Traveling back to ancient times to determine the zodiac

"Well - I will make the decision for you right now." After saying this, Emperor Nian twisted his body, stretched out his tail, and rolled up the gibbon. He said, "You ungrateful gibbon, I haven't eaten meat for a long time. It's a good opportunity for me to satisfy my craving."

After saying that, he was about to put it into the big mouth. The gibbon spirit was caught by Emperor Nian and could not move. He was so scared that his face turned pale. He hurriedly begged for mercy: "Good Monkey King, I admit defeat, please beg Emperor Nian not to eat me!"

"You dead ape, I shouldn't have saved you, but since you are willing to surrender and worship me as your king, I will spare you this time." The Monkey King agreed to the gibbon's request for mercy, and then said to Emperor Nian: "Emperor Nian, please spare the ape and spare it this time."

"Monkey King, you have a mountain full of monkeys, and you should offer some of them as tribute to me to eat. Why are you still letting them go?" Emperor Nian was already drooling all over the floor.

"My king, you brought Emperor Nian back not for refuge, but to eat us?" When the monkeys heard this, they retreated in shock.

"Emperor Nian, if you are hungry, there are fruits all over the mountain for you to eat. You should release the gibbons quickly! If you eat them, there will be no monkeys to help you climb the cliff." The Monkey King advised.

"Emperor Nian, the Monkey King is right. Humans will catch up soon, so it is better to let them help you get to the cliff cave first." The dog-headed military advisor advised.

When he heard that humans were coming, Emperor Nian became extremely nervous. He threw the gibbon spirit down in dismay and said, "Okay! For the sake of the Monkey King, I will spare your life for now."

The gibbon escaped death and limped to the Monkey King, saying gratefully: "Thank you for saving my life, my king."

"Well, since you apes have surrendered to me, we are now one family. Don't bully my people again, otherwise I will not forgive you." The Monkey King nodded, and the matter was over.

"Monkey King, everything is fine now. Find a way to get me up there!" Emperor Nian urged.

"As you command!" The Monkey King agreed and shouted to the other monkeys, "My brothers and subjects, humans will hunt down Emperor Nian in the future. Now, help me send Emperor Nian to the cliff cave for refuge."

"Yes, my king." Upon receiving the order, the monkeys immediately crowded around Emperor Nian, some pulling his head, some holding his feet, and together they pushed Emperor Nian towards the cliff.

The Nian Emperor weighed about 5,000 to 6,000 kilograms and was very heavy. The monkeys pushed it up like ants lifting food. After a long time, they finally got it up to a height of about ten feet. The monkey was so tired that he was out of breath and said, "My king, the Nian Emperor is so heavy that I am exhausted. Let's take a rest!"

"Okay, everyone take a break. I'm also very tired." After the Monkey King said this, he let go and jumped aside to rest.

The other monkeys left Emperor Nian there and followed him to rest. The cliff was smooth and there was nothing to climb. Without the support of the other monkeys, Emperor Nian had no firm footing and rolled down from the cliff. He was dazed and covered with wounds.

“Ouch, oh—” Emperor Nian was furious: “Damned Monkey King, you threw me like this, your crime is truly unforgivable.”

Doghead, Pighead and all the monkeys were terrified. Doghead ran up and asked, "Emperor Nian, how are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but the dead monkey is in trouble. Hurry up and call it down, so that I can beat it up a few times to calm down." Emperor Nian shouted.

"You stupid monkey, Emperor Nian tells you to come down quickly and let it beat you a few times." Dog Head then sent an order to the Monkey King on the cliff.

"Military Advisor Dog-Head, I dare not go down. If Emperor Nian beats me a few times, I will be skinned alive if I don't die. Please try to persuade Emperor Nian, and I will find another way to get it up." The Monkey King knew that he could not escape punishment, so he asked Dog-Head for help.

"Emperor Nian, humans will catch up with you soon. If you beat it to death, you will have nowhere to escape. Calm down for now and spare the Monkey King this time. It promises to find another way to get you up." The dog-headed man advised, shaking his head.

"Well then." Emperor Nian knew that he needed the help of the Monkey King at this moment, so he had to suppress his anger and said to the Monkey King: "You stupid monkey, I will spare you this time. If you make me fall again, you will be punished for both crimes."

