Legend Management Bureau Chapter 6

[ … words ]

“Since that is the case… I cannot let you go find my friend,” Da Yi said with a troubled expression. “That is a promise I made to him…”

“Forget it…” Du Yu replied helplessly. “Even without him, we still have a way.”

“Do you have a good plan, Brother Pang Meng?” Da Yi asked.

“Of course.” Du Yu leaned against the wall and stared thoughtfully at the ground. After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Have you ever heard of the Victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong?”

“The Victorious Fighting what Wukong…?” Da Yi asked. “Who is that?”

“Huh?” Du Yu was a bit dumbfounded. “Sun Wukong, you do not know him?”

‘Where am I? Is this an era where everyone has heard of Sun Wukong? This is the ancient times!’

“Sigh…” Du Yu let out a helpless breath. “Alright, forget about Sun Wukong. Just take me to find Jiuying, and I will kill it.”

“This…”

Da Yi looked up at the sky filled with suns and said to Du Yu, “Alright, since that is the case, I will take you there tomorrow. Jiuying is located at the Fierce River in the northern lands of the Aolai Kingdom. It is not too far from here, just a full day’s journey.”

Du Yu followed his gaze and looked out the window.

‘Leave tomorrow?’

These suns seemed as though they would never set, so how could one distinguish today from tomorrow?

‘Suns… setting?’

“Huh?”

Du Yu stared intently at the suns.

‘Why are there only nine left?’

He thought the glaring sunlight was playing tricks on his eyes, but after counting carefully, there really were only nine.

“Da Yi!” Du Yu asked, a tone of confusion in his voice. “How many suns were originally in the sky?”

“Are you confused, Brother Pang Meng? There was originally only one sun in the sky.”

“No, that is not it.” Du Yu grew a bit anxious and pointed at the sky. “How many suns should be in the sky right now!?”

“There are ten right now,” Hou Yi replied, still not quite understanding.

“But why are there only nine right now?” Du Yu felt as if he had grasped a crucial clue, but it was incredibly ethereal, ready to snap at the slightest pull. If there were only nine suns left in the sky, then the legend of Yi Shoots the Nine Suns could not possibly occur.

“Ten, nine, what is the difference? The suns in the sky are sometimes ten and sometimes nine.” Da Yi spoke as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “To us, is it not all the same?”

Du Yu lowered his head in deep thought. ‘The suns… sometimes ten, sometimes nine?’

‘Could it be…?’

‘One sun rises and sets as normal, while the others do not?’

‘But that is far too unscientific!’

‘Wait, since I am already inside the legend of Yi Shoots the Nine Suns, does science even matter anymore?’

‘No, it does.’

‘It is a fundamental truth that the sun rises and sets, so why wouldn’t the others do the same? Do they just hover up there in the sky? Even when night falls, they still illuminate the entire earth.’

‘Why couldn’t Hou Yi shoot down the final sun?’

For the first time, Du Yu tried to use science to explain the legend. If he followed this line of reasoning, then the nine entities in the sky were definitely not suns!

But what exactly were those massive fireballs that resembled the sun? Even if they were not suns, could a mere mortal shoot them down?

“Brother Pang Meng, are you alright?”

“I am fine. I just feel like there are some things I cannot quite figure out. I need to go back and rest. It is settled then, we leave tomorrow.”

After saying his piece, Du Yu returned to his room.

Outside, a young boy was hiding in the shadows. Only after seeing Du Yu leave did he slowly walk into the house.

“Youqiong?” Da Yi smiled upon seeing the boy. “What brings you here?”

“Brother Yi, I feel like that guy named Pang Meng is not a good person,” Youqiong mumbled, his head hanging low.

“How could that be?” Da Yi pulled the boy into an embrace. “There are still more good people in this world. And although he might look a bit eccentric, his heart is tied to the world. His mind is entirely focused on shooting down the suns and defeating Demonic Beasts.”

Youqiong was still somewhat displeased, but hearing Da Yi’s words made him waver slightly.

“Youqiong, starting tomorrow, I am going with him to slay Jiuying. Can you stay home and help me take care of Sister-in-law Heng’e?”

“Slay Jiuying?” Youqiong exclaimed. “Then you absolutely must bring Little Ba along.”

“Little Ba?” Da Yi shook his head. “No. Since I changed Little Ba’s name, I no longer want it to experience such things. I only wish for it to live well.”

“But can that man defeat Jiuying…?”

“Honestly, I do not know either,” Da Yi sighed. “Even if Brother Pang Meng does not go, I will have to go myself sooner or later.”

Youqiong stood there looking pitifully wronged, at a loss for words.

“Yi,” Heng’e emerged slowly from the back room. “Are you leaving?”

