Traveling back to ancient times to determine the zodiac

"Got it, Uncle Zhi." Xi nodded in response.

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhi turned to the crowd and said, "All the warriors have worked hard. It is getting dark now. Let's have dinner first and then go to rest."

Everyone responded and rushed to the campfire, grilled meat, ate, and then rested.

"Brother Xing, Brother Chen, you must be starving, right? Go over there quickly. Lan'er and I have prepared roasted lamb legs for you." Hong'er pointed to a bonfire not far away and said as she walked with Xiaoxing.

"There are roasted lamb legs to eat? That's great!" Chen shouted excitedly, "Hong'er, Lan'er, you are so thoughtful. I was starving these two days in the cave."

"Brother Chen, Brother Xing, attacking the Nian beast in the cave was really dangerous and hard. So, I knew you would be hungry as soon as you came out." Lan'er looked at Chen and said proudly.

Xiao Xing and Chen followed Hong'er with the turtle spirit and soon arrived at the bonfire. Everyone sat on the ground. Hong'er and Lan'er served Xiao Xing and Chen with various barbecues that they had prepared long ago, and asked curiously: "Brother Xing, Brother Chen, we have entered the third level of the purple crystal cave this time. What is the situation inside? Tell us in detail."

"Hong'er, Lan'er, look at what this is?" Chen took a bite of the roasted lamb leg, then put it down, took out a fist-sized stone from his quiver, held it in front of the two girls and asked.

"What kind of stone is this? It's translucent purple and so beautiful!" Hong'er took the stone, looked at it carefully close to the firelight, and asked excitedly.

"This is the amethyst in the amethyst cave." Chen introduced it in a torrent of words: "When we first entered the amethyst cave, wow! We were stunned by the scene inside. We saw countless amethyst columns and amethyst stones all over it. When the firelight shone, it was sparkling, like a fairy tale world. We followed the turtle spirit to find the doghouse, but when we rushed in, the dog king and the Nian beast had already escaped. We chased them along the road to the next flat land, but we were disappointed again. The dog king relied on his keen hearing and kept playing hide-and-seek with us. After chasing for a whole day, he didn't even catch up with a hair. Dong Ge was so angry that he swung a stone axe to break a amethyst stalactite. I picked up a small piece and brought it back..."

"Bai Ling!" Xiaoxing, who was sitting nearby, suddenly shouted, startling the three of them.

"Xing, where is Bai Ling? Why can't I see her?" Chen looked around but didn't see Bai Ling, so he asked in confusion.

"Brother Xing, why can't I see Bai Ling? Is your eyes blurry?" Hong'er looked around and asked Xiaoxing curiously.

"Brother Xing, you have been in a bad mood all the way. Are you sick?" Lan'er seemed very puzzled as well.

"You are the one who is sick." Xiao Xing glared at Lan Er unhappily and explained, "When I looked at the fire through the amethyst, it was as if I saw Bai Ling dancing there, and I couldn't help but scream." Then he looked at Hong Er and Chen and said, "The Soul-confusing Cave is complicated and the Dog King has sharp ears and eyes. If we want to break through them, I think we must ask Bai Ling for help again."

"Yes, my father's last words were: when you encounter difficulties, you can ask Bai Ling for help. Isn't it a difficult time now?" After Hong'er said this, she took out the statue of Nuwa that she carried with her and handed it to Xiaoxing.

Xiaoxing took the statue, and the four of them found a secluded place. After placing the statue in an upright position, they knelt down and prayed devoutly: "Nuwa Goddess, Bai Ling Angel, now the abominable Nian Beast has followed the Dog King into the Soul-confusing Cave. The Soul-confusing Cave is complicated, and the Dog King has sharp ears and eyes. No matter how hard we chase him, we can never catch up. We are really at our wits' end. We beg Nuwa Goddess and Bai Ling Angel to show up and give us instructions."

After praying for a long time, there was no response. Just when everyone thought that Bai Ling would not appear tonight, a voice suddenly came from the front: "Xing, if you want to break the Soul-confusing Cave, you must ask the bandicoot to come. One hundred and twenty miles to the east, there is a mountain called Gui Mountain. The mountain is full of five-finger palm trees. Their trunks are like palms, their leaves are like giant palms, and their fruits are like balls. There is a cave at the foot of the mountain, which is unfathomable. The bandicoot is hiding in this cave. You can go and ask for help quickly."

