The stench of sulfur mingled with the fragrance of iris, rising in the moonlight as Aelia's bloodied fingertip brushed against the cracks on the Frostwolf Totem.
The patterns on the Broken Sword gradually turned red under the soaking of Blood Pearl, resonating with her silver chain necklace around her neck, sending a faint pain through the sealing magic pattern at her collarbone.
"Madam, be careful!" Qin Si and Qian Jiao rushed forward, and suddenly, the Liuli Lantern in hand erupted with a seven-colored halo.
Luna seized the opportunity to grasp Aelia's dangling silver chain. The milk tooth of an infant bit through the sealing crystal of the chain pendant, instantly projecting a distorted image of Leonard's Last Night onto the surface of the cesspool—there stood a silver-haired woman clad in snow weasel fur, gently caressing her rounded belly. The Frostwolf Earrings swaying from her earlobe resembled the pair of secret silver rings hidden in Leonard's study room secret compartment.
Aelia's Dragon Scale Cloak suddenly ignited without wind, and those magically solidified scales turned to ashes in the flames, revealing faded wedding vows embroidered within the lining.
Luna kicked her legs, producing a yiya sound, and her small feet, stained with beast blood, accurately struck the floating ashes, forming the date of the Winter Hunt Festival on the bluestone slab.
"Three years ago..." Aelia stumbled back as Xiu Xie crushed half a sealing stone in the mire.
That was precisely what Leonard had intended to keep as a memento for his eldest son's rite of passage when he hunted down the Frostwolf years ago.
Now, however, the magical fluctuation lingering on the stone surface eerily coincided with the fetal movements in the silver-haired woman's belly from Leonard's Last Night.
A screech echoed from the direction of Demon Beast Forest as Lucius emerged from the mist, wielding a bloodied wand. He saw Ailya's silver hair gradually turning to ash under the moonlight.
The astrological compass in Third Young Master Lucius's arms suddenly spun wildly, its pointer directing straight at the gold dust seeping from Luna's swaddling—this was stardust unique to reincarnated great mages, currently flowing along Aelia's tear-streaked face into her neck seal.
"Mother!" Lucius waved his wand to freeze the surging cesspool but caught sight of an even more horrifying scene reflected on the ice surface—Leonard's Last Night.
The condensed jin sha behind Aelia formed a star map, pinpointing exactly where the silver-haired woman was hiding in Cedar Forest.
Suddenly, Luna coughed violently and spat out a blood-stained iris seed. The seed grew instantly upon encountering wind, blooming into a holographic projection of Leonard's concubine's courtyard on the ice surface.
When Leonard arrived with his royal guard, what he saw was Aelia crushing Frostwolf Earrings with her bare hands amidst Leonard's Last Night.
The Lady of the Fortress’s bloodied skirt hem billowed like a battle flag, and those crushed mithril fragments reformed into a micro sandglass in her palm—the very artifact they exchanged on their wedding night for their eternal oath; at this moment, half of its sand had turned completely black.
"Aelia, let me explain..." Leonard reached out to touch his wife's shoulder, but was suddenly pierced by an Ice Spike that shot up and struck his palm.
Luna Yi Ya grasped Brother San Lucius's wand, and the sparks emitted by Zhang Jian ignited the lining of Lord's cloak—revealing a map of Cedar Forest drawn with an invisibility potion in the flames.
The Eldest Son sat in his Suspended Wheelchair, crashing through the crowd. His withered fingers pressed against the Wheelchair Armrest's Transmitting Stone. "Father, the barrier in Demon Beast Forest is collapsing." As his hoarse warning echoed, Second Brother suddenly fell from the West Tower, clutching a half-burned Magic Letter in his hand—it was a secret letter written by Leonard to the Silver-Haired Woman, with the signature stained by Blue Iris Pollen.
Third Young Master Lucius abruptly pulled back with Luna's swaddling cloth, and the Twelve Houses on the Astrological Compass lit up simultaneously.
The baby laughed and pressed its palm, dusted with Gold Dust, onto the center of the compass. Suddenly, the ground of the Magic Castle began to emerge with the veins of a Frostwolf Totem.
Aelia's silver chain necklace snapped in response, and the fallen links formed the coordinates of Cedar Forest on the ground, resonating with the Head of Household Token at Leonard's waist.
