Traveling back to ancient times to determine the zodiac

"Brother Dong, that's not what you mean. You have to be careful in everything." Xiaoxing reminded him.

"Xing, when it comes to hunting, I don't need you to teach me." Dong didn't appreciate it and strode forward.

Xiaoxing shook his head and followed closely. The two led the four hundred warriors to attack the top of the mountain as usual.

Zhize led Hong'er, Lan'er and a group of warriors, took the Beast King, and found a place to set up camp at the foot of the mountain. Let's not talk about it for now.

The bamboo forest was dense, and Dong and his men used stone knives to cut a path that led to the middle of the mountain. Standing halfway up the mountain and looking up, there was a ten-foot-high cliff that was too steep to climb.

"Damn it, it's as difficult to climb as the Monkey King's cliff cave. What should I do?" Dong cursed as he looked at the almost vertical cliff.

"Brother Dong, don't be impatient. Let's walk around the mountainside, maybe there is a way to go up." Xiaoxing advised Dong.

"Xing is right. Let's look for it." Feng followed.

So everyone walked around the mountainside and searched, and when they were almost around the whole circle, they finally found a gentle slope leading directly to the top of the mountain.

"Brothers, that's great. There is a gentle slope that can lead us to the top of the mountain." Dong shouted excitedly.

"Brother Dong, Xing, look quickly, the Nian Beast is guarding the entrance of the slope above." Chen has sharp eyes. He looked upwards along the gentle slope and immediately spotted the Nian Emperor guarding the top of the slope.

"Brothers, just as expected, the Nian beast is hiding on the top of this mountain. Let's see where you can escape to this time?" As soon as Dong saw Emperor Nian, he immediately rushed up the gentle slope.

“Ji Ji—” Emperor Nian roared, and then angrily cursed at the people below the cliff: “You stubborn humans, I will no longer conquer you, but you insist on chasing me and want to get rid of me as soon as possible. Today, I will fight you!”

Dong Jian saw the Nian beast cursing and he retorted angrily: "Hey! You abominable Nian beast, because of your repeated conquests, dozens of our people have been killed or injured. For the safety and happiness of our human beings, and to avenge our dead and injured brothers, we wish we could peel off your skin and eat your flesh. Let me tell you, all the beast kings under your command have surrendered, and now is your doom. Nian beast, stick your head out and die!"

"Yes, Nian, I will also cut off your long horns and use them as horns. That will definitely be louder." Xi shouted.

"Hmph! Stubborn human, come up if you have the guts and let me taste human flesh!" Emperor Nian stood up, shaking his two long horns, ready to fight.

"Brothers, let's destroy the Nian beast in one fell swoop, charge!" Dong shouted, swinging his axe and being the first to rush up the gentle slope.

"Charge!" Xiaoxing and Xi, Chen, Feng... and everyone else rushed up closely behind.

This gentle slope is about ten feet wide. The Nian beast is huge and guards the entrance of the slope tightly. It is really like one man guarding the pass and ten thousand men cannot break through.

"Brother Dong, the Nian beast is guarding the slope. Let's shoot arrows to drive it away first, and then climb to the top of the mountain to fight it." Xiaoxing said.

"Okay. Let's shoot the hell out of it." Dong stopped and took an arrow to shoot at the Emperor Nian above.

Xiao Xing, Chen and the others followed suit and shot arrows at him. Arrows flew like locusts. Emperor Nian saw the arrows being shot again and was afraid that his other eye would be blinded, so he quickly stepped back.

"Xing, brothers, the Nian beast has retreated and we can't shoot it with arrows. Let's charge forward with me." Dong threw away his bow and arrow, then raised his stone axe and charged forward.

Everyone shouted and rushed up. The slope was very steep. Dong struggled hard and just climbed to the top. He poked his head out, but before he could see the scene above clearly, he was swept by the long tail of the Emperor Nian who was guarding there, and rolled down the slope again.

Then Xiaoxing, Chen, Xi, Zhong and others also climbed up the slope. When Emperor Nian saw them, he hurried forward, waved his two front paws, and started to scratch at everyone. Xiaoxing swung his stone knife and chopped its front paws, but the skin was thick and rough, so it was not hurt at all. The Nian beast was extremely powerful, and in just a few moves, it pushed all the people down the slope. Then another group of warriors, including Feng, Yun, Lei, Dian, etc., attacked, but they were also defeated by the Nian beast and rolled down the slope. They took turns to attack for a long time, but no one reached the top of the mountain.

