Legend Management Bureau Chapter 53

[ … words ]

Du Yu stared blankly at the green-clad woman in front of him.

“Did I… hit you?”

“You sure did!” Although the young girl had a smile on her face, a large, swollen bump was clearly visible on her head.

Du Yu looked at Xiao Qi with a bewildered expression. “What is going on here? Wasn’t it the jade pendant that I struck?”

Xiao Qi was at a loss as well. More than confusion, she felt a profound sense of fear. If this girl in green turned out to be an enemy, she was ready to slip away at a moment’s notice.

The girl in green ignored the two of them. She bounded over to Du Yu and inspected the shattered remains of the jade pendant at his feet.

“My house is completely ruined…” she murmured.

“House?” Du Yu glanced at the fragments on the ground and instantly understood. “Oh, I get it now. You’re like one of those artifact spirits that take human form, like the ones you always see in cultivation stories, right?”

“An artifact spirit? Hehe, not quite…” The girl in green let out an inappropriately timed giggle before asking, “Do you really think this jade pendant looks like a magical artifact?”

“My name is Yingning. Hehe.” The girl gave a dry laugh as she picked up the pieces from the ground one by one. “Oh dear, I’m in massive trouble now…”

Hearing this, Du Yu was a little puzzled. “Miss, is this jade pendant very important to you?”

“It is…” Yingning smiled. “Without it, my soul will likely scatter and vanish completely in less than two days.”

Du Yu was genuinely bewildered. According to her, he had just destroyed her only sanctuary. Without a place to reside, she would soon fade away. With the situation being so dire, why did this girl named Yingning sound so cheerful about it?

“Miss Yingning, how about we make a deal.” Though Du Yu found the girl incredibly strange, he had to resolve the more pressing issue at hand. “Tell me why you were inside the jade pendant given to me by Goddess Houtu. In exchange, I’ll find a way to keep your soul from scattering. How does that sound?”

“Well…” Yingning hesitated, pondering for a moment before saying with a bright smile, “Actually, I think I’d rather just let my soul scatter.”

“You…”

Du Yu and Xiao Qi exchanged a bewildered glance.

What was wrong with this girl? There was a bizarre sense of dissonance about her. Whenever the words ‘soul scatter’ were mentioned, one could clearly sense her underlying terror, yet the bright smile on her face never faded.

“Let me rephrase that,” Du Yu said. “I’ll find a way to save your soul first, and then you can tell me about the jade pendant. How about that?”

“Save my soul first…?” Yingning was visibly moved. “Even if I refuse to tell you anything, you’re still willing to help me first?”

“That’s right.”

Xiao Qi stealthily tugged at Du Yu’s sleeve. “Do you even know how to save her soul?”

“Of course I don’t know, but I know an expert who manages souls.” Turning back to Yingning, Du Yu asked, “Well? Do we have a deal?”

“Alright…” Yingning nodded. “If my soul doesn’t scatter, I’ll be able to do more things for Goddess Houtu. I accept your offer.”

Du Yu gave a slight nod, pulled out his phone, and decisively dialed Xie Bi’an’s number.

“Little Du?” Xie Bi’an was the same as always, answering the call in just three seconds.

“That’s right, it’s me, Seventh Master.”

“What’s up?”

“I need to ask you about something.”

In just a few brief sentences, Du Yu recounted everything that had just happened.

After listening to the explanation, Xie Bi’an pondered carefully for a moment before responding.

“Based on what you’re saying, that woman definitely isn’t an artifact spirit. Otherwise, the moment the jade pendant shattered, she would’ve instantly vanished along with it.” Xie Bi’an paused for a second before continuing, “If she was forced to appear because her resting vessel was destroyed, and she’s bound to dissipate after a few days, then it’s highly likely she’s a wraith.”

“A wraith?”

“Exactly. Most of the ghost stories that happen in your mortal realm are the work of wraiths causing trouble. These types of ghosts specifically possess physical objects. If the object is destroyed, their soul will slowly fade away. Some famous examples include embroidered shoes, videotapes, or porcelain dolls.”

“Seventh Master, you sure have watched a lot of horror movies…”

“Of course! It’s called having a passion for your profession.” Feeling a bit smug from Du Yu’s remark, Xie Bi’an cleared his throat and continued, “But as for whether she’s actually a wraith, I’ll have to see her in person to know for sure. I’m currently handling some business in the mortal realm right now, so I won’t be back anytime soon.”

“Oh, no problem, Seventh Master. Focus on your work.”

“Little Du, did a wraith attach itself to you? My second brother Zhong Kui, third brother Ox-Head, and fourth brother Horse-Face are all experts at capturing wraiths. Do you need me to put in a good word and ask them to help you out?”

“That won’t be necessary… Let’s just assume she’s a wraith for now. If I… want to save this wraith’s soul, what do I need to do next?”

“Save it? That’s incredibly simple,” Xie Bi’an said. “In the mortal realm, a wraith is an anomaly, but not down here in the Underworld. On Sansheng Stone Pedestrian Street, there’s a specialized wraith shop that sells all kinds of vessels for them to inhabit. If you can’t find it, just grab a random person on the street and ask for directions.”

After thanking the Seventh Master, Du Yu hung up the phone and turned to look at Yingning.

“I’ve been to Sansheng Stone Pedestrian Street before, and it’s not too far from here. Do you want to come with me?”

Yingning thought about it for a second, beamed a smile, and replied, “Sure!”

……

Outside the Ghost Gate stood a girl dressed in black. A minivan was parked next to her, and a man and a woman were standing outside the vehicle.

