Petting the Queen Mother

How did the figure sitting on the stone bench look anything like a person?

She lay sprawled on the bench like a cat. Although her face was exceptionally alluring, her body was entirely that of a tiger, covered in dark brown fur, with a long leopard's tail trailing behind her. She was the very image of a living sphinx.

Du Yu had seen Demon Beasts before and managed to remain fairly calm, but what on earth was going on with this Queen Mother of the West?

This wasn't how they portrayed her on television.

"Which region are you responsible for, wandering immortal? Why has This Dowager never seen you before?"

When the human-faced, tiger-bodied Queen Mother of the West spoke, Du Yu shuddered from head to toe. He had clearly seen the sharp "tiger fangs" inside her mouth.

"I... I spent a few years working as a paladin in Azeroth, then went to Runeterra to work as a summoner for a few more..." As Du Yu spun his nonsense, he whispered to Dong Qianqiu, "Sister Qianqiu, why does the Queen Mother of the West look like this?"

"At this point, the Queen Mother of the West hasn't fully assumed human form. She's still a Demon Beast whose mind hasn't quite matured. Whatever you do, don't make a fuss, or you'll anger her," Dong Qianqiu warned.

A Demon Beast with an immature mind?

Wasn't that just a big cat?

When it came to playing with cats... Du Yu considered himself pretty good.

"Azeroth... Runeterra?" The Queen Mother of the West regarded Du Yu suspiciously. "Are there places beneath heaven that even This Dowager has never heard of? And what ranks of immortals are paladins and summoners?"

"Huh?" Du Yu laughed awkwardly. "Boss, never mind all that. Haven't you been looking for someone?"

"That's right." The Queen Mother of the West straightened up. "This Dowager almost forgot. I heard... you found the Heavenly Worthy?"

"Oh, not only haven't I found him, I don't even know who you're looking for," Du Yu said, scratching his head.

"You haven't found him?!" The Queen Mother of the West leaped off the stone bench and faced Du Yu like a tiger about to pounce on its prey. "Are you making a fool of This Dowager?"

"Not at all." Du Yu had no idea what to do now. This tigress was truly beyond anything he had expected. "Don't get worked up, boss. There's something I'd like to ask you first..."

"Insolence!" the Queen Mother of the West cried, a tiger's roar accompanying her sharp voice as her leopard's tail shot upright. "Not only do you make a fool of This Dowager, you come to Kunlun to question me?"

"Boss, you have to believe me." Du Yu was getting anxious too. "No matter how many immortals you have around you, I'm the only one wholeheartedly trying to help you."

"Wholeheartedly trying to help This Dowager?" the Queen Mother of the West said, suppressing her anger. "Hmph. Then tell me, what trouble am I in? And how do you propose to help?"

Du Yu pointed beneath his feet and said, "The suns."

At those words, the Queen Mother of the West's expression visibly changed.

"The suns... what about them?"

"I wanted to talk to you as an ordinary person, but apparently that won't work. Boss, I'm done pretending. I'm laying my cards on the table," Du Yu said. "I've come from far away to help this world shoot down nine suns!"

"You...?" For a moment, the Queen Mother of the West was speechless. Then she recovered, golden light gleaming in her eyes as she examined Du Yu closely. After a long while, she said in surprise, "You're actually a mortal...?"

"I'm more than just a mortal," Du Yu said. "This is the first time I've laid my cards on the table since coming to this world. Boss, I'll tell you the truth. If those nine suns aren't shot down, both the world you live in and the world I came from will disappear. Every ordinary person on this earth will die too."

The Queen Mother of the West's eyes widened. She couldn't say a word, and her leopard's tail drooped limply.

"Boss?" Du Yu waved a hand before her face. "Did you hear what I said?"

"This Dowager never imagined I would cause such a terrible disaster..."

"Boss, can you tell me how this happened?"

After a long silence, the Queen Mother of the West said, "This Dowager caused this trouble herself. I shall resolve it myself. There's no need to trouble an outsider like you."

"Boss, that's where you're wrong." Du Yu shook his head and sat right beside her. Under her astonished gaze, he launched into his speech. "I've laid my cards on the table. Can't you come clean too? All I want is to help you solve the problem in front of you. You need to give me an honest account of how the incident happened before I can help. Remember, leniency for confession, severity for resistance!"

Du Yu stared earnestly at the Queen Mother of the West, who was utterly bewildered.

What does this mortal mean? Does he not know who I am?

The more Du Yu spoke, the more carried away he became, until he genuinely treated the Queen Mother of the West like a big cat. Stroking the fur on her back, he said, "Even if you won't think of yourself, you should think of your family..."

"Insolence!!!"

The Queen Mother of the West had never experienced anything like this. This was simply outrageous!

Dong Qianqiu was stunned too. "This brat's taken his cat-petting obsession all the way to the Queen Mother of the West."

