Chapter Five: Rhinoceros Giant Beast

  "No way, Second Dog! The Wang family is the landlord and financial magnate of this region. They've invited several immortal masters to sit in their mansion, those people have incredible abilities, they can turn stones into gold, fly in mid-air... absolutely cannot be reckless!"

  An old man among the villagers spoke up, and someone suddenly exclaimed:

  "It's Old Man Mo!"

  Mr. Mo is the wise man in the village, who teaches some young children to read and write every day. Even Er Gou was taught by this Mr. when he was a child, and has a great reputation in the village.

  "Mr. Mo Lao."

  Li Xiao bowed, not for himself, but for Er Gou. Although he was no longer the same person as Er Gou, he had occupied his body and inherited some of his memories. The kindness that Er Gou had received must be repaid by him.

  "Well, at such a young age, having this kind of courage is really not bad."

  Compared with the villagers' brutal killings, Mr. Mo seemed much more elegant.

  "Mr. Mo is wrong, if Mr. Mo says that the Wang family's power is great, then what about our food?"

  The old man wore a hemp robe, his aged body still stood straight as a pen, and the air on him was obviously different from that of ordinary villagers, giving people a sense of trust.

  After a moment of contemplation, Mr. Mo finally spoke up:

  "The Wang family's power is quite great, and we ordinary people have no way to contend with them. In the past few years, several powerful villagers have appeared, wanting to overthrow the Wang family, but they were quickly caught. The Wang family's master is too formidable; if we want to oppose the Wang family, it's like an egg hitting a rock."

  Mr. Mo shook his head, although the Year Beast was a fierce creature, but compared to a true powerful cultivator, it still fell short.

  The villagers discussed it back and forth, but there was no good solution.

  Upon seeing this scene, Mr. Mo let out a couple of dry coughs.

  "It's actually not impossible to get through winter."

  Upon hearing Mr. Mo's words, the crowd fell silent once again, and even Li Xiao looked at the old man with a hopeful expression.

  "In the past few years, a strange beast in the mountains caused trouble. A wounded giant beast happened to die right in our village. However, its skin was too hard and couldn't be cut with knives or swords, so it's been preserved there all this time. If we can crack open the beast's chest and take out its bones and meat, I think everyone will have enough food to get through this winter, and even the Year Beast will have a full meal."

  "Not bad, I remembered it now. Indeed, there was such a thing. At the beginning, most people in the village tried to crack that guy's skin, but it was really too tough."

  "This method won't work, that guy's skin is too tough, it can't be broken open at all, who can gnaw through it?"

  The villagers shook their heads and didn't think this method was feasible. To the villagers, that giant beast was not a beast at all, but a huge piece of steel, how could it be used as food?

  Mr. Mo shook his head and remained silent, only staring at the Nian beast, Li Xiao understood, and whispered into the Nian beast's ear to explain in detail.

  "Several years ago? Wasn't that when Old Man Nian was chased to death by a mad cow? It seems it should be the time when a monster was startled and came here. Hurry up and take me, Old Man Nian, to see it. No matter how thick-skinned you are, I don't believe anyone can outdo Old Man Nian."

  The Nian beast had an expression of "who else but me", leaving Li Xiao speechless. After explaining to the villagers, they looked at the Nian beast with a strange gaze and walked towards where the giant beast was stored.

  This is a huge well, surrounded by mud walls, and after prying open the giant stone that presses on top of the well, something can be vaguely seen at the bottom of the well.

  Several strong men, along with Li Xiao, pulled hard on several thick hemp ropes. Then, a huge shadow slowly emerged from the surface of the water. It was a massive and powerful rhinoceros. Li Xiao recognized it at a glance.

  Although it was in the cold wind, everyone worked together and didn't feel particularly cold.

  With a roar of the year beast, relying on the sharp single horn on its head, it lifted this rhino alive. At the same time, the sharp beast claws tore apart, and the rhino's skin like iron armor was torn open, with congealed blood remaining on the flesh, looking ferocious and terrifying.

  The villagers let out a series of exclamations, and Mr. Mo also revealed a hint of a smile, but Li Xiao's expression was somewhat strange.

  This rhinoceros, in terms of its size, is as tall as two rhinos from the previous life, with a gigantic body that is unmatched, no wonder it's called a giant beast!

  The rhino's skin was incredibly thick, to the point where Li Xiao couldn't even tear it open with his strength, which left him astonished!

  Then came the grand food distribution meeting. The Year Beast was about to devour half of it, when Li Xiao stopped him.

  "Old man, you usually eat like this?"

  Li Xiao's eyes were slightly wide, although the year beast belonged to the animal category, but according to Li Xiao's feeling, this guy's intelligence was not inferior to humans at all, and his behavior was extremely close, but watching the year beast drinking blood made Li Xiao somewhat unacceptable.

  "Nonsense! If we don't eat like this, can we still roast it in the fire like you humans do? I, Old Ye, have roasted before, all charred and black. I don't know what kind of taste you humans have, it's really perverted!"

  The Nian beast had a disdainful expression, but it made Li Xiao sweat.

  Burn the meat to a crisp, it's probably only the Year Beast that can do it, and yet say others while their own eating habits are abnormal.

  "Alright, old man, don't rush to eat yet. Let's go back and get some fire going, I'll roast it myself for you, then you'll know why we have to eat like this."

