Legend Management Bureau Chapter 370

[ … words ]

“I think I suddenly understand Old Zhan’s mindset.” Du Yu smiled bitterly. “I always thought Old Zhan couldn’t read the situation. In the end, I realized the one who couldn’t read the situation was me.”

Xie Bi’an felt he might have said a bit too much and hurriedly added, “Little Du, don’t overthink it. I was just speaking casually. I am still very grateful to you.”

“No, Seventh Lord. You are right,” Du Yu interrupted. “I used to be so driven, but now I feel like I have suddenly woken up. Whether it was Cui Jue or Chang’e, at least for a single moment, both of them resented me from the bottom of their hearts.”

“Now I have become a petty villain sowing discord.” Xie Bi’an smiled bitterly. “Little Du, no matter what, you must do what you want to do.”

Du Yu patted Xie Bi’an’s shoulder, turned to look at Ox Head and Horse Face, and then spoke to the man beside him. “Seventh Lord, do you know? Even though I am disappointed, I have finally figured it out.”

“Oh?”

Du Yu slowly walked toward Ox Head and Horse Face, asking, “Third Lord, Fourth Lord, we rarely interact. Why were you looking for me?”

Upon hearing this, Xie Bi’an’s lips twitched, and he whispered, “Little Du, what are you doing…”

“I…” Ox Head suddenly looked awkward. “I really did want to find you earlier. This was the result of a discussion with Fourth Brother…” He nudged Horse Face with his elbow. “Fourth Brother, you tell him. Why were the two of us looking for Brother Du?”

Du Yu shook his head helplessly. “What is it, Fourth Lord? Done pretending? Laying your cards on the table?”

Horse Face gripped the Nine-Turn Spirit-Cleansing Whip, watching Du Yu warily. It seemed he had genuinely been bewitched, whereas Ox Head had not.

Too tired to probe further, Du Yu walked right up to Horse Face.

“Fourth Lord, since I arrived in the Underworld, I have never entered your Legends, nor have I ever disrespected you. Can you tell me why you want to kill me, so I can at least die knowing the truth?”

Steeling his resolve, Horse Face raised his whip. “Du Yu, do you really not know why?!”

Du Yu was genuinely baffled. “Fourth Lord, just tell me. If it is my fault, I will apologize to you right now.”

Horse Face seemed to find it difficult to speak.

“Du Yu, it is better that you do not know,” Horse Face stated. “Today, I will kill you right here and now. I am sure Old Seven and Third Brother will not stop me.”

“Hold on, why don’t you tell me why you want to kill Brother Du first?” Ox Head asked in confusion. “Didn’t we come here together to help Brother Du? Now you want to kill him over a disagreement?”

Du Yu scratched his head and said, “Fourth Lord, since you do not want to say it, how about I take a guess?”

Horse Face’s expression turned frigid. “Even if you guess, what could you possibly figure out?”

Seeing room to maneuver, Du Yu began to make bold deductions. “Fourth Lord, you have never asked me to return to your Legends to do anything for you. So, our grudge does not stem from that, right?”

Horse Face remained silent, instead glaring at Du Yu with bitter resentment.

“But you clearly have a strong enough motive to kill me. Thinking along those lines, the reason I offended you must be obscure, yet highly compelling,” Du Yu continued to analyze. “From what I understand of you, Fourth Lord, you are an extremely cautious person. Yet you are willing to risk taking my life in public right here… Let me think…”

“When two unfamiliar men want each other dead, it always boils down to money, power, or women.” Du Yu stroked his chin, glancing at Horse Face casually. “Fourth Lord, which kind of hatred is it? Is it money?”

Horse Face chose to snort disdainfully, looking away from Du Yu.

Du Yu chuckled. “When I first returned from the ‘Yi Shoots Nine Suns’ mission, you gifted me precious Pills. This means you do not place much importance on wealth… As for power, as I already mentioned, you have never asked me for a single favor.”

Hearing this, Horse Face suddenly looked a bit guilty.

Du Yu nodded. It seemed his guess was extremely close to the mark. “Watson once said something like this: when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

Horse Face’s expression visibly froze. “Wh-what nonsense are you spouting?”

“Fourth Lord, you actually want to kill me over a ‘woman’?” Du Yu slowly stepped forward. “I don’t understand. Ever since I arrived in the Underworld, I have never been entangled in any romantic disputes. So why would you develop murderous intent toward me?”

Seeing Horse Face look incredibly uncomfortable, Du Yu pressed on. “The only woman etched into my heart is Zhongli Chun. But you subjected her to cruel torture, so I doubt she has anything to do with you.”

Horse Face awkwardly tried to stop him. “S-stop talking!”

“Then it naturally comes to mind that the person you are involved with is someone else. Furthermore, it should be someone close to me, who has worked at the Legend Management Bureau for a long time.” Du Yu stepped closer to the truth, his pace of speech slowing down. “Xiao Qi mentioned she has only worked there for a mere hundred years, and she is a complete shut-in. You probably do not even know who she is. With her ruled out, that leaves only one person…”

By this point, Horse Face was gritting his teeth. It was as if this was a secret he had hidden for a long, long time, one he had never dared to speak aloud.

“Fourth Lord, do you really like Sister Qianqiu?”

Du Yu recalled the blunder involving the “Eastern Emperor Assassinating the Northern Emperor.” During that incident, Horse Face had visited the Legend Management Bureau and interrogated everyone with his Nine-Turn Spirit-Cleansing Whip.

But when it came time to interrogate Dong Qianqiu, Horse Face had carefully wrapped the whip around her arm, terrified of hurting her.

Thinking about it this way, everything finally made sense.

“Du Yu, you are indeed very smart, but this is where it ends,” Horse Face snarled. “As long as I kill you, Qianqiu will be mine.”

“Heh.” Du Yu chuckled coldly. “That is where I have to prove you wrong.”

“Prove me wrong?”

“What do you think Sister Qianqiu is? A plaything?” Du Yu flipped the script, taking step after step toward Horse Face instead. “She has her own thoughts, her own emotions. Who resides in her heart is entirely her own decision. Do you really think killing me will change anything? The two of you have known each other for at least a thousand years, while I have been here for barely one.”

Du Yu’s words left Horse Face completely speechless. His eyes bulged wide, and he held his breath for a long time before finally choking out a sentence. “Anyway, it is all because of you! You have already stolen Qianqiu’s heart!”

“Smack!”

Without a second word, Du Yu swung his hand and slapped Horse Face hard across the mouth.

This sudden action left everyone around them completely stunned.

Du Yu shook his wrist. “From now on, I will not allow anyone to pin unwarranted charges on my head.”