Hearing the Queen Mother of the West's cry, the guard outside immediately rushed in with his spear.

"Your Majesty!"

Du Yu also felt he had gone a little too far. He hurriedly stood up and said, "Boss, you really ought to think this through. I truly came to help you..."

The guard was puzzled. Although the Queen Mother of the West's voice had sounded so shrill, her expression was strange, and she was regarding Du Yu with a very peculiar look.

"Your Majesty... are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Withdraw."

"Ah, yes!"

Once the guard had left, the Queen Mother of the West calmed herself and said, "Even if I tell you, what could a mere mortal like you do?"

"But telling me won't cost you anything, and it'll give you one more thread of hope, right?" Du Yu said.

"Ah." After considerable thought, the Queen Mother of the West finally sighed and shook her head. "Very well. May it be as you say."

"Many years ago, the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure gave This Dowager a Magic Treasure called the Nine-Treasure Glazed Lamp. It was a wondrous rarity, containing nine Samadhi True Fire Pearls that revolved in turn, their flames burning eternally without ever going out. This Dowager loved it dearly and kept it beside me to admire and play with every day. But a year ago, This Dowager accidentally knocked it over. Those nine Samadhi True Fire Pearls had already developed spiritual awareness. Upon meeting the wind, they grew, becoming nine enormous fireballs that flew into the sky. Because their flames never die or go out, people came to call them nine suns..."

"Ah, now I get it!" Du Yu exclaimed. "Boss, you're looking for the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure, right? If something goes wrong, he needs to provide after-sales service."

"Why would This Dowager seek the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure...?" The Queen Mother of the West frowned. "He warned This Dowager long ago never to overturn the Glazed Lamp. Now that the disaster has occurred, what could he do?"

"Hm? So the Heavenly Worthy you're looking for isn't the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure?" Du Yu was confused.

The Queen Mother of the West looked at Du Yu as though he were an idiot. After taking a moment to calm herself, she said, "Perhaps it has been too long since This Dowager last spoke with a mortal, and I haven't explained clearly. There is only one Immortal in this world who can overcome Samadhi True Fire: the Heavenly Worthy of the Way and Its Virtue."

Du Yu raised an eyebrow. That Heavenly Worthy of the Way and Its Virtue sounded familiar...

He searched his memory, and his eyebrows rose.

Wasn't the Heavenly Worthy of the Way and Its Virtue the Supreme Elder Lord?!

"Ah! The Elder Lord!" Du Yu sounded as though he knew him personally. "That makes sense. The Supreme Elder Lord has always worked with Samadhi True Fire!"

The Queen Mother of the West sighed again. "But we have searched for an entire year without finding the Heavenly Worthy of the Way and Its Virtue. With him absent, how can I remedy the mistake This Dowager made...?"

"Now that we know who we're looking for, that makes things easy!" Du Yu had a clearer idea now. Perhaps he could mobilize the entire Legend Management Bureau's network to investigate the Supreme Elder Lord's whereabouts at this point in time.

"So you have a solution?" Although the Queen Mother of the West asked, her expression showed no hope whatsoever.

Du Yu was just about to speak when Mr. Kongming's face suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"When you feel you are approaching the truth of the matter, please open the second brocade pouch."

Did he mean right now?

Could Mr. Kongming have foreseen this situation?

"Hey, This Dowager is asking you a question." The Queen Mother of the West nudged Du Yu with a forepaw.

"Hey, I'm busy. Wait a minute." Du Yu reached out and pushed her forepaw away.

"Mortal... insolent... utterly insolent..." the Queen Mother of the West muttered. Yet seeing his thoughtful expression, she didn't dare interrupt. After all, she couldn't discuss "dealing with the suns" with anyone else. Naturally, she welcomed another person's help.

Du Yu took a slip of paper from the battered pack at his waist and slowly unfolded it with great solemnity.

Written plainly upon it were these words:

Even someone of such power is helpless against the nine suns. There must be two possible reasons: first, a crucial person is missing; second, an essential object is missing. If a crucial person is missing, why has that person not appeared? If an essential object is missing, has someone kept it hidden for years?

As Du Yu read Mr. Kongming's words, a few tiny clues in his mind grew ever larger.

Why hadn't the Supreme Elder Lord appeared?

"Sister Qianqiu, I just remembered something."

"What harebrained idea have you got now?" Dong Qianqiu asked with a frown.

"Remember the Immortal in the story Da Yi told us?"

"You mean the one who gave Da Yi an immortal's Magic Treasure?"

"Exactly. Da Yi said that after refining his elixirs, that Immortal brought out a Magic Treasure to collect the golden cores. It was called the Purple-Gold Red Gourd. Whose Magic Treasure is that?"

"You mean...?" Dong Qianqiu realized something. "I'll check right away."

