Legend Management Bureau Chapter 62

[ … words ]

King Biancheng offered a bitter smile. “Brother Bao, I am truly sorry. I have my difficulties.”

“Difficulties…” Bao Zheng’s eyes widened in sheer fury. The current situation had completely surpassed his wildest imagination.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, King Biancheng slowly levitated, floating over to land behind the Great Emperor of Mount Tai.

Even the Great Emperor of Mount Tai was visibly taken aback. “King Biancheng, what are you doing?!”

“East Emperor, rest assured. Everything is proceeding according to your plan,” he replied.

Gritting his teeth, Bao Zheng forced the words out one by one. “Is that how it is?! Even King Biancheng has been bought off by you! East Emperor, what else do you have to say for yourself?!”

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai furrowed his brow, falling into deep thought before questioning King Biancheng. “What plan exactly does this Emperor have?! You are a subordinate of the Great Emperor of Beiyin Fengdu—why would you be working for me?!”

Hiding within the stone grotto, Du Yu was also badly startled by the unfolding scene. ‘Good heavens… if that guy named King Qinguang hadn’t blocked that strike… there would be one less of the Ten Yama Kings right now.’

Hearing the Great Emperor’s words, King Biancheng let out another bitter smile, his expression bizarrely twisted.

“Are you saying… that strike King Biancheng aimed at King Yanluo just now was fake?”

From behind the Ten Yama Kings, a refined and scholarly man stepped forward. His face was pale, his features delicate and handsome.

“King Pingdeng, Lu You…” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai looked at the scholar. “This Emperor was also quite shocked by that strike just now. But think about it carefully—if I truly wanted to deal with you juniors, would I need to go through such convoluted trouble?”

Bao Zheng froze upon hearing this. The Great Emperor of Mount Tai made a valid point. His cultivation base was vastly superior to that of the Ten Yama Kings. If he truly wanted their lives, why would he bother bribing one of them? Wasn’t that just doing things the hard way, complicating a simple matter?

And yet, someone among the Ten Yama Kings undeniably wanted his life. Just the thought of it sent a chill down Bao Zheng’s spine.

At this point, the only people Bao Zheng could trust were King Qinguang, Jiang Ziwen, who had taken the fatal blow for him, and Second Master Zhong Kui, who had been clashing with the opposition the entire time.

While the group hesitated, the air mid-flight rippled, and several more figures materialized.

Du Yu watched from afar. This time, he actually recognized the arrivals: Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Civil Magistrate Cui Jue. Behind them stood two young men clad in gold and silver armor—presumably the previously unseen Fifth Master, the Golden General Master Jia, and the Sixth Master, the Silver General Master Suo.

“Perfect timing!!” Zhong Kui suddenly bellowed. “Old Four! Get down here right now!”

Horse-Face had only just appeared and hadn’t even grasped the situation before being called out. Any clever little tricks he wanted to play evaporated instantly. Left with no choice, he obeyed his second brother and slowly descended to the ground.

The remaining Netherworld Envoys also floated down. Unsure of what was happening, they could only stand awkwardly between the two factions.

“Second Brother, what are your orders?” Horse-Face asked Zhong Kui, flashing an obsequious smile.

“Go up there and give King Biancheng a lash! I have questions for him!”

“Eh? Whip King Biancheng?!” Horse-Face blinked in surprise. “Why on earth…?”

“I told you to go, so go!” Zhong Kui kicked Horse-Face right in the rear, his tone incredibly stern.

Bao Zheng gave a slight nod. He turned to the Great Emperor of Mount Tai. “East Emperor, since you firmly maintain that you have nothing to do with this, why not hand over King Biancheng and let Horse-Face interrogate him? How about it?”

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai paused for a moment, then, without a second word, yanked King Biancheng forward. “This King Biancheng was never my subordinate to begin with. You had best take him away directly.”

Seeing himself shoved forward by the Great Emperor, a flash of disappointment crossed King Biancheng’s face. He gave a subtle nod and stepped in front of Horse-Face.

Seeing this, Horse-Face dared not disobey. He pulled the Nine-Revolutions Soul-Cleansing Whip from his robes. “King Biancheng… I truly mean no offense.”

With that said, the whip in Horse-Face’s grasp flared with a dark light. It began to writhe on its own like a black serpent. After circling before King Biancheng’s eyes, it bound him up with a sharp whoosh. Slivers of black flame erupted from the dark length of the whip, and King Biancheng’s face instantly twisted in agony.

“Ah… alright.” Horse-Face wiped a fine sheen of sweat from his forehead and turned around. “If you gentlemen have any questions, you may ask them now.”

Seeing this, the Great Emperor of Mount Tai took a step forward, but Bao Zheng immediately blocked his path.

“Bao Zheng, what is the meaning of this?! With so many people here as witnesses, do you think this Emperor would harm him?!”

“East Emperor, just to be safe, it is best if our side handles the interrogation. That way, you can avoid any suspicion,” Bao Zheng said plainly.

“Hmph!” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai snorted coldly and turned away. “Suit yourselves!”

Bao Zheng glanced back at King Qinguang, Jiang Ziwen—the only person he could trust right now.

King Qinguang gave a faint nod. He approached King Biancheng and spoke. “Bi Yuanbin, who ordered you to harm Bao Zheng?”

Bi Yuanbin gritted his teeth. The flames on the black whip instantly surged like a wildfire, forcing even King Qinguang to take a step back.

“My, my, my.” Horse-Face also retreated, muttering, “King Biancheng, whatever you do, don’t try concocting lies in your head. This Nine-Revolutions Soul-Cleansing Whip won’t make it easy on you.”

The flames on the whip grew fiercer and fiercer, and bead-sized drops of sweat formed on King Biancheng’s forehead.

