Serpent Ancestor

At noon, under the scorching sun, Xu Hei was drenched in sweat.

Two young children, kicking a leather ball, passed through the fields. One was a boy, the other a girl, both around the same age. As they moved, the ball bounced high and landed in Xu Hei's watermelon patch.

Xu Hei glanced at the two and suddenly thought of Wang Xiaoniu and his sister.

"Look, that's Uncle Xu who just moved here!" the girl pointed at Xu Hei.

"Yeah, I heard Uncle Xu is quite wealthy. He spent a hundred taels to buy a piece of land, which made the Li family so happy they moved to the county town," the boy whispered.

After speaking, he waved at Xu Hei and called out, "Uncle Xu," as a greeting.

Xu Hei forced a smile and nodded in response.

In his memory, the boy was called Tiedan, and the girl was Er Ya, both children of the neighboring Gao family.

"By the way, Uncle Xu, the day after tomorrow is the Spring Equinox. Our family plans to go worship the Mountain God. Would you like to join us?" Tiedan picked up the ball, speaking enthusiastically.

Worshiping the Mountain God was a mortal custom to pray for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest every year.

At the mention of the Mountain God, an image of a dog suddenly popped into Xu Hei's mind.

"Sure," Xu Hei was about to nod.