Legend Management Bureau Chapter 60

[ … words ]

“There really is no difference…” Goddess Houtu admitted after a moment of thought.

“What about the Eight Great Netherworld Emissaries?” Du Yu knew that although Chigui was single-minded, the emissaries certainly were not. Why would they execute such a brainless mission?

“What Eight Great Emissaries? Only seven showed up. Zhong Kui never replied to my messages. After the skirmish, I had the seven of them scatter and flee,” Chigui scoffed, feeling quite clever.

“No, didn’t they think there was something unreasonable about this plan? Did Seventh Lord Xie Bian agree too? Even the cunning Horse-Face agreed?”

“Why wouldn’t they agree?” Chigui asked in confusion. “I told them all. Goddess Houtu’s order was to hit and run. Still, those guys are really fast at escaping. I doubt anyone even saw them.”

Du Yu covered his forehead, suddenly feeling an inexplicable mental exhaustion.

So the order the emissaries received was simply to “hit and run”… In other words, they had no idea about the objective to “test the attitude of the Great Emperor of Mount Tai”. If that was the case, why wouldn’t they run after the fight?

Testing his attitude was indeed necessary. If the Great Emperor of Mount Tai was truly the mastermind, he would definitely swallow the bitter pill in silence. No matter how he was attacked, he could only pretend not to care, as it would clearly be an act of retaliation. But on the other hand, if he was innocent and was inexplicably attacked, then right now he should…

“Old hag! Old hag!” Little Wangliang screamed as he ran wildly in from outside. “This is bad! The Great Emperor of Mount Tai is attacking with the Five Directional Ghost Emperors!”

Just as I thought. Du Yu felt a sense of dread. For him to charge right over with his men meant that either the Great Emperor of Mount Tai had absolutely nothing to do with this matter, or he was an incredibly meticulous schemer who believed that pursuing them at this moment was the best strategy.

Seeing that Goddess Houtu was about to storm out, Du Yu hurriedly rushed over and held her back. “Boss! You absolutely cannot! Right now, they only think they were attacked by wandering ghosts, so the situation is still under control… Once you show your face, the entire nature of this incident will change…”

“Then what should we do?” Goddess Houtu looked at Du Yu. “Just let it go? Am I supposed to run away now?”

“Leave this to me…” Du Yu turned to look at Chigui and asked, “Brother Chigui, can you defeat the Five Directional Ghost Emperors all by yourself?”

Chigui cast a cold glance at Du Yu and replied, “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Why don’t you try fighting them and show me? Their cultivation methods are specifically tailored to dispel evil spirits. If we called the Eight Great Emissaries or the Ten Yama Kings, maybe we would stand a chance, but I definitely cannot do it.”

“Then we have zero leverage for negotiations… However…” Du Yu said as he walked toward the exit, “I will go out and assess the situation first. After all, the Five Directional Ghost Emperors plus the Great Emperor of Mount Tai only add up to six people. We have about the same number on our side. A real fight will benefit no one.”

“Six people…?” Chigui watched Du Yu leave, then looked at Goddess Houtu in confusion. “Is this guy an idiot? Why would he say the Five Directional Ghost Emperors and the Great Emperor of Mount Tai only amount to six people?”

Goddess Houtu smiled awkwardly and said, “He is just a mortal. Let us be a little more forgiving.”

Du Yu rushed headlong out of the cave and immediately spotted Dong Qianqiu, who had been standing there the whole time.

“Du Yu… what in the world is going on?” Dong Qianqiu was a bit dazed as she pointed at the figures hovering in the sky.

“Do not worry, Sister Qianqiu, I am here to handle this.” Having said that, Du Yu slowly raised his head, only to be badly startled.

What happened to just the Five Directional Ghost Emperors and the Great Emperor of Mount Tai? Why were there more than ten people densely packed in the sky?!

Every single one of them exuded an imposing aura rivaling that of Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and their attire was a diverse mix of styles. The person standing in the center unleashed an aura that seemed to pierce the heavens. He wore a dark green robe and possessed a dignified face that was naturally intimidating without showing any anger. He gazed down indifferently. Clearly, this man was the Great Emperor of Mount Tai.

“This is bad… There is no way we can negotiate now…” Du Yu turned his head and whispered to Dong Qianqiu. “Sister Qianqiu… Didn’t you say it was just the Five Directional Ghost Emperors and the Great Emperor of Mount Tai? Why are there over ten people?”

Dong Qianqiu was also taken aback and said, “Du Yu, did I never tell you? Among the Five Directional Ghost Emperors, with the exception of the Southern Ghost Emperor, every other direction is split into two emperors representing Yin and Yang, making a total of nine people. Adding the Great Emperor of Mount Tai, that makes ten.”

“Good heavens…” Du Yu gritted his teeth. It seemed that not paying attention in class really was a recipe for disaster.

The group hovering in the sky was also somewhat bewildered.

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai turned to the person beside him and asked, “Zhao Wenhe, are you certain the ones who attacked us fled in this direction?”

“Yes, Eastern Emperor.” The man called Zhao Wenhe nodded. “There were six or seven others, but they escaped far too quickly. They scattered, and their whereabouts are unknown. Currently, only the aura of this evil spirit can be tracked.”

“Evil spirit?” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai looked at Dong Qianqiu and Du Yu standing on the ground below and said, “That is clearly an Underworld Immortal and a mortal. Where is this evil spirit? We must not falsely accuse innocent people.”

