it, his own saber cleanly snapped in two.

The bailiff’s blade carved directly into his shoulder, sending a spray of blood mixing into the pouring rain.

Fan Wujiu frowned in deep bewilderment. Why did the sabers gifted to them by Lord Lang shatter so easily?

The bailiff who landed the strike immediately sensed something was wrong. This man’s bones seemed exceptionally dense; his attack had only sliced through flesh and failed to inflict a critical wound.

“Don’t just stand there, help me!” the bailiff roared.

The rest of the men lunged forward with their weapons raised. Gritting his teeth, Fan Wujiu kicked away the bailiff in front of him before throwing both fists toward the charging mob. Tragically, for whatever reason, his body had become extraordinarily feeble. His flurry of attacks inflicted almost no damage on the bailiffs.

He gasped heavily for air, the rainwater streaming endlessly down his face.