There is a beast in the bright morning.

The summer solstice is the tenth of the 24 solar terms and the fourth solar term of summer. It lasts for fifteen days and is divided into three pentads.

The first sign is the shedding of deer antlers. On this day, the deer that have become spirits will sense the emergence of yin energy, and their antlers will fall off.

The second sign of the season is when cicadas begin to sing. Male cicadas, sensing the rising of yin energy, puff out their bellies and sing.

The third sign is the sprouting of Pinellia ternata. In the hot midsummer, the medicinal herb Pinellia ternata begins to appear.

Of course, the arrival of the summer solstice is not important to the mythical beasts of the Deer Man Shop, except for the Qilin (a mythical creature that doesn't resemble a dragon).

With the arrival of the summer solstice, the Qilin looked at its fallen antlers in its paws and said helplessly, "Ah, my antlers have fallen off again. It seems it's that time of year again..."

Then the four-legged creature picked up its own horn, preparing to put it in the storage room for later use.

However, Tianlu happened to witness this scene when he went back into the house to find food. Tianlu looked at the bald head of the Four-Unlikes and laughed, "Hahaha, Four-Unlikes, you're finally bald!"

Si Bu Xiang was speechless and quickly explained to Tian Lu, not wanting to be labeled as bald: "What do you mean bald? Pi Pi, can't you even speak properly? If you can't speak, then don't speak."

Then the four-legged creature explained: "Starting from the summer solstice, yin prevails and yang declines. Deer antlers are a symbol of yang energy. When a male deer that has become a spirit is affected, its antlers will naturally fall off."

Hao Chen and Rabbit Lord overheard these words as they entered the room. Rabbit Lord didn't notice anything amiss, but Hao Chen sensed something was wrong.

The Qilin clearly states here that the antlers of a male deer that has become a spirit will fall off. Doesn't this prove that it is not a Qilin, but a deer spirit, which is why it is affected by the seasons?

The rabbit figurine was one thing, but Tianlu didn't react at all. Did he not hear it? Or was it the effect of the Pixiu Heart Lock? Haochen wondered to himself.

However, these are not things that Hao Chen needs to consider. In any case, neither Tianlu nor the Four-Faced Beast was injured. What Hao Chen wants to do most now is to make fun of the Four-Faced Beast.

Who told the Four-Faced Beast to take away the money he worked so hard to earn at the Phoenix concert last time? That was money he earned "honestly" by selling tickets. (Ah Niu: I'll just watch quietly and not say anything.)

Not content with just the four-legged creature, in order to retaliate against Haochen for stealing his business, the creature used the excuse that Haochen was still young and needed to receive a good education to enroll Haochen in a summer tutoring class at the Xiezhi.

Hao Chen should have been on summer vacation by now and didn't need to go to Xie Zhi's place for classes anymore. However, because of the Qilin, Hao Chen still had to go to Xie Zhi's place for two hours of classes every day.

However, Hao Chen was quick-witted. Since Walnut and Fu Zai were also children who needed to learn Chinese, he enrolled them in the Xie Zhi summer tutoring program as well, so they'd have company at school. (Walnut: Listen to me, thank you…)

Hao Chen felt very unhappy when he thought that although everyone else was a mythical beast, Tianlu and the Four-Unlikes could play happily and freely, while he not only had to attend classes, but also had to eat He Tao Fu Zai's dog food in class.

Now that Hao Chen has finally caught the four-legged creature making a fool of itself, he naturally won't let this opportunity slip by so easily.

But then Hao Chen came up to the four-legged creature and pointed at its head, saying, "Hahaha. Four-legged creature, you don't look like a male at all, you look more like a little female deer."

However, Hao Chen somehow seemed to have touched a nerve with the Qilin, and was immediately grabbed by both cheeks by the Qilin.

The four-legged creature kept pulling at Hao Chen's face, saying, "I am a Qilin, a Qilin, not a deer."

