Fifty li northwest of Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire, lies a magnificent estate spanning over 3,000 mu—the White Tiger Duke Mansion.
From afar, the halls seem to touch the clouds, exuding an extraordinary aura, but a closer look reveals a different layout.
The central pavilions of the mansion are towering, with carved beams and painted rafters, epitomizing luxury, while many simple courtyards are scattered around for the servants to live in.
However, in an inconspicuous small courtyard near the north back gate of the Duke mansion, a nominal mistress was settled.
The shadows of the sun gradually lengthened toward the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun cast a layer of lonely golden light over this small courtyard.
In the courtyard, a small figure less than 1 meter tall was playing alone.
His name was Dai Yuhao, and he was the son of the Duke of White Tiger.
But in this Duke mansion, even the servants did not show any respect to this Young Master.
Having just turned 3 years old, Dai Yuhao should have been at a carefree age.
Although he had never enjoyed even half of the treatment befitting a Duke son, he did not understand what it meant to be indignant; he simply stayed peacefully within this tiny world.
The courtyard wasn't large and lacked the playthings children loved, but just running back and forth was enough to bring a pure smile to his tender face.
"Huh?"
While running, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Under the slanting rays of the setting sun, in the sand at the corner of the wall, a faint glimmer flickered softly.
He crouched down and brushed away the loose soil with his small hands, unexpectedly digging out a dusty bronze mirror.
Dai Yuhao carefully wiped the mirror surface with his cuff; the soil fell away, revealing the mottled patterns underneath.
Although the mirror surface had several fine cracks, it still clearly reflected a small face with sparse soft hair, bright eyes, and a nose tip stained with dirt.
"Mom will definitely like this!"
His eyes lit up, and he stood up holding the mirror handle, eager to turn around and head back into the house.
But the moment he turned back, his entire body suddenly froze.
At some point, the light and shadows at the courtyard entrance had been cut off by several figures.
The leader was a boy about the same age as Dai Yuhao, but he was half a head taller, and his silk clothes complemented his ruddy and full complexion.
His name was Dai Huabin; his mother had once said that this was his brother.
Dai Yuhao didn't yet understand what brother meant, but he did not like this brother.
Because every time this brother appeared, he always brought unease and pain.
"What are you holding in your hand?"
Dai Huabin voice carried its usual arrogance, and his finger pointed straight at Dai Yuhao tightly clenched small hand.
Dai Yuhao body trembled, and he instinctively tucked the bronze mirror into his chest and turned his back.
"Seize it for me!"
Before Dai Huabin voice could even fade, four 7 or 8 year old boys behind him pounced into the courtyard like wolves.
They quickly surrounded Dai Yuhao, several hands reaching out roughly toward the bronze mirror he was desperately protecting.
"Give it back to me..."
Dai Yuhao resisted desperately like a frightened little beast, but in the scuffle, he was kicked hard in the back of the knee, causing him to fall onto the sandy ground.
Dust rose, but he didn't care; he just arched his back tightly, using his entire thin chest and palms to press down on the mirror.
Fists and feet fell like raindrops, kicking his ribs, thumping his shoulders and back, and soles of shoes scuffing his calves... Their movements were practiced and their expressions numb; clearly, this kind of violence was not happening for the first time.
Dai Yuhao bit his lip hard, locking his whimpers deep in his throat, his fingernails almost sinking into the cracks of the mirror frame.
But he was only 3 years old, after all.
A rough, hard hand clamped onto his wrist and twisted forcefully; his knuckles let out a faint crack.
The bronze mirror slipped from his suddenly loosened palm and was easily snatched away by another hand.
Dai Huabin strolled over slowly, took the mirror handed to him by the servant, and glanced at it by the sunset light.
"And here I thought it was some kind of treasure."
He curled his lip, his childish face showing undisguised mockery: "It's just a broken mirror."
As he spoke, he casually threw the bronze mirror onto the ground.
Before leaving, Dai Huabin casually raised his foot and used the tip of his exquisite boot to kick Dai Yuhao curled-up leg, as if kicking aside an obstructive stone on the road.
Only then did he lead the four boys away, turning and stepping out of the courtyard gate as if nothing had happened.
The sound of footsteps faded, leaving only the dust slowly settling in the courtyard and the small figure lying motionless in the sand.
Once the footsteps had completely disappeared outside the courtyard, Dai Yuhao let out a suppressed cry of pain from between his clenched teeth.
He struggled several times before using his elbows to support himself and painfully sat up from the ground.
Sand covered his hair and clothes, and with every movement, a sharp sting came from the places where he had been beaten.
He sat there for a long time until his breathing gradually calmed, then slowly crawled over to pick up the discarded bronze mirror.
The mirror body was cold, its cracks stained with dust and his fingerprints.
He gripped the bronze mirror tightly and then limped toward the low hut not far away.
