Hearing the Great Monarch’s words, all the Zodiac Demons present lifted their eyes towards it. Yet, the Great Monarch’s gaze was not on any of the Zodiac Demons but was instead fixed intently on the Little Nian Beast lying in the corner with a blade of green grass in its mouth.

"Oh, oh."

The Little Nian Beast finally came to its senses. It lifted its head to meet the Great Monarch’s gaze and belatedly got up from the ground.

The Year Beast Monarch was the first to rise from the cushion, and the Little Nian Beast followed it as they both left the meeting space.

The big and small lions passed through the rushing waterfall and came into the tranquil forest, where the Lantern Demons overhead lit up.

The Little Nian Beast raised its head, disdainfully looking at the myriad lights in the forest, thinking, Why didn’t you welcome me like this when I came alone?

The two lions slowly strolled through the forest. It was quiet all around, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.

"Was it you who did this?" the Year Beast Monarch suddenly spoke.

"Why me?" The Little Nian Beast turned its head to look at it, "Dad, aren’t you wrongly accusing me? After not seeing each other for ten years, you return only to fall out with your son?"

"You do not need to lie, just tell the truth," the Year Beast Monarch said without turning its head.

"Who knows." The Little Nian Beast shook its head and looked away.

It didn’t want to admit that those two humans were connected to itself. Of course, if it did so, the Great Monarch might start thinking that "those two humans were summoned by Bai Tanlang," but what did that have to do with it?

"You don’t need to deny it. The Rat Demon overheard your conversation with the Furious Demon by the Spirit Heart Lake. We all know the one most likely to have done what happened last night is you," the Year Beast Monarch said slowly.

He paused: "Actually, it’s quite good. Originally, I invited those three from the Seven Deadly Sins over to verify whether they really made a deal with Lake Hunting to save their lives... If it’s true, it’s better to place the threat under our eyes than to let them wander in the dark, not knowing when they might stab us."

"So that’s what you thought, Dad. I thought you would really be stupid enough to cooperate with them." The Little Nian Beast said in understanding.

"At that time, the Rat Demon was affected by the power of sloth and fell asleep. But he said he saw two humans kill them. Who are those two humans to you?"

"Just friends I know from the human world," the Little Nian Beast said. "But don’t tell anyone else, okay?"

The Year Beast Monarch seemed to want to say something more, but just sighed, "Forget it..."

It walked alone into the depths of the forest, and the Little Nian Beast stopped, quietly watching the Great Monarch’s silhouette disappear.

The Little Nian Beast thought, tonight is the time the Prophet and I have agreed upon. I’d better lie in the detention room and see the situation, lest anything really goes wrong. No point in fretting today.

With this thought, the Little Nian Beast leaped, landing on a branch of one of the towering giant trees and laid down on it.

Then it raised its paw, tapped the pretending-to-be-dead Lantern Demon, causing it to light up, and slowly closed its eyes.

The wind blew the lantern, leaves rustling, and over time, the Little Nian Beast’s consciousness gradually sank, eventually arriving at the library in the Spirit World.

The setting sun angled westward, and the red afterglow came through the window. Ji Minghuan slowly opened his eyes, lifted his head, and looked at the four corpses hanging upside down from the library ceiling.

The last corpse had already transformed into a youth with strands of purple-red hair.

Ji Minghuan tugged on the rope hanging from the ceiling, causing the four bodies to sway. Some grinned mischievously, others remained expressionless without any reaction, some mumbled about wanting food, some yawned.

He sighed, let go of the rope, slowly lowered his gaze, and turned to look at the Red Dragon in the library corner, sipping tea and wearing reading glasses.

"Grandpa Long, what kind of person do you think the Prophet will be?" After a moment of silence, he asked softly.

"Tonight, you’ll find out, won’t you?"

The Red Dragon said, glancing at him over the top of its reading glasses.