Legend Management Bureau Chapter 269

[ … words ]

Xie Yujiao remained silent for a long time.

Seeing Xie Yujiao’s reaction, the woman in black felt a little puzzled. She looked her over once more and asked with a hint of concern, “Are you alright?”

“I…”

Du Yu looked thoughtful at this sight and hurriedly sent a Voice Transmission to Dong Qianqiu. “Sister Qianqiu! Have Ajiao chat with her casually, just make sure she does not give herself away! Staying silent like this will definitely cause problems!”

Xie Yujiao raised an eyebrow upon hearing Dong Qianqiu’s voice. Remembering that she had the entire Legend Management Bureau backing her up, she felt slightly reassured and put on a calm facade. “I am… fine. What about you?”

The woman in black frowned and glanced up at the sky.

To Du Yu and Xie Yujiao, the woman was merely staring silently into the sky, but Dong Qianqiu was startled out of her wits.

Because this woman in black named You Si was staring straight into Dong Qianqiu’s eyes through the screen!

Even though Dong Qianqiu knew that You Si could not possibly fly out of the screen to hurt her, she could not help but swallow hard.

Xie Yujiao was startled and instinctively took a step back.

Seeing this, You Si grew even more perplexed.

‘Oh no…’ Du Yu thought, realizing the situation was turning bad. This woman’s cultivation seemed profoundly deep; she could even intercept Dong Qianqiu’s cross-time Voice Transmission technique.

Seeing Xie Yujiao remain silent for a long time, You Si suddenly grabbed her wrist and gave it a light squeeze. “How strange,” she said. “You are clearly ‘me,’ yet you are so heavily guarded against me. Did something go wrong?”

Xie Yujiao opened her mouth, looking as though she was completely terrified, unable to utter a single word.

Right at that moment, the space beside You Si distorted. A wondrous power surged through the air, and a moment later, a young girl leaped out. She looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.

But what shocked Du Yu and Xie Yujiao was that, despite her young age, this girl’s facial features were completely identical to Xie Yujiao’s!

Upon landing, this fifteen or sixteen-year-old “Xie Yujiao” scanned the surroundings before her gaze fell upon You Si. She offered a slight nod, then looked at the original Xie Yujiao. “Is there already another sister here?” she asked.

“No. I am You Si. You may report whatever it is you have.”

The teenage “Xie Yujiao” raised an eyebrow. “So it is You Si. I am the third generation from Yin Shang. Currently, I have not found a target that meets the requirements, but I will continue my search.”

“Good,” You Si nodded. “Remember to be careful.”

“I will.” The girl nodded, then looked at Xie Yujiao. “Sister, how are things on your end?”

Xie Yujiao stared blankly at the two of them, still completely speechless.

Just what in the world was going on here?

Du Yu’s mind was equally filled with confusion.

Just moments ago, he had been trying to deduce whether You Si and Xie Yujiao were the exact same person. From the looks of it now, they indeed were. No matter which era’s version of herself Xie Yujiao stood next to, nothing unusual happened at all…

Did that really make any sense?

So the rule that one could not meet themselves within the legends was just a rumor?

“Du Yu! Can you hear me?” Zhi Nv’s voice suddenly rang in his ears.

“Zhi Nv?” Du Yu paused. “I can hear you!”

Zhi Nv nodded and said, “I am currently sending you a Voice Transmission through the power of a Voice Transmitter. I hope you will not be deceived by the superficial appearances before you… The rule that one cannot meet themselves in the legends is a very real law. Back when we went to save you and returned to that bus, A Kui lost all his strength the moment he stepped through the portal door. I believe he experienced such an anomaly because he was simply too close to ‘himself.'”

Du Yu suddenly remembered when Zhi Nv and the others had described the events of that day to him. Because A Kui was completely unable to enter the legend, he eventually had to retreat back to the other side of the door.

But if the rule about not meeting oneself in legends was an absolute law, would that not contradict the situation unfolding right before his eyes?

There were three ‘Xie Yujiaos’ standing right there, and they were chatting with each other!

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Du Yu’s mind, as if several disjointed clues had finally connected.

Wait a minute!

Not meeting ‘oneself’ in the legends?

Ajiao was a Reincarnator!

What was a Reincarnator?

To put it bluntly, Ajiao was not meeting ‘herself’, because every time she reincarnated, she became an entirely new person.

Even though they shared memories, at the end of the day, they were not the same person.

You Si was You Si, and Ajiao was Ajiao.

And that third individual, claiming to be the third generation of Yin Shang, clearly hailed from the Shang Dynasty.

They were three individuals with independent lives!

“Zhi Nv, I really owe you for this. I figured it out,” Du Yu declared with a serious expression.

Yet even though he had figured out why Ajiao could meet herself in the legends, it still served no practical use right now.

Judging from You Si’s tone, it sounded as if they were executing a very specific plan.

If he did not know what this plan was, how could he uncover Xie Yujiao’s true identity?

