The entrance to the attic was quite cramped, so Yun Wei could only stand crouched down.
The waiter opened the door and handed him the key. "Sir, our room rate is six gold coins per day. Would you like to pay daily or..."
Upon hearing this, Yun Wei used his divine sense to search his space and discovered that he only had a small bag of gold coins left on him.
He handed the bag of gold coins to the waiter and said, "I will be staying for a while, so the room fee can be deducted from this bag. I have no other needs and you don't need to bother me."
Ephesus loved customers like this who were easy to get and paid a lot. He smiled and replied, "Yes, sir. Just let me know if you need anything. There's a bell by the chimney; just ring it and I'll come up."
After saying that, he bent over, braced his hands on the narrow side walls, and exaggeratedly went downstairs.
Yun Wei entered the room.
The whole room was low and had a musty smell, just as unpleasant as the dampness on his body.
The clothes that were originally close-fitting were now sticking to my skin from the rain, and it was very uncomfortable.
He casually cast a simple purification spell, then took off his clothes, kicked off his shoes, and lay down on the bed.
The suffocating musty smell mixed with the earthy stench pouring in from outside the window gave him a rare sense of calm.
Despite the torrential rain outside, he still had a house to rest in.
He quietly watched the flashes of lightning reflected off the roof and couldn't help but wonder if people, when they die, can lie motionless for a long time like this.
No, Yunwei, you should get some sleep. He told himself.
Don't think about anything.
Finally, he turned to his side and hugged himself.
The skin on his shoulder was smooth and cool, and he couldn't help but slowly rub it. This comfort relieved his repression, and he breathed heavily, wantonly yet painfully.
The familiar scene seemed to be saying that life is a continuous cycle.
Isn't that so?
...
He didn't know when he was woken up by the noise on the street.
The attic wasn't meant for entertaining guests, and it didn't have any soundproofing magic, so he woke up along with the first people to awaken in Moonflower City.
Although his body was awake, his soul might not have been, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a daze.
Last night's rain definitely didn't soak through.
The air didn't feel fresh after the rain; instead, it was damp and hot.
Yun Wei got out of bed and walked barefoot to the small window in the attic.
The window was small, and his place was high enough that he could do whatever he wanted, even be naked.
Through the dirty wooden window, he could only see the Tower of All Laws.
That tree, reaching for the heavens and earth, defying the laws of creation, simply grows outside the window on its own.
He and the tree stood silently facing each other, gazing at each other from afar.
Until the sky began to lighten.
Until he felt that his noisy and fearful heart had finally calmed down completely.
Yun Wei mustered all his courage and addressed the person on the other side of the contract:
[Isaac, may I defend myself?]
However, there was no reply, no response.
His heart felt empty, with only his own weak, listless heartbeat remaining.
Yun Wei then realized that the other party had already built a high wall around him.
His contract with Isaac still stands, but his true feelings have become a monologue.
But the strange reality is that, in this moment when he should have been hysterical, he didn't show much emotion.
He never had too many extravagant hopes.
It was this instinct, ingrained in his very being, that ultimately protected and fulfilled him.
The Yellow Crane has flown away, never to return; the white clouds drift aimlessly for a thousand years.
While listening to his unanswered inner voice, he was reminded of this line of poetry.
Yes, at this moment, his heart was filled with poetry.
Yun Wei immediately and readily blocked the contract, just like the other party.
He went to the old wooden table by the wall, took out paper and pen, and quickly wrote down his thoughts:
"A scarlet eagle's tail, startled, it takes flight without a cry."
"Fools don't understand, yet they still wait."
After putting down his pen and gazing with satisfaction at the words he had written with a sigh, he suddenly realized how to write the epic that had troubled him for so long.
He no longer needed to deliberately curry favor with Catherine the Great.
This is an epic he wrote himself, subject only to his own will.
In his mind, this epic was not merely a celebration of the legend of Aragon, but also a rite of mourning for the life of Argh.
He suddenly burst into tears, for that lost star.
Yun Wei no longer had the courage to look through the other person's "Collection of Love Words".
Some people live in fairy tales.
And they are in hell.
...
Yun Wei went to see Catherine again.
Although he was forced to understand many things, at such a crucial juncture in his life, he was still willing to indulge his obsession.
The reason was simple: he still deeply loved Isaac.
Catherine remained dignified and elegant, sitting there casually. "Haven't you visited this old woman in a long time?"
To be honest, Yun Wei was very envious of the other party.
The other person has always lived a very self-centered life.
This can be seen from the way the other party refers to themselves; whether it's "little woman" or "old woman," it all depends on their personal mood and preference.
This is the authority granted by supreme power.
Everyone else could only respectfully address him as "Your Majesty".
But at this moment, he was full of malice and said without any attempt to hide it, "Yes, I have been quite busy lately. After all, I have my own plans."
Catherine stared intently at him.
In the past, Yun Wei might have avoided the other person's gaze.
But today he sat calmly, staring at the king with unparalleled arrogance.
“Suit yourself,” Catherine said expressionlessly, as if she wasn’t offended at all. “I only care about the contract between you two. You know I won’t approve of you being together.”
"As you wish, it will be untied." Yun Wei's lips curved into a faint smile. He took the teapot and slowly poured a cup of tea for Catherine, then poured one for himself.
"Oh?" Catherine asked him without changing her expression. "The fact that you agreed so readily makes me even more uneasy."
“As Your Majesty said, Isaac and I will not be together.” Yun Wei said each word with difficulty at first, but his tone gradually became firm. “However, I have recently come to understand something.”
Before Catherine could ask any questions, he continued talking to himself, as if he were talking to himself: "'Liking' and 'being together' are actually two completely unrelated things."
“There are countless lovesick men and women in the world who always try to connect these two things. And I am no exception; I am one of them.” He sighed with sorrow and self-pity.
Catherine remained unmoved. "Nonsense. What are you trying to say to me?"
“Isaac and I cannot be ‘together.’ This is the result of fate, and it is no one’s fault.” The sorrow in Yun Wei’s eyes suddenly faded, and his black and white eyes were unusually calm.
"And I still like him."
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