Brothers

The next morning.

Yi Water City, Dragon Mountain Tower.

Every city in this world possesses a Dragon Mountain Tower! The one within Yi Water City is an ancient, five-story stone building.

The entrance to the Dragon Mountain Tower is guarded by powerful knights. Within a ten-meter radius of the main gate, neither commoners nor nobles dare to approach; should they do so, even a noble might be forcibly executed!

A white-robed, white-haired old man sprinted into the Dragon Mountain Tower.

"Master You Tu," the two blue-armored knights at the entrance said respectfully.

"Is the Tower Master in?" the white-haired old man asked.

"He is, though the Tower Master has been in a foul mood since early this morning," one of the tall blue-armored knights replied.

The white-haired old man stepped into the Dragon Mountain Tower and arrived at the third floor.

Knock, knock. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called from within.

The white-haired old man pushed the door open and closed it behind him. Inside, there was a smooth, dark-yellow long table piled with stacks of papers and books. Sitting behind the table was a middle-aged man with black hair, who was flipping through a dossier.

This man was none other than the Tower Master of the Yi Water City Dragon Mountain Tower—Master Si An!

"You Tu, how is it?" Master Si An looked up.

"The news is confirmed. Last night, Baron Dongbo and his wife from Snow Eagle Territory were forcibly taken away," the white-haired old man said. "The guard force of Snow Stone Castle attempted to resist, but within a single breath, they lost all power to fight back under the lightning."

"Hmph, the Moyang Clan is truly overbearing!" Master Si An frowned. "I only received word from the prefecture city yesterday, and they had already seized the people by nightfall."

The internal operations of the Dragon Mountain Tower are extremely strict.

The empire has nineteen provinces.

Every provincial capital has a main Dragon Mountain Tower, wielding hidden and formidable power.

Provincial cities, prefecture cities, and county-level cities.

With these three levels managing one another, the entire world is kept under surveillance.

"Who can blame them when they are the Moyang Clan? The Moyang Clan is among the top ten great clans in the East Region Province," the white-haired old man said.

"Hmph," Master Si An sneered. "Among the ten great clans of the East Region Province, the Moyang Clan ranks last! And that is only by relying on the lingering influence of their ancestors; otherwise, they wouldn't even make the top ten."

"Even so, they are a behemoth that could crush us with the slightest display of power," the white-haired old man sighed, shaking his head. "It is pitiful. Only two children remain in Snow Eagle Territory. I heard from my investigations that... their two-year-old son has been crying incessantly, and many soldiers and servants in Snow Stone Castle are heartbroken over it."

"The Dongbo couple were indeed very kind to their subjects and were well-loved," Master Si An nodded.

Snow Eagle Territory, atop the highest mountain, 'Snow Stone Mountain', within the majestic Snow Stone Castle.

Some servants in the castle whispered quietly, but due to the presence of the lion-man 'Tong San' and the six-armed snake demon 'Zong Ling', the entire castle continued to function as usual.

Although it was already daytime.

Younger brother Qing Shi had only just stabilized his emotions. After his parents were forcibly taken, he had cried incessantly, and no one could soothe him! In the past, his mother had always looked after him personally. As a mage, her voice could easily carry a hypnotic effect... putting the child to sleep had been very simple. But now, the traumatized Qing Shi was a headache for everyone.

The lion-man Tong San and the snake demon Zong Ling had always frightened Qing Shi, and the maids had never put him to sleep before, so Dongbo Xueying had to do it himself.

Despite his own grief, he had to endure it to soothe his brother. Finally, it was daytime, and his brother was exhausted, seemingly forgetting about their parents—after all, he was only a two-year-old child... he would likely not remember what happened last night when he grew up.

"There, there, Shi Tou, be a good boy and sleep."

"I want to sleep with Brother."

"Alright, am I not sleeping with you?"

"Brother, I want to hear you sing."

"..."

Gradually, his exhausted brother finally fell asleep on Dongbo Xueying's chest. Dongbo Xueying dared not move, fearing he would wake him.

By evening.

Zong Ling and Tong San arrived outside the room.

"Let me see," Zong Ling pushed the door open gently and peered through the crack. He saw the chubby little Qing Shi sprawled out across his brother's chest, drool staining his brother's shirt, while Dongbo Xueying was also fast asleep, his clothes disheveled and only half-covered by the quilt.

Tong San also looked through the crack, his heart aching as he watched the two brothers huddled together.

"A Yu always took care of Shi Tou in the past, never letting the maids do it, and he is afraid of us... what will happen from now on? Does he need Xueying to soothe him to sleep every day?" Zong Ling said with concern.

