Chapter 172: Winter Tower Bridge and Warm Snow Park

"Alright. Stop looking, let's go!"

After Yun Mu finished briefly admiring the appearance and scenery of Saierliya Palace and the Great Clock, Brenna, who was hiding behind her, quietly tugged at her sleeve and said.

Saierliya Palace was, after all, where the royal family and nobility lived, and where ministers worked their daily jobs.

If you pulled any maid out from inside, they could identify her identity at a glance.

Staying in this vicinity, it was no wonder she felt so insecure.

Thinking of this, Yun Mu chuckled.

She turned to look at Brenna and said, "Then let's go."

"Idiot, help cover me!"

Startled by her sudden turning movement, almost subconsciously, Brenna burrowed into Yun Mu's embrace, dodging any potentially existing gazes shooting out from within Saierliya Palace.

"Is it necessary to be this careful?" Yun Mu said, somewhat speechless. "With you like this, how are the two of us supposed to walk?"

"Cough, cough." Brenna also noticed the strange posture between the two of them at this moment, and could not help but blush, saying a bit embarrassedly, "Cau, caution is necessary!"

"There are many Transcendental in Saierliya Palace, and those guys have sharp eyesight. If they discover me, they will definitely notify my father at the first opportunity!"

"That old man—"

Speaking of this, Brenna seemed to think of something and shuddered with a look of disgust.

"In, in any case, let's leave here quickly," she said.

"According to the original plan, after seeing the Great Clock, it's the Winter Tower Bridge. From here, follow the Fursado River east for about six or seven kilometers, then—hey, hey, hey!?"

Before Brenna could finish her sentence, a warm palm quietly slid along her buttocks to the base of her thigh.

As Yun Mu gave a light lift, Brenna, who had been huddled in her arms, was suddenly picked up entirely.

"This way we can walk," Yun Mu said with a chuckle as she held Brenna in her arms.

Her palm lightly brushed over the silk stockings wrapping Brenna's entire leg, and feeling the cool, silky texture coming from her palm, she couldn't help but pinch the outer flesh of the other's thigh.

"Mm—not allowed to pinch randomly!"

With a light huff, Brenna shot her a look of annoyance.

"Not allowed to pinch randomly, that means, it's okay to pinch rhythmically, right?" Hearing her words, Yun Mu raised an eyebrow and said half-jokingly.

Heh heh, now Saierliya Palace was right behind her.

How could you little kitten escape from my clutches?

That is impossible, let me tell you!

Jie jie jie!

Yun Mu let out a standard villainous cackle in her heart.

"Stop messing around, let's go quickly." Brenna, held in Yun Mu's arms, looked at her with a somewhat helpless expression.

This person really didn't show a shadow of her background as a street urchin; she had absolutely no awe for her, a royal princess.

Although she didn't dislike this comfortable way of getting along, either... glancing at Yun Mu's cheek with a guilty conscience, Brenna withdrew her gaze and didn't say anything more.

Yun Mu just carried Brenna like this, following the Fursado River, and walked toward the east.

A journey of six or seven kilometers was not very far; an ordinary person could arrive in a little over an hour, let alone Yun Mu, who was a Transcendental.

Carrying someone in her arms did not affect her speed in the slightest, and Brenna seemed to have forgotten she needed to get down, leaning against her the whole time while looking at the scenery on both sides of the river.

It wasn't until they got closer to the location of Winter Tower Bridge and the figures on the surrounding streets gradually increased that she let Yun Mu put her down with a slightly flushed face.

"See the two high towers standing on the river in the distance? There are taverns, shops, and cafes inside. We'll have our lunch there."

After getting down from Yun Mu, perhaps wanting to find a topic, or perhaps just simply introducing it.

Brenna pointed to the distance, to the two high towers that looked to be made of sturdy stone, and the two bridges, one high and one low, that connected the towers and spanned the entire Fursado River, saying: "That is the bridge connecting the north and south of Winter City. The lower bridge is mainly for vehicle traffic. When merchant ships or cargo vessels pass through the Fursado River, the lower bridge will rise to both sides via a mechanical structure, allowing the ships to pass, while pedestrians can still use the upper bridge to reach the other side—"

It really is just London Tower Bridge; the functions are exactly the same. Listening to Brenna's introduction, Yun Mu thought to herself.