"So you were delivering Magic Crystal Stones to her every time you checked for breaches in the barrier..." Aelia's tearful voice echoed through the courtyard, wrapped in Magic Resonance. Her bloodied fingertip traced over the floating Star Sand map. "That was your true purpose!" As her last words fell, the Defensive Towers at each corner of the castle let out a mournful cry, and those Frostwolf Statues meant to stabilize the barrier turned towards Cedar Forest.
Luna suddenly reached for the Eldest Son's Wheelchair Armrest Transmitting Stone, leaving an unusual symbol imprinted on its surface by her tiny hand.
As Leonard attempted to cast a Soothing Spell, a scream from the Silver-Haired Woman in labor erupted from the Transmitting Stone, accompanied by roars of beasts breaking through the barrier.
Second Young Master stared blankly at his palm, where a traitor's mark emerged—matching perfectly with the Dark Pattern on the back of his father's token.
Third Young Master Lucius felt Luna curl up tightly in his arms as a Light Golden Halo enveloped her.
As everyone squinted against a Strong Light that blinded their eyes, she quietly tossed her Milk Tooth, stained with Blue Iris Pollen, into a cesspool.
With a clang, that Milk Tooth precisely struck a loose flagstone, causing Ankeli's Magic Scroll to roll out and slowly unfold under the moonlight—
Suddenly obscured by Wu Yun, Luna's cries harmonized strangely with distant beast roars.
Aelia's faded Wedding Ring rolled to the edge of the scroll, its ring face embedded with ice crystals refracting the strange occurrences happening within Cedar Forest.
When the first drop of Black Rain shattered the Frostwolf Totem, the baby quietly pinned the Barrier Key, which she had taken from the Eldest Son's wheelchair in the Dark Compartment, to the back of Third Young Master Lucius's waist with her tiny hand.
The stench of Sulfur still lingered in the air when Luna's Loud Cry suddenly turned into a fit of Laughter.
With fingers dusted in Gold Dust, the baby tugged at Lucius's collar and suddenly turned towards the back mountain, making a sound reminiscent of Yi Ya.
Third Young Master Lucius had not yet recovered from the storm of betrayal that had just passed; in his arms, Little Luna was already dancing and drawing a Star Trail Pattern—exactly the Orion position she had learned in Astrology Class last night.
"Are we going to the back mountain now?" Lucius glanced at Second Brother, who was still kneeling before the shattered Frostwolf Statue, with Zhang Jian's magic still stained with their father's cloak's Ashes.
Luna suddenly bit down on his Astrology Institute Badge, her Milk Tooth clinking against the Moonstone surface, producing a clear sound that resonated perfectly with the Magic Resonance frequency of the West Clock Tower striking the hour.
The baby's little feet wrapped in Golden Silk Swaddling kicked against his ribs, causing Lucius to stumble back and crush half of a Frostwolf Relief.
From the Ice Cracks emerged a Magic Fluorescence that suddenly coalesced into a Blood Arrow, pointing directly at the misty Fir Forest on the back mountain.
Seizing the opportunity, Luna grabbed his flowing silver hair, her drool mingling with Stardust as she left a warm Starry Mark on his neck.
"Little Rascal." Lucius helplessly pulled away the Swaddling Tie stuck to his mouth, only to discover that Luna had somehow stuffed Second Brother's positioning compass into his Diaper layer.
As the Pointer began to spin wildly, the baby emitted a sound similar to an owl's hoot—this was the Nighttime Communication Code he had taught her.
The Magic Moss glowed with Blue Light as Luna passed by, forcing Lucius to cast a Suspension Spell to avoid stepping on a Carnivorous Flower Bud that suddenly sprang up.
When he was entangled by living vines for the third time, Luna unexpectedly pulled out a Magic Crystal Stone from her swaddling—a piece she had taken from the Eldest Son's wheelchair in the Dark Compartment that morning.
"Wait! That supports the East Tower..." Lucius's warning was interrupted by Luna's peals of laughter.
Luna pressed the Magic Crystal Stone against the moss-covered rock wall, and suddenly, countless Light Spots emerged from the cracks, perfectly aligning with the ancient Magic Circle Pattern depicted in last night's Astrology Class.
