The warm winter sun exudes a faint afterburn, coinciding with dusk, the breeze is blowing, and the dead leaves are rattling and fluttering.

Winters in the Qiyue Mountains are always so warm, and this is the southernmost point of the Dao Continent, which is a famous hunting area of the Manfeng Tribe, and the scenery will make people linger all year round. Perhaps, the only regret is that it has never snowed.

The thin Xu Li sat by the turquoise Moon Lake in a daze, looking at the blood-red sun, thinking intently.

The crisp water splashed, and wisps of coolness wrapped around Xu Li**'s feet. A small pale cyan fish jumped out of the lake and moved mischievously at Xu Li's feet. A hint of ruddy appeared on Xu Li's pale face, and he carefully picked up the small fish with both hands and sent it back to the Moon Lake.

This is the Moon Lake Valley in the Qiyue Mountains, and it is a secret place in Xujiazhuang. It is almost shrouded in steep mountain peaks, the summit is covered with a thick white mist, and only a muddy path leads into the valley. The scenery in the valley is simple and beautiful, with the waning moon-shaped Moon Lake taking up most of the area, and a delicate bamboo house on the edge of the lake.

Xu Li is in Xujiazhuang, a boy who is about to be forgotten.

Xu Li's father, Xu Hongzhi, is the captain of the hunter team in Xujiazhuang, and is the only one in Xujiazhuang who has a huge power of 10,000 catties for decades.

Originally, everything would have gone smoothly. Maybe Xujiazhuang will become the uncrowned king of the Qiyue Mountains, and maybe Xu Hongzhi will complete his high-spirited life in the Qiyue Mountains, but, this is only if.

Xu Li didn't know what happened back then, he only knew that his father Xu Hongzhi left Xujiazhuang silently. And he came to the world eight months later, and Xu Hongzhi didn't even know that he had a son. Xu Li is sixteen years old, and Xu Hongzhi has been gone for seventeen years without any news.

The unpredictable fate not only made Xu Li and his father never meet, but also made Xu Li a loner who was out of step with the world. Xu Li will be inexplicably depressed and uncomfortable when approaching people, until he was eight years old for the first time in Zhuangzi coma, after the clan medicine doctor could not find anything wrong, Zhuang Zhong decided to send Xu Li to the Moon Lake Valley, only a few people will visit him every month, and this stay, it is another eight years.

Eight years is enough to change a lot, for example, forgetting a person.

Many people have forgotten Xu Li, and perhaps they still remember when it comes to fashion - that born sick ghost. But I'm afraid there is only one person left who is really communicative.

"It seems... She's coming. Xu Li looked at the sunset in a daze, stood up suddenly, and walked towards the bamboo house. On the muddy path, there seemed to be the sound of cheerful footsteps.

Sure enough, the girl dressed in red flashed through the valley like a dexterous butterfly and jumped into the valley. The snow-white cloth shoes were not stained with a single stain, and the long fiery red dress was particularly dazzling in the secluded Moon Lake Valley. Although the girl is incompatible with the scenery in the valley, she brings a strange vitality.

"Xiao Li'er, sister is here!" A high but not sharp voice sounded, as if there was another gust of wind, and the calm surface of Moon Lake also rippled in circles.

"I'm still so energetic. Xu Li smiled rarely, and his somewhat stiff face looked uncomfortable, "Has the bottleneck been broken?"

"Not yet. The girl's face fell suddenly, and with a slight stomp of her right foot, she jumped up to the second floor lightly and sat on the green bamboo board, "I don't know what's going on, I've obviously felt the limit, but I'm always a little bit close, and I've been stagnant here for half a year! ”

"Miss Yuan, you are a girl after all. Xu Li turned around and went upstairs, holding a plate of delicate fruit in his hand, "What are you doing so hard with a bunch of boys." ”

Xu Yuan quietly stared at Xu Li's somewhat pale face, while Xu Li unhurriedly placed the plate on the wooden table, the corners of his mouth hooked up an imperceptible arc. Xu Li's eyes are very clear, as clear as a pool of clear water, just like the vast moon lake in the shape of a waning moon, when you think you can see the bottom, but you have entered a deeper whirlpool.

Xu Yuan quickly turned his head back a little unnaturally, and his long black hair covered his somewhat reddened face. Every time, she took the initiative to gaze, trying to share Xu Li's tranquility, but she always failed. Xu Li's seemingly thin body is pregnant with a powerful soul that is integrated with nature, and his plain gaze is the sharp blade sharpened by his years of lonely life.