“Hmph.” Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, the Great Emperor of Mount Tai spoke slowly. “This Emperor would very much like to see how you will clean up this mess if the mastermind turns out to be someone else entirely!”

Ignoring the East Emperor, Bao Zheng and King Qinguang kept their eyes fixed straight on King Biancheng.

The flames were incredibly strange. Although they radiated no heat whatsoever, they inflicted enough agony to twist the face of a True Immortal. Before even fifteen minutes had passed, King Biancheng broke into agonizing wails. Having worked alongside him for so long, the other Yama Kings couldn’t bear to watch, praying he would just spit out the truth sooner to spare himself the physical torment.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long before King Biancheng forced out a few words through his teeth. “Stop burning me… I’ll speak… It was… the East Emperor… the Great Emperor of Mount Tai…”

Strangely enough, the moment those words left his mouth, the flames engulfing him instantly snuffed out.

He gasped for breath, violently panting, unwilling to suffer that heart-searing agony for another second.

“What?!” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai’s eyebrows shot up in fury. He lunged forward to grab King Biancheng but was immediately intercepted by several Yama Kings.

“East Emperor… matters have reached this point. Do you still have any excuses?” King Qinguang said coldly. “The Five Ghost Emperors, the Ten Yama Kings, and the Eight Great Netherworld Envoys are all here bearing witness to this interrogation. Could it possibly be faked?”

Grinding his teeth, the Great Emperor of Mount Tai snapped, “Impossible! There must be something wrong with that whip! Show me the whip!”

Instantly, all eyes fell upon Horse-Face.

“Something wrong with the whip?”

Horse-Face quickly recalled the whip from King Biancheng, trotted over to the Great Emperor of Mount Tai, and respectfully handed it over. “East Emperor, please, take a look for yourself. But please don’t break it, this lowly one still relies on this thing to make a living.”

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai carefully scrutinized the whip in his hands. He quickly realized one undeniable fact—there was absolutely nothing wrong with the whip. It was the genuine Nine-Revolutions Soul-Cleansing Whip.

Trembling slightly, he shoved the whip back into Horse-Face’s chest. Now, he was completely at a loss.

The whip was real, which meant King Biancheng was telling the truth. Had he truly ordered him to assassinate Bao Zheng? And thinking back, King Zhuanlun’s claim was also true—that he had been ordered by the Great Emperor to assassinate the Great Emperor of Beiyin Fengdu.

But why? Could it be that he really did these things, yet had no memory of them?

The Great Emperor of Mount Tai desperately wanted to know the truth behind all this, but it seemed he wouldn’t get the chance.

“Everyone.” After a moment of thought, he spoke up. “No matter how much you distrust this Emperor, I absolutely cannot surrender without a fight here. Otherwise, the Underworld will fall into sheer chaos. Since everyone here has witnessed this matter, I naturally won’t run away. I simply ask that you give me some time to investigate this clearly.”

But Bao Zheng and the others could no longer place any faith in the Great Emperor of Mount Tai.

If they let him walk away now, there was no telling what else might happen. The most pressing matter was to detain him in Hell and await the Jade Emperor’s judgment.

Seeing that everyone around him had gone silent, the Great Emperor of Mount Tai took a step forward. “Even if you attempt to arrest this Emperor right now, I will fight to the bitter end. I do not wish to harm anyone, so I hope you will not force my hand.”

The entire scene froze in a deadlock. If the Ten Yama Kings and the Eight Great Envoys attacked together, they might just stand a chance against the East Emperor. The problem was that no one knew where the Five Ghost Emperors stood, nor did they know if there were any other traitors hidden among the Ten Yama Kings.

“Everyone!!! Esteemed leaders!!!”

Just as they were locked in hesitation, a figure calmly strolled out from the sidelines.

“Du Yu! What are you doing?! Get back here!!” Dong Qianqiu whisper-shouted frantically from inside the stone grotto.

“Who goes there?!” King Qinguang was highly paranoid by now. Seeing a silhouette emerge, he reflexively summoned his Destiny Scroll and blasted it forward.

Du Yu squeezed his eyes shut in terror. Suddenly, an emerald green brush resting at his waist flew out on its own, forcefully blocking the Destiny Scroll’s strike. The green brush didn’t budge an inch, while the Destiny Scroll was knocked back a few feet.

King Qinguang was completely baffled. ‘Aside from the people standing right here, is there actually another immortal in the Underworld capable of blocking my strike?’

A moment later, his eyes widened even further.

“You’re a… mortal?!”

All twenty sets of eyes immediately locked onto Du Yu. For a mere mortal to suddenly pop out in the middle of a battleground of immortals left everyone thoroughly bewildered.

Xie Bi’an frowned, sending a telepathic message to Du Yu: “Little Du, you can’t handle a situation like this. Get out of here, quickly.”

“Xiangqin! Why are you here as well? It’s dangerous, fall back first,” Cui Jue immediately followed up with his own telepathic transmission.

“Cui Jue, Xie Bi’an!” The Great Emperor of Mount Tai instantly noticed the anomaly. “If you have something to say, why sneak around with telepathic messages? Can’t you speak openly and honestly?”

Du Yu offered Xie Bi’an and Cui Jue a reassuring smile before walking right into the center of the crowd. Looking around, he announced, “This humble one is untalented, but I am the new operator for the Legends Administration.”

Hearing those words, the expressions of those who hadn’t met Du Yu completely shifted. It was clear that an operator was a truly unique existence within the Underworld.

“Even if you’re an operator… you can’t possibly resolve a scene like this, can you?” Bao Zheng looked at Du Yu with heavy skepticism.

“This humble one is untalented, truly untalented. However, I happen to have a plan that just might resolve the current conflict.”