Emperor Nian was tall and strong, and he had the advantage of being on a high ground, so it was as easy for him to defeat him as for an adult to beat a child. Although everyone tried their best to attack, some were beaten black and blue, and some were even injured, but they still failed.

Seeing that the situation was going badly, Xiao Xing called for everyone to stop: "Brother Dong, brothers, the Nian beast has thick skin and flesh, is invulnerable to swords and spears, and occupies a high position, so it is difficult to attack. Let's stop for a while, firstly to rest, and secondly to discuss how to defeat it."

"Xing, although the Nian Beast is powerful, it is not much stronger than a tiger. What is there to discuss? You guys take a rest and watch how I defeat it." Dong heard that Xiaoxing was going to use a trick again, and he knew that it must be his credit again. If he wanted to seize the position of cave master, this would be the key battle to determine success or failure. Therefore, he decided to fight hard and try to defeat the Nian Beast on his own.

"Brother Dong, don't fight the Nian beast head-on, otherwise your life will be in danger." Xiaoxing stepped forward to stop Dong Dao.

"Xing, get out of the way. I must fight the Nian beast to the death." Dong broke away from Xiaoxing and called Heizi, Shugen, Shuye, Bo and Tao, the five warriors holding sticks: "Heizi, Shugen, the others with long sticks, come with me. Remember: when you are about to break through the top, you use the sticks to hit upwards as a cover."

"I understand, Brother Dong." The roots, leaves and others replied.

Then, Dong turned to the three warriors Xi, Qian and Lu and said, "Xi, Qian and Lu, the three of you and I will quietly climb up the mountain from the side. Then we will attack from both sides, and the Nian beast will surely be defeated."

"Yes, Brother Dong." Xi, Qian, Lu, Heizi, Shugen and others were used to obeying Dong's words, so they agreed immediately.

Dong put the stone axe on his waist and climbed up first. Xi, Qian and Lu also put on the stone axes and followed Dong to climb up. Heizi, Shugen and others followed. When they were about to reach the top of the mountain, Dong and Xi lay on the slope without moving. Heizi, Shugen and others waved more than ten feet long wooden sticks to hit the Nian beast on the top. When the Nian beast saw the sticks coming, it used its long horns to resist. Taking this opportunity, Dong said to Xi, Qian and Lu: "Xi, you guys hurry up with me and climb up secretly."

Dong, Xi, Qian, Lu and others used their hands and feet to climb to the top of the mountain. Emperor Nian really had no time to take care of them, so the four of them climbed to the top of the mountain smoothly. The four of them then took out the stone axes from their waists, and two of them chopped at Emperor Nian's neck. Dong chopped fiercely and roared: "Damn it, I don't believe I can't kill you."

The skin of the 10,000-year-old Emperor Nian was so thick that it could pass through a train. No matter how hard Dong, Xi, Qian, and Lu chopped at it, they could not hurt it at all. The four men chopped it with axes dozens of times, and when they were at their wits' end, Emperor Nian got angry. It swung its long tail like a giant club at Dong and Xi, and then swept it towards Qian and Lu. With a few "slaps", the four men fell off the cliff.

"Ah——!" "Ah——!" Then several screams came from the bottom of the cliff.

"Brother Dong, Brother Xi! The road ahead!" Seeing this, the roots, leaves, Heizi and others exclaimed.

Xiaoxing and Chen hurriedly led people down the mountain to rescue Dong and the other four.

Dong, Xi, Qian and Lu fell down beside the bamboo forest, their heads were broken and bleeding, and they all fainted. Xiaoxing, Chen, Zhong, Feng, Yun, Lei and others shouted and searched, and after walking a long way, they finally found the four people.

Xiao Xing was stunned by the tragic scene before him. He quickly came to Dong's side and asked, "Brother Dong, Brother Dong, how are you?"

Dong didn't respond and continued to lie there motionless, as if he was dead.

"Xing, will Brother Dong and Brother Xi fall to death?" Chen asked Xing when he saw this.

Before Xiaoxing could answer, Zhong ran toward Dong, crying and holding his head up, shouting, "Brother Dong, wake up, wake up!"

After everyone’s repeated calls, Dong actually opened his eyes and began to moan, “Ouch, ouch——”

"Brother Dong, how are you? Where did you fall?" Zhong asked again.

"Brothers, I'm fine!" Dong waved his hands and struggled to stand up. Suddenly, he let out a "wow" and a mouthful of blood spurted out.

