The Desolate Moon Continent, its name came from the fact that the moon here was completely different from the moons of other continents. The moon in the sky here was huge and desolate. Its area was five to six times that of the moons of other continents, making it appear clearer and brighter...
On every clear night, the mountain peaks visible on the moon were so clear and desolate. The undulating mountain ranges on it, the ravines of varying depths, and the crisscrossing paths were all deeply engraved in the hearts of every mortal on this continent, like the footprints of time trodden on the stone slabs of a hometown stream.
The Year's End was a festive occasion in the heart of every mortal who grew up on the Desolate Moon Continent, a time for reunion, warmth, and grandeur.
It was set in the middle of the twelfth month of each year, on the day of the fullest moon. People would sing and dance under the full moon, bring out the best demonic beasts hunted throughout the year, and raise the best fine wine treasured at home, either celebrating as a whole city or as a happy family.
They would drink until they were drunk under the bright moonlight, pointing to the sky and drawing on the ground as they talked about their heroic ambitions.
Talented scholars would drink wine and compose poems, their spirits high. Beautiful women would beat drums and pass flowers under the moon, their eyes conveying their feelings.
...
At this time, the sky had already darkened slightly, and a huge, round moon appeared in the sky. Li Yan sat on the platform, looking at the distant mountains that were already somewhat hazy and green. His eyes were lost as he looked into the distance, as if he wanted to cross thousands of li and return to the familiar foot of the Green Mountains.
Li Yan had come out today not just to practice immortal arts. A few days ago, when he saw the huge moon in the courtyard at night, his homesickness had been stirred. Calculating the time, it was already the end of the year, and a new year was about to arrive.
It had been more than a year since he had left his mountain village. Last year's Year's End was spent on the run. Although he had also been homesick at that time, he did not dare to slack off for a moment.
Today, looking at the same round moon as in previous years, all sorts of thoughts flooded his mind.
This morning, he had been in no mood to meditate, so he had come to the platform early to practice immortal arts on the one hand, and to wait for the bright moon to rise on the other.
Li Yan stared blankly into the distance. The village should be filled with the sound of firecrackers by now. The glistening, golden, fragrant demonic beast offerings should also be placed under the old willow tree at the head of the village. The children of the village should be drooling as they chased each other around these offerings, and then, amidst the shouts of the adults, they would run to the end of the village. After a short while, they would run back to the head of the village amidst a burst of playful laughter, occasionally looking up at the round moon in the sky, hoping that it would rise to the very top of the old willow tree soon, so that they could start the ancestral worship, and then they could feast.
The village chief would hold a wine bowl and have a drink with every man in the village. He would also pat every child on the head heavily, telling them to grow up quickly. In the middle of the night, he would hug the old willow tree and sleep soundly, sleeping until dawn under the huge moon.
Father would show a rare smile, take a few puffs of his pipe, and have a few sips of strong wine with a group of old friends, occasionally pointing at his children with his pipe and saying a few words.
Third Brother would limp to Father's side and sit down, smiling at his old dad, occasionally whispering a few words to him, telling him to drink less.
Mother and Fourth Sister, like the other women in the village, would continuously serve fragrant meat and steamed buns. Occasionally, when they met a young man from the village, Mother and the other aunts would burst into laughter, pointing and then looking at their own daughters, whispering a few words in their ears from time to time.
Fourth Sister, like the other young girls in the village, would always blush after hearing those words, and after some coyness, she would continue to serve food.
The young men of the village, their faces flushed, would look at Fourth Sister and the others amidst a burst of jeers.
...
Li Yan just stared blankly into the distance like this. Before he knew it, tears were streaming down his face.
After a long time, Li Yan withdrew his gaze, looked up at the huge, bright moon that seemed to be right above his head. In the round moon, familiar faces seemed to appear one after another.
He raised his hand and wiped away his tears. He stood up facing the moon, tidied his clothes, and knelt down. He muttered, "Dad, Mom, Happy New Year... Happy... New Year," and then kowtowed respectfully a few times.
