Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

The departing convoy from Wenshushan Haige traveled along the official road, stretching as far as the eye could see, winding like a long dragon.

When the convoy completely broke away from Xincun, this remote mountain village was almost completely devoid of life.

Of the 213 people in the village, only five adults and able-bodied men were willing to stay in the mountains: Nuosong, the two brothers Yang Bao and Yang Bao, and Yang Qi and Yang Cheng.

The rest were children who relied on the charity of others.

Including myself, there are only thirty-eight people.

Zhong Yan sat in front of the campfire, the flickering red flames illuminating his gloomy face.

Meanwhile, Wen Shuyan and his guards busied themselves, taking down the caravan's supplies one by one and roasting them over a fire.

As the oil dripped, sparks crackled and popped, releasing an irresistible aroma that made the children in the new village drool.

"Village Chief," Nuosong walked over, holding a skewer of sizzling, oily meat, "how are we going to live from now on?"

"Yes, yes." The two Yang brothers, Yang Qi brothers, and the other two Yang brothers followed Nuosong to Zhong Yan.

Yang Bao glanced back at Wen Shuyan and whispered to the old village chief, "Village chief, I don't think that businessman has any good intentions. What kind of work is he doing that requires hiring so many people?"

"The Wen family has started to expand their business outside the city, so naturally they need a lot of people to move the goods." Zhong Yan put away his dejected expression and threw a piece of dry firewood into the fire.

"Village Chief, we only trust you." Nuosong took out a small knife, cut off a piece of good meat with both fat and lean meat, and handed it to Zhong Yan. "Tell me, how should our village live from now on?"

Zhong Yan remained silent, took the piece of meat, and put it in his mouth to chew. The crispy pork belly that he used to enjoy was now tasteless.

"Village chief, say something!" Yang Qi urged impatiently in a low voice.

"..." After swallowing the tasteless meat, Zhong Yan looked up and used the firelight to see the faces of the five men in front of him.

He then turned to look at the children surrounding Wen Shuyan, their mouths greasy from eating.

Regardless, life goes on and things still need to be done.

Since we've come this far... being discouraged won't solve anything.

"Change your surname first." Zhong Yan stood up and took a piece of charred meat skewer from the fire.

After cutting off the charred parts, he handed the remaining tender parts to Yang Qi.

"Change your surname?" The five men were completely baffled.

"From now on, you will all share the same surname as me, Zhong, the Zhong of Zhongshan," Zhong Yan said in a deep voice.

"Huh?" Apart from Nuosong, the other four people were all surprised.

Although the surname was changed to Zhong, it is not hard to accept, after all, the village has relied on Zhongshan for generations.

Speaking of ancestors, Zhongshan is the true ancestor.

But does changing one's surname have anything to do with how one will live in the future?

"Village Chief," Nuosong swallowed the meat stuffed in his mouth, "changing your surname isn't a big deal, but... why change your surname?"

"And you want us, the ones who stay behind, to make changes after everyone else has left?"

"Hmm...?" Zhong Yan looked at Nuosong with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He wasn't originally from Xincun; he had fled from other cities when he was only eleven years old and grew up eating food from the villagers.

I used to just think he was smart, but I never expected...

"There must be a reason." Zhong Yan pulled out a stick and poked the fire, making it burn brighter. "But we can't say right now."

"But since you trust me and have stayed..."

At this point, the old village chief took out a crimson statue from his bosom, held it in both hands, and presented it to the four people.

"Village Chief...?" Nuosong looked at the statue, then at the serious expression etched on Zhong Yan's face, and pointed a finger to the sky. "Could it be related to Lord Si?"

"Master Si?" Upon hearing this, the four Yang brothers, who were still confused, immediately leaned closer.

Under their expectant gazes, Zhong Yan nodded solemnly.

Then the old village chief put away the statue, plunged the wooden stick in his hand into the soil, and made a decision in his heart. His words were full of determination:

"In the future, when we, the Zhong family, leave Zhongshan... we will never be like this, doing manual labor for others!"

"From now on, others will be begging to come into our family, not like now, where the whole village is torn apart by this wretched world!"

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Zhongshan is a place of mountains, waters, and caves.

The moon was like a hook, its clear light undiminished, illuminating half the night sky.

The giant snake sank its entire body into the Luo River, leaving only its head above water on the bank, silently watching its own reflection in the muddy puddles.

The once smooth snake face now has six menacing bony protrusions—on the forehead above the eye sockets, on both sides of the nostrils, and on both sides of the lower edge of the snake's snout, making it look ferocious.

Now, one could say that he has truly distinguished himself. Looking at his face alone, it's hard to tell that he resembles a snake; he looks more like a demon crawling out of blood and fire.

"I can't say she looks exactly like her mother; I can only say she's completely unrelated."

"As the saying goes, your appearance reflects your heart." The giant snake looked at its own face and muttered to itself, "Does this mean that the person I believe in should look like this... fierce?"

After staring at her reflection in the water mirror for a long time, Huai Nian still couldn't find the answer she was looking for.

On the way back to Luoshui from the Snake God Valley, the giant snake's mind was blank, and it didn't even know what it should be thinking about.

I feel empty inside.

There was neither worry nor the palpitation I felt upon first seeing that great sun; it was simply a feeling that everything I did was meaningless…

Frustration and dejection?

The thought had barely surfaced in Huai Nian's mind when he abruptly shook his head, forcefully dispelling it.

Anyone can feel down, but it can't.

The giant snake raised its head, then turned around and completely submerged its enormous body in the icy water.

The massive, crimson body swam along the riverbed, skimming the silt, and slowly reached the middle of the Luo River. The serpent raised its head and brought its snout close to the water's surface.

The gaping maw suddenly opened, and in an instant, a vortex formed.

Tons of river water were sucked into the giant snake's body, causing the yin-yang vortex to spin wildly, stripping away all the water's spiritual energy and the mysterious yin moonlight that was spread out on the water's surface like snow.

Until its enormous body was swollen to at least twice its normal size by the river water, the snake suddenly raised its head and burst out of the water, preparing to unleash a powerful spit.

The raging torrent of water, like an angry dragon emerging from the abyss, plunges straight down the cliff face.

With a deafening roar, the rocks shattered, and debris and water vapor exploded simultaneously, the resounding echo like muffled thunder, reverberating throughout the mountains.

"This move is quite powerful... but it's a bit dependent on the environment." The giant snake stood in the middle of the river, looking around.

The mountain and water caves truly live up to their name.

Mediums grow on the mountain, and the water flows slowly at the foot of the mountain. After a while, frost-white moonlight accumulates on the water surface, spreading out like thin snow.

"I can't believe I'm only discovering this wonderful place now..." the giant snake murmured.

Whether you flee or stay, you must become stronger.

With a goal in mind, the emptiness I felt finally dissipated.

Huai Nian stood in the middle of the river, waiting for the moonlight to cover the water's surface so that the giant snake could suck up water once more.

The water surface, undisturbed by any living creatures, gradually returned to calm.

Suddenly a large blue carp leaped out, creating waves that shattered the reflections of the mountains and the moon on the water's surface.

It was extremely anxious. After swimming up to the giant snake, it kept spitting out water arrows, pointing in the direction where the Luo River flowed.

"What?"

"They couldn't even beat that big bluefish?"

The giant snake understood what it was trying to say, its heart sank, and it quickly swam eastward.