Shooting Down Nine Suns

The moment Du Yu reached the village, he rushed to Da Yi's house.

He pushed open the door to find Da Yi and Heng'e nestled together, whispering.

"Ah, did I come at a bad time?" Feeling awkward, Du Yu closed the door and started to leave.

"Brother Pang Meng!" Da Yi called out to stop him, his words muffled. "Not at all. I was just telling my wife how you turned back to save me without a moment's hesitation when Nine-Infant had my shoulder in its jaws."

"Ah... did that happen?" Du Yu scratched his head. "Let's leave that aside for now. If you have a moment, there's something I need your help with."

"Just say the word, Brother Pang Meng."

Du Yu fell silent for a moment, then said, "Could you let me take a look at that immortal Magic Treasure?"

"Immortal Magic Treasure?" Heng'e glanced at Da Yi.

"Yes, my dear. I've told Brother Pang Meng all about it."

Da Yi stood up and closed the door and windows.

"Brother Pang Meng, since you've asked, I have no reason to refuse. In all these years, my wife is the only person who's ever seen this Magic Treasure."

Du Yu nodded. "I suspect... this Magic Treasure is the key to shooting down the suns."

"The key to shooting down the suns?" Da Yi gave a bitter smile. "I hope you're right. This Magic Treasure wasn't refined from any sort of weapon. It's just an everyday household item."

With that, Da Yi opened his mouth, revealing the Magic Treasure resting on his tongue.

"This!!" Du Yu's eyes went wide. "Now it all fits!"

"Ah?!" Dong Qianqiu cried out. "So that's it!"

No wonder Da Yi's speech had been muffled. He had been holding this Magic Treasure in his mouth all along!

Da Yi took the Magic Treasure in his hand and gave it a gentle wave. It grew as tall as a person.

"Brother Pang Meng, look at this Magic Treasure. What could it possibly have to do with the suns?"

"No, Brother Da Yi, that's where you're wrong. With this Magic Treasure, shooting down the suns will be a sure thing." Du Yu glanced outside. "There are only nine suns right now. We'll act tomorrow. I'm going to tell you my entire plan now, so listen carefully..."

The next day, all ten suns gathered in the sky, and the temperature reached its peak.

Thick waves of heat rose from the land, as though a raging inferno had swept across it.

The entire mountain, too, resembled a great mound of dirt and rock, stripped bare of all life.

Yet anyone who looked closely would have seen a man standing at the summit of that barren mountain, a longbow in his hand.

"Huh? Who's that?"

A few villagers spotted him and whispered among themselves, but soon they decided he must have lost his mind in the heat and was looking to end his life.

"Hah!!!"

The tremendous roar reached everyone in the nearby villages.

Du Yu was hiding behind a boulder a short distance behind Da Yi, with a Loudness Talisman stuck to his body.

"You ten suns! I, Da Yi, have put up with you long enough!!" Du Yu roared into the Loudness Talisman.

At those audacious words, everyone in the nearby villages came out of their houses and looked toward the man on the summit.

"Isn't that Da Yi from the next village?"

"What's he doing?"

Youqiong also ran out of his house and stared blankly at the mountaintop.

"Is that... Brother Yi?"

"Today, I, Da Yi, will enforce justice on Heaven's behalf!! I'll shoot you down with this bow!" Du Yu said again, imitating Da Yi's tone.

"B-Brother Pang Meng... will this really work?" Though Da Yi stood facing the wind with his longbow in hand, looking perfectly composed, the growing crowd below made him nervous.

"Oh, just do what I told you. It'll be fine!" Du Yu covered the Loudness Talisman and spoke quietly to Da Yi.

Da Yi was already riding a tiger with no way to dismount. He could only raise his longbow and draw it without an arrow.

Holding Da Yi's Magic Treasure, Du Yu also got into position.

The object in Du Yu's hands was unmistakably an enormous fan.

Few things in the world could extinguish Samadhi True Fire, and this fan happened to be one of them.

Legend had it that the Supreme Elder Lord's alchemy furnace had once overturned, spilling its contents into the mortal world and setting an entire mountain ablaze. People called it the Flaming Mountain.

The fire on that mountain never died or went out, burning for all eternity.

To put out the blaze on the Flaming Mountain, Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, had once borrowed this Magic Treasure from Princess Iron Fan and extinguished the mountain's Samadhi True Fire in one stroke.

Whether or not fate had ordained it, the gift the Supreme Elder Lord had given Da Yi all those years ago was none other than this Plantain Fan.