After saying that, he disappeared. The four of them were surprised and happy when they heard this. Xiao Xing said, "Great, Bai Ling has appeared again. Let's go and report to Uncle Zhi and Brother Dong."

Zhi was tossing and turning because he was worried about defeating the enemy. While he was thinking, Xiaoxing, Chen and the other four people came towards him. Xiaoxing shouted happily: "Uncle Zhi, we have a solution! We have a solution!"

"Xing, do you have any good ideas? Tell me quickly." Upon hearing this, Zhi immediately stood up.

"Uncle Zhi, we just prayed to Bai Ling, and Bai Ling appeared and told us: If we want to break the Cave of Confusion, we must invite the bandicoot. One hundred and twenty miles to the east, there is a mountain called Gui. The mountain is full of five-finger palm trees. The trees are like palm trees, with leaves like giant palms and fruits like balls. The bandicoot is hiding in a cave at the foot of the mountain." Xiaoxing repeated Bai Ling's words to Zhi.

"God bless us!" Zhi heard this and clasped his hands together excitedly to thank God. He then said, "Let's go and call Dong to discuss how to invite the fox."

Dong was resting by the campfire not far away. Tired from days of hard work, he was already fast asleep.

"Dong, Dong, get up quickly." Zhi walked to Dong's side, shook him awake, and said, "Just now, Xing and Chen prayed to Bai Ling, and then Bai Ling told them how to break through the Soul-confusing Cave."

"Really? That's great!" Dong immediately turned over and sat up, asking, "Uncle Zhi, Xing, what's the solution? Tell me quickly."

"Brother Dong, Bai Ling appeared just now and said: If you want to break into the Cave of Confusion, you must invite the bandicoot to come..." Xiaoxing repeated Bai Ling's words to Dong.

"In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's go find the bandicoot now." Dong couldn't wait to get up.

"Brother Dong, it is already late at night. The brothers have worked hard for days and are sleeping soundly. It is better to wait until dawn." Xiaoxing looked at the brothers who were lying on the ground and snoring, and could not bear to wake them up.

"Xing is right. We are all tired. Let's go tomorrow." Zhi followed.

"Okay, then let's leave early tomorrow morning." Dong nodded in agreement.

After everyone had made their decision, they went to rest.

At dawn the next day, Zhi gathered everyone and said, "My fellow warriors, based on my hunting experience of more than fifty years, the Nian beast hides in a doghouse and is difficult to break. Last night, Xinghechen prayed to Bailing and fortunately got a tip: one hundred and twenty miles to the east, there is a Gui Mountain. There is a cave at the bottom of the mountain. Inside is a mythical beast called Tubi. If we want to break the Mihun Cave, we must ask it for help. This should be done as soon as possible. Now, Donghexing will lead the fire-making team to ask Tubi as usual."

As soon as Zhigang finished speaking, Dong and Xiaoxing shouted, "Yes! Uncle Zhi, we will definitely complete the task."

The two received the order, and Dong turned to Xi, Bei, Chen, Feng, Yun, Lei, and other warriors who were taking the fire and said, "Xi, Bei, brothers, everyone, have a full breakfast, take your weapons and dry food, and then set off."

"Yes, sir!" the crowd responded loudly.

At this time, Hong'er pulled Lan'er over and said to Xiaoxing, "Brother Xing, Brother Chen, Lan'er and I want to go too."

"Hong'er, Lan'er, the journey is difficult, so you'd better stay in the base camp. We will be back to accompany you in just three or four days." Xiaoxing advised.

"There's nothing to do in the camp." Hong'er shook Xiaoxing's hand vigorously and continued to beg: "Brother Xing, we are not afraid of being tired, we just want to go out for a walk and take a look."

"Brother Chen, no matter how difficult it is, we will not drag you down, just let us go with you!" Lan'er begged Chen.

"Xing, there's no danger in this place. Since they want to go, it's okay to let them follow." Chen's heart softened when he saw Hong'er and Lan'er begging.

"Okay then." Seeing Chen also pleading, Xiao Xing could only nod helplessly and said, "Since you two girls are going, please don't complain about being tired, okay?"

