Legend Management Bureau Chapter 9

[ … words ]

“Brother Pang Meng truly possesses incredible divine abilities, to actually be able to disrupt the mind of a Demonic Beast,” Da Yi murmured in secret admiration.

Relying on Du Yu’s Qianqiu Divine Skill, Da Yi successively shot out twelve of Jiuying’s eyes. Unfortunately, this Jiuying had nine heads, making for a total of eighteen eyes.

“Only six eyes left!” Du Yu roared. “Keep going!”

Jiuying panted heavily, its faces covered in blood. It still had no idea what was happening; it only felt that someone was standing beside it, mocking it relentlessly.

The strange part was that the voice sounded entirely lacking in confidence, even a bit shy, yet she just kept on taunting.

Gritting its teeth, it simply decided to ignore the voice altogether.

For the next few Arrows, no matter how Da Yi fired, Jiuying kept its gaze fixed dead on him.

On the other end, Dong Qianqiu was extremely anxious. Having continuously yelled “Hey, grandson!” under the watchful eyes of all the employees, she was currently experiencing complete social death. Her usually fair face was flushed crimson, and she wished she could find a crack in the ground to hide in. But this was the critical moment to kill Jiuying. If she didn’t keep shouting, she didn’t know how else she could help.

“This is bad, the Qianqiu Divine Skill is about to lose its effect,” Du Yu said urgently. “Keep going! Sister Qianqiu!”

In between, she even improvised and added a few phrases like, “Look over here!” and “Come hit me!”

She kept reminding herself that she was doing this for the sake of all living beings, but it was just too humiliating.

On the other hand, no matter how much Dong Qianqiu yelled, Jiuying completely ignored her, keeping all its defenses focused on Da Yi.

“That is enough,” the Xiu Snake, who had been wrapping tightly around Jiuying, suddenly spoke. “Its strength has dropped significantly. I am confident I can kill it now.”

“Kill it…?” Da Yi sensed that something was wrong. “Little Ba, what are you going to do?”

The Xiu Snake shook its head and said, “Da Yi, please tell my master that I can only fulfill half of what I promised him. He wanted you to live, and he wanted me to live too, but I have broken my word.”

“No! You cannot!” Da Yi yelled. “Little Ba, do not do anything foolish! Brother Pang Meng and I will figure something out!”

“Da Yi, you know it too, right? Even if the two of you shoot out all of its eyes, there is no way to kill it. After all, Jiuying is not an ordinary Wild Beast, and your Arrow can only pierce its eyes,” the Xiu Snake said with a faint smile. “I should have died the day the ten suns appeared. Being able to live this much longer, I am already completely satisfied. Today, I return this life to you.”

After speaking, the Xiu Snake let out a roar toward the sky. A beam of purple light shot out from its mouth, and within that light rested a deep purple sphere.

“What is that?” Du Yu asked in astonishment.

“It is a Demonic Beast’s Inner Core!” Dong Qianqiu shouted. “Quickly get Da Yi away from there! The Xiu Snake is going to detonate its Inner Core!”

Hearing this, Du Yu immediately rushed forward to grab Da Yi.

“Brother Da Yi, let’s go!”

“No, I can’t. Little Ba…”

“That snake is already beyond saving! If you don’t leave now, it will die for nothing!”

Under Du Yu’s forceful tugging, a weeping Da Yi was dragged far away.

At this moment, Jiuying also sensed an impending disaster.

For a Demonic Beast to cultivate to the Xiu Snake’s enormous size, it would take thousands, if not tens of thousands of years. Yet, it was actually detonating its Inner Core for a Mortal whose lifespan was only a few decades?

Jiuying could not figure it out; it simply could not understand.

This was perhaps the reason why it had never developed true sentience.

“I really wish I could return to Dongting Lake to take one last look at the azure waters,” the Xiu Snake said, speaking its final words in this world.

A deafening explosion pierced the heavens, and massive shockwaves of energy echoed between the sky and the earth.

