Legend Management Bureau Chapter 49

[ … words ]

Cui Jue’s mother looked deeply troubled. Stepping slowly toward the group, she addressed Du Yu, “Great hero, this is my failure as a mother. If you are still unsatisfied, then take my old life first…”

Du Yu shook his head in exasperation. “Old madam, I’ve already told you, I didn’t come here today to take anyone’s life! I just want justice!”

“Justice…” Cui Jue’s mother smiled bitterly. “There is no inherent justice in this world. I made Jue’er study hard from a young age so that he could become a good official in the future and seek justice for more people. Great hero, I have fully experienced the sinister nature of this world, so how could I have raised a wicked son who cannot distinguish right from wrong?”

“But this specific case is a massive miscarriage of justice!” Du Yu shouted. “You are also a mother. You should be able to imagine how miserable it would be if your son didn’t support you, leaving you starving and freezing all day, living in constant fear, right?”

Cui Jue’s mother was visibly moved. She looked at the old woman standing behind Du Yu. The woman’s facial features were somewhat similar to her own, and she was even a few years younger, but their clothing, grooming, and complexion were vastly different. The old woman was noticeably more haggard, with time leaving cruel scars upon her.

“Jue’er, I believe this case should indeed be retried. If this woman standing before us has truly suffered an injustice, you must restore her innocence. If there is no injustice, I believe this great hero will not harm you,” Cui Jue’s mother said with a heavy expression.

“But…” Cui Jue looked conflicted. “The key figure, Meng Shan, is already dead. Retrying this case won’t yield any results.”

“Who says?” Du Yu took a step forward. “If you made a wrong judgment, are you just going to let the mistake stand?”

“Don’t twist words here. Meng Shan is dead. Who else can I interrogate? Should I cross-examine the old woman again?”

“Interrogate the tiger?!” Cui Jue’s mother was taken aback, muttering, “Great hero, that is simply too absurd…”

Cui Jue, however, looked at Du Yu and fell into deep thought.

That was true. Who said a tiger couldn’t be put on trial?

He pondered for a long time, then turned to bow to his elderly mother before looking back at Du Yu, the old woman, Si Huang, and Li Neng.

“Pass down my orders. Open the court and put the tiger on trial!”

“Yes, sir!”

Du Yu looked at Cui Jue, thinking to himself, ‘Now this is the great judge I had in mind.’ He then glanced at the old woman, thought for a moment, and said to Cui Jue, “Boss, just to be absolutely safe, I have a few things to explain before court opens.”

…

“Silence in the court—”

A resounding cry for order echoed through the hall as Cui Jue took his seat at the magistrate’s desk.

The residents of the county town flocked to watch, as this trial was simply too bizarre.

In the courtroom, an old woman knelt on the floor alongside a crouching fierce tiger.

“Old woman below the dais, recount the details of the case one by one in front of these gathered townsfolk.”

“I obey your command.”

The old woman opened her mouth and poured out everything that had happened. Her words were powerful, her thoughts clear, and her logic flawless. No one looking at her would think she was insane. She started from her arrival at the foot of Yunmeng Mountain and continued until the tiger ate the man. Under Du Yu’s instructions, she concealed the fact that Si Huang could speak, but that did not mean she was lying. After all, she listed every single one of Meng Shan’s wicked deeds.

Reaching an emotional point, the old woman lifted her clothes, revealing old scars scattered across her body to the townsfolk. Some were from scissors, some from a sickle, and there were even severe burn marks. These wounds absolutely could not have been caused by wild beasts.

Cui Jue nodded with a heavy expression. This was the first time he was hearing most of these things. It seemed he truly had made a massive mistake three years ago. He pondered for a moment, recalling what Du Yu had instructed, and then said to the old woman, “Old woman, you keep claiming that this fierce tiger understands human nature, and that it sought to repay you because you saved its life. Do you have any proof?”

