Legend Management Bureau Chapter 251

[ … words ]

The once relatively clean courtyard was now piled high with fallen leaves, and most of the wine jars sitting in the center lay shattered.

A foreboding feeling instantly washed over Du Yu. He hurried into the house to take a look.

A thick layer of dust coated the furniture inside; it looked as though the place had been abandoned for a long time.

“Eh?!”

This sudden turn of events caused Du Yu to turn pale with fright. It seemed he had miscalculated!

“Sister Qianqiu! Where did they go?!” Du Yu demanded.

But Dong Qianqiu couldn’t answer this question either. Neither Liu Ling’s wife nor that young servant were figures of legend, so the Legend Management Bureau simply couldn’t receive any visuals of them.

“I… I don’t know…” Dong Qianqiu replied, looking completely troubled.

“This is bad!”

As it turned out, the two of them had suddenly swaggered through the streets together a few months ago, telling anyone who would listen about their illicit affair. In no time at all, the scandal had become public knowledge. No one had the faintest idea what they were thinking.

Initially, the public held some sympathy for Liu Ling’s wife, but that quickly soured into disgust. After all, Liu Ling’s corpse wasn’t even cold yet, and his widow had already shacked up with a servant. The couple instantly became the city’s most despised pariahs, like rats scurrying across the street. Unable to endure the hostility, they had no choice but to pack up and leave shortly after.

Du Yu stared blankly at the situation, entirely at a loss for what to do. He could only ask Xiao Nian and Xie Yujiao to split up and find out where the couple had relocated, while he began gathering information around the streets himself.

This time, Du Yu’s cleverness had truly backfired.

Dong Qianqiu watched the screens anxiously, constantly switching the feeds. She sensed the gravity of the situation. If Liu Ling’s wife wasn’t even there, the premise of the legend couldn’t be fulfilled, which meant Du Kang wouldn’t be able to take her to dig up the grave.

Before Dong Qianqiu could think of a solution, a sudden commotion broke out at the entrance of the Legend Management Bureau.

Numerous employees peered outside, only to see a pegasus slowly descending from the sky.

Astride the horse sat a young man with a cold, stern expression. As soon as the pegasus touched down, he vaulted off its back.

Dong Qianqiu immediately stepped out to greet him. The man stood over six feet tall, sporting a tall hat and waist-length hair. He wore traditional Onmyoji robes with flowing bat-wing sleeves—an outfit practically identical to A’xiang’s.

Taking a closer look, Dong Qianqiu noticed he was carrying a massive pair of scissors on his back, almost as tall as he was. It was a deeply bizarre sight.

“Ah! Brother Jinjianglang!” Shiranui Asuka skipped out of the building and threw her arms around the man.

By this time, Zhi Nv, Zhan Qisheng, Qu Xi, and the others had also emerged. Catching sight of the stoic man, everything suddenly clicked into place.

Zhan Qisheng pondered for a moment before speaking up, “Miss Shiranui, no wonder you said we’d be in for a shock when we saw him…”

Zhi Nv also finally understood why A’xiang had been keeping them in suspense.

As it turned out, this man from Fusang named “Jinjianglang” was none other than the final member of the Seven Holy Heroes.

Seeing a large crowd rushing out to welcome him, Shiranui Jinjiro felt a bit perplexed. He gently patted A’xiang’s head before giving the group a polite nod of greeting.

“I am of the Shiranui family, my name is Jin Jianglang. It is an honor to meet you all. My younger sister has likely caused you quite a bit of trouble, please excuse her poor manners…”

The group hadn’t expected this fierce-looking man to be so remarkably polite.

“Everyone, everyone!” Shiranui Asuka waved her hands, seemingly oblivious to her brother’s subtle jab. She gleefully announced to the crowd, “Don’t be fooled by Brother Jinjianglang’s sluggish demeanor. He’s a Time Master, just like me! Furthermore, he’s the most powerful Time Master in all of Fusang! And the future Eighth Generation leader of the Shiranui family!”

Hearing Asuka’s extravagant introduction, Shiranui Jinjiro couldn’t help but frown. He dragged her over to his side and muttered, “Little Xiang, did I hear that right…? Since when did you become a Time Master?”

That single question left everyone at the Legend Management Bureau stunned.

A’xiang wasn’t a Time Master?

“Ah… I… well…” A’xiang offered a sheepish smile before turning to Jin Jianglang. “Brother! Our Shiranui family is famous for its Time Masters. Since I’m a Shiranui, of course I’m a Time Master!”

Shiranui Asuka kept winking furiously at Jin Jianglang, desperately trying to get him to play along, but he completely ignored her silent pleas.

“Little Xiang, during your time here in China, you haven’t been passing yourself off as a Time Master the entire time, have you?” Jin Jianglang asked, his expression turning icy.

“Well, yeah…”

Jin Jianglang let out a long, slow sigh. He pulled Asuka closer, pressed down on her neck, and forced her to bow alongside him. “I apologize on Little Xiang’s behalf. She hasn’t passed the Time Master examination yet and is, at best, an apprentice Onmyoji. I hope she hasn’t caused you all any serious problems.”

Though Jin Jianglang appeared utterly unapproachable, this earnest display undeniably won over the crowd, significantly boosting their impression of him.