Could it be that there are other Chuanzhezhe in this world? She suddenly thought of such a possibility.

No, probably not.

This is just the astonishing similarity between world and world, civilization and civilization.

The fact that the intelligent beings of another world are humans, and not some other strange-looking aliens, is already something worth marveling at, isn't it?

Compared to such a miracle, it's just that the landmark buildings are similar; there's nothing to be surprised about.

Although that's what she said, she was still somewhat concerned about this matter.

If there's a chance in the future, she should read more books related to history. If there really were Chuanzhezhe who had a significant impact on the world, it should be easy to discover them.

"Woo—"

A low ship whistle suddenly sounded from the Fursado River, interrupting Yun Mu's train of thought.

She and Brenna looked in the direction the sound came from.

They saw a huge inland cargo ship sailing toward Winter Tower Bridge with great momentum.

The carriages and Steam Car on the lower bridge almost subconsciously accelerated, while vehicles arriving from afar stopped one after another after the members of the Guard Hall stationed here specifically for this purpose reached out to intercept them.

Creak, creak—the towers on both sides of the bridge emitted a dull sound of machinery turning. The gears, meticulously maintained by craftsmen, very smoothly separated the bridge from the middle and lifted it upward, opening a path for the passing cargo ship.

"Woo—"

The cargo ship let out another long whistle, as if greeting someone.

"Where is this cargo ship from?"

Yun Mu asked as she watched the cargo ship pass through Winter Tower Bridge and sail toward the downstream of the Fursado River.

"Looking at the direction, it should have departed from the North District port. As for the cargo ship's destination, I'm not sure." Brenna watched the back of the departing cargo ship and continued:

"The Fursado River is 465 kilometers long, passes through 12 coastal cities, and finally flows into the North Sea. She is the mother river of the Frost Kingdom. Even when the environment in Winter City is at its worst, no factory dares to dump trash into the Fursado River."

"The beginning of civilization often starts by the river, after all." Hearing Brenna's words, Yun Mu thought of something and sighed softly.

【Rivers are the cradle of civilization, and you have witnessed this firsthand. Your Path of Civilization points +5.】【Civilization lv2—Civilization lv3】【Your Max HP +5, Attack +2, Spell Strength +2, Defense +2, Resilience +1, Dodge +3, Speed +1, Precision Correction +5, Critical Hit +1%】【You have obtained the trait: Appraisal Eye】【Relying on your own Spirituality and what you have learned, you can appraise any item or creature and obtain partial knowledge related to the appraised target.】

【Civilization Lv. 3: Max HP +50, Resilience +3. After receiving a fatal attack, you will not enter the death state, and your HP will recover to half of its maximum.】 【When fighting against a race you have previously battled, damage +25%, damage received -15%.】 Has my Path level increased?

Looking at the information surging into her mind, Yun Mu was slightly stunned. Afterward, a cool sensation poured into her right eye.

Deep within her gray-white pupil, a pale blue eye pattern flashed by.

【Bomuoluo Shrimp】

【A medium-sized cargo ship adopting a flat-bottomed hull design to adapt to shallow rivers and cargo transport needs. The vast majority of the hull is made of tough wood, paired with a hybrid low-pressure steam engine using wood and coal as fuel to drive the paddle wheels as the ship's power. The cargo capacity is 220 tons, and the maximum width of the hull is 38.69 meters.】

Is this the specific information of that cargo ship from just now? Feeling the Spirituality quietly draining from her mind and the inexplicably surging information, Yun Mu instantly understood the ability of this newly acquired trait, 【Appraisal Eye】.

She looked at Brenna with some curiosity and injected her own Spirituality into her right eye.

The pale blue eye pattern appeared once again deep within her pupil, and subsequently, a large amount of information belonging to Brenna flooded into Yun Mu's mind.

【Brenna Saierliya】

【The eighth-generation monarch of the Frost Kingdom, daughter of Saierliya VIII. She is the youngest and also the most favored Third Princess, 16 years old this year. She likes all kinds of sweets, hates spicy flavors, specializes in Mechanical Manufacturing, and has unique insights into Bionic Dolls and Automatic Machine Soldiers.

In terms of politics and statecraft, she has even received personal affirmation from numerous ministers and the King, but for some unknown reason, she gave up the easily attainable right of succession to the throne.

