Legend Management Bureau Chapter 261

[ … words ]

This sudden embrace startled Houtu, and her face instantly flushed red.

Du Yu froze as well, hastily letting go of Houtu.

The situation was exactly as he had suspected.

Houtu was not a little boy at all; she was a girl!

The sensation of that embrace was definitely not that of a man, but of a young, developing teenage girl.

“You… you…” Houtu stared blankly at Du Yu. “What are you doing?”

The surrounding subordinates were equally shocked. Believing Du Yu was attacking Houtu, they immediately swarmed forward.

“Don’t misunderstand, everyone! This is just our tribe’s traditional greeting. It’s called a ‘hug.’ It doesn’t mean anything else,” Du Yu hurriedly explained.

Though startled, Houtu realized the man hadn’t actually done anything harmful. She waved off her subordinates. “Your daddy is fine. There’s no need to make a fuss.”

Houtu steadied her nerves and declared, “Since you’re your daddy’s subordinates now, follow me back to the tribe. From today onward, you are members of the Jiang Tribe.”

Du Yu nodded and led the Seven Holy Heroes after her.

Things were going much smoother than he had imagined. They had naturally infiltrated the inner ranks of the Yan Emperor’s tribe without a hitch.

Along the way, numerous people respectfully greeted Houtu, making it clear that she held a great deal of prestige within the tribe.

What caught Du Yu’s attention was that all the tribespeople addressed Houtu as “Young Leader.” After asking Dong Qianqiu, he learned that in this era, the title was functionally identical to calling someone “Young Master.”

From the looks of it, the entire tribe firmly believed Houtu was a man. Or rather… she was deliberately concealing her true gender.

However, Du Yu knew it wouldn’t be long before Houtu’s body underwent changes that clearly distinguished her from a man. How was she supposed to hide it then?

Houtu was just about to arrange their living quarters when she spotted an old man drying herbs in the middle of the road.

“Great High Father!” Houtu called out joyfully, sprinting toward the old man.

The group looked closely. The elder Houtu had called “Great High Father” looked incredibly kind and amiable. He sported a long, straight, grizzled beard that looked like something straight out of a Peking Opera. He wore clothes stitched together from animal hides and adorned his head with a peculiar hat featuring two massive bull horns, which looked almost as if they were growing directly out of his skull. At the moment, he was laying out some unknown dried herbs in the sun. Seeing Houtu running over, he gazed at her with a doting expression and warmly patted her head.

Du Yu suddenly recalled the records from myths and legends. There was an ancient emperor famously described as having the “head of a bull and the body of a man.” Could this person be…

“Let me introduce you!” Houtu beamed. “This is my Great High Father, the leader of our tribe. You can follow my lead and call him ‘Great High Father,’ or simply address him as ‘Patriarch.'”

Good lord!

Du Yu and the others were taken aback. The Patriarch of the Jiang Tribe? Wasn’t that the Yan Emperor, Shennong? No wonder he was out here drying medicinal herbs…

“Hohoho…” The Yan Emperor waved his hand amiably. “I am indeed the leader of the Jiang Tribe, known as Shennong. And who might you youngsters be…?”

Du Yu was just opening his mouth to speak when Houtu eagerly jumped in. “Great High Father, they are the National Male Tribe from Qianlie County!”

‘Oh, for the love of god!’ Du Yu slapped a hand over his face. If he had known he’d be meeting such a legendary figure, he would have come up with a far better name…

“Qianlie… County, National Male… Tribe?” The Yan Emperor was visibly bewildered. Even with his vast, ages-old wisdom, he couldn’t begin to comprehend these strange words.

“Great High Father, they’ve sworn loyalty to me! From now on, they’re members of the Jiang Tribe too!” Houtu announced proudly.

It had to be said that in this moment, Houtu genuinely looked like an innocent young girl. Perhaps she only let her guard down and showed this side of herself in front of the people closest to her.

“They’ve sworn loyalty to you?” The Yan Emperor raised a bushy eyebrow. “While that is certainly a good thing, the Jiang Tribe will soon be facing a massive war. Recruiting newcomers at such a critical juncture is akin to leading them to the slaughter. It is highly inappropriate…”

“A massive war?” Houtu blinked in surprise. “What war? Didn’t we already defeat the most powerful enemy, Chiyou of the Jiuli Tribe?”

“Hohoho.” The Yan Emperor chuckled, warmly patting Houtu’s head again. “Little Tu, you are still young. You don’t understand. Our greatest adversary was never Chiyou.”

“Not Chiyou?” Houtu looked completely baffled. “As long as we maintain our alliance with the Yellow Emperor and his Xuanyuan Clan, who could possibly stand against us?”

“Hohoho.” The Yan Emperor shook his head with a helpless smile. “Never mind. Little Tu, why don’t you take these youngsters to rest and settle in?”

“Oh… alright,” Houtu nodded, gesturing for Du Yu and his group to follow as she walked away.

In truth, the Yan Emperor’s underlying meaning was incredibly clear—so clear that even a complete outsider like Du Yu could read between the lines.

The only true superpowers left in the world were the Yan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor. Even though their tribes were currently allied, an all-out war between the two was inevitable.

Watching Houtu lead the group off into the distance, the Yan Emperor spoke in a slow, measured tone. “You can stop hiding. Come out and speak your mind.”

At those words, a figure stepped out from behind a nearby thatched hut. It was a shirtless, burly man wearing a cape fashioned from woven grass. He possessed an outrageously muscular physique and carried a massive battleaxe on his back that was as tall as a grown man. Yet, what completely contrasted with his bloodthirsty, martial aura was his surprisingly handsome face.

