The sun began to dip behind the jagged peaks surrounding Bo City, painting the sky in shades of bruised purple and gold. Inside the Mu estate, the air remained stagnant and chilly, but by the pond, the atmosphere had shifted.
"You know," Yuzi said, dusting phantom stone-dust from his palms, "this pond is great for 'kinetic testing,' but it's a bit like a birdcage. Don't you ever want to see where the stones actually come from?"
Mu Ningxue paused, a smooth river stone mid-flick. She looked at the towering white walls of her home, then back at Yuzi's mischievous grin. The "Princess" of the Mu family was used to tutors and servants, not invitations to wander. "Father says the city can be... chaotic."
"Chaos is just another word for fun," Yuzi countered, reaching out a hand. "Besides, I've got some friends you need to meet. They don't care about mana currents or family titles. They just care if you can run fast enough to catch the sunset."
Ningxue hesitated, her silver hair catching the dying light. Then, with a definitive nod that surprised even herself, she placed her hand in his.
...
Sneaking out of the Mu manor was surprisingly easy when you had a High-Level Mage brother deliberately distracting the guards with "intense" discussions about tea. Yuzi led Ningxue through a side gate near the servant's quarters, and within minutes, the sterile silence of the estate was replaced by the chaotic symphony of Bo City's evening streets.
"Where are we going?" Ningxue asked, her voice small but curious as she navigated the crowded sidewalk.
"To the old park near the back alley of the Ming District," Yuze replied, maneuvering through the crowd with practiced ease. "It's where the real legends hang out."
As they rounded a corner into a grassy clearing littered with old tires and a makeshift soccer goal, a loud, boisterous shout rang out.
"Yuze! You're late! Zhang Xiaohou almost convinced himself he could outrun a stray cat, and he lost!"
Standing in the center of the clearing was a boy with messy black hair and a defiant glint in his eyes—Mo Fan. Beside him, a skinnier, energetic boy—Zhang Xiaohou—was rubbing a scratched knee, looking sheepish.
But it was the girl sitting in a wheelchair under the shade of a large banyan tree who truly brightened the scene. Ye Xinxia looked up, her gentle eyes widening in surprise.
"Ningxue?" Xinxia called out, a soft smile blooming on her face. "I didn't think I'd see you outside the gates today."
....
Ningxue froze for a second, her stoic mask threatening to return. "Xinxia. You... you're friends with Yuze?"
"Yuze brought us all together about six months ago," Xinxia explained as the boys approached. "He's a bit of a magnet for trouble."
Mo Fan skidded to a halt, staring at Ningxue. He had lived in Bo City his whole life, and he knew exactly who the "Silver Princess" was. He crossed his arms, trying to look unimpressed despite the slight blush on his cheeks. "So, Yuzi actually managed to kidnap a Mu. Impressive."
"I wasn't kidnapped," Ningxue said, her voice regaining its cool edge, though her eyes lingered on the way Mo Fan stood—untamed and fearless. "I'm... exploring."
"Well, 'Explorer,'" Mo Fan grinned, "hope you're ready to get those fancy shoes dirty. We were just about to start a game of 'Lizard-Beast Tag.' Xiaohou is the lizard because he's the scrawniest."
"Hey!" Xiaohou protested, though he was already crouched in a sprinting position.
For the next hour, the social hierarchy of Bo City vanished. Yuzi acted as the referee and strategist, using his reincarnated maturity to balance the teams. He watched with internal satisfaction as Ningxue's stiff movements began to fluidize.
At one point, Mo Fan tried to show off by leaping over a park bench, only to trip and face-plant into the grass. The silence that followed was broken by a sound rarely heard in the Mu manor: Mu Ningxue's laughter. It wasn't the polite titter of a noblewoman; it was a bright, genuine peal of joy.
"You're not very graceful for a 'Great Sage,' are you?" she teased, offering Mo Fan a hand up.
Mo Fan took it, grinning toothily. "Grace is for people who aren't moving fast enough."
As the stars began to poke through the twilight, the group gathered around Xinxia's wheelchair. Yuzi sat on the grass, feeling the Mind Stone in his pocket humming faintly—a reminder of the power he would one day wield. He looked at Mo Fan, the future legend, and Ningxue, the ice prodigy, currently arguing over the best way to skip stones.
...
The sky had shifted to a deep, velvety indigo. While Mo Fan and Xiaohou were busy trying to convince Ningxue that a particularly jagged piece of gravel was actually a "rare dragon scale," Yuzi drifted back toward the banyan tree to catch his breath.
Xinxia sat in her wheelchair, her hands folded over a light blanket. At ten years old, she had a quiet gentleness, but she was still very much a child, her eyes wide with the simple joy of being out with everyone. As Yuzi approached, she looked up from a small, colorful candy wrapper she was trying to fold into a paper crane.
"You're breathing hard, Yuzi," she said, her voice light and teasing. "Did Ningxue run faster than you?"
Yuzi sat on the grass beside her wheel, leaning his back against the metal frame. "She's fast," he admitted, wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead. "And she doesn't even look tired. It's like she's made of clockwork."
Xinxia giggled, a small, uncomplicated sound. "She's just happy to be out. Look at her." She pointed toward the group, where Ningxue was actually pointing at a butterfly, her usual "ice princess" expression replaced by genuine curiosity.
"Everyone's happy today," Yuzi noted, looking at Xinxia. "What about you? Are you bored sitting here with the 'slow' group?"
"I'm not bored," Xinxia said, finally finishing her lopsided paper crane and holding it out to him. "I get to watch Mo Fan trip over his own feet. That's better than any show on TV."
Yuzi took the tiny, crinkled crane, turning it over in his hand. It was messy and a bit flat, but it was a peace offering from a friend. "It looks... like a very brave bird," he joked.
Xinxia laughed and gave his shoulder a playful shove. "It's a crane! You have no imagination, Yuzi. You're always so serious, thinking about 'important' things. You should try being a kid more often."
"I'm trying, I'm trying," Yuzi laughed, tucking the paper bird carefully into his shirt pocket. "It's hard work, you know."
For a moment, they just sat there—no talk of magic, no worries about the future, just two friends enjoying the cool evening air while their boisterous friends shouted in the distance.
"Hey! You two! Stop being lazy!" Mo Fan's voice boomed as he jogged back, Ningxue following behind. "Ningxue wants to see the old library. She says the Mu family books are all full of dust and boring rules."
Yuzi stood up, dusting off his pants. He grabbed the handles of Xinxia's wheelchair, turning her toward the group. "The library it is. But only if Mo Fan promises not to yell inside."
"I make no such promises!" Mo Fan declared.
He had changed the timeline. In the original story, these meetings were fraught with tension or didn't happen this early. But here, they were just kids.
"We should do this every week," Xiaohou suggested, breathless.
"If Yuzi can keep sneaking me out," Ningxue said, glancing at Yuzi with a newfound spark of rebellion in her grey eyes.
To be continued.....
Sorry for late update but I am currently attending a wedding.
Oh and for those who are confused about Yuzi name, he had two name One is Li yun and Other Li Yuzi (during auto correction it becomes Yuze). Most of the time only grandma Zhang call him Li Yun or little Yun.
This chapter, if you like it the please show your support with power stones so it can reach more readers, if you have any questions or suggestions the please comment.
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