After a long time, she finally mustered the will to take a step forward.

Just then, a faint voice suddenly echoed behind her.

"Xiaoxing... don't go, don't go... You don't want Little Nian anymore..." Little Nian Beast murmured, almost pleadingly.

Lin Xingshi's eyes suddenly widened slightly. Immediately, her eyes turned red, and her entire figure froze in place. At this moment, she spun around and hugged Little Nian Beast tightly, burying herself in his shoulder and began to wail uncontrollably, without any reservations, just like the eight-year-old girl she truly was inside.

The living room was tranquil, with only the sound of the girl's hysterical crying piercing the air.

Little Nian Beast's clothes were soaked with her tears. After a long while, Lin Xingshi raised her head and said hoarsely, "Listen, you're not allowed to get caught..."

She wiped her tears and whispered softly in his ear, "I will definitely come to find you. When I grow up, we can stand openly on the street, without having to hide... and then, we will never be apart again, understand?"

"When will you come find me?" Little Nian Beast was silent for a very, very long time, before finally asking this question.

"I don't know, but someday I will come to find you... Until then, you must be well... Wait for me, okay?" Lin Xingshi whispered softly.

After a long moment, Little Nian Beast nodded and gently nudged the tears on her face.

"Okay, Little Nian promises you." he said softly, and it was the most serious thing he had ever said in his life.

After a long while, Lin Xingshi slowly released him, finally raising her eyes to look into his eyes, gently kissing his forehead. This time, the girl did not look back, but rather plunged straight into the heavy snow outside, running.

Little Nian Beast stood in place, watching her silhouette dash away, swallowed by the vast white world.

....

....

Eleven years later, on the evening of August 21st, at a cool shaded area near a waterfall on Hai Fan Mountain.

Little Nian Beast snapped out of his memories and looked up at the Year Beast Monarch, who was nodding and deep in thought. Year Beast Monarch hadn't spoken for a while, just listened to Little Nian Beast recounting its past with Lin Xingshi.

Since then, it hadn't seen Lin Xingshi again. She had been gone for ten years.

That winter, Little Nian Beast returned to the harbor. It boarded a ship, leaving Li Jing alone. Through the cabin window, it stared at the brightly lit city from afar, thinking Lin Xingshi must have returned with those people to her family by now, right?

Is she okay, would she be scolded harshly? Just then, a brisk sea breeze blew past, brushing against Little Nian Beast's cheek.

The cabin swayed, and Little Nian Beast stood dazed by the window, watching the city grow smaller and smaller. Suddenly, it felt as if it were sitting on a steep cliff, dangerous and alone, one misstep and it would fall, lost to the world forever.

In the ten years that followed, Little Nian Beast traveled far and wide, traversing many countries, sampling local delicacies, meeting many humans and demons. The world remained bright, free, and beautiful, and gradually, it was no longer as naive and foolish as before. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Little Nian Beast learned a lot about human nature and saw much of the world, but each time it witnessed those beautiful sights, it wished the girl were beside it.

It wanted to share the skies it had seen, the auroras in the sky, the floating ice on the sea, all with that girl, wanted to see reflected in her bright, dark eyes the most beautiful scenes in the world, wanted to keep seeing her radiant smile.

But many years, many years passed, and Little Nian Beast never returned to China.

Because each time it thought of going back, it remembered Lin Xingshi's words, "I will come to find you, so you must run far away, and never let them find you."

By that time, Little Nian Beast had grown quite powerful, feeling no exorcist could bully it anymore. Even if they came, it could chase them away. But Little Nian Beast just didn't want to go back, not even once.

It felt like it was acting out, betting the girl would surely come to find it. So it never looked back, just continued to wander aimlessly somewhere in the world, occasionally looking up at the starry sky, wondering if she was looking at the same night sky somewhere in the world.

Later on, during its travels, it heard from a Northern European demon that Lin Xingshi had inherited the position of Lake Hunting and had become the captain of the contemporary Lake Hunting.

At that moment, Little Nian Beast froze for a long, long time, when it snapped back, it suddenly felt the whole world had become empty.

The once proud and rebellious girl with the spirited eyes, in the end, did not defy her fate. In the end, the only one who escaped was just him, the coward.

She broke the promise, didn't come to find him. Little Nian Beast knew it had lost the bet, and it was already past the age of throwing tantrums. So, Little Nian Beast returned to find her.

"So... the human friend you mentioned before, it's her." After a long pause, the Year Beast Monarch finally spoke in a low voice, with a sigh.

"Are you angry, dad?" Little Nian Beast turned to look at him, asking softly.

A big and a little lion, walking along the lakeside away from the lights and noise, having a heart-to-heart conversation.