"Where is this?"
Li Qingyue's eyes were clear and bright as she surveyed everything around her.
The crimson sun sank westward, its lingering rays suffused with gold, tinting everything between heaven and earth.
The scarlet evening clouds looked as though the Azure Heavens had gotten drunk, leaving swaths of brilliant purple and red for the world below.
Towering ancient trees shimmered with rainbow light, as though rooted in an immortal realm.
The rolling mountain ranges resembled an auspicious dragon at rest, encircling the entire Mountain Village and guarding its peace.
A gently flowing river, a little over ten feet wide, ran east to west outside the village.
It brimmed with golden light, as though countless golden carp were frolicking joyfully in its waters.
This was a peaceful Mountain Village.
The village was large, occupying the entire mountain hollow.
Houses built from bluestone dotted the hollow and the streamside like stars scattered across a chessboard.
Wisps of cooking smoke danced gently in the wind, like fairies performing exquisite dances, graceful and carefree as they stepped into the firmament.
Beneath the setting sun, children laughed and played on a broad hill.
Beside the old tree at the village entrance, a group of elders sat on the ground, their white hair like tangled weeds, their eyes clouded and their faces withered.
Yet they carried an indescribable hope as they gazed at those lively figures, chatting and laughing.
It evoked the quiet serenity of sunset over a mountain stream.
It soothed the heart and lifted the spirits.
"Big Sister... come on, let's go home!"
Before Li Qingyue stood Ling Muxi, blinking beneath her little horn-shaped pigtails, her small face rosy, looking like a tiny child.
Her little hand tugged at the corner of Li Qingyue's clothes as she called out with a beaming smile.