“Yes. I am going with Brother Pang Meng to slay Jiuying.”

“Could you… not go?”

“Do not worry, my wife. I will certainly return safely.”

Heng’e bit her lip, murmuring softly, “Yi, you promised we would grow old together… That Jiuying is no easy foe. Since that Pang Meng is an immortal, surely he does not need the help of a mortal like you?”

Da Yi stood up and gently pulled Heng’e into his arms. “Cease your worrying, my wife. Have you forgotten? Brother Zhan told me that the two of us are destined to grow old together.”

It was true; Brother Zhan had predicted everything that had happened so far.

Feeling a bit like a third wheel, Youqiong slowly backed away toward the door.

“Youqiong,” Da Yi called out, stopping him. “I leave Sister-in-law Heng’e in your care.”

“No,” Heng’e interrupted. “Youqiong must go with you. He can control Little Ba, which will keep you safer.”

“My wife,” Da Yi said soothingly, “the weather is scorching hot, and you still have to manage the household. I truly cannot bear to leave you to do it alone, so let Youqiong stay and help you. Do not worry about me. Have you forgotten? If I really run into danger, I still have ‘that’.”

Hearing this, Heng’e finally looked a little more at ease.

…

At the Legend Management Bureau, Dong Qianqiu pulled up two screens, observing Du Yu and Da Yi respectively.

She meticulously recorded everything Da Yi said, though even now, she had no idea what secret he was hiding.

“Du Yu,” Dong Qianqiu spoke to the man lying on the bed. “The situation seems to have changed a bit. I need to discuss something with you.”

“Go ahead, Sister Qianqiu. I am listening.”

Dong Qianqiu organized the documents in her hands and said to Du Yu, “We told you before that you are the second person in nine hundred years who can enter Legends.”

“That is right. I remember.”

“And that first person was named Zhan Qisheng.”

“Zhan… Qisheng?”

“Yes. Nine hundred years ago, he entered a Legend and never returned.”

“Did he run into danger?”

“No. To be precise, he betrayed the Legend Management Bureau.” Dong Qianqiu spoke with an icy tone, as if talking about someone completely irrelevant.

“Betrayed…? Why?”

“I will not go into the details with you right now, but I need to warn you—Zhan Qisheng himself is highly likely involved in the legend of Yi Shoots the Nine Suns at this very moment.”

“He is… here with me?”

“Yes, and he severed his connection with the Legend Management Bureau. We cannot see his feed, but I just listened to the conversation between Da Yi and Heng’e. Da Yi mentioned a ‘Brother Zhan’. This person is extremely likely to be Zhan Qisheng.”

Dong Qianqiu pushed up her glasses and continued.

“‘If one wishes to quell the chaos, one must fight to win.’ That is the secret code he left behind. Therefore, the one who helped Da Yi kill the Demonic Beast Dafeng was also Zhan Qisheng.” Dong Qianqiu’s expression was grave. “I suspect he has been involved in this legend for a very long time, but we cannot determine his ultimate goal.”

Du Yu pondered for a moment. The clues he had right now were a tangled mess. He sat up, pulled out a stack of scripts, flipped them over to the blank side, picked up a charred branch from the ground, and began to jot down all of his current suspicions.

First, Da Yi was a mortal. Dong Qianqiu had mentioned watching this legend countless times, but what exactly caused this deviation in Da Yi’s background?

Second, out of the ten suns, one would set. This meant one of them was the real sun, but what were the other nine?

Third, Da Yi and Heng’e were hiding something. He currently had no idea what it was, but he had a vague feeling that Da Yi was not as simple as a mere mortal.

Fourth, the supposedly vain and materialistic Heng’e. Had he never met Heng’e, Du Yu might have believed the stories. But he had seen the way she looked at Da Yi—there was a genuine light in her eyes. Furthermore, Du Yu ran his hand over the surfaces of this side room that no one had used in years; it had been scrubbed spotless. This was not the handiwork of a woman obsessed with wealth and luxury. Heng’e was virtuous, well-educated, reasonable, and deeply in love with Da Yi.

Fifth, Da Yi’s friend, Zhan Qisheng. This Zhan Qisheng was likely the “Little Zhan” the Bureau Chief had mentioned. Du Yu did not know his stance or his objective; he only hoped the man would not cause trouble at a critical moment.

Looking at the clues Du Yu was organizing on the screen, Dong Qianqiu’s attitude toward him softened slightly. Though this man appeared careless and laid-back, his mind was exceptionally sharp. Perhaps there really was a glimmer of hope that he could complete the mission.

Du Yu carefully folded the paper and tucked it into his robes.

“Sister Qianqiu, traveling into a Legend is truly an unbelievable experience.”

“Is that so?” Dong Qianqiu replied in a lukewarm tone.

