Hou Yi is remembered as the archer who shot nine of ten suns from the sky and saved humanity from burning, and also as an arrogant tyrant who murdered a river god to steal his wife. This episode follows the evolving biography of the Chinese Lord Archer from divine savior to tragic victim to corrupt strongman, and finally to the flesh-and-blood warlord recorded in the Bamboo Annals.

We examine how Hou Yi tries diplomacy and warning shots before shooting the suns, his grueling monster-hunting campaign against creatures like the chisel-tooth Zaochi and a serpent that could swallow an elephant, and the two opposing versions of the elixir of immortality story that explain why Chang'e is honored at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Then we reveal the historical coup against King Tai Kang and the scribal error that may have turned a political assassination ...