"Yes, Emperor Nian. I will find a way right away." When the Monkey King heard this, he felt as if there was an amnesty, and hurriedly gathered the monkeys to discuss the matter.

The monkeys scratched their heads and discussed for a long time. Finally, the gibbon spirit came up with an idea: "My king, why don't we get a few long vines, lower them from the cave on the cliff, and hang the emperor up."

"Good idea, good idea!" The Monkey King immediately clapped his hands and said, "Let's have some brothers pull the vines from above, and have some monkeys push and pull from below. This way, we will definitely be able to get Emperor Nian up."

They did what they said. There were many vines in the Flower-Fruit Mountain. Soon, the monkeys collected many long vines. They first took these vines to the cliff cave and asked a group of monkeys to hold them and let them down. If the vines were not long enough, they would connect a section and let them hang down to the bottom of the cliff. Then, the Monkey King ordered the monkeys to tie up Emperor Nian with vines. He ordered the monkeys above to pull hard and the monkeys below to push Emperor Nian up. After a long time of hard work, the monkeys finally got Emperor Nian to the cliff cave.

Then, using the same method, he also got the dog head and the pig head onto the cliff cave. Emperor Nian looked at the cliff cave: it was about ten feet high and three feet wide, winding and extending inside, and bottomless. Emperor Nian and the four beast kings walked to the cave entrance and looked down at the cliff. Emperor Nian was still a little worried and said, "Monkey King, although this cliff cave is high and steep, can humans climb up?"

“Emperor Nian, just relax. In my opinion, unless humans can fly, they will never be able to attack us.” The Monkey King said with full confidence.

"The Monkey King is right. This cave on the cliff is really amazing. Humans are not monkeys and they don't have wings. How can they climb up? Even if they risk their lives to attack, the Monkey King can intercept them halfway. On such a cliff, no matter how powerful humans are, they will definitely not be the Monkey King's opponent." The Dog-Headed Military Advisor followed.

"Military Advisor Dog-Head's analysis is correct," Pig-Head said, "In my opinion, when humans see this cave on the cliff, they might give up and go back to their caves."

"Yes, yes!" the rooster said, "Emperor Nian, you don't have to doubt it. Since we are here, we should make the best of it. Just stay here with peace of mind!"

"In that case, let's go into the cave and rest." Emperor Nian was relieved by their persuasion and led the beast kings back into the cave.

"Monkey King, didn't you say there are all kinds of fruits here? Go and pick some fruits to offer to me. I'm starving!" Emperor Nian then ordered.

"Yes, sir. I'll go pick the fruits right away." The Monkey King agreed and led thousands of monkey spirits down the cliff to pick fruits.

The Flower-Fruit Mountain was indeed rich in fruits, with apples, pears, apricots, mangoes, bananas, grapes, and so on. The monkeys were picking fruits enthusiastically when suddenly a group of monkeys came to report in a panic: "Your Majesty, a group of monsters that are neither monkeys nor apes have broken into our Flower-Fruit Mountain. Please come and have a look."

"Don't be afraid, children. I am here. No matter what monsters they are, I will definitely drive them away." The Monkey King ran down the mountain angrily.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, they looked far ahead and saw that the so-called monsters were actually humans chasing them. The Monkey King was immediately scared to death and shouted, "Run, kids! These are the humans chasing the Nian Emperor!"

After saying that, he turned around and ran to the cliff cave to report to Emperor Nian.

It turned out that under the guidance of the Sheep King, the army led by Qiu crossed mountains and rivers and after more than ten days of arduous trekking, they finally arrived at the foot of the Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Powerful human, the Flower-Fruit Mountain of the Monkey King is ahead. Emperor Nian must be hiding in a cave on the cliff of this mountain." The Sheep King said respectfully.

"Yes." Qiu nodded, and then ordered everyone: "Everyone listen, the Nian beast is hiding in this Flower and Fruit Mountain. Everyone, be prepared for battle and try to destroy the Nian beast in one fell swoop."

"Yes! Cave Master." Upon receiving the order, everyone drew their swords, strung their arrows, and moved forward cautiously step by step.

