Solitary Sword Sovereign

Hou Yi Shoots Nine Suns

Hou Yi and Odin completely ignored Jingsung, much to the young Immortal's chagrin. Hou Yi was Jingsung's servant but he was no fool. He was a powerhouse who hid deeply.

Everyone here knew who Hou Yi was, but because the man didn't talk much about his history he was a bit of an enigma.

On Earth Hou Yi was a mythological Chinese archer.

He was also known as Shen Yi and simply as Yi. He is also typically given the title of Lord Archer. He is sometimes portrayed as a god of archery descended from heaven to aid mankind. Other times, he is portrayed as either simply half-divine or fully mortal. His wife, Chang'e, is a lunar deity.

Odin went over the knowledge he had of Hou Yi as he scrutinized the bald archer.

'According to his most common mythology, there were 10 suns. Initially, the 10 suns would cross the sky one by one, but one day all 10 suns came out at once scorching the earth. Hou Yi was tasked by the mythical King Yao to rein in the suns. Hou Yi first tried to reason with the suns. When that didn't work, he then pretended to shoot at them with his bow to intimidate them. When the suns again refused to heed Hou Yi's warnings, he began to shoot at them one by one. As each one fell, they turned into three-legged ravens. Finally, only one sun was left, and King Yao as well as the sun's mother Xihe, asked for him to be spared for the prosperity of man. In other variants, the last arrow was stolen by either a brave boy or King Yao himself, who realized the land requires a sun.'

When it came to deities, legends were tied down to facts. The fact that the man before him could shoot down nine suns was stunning to Odin, who had been involved in creating the world in his own mythology

'And he isn't even the head of a pantheon, instead, he gave his loyalty to the House of Ha. If the servant is this mighty, then what of the master?'

Hou Yi was also known for the slaying, maiming and imprisonment of several other mythical beasts such as the Yayu, Zaochi, Jiuying, Dafeng, Fengxi, and Xiushe. He had been directed by King Yao to go after these creatures as they were all causing trouble for humans.

Hou Yi was gifted the pill of immortality by the gods. One of Hou Yi's apprentices called Peng Meng broke into Hou Yi's house in search of the pill of immortality while Hou Yi was out hunting. His wife Chang'e swallowed the pill before Peng Meng could get it. After eating the pill, Chang'e rose up to the moon.

In another version, after Hou Yi shot down the suns, he was proclaimed a hero-king by the people. However, once he was crowned king, he became a tyrant and subjugated his people. Hou Yi had also obtained an immortality elixir from Xiwangmu to live forever. Chang'e was afraid that if he lived forever, people would forever be victims of his cruelty. Therefore, Chang'e consumed the elixir herself and floated away. As she did, Hou Yi tried to shoot her down but failed. For her sacrifice, people have taken to honouring her during the Mid-Autumn Festival in many worlds across the system.

Odin and Hou Yi continued to exchange pleasantries until Modus came to. He clapped his hands and said, "My apologies, I had a sudden bout of inspiration. Odin, you are my lucky charm. Just having you perched on my shoulder for a short time has already made me wiser."

"I assume you did not summon me for such trivial matters brother Modus." Said Odin with a sombre tone. His time was something he valued quite a bit. Very few beings were capable of summoning him at a moment's notice. It just so happened that Modus was one of them.

The man in question chuckled and said, "Right you are. First, let me explain the circumstances here."