“Those two certainly weren’t the ones who attacked us, but that evil spirit definitely fled here!” Zhao Wenhe said anxiously. “Let us go down and apprehend these two. We might be able to interrogate them and find out something.”

“No.” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai surveyed the surroundings and stated, “This is the Mountain of No Return. It belongs to the territory of the Legend Management Bureau, making it highly sensitive. It will be difficult to explain if we make a move recklessly.”

With that said, the Great Emperor of Mount Tai slowly descended, landing right in front of the pair. The ten people behind him also touched down one after another, following closely behind.

Du Yu offered an awkward smile and asked, “Boss… you must be the Great Emperor of Mount Tai, right?”

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai gave a slight nod. “Indeed, I am Dongyue. I have come here specifically to inquire about a matter from you, my young friend.”

Du Yu swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain calm. Had he known this assignment would be so urgent and dangerous, he never would have accepted it, no matter what.

“What matter does the boss wish to inquire about?”

“Eastern Emperor! Why waste words with him?!”

A burly man standing behind the Great Emperor of Mount Tai suddenly barked. His eyes were wide with anger, and his voice was sonorous and powerful, ringing out like a massive bell. Du Yu followed the sound and discovered that the speaker looked exactly like the door gods depicted in traditional New Year paintings.

“Shentu, do not be insolent,” the Great Emperor of Mount Tai said calmly. But before he could finish, the large man named Shentu charged forward and hoisted Du Yu up by his collar.

At that very instant, Du Yu’s gaze grew uncontrollably cold, and an intense killing intent surged outward. It was clearly Zhongli Chun, worried that Du Yu would be harmed, taking the initiative to unleash her power.

“Oh?” A hint of uncertainty flashed across the Great Emperor of Mount Tai’s face. “Did I misjudge you? I thought you were a mere mortal, yet the aura of an evil spirit upon you is so heavy…”

Realizing the situation was turning dire, Dong Qianqiu hastily pulled an object from her waist, stepped forward, and declared, “Great Emperor of Mount Tai! I am Dong Qianqiu from the Legend Management Bureau, and this is my Netherworld Emissary Token! Please order your subordinate to stand down!”

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai paused, then waved his hand. The Netherworld Emissary Token in Dong Qianqiu’s hand automatically flew over to him. He examined it carefully and confirmed it was genuine.

“I am somewhat confused now…” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai pondered for a moment. He looked at Dong Qianqiu, then turned to look at Du Yu, asking, “Were the assassins who attacked me sent by the Legend Management Bureau? And for what reason?”

“No, no, no, Boss, you are overthinking things.” Du Yu hurriedly broke free from Shentu’s grasp and ran over to the Great Emperor of Mount Tai. “Boss, how should I put this… this whole thing is just a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai retorted. “I was clearly struck head-on by several blasts of nether energy. The Ghost Emperors stationed in the East, South, West, North, and Center all sensed I was in danger and immediately teleported over to protect me. We made such a massive commotion, yet you claim it is merely a misunderstanding?”

Du Yu knew his excuse sounded far too contrived, but how else could he explain it to resolve the immediate crisis?

At this critical juncture, Du Yu suddenly remembered the words Cui Jue had spoken during his legend.

If Goddess Houtu ordered him to assassinate the Great Emperor of Mount Tai, what would he do?

At the time, Cui Jue had said—although he did not know why Goddess Houtu would want to carry out an assassination, everything had to be judged by right and wrong. If there was an issue, it could be discussed openly and honorably. Sending someone to assassinate the other party was truly inappropriate.

‘That is right. Why not just speak about this openly?’ Du Yu took a deep breath, stepped forward, and slowly asked:

“Great Emperor of Mount Tai, I want to ask you something. Why did you assassinate the Northern—”

Before Du Yu could finish, a massive gale of nether wind swept past. A multitude of shadowy figures suddenly flickered into existence in the sky. One of the burly men among them roared at the top of his lungs, “Great Emperor of Mount Tai! Pay with your life!”

“Look out!!” Dong Qianqiu screamed. Grabbing Du Yu, she dove straight into the stone cave.

Almost at the exact same moment, the ground in front of the Great Emperor of Mount Tai violently exploded. Had Dong Qianqiu not pulled Du Yu away, his soul would have been completely shattered by now. Looking back at the Great Emperor of Mount Tai as the dust settled, two figures were standing defensively in front of him, preventing the blast from reaching his body.

“What in the world is going on?!” Du Yu was stunned. Lying flat at the cave entrance, he peeked outside. “Who is that? Why will they not even let me finish speaking?”

In an instant, the dozen or so figures in the sky activated various magical artifacts and descended upon them. Du Yu peered closely, but to his surprise, he didn’t recognize a single one of them.

“Sister Qianqiu… who are all these people?” Fortunately, Du Yu had the Underworld’s walking encyclopedia, Dong Qianqiu, right beside him, so he asked her in a hushed whisper.

“All of the Ten Yama Kings are here, except for the Wheel-Turning King. And there is also Second Lord Zhong Kui…”

“Huh?!” Du Yu froze. “Why did they suddenly show up here to fight? Isn’t this the absolute worst-case scenario?”

Not far away, a heavily bearded man dressed in black bellowed, “Great Emperor of Mount Tai, you have been heartless and unjust! Do not blame us for what happens now!”

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai stared at the man in sheer shock. “Zhong Kui! Have you gone utterly mad?!”