As the dragon flew back, the scenery below them changed once again.

A gargantuan like covered the lands, and it had sharp and strong currents that were visible even from their altitude.

​​

However, on second notice, they perceived that this wasn't a lake, but a...

"Flooded plain?!"

There were a lot of people frantically getting on small rafts and escaping from half-submerged homes.

Some of them were unsuccessful and fell into the dangerous waters.

Alex clenched his fists and almost failed to restrain himself from helping them.

Fortunately, Zhong Kui stopped him and pointed, "Look, the heavenly court and the local sects have already sent a few immortals."

Alex followed his line of sight, and in fact, he perceived a group of people on flying swords saving the civilians from drowning and contributing to the evacuation.

"We should be able to get by quite fine, the dragon's wide body covers our presence, as long as there is no powerhouse among them, we'll soon cross into higher ground and be able to move east," Zhong Kui exclaimed optimistically.

Hermes concentrated on the ride, while Alex observed the damage caused by the flood.

"You said it was maybe a ghost king who caused this carnage?" Alex asked Zhong Kui with a dark expression.

"That is only a hypothesis, as monsoon season ended only a few weeks ago, and this kind of flooding is unlikely to occur without the humid westerly winds."

Alex nodded and began contemplating.

Meanwhile...

_____________

-In the Moon Valley, a large plateau of flat land in Southern Qin-

The residents called this idyllic land the Moon Valley because its topography allowed it to received high amounts of moonlight, and some of the locals have even claimed to have seen the moon goddess, Chang-e, more than a few times.

The residents brushed these people off as lunatics, but they didn't know that these rumors were completely true.

There was a very tall and old tree outside of a village in the valley, and a treehouse hung there, hidden among the thick leaves.

Inside the treehouse, a man and a woman shared a hug.

The woman whispered in the ears of the man, "Husband, are you sure you want to take on Yudi's quest? What if you meet the monster that caused the floods?"

"Chang-e, I've now eaten the peach of immortality, nothing can stop me," The man clutched his hands on a quiver full of rustic arrows.

This man was Hou Yi, the greatest archer in Qin.

Chang-e, the Moon Goddess, smiled and nodded.

Then, they bid goodbyes, and the goddess flew away.

"Now then, I'm a bit hungry..." Hou Yi went out on the terrace of his treehouse and looked around.

Suddenly, his vision magnified a thousandfold, and he perceived a fat boar roaming around a rice plain.

"You'll be dinner then," He took out an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into an orange arrow.

He stretched out the bowstring so far behind it was more than half the height of an average man.

*Whoosh*

Hou Yi released his grip on the arrow, and it flew through the sky.

A few dozen seconds later, the boar, that had moved around during that time, was immediately pierced by the arrow.

Blood came out of its corpse and spilled onto the rice cultures.

A few farmers perceived this and went to alert their peers, but when they came back...

Both the boar and the arrow were no longer here, and only the bloodied rice plain was visible.

Outside of the treehouse, a smoky and meaty fragrance permeated through the air and attracted many wild beasts, though the sea of corpses of their kin repelled them away.

The boar was more than 24 Li(12km) away, yet the arrows of the greatest archer swiftly ended its life.

"The strength improvement from the peach is clear, being a true immortal is so nice..." Hou Yi gloated.

However, he had a mission to fulfill, and he sternly stood up and jumped from tree to tree, like an acrobatics expert.

Soon enough, he reached the outskirts of a town on a hill.

This was right next to the flooded area, and a large influx of evacuates put a strain on the town's resources.

However, this distress didn't attract the attention of Hou Yi.

Instead, he slanted his eyes and perceived a large beast hiding in the dense vegetation near the town.

'A dragon? And a...foreign man?' Strangely, the man alongside the dragon seemed familiar.

He had distinctive features that one didn't generally see very often.

'Dark-purple hair...eyes of the same color...a foreign face... wings?' He pieced together a picture.

Back in the heavenly court, an imperial decree dictated the crimes of two foreign diplomats.

One of the two had this exact same appearance.

Hou Yi was rather excited at this discovery.

'If I can capture him, Yudi will offer me the services of the heavenly court's blacksmiths!'

Immediately, the man stretched out his bowstring and attached a deadly arrow to it.

In a swift movement, he released the arrow and sent it flying towards the man.

Meanwhile, Hermes was waiting for the disguised Alex and Zhong Kui to come back from the town.

Suddenly, he perceived a sharp object flying towards him.

Hermes simply moved to the side, but then, the arrow-like object followed his movements.

Instead, he placed his two hands at his side, and when the arrow was a millimeter away from him...

*Ksssss*

He clutched the arrow in his two hands, and the fast arrow rubbed against his palms, but he succeeded in stopping its trajectory.

However, he couldn't relax, as another arrow made its way to him, and was much faster than the previous one.

Hermes took out his Caduceus and skillfully parried away the arrow.

"Hou Yi's arrows shall not miss their targets!" A man furiously screamed out from some thick bushes near Hermes.

"Hermes, we weren't able to-

Two men halted their words and their steps and observed the scene.

Hermes looked at a strange man.

The strange man held a bow and arrow in his hands but stood still as he stared at the man next to Alex.

"Zhong Kui?!"