Traveling back to ancient times to determine the zodiac

"Everyone be careful!" When the wind started, Xiaoxing knew something was wrong. After shouting, he immediately lay down and held on to the raft tightly. There were eight people on the raft, except Xiaoxing, and the other seven fell into the water with a "plop, plop". Seeing them fall into the water, Xiaoxing hurriedly reached out to rescue them: "Chen, Yue, Feng, quickly hold my hands and climb onto the raft."

Fortunately, everyone was a good swimmer, and with Xiaoxing's help, they all climbed onto the raft one by one.

"Wow, such a strong wind and waves, so scary." Chen shouted with lingering fear.

"Everyone squat down and hold on tight, be careful." Xiaoxing reminded everyone again.

Another gust of wind and waves came, and the raft was swaying like a leaf. The people clung to the raft and were too busy to attack.

“Chuck, chuck…”

“Quack, quack…”

The rooster, the goose king and the duck king all burst into laughter when they saw the miserable look of the human.

"It turns out that this raft is afraid of wind and waves. Cluck, cluck—" laughed the rooster.

"Quack, King Rooster, I have a way to break the raft! Brothers, follow me!" When the King Goose heard this, he immediately came up with a solution and led his troops to rush forward.

"King Goose, humans are very cruel, don't seek death!" The rooster was very worried.

"Don't worry, King Cock." King Goose replied without even turning his head: "Just wait and see the show!"

At this time, the river became calm again. When everyone saw the waterfowl rushing towards them, they picked up their weapons and braced themselves for battle.

The two sides were getting closer and closer. Xiao Xing shouted, "You stupid geese and ducks, are you really not afraid of death? I advise you to surrender quickly and hand over the Nian beast, otherwise, I will kill you all."

"Quack--" the Goose King raised his neck and shouted, "Cunning human, don't be complacent too early. Now I'll let you know how powerful we are."

"Haha..." Everyone laughed. Xiao Xing continued, "We defeated the buffalo and the tiger. How dare you little beasts act so arrogantly? You really overestimate your own abilities."

"Quack, since you don't believe me, let me show you how powerful we are!" The Goose King turned to the Duck King, the Cormorant King and all the other waterfowl and ordered, "All birds, listen to me. Follow my command. Use your wings to create waves at the same time and overturn the human raft."

"Yes, my lord!" The birds responded loudly.

"One, two, three - there are waves without wind!" After the Goose King shouted the slogan, he pushed the water with his wings to create waves.

In an instant, tens of thousands of waterfowl formed waves more than a foot high and rolled towards the human raft.

When everyone saw the waves coming, they were afraid of falling into the water, so they quickly lay on the raft and held on tightly.

"Add fuel to the fire." The Goose King shouted again. Then, another big wave rolled over.

The crowd was helpless on this volatile raft and could only let it drift with the current.

"Brothers, try harder." The Goose King shouted for the third time: "Overwhelming."

This wave was even bigger and higher, lifting the raft up directly, causing several people who had not held on tightly to fall into the water again, and everyone rushed to rescue them.

"Quack, quack..." When the Goose King and the Duck King saw this, they shouted excitedly and ordered the birds to continue making trouble.

"King Goose and King Duck, you did a great job. The humans couldn't stand steadily on the raft and had no attack power at all." The rooster praised.

"King Rooster, we are constantly attacking in the water. You can lead the chickens to fly over and attack and defeat humans completely." The Goose King suggested.

"King Goose, human weapons are too powerful. I dare not challenge them." The rooster knew the fighting power of humans very well, so how could he dare to step forward?

"King Rooster, I think humans are no better than this. Let's rush over and give it a try." Seeing how miserable humans were, the turkey spirits and black chicken spirits were all eager to give it a try.

"You idiots, if you want to die, just go ahead and try it," said the rooster.

"King Rooster, if you don't go, we will." The chicken spirits rushed towards the humans on the raft with a "whoosh".

Wave after wave of waves hit the raft, and the people were holding on to the raft with both hands, and they were already busy with their own affairs, so how could they care about attacking? Suddenly, hundreds of chickens swooped down from the sky, scratching and pecking at the people.

