Legend Management Bureau Chapter 253

[ … words ]

“Everyone, allow me to explain what just happened,” Shiranui Jinjiro said. “All the threads you just saw are what we call ‘Influences’.”

“Influences?”

“Yes.” Jinjiro nodded. “When a story in history changes and deviates from its predetermined path, an ‘Influence’ will seek out the protagonist of that history and attempt to ‘Connect’ with them. Once the connection is successful, a ‘Vicissitude’ occurs.”

Hearing Jinjiro’s explanation, Du Yu and Zhi Nv both seemed to suddenly realize something.

Zhi Nv was the first to ask, “And what if the ‘connection fails’?”

“If the ‘connection fails’, time will self-repair the changes in history without causing a massive Vicissitude. What I just did was cut all the ‘Influences’, preventing the past and present from connecting. Time will patch all the loopholes on its own.”

A look of sudden realization washed over Zhi Nv’s face.

That was it!

Because Saint had the help of Shiranui Jinjiro, he was able to disrupt legends without causing any impact on the present.

Cowherd, standing to the side, was completely lost. After all, this was his first time witnessing a group of Great Pivots manipulating time. He couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly is ‘time’s self-repair’?”

“The so-called ‘time’s self-repair’ is making all unreasonable things appear reasonable. Take the matter of Liu Ling’s wife, for example…”

Before Shiranui Jinjiro could finish, Cowherd interrupted, “Wait a minute, I’ve been meaning to ask this for a while now. Why do you guys keep bringing up ‘Liu Ling’s wife’? Did you arrange a wife for him?”

Everyone froze for a moment before realization dawned on them.

Time had already finished its self-repair.

Shiranui Jinjiro looked at Cowherd and asked, “Sir, you don’t possess the constitution of a Time Master, do you?”

Cowherd blanked. “A Time Master?”

“Correct, he doesn’t,” Zhi Nv confirmed.

“That’s excellent then,” Shiranui Jinjiro said with a smile. “We can use this to verify the ‘Power of Time’. Tell me, brother, does Liu Ling have a wife?”

“I don’t think so…” Cowherd slowly shook his head. “Hasn’t he always been unmarried?”

Only then did Du Yu and the others finally realize just how terrifying Shiranui Jinjiro’s abilities were. As long as he was around, it would be extremely difficult for a Great Pivot to emerge.

However, his power seemed to have its drawbacks. If dealing with the Influence of just Liu Ling required such a bitter struggle, what would happen if the legend’s protagonist was Goddess Houtu…

“Little Xiang, I’ve come as you asked, and I’ve finished helping you with what you needed. If there’s nothing else, I need to hurry back. There’s a lot of business at home that requires my attention,” Shiranui Jinjiro said to Shiranui Asuka.

“Eh?” Shiranui Asuka blinked, hurriedly arguing, “Brother Jinjianglang, this isn’t what I asked you to help with…”

“What?!” Jinjiro was also stunned. “Didn’t you ask me to come here to handle this matter?!”

“No…” Shiranui Asuka laughed, a little sheepishly. “But still, thank you for helping Senior Du Yu, Brother Jinjianglang…”

Shiranui Jinjiro frowned, unable to voice his frustration.

He had wholeheartedly believed that this ‘Liu Ling incident’ was the reason his sister had called him over, so he intervened without a second thought. Now, it seemed he had taken a loss—this man wasn’t even the target of her request.

“Then… Little Xiang, what was your real purpose in calling me here?” Shiranui Jinjiro asked hesitantly.

“I…” Shiranui Asuka found it a bit hard to speak, but she still stammered out, “I want you to stay at the Legend Management Bureau and work for Senior Du Yu…”

Shiranui Jinjiro stared at A’xiang with a dumbfounded expression.

Du Yu and the others also felt this was inappropriate. This man’s strength was incredibly formidable. Let alone having him work for Du Yu, there would be no problem if Du Yu worked for him.

“Work… work for him?” Shiranui Jinjiro felt like he had misheard. He asked Shiranui Asuka, “Little Xiang… you yourself have said that I am the future Eighth Generation of the Shiranui Family. Yet now you want me to work for Huaxia’s legend management organization…?”

Du Yu was also quite puzzled.

How did Saint manage to win over a figure like Shiranui Jinjiro?

He had an entire family to manage. Whether in terms of strength or status, he was only higher than Du Yu, never lower. Yet in the end, he willingly became one of the Seven Holy Heroes. What was the reason behind this?

Just as everyone was at a loss, Shiranui Asuka slowly walked over to Du Yu and asked:

“Senior Du Yu, do you have a cigarette?”

“A cigarette?” Du Yu blinked and shook his head. “I don’t…”

Shiranui Asuka didn’t give up. She walked over to Cowherd and asked, “Big brother, do you have a cigarette?”

“Uh… yeah…” Cowherd nodded. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Shiranui Asuka.

Shiranui Asuka placed the cigarette in her mouth and then asked, “Got a lighter?”

“Eh?” Cowherd was stunned. A’xiang looked like a girl of no more than sixteen or seventeen, yet she was asking him for both a cigarette and a lighter?

