Traveling back to ancient times to determine the zodiac

"Great human, great human, spare my life!" The Monkey King was so frightened that he trembled all over and shouted incoherently: "Great human, if you are willing to spare my life, I am willing to rebel against Emperor Nian, surrender to you, and forever take humans as my emperor and serve humans."

"Hey! You dead monkey, I told you to surrender before, but you didn't listen. If we allow you to surrender now, wouldn't it be a waste of our energy? We are going to avenge the cave master now, so prepare to die!" Dong refused with gritted teeth, and then swung his axe to chop.

"Powerful, great human, I attacked you because I was forced by Emperor Nian. As long as you spare me, I am willing to help you destroy Emperor Nian." The Monkey King did not want to be killed like this, and kept begging for mercy.

"The Nian beast has no way to escape now and will be destroyed by us soon. Do we still need your help?" Dong remained unmoved and raised the stone axe in his hand again to chop.

Xiao Xing stopped Dong and Xi and said, "Brother Dong, Brother Xi, don't kill it yet. The cave master once said that the development and growth of mankind cannot be separated from the help of these animals. So, I think we should follow the previous strategy for prisoners and allow them to surrender."

"Xing, those who died or were injured before were all our brothers, but this time it was the cave master who died. How can they be compared? In my opinion, even if we kill and roast the dead monkey, it will be difficult to avenge this!" Now that Qiu is dead, Dong wants to act like a leader and compete with Xiaoxing.

"Brother Dong, although the cave master died because the monkey hit the rock, the ultimate fault lies with the Nian beast. Only by destroying it can we take revenge." Xiaoxing said.

"Although the instigator was the Nian beast, these accomplices are also really hateful. Why keep it around?"

Dong and Xiaoxing were arguing over who wanted to kill the monkey and who wanted to keep him. Feng at the back interrupted, "Brother Dong, Xiaoxing, the cave master left a last word: Uncle Zhi will take charge of the cave master's affairs for now. I think we should capture the Monkey King first and let Uncle Zhi decide on his fate later."

"Feng is right. Let's capture the Monkey King first. Whether to kill him or spare him is up to Uncle Zhi." Chen, Xi, Bei, Yueyun and others nodded.

Dong was unable to persuade them, so he had to give up. Then they tied up the Monkey King and put him under guard there.

Now that the Monkey King had been captured, everyone continued to advance into the cave, chasing after Emperor Nian. After walking more than twenty feet in twists and turns, they were blocked by new soil in front of them.

"Hey!" Dong called out in surprise, "Brothers, there is no road ahead. Why can't we see the Nian Beast and the beast kings?"

"The Nian beast and its minions are clearly in this cave. Could it be possible that they can burrow underground?" Everyone found it incredible.

"How could the Nian Beast burrow into the ground?" Xiao Xing pointed at the new soil in front and said, "This soil is all new soil. It must have been just dug up by the Nian Beast and its minions. I think the Nian Beast must be not far ahead."

"Brothers, they can't run away. Let's dig forward too. We must catch up with the Nian beast and destroy it." After Dong said this, he immediately took the lead and started digging forward.

Everyone followed suit and dug and carried the soil. After working for half a day, they advanced another five or six feet. As Dong was digging, suddenly, there was a gap in front of him and a ray of light appeared. It turned out that the cave had been dug through.

It turned out that Emperor Nian, Pighead, Doghead, and Rooster had no way to go and could only dig holes desperately. Emperor Nian kept urging Pighead: "You fat pig, you are a great eater, but why are you so slow at work? If you don't hurry up, I will beat you to death."

The pig head panicked when he heard this, and stopped and said, "Emperor Nian, my mouth is bleeding, and you still want to beat me. I won't do it now. Let's all wait here to be destroyed by humans!"

"You dead pig, do you want to rebel? I will teach you a lesson." Emperor Nian was furious, his tail stretched out and rolled up his pig head.

"Emperor Nian, put down the pig head quickly. Humans are about to attack. If you kill it, we will be finished!" Dog Head advised hurriedly.

"Yes, yes! Emperor Nian, please put down the pig's head and let it continue working!" The rooster flapped its wings anxiously.