The girl glared furiously at the man in front of her, pacing back and forth in a fit of rage. After a while, she finally organized her thoughts, pointed a finger right at the man’s nose, and scolded, “Du Yu, I’m going to tell you this for the very last time! I, Fan Xiaoguo, am an underworld envoy, not your personal chauffeur! Every time you meet a new girl, you call me to drive you around. What exactly do you take me for?”

“Oh come on… Envoy Sister…” Du Yu pleaded with an apologetic smile. “I really couldn’t think of anyone else to call. Plus, this girl is in a pitiful state. If you didn’t come to help, her soul would have scattered and vanished entirely.”

Fan Xiaoguo glanced at the green-clad woman in front of her and sighed. “So she’s a wraith? Honestly, why do you always attract such weirdos? Last time, that Sister Zhongli was incredibly fierce, and this time, this girl has been laughing maniacally in the car the entire ride.”

Du Yu scratched his head. Looking at it from her perspective, it really did seem quite bizarre.

“Regardless, thank you so much, Envoy Sister.” Du Yu offered Fan Xiaoguo a grateful smile.

“Hmph, don’t thank me. Next time, I’m not coming no matter what you say.” Fan Xiaoguo slammed the car door shut, and the vehicle ascended into the sky, speeding away.

“Hehe… That sister was quite nice,” Yingning giggled.

“Of course,” Du Yu replied. “I owe her a massive amount of favors.”

Chatting along the way, the two stepped through the Ghost Gate.

“Hahahahaha!” The moment they entered the Ghost Gate, Yingning suddenly burst into roaring laughter.

“Hm?” Du Yu spun around. “What is it?”

Yingning was laughing so hard she could barely stand straight. She pointed at the massive crowd of ghosts lining up in the distance, alongside the Black and White Impermanence of the Xie and Fan families. “There are so many people standing around here! It’s absolutely hilarious!”

“What’s so funny about that?” Du Yu frowned, completely unable to comprehend Yingning’s sense of humor.

“Whoa, is that the River of Forgetfulness? That’s too funny!”

Along the way, Yingning pointed at all sorts of completely mundane sights and laughed uncontrollably. Many lonely spirits and wandering ghosts on Sansheng Stone Pedestrian Street stared at her in utter confusion. Du Yu began to feel a tinge of regret. If he had known this would happen, he would have come alone. He never expected to experience social death even in the afterlife.

“Yingning, can you please stop laughing?” Du Yu finally snapped. They had been wandering around the street for over an hour without finding the wraith shop, yet Yingning continued to cackle non-stop. Her constant laughter was starting to grate on his nerves.

“Why can’t I laugh?” Yingning asked, genuinely perplexed.

“We’ve been searching for ages, and we still have no clue where this wraith shop is. I should have asked Seventh Master for the store’s name. If this keeps up, your soul will scatter!”

“Are you not allowed to laugh when your soul is about to scatter?” Yingning tilted her head. “If we can’t find the shop, my soul will scatter whether I laugh or not.”

Du Yu shook his head. He had finally grasped a faint clue regarding Goddess Houtu, and he absolutely could not let her vanish so easily.

After asking numerous people for directions along the way, the two finally stumbled upon a wraith shop called “Strange Tales Studio” hidden away in a highly inconspicuous little alleyway.

The two pushed the door open and found a withered old man sitting inside, brewing tea. Behind him hung a vast assortment of everyday items, staggering in their variety.

Stepping closer, they noticed that in front of the old man, aside from the tea-brewing utensils, there was a desk laid out with a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, though the paper remained completely blank. Standing next to the desk was a battered and tattered wooden sign with four words inscribed on it: “Mister of Strange Tales.”

The old man lifted his sleep-filled eyes, glanced at Du Yu, and said nonchalantly, “One story for a bowl of tea.”

One story for a bowl of tea? Du Yu stared blankly. What kind of strange transaction was this?

“Old sir, I don’t wish to drink tea. We’re here to purchase some supplies for wraiths.” Du Yu bowed respectfully to the elderly man.

The old man lifted his eyelids again and replied, “One story for one vessel.”

“Hahahahaha!” Yingning suddenly burst into loud laughter. “You have to tell a story just to buy things? That’s incredibly hilarious!”

Hearing her laughter, the withered old man raised his eyelids and fixed his gaze upon Yingning.

“Old sir, I don’t have any stories to tell. Could I just buy it directly with money?” Du Yu asked.

“Pfft—” Hearing Du Yu answer the old man with such a serious expression, Yingning broke into laughter once again.

“How peculiar… how truly peculiar…” The old man kept his eyes locked on Yingning as he slowly stood up, his eyes widening gradually. “A young girl in green who laughs like a fool.”

Du Yu had no idea what was going on. The old man was staring at her as if he were looking at a long-lost biological daughter.

The old man suddenly turned around and began rummaging through a wooden chest behind him. In a flash, he pulled out a massive stack of manuscripts densely packed with writing.

“Not this one… Not this one either…” The old man flipped through the manuscripts page by page, quickly making an utter mess of his desk.

Du Yu was utterly baffled. It seemed like everyone he met today was an absolute eccentric.

“Ah!” the old man shouted out loud. “Found it!”

Du Yu looked at the old man in surprise. “What did you find?”

His hands trembling, the old man gripped one of the manuscripts and began to speak.

“Originally the daughter of a fox spirit, she later married a scholar named Wang. She loved to laugh all day long and had excellent relations with everyone. However, her radiant smile also attracted an evil man from the western neighborhood who coveted her beauty. The girl plotted and caused the villain’s death, but her mother-in-law furiously scolded her for having no sense of shame. From that day on, she lost her smile. No matter how much people tried to coax or tease her, she never laughed again. This story… is called ‘Yingning’.” The old man raised his head, his eyes shining with a brilliant light. “Have you two… heard this story before?”