The old woman nodded and said, “I can demonstrate it for Your Honor.”

She turned her head toward the fierce tiger and said, “Si Huang, bow to His Honor.”

The fierce tiger obediently nodded its head and then lowered its body toward Cui Jue.

The crowd of townsfolk clicked their tongues in amazement. This fierce tiger truly understood human nature.

“Si Huang, now bow to Constable Li,” the old woman instructed again.

The fierce tiger looked around, found Li Neng in the crowd, and lowered its body once more.

“Whoa!” the crowd gasped. “This tiger can actually tell the difference between His Honor and Constable Li.”

“Si Huang recognizes absolutely everyone,” the old woman said slowly. “But he is kind by nature and never hurts anyone. If you folks don’t believe me, just think back. Si Huang has lived on Yunmeng Mountain for forty-four years. Has he ever hurt any of you even once?”

The townsfolk exchanged glances.

Indeed, they had never heard of the fierce tiger from the mountain coming down to hurt anyone.

“Your Honor, I have finished speaking. Please make your judgment.”

Cui Jue nodded, looked at Si Huang, and then asked, “Si Huang, can you understand my words?”

Si Huang nodded.

“Did you truly eat Meng Shan?”

Si Huang nodded again.

“Did you eat Meng Shan to save this old woman?”

Si Huang nodded for the third time.

Cui Jue remained silent for a long time before speaking again. “In that case… Although you ate Meng Shan, considering that you were repaying a debt of gratitude and acting out of a desperate desire to protect your master, I have decided to give you a lenient sentence. I will not pursue this matter any further. I now order you to return to Yunmeng Mountain and never descend again. Do you have any objections?”

Hearing this, Si Huang felt a bit conflicted. It secretly glanced at Du Yu.

“Your Honor, I have something to say.” Du Yu cupped his hands toward Cui Jue.

“Oh?” Cui Jue had long since realized that Du Yu was no ordinary person, so he asked, “What is it?”

“This old woman is advanced in years, lonely, and without anyone to rely on. Since this Si Huang ate her son, why don’t you sentence it to become her adopted son?”

Cui Jue was startled. He hadn’t expected this rogue enforcer’s line of thought to be so unorthodox, taking a completely different approach. Yet, his words made a lot of sense.

“Sentence the fierce tiger to be the old woman’s adopted son…?” Cui Jue was still somewhat worried. After all, Si Huang was a tiger. Since ancient times, there was a saying that rearing a tiger courts disaster. But naturally, Si Huang couldn’t be compared to other fierce tigers… He wondered what the old woman’s intentions were.

“Old woman, let me ask you: if I sentence this Si Huang to be your adopted son, to take care of your daily life from now on and provide for you in your old age, would you be willing?”

The old woman’s body trembled slightly. “If that can truly be so, I would be eternally grateful for Your Honor’s great kindness.”

Hearing this, Si Huang also grew excited, nearly opening its mouth to speak.

Seeing this, Cui Jue finally relaxed and nodded in satisfaction.

The crowd of townsfolk also cheered. This trial was truly worthy of becoming a legend.

Far away in the Legend Administration, Xiao Qi saw this scene and smiled with relief. It seemed this legend was also coming to an end.

“Du Yu, find a deserted place. We’re about to summon you back.”

“Summon me back?”

“Yeah, the legend is about to end. The operator can return.”

“That’s not right, Xiao Qi,” Du Yu said thoughtfully. “There’s still one crucial event that hasn’t happened yet.”

“Crucial event?”

Sure enough, the very moment Cui Jue finished passing judgment on the fierce tiger, a gust of eerie wind suddenly swept through the entire magistrate’s court. After that, a brilliant light erupted in the courtyard, and a woman dressed in brocade garments slowly descended from the sky.

“Here she comes,” Du Yu smiled slightly.

The gathered townsfolk stared at this scene, completely dumbfounded. A spectacle like this had never existed in their understanding of the world.

