Traveling back to ancient times to determine the zodiac

However, when the Rat King saw that humans were speaking in a stern voice and looked like they would not be violated, he fled in panic. Then, instead of returning to their old nest, Wugu Township, they took their remaining troops and went directly to Emperor Nian to report.

In fact, the so-called Nian Emperor was just a parasite on Pangu's body. After Pangu died, his body turned into all things, and this parasite became the earliest animal in the world. After more than ten thousand years of the essence of the sun and the moon, the Nian beast finally became a spirit, and from then on it took charge of all living things in the world. The birds in the sky, the beasts on the ground, and the fish in the water all obeyed the orders of the Nian Emperor. If they disobeyed or resisted, the Nian beast would kill and eat them. The Nian beast's lair was located in a large cave in the Tianshan Mountains, and the kings of various beasts who had become spirits also gathered in this cave. The Nian beast proclaimed himself the emperor and ordered those beasts and monsters to be his soldiers. The food, drink, tools, and toys of the Nian beast were all provided by those beast kings. It ate grains, fresh fruits and wild mushrooms, fish, insects, birds, and beasts. It drank ice water from the Tianshan Mountains and animal blood. It used and played with whatever it wanted.

There were thirteen monsters under Emperor Nian, namely: rat, tiger, cat, cow, horse, sheep, rabbit, chicken, dragon, snake, dog, pig and monkey. Although there were elephants, lions, unicorns, phoenixes and other animals at that time, they were not taken in as minions by Emperor Nian for various reasons.

Among these spirits, the rat spirit is the oldest, more than 3,000 years old, so they are all called rats in this cave. The Rat King is responsible for collecting grains for the Emperor Nian to eat. Because of the famine last year, there was no place to collect. When he was in trouble, it happened that Xiaoxing left many beans on the mountain while hunting. The mountain rats found and ate them. Then they followed all the way and found out that humans stored a lot of food, so they reported it to the Rat King. The Rat King was very happy and hurriedly ordered the rats to rob. Unexpectedly, the food was not robbed, and many rats were killed. Those rats who escaped reported to the Rat King how powerful humans were and how much food they stored. The Rat King was furious when he heard the news, and said to the other rats: "No wonder we can't collect food, it turns out that humans have collected it all!" Therefore, there was a second grain robbery incident led by the Rat King himself.

The second oldest Tiger King, nearly 3,000 years old. He is usually responsible for offering: musk deer, muntjac, deer and other animals that have not yet become spirits to the Nian Emperor as food. The cat is the Tiger King's brother and often follows the Tiger King to run errands.

The Bull King is very strong and does the heavy work for Emperor Nian.

The horse king was good at running and became the mount of Emperor Nian.

The Sheep King was responsible for cutting grass for Emperor Nian and offering green grass food.

The rabbit king ran errands for the Nian Emperor. At that time, rabbits' eyes were not red, but brown like other animals. Their tails were also very long, and they could release poisonous gas from their tails. This poisonous gas was even more smelly and strong than the fart of a weasel. If a person smelled it, they would feel dizzy at best, or faint or even die at worst.

The chicken is the king of birds, good at flying, and is the messenger of the Emperor Nian.

The dragon is the king of water. It can absorb and spit out water, and supplies water and seafood to Emperor Nian.

The snake king was the most poisonous, so small animals were offered as sacrifices to the Emperor Nian.

The Dog King was the smartest and had the most sensitive ears. He could hear voices within a hundred miles. Emperor Nian appointed him as a military advisor.

Although the Pig King is stupid, he has thick skin and amazing defense, so he is appointed as a guard.

The Monkey King is the youngest and is responsible for supplying various fruits because he is good at climbing trees.

These are the Thirteen Guardians of Emperor Nian, the beast spirits who serve as Nian's lackeys.

Since humans have only been around for a short time and are far away—the distance between Tianshan Mountain and Hongmeng is more than a thousand miles—Emperor Nian still does not know that humans exist. Otherwise, Emperor Nian would have conquered humans long ago.

