Zhan Qisheng

"In that case... I can't let you go looking for that friend of mine..." Da Yi said awkwardly. "That was our agreement..."

"Forget it..." Du Yu said helplessly. "We can still find a way without him."

"Brother Pang Meng, do you have a good idea?" Da Yi asked.

"Of course." Bracing himself against the wall, Du Yu gazed pensively at the ground. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Have you ever heard of Sun Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Buddha?"

"Fighting what... Wukong?" Da Yi asked. "Who's that?"

"Huh?" Du Yu was a little dumbfounded. "Sun Wukong. You don't know him?"

Du Yu regretted it the moment he spoke. Where was he? Was this an era when everyone had heard of "Sun Wukong"? This was ancient times!

"Ah..." Du Yu sighed helplessly. "Fine, forget Sun Wukong. Take me to Nine-Infant. I'll kill the beast."

"Well..."

Even after spending the day with Du Yu, Da Yi still couldn't make sense of his abilities.

Da Yi looked up at the suns filling the sky and said to Du Yu, "All right. In that case, I'll take you there tomorrow. Nine-Infant is in the Northern Di Fierce Waters of the Aolai Kingdom. It's not far from here-a full day's journey."

Du Yu also looked out the window.

Leave tomorrow?

These suns didn't seem to set at all. How could they tell today from tomorrow?

The sun... setting?

"Huh?"

Du Yu stared carefully at the suns.

Why were there only nine left?

He thought the dazzling sunlight had blurred his vision, but he counted carefully. There really were nine.

"Da Yi!" Du Yu asked, puzzled. "How many suns were originally in the sky?"

"Brother Pang Meng, are you confused? There was originally only one sun in the sky."

"No, that's not what I mean." Growing anxious, Du Yu pointed at the sky. "How many suns should there be up there right now?"

"Ten right now." Hou Yi still didn't understand.

"Then why are there only nine now?" Du Yu felt as though he had caught hold of a clue, but it was so elusive that the slightest tug would snap it. If only nine suns remained in the sky, then "Yi Shoots Down Nine Suns" couldn't happen.

"Ten, nine, what difference does it make? Sometimes there are ten suns up there, sometimes nine," Da Yi said, long accustomed to it. "Isn't it all the same to us?"

Du Yu lowered his head and pondered carefully. Sometimes ten suns, sometimes nine?

Could it be...?

One sun rose and set as usual, while the others didn't?

But that was completely unscientific!

Wait. Now that he was already inside the story of Yi Shoots Down Nine Suns, did science still matter?

Yes, it did.

It was normal for the sun to rise and set, but why didn't the other suns do so? Did they simply hang in the sky like that? Even when night fell, they still lit up the entire land.

Why couldn't Hou Yi shoot down the final sun?

For the first time, Du Yu tried to explain a legend through science. Following that line of reasoning, the nine objects in the sky couldn't possibly be suns!

But what exactly were those enormous, sunlike fireballs? Even if they weren't suns, could a mortal shoot them down?

"Brother Pang Meng, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. There are just some things I can't figure out. I need to go back and rest. It's settled, then-we leave tomorrow."

With that, Du Yu returned to his room.

Outside, a little boy was hiding in the shadows. Only after he saw Du Yu leave did he slowly enter the house.

"Youqiong?" Da Yi smiled when he saw the boy. "What brings you here?"

"Brother Yi, I don't think that Pang Meng fellow is a good person," Youqiong muttered with his head lowered.

"Why would you think that?" Da Yi drew the boy close. "There are still more good people than bad in this world. Besides, he may seem frivolous, but he cares about everyone under heaven. All he thinks about is shooting down suns and fighting demon beasts."

Youqiong was still unhappy, but Da Yi's words made him waver a little.

"Youqiong, tomorrow I'm going with him to slay Nine-Infant. Will you stay home and help me look after Sister Heng'e?"

"Slay Nine-Infant?" Youqiong exclaimed. "Then you have to take Little Ba with you!"

"Little Ba?" Da Yi shook his head. "No. Since I gave Little Ba a new name, I don't want Little Ba going through that sort of thing anymore. I only want Little Ba to live a good life."

"But can that man beat Nine-Infant...?"

"To be honest, I don't know either." Da Yi sighed. "Even if Brother Pang Meng weren't going, I'd have to go myself sooner or later."