The woman in brocade floated in mid-air, slowly gazing down at all living things. Where she hovered, golden light shone brilliantly in all directions, making it utterly impossible to see her face. She slowly extended a hand as a celestial voice echoed around them:

“I am the daughter of Gonggong, Houtu.”

Hearing those words, the townsfolk all fell to their knees. This scene was truly a deity descending to the mortal realm!

“It’s Lady Houtu!!”

Even Cui Jue, upon seeing this, hurriedly got up from his magistrate’s chair and knelt on the spot, kowtowing to Lady Houtu.

Who didn’t know that Lady Houtu was the deity in charge of the underworld?

To avoid sticking out too much, Du Yu also followed suit and knelt. In his heart, he silently calculated, ‘This Lady Houtu forcibly took away Dong Qianqiu. I wonder what kind of person she really is?’

Lady Houtu paused for a moment before speaking:

“This old lady… no, Our Highness just witnessed everything that happened here and could not help but be overjoyed. To think the mortal realm still has someone capable of clearly distinguishing good from evil, possessing profound righteousness, daring to act, and bearing a brilliant mind, allowing this human tragedy to finally end perfectly. This old lady… no, Our Highness is deeply moved.”

The crowd knelt with their faces to the yellow earth. Listening to Lady Houtu’s slightly majestic voice, none dared to raise their heads. A deity who usually received the prayers of thousands all day long had actually descended to the mortal realm.

“Mortals, you may rise,” Lady Houtu said calmly.

Only then did everyone slowly lift their heads to catch a glimpse of Lady Houtu’s true face.

Unlike the folk portraits, Lady Houtu was not a kind old woman, but rather a valiant and heroic female warrior.

“Our Highness wishes to induct this person into the ranks of the immortals to become the leader of the underworld envoys, granting him magical powers and eternal life. I have specially descended to inform you mortals.”

Du Yu smiled faintly. That’s right, inducting Cui Jue into the immortal ranks—only then would the legend truly be over.

He watched as Lady Houtu slowly looked toward the magistrate’s desk, then extended a finger, pointed right at Du Yu, and asked:

“Are you… willing to become an envoy of the underworld?”

“Eh? Who?”

Du Yu looked around and confirmed that Lady Houtu wasn’t pointing at anyone else, but at him.

“Me???” Du Yu was shocked. “You want me to become an underworld envoy??”

Wouldn’t that mess everything up?

“Indeed. Our Highness has seen all your deeds. You understand reason and judge good and evil. Despite being a rogue enforcer with a checkered past, you dared to confront the master of a county…”

Du Yu hastily waved his hand. “Hold on, hold on! That won’t work! I…”

Just as he started to speak, he choked on his words. Having never anticipated such a situation, he was completely unprepared with an excuse.

Lady Houtu was slightly taken aback at having her words interrupted by Du Yu. This was the first time a mortal had ever cut her off.

Looking at Du Yu’s expression, Lady Houtu realized that this person was completely different from other mortals. Not only was there no shock in his eyes at seeing a celestial deity descend, but there wasn’t a trace of reverence either.

Could it be… he wasn’t a mortal?

Probing him, Lady Houtu sent a telepathic message to Du Yu: “Your aura is quite strange. Are you already a member of the immortal ranks?”

Hearing the telepathic message, Du Yu finally relaxed. Lacking magical powers, he couldn’t initiate a telepathic conversation, but he could reply to one.

“Lady Houtu, I definitely can’t agree to this,” Du Yu replied telepathically. “My identity is a bit special. Although I’m not an immortal, I’m absolutely not a mortal either… If I had to put it into words, I guess you could call me an off-the-books contractor for the immortals.”

Lady Houtu found herself in a difficult position. The situation was quite awkward now. She urgently needed to recruit some talent from the mortal realm, but she hadn’t expected to be rejected on her very first attempt. Was she going to have to backpedal in public?