“Yeah, so many things are beyond imagination. For example, the famous sun-shooting hero Hou Yi is actually so approachable.”

“Indeed,” Dong Qianqiu agreed. “It is also possible that because he is a mortal, he lacks the capital to be arrogant.”

Du Yu offered a bitter smile. “And who would have thought that this great hero would have a speech impediment, speaking with a bit of a lisp.”

“A lisp…?” Dong Qianqiu furrowed her brows. “Right, in all the previous versions, Hou Yi certainly did not have a lisp.”

“Huh?” Du Yu was puzzled. Was Da Yi’s unclear speech also a unique deviation in this iteration of the Legend?

Erring on the side of caution, Du Yu pulled the paper back out from his robes and jotted down a sixth point at the bottom.

Sixth, Da Yi has a lisp for the first time.

He felt like he needed a key to string all of these disjointed clues together.

Even though the sky was still bright, Du Yu was feeling tired. With his mind churning over the chaotic mess of clues, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Legend Management Bureau.

Seeing that the Legend had reached a stopping point for the day, Xie Bian told Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo to go back and get some rest. However, he and Fan Wujiu absolutely refused to leave.

Dong Qianqiu had no choice but to let them sit there. In fact, not a single person in the entire Legend Management Bureau suggested taking a break.

…

An unknown amount of time passed before a knock came at the door.

Du Yu groggily stumbled to his feet, realizing it was even hotter outside than it had been yesterday. He looked out the window to see a full ten suns hanging in the sky.

“Brother Pang Meng.” Da Yi knocked on the door again.

Du Yu opened the door to find Da Yi dripping with sweat.

“Are we heading out, Brother Da Yi?”

“No, we have to wait a little longer. Could you do me a favor?”

Following Da Yi outside, Du Yu saw a straw mat spread out by the door. An elderly man lay upon the straw mat, completely lifeless.

“Could you help me bury him?”

Neither of them spoke. Du Yu dragged the straw mat, following silently behind Da Yi.

Upon reaching an empty clearing, Da Yi hefted his hoe and began to dig into the earth.

This scene was exactly the same as the one Du Yu had seen on the screen before he crossed over. At the time, Du Yu had wondered why Da Yi would be plowing the fields in such sweltering heat. As it turned out, he had been digging graves to bury the dead.

“The good news is that only Uncle Tan passed away today. The bad news is that Uncle Tan’s home is now empty. Not a single person from his family of seven survived,” Da Yi murmured as he dug. “More than half of the people in this village have already died of thirst or starvation. Brother Pang Meng, you should know that I cannot shoot down the suns, so I can only do my best to eliminate threats for the people.”

For the first time, Du Yu could palpably feel the immense sorrow radiating from Da Yi.

“But the truth is, none of these people had to die.” Da Yi dug harder and harder, as if desperately trying to escape from something. “They could have all survived. They died because of me…”

Du Yu stepped forward and patted Da Yi’s shoulder.

“What are you talking about? These people died because of the ten suns. What does that have to do with you?”

Da Yi acted as though he had not heard Du Yu at all. As he kept digging, tears streamed down his face.

“Brother Pang Meng, if you had to choose… would you choose to save the common people of the world, or grow old with the one you love?”

Du Yu shook his head. “I do not have someone I love, so I do not know.”

“Is that so?” Da Yi turned back to look at Du Yu. “There is something I have been meaning to tell you. You no longer need to search for that man named Yi who can shoot down the suns. That person no longer exists.”

At that very moment, an invisible thread in Du Yu’s mind finally pulled all the scattered clues together.

Du Yu’s eyes widened in realization.

“You knew all along that one day, ten suns would appear in the sky, didn’t you?” Du Yu asked.

“That is correct.” Da Yi set down the hoe, turned around to pick up Uncle Tan’s body, and gently lowered it into the grave. “Years ago, someone gave me a choice, and I chose to grow old with Heng’e.”

‘Years ago, someone gave Da Yi a choice?’

‘Who else in this world could have known in advance that ten suns would appear in the sky?’

Du Yu finally understood. That man named Zhan Qisheng had appeared when Da Yi was just a child.

It was his appearance that prevented Da Yi from acquiring a semi-immortal body.

Now that he had a breakthrough, everything else would be much easier to handle.

“The person who gave you that choice… was it Zhan Qisheng?” Du Yu asked.

“You…?” Da Yi slowly turned his head to look at Du Yu. “You know Brother Zhan?”

“I know him, but we are not close,” Du Yu deadpanned. “We could casually share a few drinks, but if I tried to borrow money from him during a critical moment, it would be pretty difficult.”

“…?”

“Never mind my relationship with him. I only have one question for you—do you want to shoot down the suns?”