Traveling back to ancient times to determine the zodiac

Emperor Nian and the other animals looked outside the cave and saw that it was the Rat King who was shouting. It was rushing into the cave in a panic with two other rats in tow.

When Emperor Nian saw the Rat King, he angrily asked, "You damned rat, why didn't you come to the banquet today? You really don't give me face! And why haven't you offered the food yet? Are you tired of living?"

The Rat King was so frightened that he was shaking like a sieve, and hurriedly explained: "Report to the Emperor Nian, how dare I not attend your banquet? It was all because I was delayed to get food."

"Has the food been offered yet?" asked the Nian Beast.

"Squeak - don't mention it, ah!" The Rat King said angrily, "No wonder we didn't have enough food last year, it turned out that humans had collected all the food. We asked humans for food, but they killed countless rats. I went to ask humans for food in person, and they took sticks and clubs and wanted to kill us. I told humans that we were offering food to Emperor Nian, but they didn't take Emperor Nian seriously at all. Not only did they refuse to obey, they also shouted, 'It is the land of Nian, and we are the heaven of humans.' Even if Emperor Nian came in person, they would still refuse to give it. They also threatened that if Emperor Nian came, they would shoot an arrow through his head. I saw that humans were extremely vicious and could not be dealt with, so I hurried to report to you."

The Rat King exaggerated the story, and Emperor Nian was immediately furious. He asked, "Where are the humans? What kind of animals are they that dare to openly oppose me? And they even call themselves 'human gods' and are above me?"

"Reporting to Emperor Nian, humans are now in a place called Hongmeng, about a thousand miles away from here." The Rat King replied.

"What do humans look like? How tall and big are they? How long are the horns on their heads? How sharp are their teeth?" Emperor Nian asked again.

"Report to Emperor Nian, humans are not tall. They are bipedal animals that walk upright and look like ordinary monkeys. They have no horns on their heads and no sharp teeth in their mouths. They don't run fast and they don't jump high. They just wear animal skins and hold weapons in their hands." The Rat King replied again.

“Tsk—” Emperor Nian sneered disapprovingly and said, “I thought humans had three heads and six arms, and were ferocious and terrifying. It turns out they are just two-legged beasts like monkeys. What’s so scary about that? Hehehehehe…”

"Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo...Lulululul..." The other animals also laughed.

"Squeak, squeak, why is Emperor Nian laughing?" The mouse asked curiously when he saw that Emperor Nian was not afraid but laughing.

"It's ridiculous that you, a cowardly thief, are afraid of even monkey-like humans." The dog-headed military advisor glanced at the mouse out of the corner of his eye.

"That's right, that's right, to describe a monkey-like human as so powerful. It's ridiculous." The Tiger King shook his head and sneered as well.

"In fact, you don't know that the bipedal humans are much more powerful than monkeys. The sticks in their hands are extremely powerful. If you are hit by them, you will die, and if you are touched by them, you will be injured." The mouse shuddered when he said this.

"I've seen timid people, but I've never seen someone as timid as you. You're so afraid of humans who don't even have the slightest bit of aggressiveness. You're really useless." Elvis sneered again.

"You stupid cat, you've never seen a human being, so you don't know how powerful they are. If you were to encounter one, you would definitely run away with your head in your hands." The mouse retorted.

"Bullshit, are humans more powerful than me, Elvis? If I meet humans, I will bite off their necks, rip open their stomachs, and eat their hearts. I will offer the rest of the human flesh to Emperor Nian to taste. Maybe human flesh will taste better." Elvis said conceitedly and arrogantly.

"You stupid cat, keep bragging! If you meet a human in the future and cannot defeat and eat him, do you still have the face to see me?" The Rat King glared at the Cat King.

"Useless Mouse King, if you don't believe me, I'll make a bet with you that I can definitely defeat humans. Brother Tiger, am I right?" Cat King was full of confidence, as easy as catching a turtle in a jar.

"Need I say more? To deal with a monkey-like person, it's enough to have my cat brother to help." Tiger said lightly.

"Since Maotou is so powerful and capable, I think I should send you to subdue humans and ask for food. What do you think?" Emperor Nian shook his head and said.

"Emperor Nian, I think this is inappropriate. Humans are new species, and they dare to speak wildly and oppose you just because they don't know how powerful and prestigious you are. If you send cats to lead the troops to attack, it will show that you are too stingy. There is a saying that goes, 'The best strategy is to defeat the enemy without fighting.' I think it is better for Emperor Nian to go and see those humans himself and tell them how powerful you are. Maybe when humans see your ferocious look, oh, no! When they see your majestic, wise and brave appearance, they will automatically surrender without taking any action." The dog-headed military advisor shook his head and gave advice.

"What Doghead said makes sense. I should go and meet those humans myself. If they refuse, I can capture two to try and see what human flesh tastes like." Emperor Nian was so excited that his mouth was drooling.

"Emperor Nian, don't eat all the humans. Remember to leave two for my tiger king." The tiger king was also drooling.

"Well, of course I'll leave the leftovers for you." Emperor Nian nodded in agreement.

Emperor Nian discussed with the beasts and ordered the Rat King to lead the herd first. Then, Emperor Nian ordered the Rooster to lead the way in the sky, while he himself rode on the Horse King, with a dog-headed military advisor on the left and a pig-headed guard on the right, and the group was ready to set off.

