When the page covering the faces of the two fell, Xia Pingzhou silently lowered his head, his eyes obscured by his drooping bangs.

....

...

August 21, Hai Fan Mountain.

On this night, for some reason, countless Demons emerged from the forest.

Demons without intelligence hid in the deep mountains of Hai Fan Mountain, while only a few intelligent Demon tribes were allowed to exist in the forest near Spirit Heart Lake.

So most of the Demons appearing now were High-level Demons, and among them, the Zodiac groups were the majority.

In the center of the forest, the Year Beast Monarch exhaled a flame, igniting a mountain of piled wood, and the bonfire blazed fiercely. Then, like a toppled row of dominoes, the Lantern Demons lit up one after another, swaying and emitting a warm glow that illuminated the entire forest.

In no time, the whole forest was brightly lit, looking from afar like a sea of stars.

The Divine Chicken Demons stood on the branches, singing in unison. At this moment, the Spirit Monkey Demons emerged, climbing on branches, using their long arms to pass jugs of fine wine and vibrant fruits through the forest.

The Cyan Snake Demon clan was responsible for catching the wine and fruits thrown down by the Spirit Monkeys at the bottom, distributing them to the Demons in the forest.

The Rainbow Horse Demons galloped in from afar, casting a colorful rainbow glow into the dark night sky, like fireworks scattering down, covering the heads of every Demon like rain.

This was the annual bonfire festival of Hai Fan Mountain. The Little Nian Beast lay quietly on one of the branches, out of place with the other Demons.

It quietly watched thousands of Demons busying themselves, not understanding what exactly they were busy with.

"Boring, I want to see rivers of blood," the Little Nian Beast yawned.

It tilted its head and suddenly remembered the last time it participated in the bonfire festival was ten years ago.

At that time, it was still immature, trying to prove itself by rushing ahead of the Great Monarch towards the woodpile, huffing and puffing without being able to ignite a fire, earning laughter from the other Demons in the forest.

In the end, it was caught aside by the Year Beast Monarch with its claw. The Little Nian Beast lay on the ground, watching the flickering flame above its head with grievance, thinking that it would have been better if it had used the flame on its head to light the bonfire, thus avoiding embarrassment.

As the Little Nian Beast came back to its senses, it lifted its head from the branch and looked at the approaching Year Beast Monarch. The aged giant lion walked slowly, raising its head to gaze at the Little Nian Beast on the branch.

"Dad, we are going to war with Lake Hunting in a few days, can we really afford to be this relaxed?"

The Little Nian Beast asked, puzzled, but the Year Beast Monarch did not answer.

The Rat Demon happened to pass by this remote maple tree, heading towards the bonfire, hearing their conversation.

"The bonfire festival is held only once a year, and so many Demons look forward to it." The Rat Demon waved its hand, saying, "Hey...if the festival were canceled, how upset would they be?"

"Can't it be postponed? Wait until you have taken down Lake Hunting," the Little Nian Beast curiously asked.

Although speaking this way, it felt that after the battle, either the Year Beast Monarch would pass away, or at least half of the Zodiac Team would be gone.

Lake Hunting was undoubtedly the top group under the Salvation Society; no open organization in human society could confront them, let alone this group of Demons forced into the mountains.

"Hey, what do you know, child, go, go..." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Saying this, the Rat Demon shook its head and sighed, then slipped towards the place where the feast was held, holding a fruit, leaving the Year Beast father and son alone.

The Little Nian Beast speechlessly glanced at the Rat Demon's back, then lowered its head to look at the Great Monarch again.

"Come down and let's talk," the Year Beast Monarch said, its voice deep and resonant.

"Oh, then I am coming down."

The Little Nian Beast said softly, rising and spinning down from the branch, stepping on the ground with a leaf.

The Year Beast Monarch silently moved forward, the Little Nian Beast followed its side. Behind them was a hubbub, the forest's Demons reveling in the twilight of the lights, while it and the Year Beast Monarch gradually distanced themselves from the noisy world.

A moment later, the Year Beast Monarch finally asked the question that the Little Nian Beast had anticipated for a long time.

"Ten years ago, you met the current leader of Lake Hunting—'Lin Xingshi' on that ship, right?" the Year Beast Monarch asked.

The Little Nian Beast was silent for a moment, looking at the Great Monarch's expression, then nodded, "Yes, she helped me on the ship back then."

The Year Beast Monarch pondered for a moment, "I see... Do you know what happened back then?"

"You thought I was dead, rushed into Hai Fan City and caused a big commotion, and both the Zodiac Team and Lake Hunting Clan lost many members." The Little Nian Beast thought for a bit and said.

"I mistook you for having fallen victim to the Exorcists," the Year Beast Monarch said solemnly, "I was too impulsive... I even thought that child from Lake Hunting was someone they arranged, aiming to eliminate you on the stowaway ship."

"It doesn't matter, with or without me, you all would have fought anyway. You are too proud... Dad, how could you allow yourself to live in this forest all your life? If others don't understand you, I surely do, don't I?" the Little Nian Beast asked.

It spoke the truth.

Despite the Restricted Level superpower correcting history, turning "Little Nian Beast's runaway" into the fuse for the battle eleven years ago, even if the Little Nian Beast hadn't appeared, that Human-Demon War would most likely have still occurred.