At the same time, due to the influence of her childhood living environment and various other factors, she actually yearns for a freer life deep down and is unwilling to be bound.

When facing strangers, she often appears slightly cold or very strong-willed, but after becoming familiar, one will discover the gentleness and thoughtfulness disguised beneath her strong exterior; low attack and low defense.

She seems a bit lost recently, but this confusion is gradually dissipating; perhaps this has something to do with the person by her side?】

There's actually this much information!? Yun Mu, who had originally only held the idea of giving it a try, was stunned after feeling the massive amount of information surging in her mind.

Although the vast majority of this information was something she already knew, it was definitely not as detailed as what the Appraisal Eye had organized.

For example, regarding Brenna's personality.

She only knew that Brenna was easy to talk to after getting familiar.

As for the low attack and low defense... *cough cough*, actually, one could still sense that.

But then again.

So it turns out that the vast majority of ministers, as well as the King himself, highly approve of Brenna's level in politics and statecraft?

Then why would she choose to give up the right of succession to the throne?

Is it for freedom?

Yun Mu thought of the information obtained from the Appraisal Eye about Brenna not liking to be bound, and pondered.

Even if her level in politics and statecraft is high, so what? If she doesn't like it, she doesn't like it.

She could actually quite understand Brenna's thoughts.

What's the point of being a monarch? Working yourself to death every day—did I not have enough of the 996 life in my past life?

Of course, this is just her own thought; as for what Brenna is actually thinking, she doesn't really know either.

And besides the issue regarding the succession to the throne.

The last piece of information obtained by the Appraisal Eye... regarding the matter of the confusion in Brenna's heart.

This point did not exceed her expectations too much.

After all, even she, someone who hadn't spent much time with Elena, felt sad and distressed for a period after the other party died.

Let alone Brenna, who had played with Elena since childhood?

It was inevitable for the other party to feel lost and pained; it was just that as a Princess, as the person nominally in charge, she could not reveal her own weakness.

She could only bear this burden of pain alone.

Fortunately, this pain and confusion could dissipate, and all Yun Mu did was accelerate the process of dissipation by just a little bit.

"Do you want to take a photo?"

The two arrived directly beneath the Winter Tower Bridge. Brenna suddenly took out a camera and looked at her, saying.

"Sure." Yun Mu came back to her senses and nodded in agreement.

"Don't you need someone to help?" Watching Brenna place the camera on a high platform and set the timer, she asked.

"No need." Shaking her head, Brenna quickly ran to her side after setting the camera's timer function.

"Because this is a memory that belongs only to us." After standing still beside her, Brenna put on a smiling face and said softly.

Click!

The gears inside the camera turned, triggering the shutter and emitting a crisp sound.

"Alright, let's go."

Carefully putting the camera away, Brenna turned her head to look at her and said.

"Sure."

A memory that belongs only to us, huh... Yun Mu followed behind Brenna, the corners of her mouth unable to help but curl upward slightly.

The two followed the stairs into the second floor of the tower. In this tower where they were located, the second floor had been renovated by the boss who rented it into a café where one could enjoy the scenery of the river surface and both riverbanks.

It was a pity that Yun Mu and Brenna had already finished their breakfast at another café, so they had no interest in a café right now.

Thus, they came to the third floor—this was a shop that sold some special daily necessities and small ornaments with collection value.

Brenna and Yun Mu lingered here for a while; the former purchased a beautifully crafted makeup mirror, while the latter, after picking and choosing, purchased a watch worth 15 Gold Frost.

Going further up was the final floor of the tower.

A small bookstore had actually opened here; besides buying books, one could also read while enjoying the beautiful scenery on the side.

It was just a pity... Shaking her head, Yun Mu and Brenna left this bookstore and followed the upper bridge of the Winter Tower Bridge, crossing the Fursado River to arrive at the opposite side of the riverbank, which was the top of the tower in the Winter South District.

The two walked down the stairs, and soon, a restaurant filled with the aroma of butter and meat appeared before them.

PS: Oh my, finally finished writing.

It's already 4:30 now.

I'm exhausted.

Other people finish 4,000 words in one hour of life-and-death speed at 11 o'clock.

I only wrote one thousand words in three damn hours.

Ah! (End of this chapter)