Legend Management Bureau Chapter 279

[ … words ]

The originally empty road was now densely packed with “people.”

Even the most bustling marketplace could barely compare.

As Du Yu looked around, his vision was filled with nothing but wandering ghosts.

The group was quite frightened by the scene before them.

They had assumed that pretending not to see the ghosts would keep them from drawing attention, but how were they supposed to handle a situation where ghosts occupied every inch of their vision?

“E-everyone, don’t be afraid…” Shiranui Asuka stammered, though her legs were visibly trembling.

“A’xiang… you’re obviously the most scared one here,” Du Yu remarked in exasperation.

“I…” Shiranui Asuka pounded her legs forcefully. “I don’t want to tremble either! But why are there so many of them? We are completely surrounded!”

“It seems that ever since the birth of Chinese civilization, none of the souls of the deceased have been managed by anyone,” Du Yu deduced grimly. “No wonder a specialized Underworld had to be established to oversee them.”

However, the female ghost had already taken an interest. She floated right in front of his face, forcing him to meet her eyes again.

Left with no other choice, Du Yu pretended to admire the sky.

The Seven Holy Heroes standing nearby did not dare to make any reckless moves. After all, the scene was truly terrifying. Having a ghost actively chasing your line of sight to make eye contact would scare anyone half to death.

Seeing him look up, the female ghost floated higher into the air, staring down at him from above.

‘Damn it…’ Du Yu cursed inwardly. ‘Why can’t I shake her off…’

He lowered his head again, pretending to tie his shoelaces—even though he was wearing straw sandals.

The ghost swooped down and lay right across the tops of his feet, absolutely determined to maintain eye contact.

“Senior Du Yu… you… you don’t need to be afraid… she can’t hear what you’re saying…” A’xiang whispered shakily.

“That’s not the issue. Even if I can speak freely, there is someone constantly hovering right in front of my face. I can’t escape her gaze…”

“Stop dodging so much and just pretend to tie your shoes!” Shiranui Asuka hissed under her breath. “If you avoid her too obviously, it will still draw her attention!”

Du Yu knew A’xiang made a fair point. Darting his eyes all over the place definitely looked incredibly unnatural.

So, he forced himself to look straight through the ghost’s semi-transparent face down at his straw sandals.

Since he had no shoelaces to tie, he could only symbolically wiggle his toes.

Even though his eyes were fixed on his feet, there was simply no avoiding her. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her mouth moving slightly, slowly articulating something.

As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

To his own dismay, Du Yu actually managed to read her lips: “You… can… see… me… right?”

“Miss, you’re being really creepy right now,” Du Yu muttered slowly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. “If you need something, couldn’t you just visit me in a dream? Do we really have to do this face-to-face?”

“Senior Du Yu, stop getting tangled up with her! Don’t forget our mission!”

“Right!” Du Yu stood up, finally breaking eye contact completely and ignoring the ghost. “I almost forgot, we need to find Xing Tian!”

The rest of the group also finally managed to calm down from their initial terror.

If they failed to locate Xing Tian and convince him to return, the resulting consequences would be a hundred times more terrifying than their current predicament.

“Stick to the plan, we’ll split up and search!”

Du Yu ordered everyone to fan out, but hesitation flickered across their faces.

After all, with this endless sea of “people,” how were they supposed to find Xing Tian?

Du Yu originally thought they could just look for Xing Tian’s towering stature, but for some unknown reason, there were actually far more giant-sized humans in this ancient era than in modern times.

Countless massive men wandered through the throngs of spirits, making it utterly impossible to distinguish which one was Xing Tian.

“Sister Qianqiu, do you have any ideas?” Du Yu asked over the comms.

“Ideas?” Dong Qianqiu paused. “For what?”

“Is there any way to quickly pinpoint Xing Tian’s location in this sea of ‘people’?”

Dong Qianqiu shook her head helplessly. “Du Yu… let alone pinpointing Xing Tian, I can’t even see this sea of ‘people’ you’re talking about.”

“Uh…”

Only then did Du Yu remember that the equipment at the Legend Management Bureau couldn’t capture images of ghosts. Dong Qianqiu would be absolutely zero help here.

The myriad of ghosts drifted aimlessly through the mortal realm, looking completely absent-minded.

Some of them had likely been wandering for thousands of years, having completely lost their sense of self.

Gradually, Du Yu learned to distinguish between the different types of spirits. The female ghost from earlier, for instance, must have harbored an extremely deep resentment, allowing her to retain a sliver of consciousness. The vast majority of the other ghosts, however, were as sluggish and unresponsive as blocks of wood.

By that logic, the more powerful the ghost, the higher their level of consciousness; the more ordinary the ghost, the lower their intellect.

The female ghost never strayed far, constantly weaving back and forth around Du Yu. Having no more time to pay attention to her, he began scrutinizing every individual nearby.

He discovered that these ghosts had no physical form, allowing him to pass right through them at will, which significantly sped up his search.

“Xing Tian… Xing Tian… where on earth are you…”

…

Meanwhile, the Yellow Emperor quietly observed Xing Tian’s severed head. Despite being separated from its body, the head still radiated a terrifying, awe-inspiring aura.

“Emperor, what should we do?” Feng Hou inquired from the side.

“My heart is filled with immense sorrow,” the Yellow Emperor declared through gritted teeth. “Perhaps there will never be another person in this world who can give me such a fierce and satisfying battle.”