"You dead chickens." Xiao Xing was furious. He freed one hand, stared at a chicken demon and raised his knife to chop it. The chicken demon flew up and then swooped down. Xiao Xing was furious and stood up to meet it with his knife in both hands. In a hurry, he forgot that he was standing on a swaying raft. Before he could raise the knife, his feet swayed and he fell into the water with a "plop".

The others were also attacked by the chicken spirits and fell into the water, without any ability to fight back.

"Cluck, cluck, good job, brothers, you've driven the human into the water." The rooster shouted excitedly, and then ordered the Goose King and the Duck King: "Goose King and Duck King, now that the human has fallen into the water, it's time for you to show your skills. Everyone, hurry up and drive the human back."

"Yes, sir! King Rooster." The Goose King was now very proud: "Brothers, let's charge!"

Upon hearing the order, the waterfowl immediately dived into the water and attacked humans.

After Xiaoxing and the others fell into the water, the chicken spirits above, the goose spirits below, and the duck spirits kept attacking, making everyone anxious and exhausted. Chen saw that things were not going well, and said to Xiaoxing: "Xing, climb up the raft, the chicken spirits will fly down and peck and scratch. Hide in the water, and the geese and ducks will dive and attack. I think the situation is not good, why not retreat first!"

Xiao Xing had no choice but to nod and agree: "Okay, everyone, retreat quickly!"

"Xing, if we retreat like this, what should we do with the raft?" Dong asked.

"We have to abandon the raft. The most important thing is to escape!" Xiaoxing replied, wiping the water off his face.

So everyone fought and retreated, and returned to the shore after a long while.

"Xing, Dong, you're back. Is everyone okay?" Zhi had been waiting on the shore for a long time. Seeing everyone returning, he hurriedly asked.

"Brothers, everyone line up and see if anyone is missing." Dong shouted.

After receiving the order, everyone lined up in ten rows and checked the number of people, and found that one person was missing.

"Report to Uncle Zhi, Brother Dadao has not come back!" Dong shouted in surprise.

Dadao is forty years old this year. He is a member of the conscription team. He always rushes to the battlefield. This morning, he joined the others to attack Qinwang Island, but he disappeared.

"Brother Dadao must be in danger, Brother Dong, let's go and rescue him." Xi shouted anxiously.

"Brother Dadao is a poor swimmer. I think he has drowned. Even if we rescue him now, it's too late." Dong looked at the vast river and shook his head.

"Brother Dong is right." Xiao Xing punched his head and said in agony, "If Brother Da Dao was okay, he should have come back a long time ago. He hasn't come back yet, so he must have drowned. It's all my fault for not taking good care of him!"

"Xing, how can you be blamed for this? It was so chaotic at that time, and everyone was struggling to protect themselves. Who had time to care about others?" Chen hurriedly grabbed Xiaoxing's hand and comforted her.

"Xing, don't blame yourself too much. Tell me about your failed attempt to cross the river on the raft." Zhiye consoled.

"Uncle Zhi, we attacked halfway along the river on the raft when the geese and ducks came to stop us. We chopped and killed dozens of them, and they were so scared that they turned around and ran away. Just as we were pursuing them, a strong wind suddenly blew up on the river, lifting the raft high up and causing everyone to fall into the water. Seeing this, the returning goose and duck spirits stirred up a storm, turning the sea and river upside down, creating huge waves that made it unstable for us to stand. The chicken spirits in the sky took the opportunity to fly down to attack, and the geese and ducks in the water dived to attack, so we could not resist and fled in defeat." Xiaoxing replied.

"Xing, if you want to attack, there will be sacrifices. Dadao's death cannot be blamed on you. The only ones to blame are the Nian Beast and those ignorant waterfowl. Alas..." Uncle Zhi sighed, looking at Qinwang Island with a worried look on his face, "Qinwang Island is not only protected by the great river, but also by chickens, ducks and geese fighting desperately. When can we conquer it, when can we eliminate the Nian Beast and return triumphantly?"

