Chapter 2: The Legendary Ferocious Beast Year

  After an unknown period of time, Li Xiao gradually came to, his whole body aching so badly that he could hardly bear it, the pungent smell making him cough repeatedly.

  Li Xiao pushed away the mud and wooden boards that had buried him, and only then did he remember what had happened earlier. He hastily turned over the broken house to search for Old Yuan's body.

  Finally, under the support of a broken square table, Old Yuan's body was not destroyed, but his whole body was covered in blood. Hurriedly feeling him, fortunately, Old Yuan's body was not icy cold, and there were some weak breaths, so he managed to save one life.

  After what happened yesterday, Li Xiao personally felt that he had come to a world of a different kind. This was obviously not Earth, and the language used here was completely different from his previous life, as if it were another heaven and earth.

  The law of the jungle is a universal principle that has been in use since ancient times, but Li Xiao never thought that these things would be so starkly exposed before his eyes.

  To survive, Li Xiao started looking for useful things in the house. Soon, several intact wooden boards and a canvas were set up by Yehe as a simple tent, and Lao Yuan was placed inside.

  Li Xiao had to go out and find a way with the villagers nearby, otherwise he and Lao Yuan would both freeze to death here.

  After loosening up his muscles, Li Xiao discovered that he hadn't suffered any overly serious injuries. If it weren't for the clear memories of yesterday's events still lingering in his mind, perhaps he would have thought it was all just a dream.

  The sky had almost darkened, and Li Xiao looked at the tattered clothes on his body, but he didn't feel too cold, which was a bit unusual compared to usual.

  However, time was really running out, and if they couldn't find a place to stay before nightfall, the cold winter night would be hard to get through.

  Racing towards the front, the sky had already darkened, but it seemed to have just snowed here, and the white accumulated snow made the entire small village a white piece of land. Everything around seemed to brighten up because of this, allowing Li Xiao, who was in a hurry, to see the road clearly.

  "Aunt Zhang, I'm Er Gou. Please, my father was beaten by those tax collectors and our house was demolished. Aunt Zhang, please save us!"

  All the way running down, the tattered clothes can't keep warm in the cold wind, Li Xiao's voice was trembling.

  This is the nearest neighbor to Lao Yuan's house in the small village, and he also has a good relationship with Er Gou and his son on weekdays. However, Li Xiao knocked on the door for half a day, but there was no movement inside the house.

  After knocking for half a day, Li Xiao had several sneezes in a row. The cold wind was piercing to the bone, and Li Xiao had no choice but to go find another neighbor.

  "Uncle Li, I'm Er Gou, please..."

  Then Li Xiao encountered the same situation. There seemed to be a fire in the house, but it went out instantly with Li Xiao's knock on the door.

  Li Xiao's heart was anxious, although Old Yuan was not his own biological father, he had occupied the body of the other's son and owed him a lot.

  If it goes on like this and the sky completely darkens, it will be even colder. With Old Yuan's severe injuries, it will be difficult to get through this winter night.

  "No, there's a way, there must be a way, calm down!"

  Li Xiao reminded himself while knocking on the doors of various villagers in the village, seeking help.

  But what Li Xiao didn't expect was that all the villagers' homes were tightly locked, and no matter how hard he knocked, there was no response.

  Until the sky was completely dark, Li Xiao walked to a villager's door again, and his slightly frozen body knocked on the door with difficulty.

  "Is anyone there? I...I am Lao Yuan's second dog...save me..."

  Li Xiao's teeth were chattering and his consciousness had become somewhat fuzzy.

  "Rustle..."

  This time, the door finally opened.

  An old face appeared, carefully looked around, and quickly pulled Li Xiao's body in, while rapidly locking the door.

  The interior was warmer than the outside, and the whole wooden house had no decorations, just like Lao Yuan's home, simple. And in this room, there was only one old man who was advanced in years.

  "Hey kid, aren't you frozen stiff? What are you doing running around outside at this time, don't you know it's New Year's today?"

  The old man saw Li Xiao's cold face and couldn't help but feel some heartache, went inside the house to fetch a hemp quilt, wrapped it around Li Xiao's body.

  The old man poured Li Xiao a cup of hot water, and it wasn't until after a while that Li Xiao slowly came to.

  "Thank you, sir. My name is Er Gou, and I'm from the Dongpo Old Yuan's family. Yesterday, those damned tax collectors came and wrecked our home, beating my father so badly that he's still lying outside somewhere. I was hoping to find an uncle who could help me bring him back."

  The old man heard this and immediately revealed a hint of anger:

  "These scoundrels, they usually bully us villagers, it's really despicable! But Er Gou, today is New Year's Day, and it's very dangerous at night, no family dares to open the door. Your father has fallen outside, it's uncertain whether he'll live or die."

  By this time, Li Xiao was somewhat perplexed.

  "Grandpa, it's really strange on the way here. All the neighbors have their doors tightly closed and no matter how I knock, they won't open them. What's going on?"

  The old man heard Li Xiao's question and hastily whispered a reply.

