The Bronze Gear in the Earth Vein Core Chamber glowed with a ghostly blue light as Aelia placed Luna in the Suspended Cradle. The chubby infant's palm rested against the crack of the Spiritual Energy Pipeline.
To Aelia's surprise, the metal corroded by Violet Balm formed ice crystals at her fingertip, repairing itself faster than an Alchemist could perform the Advanced Restoration Technique.
"Madam, the West Wing Guest Room has been arranged as you instructed." Qin Si entered with a gilded tray, just in time to see Luna playing with Ice Crystal Shards, giggling as the sharp edges that should have pierced her skin transformed into delicate snowflakes that scattered from her palm. "All guards have received three times the Spirit Crystal, but..."
Aelia's fingertip brushed over the newly appeared Frostwolf Totem in the Storage Box. The flag, once riddled with insect holes, had been mended by Xing Xu, and now the Wolf Eye could turn direction with the moonlight.
Suddenly, she felt an unusual vibration from the Cradle—Luna was smacking a drool-soaked plush toy against the Protective Array Blueprint. The crooked tooth marks perfectly encircled Leonard's missing patrol route for today around the North Tower.
"Have the Shadow Guard split into two teams to rotate at the North Tower Barrier." Aelia brought hot goat milk to Luna's mouth, but the infant deliberately blew bubbles and drew a twisted Blood Arrow on the Tablecloth. The milk stain began to form a rough outline of a Monitoring Magic Pattern. "Move the Cold Iron Chains stored in the Cellar to Third Young Master's courtyard."
As Qin Si retreated in response, Luna suddenly grabbed Aelia's flowing silver hair, her grape-like eyes sparkling with an Elemental Rainbow Light that only Mages possessed.
The infant pointed outside at a passing Raven, its feathers meant to belong to Hui Yu but stained a dark purple—the very color favored by Leonard and his concubine.
As the Ice Crystal Lanterns of the Magic Castle Dome lit up one by one, Aelia stepped into the banquet hall with Luna in her arms. The repaired Spiritual Energy Pipeline was condensing Xing Hui into a Warm Current.
Twenty boxes of Frostwolf Banners stood silently in the corner, while Warning Runes flowed around the Black Hole filled by the Earth Vein Spirit.
Third Young Master Lucius fiddled with his newly replaced Gear Assembly of the Northern Crown Model when he suddenly noticed a miniature Monitoring Array added to the serpent-patterned hairpin nestled in his mother's bun.
"Mother, the Spiritual Energy Boiler sent from the Alchemical Chamber..." Second Brother's hand trembled as he held a Crystal Vessel; last year's Blessing Rune gifted by his close friend revealed a hidden Binding Spell in the firelight.
At that moment, Luna kicked over her Crystal Baby Bottle in the Cradle, spilling milky white liquid that fortuitously diluted that deadly rune.
Aelia snapped her fingers nonchalantly, and the Frostwolf Banner, repaired by Xing Xu, immediately absorbed the unusual energy fluctuations.
She distributed the specially crafted spiritual power amplifiers to everyone and noticed that the armrests of her elder brother's wheelchair began to fade when they came into contact with the Ice Blue crystal.
"This year, we don't need to set off fireworks for New Year's Eve." Aelia gently stroked Luna's golden hair, which sparkled with Xing Hui. The infant was busy drooling on a napkin while tracing an improved Defensive Formation diagram. "Let the Old Mages pray peacefully at the altar; children, come with me to the Stargazing Platform for a meal."
As the last Emerald Shrimp Dumpling was placed on the Liujin twisted branch-patterned table, Luna suddenly tightened her grip on Aelia's pearl necklace.
The amulet hanging around the infant's neck suddenly projected a Light Barrier. The images of two guards who should have been stationed at the North Tower were distorting—blue iris pollen was smeared on their Leonard's Sword and Gauntlet.
