SNOOPING AROUND MEMORIES (2)

The last memory Marshall watched from the crystal seemed a more recent one. The crystal sat in a boy's hands. It was Muyang, seemingly two years younger than when Marshall had met him. He fiddled with the crystal while Matriarch Lou talked to him.

It seemed to be the kid's room. It was clean and relatively organized. Every shelf was crammed with books, similar of the house in Marble Garth. The only difference was, in Wyn's seclusion house there were mainly academic materials, however, in the boy's room it was all fiction. 

"Dear, can you tell me what happened? I'm here to help," Matriarch Lou said in a gentle voice, watching the boy attentively.

"Uh..." Muyang hesitated, plucking the corner of his sleeve. Unlike the immovable Wyn, the kid ended up explaining everything he knew.

By his words, Lord Chioni had always been interested in power, and his position was the dearest thing to him—prized above his family.

Muyang said he thought Wyn was working on his skills so hard because he had decided to follow into their father's footsteps. Then, a year before the Four Season Contest, Lord Chioni brought a new official to the Chastity Tower, which Muyang discovered was a demon.

"I was the first to find out because that demonic guy targeted me. I didn't know what he wanted from me, but whenever our paths crossed, he would drag me away and punch me around for a few hours, then let me go," Muyang said, wrinkling his nose.

Marshall's mouth hung open, and his brows knitting in disbelief, outrage sizzling in his chest. How could something like this happen in the sacred Chastity Tower?

"Did you not tell your father?" Matriarch Lou's voice was a bit strained, apparently as outraged as Marshall was while watching the memory.

Muyang sighed, "That demonic man was my father's right hand. And my father had always been indifferent towards me, so I..." he paused for a moment.

The kid waved his hand dismissively, "Either way, the demonic man kept saying if I told anyone, he would switch to messing with my brother instead. Even though we weren't that close anymore, I didn't want that to happen."

"If he was beating you up, how could nobody notice the bruises? Are the people here blind?" Matriarch Lou snapped momentarily, but quickly reeled in her anger not to scare the kid.

"He never hit my face," Muyang shrugged. "Well, either way, Wyn found out eventually. I had hidden it and applied for the Four Season Contest, thinking I could escape the demonic man for a while if I got to travel around training with other sects."

Muyang continued, "Wyn participated too, and both of us made it. Wyn took the first place, and I took the tenth," the boy laughed, "Isn't it kind of funny? Even if I flipped the list of winners upside down, one of Chioni brothers would have ended up being first."

"And why did you not travel with the Four Season Contest winners?" Matriarch Lou wondered.

"It just so happened that my brother ended up seeing the demonic man hit me after the contest and..." Muyang dragged.

"And?" the skin between Matriarch Lou's brows had a deep rift as she waited for the kid to continue.

"Well... in that moment, the demonic man was actually... choking me," Muyang scratched behind his ear with an awkward laugh. "He caught on that I was trying to get away, but even though he was one of the judges of the Four Season Contest, he couldn't disqualify me. In the end, he resorted to threatening to kill me."

The boy gestured with his hands nervously, "Uh, anyway, Wyn happened to have Cheimon on him, so he killed the demonic man with one strike."

Marshall's fingers twitched as if trying to grab an imaginary sword to slash the demonic official in his imagination. He would have done the same thing as Wyn.

"But because the that man was our father's right hand, as punishment, father stripped Wyn of his first place and sent him into seclusion for a year... I felt guilty, so I dropped out as well..."

Marshall listened intently, but he couldn't sit still. Communication would have solved things! Why didn't Muyang ask Wyn for help from the start? They were family. Weren't families supposed to rely on each other? Why couldn't they just... talk it out and find a solution together? 

Muyang added, "Sometimes it feels impossible to get anywhere near Wyn. He shuts people out in such a cold way that it becomes hard to be around him just because it's so awkward."

"I understand," Matriarch Lou said sympathetically. "However, perhaps you could try being more honest with him. Wyn might have developed a cold exterior over time, but he still has a strong sense of responsibility."

Muyang shrugged passively. "I think he just doesn't want to hang out with me anymore. Growing up, we shared almost everything even though we didn't have to. If he brought home snacks, he would come to my room, and we would eat them together. But since mom died, he only studies."

Marshall couldn't help but feel a bit down upon hearing this. If he had a brother, he would have never drifted apart from him no matter what. 

Matriarch Lou gave the kid a reassuring pat on the back, but couldn't muster up the audacity to say that it was going to be alright. Wyn had just been sent into seclusion, so their family relationship would likely only get more strained.

After finishing the memory, Marshall set the crystal down and leaned back with a sigh. Growing up in the Chastity Tower seemed tough. But the crystal helped him gain a better understanding of Wyn.

Yet, all the memories he had watched were... somewhat depressing. Marshall was no longer sure whether to bring the crystal to Wyn. It wouldn't have brought the snow deity any happiness. 

"Ah, I don't know," Marshall murmured, lying down on the stone floor.