When we entered the forest, we didn't see a single monkey, but we saw all kinds of fruits hanging on the branches, which made us salivate.

Hong'er saw a mango tree with many mangoes. She had never seen this fruit before, let alone eaten it. She immediately said to Xiaoxing, "Brother Xing, look at the yellow fruits on the tree. They must be very sweet. Can you pick one for me to taste?"

"Hong'er, those are mangoes. If you want to eat them, I'll climb up and pick them." Xiaoxing felt obliged to do so and quickly climbed up the mango tree.

Lan'er, who was standing nearby, saw this and immediately begged Chen to go up and pick mangoes as well. Chen climbed up without saying a word.

Xiaoxing and Chen each picked a mango and threw it down. Honger picked up a mango, peeled off the yellow skin and put it in her mouth. As soon as she took a bite, she praised: "Wow, this mango is really fragrant and sweet, so delicious."

Everyone had never eaten this kind of mango before. Lan Er, who was still a little confused, quickly ate one and praised it highly after finishing it: "Mm, delicious, really delicious!" Then she looked up and shouted to Chen: "Brother Chen, I want more mangoes, help me pick more."

When the root and leaf brothers heard that the mango was delicious, they immediately climbed up another mango tree, shouting, "This fruit is so delicious, I want to pick it too."

At once, everyone went to pick mangoes and then ate their fill under the tree.

After eating the mango, everyone continued to move forward. Along the way, they saw lychees, longans, bayberries, pomegranates...all kinds of fruits hanging on the branches. Everyone ate one after another, and everyone was very happy and praised it. The tree root smiled from ear to ear and said, "Brothers, this Flower and Fruit Mountain is extraordinary. There are so many delicious fruits that it is really hard to stop eating!"

The leaf said, "Brother is right. These fruits are unheard of and unseen before. Now we must try them all."

Seeing that everyone was only concerned with eating, Qiu stopped them in a stern voice, "Warriors, we are here to destroy the Nian beast, not to eat fruit. Everyone, organize your team and keep moving forward."

The roots and leaves shrank their necks after being scolded, and quickly came down from the tree, agreeing, "Yes, cave master!"

Qiu led the crowd through thorns and bushes and advanced for a while. Suddenly, a high and steep cliff blocked their way.

This cliff is not only tall and steep, but also very clean and smooth, with nothing to climb. The Sheep King raised his hoof and pointed at the cliff and said, "Great human, this is the Monkey King's cliff. The Nian Emperor and the Monkey King should be hiding in the cliff cave on this cliff."

"Well, King Sheep, thank you for your hard work. Please leave." Qiu stroked his white beard and looked up at the cliff, but he did not find the entrance to the cave. So he asked everyone, "Everyone, take a closer look. Where is the cliff cave?"

Dong, Xiaoxing and the others heard this and looked up at the cliff. Suddenly, the sharp-eyed Chen pointed at a place on the cliff and shouted, "Cave Master, brothers, look, the Cliff Cave is right there."

Everyone looked in the direction Chen pointed, and sure enough, they found a monkey peeking out of a hole in the wall.

It turned out that the Monkey King heard someone talking below the cliff, so he stuck his head out to look and was discovered by everyone.

"Hey! Listen, Monkey King up there, come down quickly and surrender and hand over the Nian beast. Otherwise, we will attack the cliff cave and destroy you all." Qiu Chao shouted loudly to the Monkey King.

"Hmph! Cunning human, this cave on the cliff is out of reach, come up if you have the guts!" The Monkey King shouted and threw a stone from above at the human.

With a "pop", the stone fell on the cliff and then rolled down.

"You fools, you never listen to our advice, and you have to wait until you are about to die before you repent." Qiu cursed, then waved his hand and ordered everyone: "Warriors, the Nian beast is up there, everyone take up your weapons and attack."

"Yes, Master!" Everyone received the order, put on their stone knives and axes, tightened their belts, and climbed the cliff to attack. But the cliff was too steep and slippery. No matter how hard they tried, they could not climb more than ten feet and fell down one by one, declaring failure.

"Cave Master, this cliff is too steep, and there is nothing to climb. It's just like the Upside-Down Mountain of the Sheep King. There is no way to climb up!" Dong said frustratedly.