"Uncle Zong, Uncle Tong." Xueying had already quietly moved his brother aside and gotten up.

"You should sleep more," Zong Ling said quickly, knowing Xueying could not have slept for long.

In truth, Xueying had barely slept. His emotions were in turmoil, and he had been soothing his brother the entire time. He had only drifted off when he became too exhausted, and his sleep was light; the moment Zong Ling and the others arrived, he had woken up. Fortunately, his constitution was extraordinary, allowing him to endure it.

"It's fine, Uncle Zong, Uncle Tong. Shi Tou was always soothed by Mother in the past; no one else ever looked after him," Dongbo Xueying said. "Now that my parents have been forcibly taken, the news cannot be hidden, and I certainly cannot let the servants look after my brother now! And he is afraid of you two... so it must be me. It is only putting him to sleep, after all; during the day, I just need to arrange for someone to keep an eye on him."

"During the day, he will be inside the castle; many people can watch him, it will be fine," Tong San said.

"Then I will leave it to you. Once your brother is a bit older, he should be fine," Zong Ling said.

"Mm." Dongbo Xueying did not say much more. This was his brother, after all. With their parents taken, he was the only one his brother had left, so he naturally had to take good care of him.

"By the way, Uncle Zong, Uncle Tong, you previously said that if I obtained a Black Iron Token from the Dragon Mountain Tower, I would know everything. How exactly does one obtain this Black Iron Token?" Dongbo Xueying pressed.

Zong Ling and Tong San felt secretly helpless.

This child, it seems, has never stopped thinking about saving his parents.

"As long as your strength is sufficient, the Dragon Mountain Tower will naturally send a Black Iron Token," Zong Ling said.

"Sufficient strength—how strong is that?" Dongbo Xueying asked.

"Your father, Uncle Tong, and I do not possess Black Iron Tokens," Zong Ling said. "The day you become strong enough for the Dragon Mountain Tower to acknowledge you, they will certainly send one over."

Dongbo Xueying understood immediately.

To obtain this so-called 'Black Iron Token', one must first be stronger than Uncle Zong and the others!

"I understand," Dongbo Xueying said, asking no further questions.

"How long has Shi been asleep?" Zong Ling asked.

"Almost three hours," Dongbo Xueying replied.

"Then wake him up. It is already evening, and Shi hasn't eaten much after all that fussing. Let him get up for dinner! Have the maids play with him for a while... that way he'll be able to sleep through the night. Otherwise, if you let him sleep now, he'll be restless in the middle of the night," Zong Ling said.

Night had fallen.

Inside the dining hall, Dongbo Xueying sat at the head of the square table, while his younger brother, Qing Shi, sat to the side as servants brought in the food.

Dongbo Xueying's meal consisted of fruit juice and exquisitely prepared Magic Beast meat, while his brother had animal milk and grains.

His brother ate happily, and Dongbo Xueying watched him with a smile, though his heart felt heavy. In the past, his father and mother would have been at this table, but now, only he and his brother remained.

"Are you full?" Dongbo Xueying asked.

"Mm, I'm full, very full." Qing Shi patted his little belly and asked curiously, "Where are Mother and Father? Why aren't they here? Are they still sleeping?"

"They went out. Shi, how about you go play in the back garden?" Dongbo Xueying said.

"The back garden! To the back garden!" Qing Shi's attention was immediately diverted. The back garden had many play areas that his mother had specially built for the two brothers, and he had loved playing there when he was younger. There were even some magical artifacts.

"Take Young Master Qing Shi to the back garden and keep a close eye on him," Dongbo Xueying said to the three maids standing nearby.

"Yes."

The three maids responded respectfully. They all knew that from this day forward, this young man was the master of the entire Snow Eagle Territory.

Watching the maids lead his brother downstairs, Dongbo Xueying leaned against the railing and looked out at the back garden. Over twenty Fire Crystal Lamps illuminated every corner of the garden, where more than a dozen servants were playing with his brother. He had arranged for so many people to be there, all of whom had been selected for their absolute loyalty.

Dongbo Xueying then stood up and walked to his study.

The study was large, six meters high, fifteen meters long, and ten meters wide. For Snow Stone Castle, which covered an area of two li, such a study was quite ordinary.

Inside the study was a desk, and the bookshelves were filled with a vast number of books, many of them biographies, novels, and stories. In the past, Dongbo Xueying had loved reading stories, and his mother had acquired many books for him.

Sitting at the desk, he flipped his hand, and the gold-leaf book appeared in his palm.

"A spear technique manual of a Transcendent Knight?" Dongbo Xueying immediately opened it and began to read.