"Uncle Zhi, don't worry. As long as we work together and persevere, we will be able to defeat the Chicken King and the others, eliminate the Nian Beast, and avenge Brother Dadao!" Xiaoxing shouted excitedly and generously.

"Uncle Zhi, the Bijiang River is wide and deep, so the geese and ducks are challenging us aggressively. In my opinion, we should find another way and change the route." Dong threw away the stone axe and said dejectedly.

"No." Xiao Xing objected immediately after hearing this. "Qinwang Island is an isolated island in the middle of the river. It will be difficult to attack from any direction. It will not only be futile, but also a waste of time."

"Xing, we have failed in two attacks and have no good ideas. If we continue like this, won't we only increase casualties and waste our energy?" Dong argued dissatisfiedly.

"Brother Dong, the cave master once said: 'As long as your thinking does not slip, there are always more solutions than problems.' Even if we have to carry soil to fill up this river, we must capture Qinwang Island." Xiaoxing argued.

"Carry soil to fill the river?" Dong laughed dumbly and said, "Xing, you are just a child talking big, too naive. Even if you do it from childhood to old age, and from old age to childhood, you may not be able to do it even if you do it for several lifetimes. Just listen to me and try another way."

"Carrying soil to fill the river is a huge project and of course it is not feasible, but we can still attack on the raft!" Xiaoxing said stubbornly, "As long as we don't give up and don't get discouraged, I believe we can defeat the chickens, ducks, geese, and others, break through the Bird King Island, and eliminate the Nian beast."

"We've abandoned the raft, and we're still attacking on it?" Dong laughed.

"As long as everyone's faith remains unshaken, we can still build the raft again and think of new solutions."

"Xing, this is just your personal opinion, and it doesn't represent everyone's opinion." Dong shrugged, disagreeing: "Why should we stick to the same path? Wouldn't it be better to find another way?"

"Brother Dong, I firmly oppose changing the route!" Xiaoxing said loudly with a heavier tone.

"Xing, although you are often praised and appreciated by the cave master now, don't forget that it was me who led and commanded you in the past." Dong shouted impatiently.

"Brother Dong, although the cave master is gone, Uncle Zhi is now the temporary cave master. If you want to change your mind, you should get Uncle Zhi's consent." Xiao Xing said, then turned to Uncle Zhi and asked, "Uncle Zhi, whether to stay or leave is still up to you."

"Based on my hunting experience of more than fifty years," Uncle Zhi pondered for a while, scratched his head and said, "You two both have a point. As far as I can see now, staying here may not necessarily lead to victory; but changing the route may not necessarily lead to success either, so it is really difficult to decide."

“Since Uncle Zhi can’t decide, just do as I say and change the route of attack.” Dong waved his hand and called everyone: “Those who agree with me, follow me now.”

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. As they were hesitating, Xiao Xing strode forward, crossed his arm to stop Dong, and said, "Brother Dong, you can't take us away. As the saying goes, many hands make light work, and unity is strength. If we split up, it will be even more difficult to win."

"Xing, do you want to challenge me, Brother Dong?" Dong had always been very repulsive to Xiaoxing, a competitor for the position of cave master. Now it was finally time for him to explode. He stared at Xiaoxing and asked aggressively.

"Brother Dong, if you persist, then that's all I can do!" Xiaoxing answered fearlessly.

"Since you want to challenge me, fine! Then I will compete with you. But before the competition, let's agree that no matter who loses, they must obey the winner in the future."

"Okay! A gentleman's word is as good as gold." Xiaoxing agreed readily.

Dong looked around and his eyes fell on a big rock not far away. He raised his hand and pointed, saying, "Xing, do you see that big rock? Now let's see who can lift it. Whoever can lift it will win."

The big stone weighed about 300 kilograms. Dong walked quickly to the stone, took a horse stance, hugged the stone with both hands, and with a loud roar of "Wow!", he lifted it up.

"Wow!" Everyone burst into applause. Xi, Bei, Zhong, Heizi and others praised him: "Brother Dong is really powerful! Brother Dong is so amazing!"

Dong heard this and proudly showed it to everyone before putting the big stone down. He then said to Xiaoxing, "Xing, if you have the ability, you can also lift this stone."