Enduring the ubiquitous pain throughout his body, he changed out of his dirty and torn clothes and used a little fresh water from a basin to carefully wipe away the blood seeping from the corners of his mouth and fingertips.
He wasn't naturally obsessed with cleanliness; he just remembered that many times, when his mother saw him in such a state, she would turn her back, her shoulders trembling slightly as she let out a desperately suppressed sob.
He didn't want to make Mom cry anymore.
After tidying up, he hid the dust-stained clothes and then climbed onto the hard wooden bed.
Lying flat and staying still, the pain in his body really did seem to lessen slightly.
He turned on his side, clutching the cold bronze mirror tightly to his chest, and stared wide-eyed at the door, waiting for his mother figure to return from work.
The light outside the window dimmed bit by bit, and the twilight flooded into the small hut like a tide.
The waiting time was stretched long by pain and exhaustion; his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his consciousness gradually blurred.
Finally, unable to resist the instinctive weariness of a child body, he held the bronze mirror and slowly fell asleep.
However, at that moment, he did not see that the cracked bronze mirror in his arms suddenly vibrated very slightly.
Immediately following, a cold radiance emerged, flashing gloomily from the deepest crack on the mirror surface.
The moment the light retracted, the bronze mirror seemed to melt into the shadows, and without any warning, it vanished without a trace... Douluo Continent, Sun Moon Federation, Old Star Luo City.
10,000 years ago, the Star Luo Empire was no match for the Sun Moon Empire, and eventually, the entire nation crossed the ocean to open a new home on a distant new continent.
The capital of that place, named the Star Luo Continent, still bore the name Star Luo.
Therefore, the original capital on the Douluo Continent was henceforth known as Old Star Luo City.
As the years passed, this once incredibly illustrious capital of a nation, after losing its status as a political heart, inevitably drifted toward mediocrity.
Nowadays, it remains an important city within the Sun Moon Federation, but its glory is no longer what it once was, having quietly slipped from the ranks of the continent's first-tier cities; it is now only a second-tier city.
On this day, the high-level officials of the Spirit Pagoda were conducting a routine inspection, and the one visiting the Old Star Luo City Branch Pagoda was none other than the headquarters Vice Tower Master, Leng Yaozhu.
After the inspection was finished, she was preparing to leave, accompanied by a local Tower Master and two Vice Tower Masters.
However, just as she stepped out of the grand gates of the Spirit Pagoda, Leng Yaozhu footsteps suddenly halted.
On the ground just a few steps ahead of her, a small figure had appeared without any warning.
With her cultivation at the Quasi-Demigod level, she had actually failed to notice when or how this figure had appeared.
The three high-level Branch Pagoda officials accompanying her also noticed the abnormal presence at this moment. One of them looked stern and instinctively wanted to step forward to investigate, but was silently stopped by Leng Yaozhu raising her hand.
Her gaze fell on that figure; it was a child about 3 or 4 years old, wearing simple black cloth clothes, curled up on his side on the ground, seemingly in a deep sleep.
Leng Yaozhu eyes narrowed slightly as she took a step forward, slowly crouched down, and gently picked up the child.
Her keen perception swept over him instantly; there was not a trace of spirit power fluctuation. This seemed to be just an ordinary child.
However, the faint purple bruises visible beneath the cloth clothes, as well as the slight wounds and dried blood at the corners of the child mouth and knuckles, caused her expression to suddenly darken.
She didn't know who could be so heavy-handed with such a young child, and a flash of heartache passed through her eyes.
The child moved slightly in her arms, as if sensing this unfamiliar warmth, and unconsciously murmured in his sleep: "...Mama."
This blurred call was very soft, but it caused Leng Yaozhu body to stiffen almost imperceptibly.
An extremely complex emotion instantly washed over her heart. If she had been able to be with Yun Ming back then, perhaps... she too would have had such a soft little life snuggled in her arms, calling her Mama so dependently.
She looked down at the child bruised but peacefully sleeping little face, a look of contemplation flashing in her eyes.
She raised her head and then said to those behind her: "Prepare a room for me."
Hearing this, the three high-level Branch Pagoda officials behind her quickly exchanged glances, but no one asked a single question.
They immediately bowed in response and then turned to lead the way, surrounding Leng Yaozhu as she carried the child and stepped back into the gates of the Spirit Pagoda.
What had caused Leng Yaozhu to abruptly change her itinerary was not entirely the softness stirred by that unconscious call of Mama.
A young child with no spirit power fluctuation and covered in wounds had actually managed to bypass her perception so bizarrely and appear out of thin air in front of the Spirit Pagoda gates... This was absolutely no coincidence, nor was it ordinary.
The appearance of this child itself was a mystery that could not be ignored.
She had to figure out exactly who this child was. Why did he appear before her in this manner? And was there some kind of intention or calculation hidden behind this?