Legend Management Bureau Chapter 40

[ … words ]

“Then, Chief… where did you just go? Such a huge incident occurred in the Legend Management Bureau, and the spectral envoys from all over the Underworld rushed over to help immediately. Why didn’t we see you?”

He Suoyi let out a dry laugh upon hearing this and explained, “I am getting old. My movements are slow.”

Du Yu did not press the issue, but he could not shake the feeling that something was off.

“Little Du,” Xie Bian said, touching his own face. “You are an employee of the Legend Management Bureau, after all. Show some respect to the Chief.”

He Suoyi hurriedly interjected, “Right, right, we are about to prepare for the next legend. Today’s legend involves a few of you. The Legend Management Bureau has had a rule since ancient times—one must not meet themselves within a legend. Thus, this old man will not keep you here any longer.”

After saying this, He Suoyi turned and walked into the room. Du Yu was just about to follow him when Cui Jue called out to stop him.

“Brother Du Yu,” Cui Jue said in a low voice. “Have you thought about the matter I asked of you last time?”

Du Yu pondered for a moment. In truth, he had been thinking about it constantly these past few days. After all, what Cui Jue had proposed was truly incomprehensible.

“Boss…” Du Yu said after a pause. “Could you tell me why? Whenever anyone else comes to me with a request, they want me to go back to the past to help them, to make their future better. Yet you want me to go back and disrupt your legend so that you cannot become the Chief Judge. I simply cannot wrap my head around it…”

“Another person blinded by love…” Du Yu muttered to himself.

“So… have you agreed to my request?” Cui Jue asked.

“I…” Du Yu looked conflicted. “Boss, it is not that I do not want to agree to this. As you know, if you do not become a judge, not only will it generate a massive amount of paradoxes, but the very structure of the Underworld will also change…”

“I imagine that if I do not become the Chief Judge, there surely must be someone else capable of taking on the role, right?”

“Brother…” Fan Wujiu finally understood what was going on. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Brother, what are you thinking? Do you no longer wish to be a spectral envoy?”

“I…” Cui Jue also looked troubled. “There is a knot in my heart. This knot cannot be untied, nor can it be bypassed.”

“Boss.” Xie Bian also took a step forward. “Since you cannot make a decision, why not ask your past self?”

“Oh?”

“That is right!” Du Yu suddenly realized. “Let us not make the decision for you. Just like with Da Yi and Heng’e, I will go and ask your past self, and let you make your own choice.”

Cui Jue remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “That seems to be the only way… I leave this in your hands, Brother Du Yu.”

Du Yu bid farewell to the three of them and entered the Legend Management Bureau. Little Seven and Little Jin, whom he had met before, were already waiting at the round table.

“Du Yu, the two of us will be hosting the preparatory meeting for you this time.” The diminutive Little Jin smiled at Du Yu and brought out the documents in his hands.

Without Dong Qianqiu around, Du Yu could not help but feel a lingering emptiness in his heart. However, since Goddess Houtu was a founding figure of the Underworld, she had the authority to take Dong Qianqiu away, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to intervene.

“The first legend you will be entering is ‘Cui Jue Judges a Tiger.’ I will provide the summary.” Little Jin pushed up his glasses and said, “Cui Jue is the current Chief Judge and Civil Judge of the Underworld’s Department of Yin Law. During his lifetime, he was the county magistrate of Qi County in Luozhou Prefecture (modern-day Qi County in Hebi City, Henan Province). In the nineteenth year of the Zhenguan era, an old woman’s son was eaten by a fierce tiger. The old woman beat the drum at the magistrate’s court to cry out her grievances. Cui Jue then dispatched Constable Li Neng to capture the beast and held a trial. He interrogated the tiger on several charges, to which the beast nodded in acknowledgement to each one. Seeing that the tiger possessed a sincere desire to repent, Cui Jue chose not to punish it and instead ordered the tiger to serve as the old woman’s adopted son. From then on, the tiger took excellent care of the old woman and never harmed another human again. When Goddess Houtu heard of this, she recognized his ability to discern right from wrong, understand good and evil, and comprehend the ways of the world. Thus, she appointed him as the head of all judges. Do you have any questions?”

Du Yu found the whole thing utterly absurd. Who on earth would put a tiger on trial?

What was even more ridiculous was that the tiger actually pleaded guilty…

“No questions.” Du Yu understood that this was, after all, a legend. As for what truly happened, he would only know once he saw it with his own eyes.

“Next, I will…” Little Seven spoke up in a soft voice, “introduce the problem that has arisen in this legend…”

Du Yu pricked up his ears and listened carefully. Little Seven’s voice grew quieter and quieter, forcing him to concentrate even harder, yet he could only make out a few low murmurs. Before long, she concluded, “And that is the problem with the legend…”

“What?!” Du Yu was stunned. “Sister Seven, I cannot hear a single word you are saying! Can you speak up a little?!”

Little Seven was clearly startled and looked extremely nervous. Her timid personality made Du Yu incredibly worried. Could she really serve as his operator…?

“Then I will say it one more time…” Little Seven raised her voice slightly, though it was still much quieter than a normal person’s. “The problem that has occurred in this legend is that after the old woman’s son was eaten by the tiger, she chose not to report it to the authorities…” Little Seven said timidly. “Therefore, Cui Jue has yet to hold a trial regarding this matter…”

“Is that so?” Du Yu thought carefully for a moment before asking, “And this is also a Grade C mission?”

The reason he asked this was that this legend seemed a bit too simple.

