The Hunting God Du Chaoxuan
In ancient times，there were two girls in Zhoucheng Village of Dali.One day，they went to Yunnong Peak to cut wood.It was too hot and they were thirsty.When they passed the Butterfly Spring，they went to Longtan（a pool）to drink water and sat under the acacia tree to have a rest.Suddenly a strange young man came and invited them to have tea at his home.They refused his advice，but the young man was obsessed with it.They were scared and turned to run back.They ran fast，and so did the young man.They ran slowly，and so did the young man.Suddenly a whirlwind swept the two girls into the cave on the back of the mountain.
It turned out that the young man was a python and had eaten a lot of cattle and sheep.The villagers were terrified—the two girls were taken away by the monster，so villagers were even more frightened.They said，“We will give a big reward to the man whoever can kill this python！”
There was a hunter named Du Chaoxuan who hunted around Yunnong Peak and Canglang Peak and killed many poisonous snakes and beasts.One day，he came back from Haidong by boat.With holding a crossbow and a long arrow，he went to the valley of Xiayi Creek to look for wild animals.It was spring.Both sides of the stream were full of mountain flowers，although there was still snow on the peak of the mountain.He saw a girl washing clothes on a big stone by the stream.The girl lowered her head and her tears trickled down into the water.He continued on his way to the mountain，when he saw a black golden python swimming straight towards him，just like black water flowing rapidly.He took an arrow and hit the python in the head.The python rolled up his big tail，cut off many trees and hurried off to the grass，where he soon disappeared.Du Chaoxuan walked down the mountain and the girl on the big stone disappeared.When he returned to Zhoucheng，the old villagers told him that a python had recently come out，eaten a lot of cattle and sheep，and taken two girls away.Only then did he realize that the girl he met was one of them.
The following day，he took the crossbow and the sword，and headed for Xiayi Creek.He saw a girl washing clothes on a big stone，and the clothes were stained with blood.Drawing nearer，Du Chaoxuan recognized the girl was his neighbor and asked her，“Why did you come here？Why is there blood on the clothes？”
The girl cried and said，“It was the python that captured my younger sister and me.Yesterday the python was shot by an arrow and now it is humming on the bed，and he asks me to wash the dress in blood.”
Du Chaoxuan asked her again，“Why didn't you run away？”
The girl said，“The python drew a line with its tail outside the cave.Whenever we crossed the line，the python knew it so we could not escape.”
“Where is your younger sister？”
“She is waiting on the python in the cave.”
“Please lead the way for me，and I will go into the cave and kill the python.”
The girl said，“We are very grateful for your saving us.The python takes a nap every three days and sleeps every seven days.It is the time for the python to take a nap，but the python is very ferocious and dangerous to get close.You have to be more careful.”
Du Chaoxuan drew a sword and followed the girl into the cave.On closer inspection，there was no python，only a young man dressed in black lying in bed asleep and a girl sitting by his side crying.Du Chaoxuan knew that this young man was the embodiment of the python and raised his sword to stab the young man.But when the python was taking a nap，his eyes closed but his heart did not sleep.He knew some living person walking into the cave and had already woken up.The young man turned into a black python when he saw Du Chaoxuan.He opened his mouth and rushed at him.Du Chaoxuan stabbed at him with force，and the sword cut into the python's belly.The python coiled up and bound Du Chaoxuan tightly.Du Chaoxuan's muscles tensed up.He used his sword to poke and stir the python's belly.The python opened his mouth in pain to swallow him.Du Chaoxuan thrust his sword into the python again and the python's head retracted.Suddenly，the sword broke in the python's belly with a sharp crack，leaving only the hilt in Du Chaoxuan's hand.Du Chaoxuan used all his strength to pull his arms together，and the python broke into four or five pieces and fell to the ground like a pile of rags.Du Chaoxuan was covered in blood and sweat.He settled down for a while and looked back for the two girls but saw nobody.He was very puzzled.Did they run away？With a closer look，he found that the two girls were stunned and fell to the ground.He woke them up and helped them out of the cave.At this time，the python's blood flowed out of the cave and dyed the stones in front of the cave red.
Du Chaoxuan took the two girls home.After passing the Butterfly Spring，the two girls refused to walk any further.They sat under a big tree and sang songs to express their gratitude to Du Chaoxuan for saving their lives and showing their affections for him.
Later，the two sisters married Du Chaoxuan.
In order to commemorate Du Chaoxuan，the villagers of Zhoucheng regarded him as the Hunting God after his death，and they also molded his image in the Village God Temple：carrying a crossbow，holding a long arrow and a broken sword hilt.People also call the big stone in the Xiayi Creek as Empress Laundry Stone.The stone at the cave entrance turns red every time it rains，which is said to be bloodied by that python.