Legend Management Bureau Chapter 36

[ … words ]

On this ever-changing battlefield, had the Qin deputy general not suddenly ordered a massive volley of arrows to separate Bai Qi from those two monster-like individuals, Bai Qi would already be dead.

Although he was hastily escorted away by the arriving reinforcements, Bai Qi knew that this battle could no longer be won.

After all, those two had retreated unscathed. They would soon regroup and lead their troops in a counterattack.

Du Yu and Zhongli Chun did not pursue Bai Qi. Instead, they seized two horses and galloped straight toward the Qi state’s main camp.

“You…” Zhongli Chun glanced at Du Yu and murmured, “You feel strange.”

“Strange? How so?” Du Yu replied coldly.

“Both familiar and foreign.”

“Is that so?” Du Yu nodded noncommittally. “One day, you will be just as strange as I am. For now, let us focus on winning this battle.”

“I cannot win this battle alone… I need at least a deputy general with the caliber of a commander…”

“You…?”

“Relax. We have this battle in the bag.” After saying this, Du Yu yanked his reins, scooped up a fallen Qi general’s banner from the ground, and charged into the crowd.

“I am the deputy general newly appointed by Zhongli Chun! All Qi soldiers, hear my command!” Du Yu roared. “All squad leaders, raise your battle standards! Intact squads, move toward the blue banner to the south! Incomplete squads, move toward the crimson banner to the west! Execute immediately!”

Zhongli Chun watched Du Yu’s posture and realized he genuinely carried the aura of a seasoned commander. But what was going on?

With the massive enemy army bearing down on them, Zhongli Chun did not have the luxury to overthink. She pulled her mount in another direction and shouted, “All squad leaders, hear my command! I am the Qi general, Zhong Wuyan! Reorganize the soldiers around you immediately and reform the ranks! Maintain a distance of ten paces between each squad! Execute immediately!”

When the exhausted Qi soldiers suddenly caught sight of their main general, their drained strength slowly began to return.

“Her Majesty the Queen has returned?!”

“Our commanding general is still alive??”

Even though Her Majesty seemed heavily wounded, she was undeniably alive. The main general of Qi was still alive!

“Squad leaders, form up your men and follow me!” Du Yu bellowed. “If anyone wants to live, start running!”

Although the soldiers did not recognize Du Yu, his overwhelming presence was unmistakably that of a general.

Du Yu spurred his horse quickly into a group of imperiled Qi troops, skewering the enemies and pulling his men to safety.

Seeing this, many squad leaders immediately began to absorb the scattered soldiers. The previously chaotic crowd instantly formed into disciplined ranks.

“Sergeants, raise your hands!” Du Yu shouted.

A few men in the crowd raised their hands.

“Only this many left?” Du Yu muttered to himself. The number of sergeants was a bit too low, but he quickly snapped back to reality and yelled, “All sergeants, I temporarily promote you to hundred-man commanders! The remaining squad leaders are promoted to sergeants! Merge with the troops around you! We are launching a full-scale offensive today! Form ten units of a hundred men right now!”

Under Du Yu’s systematic and orderly command, the large, disorganized mass of Qi soldiers rapidly reformed their formations.

Just then, a young man clad in armor galloped over from the distance, followed by a large host of cavalry.

Upon seeing Du Yu barking orders, the young man was filled with suspicion. He rushed to the front and demanded, “Who are you? What is your rank? Why are you rallying troops here?!”

Du Yu looked at the young man before him and could not help but chuckle. How interesting. He had not seen this person in over two thousand years. “Kuang Zhang, I remember you being a thousand-man commander, right? Yet you only have a hundred men left trailing behind you?”

“You…?” The young general named Kuang Zhang had no idea where this man came from or how he knew him so intimately, but the stranger’s tone was incredibly arrogant. “Do not speak nonsense! For the past three days, I have led my troops to reinforce the entire battlefield. This currently balanced situation was bought with the lives of my subordinates!”

“Oh?” Du Yu raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Then we truly owe you our thanks. Hear my command: I now appoint you as a three-thousand-man commander. Regroup your forces immediately and follow me in a fierce assault.”

“A… a three-thousand-man commander?!” Kuang Zhang was bewildered. “But who are you?! What gives you the right to promote me?”

“Kuang Zhang!” Du Yu yelled. “Have you forgotten what you promised me?”

“Huh?” Kuang Zhang was thoroughly confused.

“You once told me that if you were entrusted with a mission in a time of peril, you would defend the military orders with your life,” Du Yu stated.

“You…?” Kuang Zhang’s eyes widened in shock. He simply could not understand why he felt the majestic aura of Her Majesty the Queen emanating from the man before him.

“If we want to survive this battle, do not ask any more questions.” Du Yu pulled his horse around. “I am giving you two hours. You must assemble three thousand men. When you deem the time is right, strike directly at the Zhao army’s camp.”

“The Zhao army?” Kuang Zhang considered it for a moment before speaking. “Forgive my bluntness, but the Zhao forces’ current offensive is not that fierce. The greatest threat these past two days has been the personal guard led by the Qin general Bai Qi. We should aim to destroy his unit first.”