"Don't worry, Brother Xing, we can definitely do it." Hong'er jumped up excitedly when she saw Xiaoxing agreed.

By the time everyone had finished breakfast and everything was ready, it was already dawn.

"Brothers, come with me to invite the bandicoot. Let's go!" Dong waved his stone axe and strode forward to the east.

Xiaoxing, Xi, Chen, Hong'er, Lan'er... and the others followed closely behind, heading eastward.

The road was full of rolling mountains and dense jungles. Everyone cut through the thorns and waded through the mountains and rivers. On the afternoon of the second day, they suddenly saw a mountain in front of them: about 30 feet high and about 100 miles in radius. The mountain was covered with a forest of trees like palm trees.

Dong raised his head and pointed to the mountain in the distance and said to everyone, "Brothers, there are many palm-like trees on the mountain ahead. I guess it should be Gui Mountain."

So everyone quickened their pace and headed towards Guishan Mountain. After a while, they arrived at the foot of the mountain. Xiaoxing looked up at the tree and found that it really looked like a palm tree, but it was not a palm tree. The trunk was straight and grayish white. The leaves were also the same size as palm leaves, but they were like human palms and had five forks. On the top of the tree was a black spherical fruit. He shouted excitedly, "Brother Dong, brothers, the trunk of the tree on this mountain looks like a palm tree, the leaves are like human palms, and the fruit is like a spherical ball. It is exactly as Bai Ling said, it must be a five-finger palm tree without a doubt."

"Xing, since these trees are all five-finger palms, then this mountain must be Gui Mountain." Chen followed.

"Xing, brothers, the bandicoot should be in a hole somewhere on this mountain. Everyone open your eyes and spread out to search. Whoever finds the bandicoot first will make a great contribution." Dong waved to the people behind him, then strode up the mountain.

"Yes, Brother Dong." Xi, Chen, Feng, Yun, Lei... and others followed and ran up the mountain.

There was a thick layer of fallen leaves at the foot of the mountain. Everyone used knives and guns to dig through the fallen leaves and slowly searched for the cave.

Hong Er looked at the black spherical fruits on the top of the tree and said greedily, "Brother Xing, the brown fruits on the top of the tree are really big. They must be delicious. Please help me pick one down to taste."

"Brother Chen, I want to eat a palm fruit too." Lan'er immediately followed and shouted.

"Hong'er, Lan'er, we are here to invite the bandicoots, not to eat the palm fruits. We must focus on our business first." Xiaoxing advised.

"Then let's wait until we find the bandicoot before eating it, okay?" Hong'er swallowed her saliva and nodded obediently.

"Hong'er, as long as we invite the bandicoot, you can eat whatever you want." Xiaoxing held Hong'er's hand and said as they walked, "Let's go!"

After a while, someone shouted, "Brother Dong, Brother Xing, come and see, there is a big cave here."

"We are so lucky to find the bandicoot's cave so quickly!" Upon hearing this, Xiaoxing immediately ran over there excitedly.

Dong and the others also ran over quickly, and saw a three-foot-wide hole in the ground. Looking into the hole, it was dark and bottomless.

"This cave is quite deep, I can't even see the bottom. Is there any bandicoot in there?" Dong leaned over and tried to look for a while, but he couldn't see anything clearly.

"I guess the bandicoot is probably hiding in this cave." Xiao Xing nodded decisively, and then said loudly to the cave entrance with great respect: "Bandicoot, we are the human beings of Hongmeng. Because the Nian beast wants to conquer us, it keeps sending beast soldiers and generals to invade, causing many casualties among us humans. In order to take revenge, we are determined to eliminate the Nian beast. The hateful Nian beast dared not to fight and hid everywhere. Now we have driven them into the confusing cave of the doghouse. Due to the complex environment in the cave and the sharp ears and eyes of the dog king, we have attacked them several times, but they have escaped. In desperation, Bai Ling reminded us that if we want to break the confusing cave, we must ask the bandicoot for help. Therefore, we come here to ask you, bandicoot, for help. We sincerely ask the bandicoot to take the trouble to help us eliminate the Nian beast. Thank you very much."

After explaining the purpose of the visit, there was no movement in the cave. Xiaoxing asked again: "Bandit, are you in there? Can you come out to help?"