Dong Qianqiu hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over. “What does it matter if she’s a Time Master or not? A’xiang is a delightful girl. Everyone from top to bottom here at the Bureau adores her. There haven’t been any ‘problems’ at all.”

Hearing Dong Qianqiu’s reassurance, Jin Jianglang’s stiff expression finally softened. “Thank you all for taking care of Little Xiang. Now then, how may I be of assistance?”

“Assistance…?”

The group blanked for a second. They had no idea what A’xiang had told Jin Jianglang to get him here. Had she really convinced him to travel all this way just to “help out”?

Shiranui Asuka grinned and linked arms with Jin Jianglang. “Oh, Brother! You just got here, can you stop being so serious? Let me show you around first!”

With that, Shiranui Asuka dragged Jin Jianglang into the building, acting like she owned the place, leaving everyone caught between laughter and tears.

Upon stepping into the grand hall of the Legend Management Bureau, Shiranui Jinjiro inhaled sharply.

He had heard rumors that China’s methods for handling legends were highly advanced, but he hadn’t expected to find an entire room plastered with Display Screens and teeming with bustling staff.

Gazing at the dazzling array of legends on display, Jin Jianglang muttered to himself, “As expected of China…”

“Hehe! Impressive, right?” Shiranui Asuka boasted as if showing off her own accomplishments, tilting her head up as she introduced the various pieces of equipment to him.

Meanwhile, Jin Jianglang behaved like an attentive elementary school student, nodding repeatedly as he humbly absorbed her explanations.

“What?!” Jin Jianglang exclaimed. “So it really is just as you said… Here in China, no matter how thorny a legend gets, you just dive directly into the timeline to participate in the plot?!”

It was unclear what exactly A’xiang had just explained to trigger such a massive shock from him.

“Exactly! Brother Jinjianglang, you never believed me when I told you back home. Once we return to Fusang, you have to make the elders in our family study their methods!”

But Jin Jianglang’s face clouded with concern. “But what if you fail? If you participate in the events of a legend and end up failing, what happens then?”

Asuka hadn’t anticipated this question and was left momentarily speechless. However, she quickly brushed it off with a smile. “That won’t happen, Brother. The Legend Management Bureau has Senior Du Yu and Senior Zhan Qisheng. They definitely won’t fail.”

Listening in on their conversation, Zhi Nv couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

A’xiang’s blind confidence was hardly reassuring, but judging from the expression on Jin Jianglang’s face, he seemed to have something more to say on the matter.

“Mr. Shiranui… Jin Jianglang,” Zhi Nv called out.

“Oh?” Jin Jianglang snapped out of his daze and turned toward Zhi Nv. Within seconds, his face flushed a brilliant shade of red. “Ah… this… miss… how may I help you?”

“Pfft.” Shiranui Asuka covered her mouth with a giggle. “Sister Zhi Nv, my brother is hopelessly awkward around girls. You’re way too pretty—exactly the type he’s most terrified of.”

Jin Jianglang shoved his hand onto Asuka’s head. “Little Xiang… zip it…”

Zhi Nv offered a polite smile. “It’s nothing serious. I just wanted to ask… if participating in the plot results in ‘failure’, do you have a way to fix it?”

“Well…” Shiranui Jinjiro hesitated, mulling it over. “It’s hard to say. I’ve only ever used my methods back in Fusang. The legends here in China are as numerous as the stars, and many of these stories operate on a staggeringly grand scale. I wouldn’t dare claim I could fix every single ‘failure’.”

Catching the subtle implication, Zhi Nv pressed further, “So what you’re saying is… you can handle ordinary ‘failures’?”

“Precisely,” Jin Jianglang nodded. “That is the fundamental duty of a Time Master.”

“Perfect! Come with me!” Zhi Nv grabbed Jin Jianglang by the sleeve and led him, along with the rest of the group, to the legendary screen Du Yu had just been operating.

The screen was currently broadcasting the legend of Liu Ling’s Drunkenness.

Only, the current visuals had absolutely nothing to do with Liu Ling. It merely showed Du Yu and his companions sprinting frantically through the streets.

“Look, Brother!” Shiranui Asuka pointed at the screen. “That man right there is Senior Du Yu.”

Jin Jianglang stared intently at the screen, confirming to himself that he had indeed never seen this man before.

“What are they doing right now?” Jin Jianglang asked. “Are they participating in the legend? Has something gone wrong with it?”

“Not exactly,” Dong Qianqiu replied with a shake of her head. She then quickly caught Shiranui Jinjiro up to speed on exactly what Du Yu’s team was currently attempting to pull off.

“What?!” Jin Jianglang’s jaw dropped in absolute shock. “You’re saying… there was absolutely nothing wrong with the timeline, yet they recklessly tried to alter the sequence of events?! And now they’ve completely lost his wife to history?!”

“Yes…” Dong Qianqiu nodded solemnly. “If you have any way to help…”

“This is utter foolishness!!” Jin Jianglang roared, his face flushed with agitation. “Bring them back immediately! Don’t let them go any further! The longer this goes on, the harder it will be to clean up!”

“Huh?” The group had no idea why Jin Jianglang was suddenly so anxious, so they decided to contact Du Yu for his input first.

Trapped within the legend, Du Yu naturally didn’t have any brilliant ideas either. Upon hearing that the reinforcement A’xiang had brought had finally arrived, he took Xiao Nian and Xie Yujiao and returned to the Legend Management Bureau for the time being.