Hou Yi had only ever used it against wild beasts, never imagining that the fierce wind it unleashed could extinguish Samadhi True Fire.

"Suns! Take this arrow!"

Du Yu roared. At his signal, Da Yi immediately pretended to shoot, releasing the empty bowstring.

Seizing the moment, Du Yu raised both arms and swung the fan fiercely toward the suns overhead.

A tremendous gust swept through, howling as it tore through the air. The flames on the first sun shook violently, as though something were tugging at them. Within moments, the wind scattered the flames covering the enormous fireball, and the fireball itself vanished.

As the fireball disappeared, the temperature nearby dropped noticeably.

"Ah?!"

The villagers in the surrounding villages were all struck speechless by the sight.

"Da Yi shot down a sun with his bow and arrows?!"

Watching the uproar below, Da Yi finally felt the weight lift from his heart.

"Brother Pang Meng was telling the truth! My fan really can extinguish the suns' flames!" Da Yi turned back happily and said to Du Yu, "Wonderful, Brother Pang Meng! All the people under Heaven can be saved! Let's keep going!"

Du Yu lowered his head in disbelief and stared at his hands. Both palms had split open from the force, leaving them drenched in blood.

"So an immortal Magic Treasure really is beyond a mortal body's ability to wield?"

"Brother Pang Meng, what's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing, nothing." Du Yu gave a bitter smile. "Let's keep going."

"Du Yu, are you all right?" Dong Qianqiu asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Sister Qianqiu. My real body is at the Legend Management Bureau anyway."

Dong Qianqiu turned to look at Du Yu's real body nearby. Its hands had also begun to bleed, but she knew this was a critical moment and couldn't distract him. "Du Yu, whatever happens, don't push yourself too hard."

After Da Yi drew the empty bow once more, Du Yu swung the Plantain Fan a second time. The second sun was blown apart before their eyes.

"Heavens!"

The villagers began shouting excitedly, hailing Da Yi as a divine being.

Youqiong stared at the summit, dumbstruck. Heng'e slowly approached and stood beside him.

"Brother Yi really is amazing..." Youqiong murmured.

News that Da Yi was shooting down suns from the mountaintop spread like wildfire, reaching both the Queen Mother of the West on Mount Kunlun and Emperor Yao in Pingyang. Both were deeply shocked and packed their things to set out for Da Yi's location.

Du Yu had already extinguished three suns. His hands were a mangled mess of flesh and blood, so he tore strips from his clothes and wrapped them thickly around his hands.

Da Yi had long since noticed something was wrong and hurriedly asked about his condition, but Du Yu kept waving him off, insisting he was fine.

The villagers also noticed that Da Yi was shooting down the suns much more slowly, but none dared urge him on. After all, if he could shoot down even the suns, putting an arrow through their skulls would be child's play.

"I've rested enough. Let's continue." Du Yu tightened the strips of cloth around his hands.

Da Yi nodded and drew his bow again.

Two more powerful gusts roared, and another two suns dispersed. In just one morning, the ten suns had been reduced to five.

"That's incredible, Du Yu!" Dong Qianqiu cheered, then turned around and jumped in fright. Most of the Legend Management Bureau's employees had gathered behind her.

"What are you doing? Don't you have work?"

"Assistant Dong, please let us watch. This is a mortal carrying out a Super Grade A Mission, and he's about to succeed! That's unheard of anywhere!" the employees said.

Dong Qianqiu understood. This really was too incredible to believe.

Du Yu felt that his forearms had already gone numb. His hands trembled slightly, and for some reason, both his arms had turned purplish red.

"Damn it..." Du Yu said through clenched teeth. "This weapon is far too hard to wield..."

Watching the footage, Dong Qianqiu finally realized what was happening. She told several employees, "Go bandage Du Yu's physical body immediately. The injuries he's suffering in the legend have started feeding back into his real body."

The employees hurriedly nodded and left at a brisk pace.

Gritting his teeth, Du Yu stared at the five suns overhead.

"There's still half left?"

"Brother Pang Meng... perhaps we should..."

"No!" Du Yu clenched his teeth hard. "Keep going!"

Strangely enough, Du Yu suddenly felt a cool sensation spread through his arms, and the pain eased.

"Hah!"

With a shout, Du Yu unleashed another powerful gust, scattering a fireball.

This time, the villagers below began cheering at the top of their lungs.

Four left!

"Hah!"

Three left!

"Hah!"

Two left!

Du Yu felt as though he would shatter his teeth from clenching them so hard. Now only two suns remained in the sky!

"I... I can't swing it anymore..." Du Yu's hands dropped, and the Plantain Fan fell to the ground.