……

“What exactly is going on?” Dong Qianqiu asked, completely baffled. She had never seen such an outcome for the Xiu Snake and Da Yi.

“Reporting to the ancestors!” Xie Jin suddenly burst into the room. “My clansmen and I have checked all the Soul Summoning Records, and we did not find the name Sun Wukong from two thousand years ago.”

“Reporting to the ancestors!” Fan Xiaoguo followed closely behind. “Lord Cui Jue and Lord Zhong Kui have both checked the Book of Life and Death. There is absolutely no registration information for Sun Wukong during the Era of Emperor Yao!”

Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu were puzzled. A wandering ghost was actually not recorded on file?

“Qianqiu!” He Suoyi also walked over. “We have investigated clearly, but it is a bit tricky. That wisp of soul is precisely the Evil among the Three Hun and Seven Po. If it is not destroyed quickly, things will become very troublesome.”

“We certainly want to destroy it, but where is it?” Dong Qianqiu pondered slightly.

“Assistant Dong, I have tracked down the footage of that soul!” a staff member suddenly yelled.

“You tracked down footage of the soul?” Dong Qianqiu exclaimed. “Why would there be footage of it? Could that soul also be a part of the Legends?”

“Assistant Dong, you should come take a look at this!”

Dong Qianqiu, Xie Bi’an, Fan Wujiu, and He Suoyi all quickly walked over to the screen.

On the display, they saw a puff of white smoke drifting aimlessly.

It floated along until, as if exhausted, it plunged downward and burrowed into a rock.

“Which of the Legends is being displayed?” Dong Qianqiu asked the staff member in front of the screen.

“Reporting to Assistant Dong, the name of the legend is shown as the Birth of the Monkey King…”

“So that is how it is…” He Suoyi said in shock. “In the Aolai Kingdom in Dongsheng Shenzhou, a thousand years from now, this clump of soul will nurture a Stone Monkey within this rock.”

“Hahahahahaha!” Xie Bi’an suddenly burst into loud laughter. “Out of the Three Hun and Seven Po, it only consists of Evil? No wonder it will wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace and the Underworld!”

Fan Wujiu also relaxed. He glanced at Dong Qianqiu, then jerked his thumb toward Du Yu on the distant screen and said, “That Young Kid might just be a genius.”

……

Du Yu and Da Yi gathered many stones and piled them up to form a tomb.

The Xiu Snake had blown itself to pieces, leaving absolutely no remains to be found.

“Little Ba, I will definitely make Dongting Lake brim with azure waters once again,” Da Yi promised as he stacked the stones. “Brother Pang Meng, thank you for today as well. If it were not for you, neither Little Ba nor I would have survived.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The two carefully finished constructing the Xiu Snake’s tomb. Da Yi pulled out an Arrow and neatly carved two characters onto a large stone: ‘Xiuling’.

“Brother Da Yi, what does ‘Xiuling’ mean?”

Da Yi replied softly, “Xiuling… it means the tomb of the Xiu Snake.”

Du Yu pondered for a moment, then picked up the engraved stone and smashed it fiercely against another rock, continuing until both stones were reduced to rubble.

“Brother Pang Meng, what are you doing?” Da Yi asked, showing a rare flash of anger.

“Xiu Snake? Are you still calling it the Xiu Snake?” Du Yu asked calmly. “In your heart, is it still that Demonic Beast known as the Xiu Snake?”

“This…” Da Yi choked on his words before tears began falling like rain. “No, it is not the Xiu Snake. It is Little Ba.”

Du Yu nodded and patted Da Yi on the shoulder.

“Carve it again. From now on, this place will be called ‘Baling’.”

“Du Yu, that is incorrect,” Dong Qianqiu interrupted. “‘Baling’ is a place name in the real world; you should avoid misusing it. Just follow Da Yi’s intention and call it Xiuling.”

Du Yu shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sister Qianqiu, but I cannot back down on this. This place must be called Baling.”