"Oh, I made a mistake, don't want it spicy, it hurts..."

Seeing that Hao Chen looked like he knew he was wrong, the Qilin released its claws and then looked at Tian Lu, who was so frightened that he quickly shut his mouth and dared not laugh at the Qilin anymore.

Seeing that Tianlu and Haochen had stopped laughing, the Four-Faced Beast said, "Although it is indeed inconvenient to lose its antlers, it is actually much lighter without them, and complete antlers are quite valuable."

As a fan of the four-legged creature, Rabbit immediately gave it a thumbs up: "As expected of the four-legged creature, it really has a business mind!"

However, Tianlu disagreed with the idea of ​​the Qilin: "The Qilin has horns, which are a symbol of divine beasts. You will be punished for doing this."

Hao Chen rubbed his flushed cheeks, then, as if remembering something, licked his lips and said, "Four-Legged Beast, are you planning to soak this horn in alcohol? Slurp!"

"Soak it in alcohol? That's a good idea." After hearing Hao Chen's words, the Qilin nodded subconsciously.

But soon, the four-legged creature realized something: "Wait, Haochen, what do you mean by 'still'? Haochen, how do you know I soaked my own horn in wine? Could it be..."

The Four-Unlikes then remembered that he had tried to dig up the aged deer antler wine he had buried in the backyard to sell for money, but he couldn't find the wine no matter how hard he looked. At the time, the Four-Unlikes thought he had remembered it wrong.

The four-legged creature looked at Hao Chen and said, "Hao Chen, tell me the truth, did you steal and drink the wine I buried in the backyard?"

As soon as the Four-Unlikes said that, a huge “danger” character appeared above Rabbit Lord’s head. He had found the Four-Unlikes’ wine by digging a hole underground, and he had drunk it with Hao Chen, Tian Lu, and Zhan Hu.

So, Rabbit quickly signaled to Hao Chen with his eyes that he should keep it a secret. Hao Chen also signaled to Rabbit that he understood. After all, Hao Chen himself had drunk the Four-Unlikes' wine, so how could he let the Four-Unlikes find out?

Hao Chen then argued, "What kind of wine? I don't know. Besides, isn't it normal to soak wine in the horn of a divine beast?"

Hearing Hao Chen's question, the Four-Faced Beast nodded. Although he was still very suspicious, he didn't say anything more.

Seeing that the four-legged creature seemed to have let the matter go, Rabbit Lord and Hao Chen breathed a sigh of relief. However, they did not expect that Tianlu would still be a big slap in the face.

Originally, the Qilin wasn't going to make a fuss, but Tianlu said at this moment, "Rabbit Master, is the wine that the Qilin is talking about the one you dug up last time?"

As he spoke, Tianlu even showed an expression as if he wanted to drink more, which made Rabbit Lord so angry that he kept cursing Tianlu in his heart.

Upon hearing Tianlu's words, the Qilin looked at Rabbit Lord and said in a drawn-out tone, "Rabbit Lord."

"You four-legged creature, let me explain. I dug out the wine, but Pipi and Haochen drank the most of it."

Upon hearing Rabbit Lord's words, Hao Chen immediately became indignant. So, Rabbit Lord, you're not wrong? It's all my fault.

So Haochen said to the four-legged creature, "Four-legged creature, I want to report you. I did drink alcohol, but your horn that you used to make the alcohol was taken away by Rabbit Lord. He even sleeps with your horn every night. I saw it."

Rabbit Lord got anxious: "Wait, you four-legged creature, let me explain. I hugged your horn to sleep because... wait, Hao Chen, why did you run to my house again so late at night?"

The blind spot spotted Rabbit, and now it was Hao Chen's turn to be embarrassed: "Um, did you believe me when I said I couldn't sleep at night and went to chat with Zhan Hu?"

"Very good, that's a good reason," Rabbit said, covering his face. "Haochen, you like lying on Zhanhu so much, why don't you take Zhanhu away from my house?"