The rock wall trembled and split open a Gap. Seizing the opportunity, Luna flicked a Milk Tooth coated with Blue Iris Pollen into the fissure. The Automatic Activation defense mechanism abruptly froze the hem of Lucius's Mage Robe in a cluster of Ice Spikes.
"Luna Morningstar!" Third Young Master Lucius exclaimed, struggling to tear half of his robe away, while the infant lay on the floating swaddling cloth, patting the Ice Surface.
The shattered ice refracted strange Prism effects under the moonlight, projecting Lucius's Starry Mark onto the rock wall, transforming it into a Key rune that would unlock the ruins.
As the Ancient Stone Gate thunderously opened, Luna suddenly grabbed the remaining fabric of Lucius's robe.
The infant's palm print left Glowing Patterns on the Fabric, resonating with the authentication array on the inner side of the stone door.
Third Young Master Lucius stared blankly at the floating Astrolabe inside—unlike the counterfeit he had in his study, this was the true core of an artifact, swirling with Liquid resembling a galaxy.
"This is... First Generation Fortress Master’s..." Lucius's voice caught in his throat.
Luna suddenly yanked at his Earlobe, forcing him to lower his head to avoid a Bronze pendulum that swept past unexpectedly.
Droplets of the infant's Saliva fell onto the surface of the Astrolabe. The Automatic Activation of the Protective Array suddenly dyed the entire stone door Blood Red—just like the darkened Sandy Gravel in Aelia's shattered hourglass from three hours ago.
A muffled sound of gears meshing echoed from deep within the ruins as Luna abruptly tossed a compass from her Diaper into the air.
When the Compass Needle aligned with the zodiac belt of the Astrolabe, a Mage Mark on the infant’s neck began Emerging. Under Lucius’s astonished gaze, it projected their reflection as giants, covering an entire wall inscribed with Ancient Demon Script.
The hoot of a Night Owl seeped through the gap in the stone Door. Luna curled up tightly as if pretending to sleep.
Lucius had yet to piece together the connection between his robe’s Ice Shard and the mechanisms of the stone door when he heard faint footsteps behind him—an unusual rhythm cloaked in magic that resembled his father Leonard's footsteps during late-night outings.
The Astrolabe inside emitted a hum as its gears turned. Lucius stepped back half a pace while holding Luna, feeling an intense heat radiating from a Detection Crystal hidden in his sleeve.
The curled position of the baby perfectly blocked Jie Yin's left hand. The humid swaddling cloth brushed against the surface of the Detection Crystal, surprisingly dissolving the alarm magic into an unformed spell.
"It seems someone arrived before us." Lucius used his wand to stir up the dust on the ground, revealing that the stardust, which should have been evenly spread, displayed a deliberately swept wave pattern.
Suddenly, Luna reached out for the floating astrolabe. As her chubby fingers passed through the river of liquid silver, the entire ruin erupted with the alarm sound of the Seven-Tiered Scale.
The baby's saliva-soaked palm suddenly lit up with a star pattern. Lucius realized that little Luna in his arms was humming the Starry Night Lullaby—a melody he had sung to her last night to help her sleep.
As the third note echoed against the stone wall, the alarm sound eerily transformed into a welcoming Zhong Ming, and the river of liquid silver automatically split into two arched gateways.
"You knew all along..." Third Young Master Lucius's unfinished words were interrupted by Luna's sneeze.
The baby's saliva splattered onto the griffin relief on the left archway, and the animated statue suddenly spread its wings, lifting them and flying deeper into the ruins.
Lucius hurriedly protected the back of Luna's head as Zhang Jian's wand emitted light that illuminated dense claw marks from Mama's frostwolf on the wall—identical to those found in Father's Study in Ankeli's secret letter sealed with fire.
The griffin statue abruptly halted before the Library of Hidden Books. Luna suddenly clutched Lucius's Academy Emblem on his chest.
The baby's milk tooth struck against the certification curse on the back of the badge, inadvertently activating a century-old magical certification system.
As Lucius squinted against a strong light, Luna had already used her stardust-covered diaper to rub away the sealing array on the door.
"The Arcane Origin Theory?" Lucius stared at the ancient book floating within a protective shield, its dry leaf-colored cover exuding a frostwolf scent.