“You…” Dong Qianqiu couldn’t reason with Du Yu at all, but Xie Bi’an was chuckling again behind her.

“Seventh Lord, what are you laughing at now?”

“Assistant Dong, don’t be so anxious. Out of curiosity, I just checked an online encyclopedia and discovered something interesting.”

Dong Qianqiu had a deep sinking feeling. Could Du Yu have already altered history?

She took out her Mobile Phone and searched for the “Legend of Baling”, clearly seeing the following text:

The Commentary on the Water Classic records: The Ba Snake is “thirty-three meters long, with a girth of over two meters.” Its entire body is brilliantly patterned, covered in an intermingling mix of green, yellow, black, and red. It excels at hiding in the shadows, waiting for prey to appear before leaping out and launching a sudden attack. It uses its massive body to constrict its prey, then swallows it whole.

The Ba Snake originally lived in Dongting Lake. Because ten suns appeared in the sky simultaneously, the waters of Dongting Lake boiled over, causing the beast to bring calamity to the mortal realm and leaving the common people in unspeakable misery. Therefore, Yi shot it to death with his Arrows. From then on, the place where the Ba Snake died was called Baling, and according to the Legends, people there once saw a vast number of Arrows scattered on the ground.

Fan Wujiu glanced at the Mobile Phone and said, “What did I tell you? That Young Kid might just be a genius.”

“What genius…” Dong Qianqiu muttered. “He just has incredibly good luck.”

Although she said that, she was genuinely moved in her heart.

“Baling, huh…”

……

Du Yu and Da Yi took a brief rest and then set off on their journey back.

Due to the events concerning the Ba Snake, both of them were feeling quite down, so neither spoke a word.

Now that the six Demonic Beasts were no longer a threat, the only thing left to do was shoot down the nine suns.

Although Du Yu was deeply grateful to the Ba Snake, he didn’t share the same profound bond with it that Da Yi did. All he could do was try his best to comfort him.

There was one thing Du Yu still couldn’t figure out. It had been two whole days, and he had barely eaten anything or slept at all, yet why did he feel absolutely no fatigue?

After trekking for another full day, the two returned to the village.

To Du Yu’s surprise, Heng E had been standing at the village entrance waiting the entire time. The scorching weather had caused layers of fine sweat to bead on her forehead, yet she remained standing there steadfastly.

“Husband!” Spotting Da Yi from afar, Heng E ran over in excitement.

A smile finally broke across Da Yi’s face. He laughed and cried, then pulled Heng E into a tight embrace.

“Thank goodness, husband. You are safe,” Heng E sobbed uncontrollably.

In the end, Heng E didn’t ask Da Yi a single thing about the Demonic Beasts. She merely kept staring at the bloodstains on his clothes, her face full of worry.

Du Yu did not disturb them and quietly walked away. After taking just a few steps, he saw You Qiong standing on the street.

“Did Little Ba… listen to me?” You Qiong asked.

Du Yu suddenly felt an ache in his heart. The You Qiong before him was, after all, just a child.

“It… did very well. If it were not for it, both Da Yi and I would have died out there.”

“Is that so…?” You Qiong wanted to ask more but didn’t dare, lowering his head and muttering under his breath.

Indeed, how was he supposed to ask?

“By the way,” Du Yu forced a smile, “Little Ba said it will not be coming back for a while. It found a great place that looks a lot like Dongting Lake, so it is going to live there for some time…”

“R-really? Little Ba said that?”

“Yes. That place is beautiful; it is called Baling. When you grow up, we will go see it together.”

You Qiong nodded. He opened his mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing, turning around and walking away.

Although Du Yu felt heavy-hearted, he knew his task was not yet complete.

“Sister Qianqiu, why don’t I feel any fatigue?” Du Yu asked.

“I have never entered the Legends, so I don’t know,” Dong Qianqiu replied. “But I have heard from others that the further back into the ancient eras you go, the more abundant the Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth becomes, even enough to allow a Mortal to cultivate into an immortal. By the time of the society you live in, the Spiritual Energy has essentially been depleted.”

