Amoxicillin

A mortal had become an operator at the Legend Management Bureau and achieved 100% legend completion on his very first Super Grade A Mission.

News of this soon spread throughout the immortal realm. Not only the underworld, but even the Heavenly Court was shaken.

Yet Du Yu, the protagonist of this incident and the eye of the storm, remained unconscious. Upon hearing that he had been gravely injured, the Ten Courts of Yama all sent people bearing Spirit Pills and other wondrous medicines. Their intentions went without saying.

Of the underworld's Eight Masters, everyone except the Second Master, Military Judge Zhong Kui, sent medicinal pills to his door: the First Master, Civil Judge Cui Jue; the Third Master, A Pang, also known as Ox-Head; the Fourth Master, Horse-Head Rakshasa, also known as Horse-Face; the Fifth Master, Golden General, also known as Cangue Master; the Sixth Master, Silver General, also known as Lock Master; the Seventh Master, White Impermanence Xie Bi'an; and the Eighth Master, Black Impermanence Fan Wujiao.

In the mortal world, these medicines were treasures rarely seen even once in a century. Ten-thousand-year-old fleeceflower roots, thousand-year-old reishi mushrooms, Tianshan snow lotuses, Kunlun ginseng-every household brought out treasures they had hoarded for years.

Besides them, Meng Po, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the Northern Yin Great Emperor of Fengdu, the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, and even the rarely seen Lady Houtu all sent emails expressing their concern.

It was worth mentioning that, under Fan Wujiao's relentless insistence, Fan Xiaoguo reluctantly brought medicine as well. However, hers was a box of amoxicillin worth 12.8 yuan, primarily used to treat inflammation. Among all those rare and wondrous treasures, that box of amoxicillin was especially conspicuous.

"Xiaoguo, what on earth were you thinking?" Xie Jin walked down the road with her arm linked through Fan Xiaoguo's. Fan Xiaoguo had insisted on giving Du Yu a box of the cheapest, most useless medicine, and nothing Xie Jin said could stop her.

"What else? I don't want the older generation deciding who I marry." Fan Xiaoguo pouted, reluctance written all over her face.

"But Du Yu isn't that bad, is he? He's not bad-looking, and he's pretty fun," Xie Jin said.

"Mm... true... but Sister White, do you ever get that feeling? If I were getting to know him on my own, I might feel pretty comfortable. But once the Old Ancestor steps in, I lose all motivation instead." Fan Xiaoguo lowered her head and muttered, "Before I've even figured out what kind of person he is, my elders are telling me I have to marry him. That's way too much pressure."

"Mm... I suppose..." Xie Jin stroked Fan Xiaoguo's head and said, "Then just let things take their course. Our Xiaoguo is so adorable. How could there possibly be no men who like her?"

The Legend Management Bureau.

"Holy crap." Upon waking, Du Yu found his bedside piled high with Spirit Pills and other wondrous medicines. "Am I dead? Why are there so many offerings?"

Very soon, Du Yu realized something was wrong-

"I really am dead."

Du Yu turned his head and saw Dong Qianqiu asleep with her head resting beside the bed. For some reason, her hands were covered in dried blood. A few strands of hair hung across her fair face, and she looked utterly exhausted. He had to admit that she looked far more approachable like this than she did in her usual immaculate state.

Didn't they say she hadn't left that monitor in hundreds of years? Why was she sleeping here now?

Du Yu stared steadily at Dong Qianqiu. As though sensing something, she furrowed her brows and opened her eyes.

Their gazes met in an instant.

"Du Yu?! You're awake?"

Du Yu thought for a moment, then mustered a smile. "Heh, yeah, Sister Qianqiu."

"How are you feeling? Does your wound still hurt?"

"My wound? It was the me inside the legend who got injured, not the real me..." As Du Yu spoke, he twisted his body, only to discover an excruciating pain in his lower abdomen.

"Du Yu! Your self inside the legend and your self in reality share the same existence. Any injuries you suffer are real..."

"Holy crap!" Du Yu hurt so much he couldn't straighten up. "So that's how it works? Then I really need to take some time to recover..."

"This was actually my fault..." Dong Qianqiu said anxiously. "Although I didn't want Heng'e to fly to the heavens either... that was the legend as recorded. No one could change it..."

"Come on, Sister Qianqiu, I'm messing with you!" Du Yu flung back the covers and jumped straight out of bed. "It hurts a little, but not that much. Look, I'm still bouncing around just fine."

"Don't!" The moment she saw Du Yu jump out of bed, Dong Qianqiu turned her head away.

"What's wrong, Sister Qianqiu? Ah!!" Du Yu looked down and discovered that someone had stripped off his clothes at some point.

"They had to clean your wound... so they took your clothes off..."

"Holy crap!" Du Yu hurriedly burrowed back under the covers. This was beyond embarrassing.

"Seeing you so lively puts my mind at ease. I'll have someone bring your clothes." Dong Qianqiu stood up and slowly walked out. Before leaving, she turned back and added, "You're the Legend Management Bureau's only remaining operator now. If you die, I'll bear a great deal of responsibility."

