Toward the North of the Kingdom of VanLang reigned by King Hùng, there lay the neighboring country Thu.c. The rumor came upon King Thuc that My-Nuong was a pretty princess of VanLang. King Thuc sent an ambassador to VanLang as he wanted to ask for My-Nuong's hand. But King Hùng refused.
Angrily, King Thuc summoned his nephews and said: "You should revenge for me! Take over VanLang kingdom right now. Whoever can do this will succeed my throne!"

Soon Thu.c Phán, King Thuc's nephew invaded Van Lang. Due to excessive drinking, King Hùng neglected the administration of his country. When Thuc Phan's army proceeded toward Phong Chau, King Hùng and his troops could not stop him. King Hùng XVIII lost the battle and committed suicide.

Having occupied Vån-Lang, Thuc Phan proclaimed himself King An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng, named his dynasty Thuc, set up the capital at Phong-Khê (nowadays Dong-Anh prefecture, Phuc-Yen province). Our country was then renamed Au-Lac, including Vån-Lang and Thu.c. An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng made quite a few renovations within the country

Two years later, in the year 255 BC, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng ordered his citizens to build a fortress to defend against foreign invasion. Soldiers as well as civilians dug the soil and carried it to build Loa-Thanh citadel. The fortress grew higher and higher into a spiral structure.
However, it lasted only overnight. The following morning, when the King woke up, he saw that the lofty walls had fallen in to pieces. An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng then had the walls rebuilt, but they collapsed again in a few days. He summoned the people living in that area to ask what had happened.
An old man said: "Last night, we saw flocks of ghosts and devils appearing to destry the citadel. Thus, Your Majesty should pray to the Jade Emperor so he might chase them away for us. Otherwise, we can never built the fortress according to your will". An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng listened to him.
The King ordered that an altar be set up for praying. An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng himself was the chief of the solemn ceremony to pray for the construction of the citadel. Admist the fume of incense, a god appeared and said: "Don't you worry, Your Majesty! Go to Thanh Giang river bank tomorrow and the Emperor of Jade's ambassador will come to your help!"
The following morning, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng went to Thanh-Giang river to wait. As soon as the morning dew had dispersed, an enormous golden tortoise emerged on the river surface. Then this tortoise swam toward the shore to approach the King. Upon seeing the King, the golden tortoise transformed himself into a man and introduced himself as the Golden Tortoise God."
Kim Quy, the Golden Tortoise God, said: "The ghosts and devels were led by a white rooster to destroy the citadel. Let's put an end to this white rooster's life first!"
An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng asked: "But where is he now?"
Kim Quy replied: "He is now hiding in an inn nearby. Let's find him!"

Following Kim Quy's advice, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng and Kim Quy both disguised themselves as two farmers. They went to look for the roadside inn. As soon as they found the inn, they entered it to refresh themselves. After having been inquired, the owner said: "Recently, a man in white coat as often come to spend the night here."
Knowing that, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng returned to the capital and ordered everyone to keep building the fortress. At nightfall, the King and God Kim Quy led his soldiers to ambush around the inn. As expected, at midnight, they saw the white rooster fly out to direct the ghosts to destroy the newly built fortress.
Immediately, Kim Quy raised his magic sword and rushed up to kill the white rooster. As soon as they lost their leader, the ghosts fled away in disorder. Kim Quy ordered the soldiers to throw powder at them to prevent them from coming back.
The following day, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng sent his soldiers and workmen out to rebuild the citadel. God Kim Quy himself showed everyone how to lay deep foundation, and they threshed the soil carefully. Soon the citadel grew higher and higher, from the exterior to the interior, into a spiral.
Without being disturbed by the devils at night, the citadel was soon built up. Being in an cheerful mood, the King let everyone organize festivals. Wrestling, swinging, and other games were celebrated. Lanterns were Hùng, flags were hoisted everywhere. People strolled the citadel, chatting merrily.

An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng opened a banquet to treat God Kim Quy. The King bestowed him a lot of jewerlry, but he refused. Before leaving, God Kim Quy took out one of his paws to give the King and said: "With this paw of mine, you can make the trigger of magic bow that can send out thousands of arrows at one shot to defend the citadel."
Kimg Quy continued: "Now that the magic bow has been in Your Majesty's hand to prevent foreign invasion, you should care for your people and country!" Then he transformed into a great golden tortoise and crawled back to the river. An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng and his men accompanied him, extending their hands and bowing down in gratitude.

In the Kingdom of Au Lac, there was a man named Cao Lo^~. He was very keen on making bows and arrows. An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng summoned Cao Lo to the Court, assigning him the manufacturing of the magic bow. Cao Lo sawed pieces of wood, planed them smoothly and twisted strings to make a beautiful bow. Then he put the magic paw into it to be used as a trigger.
Upon completion, the King wanted to try the bow by himself. He could draw the string just by moving his arm slightly. An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng then put an arrow in and gently pulled the trigger. To his surprise, just one shot turned into thousands of arrows.
An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng was very pleased because from then on, he owned the magic bow to defend the capital. The King himself hid the bow on the wall beside his bed. Besides the King, only My. Châu, his beloved daughter could approach the bow.

