Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei stood still, staring at the blood-soaked ground, his heart pounding wildly.

That was close! He almost lost his life. Fortunately, he reacted quickly; otherwise, he would have been the one dead.

Xu Hei dared not underestimate humans. The appearance of these two was highly unusual, suggesting they might have had a plan.

"Why do I always run into such things whenever I come to the temple? Last time it was the Human Elixir and the Taoist, and now it's a man and a woman. I keep running into them."

Xu Hei cursed inwardly, wondering if he was under some sort of curse that caused trouble every time he entered the temple.

He glanced deeply at the vague, enormous statue, suddenly feeling a strange sense of unease.

Could it be that the Mountain God was punishing him for stealing the tributes?

Xu Hei quickly rolled up the two corpses and threw them onto the tribute table, then returned to the prayer mat and kowtowed several times.

"Mountain God, these are tributes to compensate you. I guarantee they're tastier than roast chicken. I'll leave now."

Xu Hei climbed out of the window and left without looking back.

His speed was astonishing.

After this experience, Xu Hei swore never to return to this cursed place. He decided it was better to stay in the mountains. Not just the temple, but the entire twenty-mile radius around Chen Family Town was now a forbidden zone for him.

Not long after Xu Hei left.

The statue faintly trembled, and dust fell in cascades.

The scent of the corpses soon attracted some wild dogs, but that was no longer Xu Hei's concern.

***

After returning, Xu Hei resumed his usual, mundane life.

Fortunately, since he had prayed to the god that day, he no longer had nightmares, nor did he dream of Chen Fan. It seemed to have worked.

This experience gradually faded from his memory.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

During this period, Xu Hei wandered in the mountains, hunting small prey and occasionally eating some fruits and plants to replenish his energy.

He passed by the farms outside Snake Village a few times, where farmers were teaching their sons how to farm.

Coincidentally, the young boy always seemed to spot Xu Hei, once in a tree, another time among the rocks.

From a distance, their eyes met, but no words were exchanged.

"Xiaoniu, what are you daydreaming about?"

"Nothing."

Under his father's scolding, the boy averted his gaze.

From his observations, Xu Hei learned that the boy was named Wang Xiaoniu, and his father was Wang Daniu, both farmers in the village. Besides them, there was an old mother and a younger sister named Wang Ya in their family.

Wang Xiaoniu didn't want to farm all his life; he wanted to study, pass the imperial exams, and take his sister to live in the city. He often sneaked into the watermelon field at midnight to study under the moonlight.

Wang Daniu was quite helpless about this. The family had no money to support his studies, but he didn't want to crush the boy's aspirations either. Every time he thought about it, he sighed deeply.

Xu Hei quietly left.

***

"Studying, gaining knowledge..."

Xu Hei hung from a tree branch, suddenly feeling a bit envious.

He also wanted to study, to gain knowledge, to live like a human.

Humans were born with inherent advantages, not having to worry about danger, unlike these wild beasts who constantly faced the threat of death.

Unfortunately, being reborn as a human was a skill, and not every creature had such good luck.

***

A squirrel climbed up the tree and burrowed into a hole filled with pine cones.

This was its hard-earned harvest for the year, enough to get through the winter safely.

Suddenly, a green snake darted out from a corner, coiling around and strangling the squirrel in an instant. The squirrel didn't even know how it died.

And this green snake had been starving for a long time.

One wondered if they envied human life.

"Hey! Can you understand me?"

Xu Hei sent a message to the green snake through his Divine Sense.

The green snake seemed startled, released its prey, and fled, disappearing without a trace.

Watching the snake vanish, Xu Hei suddenly felt a pang of loneliness.

He had gained sentience, but had no one to talk to.

However, he had no time for idle thoughts because he was hungry.

Xu Hei swallowed the squirrel and then chased after the green snake, devouring it in one gulp.

"May you be reborn as humans in your next life."

Xu Hei darted into the forest, starting a new round of hunting.

But such food could only barely fill his stomach and did nothing to improve his cultivation. Relying solely on breathing exercises, his progress was extremely slow.

He fantasized about the day he could eat another demonic beast.

***

Late summer turned to autumn, and torrential rains poured down.