Du Yu watched Dong Qianqiu leave, then looked at the room full of Spirit Pills and other wondrous medicines and sighed softly.

Who put all these boxes here, anyway?

"I hear you're awake?"

A figure poked his head through the doorway.

"Huh? Grand Judge? I only just woke up, and you already know?"

The visitor was none other than Grand Judge Cui Jue.

"I originally asked Old He to tell you to come see me once you woke up. But you did so well on this mission that people are already lining up to make your acquaintance. I was afraid someone else would get ahead of me, so I came to you instead."

"Oh?" Du Yu felt a little proud. "Did I do that well on this mission?"

"Indeed. In theory, you couldn't have done any better."

"Then, Grand Judge... about what we agreed on before?"

"You mean jumping the reincarnation queue?" Cui Jue smiled. "No matter how well you completed your mission, it couldn't possibly make up for seven hundred years."

"Uh..." Although Du Yu had already expected this outcome, he was still unhappy. All he could do was give a bitter smile and say, "Then do I have to keep working here? When will it ever end?"

"Du Yu, tell me, what do you think of this job?" Cui Jue asked very seriously.

Du Yu considered it briefly, then said, "It's kind of fun, I guess. Much better than working in a factory. It's just a little dangerous. I nearly died several times. In the world of the living, jobs this dangerous usually pay really well..."

"Pay? Hahahaha."

Du Yu's words sent Cui Jue into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Cui Jue slowly stopped smiling. Pointing to the room full of Spirit Pills and other wondrous medicines, he told Du Yu, "The moment they heard that the Legend Management Bureau's operator was injured, every prominent figure in the underworld sent you Spirit Pills and other wondrous medicines. With your current standing, why are you still talking about pay?"

Du Yu stared blankly at everything in the room. Most of the gifts came in boxes made from extremely expensive wood, and some of the boxes were even inlaid with golden flowers.

"These are all for me?"

"Indeed. Everyone is still waiting to see which lineage's medicine you'll use to heal your injuries. Choosing a lineage's medicine is essentially accepting the olive branch they've extended."

Du Yu had been quite pleased, but after hearing Cui Jue's explanation, his expression immediately turned disdainful. "What a hassle..."

"Du Yu, I've brought your clothes." Dong Qianqiu entered the room carrying his freshly washed clothes. "Oh? The Grand Judge is here too."

Du Yu gave Dong Qianqiu a small smile, took his clothes, and put them on beneath the covers. Then he got out of bed to examine the room full of wooden boxes.

"My god, what is all this? Can it really heal injuries?" Du Yu opened the first wooden box and stared in bewilderment. Inside lay something resembling a fish scale.

"That's the Candle Dragon Reverse Scale, sent by the King of Qin'guang."

Du Yu set it aside and opened the second box. Inside was a small, gleaming stone.

"The Five-Colored Stone, sent by the King of Equality."

Still looking utterly baffled, Du Yu examined the third box. Inside was a severed finger.

"The Buddha's Finger Relic, sent by Horse-Face."

"All right, enough." Du Yu waved a hand at Dong Qianqiu. "You don't have to introduce them, Sister Qianqiu. I don't want any of this. Send it all back."

"You can't do that!" Dong Qianqiu said. "If these important figures find out you didn't accept anything, how will you explain yourself to them?"

"Explain myself to them?" Du Yu looked at Dong Qianqiu in confusion. "I'm your employee. What do I have to explain to them? Besides, I have a mortal body. Would taking these things really heal my injuries? More likely, I'd die every time I took one. Mortals like us..." Du Yu walked to the table and picked up a box of amoxicillin. "We mortals can only take medicine like this. I really have no use for any of the rest."

After speaking, Du Yu turned to look at Cui Jue again.

"Oh, right, boss. You keep saying you have something to discuss with me. What is it?"

Cui Jue considered for a moment, then said, "I'd like to ask you a favor. There's no rush. Take your time to think it over..."

At Fan Wujiao's residence, Xie Bi'an happened to be visiting.

Looking at the many gifts that had been returned, the two fell deep into thought.

They had heard that Du Yu had returned every gift, keeping only a box of amoxicillin worth less than twenty yuan.

"We really miscalculated this time. That Du Yu has quite a peculiar personality," Xie Bi'an said, somewhat puzzled.

"I'd like to know who was so calculating as to send a box of anti-inflammatory medicine meant for mortals," Fan Wujiao said. "To think someone in the underworld possesses such skill. There truly are crouching tigers and hidden dragons here."

Standing nearby, Fan Xiaoguo looked utterly bewildered.

"Old Ancestor, what did you just say Du Yu kept?"

"Amoxicillin. Why, Guo'er? Do you know who sent it?"

"Pfft!" Standing behind Xie Bi'an, Xie Jin couldn't help laughing. "Eighth Ancestor, Xiaoguo was the one who sent the amoxicillin!"

Xie Bi'an's and Fan Wujiao's eyes widened.

"Really?!"

Fan Xiaoguo simply couldn't understand it. How could a box of anti-inflammatory medicine stir up such waves?

