On that day eleven years ago, the snow fell heavily, as if it wanted to engulf the entire city.

The Little Nian Beast hid in the alley, eavesdropping on the conversation between Lin Xingshi and the man while looking up at the dark blue sky. The fine snow drifted down, skimming over the power lines, landing on the tip of his slightly trembling nose.

Even though the Little Nian Beast wasn't particularly smart and didn't understand human relationships, he could tell from the conversation that he'd made a big mistake. It was because he left Hai Fan Mountain without saying a word and boarded that smuggling boat, which enraged the Year Beast Monarch, leading him to harm the people of Hai Fan City.

And because of this, Lin Xingshi's parents died.

But the Little Nian Beast was at a loss for what to do. He just curled up there, tightly hugging his knees, staring blankly as his feet sank deeper into the accumulated snow.

He wrinkled his nose, feeling fearful and anxious, wondering how he would face Lin Xingshi later.

And what kind of expression would she have when she saw him?

The Little Nian Beast felt his thoughts were a tangled mess, like a ball of yarn that had fallen from a table to the floor.

The more he tried to grasp it, the more the ball of yarn rolled away, colorful threads spreading in all directions, and yet every strand was moving further away from him.

In the end, he turned around abruptly, looking hopelessly at the lines spreading throughout the world, his mind blank, as if those uncut thoughts had surrounded him like a cocoon. The Little Nian Beast grasped his head in guilt, his pupils narrowing slightly.

At this moment, under the neon signs, in the shadow of the long street, Lin Xingshi stood opposite a man wearing a floral shirt.

"Sacrificed…"

Lin Xingshi murmured, slowly lifting her head, staring blankly at the man's face.

"Yes, your parents sacrificed themselves, they perished along with the Zodiac Team." The man swallowed, speaking hoarsely, "I've been looking for you for a long time but couldn't find you. The elders are very worried now, they're all waiting for you to return."

"Sacrificed… does that mean, they died?"

Lin Xingshi shook her head and asked again. Her eyes were filled with confusion as she looked at the man.

The man nodded silently, his face as hard as iron.

"Yes, your parents are gone. They did well, but now the entire family is in chaos, the elders need you back, you're their designated heir, come back with me… Little Shi, if you don't return now, it will be too late."

Lin Xingshi slowly lowered her head, her brows furrowing slightly in bewilderment. A moment later, her face showed fear, and by the time she looked up again, it had turned into unstoppable anger.

"You're lying… you're lying… you're lying!"

The girl spoke haltingly, each word uttered with increasing intensity until she was almost screaming hysterically.

"This is a relic of your parents..." the crew-cut man said in a deep voice, taking a bracelet out of his floral shirt pocket. It was the one Lin Xingshi's mother often wore.

Lin Xingshi was stunned, her lips moving, but no words came out. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Indeed, how could she not recognize this bracelet? Every day after exhausting martial arts training, she would find her mother, lying in her embrace to complain. Whenever she finished her complaints, she would stare at the bracelet on her mother's hand in a daze, while her mother gently stroked her head.

On many nights, she fell asleep gazing at her mother's bracelet, but now the bracelet had a broken corner, with dark bloodstains on it.

In the dead silence, staring at the blood-stained bracelet, tears slowly flowed from the corners of Lin Xingshi's eyes.

Her whole body trembled like a small lion with its fur standing on end, retreating while hoarsely shouting, "I… I don't believe you, you just want to trick me into going back!"

After she finished, she swung her hand abruptly, a crimson flame curtain appearing in the air, swirled with an invisible lion's roar.

The crew-cut man was caught completely off guard, only able to swiftly raise his arms to shield himself. The fiery curtain rushed at him, the gust from it blasting him more than ten meters away. His back collided with a utility pole, and the blood-stained bracelet shattered.

At that moment, Lin Xingshi shrugged her shoulders, her eyes glaring fiercely at him. Behind her, the long fiery red braid suddenly unraveled, her hair cascading down like a waterfall.

But when the girl came back to her senses, a blood-soaked figure was reflected in her pupils. He hunched over, leaning against the post, appearing on the brink of death, half of his body burned. The man's lips trembled, as if trying to silently say something.

Lin Xingshi suddenly froze, the lion shadow above her head slowly dissipating, a sense of panic enveloping her heart.

"It's all your fault, don't come looking for me… don't come again." Her lips moved slightly, sobbing as she hoarsely murmured.

The girl turned around and ran, sprinting toward the corner ahead, but by the time she stepped into the deep alley, the figure of the Little Nian Beast was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Xingshi stared at the empty alley, dazed for a long, long time.

"Little Nian… where did you go?" she said, her head lowered, tears streaming down her face, "Where did you go… you said you would never leave me, you're all I have…"

She pursed her lips, slowly lowering her head, her eyes gradually shrouded in a watery mist, snowflakes settling on her long hair. She had never felt a winter so cold, her feet numbed by the chill, as if the entire world was leaving her, turning into a mass of colorless outlines.