The key point is, his father Robert Harris was the county constable of Changping. Although it was only a ninth-rank subordinate position, it was still an official post. Changping was a small county, with fewer than three thousand households, but still over ten thousand people. In the entire county, aside from the magistrate, the assistant magistrate, and the registrar, Robert Harris held the highest official rank. The occurrence of such an incident made Robert Harris feel quite humiliated.

Robert Harris was originally a descendant of the Yang clan of Hongnong.

In William Harris's memory, Robert Harris was once a military officer, but for some unknown reason, the whole family later moved to Changping.

William Harris's biological mother also seemed to come from a wealthy family.

However, she passed away not long after giving birth to William Harris, leaving him motherless from a young age.

Later, Robert Harris remarried in Changping, taking a woman surnamed Song as his wife, and subsequently had another son and a daughter.

William Harris's grandfather was a Daoist priest who disliked living in the county town, so he settled at the foot of Hugu Mountain.

Because William Harris was not very bright as a child, and his mother died soon after he was born, Robert Harris considered him a jinx and was not very fond of him. As a result, William Harris grew up living with his grandfather.

Two years ago, when William Harris was fifteen, his grandfather passed away.

Since then, William Harris had lived alone at the estate at the foot of Hugu Mountain. Although he received no care from Robert Harris, he still lived a leisurely and carefree life. After all, this estate was Robert Harris's official land. With the two hundred mu of official land at the foot of Hugu Mountain, William Harris had no worries about food or clothing... As for herding cattle, that was a habit he had developed from following his grandfather since childhood.

The loss of a single cow meant little to Robert Harris.

But the problem was, everyone in Changping knew that Robert Harris had a foolish son. In the past, people tacitly ignored it and pretended not to know about William Harris's existence. But now that this nursery rhyme had spread, it was as if the lid had been lifted, and every time Robert Harris attended a gathering, he would be teased about it. Although some people meant no harm, it was enough to leave a knot in Robert Harris's heart. Thus, Robert Harris became even more distant toward William Harris.

The muddle-headed William Harris could not sense the malice all around him.

But the now-clear-headed William Harris could keenly perceive the malice hidden behind that nursery rhyme.

His slightly delicate thick eyebrows furrowed a little as he glanced at the children by the stream, feeling rather helpless.

Should he really take these little kids in open-crotch pants seriously? They probably didn't understand the malice behind the rhyme; they just found it amusing, which was why they kept singing it. Was he supposed to grab them and give them a beating?

With a helpless sigh, William Harris picked up a stone from the ground beside him and tossed it at the children.

The children scattered with laughter, but before long they gathered again by the stream, singing and teasing the yellow ox.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from the end of the mountain path.

William Harris turned to look and saw several horses appear on the mountain road to the west, galloping quickly in this direction.

The riders on the horses were dressed in black, wearing black bamboo hats. A circle of black gauze hung from the brim, covering their faces so that no one could see them clearly. Hugu Mountain was part of the Yanshan range, itself a section of the Jundu Mountains. Every day, many people traveled to and from Juyong Pass and Guzhu, especially with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching in August.

Every year at this time, Changping was at its liveliest.

In previous years, disturbances caused by the Khitans had made Changping much quieter. But this year, the country was basically at peace, with no wars, so Changping had become lively again. Especially since a new Jimi Prefecture was established in the northwest of Changping last year, and with more Hu people migrating from the northeast, this year's Changping was destined to be even more bustling than before.

So William Harris only glanced at the group of riders and paid them no further attention.

He brushed the dust off himself and slowly made his way down the hillside.

Just then, a sudden scream came from the stream. Immediately after, a series of cries and shouts rang out...

Chapter Two: Born in the First Year of the Sacred Era (Part 2)

A yellow ox, provoked by the constant teasing of several children, suddenly became enraged, let out a furious bellow, lowered its head, and charged at the children. Over a dozen children scattered in all directions, but two little ones who had been standing by watching the commotion were so frightened by the ox's sudden charge that they froze, unable to move, staring blankly as the ox charged at them menacingly.

"Shitou, run!"

A child shouted loudly, but the two children did not respond.

The commotion by the stream also alarmed the group of riders. The leading rider immediately reined in his horse, took a black-lacquered bow from his saddle, and was about to draw and nock an arrow when he saw a figure dart down the mountain path, and in the blink of an eye, rush to the stream, scoop up the two children, and roll on the ground, dodging the furious yellow ox.

Seeing its targets disappear, the yellow ox immediately stopped and turned around.

"Alice, run!"

The children who had already reached the mountain path shouted loudly.

But as William Harris stood up, the yellow ox had already turned and was charging at him ferociously.