The moment he tentatively extended his wand, the protective shield suddenly sprouted thorn-shaped ice spikes that froze his entire right arm in a zero-degree magical field.
Luna suddenly emitted a sound resembling a purring kitten, her small feet dusted with blue iris pollen pressing against the protective shield of the ancient book.
The track kicked out by the baby coincided with the initiation of Great Mage's Breaking Spell, and verification runes of the frostwolf totem immediately emerged on the surface of the protective shield.
As Lucius struggled to draw the unsealing array with his left hand, Luna suddenly wiped her saliva on his frozen Hand Back—those Liquid Silver rivers began to seep through the Saliva Track into the Ice Layer, tinting the Protective dome's Magic Circuit a translucent Amber color.
"With the stars as my guide..." Lucius choked halfway through, as Luna's fist precisely struck the Magic Node just below his Adams Apple.
The baby's unaware kicks coincidentally completed the last three Broken Syllables of the Spell, causing the Protective dome to shatter into Stardust.
At the moment the ancient tome fell, Luna wrapped it in a Swaddling Tie, using Lucius's staggering backward momentum to pull it into her embrace.
On their return journey, Luna intentionally stuffed the ancient book into the Diaper's Hidden Layer, where moisture blurred ink stains formed a secret Frostwolf Genealogy on the Fabric.
When they encountered a foraging Moonlight Fox at the fork in the back mountain path, the baby suddenly tugged at Lucius's Earlobe, directing him toward the East Side trail—where a Magic Trap buried beneath decaying leaves was exuding a sulfurous scent akin to that of Father's token.
As the outline of the castle emerged, Luna abruptly tossed the ancient book into the air.
Lucius hurriedly cast a Suspension Spell to catch it, only to discover that Iris Petals drifting between its Yellowed Pages were forming the Coordinates of Cedar Forest.
The baby Yi Ya'd and grabbed one of the petals, its milk-stained lip print perfectly covering a date obscured by magic.
Underneath the Crystal Chandelier in the hall, the Eldest Son's Suspended Wheelchair cast a spider web-like shadow on the Ground.
The Second Brother leaned against the cracked Frostwolf Statue, his Fingertip absentmindedly brushing against the charred edges of a Secret Letter Remnant Page.
As Lucius carried Luna across the threshold, twelve Wall Lamps suddenly dimmed simultaneously, concealing everyone's expressions within flickering Light and Shadow.
"The Magic Crystal Stone in the East Tower is missing two pieces." The Eldest Son's voice striking the Wheelchair Armrest sounded like Ice Spikes hitting the ground, while a pulse of detection magic flickered in his sunken eye sockets.
Luna suddenly reached toward the Wheelchair; Stardust from her Palm quietly filled a hidden gap in a Monitoring Array along the Suspension Spell Track.
The Second Brother abruptly drew his wand and pointed at the ancient tome: "The Sealing Spell on this book... is Father's Tiny Inscriptions." On Zhang Jian's opened Title Page, faded annotations overlapped with handwriting from a Secret Letter Remnant Page.
Luna took the opportunity to press her finger, stained with milk, against the end of the annotation. To her surprise, the infant's palm print activated a hidden projection that had been dormant for decades—young Leonard was seen placing a Frostwolf Ring on the ring finger of an Outsider Woman.
In that moment of silence in the hall, Luna suddenly let out a joyful Yiya Sound.
She grabbed Lucius by the Academy Emblem on his chest and shook it back and forth. The surface of the embedded Moonstone suddenly reflected a holographic image of Cedar Forest—exactly where the Iris Petals from ancient texts were said to fall, now shimmering under the moonlight with the unique Magical Fluctuation of a woman in labor.
The sudden explosion of sparks from the fireplace broke the frozen moment in time, and the Eldest Son's Wheelchair Armrest's Transmitting Stone automatically played an alarm for a breach in the barrier.
Feigning fright, Luna buried her small face into Lucius's shoulder, her damp eyelashes brushing against the sulfur powder that had clung to his nape—a tracking mark left from traversing a Magic Trap.
As the Frostwolf Statue deep within the castle turned once more toward Cedar Forest, Luna curled up on the ancient text and let out a Lactation Burp.
