Not far from the house, on the snow-covered ground, stood a beast that looked like a molted lion, but much larger than a lion.
Shang Lin and his group were all stunned. Huang Li even jumped onto Shang Lin and hugged his neck tightly. This fear from his blood made him lose his mind and only his instincts remained.
Huang Ying was also too scared to move, but she was a little better off than Huang Li, as she didn't jump directly onto Shang Lin. Of course, it's also possible that she was too scared to move.
Red Scorpion, however, remained calm. After a moment of surprise, he quickly regained his senses and stood protectively in front of Shang Lin. Then he heard the person behind him ask, "What is this?" A demonic beast? But what kind of demonic beast is this?
The "lion" in front of him actually opened its mouth and roared. Shang Lin, who was convinced that it was a demon beast, said with a look of disapproval, "Are you crazy? Making a scene with a demon during the New Year, aren't you afraid of being cleaved into ashes by the Heavenly Dao?"
Although thunder in the dead of winter is a bit unusual, who can predict the workings of nature? But the next second, the "lion" said, "I am the Nian beast, how dare you mortals not recognize me?"
As an outsider, Shang Lin quietly asked Chi Xie, "What is the Nian beast?"
Red Scorpion whispered to Shang Lin, "Legend has it that in ancient times there was a monster called 'Nian,' with long tentacles on its head, sharp teeth, and fierce eyes. It was extremely ferocious. 'Nian' lived deep in the sea all year round and only climbed ashore on New Year's Eve to devour livestock and harm people. Therefore, on New Year's Eve, every household would put up red couplets, set off firecrackers, and keep their homes brightly lit with candles, staying up all night to prevent the monster 'Nian' from attacking again."
Before Shang Lin could say anything, the Nian beast snorted coldly, "These are all lies. Red couplets and firecrackers, how could they possibly scare me away?"
"Why don't we try it and see?" Shang Lin held the almanac in one hand and threw a firecracker at the Nian beast with the other. It exploded with a bang, and the Nian beast jumped three meters away.
Shang Lin immediately laughed, "So you really were scared!"
But the next second his face turned serious, "This Nian beast in front of me is quite different from the legends."
Red Scorpion retorted, "Shouldn't the sect leader be asking how the Nian Beast appeared? And what a coincidence that it appeared right outside our door?"
Shang Lin really wanted to say, "Is there even a question? They must have been attracted by us oddballs. Apart from Xiaobai, Lüyao, and Achou, everyone else who's at home is outside the Dragon Spirit Tower. Oh, and there's also Situ Pojun."
But when he opened his mouth, he said, "Why bother with so much? Just drive them away and that's it."
After saying that, he tossed the almanac in his arm and said, "Come on, smash it with firecrackers, otherwise how are we supposed to set off our fireworks?"
Huang Ying came to her senses and did as the sect leader said. However, the Nian beast was different from before. It was startled by Shang Lin's sudden action and pounced towards them while dodging.
At this moment, those who were cooking dumplings at home and those who were looking at their phones also rushed out, because they had also heard that beastly roar. Well, the beastly roar was mixed in with the sounds of New Year's fireworks and firecrackers, but Old Man Chai did not hear it.
He thought that as time went on, more and more fireworks were set off outside, and the young people finally couldn't resist and ran out to watch. So he chuckled and cooked dumplings by himself, saying, "They're young after all; they just love excitement."
As soon as Shang Lin saw everyone running out, he grabbed the almanac and retreated to his front door in a flash, as if there had been a fight going on and he didn't want to get covered in blood.
Huang Li finally came to her senses and buried her face in Shang Lin's shoulder, whispering, "Sect Master, I'm sorry."
Shang Lin was watching the game when he suddenly heard Huang Li's muffled voice. He immediately looked down at him and asked, "Sorry? What did you do to offend me?"
Huang Li looked up at Shang Lin, then quickly looked down again. "Just now, when I saw the Nian beast, I shouldn't have only thought of myself and jumped into the sect leader's arms to ask him to protect me."
Shang Lin patted Huang Li on the back like he was coaxing a child, "What's this? You're still so young, it's normal to be scared. But if you encounter danger alone in the future, you should try to stay calm and not panic, otherwise you might lose your life, understand?"
Huang Li's voice was still muffled, "Oh."
After saying that, she puffed out her little chest and said, "But don't worry, Sect Master, I will cultivate diligently, grow up quickly, and protect you."
Shang Lin immediately smiled and said, "Okay."
Situ Pojun didn't make a move either, but unlike Shang Lin, he didn't retreat immediately. Instead, he retreated to Shang Lin's side and asked, "We can't handle this kind of ferocious beast either. Let's try to drive it away."
Shang Lin asked, "Why didn't I encounter the Nian beast during last year's Spring Festival? Is it because I'm celebrating the Spring Festival in the city this year?" Is it because even ferocious beasts are unwilling to set foot in small mountain villages and small county towns?
Situ Pojun looked at Shang Lin with great confusion, "What kind of strange thought process is this? Is this the time to be agonizing over this?"
Shang Lin then looked at Situ Pojun and said, "Aren't they all fighting hard? Why would they need me?"
After saying that, she bounced the little boy in her arms again. "Besides, didn't you see I still have a child to soothe? When we came out just now, the little guy was terrified."
Situ Pojun, "..."
What you said makes so much sense, I'm speechless. But is this little boy really a little boy? Don't be so ridiculous, okay? It's unbearable to look at.
Shang Lin didn't care what Situ Pojun was internally criticizing him. He continued to coax the child while watching the battle. Then, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Doesn't the Nian beast only disappear automatically after the New Year's bell rings? Otherwise, it's a bit hard to explain why several powerful demons couldn't defeat it."
In the dim light, Situ Pojun rolled his eyes without any regard for his image. "You're finally getting to the point. Although those few in your sect are powerful demons, they're still no match for the Nian Beast. So hurry up and come up with a solution, or we won't be able to celebrate the New Year!"
Shang Lin suddenly looked at Situ Pojun, "Is the Nian beast very powerful?"
Situ Pojun paused, then gave a wry smile. "To be honest, this is the first time I've encountered the Nian Beast. Legend has it that it can only disappear completely when the Spring God appears. But now that the human realm is in its decline, where can we find the Spring God? How could your sect's few great demons possibly defeat such an ancient and ferocious beast?"
However, Shang Lin surprisingly commented quite objectively, "There are quite a few legends about the Nian beast, but since they are legends, they may not be reliable, so..."
Shang Lin handed the almanac directly to Situ Pojun, saying, "You hold it, I'll go and chase away the Nian beast."
Situ Pojun instinctively caught the almanac, and then saw Shang Lin move his finger, and several talismans appeared at his fingertip. Then he heard him shout, "Get out of the way!"
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