Youqiong stood there looking aggrieved, unsure what to say.

"Yi." Heng'e slowly emerged from the back room. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes. I'm going with Brother Pang Meng to slay Nine-Infant."

"Could you... not go?"

"Don't worry, my wife. I'll come back safely."

Biting her lip, Heng'e murmured, "Yi, you promised we would grow old together... That Nine-Infant is no harmless creature. Since Pang Meng is an immortal, surely he doesn't need help from a mortal like you?"

Da Yi stood and gently gathered Heng'e into his arms. "Don't worry, my wife. Have you forgotten? Brother Zhan told me we would definitely grow old together."

Yes, Brother Zhan had foreseen everything so far.

Feeling rather out of place beside them, Youqiong slowly backed toward the door.

"Youqiong." Da Yi stopped him. "I'm counting on you to look after Sister Heng'e."

"No," Heng'e interrupted. "Youqiong has to go with you. He can control Little Ba. You'll be safer that way."

"My wife," Da Yi said, "the weather is scorching, and you still have to look after the house. I can't bear to leave you with all that. Let Youqiong help you. Don't worry about me. Have you forgotten? If I really run into danger, I still have 'that.'"

Only after hearing this did Heng'e look a little reassured.

At the Legend Management Bureau, Dong Qianqiu pulled up two screens, watching Du Yu and Da Yi separately.

She recorded Da Yi's words in detail. Even now, she didn't know what secret he was hiding.

"Du Yu," Dong Qianqiu said to him as he lay on the bed, "the situation seems to have changed a little. I need to discuss it with you."

"Go ahead, Sister Qianqiu. I'm listening."

Dong Qianqiu organized the documents in her hands and said, "We told you before that you're the second person in nine hundred years who can enter legends."

"That's right. I remember."

"And the first was named Zhan Qisheng."

"Zhan... Qisheng?"

"Yes. Nine hundred years ago, he entered a legend and never returned."

"Did he run into danger?"

"No. More precisely, he betrayed the Legend Management Bureau." Dong Qianqiu spoke coldly, as though discussing a stranger.

"Betrayed it...? Why?"

"I won't go into the reasons right now. What I need to warn you about is that Zhan Qisheng may very well be involved in the story of Yi Shoots Down Nine Suns."

"He's... here with me?"

"Yes. And he severed his connection to the Legend Management Bureau, so we can't see his feed. But I just heard Da Yi and Heng'e talking. Da Yi mentioned a 'Brother Zhan.' That man is very likely Zhan Qisheng."

Dong Qianqiu pushed up her glasses and continued.

"To quell the chaos, one must fight and prevail. That was the coded message he left, so the one who helped Da Yi kill Dafeng the Demon Beast was also Zhan Qisheng." Dong Qianqiu's expression was grave. "I suspect he became involved in this legend very early on, but we can't determine his objective."

Du Yu thought for a moment. The clues they had were a jumble. He sat up, took out a stack of scripts, turned them over, then picked up a charred twig from the floor and began writing down every current point of concern.

First, Da Yi was a mortal. Dong Qianqiu had said she had watched this legend countless times, but what exactly had caused Da Yi's origins to change?

Second, one of the ten suns would set. That meant one was the real sun, but what were the other nine?

Third, Da Yi and Heng'e were hiding something. He didn't yet know what it was, but he had a vague feeling that there was more to Da Yi than simply being a mortal.

Fourth, Heng'e supposedly despised poverty and coveted wealth. Had Du Yu never met her, he could have chosen to believe that story. But he had seen the way she looked at Da Yi. There was light in her eyes. Besides, Du Yu ran his hand over the side room, unused for years, and found it spotless. That hardly seemed like the work of a woman obsessed with riches. Heng'e was a devoted wife, educated and sensible, and she loved Da Yi deeply.

Fifth, Da Yi's friend, Zhan Qisheng. This Zhan Qisheng was probably the "Little Zhan" the director had mentioned. Du Yu knew neither his allegiance nor his objective. He only hoped the man wouldn't cause trouble at a critical moment.

Watching Du Yu organize these clues on the screen, Dong Qianqiu revised her opinion of him a little. He seemed careless and easygoing, but his mind was meticulous. Perhaps there really was a sliver of hope that he could complete the mission.

Du Yu carefully folded the paper and tucked it inside his clothes.