“Great High Father, it’s about that same matter…” the man grunted slowly. “Your daddy can’t stomach this for another second.”

Though Du Yu’s group had already walked quite a distance, some inexplicable urge made him glance over his shoulder. He caught a glimpse of the Yan Emperor conversing with the burly man.

He had never met Xing Tian before, but at that exact moment, Du Yu was one hundred percent certain that this man was the legendary war god himself.

He hadn’t expected the key historical figures from the legends to all make their appearance so quickly.

“Perfect. At this rate, we should be able to wrap up the mission in no time,” Du Yu murmured with a smile.

Soon, Houtu led the group to the entrance of an empty thatched hut. “My men from Qianlie County, you can stay here for the time being. We’re running low on vacant rooms right now, but once a new hut is constructed, I’ll have another one allocated to you as quickly as possible.”

“There’s no need for that. We’re perfectly fine sharing a space,” Du Yu replied with a friendly smile. “By the way, Boss, I wanted to ask—is ‘Xing Tian’ currently in the tribe? I have a tribesman who absolutely idolizes him, and I’m quite curious to see what the man looks like in person.”

Houtu pondered for a moment, then shot Du Yu a deeply bewildered look. “Xing Tian? Who’s that?”

“Huh…?” Everyone blanked out. Even Du Yu wondered if he had somehow misspoken, but upon quickly replaying the conversation in his head, he knew he had distinctly said ‘Xing Tian’!

Could the romantic ties they were supposed to sever simply not exist at all?

“He’s… he’s a guy who swings around a massive battleaxe!” Du Yu tried to gesture wildly with his hands. “He’s incredibly fierce and an amazing fighter.”

“There are plenty of amazing fighters in this world, and no shortage of people who wield huge axes…” Houtu scratched her chin in thought. “If you really want to find this guy, your daddy can ask around for you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense…” Du Yu muttered, completely thrown off. He quickly whispered to his earpiece, “Sister Qianqiu, what’s going on? Does Houtu seriously not know Xing Tian yet?”

“Du Yu, we just reviewed the data and we’ve pinpointed the issue,” Dong Qianqiu replied in a grave tone. “Although Houtu has interacted with Xing Tian on numerous occasions, she has never once referred to him by his actual name. It seems she has absolutely no idea what he’s called.”

“Oh?” Du Yu blinked. “So you’re saying Houtu knows him, but just doesn’t know his name is Xing Tian? That sounds incredibly bizarre…”

After giving the group a few casual instructions, Houtu stepped out of the thatched hut—only to immediately run into the shirtless, burly man from earlier.

“Ah!” Houtu gasped in surprise. “Big Guy?”

Seeing Houtu, the burly man broke into a surprisingly gentle smile. “If it isn’t the Young Leader. What’s wrong? You looking to exchange a few blows with your daddy?”

“Your daddy isn’t going to fight you!” Houtu shot back, puffing out her cheeks in a pout. “You always go all out against me. It’s completely unfair!”

The huge man frowned disapprovingly. “Young Leader, how many times have I told you? Stop calling yourself ‘your daddy’.”

“Why should I?!” Houtu stubbornly stomped her foot. “If you can call yourself ‘your daddy,’ why can’t your daddy do the same?”

Listening to their bickering from inside the hut, Du Yu slowly stepped outside. As he laid eyes on the man, he realized this was undeniably ‘Xing Tian’.

Observing the warrior up close, Du Yu realized just how freakishly tall the man truly was. He easily stood over one point nine meters, and the sheer density of rippling muscles covering his frame was downright terrifying.

“Uh…” Du Yu found himself momentarily speechless, unsure of how to even strike up a conversation.

“Ah!” Houtu suddenly gasped, snapping her fingers. “Big Guy, I almost forgot! Come take a look—I’ve officially taken in some subordinates!”

“Subordinates?” Xing Tian scratched the back of his head, casting a highly perfunctory glance at Du Yu. “Good for you.”

“What’s with that tone?!” Houtu snapped irritably. “Now that your daddy has a squad of my own, doesn’t that mean I can finally join you on the battlefield?”

“Join your daddy on the battlefield?” Xing Tian chuckled in amusement. Reaching out, he mercilessly pinched Houtu’s cheek. “Does your daddy owe you money or something? Why should I have to look out for a little brat like you in the middle of a bloodbath?”

“You…!” Houtu was so furious she couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. She shot a vicious glare at Xing Tian, furiously stomped her foot, and turned on her heel to storm off.

Only Du Yu and Xing Tian were left standing outside the hut, trapped in a slightly awkward silence.

Before Du Yu could figure out what to say, Xing Tian broke the ice.

“Brother, it must be rough on you guys, having to follow a ‘commander’ like that right after joining the Jiang Tribe.”

“Huh?” Du Yu quickly waved his hands. “No, no, not at all! Houtu is a great person. We don’t feel wronged in the slightest.”

“Yeah. Your daddy knows exactly how good of a person she is.” Xing Tian smiled meaningfully at Du Yu.

Du Yu hesitated for a long moment before carefully testing the waters. “I don’t know if it’s my place to say this… but you really shouldn’t bully Houtu like that…”

“Oh?” Xing Tian slowly turned his head to stare at Du Yu. Even though the man was still smiling, there was an unmistakable, suffocating pressure radiating from him. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Well… the truth is… Houtu is actually a girl,” Du Yu revealed.

“Hahaha!” Xing Tian suddenly threw his head back and burst into thunderous laughter. “You’re a pretty amusing guy.”

“Amusing?” Du Yu blinked, completely lost. “I’m not lying to you. You should try to be a bit more considerate of her feelings every once in a while…”

“Of course your daddy knows she’s a girl!”