"Third Young Master, please check the Defensive Formation in the East Corridor." Aelia handed Luna over to the Nurse. As her fingertip brushed against the Frostwolf Banner, it automatically activated the hidden Monitoring Network.
Reflected in the Wolf Eye of the banner was the Captain of the Guards, whose cloak prominently displayed the unique Serpent Pattern Silver Buckle of the Outsider Family.
The dome of the Stargazing Platform shimmered with an improved Defensive Formation. Lucius paused suddenly while fiddling with a Gear Model—the moving parts formed an unusual patrol route for Father today.
In front of Second Brother, sparks suddenly erupted from the Psychic Hot Pot. The Cedar Resin that Luna had refined last night automatically formed a barrier, condensing the invading Violet Fragrance Mist into Ice Shards.
A sudden crash of breaking porcelain echoed from a side room.
Elder Brother's wheelchair had knocked over a gilded candelabra, and as he pushed back with his hand, the Backlash Magic Pattern erupted with azure purple light.
The young man, refusing assistance from attendants, gripped the edge of the table tightly as the Ice Crystal Floor blessed by Luna emitted Healing Ripples.
As his bloodied Palm pressed against the Light Barrier cast by the Frostwolf Banner, the fragmented Twin Legs surprisingly coalesced into an illusory skeletal outline within Xing Hui.
"Brother!" Lucius's In Hand gears suddenly accelerated, causing the Star Map projected by the Northern Crown Model to resonate with the Defensive Formation.
Second Brother's Psychic Hot Pot erupted with pure Blue Flame, incinerating the approaching Violet Mist into Ashes.
Aelia stood beneath the Stargazing Platform Dome, the sound of the Frostwolf Banner fluttering in the absence of wind masking her action of crushing the Serpent Hairpin.
When Luna's Cradle suddenly burst forth with Rainbow Light, everyone saw the bloodied Fingertip of Brother tearing through the weakest Node of the backlash curse. His trembling knee left a blood-stained Magic Circle imprinted on the Ice Crystal Floor.
The Spirit Energy Monitor in the side hall suddenly emitted a Buzzing sound, as a long-dormant energy wave surged through the newly repaired pipes.
Aelia's skirt, embroidered with ice crystals, brushed past Luna's Cradle, and the milk foam expelled by the infant condensed into warning runes in the void—pointing towards the suddenly active spatial Magical Traces at the North Tower.
The Ice Crystal Floor in the side hall saw a sudden surge of Xing Hui, enveloping Brother in a pale blue Light Cocoon.
Aelia's Pi Bo, adorned with Frostwolf Totem embroidery, swept across the shattered remnants of candlesticks scattered on the ground. As her Fingertip formed an Ice Spike to sever the Energy Flow of the backlash curse, she witnessed the young man's bloodied Palm erupting with a Silver White Electric Arc.
"Mother, don’t move!" Brother’s Pale face was cast in a sickly hue by Magic Patterns, as a broken Wheelchair Armrest began to slowly levitate alongside the newly formed skeletal outline at his knee. "The curse is breaking down my healing Spell..."
Luna's Cradle suddenly broke free from Nurse's embrace, gliding precisely towards the center of the Light Cocoon.
The amulet around the infant's neck burst forth with a Rainbow Light Band, wrapping the rising Purple Magic Pattern from the elder brother into a Star Chain design.
The Ice Crystal Lantern hanging from the Banquet Hall Dome exploded in response, scattering countless shards of Xing Xu entwined with Cold Iron Chains, weaving an Inverse Healing Array in the void.
As the last piece of ice crystal fell onto the Gilded Candelabra Remains, the Magic Attendant holding the Spirit Energy Monitor stumbled through the Carved Wooden Door.
The Young Apprentice's Silver Badge melted into Liquid within the Rainbow Light, trembling fingers pointing toward the end of the corridor. "Madam! The Young Master's leg..."
Aelia stepped over the scattered Xing Xu, her Ice Blue Skirt brushing past the Energy Monitor's flashing Warning Red Light.