Emperor Nian had no choice but to put down the pig's head in dismay and said, "You dead pig, hurry up and dig a hole in the cave, and I will spare you this time."

The pig head was pardoned and continued to dig the hole. After a while of hard work, a beam of light shone into the hole.

"Great! Great! We finally dug through!" Pighead shouted in joy.

"Pighead, stand aside. Let me go out first." When Emperor Nian saw the exit, he couldn't wait to go out.

"This hole was dug by the old pig, so I should be let out first." The pigheaded man was eager to get out first.

"Emperor Nian, Pighead, both of you step back. Let me go out and check the situation first." Doghead also squeezed over.

For a moment, the three beasts were crowded in the small cave, no one would let the other go out. Just as the three beasts were desperately fighting for the hole, the rooster, with its smaller body, got out from under their feet, flapped its wings and was about to fly away.

"You stupid rooster, where are you going to fly away from us?" Emperor Nian saw the rooster trying to run away and hurriedly stopped him.

"Emperor Nian, it's too dangerous and scary inside the cave. I want to fly back to my Bird King Continent. It's surrounded by water. Unless humans can fly like me, it's impossible to cross it." The rooster replied.

"Good Chicken King, since the Bird King Continent is so safe, please take me to your place for refuge. If we defeat humans, I will appoint you as my senior assistant and you will enjoy special privileges from now on." Emperor Nian was overjoyed when he heard this.

"Yes, Emperor Nian." The rooster shook its feathers and flew up: "Come out quickly and follow me."

Emperor Nian pushed away the dog head, rebuked the pig head, and stepped out of the cave. It turned out that the back of the cliff was also a very steep cliff. Although it was difficult to climb, there was still a way to go. So he followed the rooster and fled in panic, and the dog head and pig head hurriedly followed. The group hurriedly went to the Bird King Island like a fish that had escaped the net.

Dong saw that the cave had been dug through, and said to everyone, "Brothers, stop, the cave has been dug through, and the Nian beasts have escaped."

Dong, Xiaoxing and others leaned their heads out of the cave and looked outside. They saw that Emperor Nian and the Beast King and his entourage had already fled and disappeared without a trace.

"The Nian beasts have already escaped off the cliff. Brothers, let's continue chasing them." Dong climbed out of the cave and said to everyone.

"Brother Dong, it's getting late now. The Nian beast and its companions have already fled far away, and we don't know where they are going. I think we should go back to the cliff and report to Uncle Zhi first, and then discuss it." Xiaoxing said.

Everyone looked up at the sky and saw that it was indeed dusk. They all nodded in agreement and said, "Xing is right. Let's go back to the cliff first."

Dong had no choice but to give up the chase. So they returned to the cave, escorted the Monkey King, and climbed the blood vine back to the cliff.

"Dong, Xing, you're back!" Zhi saw everyone coming back and asked, "How was the battle? Were the Nian Beast and the Monkey King eliminated?"

"Uncle Zhi, we climbed the blood vines and attacked the cave on the cliff despite the stones thrown by the monkey spirits. Unexpectedly, the Nian beast and the beast kings dug through the cave and escaped. Only the Monkey King was injured and couldn't run, so he was captured by us." General Dong recounted the attack process in detail.

"Although the Nian beast managed to escape this time, you captured the Monkey King, which can be considered a great victory." Zhi said excitedly.

"Uncle Zhi, the Monkey King expressed surrender after being captured. Let's decide whether to kill him or spare him." Dong pointed at the Monkey King and asked.

"Dong, kill the Monkey King and eat his meat. Since the Monkey King is willing to surrender, we should accept his surrender according to previous practice." Uncle Zhi said.

"Uncle Zhi, the cave master died because the monkey king threw a stone at him. Aren't you going to avenge him?"

"Dong, of course we have to avenge this, but we should put the blame on the Nian beast. I think even if the cave master in heaven knows about it, he will definitely forgive us." Zhi explained.

Since Zhiyi agreed to the Monkey King's surrender, Dong had no choice but to stop insisting.

Zhi looked at the Monkey King and asked, "Monkey King, the Nian beasts are running away again. Do you know where they will flee to?"