On this day, Emperor Nian was holding a feast for the beasts in the Tianshan Cave, which he called "The Beasts' Meeting". Except for the Rat King, all the other twelve generals came to the feast! The beasts gathered, and the cave was in chaos and stinking.

Emperor Nian sat on a high slope in the cave, with the dog king's military advisor on the left and the pig king's guard on the right. The Nian beast looked like a big Tyrannosaurus Rex, with brown fur. There were seven or eight feet long horns on the top of its head, and two eyes bigger than copper bells. It had a big mouth, bigger than a hippopotamus, which could fit a pig. The fangs in its mouth were longer than tiger teeth. Its front limbs were short and thick, with five claws sharper than an eagle's to grab food. Its body was very huge, like an elephant. Because its hind legs had to support the weight of the whole body, they were particularly thick and strong, like two iron towers. Behind it, there was a thick and long tail. This tail was two feet long, like an elephant's trunk, extremely powerful and flexible, and it was also one of the most powerful weapons of the Nian beast. At first glance, the Nian beast looked as terrifying and ferocious as a ferocious demon.

The rabbit king brought several rabbit spirits with him, busying around carrying all kinds of food for the banquet. There was fresh green grass, fat and strong animal meat, full-grained grains, fragrant and sweet fruits, and the big, lively fish, etc.

There was a big stone in front of the Nian Emperor, like a dining table, with all kinds of food on the table. He sat down beside the stone, laughed at the beast kings, and said, "My fellow beast kings, today is the anniversary of the Nian Emperor's enthronement, so please celebrate. Everyone can eat whatever they like, and be sure to enjoy it. Anyone who doesn't eat is not giving face to this emperor, and this emperor will make him die without a burial place."

The various beasts and monsters that attended the banquet, after a long period of cultivation, were not only huge in size, several times or even dozens of times the size of ordinary beasts, but they could also speak. The beasts then shouted respectfully: "I wish the Emperor Nian will have this day and be the emperor forever."

Emperor Nian was overjoyed and waved his hands, saying, "Well, everyone said it well and brilliantly! This is what I mean by filial piety. Let's start eating!"

After saying this, it used its two front paws to grab food and threw it into its huge mouth. It ate everything, whether it was grass, grain, meat, or fruit. Its throat was like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

When the beasts saw Emperor Nian start eating, they all started eating. But the other animals were different from the Nian beast. They did not eat everything. Each beast had its own preferences. Cows, horses, sheep, and rabbits liked to eat grass; tigers, cats, dogs, dragons, and snakes liked to eat meat; chickens and pigs liked to eat grains; and monkeys liked to eat fruit. As the beasts were eating, Emperor Nian saw the Bull King stuffing grass into his mouth, so he said, "You wild bull, you are so big, how can you have strength by eating grass? You should eat more meat to be stronger." After saying that, he grabbed a piece of meat and threw it next to the Bull King.

When the Bull King saw the meat, he felt sick and kicked it aside, mooing, "What's so good about this smelly meat? It's not as refreshing and delicious as the green grass."

"Woo - Nonsense!" The tiger king next to him disagreed, "Green grass is bitter and astringent and not tasty at all. Only meat is the most delicious."

Now the Horse King, Sheep King, and Rabbit King all started arguing: "Hiss - Green grass can be bitter or astringent, but it can also be sweet or sour. If you don't believe me, try it."

After the horse king finished speaking, he threw a handful of grass to the tiger king. The dragon king and the snake king also joined in the argument: "Grass is just not as delicious as meat!"

"Cluck, cluck, stop arguing. The most delicious food in the world is grains. This is the delicacy that will leave you with an endless aftertaste." The Rooster King couldn't help but join in.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp - no, no! In my opinion, the most delicious thing should be fruit. Try it, it's fragrant, sweet and delicious." After the Monkey King said this, he threw seven or eight apples and pears at the Chicken King, Tiger King, Ox King, etc. The Chicken King staggered, the Tiger King was dizzy, and the Ox King was dazzled.