Triê.u DDà was then Lord of Nam Ha?i, a neighboring country of A^u La.c. Several times, Triê.u DDà led his troops to invade A^u La.c, but he lost the battles due to An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng magic bow. Triê.u DDà sent his son Tro.ng Thu?y to A^u La.c to negotiate peace with An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng. Seeing that Tro.ng Thu?y was a bright and polite young man, Thu.c Phán approved his peace negotiations.
During his sojourn at Phong Khe (capital of Au Lac), Trong Thuy was guided on a tour to view flowers in the Royal Garden. By chance, the met My Chau and her maids coming home after having picked flowers. At first sight, the talented young man and the beautiful princess fell in love with each other.
They saw each other again during the farewell party treated by King Thu.c, when Tro.ng Thu?y went to the Royal Court to ask for permission to get back to Nam Ha?i. Reaching home, Tro.ng Thu?y reported everything to his father. Triê.u DDà advised Tro.ng Thu?y to avail himself of the love with My. Châu to make the magic bow useless so as take over A^u La.c.
Triê.u DDà immediately ordered that precious gifts be bought so that Tro.ng Thu?y might get back to A^u La.c to ask for My. Châu's hand. Realizing that his daughter and Tro.ng Thu?y fell in love with each other, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng was pleased, too. Because My. Châu was his only child, King Thu.c required Tro.ng Thu?y, his son in law to stay in A^u La.c with him for some time. Then a luxurious wedding was organized right at the capital of A^u La.c.

During the honey moon, My Chau and her husband vistided all the scenery, temples, pagodas in the capital. They set foot on all spots. They even clibed up the tower of Loa Thanh citadel to take the sightseeing.
On a cool moonlit night My Châu and Tro.ng Thu?y sat on a white rock amidst the garden to chat. Tro.ng Thu?y asked his wife: "Do you know why our father's soldiers are such good fighters?" My. Châu sincerely replied: "Not so! It is merely thanks to the magic bow that sends out thousands and thousands of arrows!"
Then My Chau quietly went into her father's bedroom, took the magic bow out to show her husband. My Chau even pointed out to Trong Thuy that there was nothing special about this bow except for the precious trigger made of the paw of the Golden Tortoise God. Thad very trigger could transform one arrow into thousands and thousands of other arrows to kill the enemy.
Tro.ng Thu?y cautiously held the magic bow. He studied it carefully and paid special attention to the trigger made of Kim Quy's paw. He kept praising it so much that My. Châu was very pleased. Then he gave it back to My. Châu so she could put it away.

One day, as he was feeling a vague melancholy, Tro.ng Thu?y said to My. Châu that he was so homesick! He then asked his wife to beg the King for his permission to get back to Nam Ha?i for some time, and then he would return. Without a doubt, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng agreed. The King even sent some people to escort Tro.ng Thu?y and to bring along precious gifts to bestow Triê.u DDà to prove friendship between the two countries.
Reaching home, Tro.ng Thu?y told his father all about the magic bow. Triê.u DDà secretly ordered an expert to create a fake trigger looking exactly like the magic trigger Tro.ng Thu?y had seen. Tro.ng Thu?y hid the fake trigger under his garment, then returned to A^u La.c. My. Châu cheerfully went out of the citadel to welcome her husband back.
An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng opened a party at the Royal Garden so that the father and his children could both drink and enjoy beautiful flowers. Trong Thuy was somber, but My Chau and the King were over drunk, so they fell asleep on the table. Trong Thuy availed himself of this opportunity to sneak into An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng's room, took off the real trigger and replaced it with a fake one. Then he got back to the party table as if nothing had happened.

Later, news from Nam Ha?i informed that Triê.u DDà was seriously ill. Tro.ng Thu?y ask King Thu.c again for permission to get back home to see his father. Before leaving, Tro.ng Thu?y asked his wife: "Later on, where can I find you, in case of war?" Unaware, My Châu replied: "With this goose feathered coat of mine, whenever I go, I will pluck the feathers off one by one to scatter along the road. Do follow the traces to find me!"
No sooner had Tro.ng Thu?y got back to Nam Ha?i than Triê.u DDà led his army to besiege the Loa Tha`nh citadel. Relying on the magic bow, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng was not attentive to the defense. It was not until the Trie^.u's army approached the citadel that the King raised his bow to shoot them. To his surprise, the magic bow was no longer working

Terrified, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng slipped to the rear of the citadel, mounted on his horse and fled away. The King did not forget to carry along My. Châu. While An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng was galloping away, My. Châu plucked off one feather after another and spread them along the road.
An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng's horse galloped to Mo^. Da. mountain (nowadays Nghe^. An province) when it reached the beach. The enemy were chasing and getting close to him. Being in danger, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng prayed the God Kim Quy to come for help. God Kim Quy appeared among the clouds and said:
    "The enemy is sitting behind you, Your Majesty!"
Listening to God Kim Quy, King An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng turned back and saw no one but My Châu, who was still scattering goose feathers along the road. The King suddenly realized that it was My Chau who gave away the secret of the magic bow. Angrily, An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng drew his sword to take My Chau's life, then his own.
Following the traces of goose feathers, Tro.ng Thu?y rushed toward the foot of Mo^. Da. mountain. There he found the bodies of My. Châu and An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng lying on the sand. Holding the body of My. Châu in his arms, Tro.ng Thuy? cried bitterly. He found means to bury both his wife and father in law, then returned to Loa Tha`nh citadel
Feeling remorseful that My. Châu died because of him, Tro.ng Thu?y plunged headdown toward a well near the citadel to commit suicide. As it was told, when My. Châu's blood poured into the sea, the clams drank it and they produced precious pearls. According to the legend, if one washed the pearls in the well water where Tro.ng Thu?y died, they would become brightly shined and extremely beautiful.
Nowadays, at Co Loa (or Loa Thanh citadel), people still find a temple in commemoration of King Thuc An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng. Another temple of An Du*o*ng Vu*o*ng had also been built on Mo Da mountain. There, the scenery is picturesque, and as there are lofty trees that make pleasant shades, swarms of pea cocks often came here. Hence, the name Den Cong (Peacock Temple).