"Powerful human, Emperor Nian fled with the Chicken King, Dog King and Pig King. I don't know where he fled to." The Monkey King replied.

"Xing, guess where the Nian beast escaped to this time?" Seeing that Xiaoxing knew it several times in advance, Chen asked him quickly.

"Uncle Chen and Uncle Zhi, I guess the Nian beast escaped with the Chicken King this time." Xiaoxing replied.

"Oh!" Zhi asked the Monkey King, "Monkey King, do you know where the Chicken King lives?"

"Powerful human, the Chicken King lives in the Bird King Continent." The Monkey King thought for a moment and replied.

"Where is Qinwangzhou? Can you take us there?"

"Qinwangzhou is about a thousand miles away in the east. Of course I can take you there." The Monkey King replied respectfully.

"Okay, tomorrow you will take us to Qinwangzhou and continue to hunt down the Nian Beast." Zhi nodded, and then ordered the Monkey King and other beast kings to be imprisoned in one place.

To celebrate the victory over the Monkey King, a celebration meeting was held as usual after dinner in the camp, but this time the host was Zhi instead of Qiu.

"My fellow warriors, with my hunting experience of more than fifty years, it is really difficult to attack the Cliff Cave. But today we succeeded in attacking it. Although the Nian Beast still managed to escape, we captured and subdued the Monkey King, which is still worth celebrating." Zhi glanced at everyone, pulled Hong'er to the front of the crowd, and then said to everyone: "This time we broke through the Cliff Cave, thanks to the warriors such as Dong Hexing who took the blood vine without avoiding difficulties, but we should thank our cave owner more. The cave owner not only paid with his precious life, but also donated his blood to water the blood vine, so that the blood vine can grow rapidly and become a ladder to climb the cliff. Therefore, the cave owner's contribution is the greatest and most admirable."

Hong'er, who was still immersed in grief, suddenly cried out "Wow" and burst into tears again when she heard this. Xiaoxing hurriedly walked out of the crowd and supported Hong'er.

"Hong'er, don't cry, just accept my condolences! Although the cave master is gone, his achievements will always remain in our hearts." Zhi patted Hong'er on the shoulder and comforted her.

"Thank you Uncle Zhi, thank you everyone!" Hong'er sobbed.

"My fellow warriors, the Nian beast has now fled to the Bird King Island of the Rooster. We must inherit the cave master's will and continue to hunt down the Nian beast until it is dead." Zhi announced to the crowd.

"We swear to destroy the Nian beast and never return until we are dead!" everyone shouted in unison.

After the celebration, Hong'er was still crying bitterly. Xiaoxing, Lan'er and Chen accompanied her.

"Hong'er, don't cry. Your father is gone, and he will never come back no matter how much you cry." Lan'er advised.

"Wow - my father is gone. It feels like the sky has fallen. What should I do in the future?" Hong'er asked helplessly like a lost lamb.

"Hong'er, your father handed you over to me when he was dying. From now on, I will be the one to provide for you and protect you forever, and never let you get hurt." Xiaoxing held Hong'er's hand tightly and said solemnly again.

"Brother Xing, Dad passed away so suddenly. I am still very sad." Hong'er buried her head in Xiaoxing's chest, still very sad.

"Hong'er, when my mother died last time, didn't you advise me that your mother's spirit in heaven would be very sad to see you so sad? Now, your father's spirit in heaven must be very sad too to see you in so much pain." Xiaoxing stroked her arm gently, comforting her.

"Yes! Hong'er, the dead cannot be resurrected. You have to be strong and don't hurt yourself by crying." Chen followed.

With everyone's constant consolation, Hong'er gradually stopped crying: "I'm much better now, thank you."

"It's getting late. We still have to hunt down the Nian beast tomorrow. Let's go and have a rest first!" Xiaoxing said.

The three of them nodded and went to rest.

Since every cave owner had to place a chieftain shrine for sacrifice, the next morning, Zhi ordered everyone to cut off Qiu's hair, take off his clothes and pack them up, and bury his body on the spot. After the burial, under the leadership of the Monkey King, Zhi led the army to turn east to Qinwangzhou.