Just as he was about to stand up, a somewhat cold, but also somewhat hesitant voice came from behind him, "Do... do you mortals really have such a thing as the Year's End?"
Li Yan was startled and stood up abruptly, then turned around. "Who is it?"
He looked back and saw a tall, graceful woman in a white dress standing at the edge of the platform behind him, looking at him with a somewhat hesitant expression.
"It's you?" Li Yan's thoughts had been interrupted, and a fire of anger immediately rose in his heart. His words carried a hint of accusation.
At this time, the moonlight was like silver, flooding the platform, and the light was excellent. Li Yan recognized the person at a glance. It was the senior sister from Never-Parting Peak whom he had met once a few months ago, Zhao Min!
At this time, Zhao Min was standing at the edge of the bamboo forest where the platform came from. Her white dress fluttered lightly in the wind. Under the moonlight, her beautiful face, carved like white jade, had an added touch of holy white light. Under her thick eyebrows, her pair of black and white eyes still looked at Li Yan with a hint of coldness.
"What? Am I not allowed to come here?" Seeing Li Yan's stern tone, she couldn't help but frown slightly.
Li Yan also frowned. He thought to himself, "That's right, this isn't my own little bamboo courtyard. Why can't she come?" But the next moment, he still asked, but his tone had softened.
"This is Little Bamboo Peak. It seems that disciples from the other four peaks only come to the halfway point of the mountain for business. Disciples from other peaks usually don't come here."
In these few months, he had only encountered disciples from the other few peaks at the halfway point of the mountain. But it seemed that apart from the few small paths he had seen, those people never set foot in other places on Little Bamboo Peak, as if there were some restrictions. Therefore, he had also asked his Second Senior Brother in the main hall when he was collecting his spirit stones. He learned that those few small paths were, as he had guessed, a few places where Little Bamboo Peak sent out missions. Those disciples were obviously there to do missions.
"You do know some things. But can't I come to this back mountain?" It was obvious that the young woman in white was somewhat dissatisfied with Li Yan's previous attitude.
"This? Not really... It's just that few disciples from other peaks come to this back mountain." Li Yan had never really asked his senior brother if disciples from other peaks were not allowed to come here. It was just that he had never seen any disciples from other peaks. In addition, his thoughts had been interrupted just now, so he had blurted it out in a fit of emotion. Now he also felt that he was somewhat in the wrong and couldn't help but scratch the back of his head with his hand.
Seeing him like this, Zhao Min couldn't get angry anymore. And today, she had also been following her heart and had come here involuntarily. Hearing what Li Yan had said, she was also a little curious in her heart. She had heard since she was a child that there was a "Year's End" among mortals, and it seemed to be very grand, lively, and important, but she had never seen it.
"Oh, I used to come here often. It's just that I'm not on Little Bamboo Peak anymore, so I come here less. You're not wrong. Disciples from other peaks are not allowed to come to this back mountain." Although Zhao Min's tone had softened, it still seemed cold. As she spoke, she moved her lotus feet and walked onto the platform, and slowly walked to the edge of the platform, facing the huge, round moon.
Li Yan was stunned. He thought to himself, "Hearing her words, it seems she used to be a disciple of Little Bamboo Peak. Could she be one of those disciples who left Little Bamboo Peak? In that case, it's not surprising that she can come here, and it seems she comes here often."
The beautiful woman in front of Li Yan stood at the edge of the cliff, her eyes somewhat lost as she looked at the huge moon. After a moment, she looked out at the undulating mountain ranges in the distance under the night sky. The silver moonlight sprinkled on her body, and her face, carved like white jade, glowed with a delicate white light. She stood against the wind, and the mountain wind blew her clothes backward, wrapping her body tightly, making her two mountain peaks look even more prominent. Her long, straight legs were also accentuated. She was like an immortal from the moon palace who had descended to the mortal world. Li Yan couldn't help but be stunned.