In that moment when the Dark Pattern Tapestry turned bright under the Rainbow Light, she saw the Eldest Son, who should have been slumped in a Wheelchair, standing with support from a Gilded Column. His bones, reshaped by Xing Hui, glimmered with a Pearl Luster beneath his Moonlight White Robe.
"Twelve years...," Second Brother's Crystal Cup shattered on the Ice Crystal Ground, and the Blue Flame erupting from the Psychic Hot Pot illuminated his reddened Eye Socket.
The Gear Model in Third Young Master's arms suddenly disintegrated, fragments of the Northern Crown Constellation Map floating together to recreate Leonard's Last Night, when he taught his elder brother about Magic Patterns.
Luna's Cradle collided into her brother's embrace, her small hand, stained with Milk Stain, patting his newly formed knee.
As the young man's trembling Fingertip brushed against the Xing Hui among Infant Hair, remnants of the backlash curse in Purple-Black Patterns suddenly transformed into Ying Huo and dissipated. The Healing Ripple on the Ice Crystal Floor coalesced into an Entity Support Frame to support his swaying body.
"Three months... no, two months!" The elder brother's bloodied Sleeve swept over Luna's Magic Pattern Map drawn on the Tablecloth. The Star Chain in the void suddenly contracted into a Healing Ring that clasped around his ankle. "Next month’s Magic Trial Tournament’s Illusion Challenge—I will bring Luna’s improved Defensive Formation..."
Aelia's Serpent Hairpin suddenly emitted a buzzing sound, and the Frostwolf Banner projected a Monitoring Network that showed three cracks in the barrier of the North Tower.
She placed a specially made Spirit Crystal into Eldest Son's palm, wrapping Luna's kicking little feet in the embroidered ice crystal Dark Pattern Pi Bo. "The spiritual bone reshaped by Xing Xu needs to rest. As for tonight's events..."
"I will use the newly researched Star Trail encryption method to save the monitoring records." Lucius pressed the completed Gear Model against the wall, and the Northern Crown Constellation Map immediately faded into the path of the Defensive Array. "Second Brother's Psychic Hot Pot can set up a dual verification barrier."
Luna suddenly grabbed her brother's collar and flipped herself up to sit. The amulet hanging from her neck shot out a beam of Rainbow Light.
Aelia's Xiu Xie sensed a Magical Fluctuation from the Frostwolf Totem, refracting the Rainbow Light into Xu Ying. Leonard's Last Night—a pocket watch that Leonard had "accidentally" dropped while patrolling the North Tower—was flickering at the Barrier Rift, its Iris Crest surface oozing Zi Wu under the moonlight.
When the Nurse entered with Snow Antelope Milk, the baby suddenly threw a saliva-soaked plush toy at the Energy Monitor.
At the moment Aelia caught the toy, an ice crystal hidden in cotton suddenly revealed itself. It was a fragment of a Micro-Transportation Array disguised with Violet Balm, and at its core was stuck some Night Iris Pollen commonly used by Leonard's Concubine.
"Good Luna..." Aelia lifted the baby to her eyes, watching as the little one gnawed on the Ice Crystal Array Disk with her Milk Tooth.
Amidst the sound of the Frostwolf Banner rustling without wind, half of her sleeve embroidered with Star Patterns slipped down, and the chain buckle Ankeli's Monitoring Crystal was recording Eldest Son's third unsteady step.
Moonlight streamed through the diamond Dome of the Stargazing Platform, coalescing into seven Xing Zi among Luna's golden hair.
As the Castle Bell Tower rang with the New Year Bell, the baby blew bubbles that left a crooked Blood Arrow imprint on the Ice Crystal Window. The Milk Stain marks pointed directly to Leonard's Concubine’s hidden Iris Specimen in the North Tower Secret Chamber—an Token of Love that Leonard had given to his first love twenty years ago.
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