It looked like completing this mission would simply involve getting the old woman to report the incident to the authorities.

“Yes.” Little Jin nodded. “Although the difficulty of the mission is very low, mishandling it could very well result in the Chief Judge being erased from reality. The severity cannot be underestimated, so it was ultimately classified as Grade C.”

“True.” Du Yu agreed. “Alright then, let us start preparing as soon as possible.”

“Go lie down over there…” Little Seven said softly, pointing toward the descent apparatus. “And we can begin…”

“Uh…” Du Yu thought for a moment and said, “Aren’t you forgetting something? According to the procedure, aren’t you supposed to ask me what items I want to take with me?”

“Take items with you…?” Little Seven gave an awkward smile and said, “I am sorry… I do not possess that ability…”

“Sigh…” Du Yu let out a heavy sigh. “Sister Qianqiu, if you do not come back soon… I am probably going to die in a legend…”

Du Yu composed himself and asked, “Is this a long-term legend or a short-term one?”

“It is a short-term legend. You will only descend once, for a duration of seven days,” Little Jin replied.

Du Yu nodded. “Alright, let’s start as soon as possible.”

…

Era: The golden age of the Tang Dynasty.

Location: Qi County, Luozhou Prefecture.

Buliangren, Jiang Qin, descending.

The moment Du Yu opened his eyes, he found himself wearing a black uniform that resembled the attire of the Imperial Brocade Guards. The craftsmanship looked decent, but the material was rather ordinary. He was currently standing in the center of a magistrate’s court.

“You three Buliangren, step forward and pay your respects to Lord Cui Jue. From today onward, you will serve under his command,” commanded a constable dressed in red.

“Bu…liangren?” Du Yu looked at himself, then gazed up at Cui Jue seated high in the hall. His appearance had not changed, though his eyes lacked the profound depth they held in the present. Before Du Yu could fully process the situation, the men beside him swiftly bowed their heads in respect. Du Yu hurriedly mimicked their actions and cupped his hands. ‘Good heavens, the plot kicks in faster and faster these days.’

“There is no need for formalities,” Cui Jue said with a smile. “May I ask what crimes the three of you have committed?”

‘What on earth is a Buliangren? You have to commit a crime to be one?’

“Little Seven! What is a Buliangren? What crime am I supposed to have committed?”

“…” A faint voice transmitted back. “…, …, and that is what a Buliangren is…”

“I cannot hear a thing! Your voice is way too quiet!”

Before Du Yu could finish asking, the red-clad constable standing beside Cui Jue took a step forward, pointed at Du Yu, and said, “You, speak first.”

“Huh?” Du Yu had just been wondering if he could monkey-see-monkey-do and simply copy whatever crimes the others confessed to. Now, it seemed he had no choice but to bite the bullet.

“M-me? You mean me? Boss, if we are talking about the crimes I have committed, well, it is truly a tragic tale… Men would weep to hear it, and women would find their hearts broken.”

“Oh?” Cui Jue, who had initially looked completely bored, suddenly grew intrigued upon hearing Du Yu’s words. However, he quickly realized something amiss. “What did you just call me?”

“Boss…” Du Yu immediately regretted saying it. ‘Who in this era calls a government official Boss?’

“Fascinating. Continue,” Cui Jue said with a smile.

Casting his hesitations aside, Du Yu began spouting nonsense right off the top of his head. “To start with, I… gathered a few of my brothers and killed a local tyrant named Jiuying at the Fierce River. That tyrant was incredibly powerful! We fought for half the day before a victor was decided. If it weren’t for one of my lackeys, Little Ba, sacrificing himself right then and there, I probably wouldn’t be standing here before you today.”

Upon hearing this, Cui Jue fell into a noticeable silence.

Du Yu had no idea what this reaction meant. Was his crime not severe enough?

“Don’t worry, Boss, there is more. Later on, I joined a gang called the Qi Family Gang. We had two sworn enemies, the Qin Family Gang and the Zhao Family Gang. A close confidante of mine was the female boss of the Qi Family Gang. Well, she accidentally got surrounded by the guys from the Qin and Zhao gangs. Thousands of them! To save her, I threw caution to the wind and charged into the crowd. Using my Shaolin ultimate technique, the Fire Cloud Palm, I struck three times in a row and killed no less than a hundred people, finally managing to help her escape.”

“…”

Cui Jue’s expression fluctuated between dark and light. He turned his head to look at the red-clad constable. Both of them wore extremely strange expressions.

‘Still not enough?’ Du Yu thought to himself. ‘What is the deal here? Just how massive of a crime do I have to commit to qualify?’

“There’s more… Boss, after my confidante and I returned to the gang, we couldn’t just swallow our anger. I led thousands of men right back to the Qin and Zhao gangs, and we slaughtered tens of thousands of them…”

Cui Jue finally raised a hand to interrupt Du Yu. Massaging his temples, he turned to the red-clad constable with a deeply troubled expression. “Li Neng, are you absolutely certain this man is one of the Buliangren sent from Chang’an?”

“My Lord… I…” The constable named Li Neng looked distressed. “This lowly one would not dare lie. These men are indeed the Buliangren sent from Chang’an. It’s just… this lowly one had no idea there would be such a heinous, bloodthirsty thug among them…”

“Huh? A thug?” Du Yu glanced around the room. “Could he be talking about me?”

“Forming illicit gangs and murdering countless people.” Cui Jue felt a headache coming on. “If what you say is true, the crimes you have committed would warrant the execution of your entire extended family according to the law. How on earth could you merely become a Buliangren…”