After Zhao Min asked the question, she also fell into her own thoughts. After a while, when she withdrew her lost gaze, she didn't hear any movement behind her. She couldn't help but frown and look diagonally behind her. What she saw was Li Yan looking like a pig, staring at her blankly. Her jade face couldn't help but flush, and she let out a light "tsk."
Li Yan only woke up as if from a dream after hearing this "tsk." His dark face couldn't help but turn red. He coughed twice and quickly answered, to divert his gaze.
"Senior... Senior Sister Zhao, we do have the 'Year's End' where I'm from. I haven't been to other places that are too far away. But I've heard from people in the village who have traveled far that they also have it. But? But it seems that there is no Year's End in this sect. I came out today and didn't see any decorations or atmosphere of the Year's End."
"The sect? The Year's End? Hmph, in the sect, apart from cultivation, it's still cultivation. What human warmth can there be... Can you tell me about the Year's End in the mortal world?" After hearing this, a trace of disdain appeared on Zhao Min's jade-like face. She snorted lightly through her delicate nose, paused for a moment, and then asked another question.
After hearing this, Li Yan was a little puzzled. "This Senior Sister Zhao actually said such disrespectful things to the sect. What courage. Isn't she afraid of being heard by others in the sect? If the elders and the law enforcement hall find out, it would be bad."
"Could it be that Senior Sister Zhao has never been to a mortal town? Did she grow up in an immortal sect since she was a child?" Li Yan had many questions, but he only thought about them. He also thought to himself, "It seems this senior sister entered the sect even earlier than my Seventh Senior Brother. My Seventh Senior Brother was only discovered and accepted by an immortal sect at the age of twelve. This senior sister might have entered an immortal sect since she was a child or when she was ignorant."
After hearing Li Yan's words, Zhao Min was silent for a while, and then she actually sat down at the edge of the platform. She dangled her long legs in the air outside the platform, swinging them gently. She tilted her head up and looked at the night sky where the silver light was sprinkled down in the distance, and muttered, 'I have never stayed in a mortal town. But I have heard some senior brothers and sisters say that it is very peaceful and lively there. Peaceful in that they work at sunrise and rest at sunset, day after day, year after year. Relatives and friends often gather together. Children frolic around their parents' knees, holding lanterns and chasing and playing with their peers. A family can often happily gather around a table and talk... But I have only heard of it, never experienced it.
Li Yan stood behind Zhao Min, looking at her beautiful back and listening to her murmuring. He couldn't help but think of his hometown, of his sister and his playmates in the village.
Unconsciously, he also walked a few steps forward and came to the edge of the platform. He also sat down at a distance from the young woman in white at the other edge of the platform, sighed, and looked at the young woman's somewhat lonely back. He felt that she was a little lonely. His heart suddenly calmed down. He thought about it. What she was asking about was just a folk custom that almost everyone knew. Besides, he didn't want to go back early today either, so he opened his mouth lightly.
"The mortal world has the joys of the mortal world, but it also has the great sorrows and joys of life. My hometown is at the foot of the Great Green Mountains, a million li away from here. The village is not large, with a few dozen households. The village is surrounded by terraced fields, and there is an old willow tree at the head of the village. Every time the Year's End comes, it is already spring. The rapeseed flower fields outside the village bloom in layers, and various wild flowers are also scattered among them. On the day of the Year's End, every family starts to prepare the most sumptuous food of the year early in the morning. The children play in the village. My mother and sister, along with the other aunts in the village, take out demonic beast meat and flour from their respective homes and start to cook or fry various delicacies. The cooking smoke curls up, and the fragrance fills the village. And my father and third brother, along with the other villagers, tidy up the ancestral hall, arrange the offerings, and clean the courtyard..."
Under a bright, round moon, the surroundings were so quiet that only a gentle breeze could be heard. A pair of a young man and a young woman sat on the edge of the platform, looking up at the bright moon and talking.
The huge moon seemed to contain the figures of the two of them in a white halo circle. Occasionally, the young woman would ask a question in a soft voice, and Li Yan would slowly tell the story of the ordinary life in the mortal world...