“Spiritual Energy…?” Du Yu murmured. “Cultivation Truly Does Not Deceive Me.”

“Stop being so flippant. Have you figured out how to complete your task?”

“Not yet,” Du Yu shook his head. “What about you? You have been here watching me for three days now. Aren’t you tired?”

“Tired?” Dong Qianqiu’s tone was as icy as ever. “I have kept my eyes glued to the screen in this position for hundreds of years. I have never slacked off for even a single second.”

While talking with Dong Qianqiu, Du Yu made his way back to the side room in Da Yi’s house.

“So you are a Workaholic?” Du Yu scratched his head and remarked, “Not slacking off for even a single second is just terrifying.”

“Stop spouting nonsense,” Dong Qianqiu stated. “This is my duty. Do you know that if I miss any crucial details, it could very likely cause massive dam—”

“Sister Qianqiu,” Du Yu interrupted her, “when I get back, how about I invite you out for a cup of coffee?”

“A cup of… coffee?” Dong Qianqiu failed to process the suggestion for a moment.

“Yeah. I don’t really have any friends, and over the past few years, the person I have spoken with the most is you,” Du Yu said helplessly. “You have been stuck here for hundreds of years. Your situation is pretty similar to mine, isn’t it?”

“You…” Something hidden deep within Dong Qianqiu’s heart was pricked, but she quickly regained her composure and said, “I am not like you. I have people to talk to, and I don’t feel lonely.”

Xie Bi’an nudged Fan Wujiu with his elbow.

“What are you doing?” Fan Wujiu asked in annoyance.

Covering his mouth, Xie Bi’an whispered, “If I am not hearing things, is this Du Yu trying to Tease Dong Qianqiu?”

Fan Wujiu lowered his head and pondered for a moment before asking,

“What does ‘Tease’ mean?”

“Good heavens!” Xie Bi’an clutched his head and pointed a finger at him. “You, ah, you…”

He then waved his hand at Fan Xiaoguo and called out, “Xiaoguo, come over here quickly.”

Not understanding why, Fan Xiaoguo trotted over to the White Impermanence, Xie Bi’an.

“Seventh Ancestor, you called for me?”

Xie Bi’an looked at Fan Xiaoguo dotingly and said, “Xiaoguo, whatever you do, do not take after your ancestor. Not only is he a Blockhead himself, but he has cursed the entire Fan family with a Single Constitution.”

“Huh?” Fan Xiaoguo didn’t expect Xie Bi’an to make such a shocking remark, and she had no idea how to respond. “Seventh Ancestor… it isn’t nice to say things like that…”

After speaking, she turned to look at Fan Wujiu, only to find that he had absolutely no reaction.

“What is not nice about it?” Xie Bi’an scoffed. “When I first met you back in the day, you spoke even less than Old Eight. Fortunately, you’ve had my Good Granddaughter Jin keeping you company all these years, and haven’t you become much more cheerful because of it?”

“You are right, Seventh Ancestor…” Fan Xiaoguo nodded. “Sister Bai has indeed taught me a lot…”

Xie Bi’an waved his hand. “Stop calling me Seventh Ancestor all day long. Among the younger generation of the Black family, you are my favorite. If you don’t mind, I will take you in as my Adopted Sister, and you can just call me Brother An. I will personally take charge of arranging a good marriage for you.”

“Ah?”

Both Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo gasped in shock, while only Fan Wujiu helplessly shook his head.

“Come, Good Granddaughter Jin.” Xie Bi’an pointed at Fan Xiaoguo and instructed Xie Jin, “Call her Great-Grandmother.”

“You absolutely cannot!” Fan Xiaoguo was truly in a tough spot. She couldn’t wrap her head around this mess of a family tree anymore.

“Come, Adopted Sister.” Xie Bi’an pointed at the screen in front of Dong Qianqiu and asked, “Right now, I am going to propose a marriage match for you. Are you willing?”