"Wonderful, Xiaoguo!" Fan Wujiao gave a rare smile. "You really put thought into this. Our Black Household is counting on you to build a good relationship with Du Yu."

"Huh...?"

Du Yu learned from Dong Qianqiu that he had been unconscious for thirteen days. Throughout that time, the Legend Management Bureau had continued operating. Only Dong Qianqiu had taken leave to care for him.

It was the first time Dong Qianqiu had taken leave in all those hundreds and thousands of years.

"Sister Qianqiu, how long do I have to keep lying here?"

Dong Qianqiu refused to let Du Yu get out of bed. Over the past few days, whenever she wasn't caring for him, she was sitting beside his bed tutoring him on legends.

"You can get out of bed once you've fully passed my assessment."

"Ugh..." Du Yu sighed. "Give me a break..."

"Listen to the question. Are all immortals eternally undying?"

Du Yu thought for a moment, then said, "I suppose so..."

"Wrong!" Dong Qianqiu snapped. "Have you been listening at all? I've told you so many times. Immortals live longer than mortals, but they aren't eternally undying! Immortals have many ways to extend their lifespans, such as attending the Peach Banquet or surviving heavenly tribulations. The longest-lived immortal currently known lived for a hundred and eight thousand years..."

"No way... Sister Qianqiu, I've read the Immortal Register. Some immortals lived for millions of years!"

Dong Qianqiu shook her head helplessly and asked, "Du Yu, tell me, which book about immortals was written by an immortal?"

"Well... uh..." The question instantly stumped Du Yu. That was right. Every book about immortals seemed to have been written by mortals.

"Every account of the immortals you know came from a mortal's pen. Even many of their Daoist titles were bestowed by emperors throughout history. But do you really know what they're actually like?"

"When you put it that way... that's true..."

"Do you know how long humanity has existed? Even counting from monkeys, it's only been four and a half million years! What would an immortal with a lifespan of several million years even be? An 'ape immortal'?" Dong Qianqiu asked. "Besides, Chinese civilization spans five thousand years. Where are you going to find these million-year-old immortals?"

Du Yu pursed his lips helplessly. "Y-you keep going, Sister Qianqiu."

"Then I'll continue educating you."

Du Yu listened listlessly to all this theoretical knowledge. It was far more boring than entering a legend, and at one point he nearly dozed off.

Another hour passed before he finally couldn't take it anymore:

"Sister Qianqiu, why don't we just drop it?"

"What?" Dong Qianqiu froze for a moment. "How can we drop it? Any of this knowledge might save your life someday!"

"Don't I have you?"

"Me?"

"That's right. When I enter a legend, won't you be by my side the whole time?"

Dong Qianqiu opened her mouth, but said nothing.

"Or are you going to leave me to fend for myself like last time?"

"Of course not! Last time was a special situation..."

"So if you know all this, that's as good as me knowing it." Du Yu hopped out of bed and patted Dong Qianqiu on the shoulder. "Stop wearing yourself out. Let's go have some fun, okay? Get a cup of coffee?"

Dong Qianqiu looked at the man before her in confusion and sighed softly.

After all, he was the only hope of restoring the Legend Management Bureau to its former glory.

"Where... would we go for coffee?"

"Sis, this is your turf. How would I know if you don't?"

While He Suoyi wasn't looking, the two slipped out of the Legend Management Bureau.

To Du Yu's surprise, despite her apparently high position, Dong Qianqiu didn't even have a car.

"Sister Qianqiu, are you going to wear that?" Looking at Dong Qianqiu's black work uniform, Du Yu asked, "Don't you girls usually dress up a bit when you go out?"

"I... this is all I have..." Over all those years, Dong Qianqiu had been asked countless questions. This was the only one that had ever made her feel embarrassed.

That's right. Should I buy some pretty clothes?

"Never mind," Du Yu said. "I can't imagine what you'd look like in anything else anyway. This is fine."

The two left Mount Unreturning, heading for Fengdu City. However, Mount Unreturning was a full forty li from Fengdu City, and Du Yu was still injured. Walking there like this, they probably wouldn't arrive even after an entire day.

As they were speaking, a battered van flew overhead. Upon spotting the two people on the ground, it circled once in the sky, then slowly descended.

"Huh? Underworld Enforcer Sister?" Du Yu took a closer look. The driver was none other than Fan Xiaoguo.

"Assistant Dong and Du Yu?" Fan Xiaoguo looked puzzled too. "Are you two heading out?"

"Yeah!" Du Yu said. "Perfect timing! Give us a lift?"

Dong Qianqiu shook her head and said, "Du Yu, Xiaoguo might have business with the director. Don't interfere with her work."

"Ah... it's fine, it's fine, Assistant Dong. Actually, the Old Ancestor sent me to bring Du Yu something. Wherever you're going, I can take you there. I'll leave as soon as I drop you off. I happen to have something to do in Fengdu City afterward anyway."

Du Yu didn't stand on ceremony any longer. He took Dong Qianqiu by the hand and climbed into the van.

Amid a subtly awkward atmosphere, the three flew toward Fengdu City.