This was the annual heavy rain, causing the river to swell and form tributaries. Many fish swam out of the river into these branches, making it a great time for fishing.

This year's rain was particularly heavy, and there were especially many salmon. Farmers often went out with fishing nets and returned with full loads within an hour. Even the old blacksmith could bring back a large bucket.

Wang Xiaoniu's family also joined the fishing crowd.

"The river's rising again."

Watching the groups leave the village, Xu Hei remembered last year.

Around this time last year, Xu Hei had hidden in the river, launching surprise attacks and swallowing both people and fish, causing the authorities to send a hundred men to hunt him down, even deploying a demon-slaying Taoist.

It was that incident that nearly cost Xu Hei his life.

"Better not go this year," Xu Hei thought.

With his current perspective, he could tell that the demon-slaying Taoist was a Qi Refining Stage cultivator.

He suspected that he had already become a demonic beast last year; otherwise, he wouldn't have escaped from the cultivator.

"Father, we've caught enough fish. Too many will just spoil."

"What do you know! Take these fish back home; I'm going out again."

Wang Daniu threw the fish at the door and went out with his net again. There were already several buckets of fish at the door.

Wang Xiaoniu could only carry the heavy salmon back home.

Suddenly, Wang Xiaoniu turned his head and saw Xu Hei on the distant hillside, who was also looking at him.

These days, Xu Hei often wandered near the farm, listening to the conversations of the Wang family, a habit he had developed.

And Wang Xiaoniu had spotted Xu Hei more than once.

Although they had no interaction, they were quite familiar with each other.

"The Old Snake King is here again. Does he want to eat fish too?" Wang Xiaoniu wondered.

In fact, a normal person would be terrified if they found a snake lurking around their home, but Wang Xiaoniu wasn't afraid at all.

He looked at Xu Hei and, gathering his courage, took a step forward.

Xu Hei immediately shrank back an inch.

He always observed human life from the shadows, but that didn't mean he wanted any contact with humans.

Wang Xiaoniu boldly walked forward with a bucket of fish and placed it not far from the hillside.

"Old Snake King, everyone fears you, but I don't. This bucket of fish is for you," Wang Xiaoniu said, retreating to a distance with a smile.

Having learned human knowledge, Xu Hei naturally understood his words and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Why is this silly boy giving me fish? Could it be poisoned?"

If someone else had given him fish, Xu Hei would have suspected ill intentions, but Wang Xiaoniu was the person he was most familiar with, just a simple boy with no scheming.

Moreover, he had watched the Wang family catch these fish, so it was impossible for them to be poisoned.

Xu Hei looked at the bucket of fish, flicked his tongue, and felt his appetite rise.

"Whatever, I'll try one first."

Xu Hei crawled up and bit into a fish, swallowing it.

Wang Xiaoniu sat in the distance, watching quietly with a silly smile.

Xu Hei tasted it; it wasn't bad. The thought processes of these two-legged creatures were indeed peculiar, giving food to a snake. Didn't they know the story of the farmer and the snake?

Although he didn't understand, his body was honest. Xu Hei devoured the entire bucket of fish in no time, filling his stomach effortlessly, which made him very satisfied.

He looked at Wang Xiaoniu in the distance and mimicked a human gesture, nodding his head.

This nod immediately made Wang Xiaoniu's eyes light up, and he exclaimed, "The Old Snake King nodded at me! He nodded at me!"

"Where?"

His sister ran out of the house and looked into the distance, also seeing Xu Hei's nod, her mouth agape.

People were returning from outside the village, and Xu Hei vanished into the forest in a flash.

Wang Xiaoniu and his sister were still in shock.

Rumors couldn't be trusted entirely; the Old Snake King wasn't a man-eating monster but rather polite.

"I told you, the Old Snake King isn't a man-eating monster. He even helped us!" Wang Xiaoniu said, full of confidence.

"Yes, yes, he ate the Pig Demon and avenged our mother," Wang Ya said innocently.

Just as their conversation ended, a scream suddenly came from the village entrance.

"Help! The Old Snake King is eating people again!"

The voice was extremely miserable; it was the son of Blacksmith Zhou from next door.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoniu and his sister immediately ran out of the yard, only to see villagers frantically fleeing into the village, all with terrified expressions as if they had seen a ghost. Among them was their father.