"Brother Pang Meng!" Da Yi rushed over to support him. When Du Yu looked up, he saw Da Yi's eyes brimming with tears. "Brother Pang Meng, you truly are a great hero who serves his country and its people. You could have become this hero yourself. Why insist on shooting down the suns in my name?"

"That... is a long story..." Du Yu shook his head. "You're the only one who can shoot down the suns. I came here to help you from the very beginning..."

"Brother Pang Meng." Tears filled Da Yi's eyes. "Thank you for doing so much for all the people under Heaven. Let me make this final swing!"

Da Yi bent down, picked up the Plantain Fan, and hid behind the boulder. Where no one could see him, he swung it with all his strength.

Watching Da Yi's back, Du Yu murmured inwardly, All the people under Heaven? Are you an idiot...? I'm only pushing myself this hard because I want to be born into a rich family...

Da Yi was a mortal, after all, and blood seeped from his hands as he swung the fan. In the past, he had only brought it out at critical moments, and every swing split his palms open. Yet today, he had watched Pang Meng swing it eight times in a row. He truly couldn't fathom the sheer willpower that had kept him going.

After Da Yi's swing, at last only one sun remained in the sky.

"This... this is wonderful!"

All the villagers embraced one another, crying and celebrating wildly.

These days of hell on earth had finally ended today, without warning.

"This is truly wonderful..." Da Yi was also choking with sobs.

Du Yu forced himself to stand. "There's still one thing left to do..."

Trembling, he picked up the Loudness Talisman and shouted, "Last sun, listen well! I am Da Yi, and today I have shot down nine suns! I shall spare your life! If you ever dare run wild again and plunge the people into misery, I, Da Yi, will shoot you down!"

Having finished speaking, Du Yu toppled over, stiff as a board. The Loudness Talisman on his body turned to ash.

"Brother Pang Meng!!" Da Yi cried out and hurriedly caught him, only to find that Du Yu had fallen unconscious.

Youqiong had witnessed the whole thing, and his emotions now churned like surging rivers and overturned seas, impossible to calm.

"Brother Yi really isn't an ordinary man..." Youqiong said quietly. "I don't want to be called Youqiong anymore. I want to be called Yi too. From now on, I'll be Hou Yi."

"Youqiong?" Heng'e, standing beside him, noticed that he kept muttering to himself. "What are you mumbling about?"

"Sister-in-law Heng'e, I've made up my mind. One day, I'll establish a country called the Youqiong Kingdom, dedicated to commemorating the legend of Brother Da Yi shooting down nine suns!"

"Pfft!" Seeing Youqiong's earnest expression, Heng'e couldn't help laughing. "Establish a country? Then I'll look forward to it."

Suddenly, a villager cried out, "Look! What's that?!"

Everyone looked up. A radiant beam descended upon the summit where Da Yi had just shot down the suns, and a woman in an exquisite, wide-sleeved robe slowly floated down from the sky.

"It's Her Majesty the Queen Mother!!"

Recognizing her resemblance to portraits of the Queen Mother of the West, the villagers all fell to their knees and bowed.

The Queen Mother of the West had used her magic to assume human form and slowly descended onto the mountaintop.

Seeing a goddess descend before him, Da Yi was dumbstruck.

"Are you Da Yi?" the Queen Mother of the West asked calmly.

Before Da Yi could answer, the Queen Mother of the West spotted Du Yu lying to one side. His hands were mangled beyond recognition, blood streaming from them.

"What happened to him?!" Casting aside her dignity, the Queen Mother of the West rushed to Du Yu.

"You must be an immortal! Please, can you save him?" Da Yi held Du Yu in his arms, choking with sobs.

"This is... this is utter recklessness!" Seeing Du Yu's horrific injuries, the Queen Mother of the West quickly extended both hands and poured all her magic into them. "I knew you weren't clever, but I never imagined you were a complete fool..."

Though the Queen Mother of the West kept scolding him, she still put all her strength into healing his wounds. Only after a long while did Du Yu's hands finally stop bleeding.

"Her Majesty the Queen Mother just descended to the mortal world. Why hasn't anything happened since?"

Everyone remained kneeling at the foot of the mountain, not daring to move.

"Do you think Da Yi angered Her Majesty the Queen Mother by shooting down the suns?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Da Yi was saving the common people."

Everyone chimed in with their own wild guesses.

Meanwhile, on the summit, Du Yu finally opened his eyes slowly. He looked at Da Yi and gave a faint smile, then glanced at the Queen Mother of the West.

"Big Cat?"