While he had no idea what the plan entailed, it was clearly a long-term endeavor that could not be accomplished by You Si alone.

Therefore, this plan was meant to be passed down from generation to generation until it was complete.

However, for some unknown reason, the plan had fractured with Xie Yujiao’s generation.

Xie Yujiao had forgotten her purpose, yet her constitution remained unchanged. She was still trapped in the endless Reincarnation Cycle.

She had mentioned it herself—for a very long time, she had not understood why she existed in this world in such a state.

Thinking back on it now, everything finally made perfect sense.

Du Yu quickly sorted through the entire affair in his mind, finally grasping the crux of the matter.

At that moment, You Si spoke to the young girl beside her. “This sister seems to have a problem. I am not sure if she became foolish when she reincarnated, or if someone stole her memories.”

“Foolish?” The young girl paused, then carefully inspected Xie Yujiao. Finally, she let out a helpless sigh and said, “Sister, if you have forgotten the meaning of your existence, you should just die early. Pass the mission onto the next generation as soon as possible. We do not have much time to waste.”

What this girl had just said would sound completely absurd in any other context, but applying it to Xie Yujiao made it perfectly normal.

They assumed something had gone wrong with Xie Yujiao and hoped she would die sooner so she could reincarnate faster.

But little did they know, even if Xie Yujiao were reborn again, she still would not remember that ‘mission.’

“Forget it,” You Si remarked with a bitter smile. “If I had the chance to forget everything and live out one lifetime in blissful ignorance, that would be nice too.”

“Is that so?” The young girl gave a noncommittal response, shook her head, and vanished into thin air.

Soon after, You Si transformed into a cloud of black mist and flew away.

Only then did Xie Yujiao finally feel a sense of relief, collapsing onto the ground.

Du Yu hurriedly jumped down from the tree and rushed over to Xie Yujiao in a few quick strides. “Ajiao, are you okay?”

Xie Yujiao took a deep breath and murmured, “I am not hurt… but… but this feeling is just far too strange… What in the world happened? Were they… ‘me’?”

Wearing a heavy expression, Du Yu helped Xie Yujiao up from the ground and shared the deductions he had just made.

After listening to him, Xie Yujiao looked baffled. She could not help but ask, “Are you saying that I forgot an incredibly important ‘mission’?”

In front of the screen, Dong Qianqiu and Zhi Nv also heard Du Yu’s deductions and fell into deep thought.

“Yes,” Du Yu nodded. “Although we did not directly uncover your true identity this time, we at least have a lead. There must be many versions of ‘you’ in this world. The dynasties keep changing, the world keeps changing, but there is always a version of you in every era.”

Du Yu gazed off into the distance and continued, “Or rather… every dynasty has a ‘You Si,’ and they seem to be ‘searching’ for something…”

Despite voicing these thoughts, Du Yu still felt that something was amiss.

That You Si’s cultivation was astonishingly high. What kind of matter required going to such great lengths to accomplish?

She had even planted a spy—Yi Di—right by the Yellow Emperor’s side. And seeing her appear here now, it was highly likely that she had planted a spy near the Yan Emperor as well.

What was her ultimate purpose for infiltrating the factions of various dynasties?

The only thing for certain was that ‘You Si’ was highly likely the root cause of everything.

His heart brimming with questions, Du Yu supported Xie Yujiao as they walked back to the village, step by step.

Only now did Du Yu realize that matters of the primordial era truly could not be tampered with so casually. Barely a day had passed, yet they had already encountered all sorts of ancient legends and ancient Almighty Cultivators. The slightest misstep would irrevocably alter the timeline.

By the time they returned to the village, the sky had gradually darkened as the fiery red sun slowly dipped beneath the horizon.

This long, exhaustive day was finally coming to an end.

Since everyone was afraid of an attack flying in at any moment, no one dared to sleep. Du Yu assured them that there was no need to worry; as terrifying as those fireballs looked, they would not fall on their heads.

Even if an attack did fly their way, all they had to do was wake up and put out the fires.

Du Yu did not mention anything about Xie Yujiao to the others. While there was nothing worth hiding, less trouble was better than more right now. In any case, once they returned to the Legend Management Bureau, their colleagues would explain everything to them. For now, they just needed to deal with the situation right in front of them.

Du Yu slowly lay back on the straw bed. Although the spiritual energy of the primordial era was so abundant it left one feeling energized, he still felt he needed to catch some sleep.

Ever since joining the Legend Management Bureau, Du Yu rarely slept. He now treated sleep as a sort of chore, having to constantly remind himself to do it at regular intervals lest he forget altogether.

Almost as soon as he drifted off, Du Yu had a strange dream.

In the dream, he walked into a long stone corridor.

The corridor looked incredibly ancient, so much so that it carried a heavy atmosphere of profound history.

Vaguely, Du Yu could make out a door at the end of the passage. It was completely obscured by thick layers of creeping vines.