The Queen Mother of the West sat beside Du Yu without a word, displeasure written all over her face. Yet she feared he might truly have a good solution and didn't want to interrupt his train of thought.

Seeing her expression, Du Yu couldn't help laughing. "Your Majesty, it's all right. Isn't this just a cat breaking some furniture at home? That happens all the time. Don't worry, I'll handle it for you."

A cat?

The Queen Mother of the West looked around.

Does he mean This Dowager? She was so angry she nearly bared her tiger fangs, cursing inwardly, Insolent. This man is utterly insolent!

"Du Yu, I found it. You guessed correctly. The Purple-Gold Red Gourd is a Magic Treasure the Supreme Elder Lord uses specifically to hold immortal elixirs," Dong Qianqiu said.

"That settles it." Du Yu thought Mr. Kongming was truly extraordinary; his approach to solving problems was remarkably ingenious. "Even the Queen Mother of the West, the leader of the immortals, can't resolve this. A crucial person really is missing. But why won't the Supreme Elder Lord show himself?"

After thinking for a while, Du Yu said, "I think there are two possibilities. First, the Supreme Elder Lord is concentrating on something, like refining elixirs, so he hasn't realized there are ten suns in the sky all this past year."

"Is that possible?" Dong Qianqiu asked.

"I think so. According to Da Yi, the Supreme Elder Lord enters a state of complete absorption while refining elixirs. He certainly wouldn't notice anything unusual in the sky then. Never mind the Supreme Elder Lord-even I've experienced that. Once, when I was really focused on something, I went seven whole days without sleeping or resting."

Dong Qianqiu raised an eyebrow. Du Yu seemed frivolous, but apparently he had such a serious side too. People always said men were most attractive when they were focused. At this moment, she found him a little more pleasing to the eye.

"What were you doing for seven days without sleep or rest?" Dong Qianqiu asked.

"Playing video games."

"Du Yu!" Dong Qianqiu shouted. "If you keep feeding me this nonsense, I'll make you regret it!"

"All right, I was just joking," Du Yu said. "What I mentioned is only one possibility. Based on Mr. Kongming's prediction, there's a second possibility-we're missing a crucial object needed to resolve this. In that case, finding the Supreme Elder Lord won't help."

"Then what do you think the crucial object is?" Dong Qianqiu asked, suppressing her anger.

"Mr. Kongming gave us the answer." Du Yu glanced at the brocade pouch in his hand. "Someone has kept this object hidden for years. If it's a Magic Treasure belonging to the Supreme Elder Lord, but someone else has kept it hidden all this time, I can think of only one possibility..."

"Ah!" Dong Qianqiu finally understood. Da Yi! Da Yi had obtained one of the Supreme Elder Lord's Magic Treasures, but had kept it from appearing in the world for years!

So the final answer still lay with Da Yi.

"Boss!" Du Yu said to the Queen Mother of the West. "I've found a way to deal with the suns."

"Really?!" The Queen Mother of the West was so excited that her pupils dilated.

It seemed the human-faced, tiger-bodied Queen Mother of the West really was a big cat after all...

"Yes, but I need to verify something first. As for you, boss, I need a favor."

"Tell me."

"Once the suns have been dealt with, I hope you'll offer the Elixir of Immortality as a gift of thanks."

"That's easy." The Queen Mother of the West rummaged beneath the stone bench with her paw. "I can give it to you right now."

"It isn't for me," Du Yu said. "A hero named Da Yi will shoot down the suns. When that happens, sorry for the trouble, but please descend to the mortal world and give him the elixir."

"Da Yi?" The Queen Mother of the West thought for a moment. "Very well. I understand."

"One more thing." Something suddenly occurred to Du Yu, and he added, "It would be best to give him two pills of the Elixir of Immortality."

"Two...?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No... no problem." The Queen Mother of the West's pupils abruptly contracted.

"Good, that's wonderful!" Du Yu was so happy he nearly jumped.

After rummaging through his battered waist pack for a while, he pulled out a Teleportation Talisman and stuck it to himself. "Boss, I'll be leaving now. Oh, and don't fill your home with so much thick mist anymore. All that dampness is bad for your joints."

"Insolence!" the Queen Mother of the West cried. "Do you think This Dowager likes it this way? If ten suns weren't constantly scorching the Jade Pool, why would my home be filled with billowing clouds of water vapor?"

"Huh?" Du Yu exclaimed. "So that's why? I thought you were doing it on purpose."

With those words, Du Yu vanished with a whoosh.

Watching him leave, the Queen Mother of the West felt both angry and a little dazed.

"This Dowager forgot to ask his name..."

After sitting in a daze for a while, the Queen Mother of the West suddenly remembered something and pulled a wooden box out from beneath the stone bench.

She gently opened it and looked inside.

Only one and a half pills of the Elixir of Immortality remained.