“Bai Qi’s personal guard has already been completely annihilated, and Bai Qi himself is wounded,” Du Yu said coldly. “Our only remaining target is the Zhao encampment.”

“What?” Kuang Zhang could hardly believe that such a terrifying force no longer existed. However, he quickly realized another issue. “Even so… the terrain around the Zhao camp is extremely complex, with three different access roads. Even if we launch a surprise attack, Lian Po will definitely escape through one of the other routes. Combined with returning Zhao reinforcements, we would end up being the ones surrounded.”

“Rest assured.” Du Yu remained expressionless, his eyes particularly chilling. “When the time comes, three separate units of three thousand men will simultaneously attack from all three roads. Lian Po will have nowhere to run.”

“Three units…?” Kuang Zhang pondered this for a second before asking, “Also, you said I should deploy my troops when the time is right? When exactly is that?”

“I already told you.” Du Yu looked at Kuang Zhang. “Whenever you feel the time is right.”

Lian Po never could have anticipated that the Qi army’s tactics would suddenly become so unfathomably bizarre. The Qi forces scattered across the entire battlefield suddenly began an orderly withdrawal. They only left behind highly mobile cavalry units to harass the Zhao troops, while the rest of the infantry slowly retreated.

Although Lian Po smelled a hint of conspiracy, he could not figure out where the problem lay. Before he could react, the western mountain serving as the stronghold for the entire Zhao camp was suddenly ambushed by three armies. Even with a full twenty thousand soldiers garrisoned at the main camp, they could not stop these three units of three thousand men.

Exactly what kind of tacit understanding was required for three armies to launch simultaneous attacks from such vast distances apart?

Exactly what kind of general would unhesitatingly charge a three-thousand-man force into a camp of twenty thousand enemies without knowing if the other commanders would actually deploy their troops?

This was a question Lian Po could never figure out.

The sun set behind the western mountains.

The states of Qin, Zhao, and Qi all withdrew their forces.

Although they had managed to repel the main generals of Qin and Zhao, the state of Qi had buried a far greater number of soldiers in this battle.

Lian Po proved to be incredibly resilient, actually changing into an infantryman’s uniform and escaping amidst the chaos. Upon learning of Lian Po’s defeat, Bai Qi also chose to sound the retreat, fearful of some unknown variable.

With this, the entire allied army of Qin and Zhao executed a full withdrawal.

This battle would become the only draw in the more than seventy campaigns fought over Bai Qi’s lifetime.

Looking at the process, Qin and Zhao had lost. Looking at the results, Qi had lost.

The commanders of the three units of three thousand men gathered at the mountain peak, raising their arms in triumphant cheers.

The battle had been hard-fought, but brilliantly executed.

“Huh?” Du Yu, who was currently raising his arms in a cheer, suddenly paused in confusion. “What am I…”

“You…” Zhongli Chun looked into Du Yu’s gentle eyes. It was as if he had become an entirely different person again. “Are you back?”

Du Yu nodded. Although his recent memories were still intact, it felt as though he had been completely unable to control his own body, as if someone else had been pulling the strings.

“We won… right?”

“Yes, we won.”

“That’s great…” Du Yu offered a bitter smile.

This time, Du Yu had descended for a duration of three days. However, almost all of the remaining two days were spent bandaging wounds and recuperating. Zhongli Chun was not in much better shape either.

Because Zhongli Chun currently lived in the royal palace, hiding Du Yu proved quite troublesome. Fortunately, her eccentric temper meant that very few people usually came looking for her, allowing her and Du Yu to enjoy a rare moment of peace.

“Speaking of which, that King Xuan of Qi really is a piece of work…” Du Yu muttered while applying ointment to his own wounds. “It’s one thing for him to completely ignore you while you’re out leading troops in battle, but now that you’ve returned victorious and injured, does he still not care at all?”

“What does it matter?” Zhongli Chun said dismissively. “King Xuan of Qi and I merely have a cooperative relationship to begin with.”

“Uh…” Du Yu knew what Zhongli Chun meant, so he did not press the issue further.

Right at that moment, a very faint knock echoed from outside the door. Looking closely, a lantern could be seen hanging outside.

“Who is it?” Du Yu felt a surge of panic.

“Don’t worry. There’s only one person who would come at this hour.”

The door was slowly pushed open, and Xiaoxia walked in with a face full of concern.

“Miss! How are you? I’m here to apply your medicine… Ah!!” Xiaoxia spotted Du Yu immediately and shrieked. “Who are you?! To be in the Miss’s room in the dead of night… Wait? You’re…?”

Du Yu smiled faintly and replied, “That’s right, it’s me. That servant you slapped.”

“Good heavens…” Xiaoxia stared at Du Yu in utter disbelief. “Twelve years have passed, and you haven’t changed a bit either. Are you and the Miss really the same kind of people?”

“How should I put this… there are still some differences.” Du Yu shook his head.