"Hmph. As if annoyed by his retreat, Xu Yuan walked to the wooden table in a few steps, grabbed a delicate wild fruit, and chewed it in a big gulp, saying a little vaguely in his mouth, "It's not because of you, who let them always say bad things about you in secret?"

Xu Li was stunned for a moment, and suddenly didn't know what to say. His life is beyond the world, and special circumstances make his mind faintly mature above ordinary people, but he is emotionally a hazy memory of only eight years old, although he and Xu Yuan have long been close friends who talk about everything, but he still feels a little unusual.

The atmosphere was a little awkward all of a sudden, Xu Li looked at the sky that was getting darker, took out a match from the side and tapped it, and the white candle bloomed with a pale yellow light, illuminating the girl's delicate little face.

"Hmm... Did you bring the herbs I wanted?" Xu Li finally broke the silence first, and he subconsciously avoided the original topic.

Xu Yuan wiped off the water stains on his hands, took out a silk sac woven with red silk from the side of his belt, gently threw it to Xu Li, and muttered: "I got these blue grass plants from Uncle Yao, and I will return them in the future." She didn't dare to talk about the old topic anymore, the vague words had used all her courage.

"Well, it won't be long, and if nothing else, I'll be out of the valley in another month. Xu Li stretched out his right hand to catch the silk sac, and his left hand gently hooked the opening, and suddenly there was a refreshing fragrance, Xu Li took a deep breath, then calmly tightened the sac, and put the silk sac into his arms.

"Your illness... I don't want to drag you back into the valley then. Xu Yuan's mouth said this, but there was a glint of excitement in his eyes, in today's Xujiazhuang, she is one of the few people who knows Xu Li's strength.

"Yes, no problem. Xu Li smiled, "Although my body is a little weaker, after all, I have the strength of the third layer of condensing qi, as long as I don't come into contact with too many people." ”

Four years ago, Xu Li went out of the valley once, and at the age of twelve, he was full of curiosity, and four years of solitude did not wear away the child's nature. When he first returned to Zhuangzhong, Xu Li did not feel unwell, but in just half a month, Xu Li fell into an inexplicable coma again, at that time, it was thirteen-year-old Xu Yuan who dragged Xu Li back to the Moon Lake Valley, and it was also in that year that Xu Li's mother died. So, since then, only Xu Yuan has come to visit Xu Li often.

"The third layer of condensation. Xu Yuan propped up his head with both hands, "Why are you cultivating so fast? I'm still stuck on the second layer." ”

Xu Li pursed his lips and did not speak. In fact, as early as four months ago, he had the cultivation of the peak of the third layer of condensation, but when he tried to break through to the fourth layer, an overwhelming tearing sensation enveloped his entire body, this was the first time Xu Li felt a heart-rending pain when he lived alone in the Moon Lake Valley, this time, it was far more impactful than before. Xu Li fainted beside the Moon Lake for three days, only vaguely aware that a few strands of golden silk threads ran through his entire body, and his qi was roaring and rushing in his blood, but he couldn't break through the shackles of the golden silk threads, and he couldn't even get closer. Xu Li's cultivation finally stagnated at the peak of the third layer of condensation. He knew very well that he was fully capable of harnessing more powerful forces, and the bottleneck of his cultivation at that time had indeed been broken by him, but his innate body did not allow him to continue on this path.

The silent night fell quietly, the rampant darkness swallowed up all the light, the bright moon and clear light were blocked by the dense fog on the top of the valley, and all that remained in the valley was the breathtaking darkness and the pale yellow light of the bamboo building.

Xu Yuan has already gone back. The two chatted for an hour, or rather, Xu Li listened carefully for an hour, looking at the familiar and unfamiliar vast world outside the valley from the perspective of a girl. When Xu Li and Xu Yuan walked side by side on the somewhat rugged mountain road outside the valley, when Xu Li watched Xu Yuan's figure fade away, he felt lonely again. It's a real devouring emotion. After being unable to continue his cultivation, Xu Li suddenly realized that he didn't want the girl to leave like this.

But she was going back eventually. There was no one to accompany him for the rest of his life in the Moon Lake Valley, and he had to go out.

Tidying up some thin clothes, Xu Li slowly walked out of Moon Lake Valley, and there was an extra silver-gray short axe on his back.

The light of the bamboo building has been extinguished, and there is a bronze tripod in the open space in front of the building. Xu Li looked back, a resolute smile appeared on his face, and his whole body surged, turning into an afterimage, and disappeared into the empty Qiyue Mountain Range.

Twilight quadrangle.