Ning Zheng did the math.
At this rate of Luck Value dispersal, it would probably take another eleven days before the Mountain Villa faced a crisis?
Honestly, he still was not very worried.
The crisis had appeared all of a sudden. It was clearly triggered by something.
The most likely trigger was that they had caught too many River Monsters?
But that might not be it.
Other than that, what else could trigger the crisis?
Ning Zheng suddenly remembered what the blacksmiths at the Mountain Villa had said: the Nian Beast.
Could the trigger point be the New Year?
Ning Zheng recalled the dates in his mind.
The crisis would arrive eleven days later, which happened to be the fifteenth day of the New Year—the final day of the Yearly Market.
This definitely was not a coincidence!
Ning Zheng could not figure it out, but he also felt there was no need to. If he asked Ning Jiaojiao, a native, she should have some clues.
"Ning Jiaojiao, what dangers might we encounter during the New Year?" Ning Zheng looked at Ning Jiaojiao beside him.
Ning Jiaojiao was still fishing. She slowly pulled Su Yu Niang back up from beneath the water, then thought about it.
"During the New Year? Danger? Of course it's forgetting to worship our ancestors."
Ning Zheng's heart stirred. "Worship our ancestors?"
"When I was little, Mother told me that if every household in our family didn't pay respects to our ancestors during the New Year, didn't visit their graves, burn incense, and offer roast ducks and roast pigs, the ancestors would get angry."
Ning Jiaojiao said earnestly, "They say that some ancestors with especially bad tempers will turn into Nian Beasts and attack us."
Listening to this nursery-rhyme-like tale meant to frighten children, Ning Zheng felt