  Li Xiao carefully explained that the meat in the villagers' hands was clearly the same as what the Year Beast had, and it would be better to take advantage of the situation from the Year Beast rather than sharing with the villagers. After all, this Year Beast was still young and inexperienced, and according to Li Xiao's words, it was just a child; believing in the ultra-modern knowledge of his previous life, he should still be able to deceive it.

  "Alright then, let's try out this human way of eating."

  The Nian beast carried half a giant rhino on its back, without directly opening its mouth.

  Then Li Xiao bid farewell to the countless villagers, and as they parted ways, Old Man Mo gave Li Xiao a mysterious smile that made his heart skip a beat. When facing intelligent people, this matter couldn't be hidden after all.

  Rushing back home in a flurry, Li Xiao only then realized that something was off.

  "Oh no! I forgot to borrow a fire starter earlier and now we don't have any fire. How are we supposed to roast the meat?!"

  Li Xiao patted his forehead, as if he really wasn't quite right in the head.

  "Kid, at critical moments you still have to rely on old master! Get out of my way!"

  The Nian beast shook off the half-head rhinoceros on its back, let out a roar from its mouth, and a high-temperature flame spewed out, igniting the remaining broken wood of Li Xiao's house. In an instant, the fire was extremely fierce, crackling and burning up.

  Li Xiao saw this situation, and with a buzz in his mind, he charged into the flames without regard for the rolling heat waves!

  "Kid, you're looking for trouble!"

  The Nian beast slapped Li Xiao flying with a palm, and the fierce flames in front of him were extremely fierce. Now that Li Xiao rushed over, it was tantamount to suicide.

  "You!!!"

  Li Xiao was furious. Lao Yuan was clearly still inside, but now he was completely engulfed by the fierce flames, his life or death unknown, causing Li Xiao's anger to surge up suddenly!

  "Give me back my father's life, you beast!"

  Li shouted and rushed towards the Nian beast!

  "Are you out of your mind?!"

  The Nian beast didn't expect Li Xiao to be so crazy, and with another swipe of its paw, it sent Li Xiao flying again. The powerful force caused Li Xiao's body to roll on the ground several times.

  Li Xiao, with a fierce fire burning in his heart, had already forgotten the pain and stood up with numb feet. He let out a loud roar and charged at the Year Beast once again!

  "So that's it, what a strange technique."

  The Nian beast seemed lost in thought and casually flung Li Xiao flying again.

  Looking at the Year Beast's nonchalant appearance, Li Xiao had already become furious to the extreme.

  "I'm going to kill you!"

  Gritting his teeth, Li Xiao prepared to climb up again.

  But just then, a voice appeared:

  "What are you doing, Second Dog?"

  The sudden sound made Li Xiao stunned, turned his head to look, and found that Old Yuan had just walked back from the forest, holding a bundle of firewood in his hand.

  Li's face was shocked, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he lost his anger to support him. His body seemed to be drained of energy and fell into the snowy ground, panting heavily.

  "Second Dog, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

  Lao Yuan hastily threw down the wood and rushed to help Li Xiao up, feeling his forehead.

  "It's okay, I'm fine."

  Li Xiao shook his head and looked at the Year Beast with a scowl.

  "Kid, is there anyone else who can sense it? I'm still able to feel it even at my age. To think that you suspect me of killing your father, this is truly a case of self-inflicted suffering."

  The Nian beast's nostrils are pointing towards the sky, with a majestic appearance.

  Li Xiao revealed a wry smile, this time losing face and losing big, should have asked clearly before taking action, fortunately the beast didn't mind, otherwise Li Xiao would really regret it.

  "This...this is...the year!?"

  Lao Yuan heard the voice of the Year Beast and suddenly saw this fierce beast, his face filled with great shock.

  He hid Li Xiao behind him, and this father's body was already trembling slightly.

  "Don't be afraid, this guy is a friend of mine..."

  Li Xiao explained for a long time, and Old Yuan also didn't make any excessive moves when he saw the Year Beast, only then did he believe Li Xiao.

  Then Old Yuan started selecting the good meat, following Li Xiao's method, stringing it on branches and roasting it over a raging fire. This meal was extremely satisfying for Li Xiao and his father, and the beast also couldn't stop praising, actually swallowing half of the rhinoceros whole!

  To be honest, raw blood food does have a lot of nutrients, but it can't be well absorbed by the intestines and stomach, and most of the nutrients will be lost. Therefore, those jungle hunters, lions and tigers, need to catch enough prey, eat a large amount, in order to fill their stomach for one meal.

  The Nian beast was the same, half a rhinoceros was enough to fill its belly, and after Li Xiao's roasting, although there were no seasonings, it tasted a bit fishy, but compared to the raw blood food, it was much more delicious.

  Roasted food allows the beast to absorb more nutrients, even if Li Xiao and his son take away a portion of the food, the nutrition the beast obtains from this food is still more than in previous years.

  "It's really nostalgic for the taste of barbecue, unfortunately I'm about to leave, otherwise eating this delicious food every day would be a real treat."

  The New Year's monster patted its round belly, and in the east, there was already a glimmer of light.

  "It's actually not difficult, if you want to eat something, I can roast it for you every day, but there is only one small condition."

  Li Xiao smiled slightly, yesterday's injury had completely recovered.