A certain man from Lu'an Prefecture found his father framed and imprisoned, facing imminent execution.

He scraped together his savings, accumulating exactly one hundred taels of silver, intending to travel to the prefecture capital to find someone to plead for his father's life.

He set out on his mule, with the black dog from his home trailing behind.

The man cursed loudly, driving the dog away, but as he proceeded, the black dog stubbornly followed.

No matter how he tried to chase it off, it refused to leave.

After traveling together for dozens of li, the man dismounted to relieve himself.

He picked up a stone and threw it at the dog, which finally retreated.

The man continued on his journey, but the black dog soon returned, clamping its jaws onto the mule's tail and refusing to let go.

Enraged, the man whipped the dog repeatedly.

The black dog barked furiously, then suddenly lunged forward and bit the mule's head, seemingly trying to block their path entirely.

The man took this as an ominous sign and grew even angrier.

He turned his mule around and chased after the dog, riding hard until the black dog vanished from sight.

Realizing it was gone, he immediately spurred his mount into a frantic gallop.

By dusk, the man reached the prefecture capital.

Reaching into his pocket, he discovered half of the one hundred taels of silver was missing.

Sweat poured down him; he was utterly distraught.

He tossed and turned all night, finally understanding: the dog’s barks had been for a reason.

At dawn the next day, the man left the city and returned the way he came, searching desperately for the lost silver.

He thought, "This road is a major north-south thoroughfare, teeming with people like ants.

If the silver is lost here, how can I ever find it?" He paced and hesitated, eventually finding himself back at the spot where he had last relieved himself.

There, amidst the tall grass, he discovered the black dog dead, its fur matted with sweat.

Lifting the dog's ear, he saw that beneath its body lay fifty taels of silver—exactly what he had lost.

Realizing the black dog had willingly endured the scorching sun to guard his misplaced silver, he was overcome with gratitude.

He immediately bought a coffin and buried the dog with proper rites.

The local people, wishing to honor the dog's loyalty, named the place where it was buried the "Yiquan Zhong" (Mound of the Loyal Dog).

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