  "Keep your voice down, Second Dog. You're still young and may not know this. In recent years, every Chinese New Year, a monster would appear in our village, and everyone calls it the 'Year Beast'. This thing eats everything in sight, and is said to be able to swallow people whole. No one isn't afraid of it, so you'd best stay inside. Old Yuan is someone I know, normally a good and honest man, but tonight... he's probably having a rough time."

  The old man said up to here, and shook his head with a sigh of regret.

  "No way, sir! I can't leave my father outside, I have to go save him!"

  Li Xiao clenched his teeth and stood up.

  Nian beast, he had heard of it before, in his previous life, that was just a legendary creature with all sorts of cruel legends. However, the Nian beast has several things that it is afraid of, such as firecrackers and red couplets, these things may not be worth much money, but they are very hard to find in this poor village.

  "Second Dog, don't be like this, I understand your feelings, but I, the old master, can't let you go to your death! That year beast is a monster, and it's almost time for it to appear now. Let's talk about it after tonight, with Old Yuan's kind nature, he will definitely receive heaven's blessing, don't throw away your life because of a momentary impulse!"

  The old man pulled Li Xiao and repeatedly advised him.

  "Thank you, old man. If it weren't for you, I might have frozen to death outside today. But my father has raised me with kindness, and although I don't have the ability to repay him, I couldn't bear to let my father freeze to death outside!"

  Li Xiao's expression turned serious and he nodded at the old man.

  "Don't worry, old man. My life is tough enough, how could I possibly run into that beast so easily? If my Second Dog can survive tonight, he will definitely come to bother you again."

  Li Xiao revealed a hint of a smile, but it made the old man let out a soft sigh.

  "Alright, since you insist on going, then go early. Here are some clothes for you to take with you first, although they may not be useful against the Nian beast, at least they can keep out some of the cold."

  "Thank you so much, sir."

  Li Xiao, no excuses.

  After putting on the hemp clothes, Li Xiao felt much warmer.

  After bidding farewell to the old man, he hugged a bundle of hemp quilt and ran quickly.

  The journey was quite smooth, with cold winds blowing and snow reflecting the light, making it possible to barely see the muddy roads around.

  After running for about three quarters of an hour, Li Xiao returned home and looked at the simple wooden block tent. He let out a sigh of relief as he spread out the hemp quilt and wrapped Old Yuan's entire body in it. Just then, Li Xiao touched Old Yuan's forehead, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly felt for it with his hand.

  "It's burning hot, seems like I have a fever, this is going to be troublesome."

  Li Xiao's heart grew anxious, looking at Old Yuan's aged face, he vaguely recalled the previous day, that poor father who was so worried about his child.

  "What should I do? Although I'm not his biological child, I owe this elder a lot and absolutely can't just watch him get into trouble!"

  The current situation is very troublesome, the cold wind outside is piercing to the bone, there is no house to shelter from the wind, and covering with a layer of hemp quilt is barely enough. Now I have a fever, it's very likely that I won't make it through this winter night.

  "Fire, it must be lit."

  Li Xiao searched in the dilapidated room against the cold wind, and soon found a brownish-yellow paper roll with a length of about 10 cm, which was actually a matchstick.

  This thing is a fire-making tool that has been eliminated by Yehe's ancestors for hundreds of years, but in this village, it is an important thing to preserve the fire source.

  Excitedly removing the outer shell cover, Li Xiao blew it forcefully once.

  Unfortunately, the lighter had been left for so long that it had completely gone out, without even a spark remaining.

  The hope that had just appeared was shattered again, and the only spark of fire in the house went out. Unless someone goes to the village to get fire now, there is no source of fire at all.

  Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but tonight is New Year's Eve and the fearsome Nian beast will attack the village, so no one will open their doors. After what just happened, Li Xiao believes that it's impossible to borrow fire tonight, and instead he might run into the legendary ferocious beast.

  Li Xiao tried his best to calm himself down and think of a solution.

  The cold wind cut across his face like a knife. In the dark of night, Li Xiao stood beside the feverish Old Yuan, not saying a word, as if it was hard to find a way to get through this winter's night.

  "Roar——"

  The whole village seemed to be shaken up, a loud roar, the nine heavens thundered, Li Xiao covered his ears tightly, it was truly deafening.

  Only a short distance away from Li Xiao, a blue creature emerged with a lion-like body and a tiger-like face. It had a single horn on its head, sharp claws on its four limbs, and was covered in blue fur all over its body. Its long tail fell to the ground, resembling both fish and beast, forming an irregular arc with its back.

  This ferocious beast is slightly larger than a male lion. As soon as it opens its bloody mouth, the sound of its roar shakes the sky!

  Li Xiao saw this scene and suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. It was clear that this ferocious beast was the most feared creature in the entire village - the Year Beast, and he hadn't expected it to appear so close to his own shattered house, and from the looks of it, it seemed to be heading straight for Old Yuan's simple tent where he lay sleeping.

  The situation at this moment is suffocating.