Yonas City,
When the appointed time arrived, Li Si followed the address Aurelian had given him and came to the agreed location.
Aurelian had not come with Li Si. He had merely smiled and said that this would be an unforgettable experience.
Li Si glanced at the building before him, somewhat surprised.
It was a two-story cottage on the edge of the magical city. Unlike anything else, it was like amber forgotten by time, quietly frozen beyond the bustle.
Unlike the city's soaring spired mage towers wrapped in glowing runes, this building had a roof laid with pale azure clay tiles, like fragments of clear sky repeatedly washed by rain.
The walls, plastered with white clay mixed with crushed shells, had long since lost their dazzling sheen. Where the plaster had peeled away, a pale yellow underlayer showed through, like the story-filled face of an old man, every crack seeming to tell of the passing mornings and evenings of a hundred years.
Rosebushes and jacarandas intertwined into a natural canopy, shrouding the cottage in dappled light and shadow.
There were no magical fountains or rune-covered lawns in the front yard. In their place was a winding path casually pieced together from bluestone, with tiny pansies sprouting from the gaps.
Bellflowers climbed the wooden window frames of the second floor. Their tiny purple blossoms trembled in the breeze, their tinkling sounds stirring the resonance of the bronze bells beneath the eaves. This primitive, pure sound seemed to drown out the distant roar of the magical clock tower, bringing a sense of peace.
Yet beyond the cottage lay the true hidden realm—the backyard.
Century-old roses grew wildly along the weathered stone walls. Deep crimson, goose yellow, and snow-white blossoms layered upon one another, bending the branches until they nearly spilled over the