Last time, we talked about how Yi successfully took down two terrifying monsters —Jiu Yin at the Deadly River, and the massive serpent demon, Xiu Snake at Dongting Lake.
After killing the serpent, Yi led his troops back in triumph. But as they reached a place called Chouhua, a large crowd suddenly came rushing toward them.Yi stopped them and asked, "Hey, what's going on? Why are you blocking our way?" Turns out, they were tribal leaders from nearby regions. Looking panicked, they asked,"Are you General Yi, the commander under Emperor Yao?"
Yi nodded. "That's right."
The leaders immediately said, "Thank goodness it's really you! Please, you have to help us!"
Yi looked confused. "Help you with what exactly?" The leaders all started talking at once: "There's a monster called Zaochi that showed up recently. It's already killed a lot of people. We're begging you—please send troops and get rid of it!" Yi replied, "I do have an army with me, but I need Yao's approval before I can deploy them. I can't just use them on my own. How about this—you wait while I report back, and then we'll decide what to do next."
The crowd immediately protested: "What? Go back and ask for permission? By the time you return, we'll all be dead! This is urgent—there's no time!"
Seeing the desperation in their eyes, Yi realized how serious the situation was. So he made a quick decision. He sent someone back to report to Yao about the serpent, while he himself led the army to deal with Zaochi.
As they marched, Yi asked, "So what kind of monster is this Zaochi?" The leaders replied, "It looks half human, half beast. If you say it's human—its tusks are as long as elephant tusks. But if you say it's a beast—it can use weapons and shields like a person." ......Right in the middle of their conversation, another group of people suddenly came running toward them, screaming: "Run! Run! Zaochi is coming!"
Yi looked behind them and saw another group chasing them. Without hesitation, Yi and Feng Meng fired several arrows into the pursuing group. Several people dropped instantly. The rest panicked and turned to run, but Yi and Feng Meng fired again, killing a few more. In the end, only about twenty of them were left, and all of them were captured by Yi's soldiers.
Looking at them closely, they seemed just like ordinary people. Yi asked, "Which one of you is Zaochi?" They quickly replied, "We're not Zaochi! We were captured by him! He's too powerful—we were afraid he'd kill us, so we had no choice but to follow his orders and raid villages."
Yi shouted angrily, "That's nonsense! You're clearly using Zaochi as an excuse to loot and kill!" Then he ordered, "Take them away—execute all of them!"
One by one, they were put to death. In the end, only a young man—about twenty years old—remained. Suddenly, Yi called out, "Wait!." He had the young man brought forward and said, "I'll give you one chance. Go back and tell all of Zaochi's followers to leave him. If I catch anyone still causing trouble for him... there will be no mercy. Got it? Now go." And with that, he let the young man go.
Feng Meng found this strange and asked, "Master, why did you let him go?" Yi explained, "Didn't the tribal leaders say Zaochi has thousands of followers? We only have about a thousand troops. If we fight head-on, we might not win. I let him go on purpose—to spread fear and divide them." Feng Meng nodded. "Yeah... that makes sense."
The next day, guided by the tribal leaders, Yi and Feng Meng continued their march. As they got close to Zaochi's territory, Feng Meng said, "Master, like you said, they outnumber us. We can't win by force—we need to outsmart them." Yi nodded. "Got any ideas?" Feng Meng replied, "Look at this valley—dense forest on both sides. Perfect for an ambush. I'll take a hundred men and engage them up front, then lure them into the valley. Once I pass through, I'll turn back. That's when we attack from both sides with arrows."
Yi smiled. "That's a great plan." So they carried it out. Soon enough, Feng Meng successfully lured Zaochi's forces into the valley. Arrows rained down from both sides, causing heavy casualties. Zaochi's men began to retreat in chaos. Seizing the moment, Yi led his troops in pursuit, defeating them completely and capturing many of their men. Most of the captives had already heard of Yi's reputation. Terrified, they kept begging: "Spare us! Please, spare us!"
Yi stared at the group, eyes wide, and demanded, "Which one of you is Zaochi?" The captives quickly replied, "None of us! Zaochi never fights on the front lines—he always stays in the back. By now... he's probably already escaped." Hearing that, Yi snapped, furious: "Are you people out of your minds? A coward like that—and you're still working for him?!" They answered helplessly, "We had no choice... Zaochi is too powerful. We can't beat him. We had to obey." Yi took a step forward and said, "I am General Yi, serving under Emperor Yao. I've been ordered to kill Zaochi." Then he gave them a choice: "Either stay and fight with me... or go back and tell your people to leave Zaochi immediately. If I see any of you still working for him—no mercy. Now go."---Hearing they were being spared, part of the group thanked Yi and ran off immediately. The rest, having heard of Yi's reputation, chose to stay and join him.
Watching this, the tribal leaders were confused. They asked, "General... why did you handle these prisoners differently from the last group?" Yi explained calmly, "The first group wasn't being forced. They acted on their own—they chose to do evil. People like that... I can't forgive." "But this group was coerced by Zaochi. They didn't really have a choice. So I'm giving them a chance to change." Hearing this, the leaders nodded. It seemed like a fair judgment. Yi then led his army onward toward Zaochi. --- Not long after, another massive group came charging toward them. Yi took one look and thought, Damn... I didn't expect Zaochi to have this many men. He immediately turned and ordered, "Everyone—prepare for battle!" The tension snapped tight. Yi drew his bow, ready to fire— But suddenly, the people ahead shouted: "General Yi! Don't shoot! We're here to join you!" "We're the ones you let go earlier—we went back and convinced others to defect!"---Yi let out a breath. "Whew... that was close." Turns out—they weren't enemies. The group said, "General, come with us. We'll take you to Zaochi."--- Soon, Yi located Zaochi's lair. Zaochi had already sensed something was wrong—most of his followers had fled—and he was just about to escape. But the moment he stepped out of his cave...he ran straight into Yi. With two massive tusks growing from his face, Yi didn't need to ask—he instantly knew: That was Zaochi. Without a word, Yi fired several arrows in rapid succession—But to everyone's shock, Zaochi swung his shield and blocked every single one. The soldiers were stunned. Yi—the legendary archer who never missed—had just failed to land a single shot.--- Seeing this, Yi thought to himself: There's no way... there has to be an opening. He stayed calm and carefully watched Zaochi's movements. Then—he saw it. For just a split second, the shield couldn't cover Zaochi's toes. That was enough. Yi seized the moment and fired—the arrow struck Zaochi's toe. Zaochi howled in pain and dropped his guard—And in that instant—Yi's second arrow flew straight forward and pierced Zaochi's forehead. One clean shot. Zaochi collapsed on the spot.---And just like that, Yi had ended the chaos once again. He had slain "Yayu in the north", defeated "Fengxi in the central plains", killed the Jiu Yin in the west", shot down the "Xiu snake in the south", and now... eliminated "Zaochi at Chouhua".--- For a time, the names of Yi and Yao shook the entire land. Leaders from all tribes came together and supported Yao as the ruler of all under heaven. They believed only Yao could protect them. And so, Emperor Zhi stepped down and gave the throne to his younger brother, Yao. Thus began the reign of Emperor Yao. He first established his capital at Puban, and later moved it to Pingyang, naming his realm "Tang."---
But wait… If there were monsters in the west, north, central, and south...Does that mean the east was safe? Not quite. Because in the east...there was another monster. Its name—"Da Feng."--- Can Yi defeat this one too? How will the story unfold? We'll have to wait until next time to find out.
