In Chinese mythology, Hou Yi is regarded as the greatest archer of all time. He is famous for marrying the Moon Goddess, Chang'e, and shooting down nine of the ten suns. Hou Yi, who was once an immortal living in the Jade Emperor's palace, decided to become a Demi-God to help humanity in times of need.
During the time when the earth was still very young and the legendary Emperor Yao ruled China, ten suns (the Three-Legged Golden Crows) took turns illuminating the planet. The Jade Emperor told them that only one of them could play in the sky at a time, so as not to destroy the earth. However, being children, they decided that going out together would be much more fun than going out alone.
When the ten suns appeared in the sky, the temperature on earth became unbearably hot. Mass chaos ensued. Crops withered, and people fainted in the streets as the earth began to burn. Seeing the opportunity, wild monsters emerged from the shadows and began preying on humans.
A skilled archer named Hou Yi saw the destruction caused by the suns and immediately went to see the Jade Emperor. He told the Jade Emperor that if the suns did not behave, he would have to shoot them down to save the planet.
Fearing for the safety of his grandchildren, the Jade Emperor scolded them and begged them to return home. However, the suns were having too much fun and could not hear the Jade Emperor over their laughter. Although the Jade Emperor loved his grandchildren, he could see that they were beyond reason. Finally, he allowed Hou Yi to do what had to be done.
Armed with a large bow made of tiger bone and arrows made of dragon tendons, Hou Yi began slaughtering the monsters terrorizing the countryside. After finishing, he climbed to the top of a high mountain to confront the suns directly.
Before he began shooting, Hou Yi gave the children one last warning and pleaded with them to return to the Jade Emperor's palace. Upon hearing this warning, the suns stuck out their tongues at Hou Yi and told him to mind his own business. Hou Yi steeled himself, drew back his bow, and released nine arrows at the suns. Almost instantly, nine of them fell from the sky. The tenth son was so terrified that he ran and hid in a cave.
The earth was now plunged into unbearable darkness and cold. Every living creature on the planet begged the last sun to rise, but it was so afraid of Hou Yi that it covered its ears and ignored them. After everyone tried to coax the sun to rise, the rooster climbed to its perch and crowed, "Gēgē" (Brother). The rooster's loud, piercing cry reached the sun, and it finally decided to come out of its cave. Now, every time the rooster crows "Gēgē" in the morning, the sun rises to greet it.
As a reward for his heroic actions, the Goddess of Life and Death, Xiwangmu, gave Hou Yi a bottle of elixir of immortality so that he could return to the Jade Emperor's palace as an immortal. The gift left Hou Yi conflicted. Although he wanted to become immortal, he did not want to leave his wife, Chang'e, to die alone. He hid the elixir while he pondered his decision.
However, before Hou Yi could decide, Chang'e stole the bottle from him while he was sleeping. The wife drank the contents of the bottle and fled to the moon to escape her husband's wrath.
Hou Yi was so angry at his wife that he aimed an arrow at her, intending to shoot her. In the end, he could not bring himself to do it. After some time and his anger subsided, Hou Yi began leaving Chang'e's favorite desserts and fruits every night to show that he had forgiven her. Hou Yi's actions started a tradition that continues to this day. Even now, people leave offerings for Chang'e during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival.
Ren leaned back on the sofa, his phone still glowing in his hand.
After reading more deeply about the legend of Hou Yi, he had to admit one thing—the man was a true hero.
"Hou Yi was a kind-hearted being..." Ren reread the sentence in his mind.
"He was not only a hero who shot down nine suns but also someone who gave up his divinity to save the world and humanity."
"He was not only the strongest archer in Chinese mythology but also a man who was willing to sacrifice his life for others. Similar to the Hero of Charity, Karna... Hou Yi was a kind-hearted being, but he would get angry if the situation was bad enough for him."
"I can imagine how disappointed Hou Yi was when Chang'e, his own wife, betrayed him and stole the elixir of immortality. For the sake of people who would never remember him, he gave up his immortality. For a world that kept moving forward, he discarded his divinity."
"And what was his reward?"
"Betrayed by the woman he loved most."
Ren let out a long sigh.
"I don't understand why Chinese novel writers often portray Chang'e as a virtuous wife and the object of men's admiration... Are they blind?"
"Isn't Chang'e just a wicked woman who betrayed her husband and stole the elixir of immortality?"
Yes, Chang'e was beautiful.
But for Ren, no matter how beautiful a woman was, if her heart was rotten, she was not worthy of respect.
That's why Ren preferred the motherly Masha over the tsundere Alya.
At least, Masha had a warmth that annoying tsunderes couldn't provide.
"Hou Yi could have shot down the moon, just as he did with the suns... For him, there was nothing easier than destroying something floating in the sky. With one pull of his bow, he could erase the moon from existence, turning it into a legend that remained only a memory... Yet, he didn't do it."
"Not because he couldn't... Not because he didn't want to... Not because he wasn't angry... But because of his love for his wife. Even after being betrayed and abandoned."
"Many heroes in history did not have happy endings. Not a few of them died tragically."
"How sad..." Ren murmured softly.
He didn't like betrayal.
But unlike others who would respond with hatred and anger, Hou Yi accepted it.
Ren closed his eyes for a moment, letting his thoughts wander.
He couldn't imagine himself being that strong in accepting betrayal.
If someone he loved betrayed him...
If someone he trusted stabbed him in the back...
He wasn't sure he could remain as composed as Hou Yi.
Opening his eyes, Ren frowned.
"In Chinese mythology, Hou Yi and Sun Wukong have no direct connection, so why is Hou Yi looking for Sun Wukong?"
"That doesn't make sense. If Hou Yi wanted to seek out another god for some reason, why Sun Wukong?"
"Unlike Erlang Shen, who is also a great archer and has ties to Heaven, or the Jade Emperor, who governs the Heavenly order, Sun Wukong has no direct connection to Hou Yi in the original mythology."
"But... if you think about it more deeply..."
"There might be a similarity that connects the two."
"Hou Yi shot down nine suns. That could be considered a defiance of the Heavenly order. Meanwhile, Sun Wukong rebelled against Heaven, destroyed the heavenly armies, and declared himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven."
Both of them challenged Heaven.
Thinking about this, Ren felt his speculation was close to the truth. Of course, it was just his feeling. Only Hou Yi knew why he was looking for Sun Wukong.
"Hou Yi sought immortality but failed after Chang'e stole his elixir. Sun Wukong became immortal by accident after eating the Peach of Immortality and strengthened his body in Laozi's Eight-Trigram Furnace."
"Hou Yi is famous as a sun hunter, while Sun Wukong is often associated with the sun because his name can be interpreted as 'Awareness of Light'."
"Hou Yi shot down the suns. Sun Wukong is often compared to fire or unstoppable energy."
"One destroys light, one becomes light. What an interesting irony."
Ren shook his head, stopping himself from thinking about this topic further.