“Little Xiang! What are you doing?!” Shiranui Jinjiro cried out in alarm.

“Smoking,” Shiranui Asuka said slowly. “Since my brother doesn’t want me anymore anyway, I’m going to learn how to smoke first, then go get a tattoo. And tonight, I’m going to crash at Cowherd’s bar.”

“Ah?!” Shiranui Jinjiro’s cold, stern expression instantly shifted to sheer panic. “How can you do that?! I told you long ago to stop hanging out with Shuten Doji! Just look at you now! You’ve picked up so many bad habits!”

“Oh, right, and Shuten!” Shiranui Asuka smirked devilishly. “I’m going to join the ‘Armed Yokai Coalition’ that Shuten founded. Nobody cares about me anyway, and my brother doesn’t want me, so I’ll just go hang out with those yokai from now on~”

“Ahhhhh!” Shiranui Jinjiro waved his hands in a frantic panic. “Absolutely not! From the time you were little until now, I’ve never even made you do chores! How can I let you join some yokai coalition?!”

Shiranui Asuka rolled her eyes discreetly, then asked, “Then do you agree to my request, Brother?”

“Huh?” Shiranui Jinjiro felt like he had just fallen into a trap. “Little Xiang… are… are you scheming against me?”

Shiranui Asuka snorted coldly. She turned around, the unlit cigarette dangling from her lips, and said to Cowherd, “Hurry up and light it! Light my cigarette!”

“No, no, no, don’t!” Shiranui Jinjiro completely surrendered. “I agree! I agree!”

Seeing this scene, everyone didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Who would have thought that a figure like Shiranui Jinjiro was actually a madly doting older brother? He might have a solution for absolutely everything in the world, except for Shiranui Asuka.

The method to ‘win over Jinjiro’ that Du Yu had racked his brains over but couldn’t figure out had actually been settled by Shiranui Asuka in just a few quick moves…

This method was simply too brutal and direct.

“But I have to make this clear upfront, Little Xiang…” Shiranui Jinjiro shook his head helplessly. “I can’t stay here indefinitely. If something comes up in the family that requires my attention, I must head back immediately.”

“Hehehehe…” Shiranui Asuka giggled. “Sure, sure. As long as you agree to stay, it’s all good!”

Shiranui Jinjiro turned his head, glaring fiercely at Du Yu, and asked in a low voice, “What kind of spell did you cast on Little Xiang for her to value you so highly?”

“Uh… I’m being falsely accused here,” Du Yu said helplessly. “I really haven’t done anything to A’xiang…”

“Hmph.” Jinjiro snorted coldly. “That’s for the best. If I ever find out you dared to bully my sister, I’ll definitely take your life.”

“Uh…” Du Yu smiled awkwardly. If Shiranui Jinjiro knew that he regularly rapped A’xiang on the head for no reason, would he get angry?

While the group was talking at the entrance of the bar, the door was suddenly pushed open from the inside.

A figure slowly walked out. It was Liu Ling.

“Eh?” Cowherd blinked in surprise. “Liu Ling, you’re awake?”

“Cowherd?” Liu Ling swayed as he looked at Cowherd. “How strange… This humble scholar didn’t want to wake up just yet, but my heart feels empty, as if I’ve lost something terribly important…”

Du Yu and the others froze for a moment before instantly understanding.

This time, the legend had effectively been a lucky accident. If Shiranui Jinjiro hadn’t intervened and rescued them at the critical moment, allowing time to erase the existence of Liu Ling’s wife, no one could predict what sort of problems would have arisen by now.

Liu Ling smiled bitterly and said to Cowherd, “Never mind, never mind. This humble scholar doesn’t know what’s wrong with himself either. Let’s just stick to our previous agreement. Every time I wake up, I will do one thing for you. Last time, I helped you deal with An Lushan. What do you want me to do for you this time?”

Cowherd took a step forward and said, “Liu Ling, this might be the last time I ask you to do something for me.”

“The last time? What do you mean?” Liu Ling stared blankly at Cowherd.

Cowherd stepped aside, revealing Du Yu behind him, and asked, “Do you still remember this person?”

Liu Ling struggled to open his drunken eyes and looked at Du Yu. After a moment of thought, he said, “I think I’ve seen him once…”

“Liu Ling, this is my brother, Du Yu. From now on, you’ll follow him,” Cowherd said slowly.

“Follow him?” A trace of confusion appeared in Liu Ling’s eyes. “Cowherd, are you complaining that this humble scholar drank too much of your wine?”

“Ah?” Cowherd hurriedly shook his head. “Of course not. I promised you before that you could drink as much of my wine as you want.”

“Since that is the case…” Liu Ling looked Du Yu up and down again. “Why ask this humble scholar to follow a man I’ve only met once?”

“Brother Liu Ling,” Du Yu took a step forward and said, “I hear you like to drink?”

Hearing this, Liu Ling nodded and said, “I do.”

“I have a way to let you drink all the finest wines from every dynasty. Are you interested?”