“Even if you are an old acquaintance, you can’t just stay here forever.” Xiaoxia turned and closed the door. “The Miss is injured. Are you supposed to treat her wounds?”

“This… fine, I will wait outside.” Du Yu curled his lips and slowly stood up.

“It’s fine.” Zhongli Chun shook her head at Du Yu. “If you feel awkward, just turn your head. This royal palace is not like the courtyard we used to live in. It’s far too dangerous for you to stay outside.”

“Oh…” Du Yu nodded silently and turned to face the wall.

He could faintly hear Xiaoxia undressing Zhongli Chun and bandaging her wounds. Neither of them spoke, and Zhongli Chun did not cry out in pain. The only sounds in the room were the tearing of gauze cut by a small knife and the soft clinking of medicine jars.

Inside the room with its flickering candlelight, the three of them remained exceptionally quiet.

Du Yu called out to Dong Qianqiu in his mind a few times but received no response. Having experienced this once before, he wasn’t too panicked. He guessed she was currently busy dealing with the aftermath.

“Little Zhongli…” Du Yu said softly. “I’ll be leaving again soon. After I leave this time, I won’t be coming to find you anymore.”

Zhongli Chun’s heart skipped a beat, but she still replied with a calm, “Understood…”

“So let us make a promise. Next time… it will be your turn to find me.”

Tears welled up in Zhongli Chun’s eyes, but she nodded nonetheless.

“You need to live out this life properly, you hear me?” Du Yu murmured gently, still facing the wall.

“I will.”

Du Yu pondered for a moment longer before continuing. “If enduring two thousand years is too difficult, you can give up at any time. Whatever you do, don’t force yourself.”

“It won’t be difficult.” Zhongli Chun shook her head. “When I’m tired, I’ll sleep on the streets. When I’m hungry, I’ll rob bad people of their money and food. When I’m dirty, I’ll bathe in the rivers… Two thousand years will go by in a flash.”

“That’s not it…” Du Yu gritted his teeth and said, “What I’m worried about… is that you’ll be sad…”

“It’s okay. If I get sad, I’ll just eat something sweet.”

…

My name is Zhongli Chun.

The coffee shop I found today has a very interesting name. It perfectly reflects my current state: Bitter Wait.

I don’t know when it started, but everything I eat is no longer sweet. Every day I feel sadder than the day before, yet I cannot find anything sweet enough to suppress this sorrow.

How long has it been?

Two thousand three hundred years, probably.

Three hundred years longer than we promised.

I am terrified that one day I might forget the reason I am wandering the Underworld. When that time comes, my soul will probably just shatter and scatter into nothingness.

But why hasn’t he shown up on time? Is it because I didn’t do what he told me to?

Is it because I was sad? I promised him I wouldn’t be sad, but how could I not be?

I took a bite of the dessert on the table. The clerk said it was the sweetest item in the store, but I couldn’t taste it at all. My heart is just so incredibly bitter.

The man at the table next to me keeps staring at me.

Is it because of my sad expression right now?

No. I can’t let anyone see me looking sad.

I hit that man. Right now, I have no control over my emotions. I struck far too heavily this time; he crashed right through the door and went flying outside.

The clerk asked me why I hit him.

I told her it was because I was in a bad mood. Even though I said that, I genuinely felt apologetic.

Outside the door, an Underworld Reaper popped out of nowhere. He was cursing loudly and making a racket. I wanted to send him flying as well, but a crazy woman suddenly darted out and blocked my path.

This crazy woman looked very familiar, as if I had seen her a long, long time ago. But who exactly was she? I couldn’t remember clearly.

Everyone saw how sad I was today. I cannot let them leave.

For some reason, the crazy woman suddenly conjured a shield. To me, it meant nothing. I shattered that shield into pieces in just a few strikes.

I am very sorry. Even though there is no bad blood between us, I really cannot let you leave today.

Because when I see him again, I don’t want him to hear from others that I had been sad.

I have to finish this fight quickly and then go eat my dessert. Otherwise, I will become even sadder.

“Stop!!!”

I suddenly heard a loud shout and froze involuntarily. I had been waiting for this voice for over two thousand years.

I turned around and saw the man.

He looked exactly the same as the first time I met him, completely unchanged.

He seemed to be saying a lot of things, but my mind went completely blank, and I couldn’t hear a word. All I knew was that my heart was no longer bitter, and I wanted to share the sweetest dessert on the table with him.

But… why did he refuse?

Could it be… he forgot me?

He told me to wait right here and not move, saying he was going to buy me a few oranges.

Oranges… I know those. They are sweet, too. It seems he hadn’t forgotten. He remembers me. He truly still remembers.

Last time, I didn’t listen to him and constantly let others see me sad. So he arrived three hundred years late.

This time, I absolutely will not move. I have to be obedient. I must wait for him right here. I must wait for his return.

“Little Zhongli, let us make a promise. Next time, it will be your turn to find me.”

I recalled the words he spoke to me back then.

Yes. I found you, just as we promised.