Holding a stone tablet, Cangjie nodded thoughtfully beside them. “Emperor, this is perhaps what it means when a Hero Appreciates Hero…”

“Do exactly as that young man instructed earlier. Bury this nameless warrior’s head,” the Yellow Emperor ordered. “Lay him to rest at Mount Changyang. It is a land of excellent feng shui. I only hope it will allow this nameless warrior to find peace.”

Feng Hou nodded. “I shall go at once to cleave Mount Changyang open and entomb the nameless warrior’s head.”

With that said, he respectfully gathered Xing Tian’s head in his arms and flew off into the distance.

“It seems this legend has also come to an end.” Though Cangjie felt a sense of reluctance, he personally etched down the conclusion to the tale: “The Emperor beheaded Xing Tian, and buried him at Mount Changyang.”

Hearing this, the Yellow Emperor could not help but frown.

The Emperor beheaded Xing Tian, and buried him at Mount Changyang?

“Cangjie, do you truly believe that later generations will be able to comprehend the full scope of this battle just from the words you have written?”

“Emperor, what do you mean?”

The Yellow Emperor let out a faint sigh. “Although I struck down Xing Tian’s head, it does not mean I am stronger than him. And though I have buried his head, I have lost everything in the process.”

Cangjie understood the Yellow Emperor’s meaning, but what else could be done?

As a recorder of history, he could only document the final outcome.

How future generations would interpret this passage was completely beyond his control.

He only hoped that people reading those words would realize that Xing Tian was an indomitable man who possessed unyielding spirit.

Standing nearby, Du Kang glanced at Xing Tian’s headless body and asked, “Emperor, how shall we handle Xing Tian’s corpse?”

“Wipe away the bloodstains regularly every day, drive away the wild beasts once in the morning and once at night, and treat it with the highest honors,” the Yellow Emperor instructed. “Until that young man returns, no one is permitted to move Xing Tian’s physical body.”

“Understood!”

…

Du Yu had been wandering through the mountain forest for an hour now. He had seen no less than several thousand ghosts, but he still hadn’t caught a single glimpse of Xing Tian.

During this time, he continuously had Dong Qianqiu check in with the others over the comms, but no one had made any progress.

As every passing minute ticked by, panic began to well up in Du Yu’s chest.

If more time elapsed and Xing Tian wandered even further away, the difficulty of finding him would increase exponentially.

“What should I do… If only I could fly…” Du Yu muttered anxiously.

Wait.

“Hold on a second… fly?”

A sudden realization struck him, and he quietly pulled out his Transmigration Gift Package.

“Sister Qianqiu, didn’t you pack two souls in here for me?”

“Souls? Oh, right!” Dong Qianqiu suddenly remembered. “I packed the soul of an immortal being and the soul of a famous historical figure for you. I wasn’t sure if you would end up using them, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

“An immortal being and a famous figure?” Du Yu broke into a grin. “Perfect. This is the exact same setup as the ‘Yi Shoots Nine Suns’ mission. It’s time to put these two souls to use. Right now, I desperately need an immortal’s power of flight…”

Without another word, Du Yu opened the package and pulled out the two glass bottles containing the souls.

Dong Qianqiu paused, then hesitantly admitted, “Ah, well, he is technically an immortal… but he doesn’t actually know how to fly…”

Du Yu stared at the soul of the “immortal” for a long while, an overwhelming urge to curse echoing in his heart.

Written in large, bold letters across the crude glass bottle was the name: Tu Xingsun!

“What the hell is this?!” Du Yu roared. “Isn’t this the great immortal who specializes in burrowing underground?!”

“Uh…” Dong Qianqiu said awkwardly. “You were the one who told me to just pick two random souls and toss them in…”

Despite the ominous feeling creeping into his gut, Du Yu turned to inspect the other glass bottle.

One look and he became even more bewildered.

Su Qin!

The name sounded vaguely familiar to him. “Su Qin? Who was that again?”

‘That would be my senior brother…’ Zhongli Chun’s voice echoed slowly in his mind. ‘Both Su Qin and Zhang Yi are my senior brothers.’

“Ah!” Hearing Little Zhongli’s words, Du Yu’s memories suddenly clicked into place. “I remember now! He’s a disciple of Master Guiguzi!”

Dong Qianqiu chimed in, “That’s right. Su Qin is the famous School of Diplomacy scholar from the Warring States period…”

Good heavens.

Du Yu rubbed his forehead, his face the picture of absolute despair.

Even if Su Qin’s diplomatic strategies were unparalleled enough to completely manipulate the battlefield between the Yan and Yellow Emperors, the possession time limit for this soul was only five minutes!

Forget about using those five minutes to Dominate the World; he wouldn’t even have enough time to walk over to the Yellow Emperor’s camp!

Now he was stuck with a human pangolin and a diplomat. What a wonderfully bizarre combination.

Was he really supposed to use these two to locate Xing Tian in this sea of “people”?

Clutching the two glass bottles, Du Yu felt a wave of profound defeat wash over him.

It wasn’t a lack of hope that destroyed a person; it was having newly found hope brutally shattered.

Just then, Zhongli Chun spoke up slowly in his mind once again. ‘Du Yu, if you’re looking for someone, Su Qin might actually be of great help.’

“Eh?” Du Yu blinked in surprise. “Little Zhongli, what do you mean by that?”

‘I once heard Sun Bin say that aside from his diplomatic skills, Su Qin possesses two extraordinary talents. One is Reading a Stone Tablet While Galloping, and the other is Recognizing a Flock of Sheep with One Look.’