Chapter 685 - 301: The Man-Eating Snowman Legend of Anchang Village! (Part 3)

This movement was slow and heavy, with a frailness even a primary school student could understand.

Then, it slightly tilted its head. The pair of amber eyes gazed at Zhao sitting on the ground for a long time, filled with the purest, unhidden plea.

It was even afraid that Zhao would not understand, slowly opening its mouth to reveal its enormous but non-threatening teeth. A rumbling sound, as if from the depths of a glacier, echoed from its throat, hollow and deep, filled with a yearning for food.

It did not approach the frightened Zhao, but spoke with silent body language and those enormous eyes, voicing the simplest and most urgent request: Hunger.

The snowman was hungry.

Zhao was stunned. He looked at the giant’s massive hand pressed against its stomach and saw the weariness and hunger almost overflowing from those big eyes. He looked at its huge body, trembling slightly from hunger and weakness.

It didn’t seem like a man-eating monster, but rather...it looked like the big yellow dog from Mr. Niu’s house at the village entrance, whimpering hungrily at the door, with the same expression, the same actions.

He remembered how his stomach would growl when he was hungry and how he would feel miserable and want to cry, pestering his parents for food.

Where were the snowman’s parents?

A weak current of warmth, mixed with sympathy and courage, surged in his chest. He was no longer afraid, or at least not as much.

"Are you hungry?"

Zhao stared directly at the snowman, the warmth within him giving him the courage to speak up.

"Roar..."

The snowman’s voice was very weak, nodding its enormous head gently.

Zhao suddenly turned around, like a startled little rabbit, stumbling as he ran towards the village.

He rushed back to his courtyard, shouting loudly: "Dad! Mom! I discovered a snowman!"

Zhao dared not keep the snowman a secret. Even at such a young age, he understood the gravity of the situation.

Yet, after shouting in the yard for quite a while, there was no response.

He walked inside to find no sign of his parents, so he had to run into the kitchen.

The stove was still warm. He tiptoed and quickly grabbed three still warm, honey-glazed roasted sweet potatoes with charred skins from the stove, then struggled to hook down two shiny, aromatic old sausages from the beam.

Hugging three roasted sweet potatoes and two old sausages, Zhao returned to the cave, panting.

The snowman was still curled up in the narrow cave. Its amber eyes seemed to light up faintly when it saw him return.

Zhao gathered his courage and cautiously walked up to the snowman, throwing the food from his arms onto the frost-covered ground.

Then, not daring to linger, he quickly turned and ran back home.

The cold wind howled behind him, and the snowman’s voice of gratitude came through the wind: "Roar..."

A smile appeared on Zhao’s face. He hopped back home and, seeing his previously missing parents, said proudly: "Dad! Mom!"

"Guess what I found in the secret cave?"

"A snowman!"

"A huge, huge snowman!"

"It’s different from what you said. It doesn’t eat people; it eats roasted sweet potatoes and sausages!"

"It even thanked me!"

After saying that, Zhao stood with his hands on his hips, chin raised, full of pride.

He was waiting for his parents’ praise.

But instead, the expressionless father took out a belt, and the emotionless mother picked up a broom.

Smack! Smack!

As his skin broke, Zhao wailed, while Zhao’s reprimanding voice echoed in his ears:

"How many times have I told you not to go outside alone!"

"Outside is dangerous, very dangerous."

"If you don’t listen, we can only teach you a lesson."

"..."

Zhao’s cries were heart-wrenching, echoing around the house, and it wasn’t until the grandparents rushed to his rescue that Zhao snorted coldly and withdrew the belt.

For a disobedient child, gentle persuasion often has little effect; only the painful lashings leave a deep impression.

After giving Zhao a lesson, Zhao asked him: "Tell me the whole story again."

"Whimpering..."

Zhao did not want to talk to his father now, but when he saw the belt’s sharp glint, he recounted the earlier events in between sobs and stammers.

"Huge footprints..."

"The snowman..."

After hearing Zhao’s story, Zhao frowned deeply, pacing back and forth, speaking in a low voice: "Just like the village chief said in the meeting."

"No way!"

"We must quickly inform the village chief of this news!"