The Market Street of Bo City was alive with the hum of evening commerce, but for Li Yuze and his older brother Li Zhu, the world was currently defined by the sticky sweetness of blue cotton candy.
At eleven years old, Yuze was the picture of youthful calm—black-haired, dark-eyed, and possessing a quiet demeanor that belied his curiosity. Beside him, twenty-five-year-old Li Zhu walked with the easy, matured confidence of a seasoned mage. Despite the gap in their ages, the two were currently deep in a fit of laughter, sharing a rare moment of civilian peace.
Li Zhu hadn't visited Bo City in far too long. Since Yuze had nothing but time on his hands, he had happily tagged along for the stroll.
They had spent the afternoon navigating the stalls, eventually stopping so Li Zhu could pick up a tin of high-quality tea—a gift for Principal Zhu of Tianhan Magic High School, who had mentored the Li brothers during their formative years.
"Little Yuze," Li Zhu said as they finally turned back toward home, "I'm heading over to the High School to pay my respects to the Principal. You want to tag along?"
Yuze shook his head. "I think I'll pass this time, Brother. I want to spend some time meditating with the Mind Stone before tonight."
Li Zhu nodded, a look of pride crossing his face. "Spoken like a true mage. Don't work too hard; we have the Mu family visit this evening."
The air within the Mu Family estate always felt several degrees sharper than the rest of Bo City—a constant, chilling reminder of the elemental heritage flowing through their veins.
For young Yuze, the cold was a physical opponent. He hopped from foot to foot, his thick boots crunching rhythmically on the frost-dusted gravel path. Beside him, Li Zhu moved with the effortless composure of a High-Level Mage. His presence radiated a subtle, internal warmth that acted as a natural hearth, shielding his younger brother from the worst of the bite.
"Calm down, Yuze," Li Zhu chuckled, ruffling the boy's dark hair. "We're here to visit an old friend, not to storm a fortress."
"But it feels like a fortress," Yuze whispered, staring up at the towering, translucent white gates. "Everything is so... sterile. So shiny."
Mu Zhaoyun met them at the entrance. The head of the Bo City Mu branch was typically a man carved from stern ice, but his expression thawed significantly at the sight of the elder Li brother.
"Li Zhu. It's been too long," Zhaoyun said, offering a firm, respectful handshake. "I assume the Hunter life has been keeping you busy?"
"Always," Li Zhu replied with a grin. "But never too busy to check in on my favorite Ice Mage. I've brought the family troublemaker with me today, too."
As the two men drifted into a dense conversation about high-level mana currents and the shifting politics of the city, a small, Yuzi's gaze drifted toward the edge of a silver-rimmed pond. silver-haired figure emerged from behind a fluted marble pillar.
Mu Ningxue looked less like a child and more like a doll carved from the finest permafrost. At eleven, she already possessed a quiet, stoic dignity that made her seem years older than her peers—a silent princess in a kingdom of ice.
She was dressed in a pale blue dress that matched the wintry sky, her long, silver hair falling like a frozen waterfall down her back. Mu Ningxue.
Yuzi approached her with an easy confidence. He wasn't a Mage yet—his Awakening was still a two year away—but he spent his days training his body and maditation. He didn't stumble; he moved with the steady balance of someone who spent his afternoons climbing trees and sprinting across rooftops.
"The water looks like glass," Yuzi said, stopping a respectful distance away. "Do you think the fish get confused when the top turns solid?"
Ningxue turned her head. Her eyes were a piercing, clear grey. At eleven, she already carried a heavy air of expectation, yet there was a flicker of curiosity in her expression. "They don't get confused. They just wait for the sun."
"I'm Li Yuzi," he said, offering a small, polite bow—just enough to satisfy the Mu family's rules, but with a smirk that said he didn't take it too seriously. "My brother is the one over there making your dad laugh. Well, trying to."
"Mu Ningxue," she replied. She looked at his boots, then his steady stance. "You don't walk like the other boys who come here. They usually trip over the frozen grass."
"Balance is the first thing my brother taught me," Yuzi said, walking along the very edge of the stone pond rim as if it were a tightrope. "He says if you can't control your own feet, you'll never control the elements."
(Talking nonsense is also an art😜)
Yuzi reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out a handful of flat, polished river stones. "Ever tried skipping these? My brother says the Mu pond is the smoothest in the city."
Ningxue looked at the stones, then at the pond. "My father says we shouldn't disturb the surface. It's for meditation."
"Meditation is just a fancy word for sitting still," Yuzi countered with a wink. "I call this... 'kinetic trajectory testing.' Much more educational."
He flicked his wrist with practiced precision. The stone hissed across the surface of the water, kissing the liquid five, six, seven times before sinking with a tiny plink.
Ningxue's eyes widened slightly. "How did you do that? The water is almost freezing; it's thick."
"It's all in the wrist. Here." He handed her a stone. It was warm from being in his pocket.
Ningxue took it, her fingers brushing his. She hesitated, then mimicked his stance. Her first attempt was stiff, the stone sinking immediately.
"Too much 'Princess' power, not enough flow," Yuzi joked, stepping closer to adjust her elbow. "Keep your arm level. Imagine you're just handing the stone to the water."
On her third try, the stone skipped twice. A small, genuine light broke through Ningxue's stoic mask as she jumped with joy, "I did it."
"See? You're a natural," Yuzi laughed. "If you can skip a stone on water this cold, you'll be a master of the Ice element before you even touch an Awakening Stone."
For the next hour, the "Princess" of the Mu family wasn't a prodigy in training or a political asset like she would be in the future. She was just a girl learning how to skip stones and listening to Yuzi's tall tales about his brother's missions in the wildlands.
From the balcony, Li Zhu watched them, a satisfied smile on his face. "They get along well," he noted to Mu Zhaoyun.
"Ningxue is usually so guarded," Zhaoyun admitted, watching his daughter actually reach out to nudge Yuzi's shoulder after a particularly bad throw. "Your brother has a certain... warmth to him."
"It runs in the family," Li Zhu replied.
To be continued.....
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