The beasts were furious, and the Bull King scolded them, "You monkey, what's so good about this fruit? If you eat too much, your stomach will swell and you will die."

The Tiger King rushed to the Monkey King, his eyes wide open, and said angrily: "I'll teach you a lesson, monkey." He then slapped the Monkey King with his tiger claw.

Of course the Monkey King couldn't beat it, so he jumped onto the high slope where Emperor Nian was sitting and yelled to him, "Emperor Nian, please save me! The tiger wants to beat me!"

"Hey!" Emperor Nian was furious. He twisted his body and swung his long tail, knocking the tiger to the ground like a stick. He said, "You stupid tiger, you are fighting here. You really don't take me seriously."

The tiger knew that the Nian beast was extremely powerful, and trembled with fear. He immediately begged for mercy, "Emperor Nian, spare my life. It was that monkey who provoked me first. I won't dare to do it again!"

"That's better!" Emperor Nian retracted his tail and said to the Monkey King, "Monkey head, go down. With Emperor Nian here, no one needs to be afraid of anyone else. If anyone dares to bully the weak, I will throw him to the top of Mount Tianshan."

"Thank you, Emperor Nian." The Monkey King turned around, jumped down the slope and continued the banquet.

The beasts continued to quarrel and argue. You threw meat, I threw grass. Fruits and grains were scattered all over the ground. The banquet was turned into a mess. Finally, the beasts stopped quarreling and invited Emperor Nian to judge.

Emperor Nian rolled his eyes and said, "In fact, in my opinion, no matter whether it is grass, meat, grains, or fruits, as long as it is edible, it is delicious. It's just that you are too picky and your stomach is too picky."

When the beasts heard this, they were speechless. The Dog King clapped his hands and shouted, "Woof woof - yes, what Emperor Nian said is absolutely right. Only Emperor Nian is not picky about anything, so only Emperor Nian can become the king who rules the world."

Emperor Nian was flattered by the dog-headed military advisor and danced with joy. He praised the dog-headed military advisor, saying, "What the dog-headed military advisor said is right. Only animals that eat everything can become the hegemon and emperor."

The other beasts followed suit: "Emperor Nian is right. We should learn from him to eat everything. This way we can become more powerful."

Although these beasts have lived for thousands of years, their IQ is still very low. They don't understand the essential difference between carnivores and herbivores - carnivores have sharp teeth, which are convenient for biting, and their gastrointestinal digestion system is fast. Herbivores have flat teeth, which are convenient for chewing, and their gastrointestinal digestion system is slow. Their physiological structure determines that their food is different, so how can they eat anything they want?

It was ridiculous that these fools took the Emperor Nian's words seriously, so the Ox King, Horse King, Sheep King, Rabbit King, etc. began to try to eat meat; the Tiger King, Cat King, Dog King, Dragon King, and Snake King also began to try grass. As soon as they took a bite, they all vomited it out, shaking their heads and saying, "It's too disgusting, too disgusting!"

Emperor Nian saw the miserable looks of the beasts and laughed again: "You don't need to try. I am the only one in the world who can eat everything. I am the only one who is the king of the world. You are all destined to be my slaves. Hehehehe..."

The animals all seemed to think that it made sense, and they all bowed their heads and obeyed his orders.

Emperor Nian looked at the beasts and suddenly shouted, "Hey! Why didn't the Rat King come to the banquet today? This damned rat is too disrespectful to me. Humph! Next time I see it, I will throw it to the top of Mount Tianshan."

"Report to the Emperor Nian, I guess the Rat King hid somewhere because he couldn't offer food." said the dog-headed man.

Emperor Nian was immediately furious: "If a dead mouse cannot be used as an offering of food, how can that be tolerated? Rabbit, go find the Mouse King quickly, or I will eat him."

At this moment, a voice was heard outside the cave screaming: "Squeaky--Report, report to Emperor Nian."