Upon hearing Rabbit Lord's words, Hao Chen picked his nose and retorted, "Are you stupid? Zhan Hu is so big, where would I take him? Of course, I'll leave him at your house."

Rabbit Lord: "..."

Seeing the two noisy beasts, the Qilin rubbed its belly, no longer wanting to pay attention to Rabbit Lord and Haochen, and decided to go out and eat some grass first.

However, the four-legged creature that lost its horns did indeed become androgynous, just as Haochen had said.

Just as the four-legged creature transformed back into its original form—a large-tailed deer—and lowered its head to graze, an ordinary male deer with long antlers appeared and walked behind the four-legged creature, starting to sniff at the base of its tail.

When the male deer appeared, the four-legged creature had a bad feeling: "Wait, is this deer mistaking me for a female deer?"

As the male deer approached, the four-legged creature became nervous. At this moment, it no longer cared about eating grass and got up, wanting to leave this dangerous place.

However, the male deer clearly didn't want to give the four-legged creature a chance. It quickly came up behind the creature and smelled its scent, which made the creature stiffen and become at a loss, forgetting to run away for a moment.

Although the Qilin is not actually a Qilin (four-not-like creature), possessing the blood and essence of a Qilin, it is no ordinary deer. Its scent naturally has a great attraction for ordinary deer, especially when it reverts to its original form, and this is also the time when deer antlers shed during the summer solstice.

The next moment, something completely unexpected happened: while the four-legged creature was in a state of confusion, the male deer actually raised its front legs, stood on its hind legs, and lay down behind it.

The four-legged creature had already guessed that the stag mistook it for a doe, and quickly shouted, trying to stop the stag's next move: "Wait, I'm male, ah—"

While Rabbit Lord and Hao Chen were still arguing, they heard the screams of the Qilin and quickly pulled Tian Lu over.

When Tianlu saw what the stag was doing to the four-legged creature, he was also shocked: "This... it's already getting its comeuppance so quickly!"

Upon seeing this, Rabbit felt as if something inside him had shattered. He then pulled out two green hats from somewhere and put one on his head.

Another hat was handed to Tianlu: "A new hat, want to try it on?"

When Tianlu saw the green hat, he was furious and threw it back at Rabbit Lord: "What a piece of junk! I'm not wearing it, you wear it yourself."

Rabbit Lord threw the green hat towards Tianlu again: "You wear it, you wear it!"

Seeing that Rabbit and Tianlu were still playing around, the Qilin quickly cried for help: "Stop messing around, come and help me, get this stag off me."

Seeing that Rabbit Lord and the others weren't going to save the Four-Faced Beast, Hao Chen quickly put away his phone, tapped Rabbit Lord and Tian Lu on the head, and said, "What are you doing? Why aren't you helping the Four-Faced Beast first?"

After saying that, Hao Chen walked to the side of the four-legged creature, took out a brick, and knocked the male deer, who was still trying to violate the four-legged creature, unconscious.

However, Hao Chen controlled his strength well and did not harm the buck's life. After all, the buck had done something that neither Hao Chen, Rabbit Lord, nor Tian Lu had done: it got the first blood on the four-legged beast.

The four-legged creature, having escaped the stag, was so frightened that it transformed back into human form.

After this terrifying experience, it's likely that the Qilin won't dare to revert to its original form until horns grow back.

Rabbit Lord stepped forward, pulled up the tail of the four-legged creature, and after examining it, breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, Hao Chen acted quickly. This deer hasn't done anything foolish yet. Four-legged creature, your innocence is still intact."

The four-legged creature said, "Rabbit Lord, stop talking and take me back first. My legs are weak."

Meanwhile, Tianlu and Haochen, who were in the distance, breathed a sigh of relief after hearing what Rabbit Lord said. They both thought to themselves: Thank goodness our Qilin is alright.