Huanxi didn't know if what he saw was an illusion. His vision gradually blurred. His small body was soaked in the cold river water, his body temperature dropped, and he quickly lost consciousness.

An unknown amount of time had passed, but Huanxi suddenly felt a warm current entering his body while he was drowsy, dispelling the coldness. His head was no longer dizzy, and his consciousness gradually returned.

Huanxi suddenly opened his eyes, and saw the continuous rain in front of him. The rain not only did not weaken, but became even more intense. The sound of rain was ringing in his ears.

"My bamboo basket!" Huanxi looked at the rain curtain, his eyes briefly lost in confusion, but he quickly came to his senses, exclaimed, and looked around anxiously.

When I turned my head, I saw the bamboo basket lying beside me intact.

He immediately went over and looked inside the bamboo basket. There were several fish as thick as an adult's finger, and two small shrimps.

"It's okay, it's okay, they are all here." A happy smile appeared on Huanxi's rain-soaked face.

Suddenly, his body paused and the smile froze on his face.

Although the rain blurred his vision, he still saw a pair of feet out of the corner of his eye, standing next to the bamboo basket. At this distance, the owner of the feet must be looking at him.

There was no discovery at all just now?

Huanxi was surprised. He slowly raised his head and turned to look at the owner of the feet.

He was a tall young man wearing a loose black robe. His whole body was soaked by the rain. His hip-length black hair was wet by the rain and stuck tightly to his head and shoulders.

However, the young man's eyes were unspeakably calm. In his eyes, the pouring rain seemed to be non-existent, and in those calm eyes, there was no trace of joy or any other emotion.

"Uncle... were you the one who saved me just now?" Huanxi was a little afraid of this man for some reason. He hugged the bamboo basket tightly, stepped back slowly, and kept his eyes on the other person.

"Take me to find your parents, I have something to ask them." Xue Kong squatted down gently, a smile appeared on his cold face, and his voice came out very calmly.

"I don't have any parents," Huanxi blinked and said, "My father died while hunting when I was very young. Later, my mother was so heartbroken that she caught a cold and died of illness."

"He's an orphan." Xue Kong slowly stood up.

Huanxi has lived alone for many years and has to rely on himself to support himself. He is braver than his peers in Pingxi Village. Seeing that Xue Kong has no ill will towards him, Huanxi bravely asked this lifesaver: "Uncle, have you forgotten the way home?"

Xue Kong glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to walk towards Pingxi Village.

He had seen the boy about to drown in the river before, and thought that after saving him, he would ask his parents about the location of Banyun Temple. Otherwise, the sudden appearance of a stranger in this small village would make people very alert.

However, he did not expect that Huanxi was actually an orphan.

Huanxi was a little unhappy when he saw Xue Kong didn't answer his question and walked away on his own. He said, "What a strange person. Why does he ignore me? Hey, I don't think I've seen him before. Where did he come from?"

Huanxi thought for a moment, packed up the bamboo basket, tied the basket that was bigger than him to his shoulder with difficulty, carried it on his back with his small body, and then quickly chased in the direction Xue Kong left.

Huanxi's eyes lit up with a smile, and she said in surprise, "I almost died in the water just now, but now I feel full of energy and even more strength than before I fell into the water."

"That's strange."

Xue Kong's steps seemed slow, but they were actually very fast. Soon he arrived at Pingxi Village. At a glance, the village houses were arranged in an orderly manner on both sides of the road, and each house was separated by a fence.

At this moment, the doors of all the houses were closed and no one was seen.

Xue Kong was just about to find a random room and knock on the door to ask for the location of Banyun Temple when Huanxi ran up behind him, wiped the rain off his face, and shouted, "During the rainy season, the doors of Pingxi Village are closed."

“Even if you knock on the door, no one will open it.”

"It's raining so hard now and there's no place for you to hide. If you don't mind, you can come to my house." Huanxi shouted.

He could have ignored Xue Kong, who he thought was impolite, but Huanxi still remembered that Xue Kong was his savior, so he stood in the rain to persuade him, letting the cold rain soak his whole body.

Xue Kong thought about it and finally decided to stay at Huanxi's house for a while.

The northern region is vast, and Xue Kong has been searching for a long time. This is the first and only house. He is not sure whether these people who have lived in the mountains for a long time know the location of Banyun Temple, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Huanxi's house is the only house in the village without a fence. It is one-third the size of the other houses, simple and dilapidated, made of weeds and rubble.

When Xue Kong followed Huanxi into the house, the roof was still leaking.

"I often hear people talking about stories from the outside world. Where is your home? Maybe I can tell you the direction." Huanxi put down the bamboo basket, took out the few fish and shrimps inside, and put them into a broken bowl with a chip.

Xue Kong said, "Banyun Temple."

"Banyun Temple..." Huanxi shook her head. "I haven't heard anyone talk about it. The name sounds like it's the home of monks or Taoists, but you don't look like either."

"I have a friend who is practicing there. I once made an appointment with him, and I am here to keep the appointment." Xue Kong smiled slightly.

"Okay." Huanxi nodded. "Everyone will come out when the rain stops. You can ask them then. Others may know."

Huanxi took off his wet and worn shirt, took out a copper kettle from the corner of the room, put some dry firewood that had been prepared long ago under the kettle, took out a pair of flints, and started striking them.

This village is obviously very backward and still uses such primitive methods of making fire.

Perhaps because the air was humid, the dry firewood was difficult to burn. Huanxi created a few sparks, but the dry firewood did not burn. Huanxi was so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks, which was quite funny.

Xue Kong watched quietly and laughed silently. When Huanxi was not noticing, he gently pointed at the dry firewood. With a puff, the dry firewood immediately caught fire with a strong flame.

Huanxi then smiled with satisfaction and turned to Xue Kong and said, "Wait a little longer, you'll have something to eat soon."

He picked up the copper kettle and ran out of the house.

After a while, when he came back, the copper pot was filled with a lot of rainwater.

Huanxi put the copper kettle on the big fire, and the rainwater was burned into bubbles. He picked up the broken bowl and ran out of the house again to clean up all the fish and shrimp in the bowl.

Xue Kong watched Huanxi busying around quietly. His eyes were calm and his heart was extremely peaceful.

This kind of tranquility is not emotional stability.

But inner peace.

It’s as if I have forgotten all the past practices, integrated into the current living environment, and become an ordinary person again, with a peaceful mindset.