Each burp caused the Yellowed Pages to flutter slightly, just enough to hide a passage about the Mixed-Blood Heir Awakening Ceremony within the ink-stained folds of baby drool.
The ancient text flipped pages under Second Brother's wand with a Hua La sound, and Luna's Lactation Burp suddenly turned into an urgent cough.
Each cough caused Leonard's Projection on the Title Page to wobble. Just as the Frostwolf Ring was about to be slipped onto Leonard's Concubine's finger in Leonard's Last Night, the infant deliberately choked on her saliva, sending it into the sound hole of the floating Transmitting Stone.
"Cough cough... hack!"
The sound of her cough was magically amplified, creating a sonic boom that shattered one-third of the Crystal Chandelier's prisms.
The falling shards bizarrely hovered before hitting the ground, refracting light to reveal Aelia standing on the spiral staircase—her silver-gray hair tips dripped with ice crystals mixed with stardust, leaving burning Frostwolf paw prints on the carpet with each step.
The Eldest Son's Wheelchair's detection magic suddenly buzzed as his frail fingers pointed to a page in the ancient text: "Father's Bloodline Authentication Spell... requires direct descendants..." Before he could finish his sentence, Luna suddenly rolled over and grabbed Second Brother's wand. Zhang Jian accidentally pierced her palm, and drops of Baby Blood fell onto the Frostwolf Genealogy in the ancient text, scorching a charred hole through Leonard's Concubine’s branch line.
"The Mother's Blood Curse has activated!" Lucius suddenly pointed at the holographic image of Cedar Forest; those rising Magical Fluctuations were forming a soul-siphoning vortex unique to childbirth.
Seizing her chance, Luna stuffed the blood-stained page from the ancient text into her mouth. The sound of her Milk Tooth tearing through Parchment coincided perfectly with her swallowing part of the hidden Awakening Ritual’s illustrations and text, which began to react chemically with Stardust in her stomach.
As Leonard's Ailya's Roar echoed from the Underground, Luna was busy folding paper boats from the saliva-soaked pages of Genealogy.
As the paper boat floated toward Aelia, guided by her miniature Suspension Spell, a Bloodstain suddenly materialized on the sail, revealing a live scene from Cedar Forest—Leonard's Last Night. The courtyard of Leonard's Concubine was collapsing into a siphoning vortex, while the Newborn's Loud Cry stirred a Magic Tide that resonated with Luna's heartbeat.
"Reverse the siphon!" Aelia shouted, swinging her broken silver chain. Fragments of the chain reformed in mid-air into a Xing Mang whip.
Luna suddenly grabbed Lucius by the collar and shook him; the infant's unaware kicks perfectly completed the incantation for the reversal spell.
As Aelia's whip tip touched the holographic image, the foundation of the entire Magic Castle tilted unexpectedly—those Barrier Energies drawn by Father’s token were forming a feedback channel through the Key Luna had secretly embedded in Third Young Master Lucius's lower back.
The ancient tome flipped to its final chapter amidst the chaotic energy flow, revealing on its blank pages Luna's Baby Language written in Stardust Diaper's Secret Script.
The Eldest Son's Wheelchair suddenly sprang open from the Dark Compartment, and his long-preserved Mother's Wedding Oath Scroll resonated with the Secret Script, dyeing Ailya's Silver Hair back to its moonlit hue.
At the moment Leonard broke through the earth, he collided with the Wedding Oath Magic from twenty years ago spilling out of the scroll, melting the Ice Crystal Wedding Ring he had placed on Aelia’s finger into boiling Xing Jia.
In the center of the energy storm, Luna giggled as her Mage Mark on her neck suddenly detached and ascended, transforming into a Star Map that enveloped the ruins of Cedar Forest.
The newborn Half-Blood Infant floated within the Star Map, and emerging on its forehead was Aelia Family’s unique Moon Rainbow Birthmark—Luna had stealthily swapped the true Bloodline Inheritance during the siphon reversal.
As the last Frostwolf Statue turned toward the Magic Castle Hall, Luna curled up in Lucius’s embrace and began nibbling on an ancient tome’s Remnant Page.
The Magical Text softened by Saliva flowed into her stomach along with Milk Stain, reassembling within her into a prophetic chapter about a certain secret-consuming infant and how they would use their Milk Tooth to gnaw through Destiny’s threads.
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