"Sister Qianqiu, traveling into a legend really is incredible."

"Is it?" Dong Qianqiu replied coolly.

"Yes. So many things are hard to imagine. For instance, who would have thought Hou Yi, the hero who shot down the suns, would be so approachable?"

"True," Dong Qianqiu said. "It could also be because he's a mortal and has little reason to be arrogant."

Du Yu smiled wryly. "And who would have thought this great hero would slur his words and have a bit of a lisp?"

"A lisp...?" Dong Qianqiu frowned. "Right. In the previous versions, Hou Yi didn't have a lisp."

"Huh?" Du Yu was puzzled. Was Da Yi's unclear speech also unique to this iteration of the legend?

To be safe, Du Yu took the paper out of his clothes and added a sixth point at the bottom.

Sixth, this was the first time Da Yi had spoken unclearly.

It felt as though he now needed a key to link all these clues together.

Though it was still bright outside, Du Yu was growing tired. Mulling over the tangled clues, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The Legend Management Bureau.

Seeing that the legend had reached a lull, Xie Bi'an told Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo to go back and rest, but he and Fan Wujiao refused to leave no matter what.

Dong Qianqiu could only let them remain seated there. No one else in the entire Legend Management Bureau suggested taking a break either.

After an unknown amount of time, someone knocked on the door.

Du Yu staggered to his feet and found it even hotter outside than yesterday. Looking up through the window, he saw a full ten suns in the sky.

"Brother Pang Meng." Da Yi knocked again.

Du Yu opened the door to find Da Yi drenched in sweat.

"Are we leaving, Brother Da Yi?"

"No, we have to wait a little longer. Can you do me a favor?"

Following Da Yi outside, Du Yu saw a straw mat laid out by the entrance. An old man lay on it, apparently already beyond saving.

"Can you help me bury him?"

Neither of them spoke. Dragging the straw mat, Du Yu silently followed behind Da Yi.

When they reached an open patch of ground, Da Yi began swinging his hoe and digging.

The scene was exactly like what Du Yu had seen on the screen before traveling here. Back then, he had wondered why Da Yi was tilling the earth in such terrible heat. It turned out he had been digging a grave.

"The good news is that only Uncle Tan died today. The bad news is that his household is empty now. Not one of the seven survived," Da Yi said quietly as he dug. "More than half the people in this village have died of thirst or hunger. Brother Pang Meng, you should know I can't shoot down the suns, so all I can do is rid the people of whatever scourges I can."

For the first time, Du Yu felt the sorrow Da Yi carried.

"But actually, none of these people had to die." Da Yi dug harder and harder, as though desperately trying to escape something. "They could all have survived. They died because of me..."

Du Yu stepped forward and patted Da Yi's shoulder.

"What are you saying? These people died because of the ten suns. What does that have to do with you?"

As though he hadn't heard Du Yu, Da Yi kept digging, tears falling from his eyes.

"Brother Pang Meng, if you had to choose, would you save all living souls under heaven, or grow old with the person you loved?"

Du Yu shook his head. "I don't have anyone I love, so I don't know."

"Is that so?" Da Yi turned to look at him. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. You don't need to keep searching for that man named Yi who can shoot down the suns. That man no longer exists."

At that moment, a faint thread began connecting all the clues in Du Yu's mind.

Du Yu's eyes widened.

"You knew long ago that ten suns would appear in the sky one day, didn't you?" Du Yu asked.

"That's right." Da Yi put down the hoe, turned, picked up Uncle Tan's body, and slowly lowered him into the grave. "Someone gave me a choice back then, but I chose to grow old with Heng'e."

Someone had given Da Yi a choice back then?

Who else in this world could have known in advance that ten suns would appear in the sky?

Du Yu gradually began to understand. The man named Zhan Qisheng had appeared when Da Yi was still a child.

It was his appearance that had prevented Da Yi from becoming a half-immortal.

Now that he had found a breakthrough, everything else would be easier to sort out.

"Was the person who gave you that choice Zhan Qisheng?" Du Yu asked.

"You...?" Da Yi slowly turned to look at Du Yu. "You know Brother Zhan?"

"I do, but not well," Du Yu said. "We can have a few drinks together, but borrowing money from him in a pinch would be a bit difficult."

"...?"

"Never mind what kind of relationship we have. I'm only asking you one thing: do you want to shoot down the suns?"