"Brother Dong, you are seriously injured, lie down quickly." Zhong hurriedly put Dong down.

On the other side, brothers Yue and Fengyun helped the unconscious Xi, Qian and Lu up and checked them. They found that except Xi who still had a little consciousness, Qian and Lu were dying.

Feng Ji asked Xiao Xing, "Xing, Xi Ge is awake now, but Qian and Lu are dying, what should we do?"

"Yeah, Xing, what should we do now?" Zhong asked.

Xiao Xing looked at the four injured people and answered worriedly, "Brother Zhong, Brother Feng, the four of them are seriously injured. They must be carried down the mountain immediately and handed over to Uncle Zhi for treatment."

"Xing, I, I'm fine, just need to rest. You, you should lead the brothers to continue, continue the attack." Dong objected intermittently after hearing this.

"No!" Xiao Xing refused flatly, "The Nian Beast can't escape from the top of the mountain. It won't be too late for us to attack later. And your injuries are serious. If you can't get treatment in time, your lives may be in danger."

"Xing is right. Brothers, let's carry Dongge, Xige, Qian and Lu down quickly." Upon hearing this, Zhong immediately called on everyone to lift the four people, and then hurried to the camp at the foot of the mountain.

Zhi, Hong'er, Lan'er and the others were still setting up camp. When they saw everyone going down the mountain, Zhi approached them in confusion and asked, "Xing, warriors, you're going down the mountain so soon. Could it be that the Nian beast is not on the mountain?"

"Uncle Zhi, the Nian Beast is indeed up there." Xiao Xing quickly replied, and then pointed at the four people, Dong and others, who were being carried behind them, and continued, "We just launched a fierce attack, and Dong, Xi, Qian, and Lu were swept off the cliff by the Nian Beast and were seriously injured. Come and have a look."

"Ah? Dong and Xi are both seriously injured? How could this happen?" Zhi heard this and walked towards them in surprise.

"Uncle Zhi, the top of this mountain is full of cliffs. We went around the mountain before we found a gentle slope to the top. Unexpectedly, the Nian beast was guarding this slope. We rushed up to attack, but were blocked by the Nian beast. The Nian beast had thick skin and flesh, and was invulnerable to swords and spears. We were defeated every time we attacked. I ordered everyone to rest for a while and think of a strategy to deal with it. But Dong Ge disagreed and said he wanted to fight the Nian beast to the death. Then he ordered Heizi, Shugen and others to use long sticks as a cover, and he and Xi Ge, Qian Ge, and Lu Ge took the opportunity to climb to the top of the mountain and chop the Nian beast with axes. But no matter how they chopped the Nian beast, they could not hurt it. In the end, it was swept off the cliff by the long tail of the Nian beast and was seriously injured." Xiaoxing recounted what had just happened in detail.

Zhi carefully checked Dong's injuries and said slowly: "Based on my hunting experience of more than 50 years, external injuries are easy to treat, but internal injuries are difficult to treat! Dong not only has external injuries on his head, but also internal injuries on his internal organs. Alas——"

Zhi looked at Dong, who was as strong as an ox just now, and suddenly became so weak, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Uncle Zhi, as long as the Nian Beast can be destroyed, I, I will be willing to die." Dong said with difficulty, "Xing, I, I can't do it now, you must destroy the Nian Beast."

"Brother Dong, don't worry. I will continue to attack the Nian beast and will definitely destroy it." Xiaoxing swore word by word.

"Xing, you guys hurry up and go. I, I'm waiting for your good news." Dong said increasingly weakly.

"Yes." Xiao Xing nodded, and turned to Chen, Zhong, Feng and the others and said, "Brothers, let's go and attack the Nian beast and avenge Dong Ge and Xi Ge."

"Revenge for Brother Dong and Brother Xi! Attack!" everyone shouted.

Xiaoxing led everyone back to the bottom of the cliff and saw that Emperor Nian was still guarding there. When Emperor Nian saw that humans had gone and come back, he immediately stood up and prepared to fight.

"Brothers, let's avenge Brother Dong and Brother Xi, charge!" Xiaoxing bravely stepped forward, leading Chen Hefeng and others to attack Emperor Nian again with swords.

Emperor Nian continued to use his head and front paws to hit everyone, causing them to stumble and roll down the cliff.

Soon the sky gradually darkened, Xiao Xing said to everyone: "Brothers, it's late, everyone is tired, let's fight again tomorrow!"