As the two places were far apart and no one knew the way, Emperor Nian ordered the rooster king: "Stupid rooster, fly up to the sky and see which direction to go first."

"Yes!" the cock replied. "I will fly to the top of the sky and find out the answer."

After saying this, the rooster spread its wings and flew up to the sky. When it could not fly any higher, it looked into the distance. After a bird's eye view, the rooster flew to the front of Emperor Nian's horse and reported: "Emperor Nian, I have seen the direction clearly. We should go east."

"Okay, let's start walking!" Emperor Nian gave an order and everyone headed east.

The group traveled through mountains and rivers, traveling day and night. After walking for five or six days, Emperor Nian ordered the rooster: "Stupid rooster, fly up to the sky again and see how far it is."

"Yes, Emperor Nian!" The rooster agreed, then flew up to the sky again, looked down for a while, and quickly flew down, saying, "Wrong, wrong, we took the wrong road. We should go northeast."

When Emperor Nian heard this, he was furious and cursed, "You stupid chicken, why didn't you see more clearly last time? You made me walk for so many days in vain. I am really mad at you."

After cursing, Emperor Nian twisted his body, and his tail quickly caught the rooster, then he raised it with force and threw it thirty feet away.

The rooster fell down and lost a few feathers. It climbed up dizzy and came to Emperor Nian to explain: "Report to Emperor Nian, the sky was foggy last time and I couldn't see clearly, so I made a mistake."

"Will it be wrong this time?" asked the Dog-Headed Military Advisor.

"We must be right this time. Let's turn left!" said the rooster, shaking his wings.

Emperor Nian followed his words and ordered the rooster to lead the way as usual, and the group set out again. After another eight or nine days, one afternoon, the group finally arrived at the Hongmeng interface.

Emperor Nian waved at the rooster and said, "You stupid rooster, go to the front and find the mouse to see me."

The rooster took the order and flew up to the sky to take a bird's eye view. He found that the Rat King and his group of rats were hiding under a barren slope. So he quickly flew down and said to the Rat King, "Rat, since you have arrived early, why don't you go and fight? Instead, you are hiding under the slope in a sneaky way, making it difficult for me to find you."

The Rat King was startled when he saw the rooster suddenly falling from the sky. He chuckled twice and said, "Brother Rooster, it's not that I don't want to lead the charge, but because Emperor Nian wants to persuade him to surrender, I have to wait for him to go together."

"I think you're too timid to go," said the rooster disdainfully.

"Brother Rooster, if you already know, why bother telling me?" The Rat King looked around and asked, "Has Emperor Nian arrived? Where is he now?"

"The Emperor Nian has arrived. He is not far behind us. He has ordered me to find you and take you to see him." After the rooster said this, he led the mouse in front.

The Rat King then brought two rat spirits and followed the rooster to the front of Emperor Nian's horse and said, "Report to Emperor Nian, the Rat King is here!"

"You dead rat, you saw the emperor coming but didn't come to greet him. Why are you hiding? Do you want to get beaten again?" Emperor Nian said angrily.

"Squeak..." The Rat King's eyes rolled around and he replied, "We are not hiding. We are just secretly investigating the human situation so that we can attack when the Nian Emperor comes."

"Well done!" Upon hearing this, Emperor Nian believed it and asked, "How far are we from humans now? What are humans doing?"

"The humans are in a cave two miles ahead, and they are sharpening their knives, preparing for resistance!" In fact, the mouse did not observe the humans and made up a story.

"What? Humans are still preparing to resist?" Emperor Nian was furious. "They are really stupid people who don't know their own strength. I will kill them all."

"You're right. Humans are really bold. Not only are they not prepared to surrender, they even dare to resist. Emperor Nian, let's flatten Tianju Cave, conquer humans, and rob them of their food." The dog-headed military advisor shook his head and echoed.

"Hehe..." the Pig King interrupted, "Emperor Nian, I've walked so much today, I'm exhausted. Let's take a day off and attack tomorrow!"

"Don't bother yourself, you lazy pig. While it's still early, let's go directly to the humans to surrender!" Emperor Nian wanted to eat human flesh, so he waved his hand impatiently and rode away.

"Emperor Nian, wait!" The dog-headed military advisor stopped Emperor Nian and said, "Let's first let the rats lead the rat soldiers to fight against the humans, and then we will go on the field to persuade them to surrender. This will show the dignity and prestige of our Emperor Nian."

"Yes, it is still the Dog-Headed Military Advisor who has thought it through carefully. After you subdue the humans, this emperor will reward you handsomely." Emperor Nian patted the Dog-Headed Advisor's hand, expressing his great appreciation.

The dog head was almost knocked down by the beating, and said helplessly: "Emperor Nian, I dare not ask for the reward, just don't hit me."

Then, Emperor Nian turned to the rat and gave the order, "You stupid rat, go to the human's door and fight them immediately. I will be there in a moment."

The Rat King reluctantly agreed, "Yes, sir." He led all the rat spirits and rat soldiers ahead. When they were still a mile away from Tianju Cave, they dared not go any further. The Rat King stopped and set up his battle formation, and then sent two more rat spirits to Tianju Cave to challenge the humans.