Night had fallen outside Chang’an City, at the post house.
"Dammit, why are there so many mosquitoes?!" A constable shot up from his bed, gasping for air. He lit the candle in the room with a Fire Stick and viciously scanned his surroundings for the cursed insects.
His movements woke the other constables in the room; Li Shenbin in the corner, however, remained motionless, sleeping soundly.
They were tasked with escorting Li Shenbin to the Ten Thousand Desolate Mountains to serve his sentence of exile.
Exile as a form of punishment had existed since ancient times. Sending convicted individuals to undesirable and remote areas not only maintained social order but also helped populate sparsely inhabited State Mansions and cultivate the untamed wilderness.
The destination for Li Shenbin, Mang State, bordered the Ten Thousand Desolate Mountains. It was one of the frontlines in Yu Country’s territorial expansion and a primary location for exiling prisoners.
The environment there was harsh, with accidental deaths occurring every year. Occasionally, some couldn’t endure it anymore and managed to escape back—only to be caught by the garrison and sent back to Mang State to serve out their sentences.
Fortunately for this group of constables, they did not need to actually travel to Mang State. Once they were a hundred li from Chang’an and had fulfilled the formality, they would be relieved by the Cultivators from the garrison in the next room. These Cultivators would then swiftly transport Li Shenbin to Mang State on Flying Swords.
This unwritten rule existed for two reasons. First, it prevented members of the royal family from dying on the road, which would leave institutions like the Ministry of Justice hard-pressed for explanations. Second, due to the prestigious status of the royal family, there was a potential risk of retaliation or attack on the road.
However, even a short time away from the bustling and prosperous Chang’an City was trying. A room in the post house without mosquito netting was one such trial.
A colleague sighed, "Just bear with it. Didn’t the people from the post house tell us? The Nanzhou Envoy is also here, and they’ve already booked all the rooms with mosquito netting."
"What about the Nanzhou Envoy?"
The constable jerked his chin toward the corner. "We also have *this* one."
The conversation faltered. Seeing his comrade fall silent, the constable, feeling his remark unwelcome, busied himself swatting mosquitoes.
Constables from the Ministry of Justice, with their modest salaries, certainly couldn’t afford Chang’an’s new mosquito-repelling essential oils. Though they managed to kill some mosquitoes, their sleepiness had vanished.
Unable to sleep, they resorted to idle chitchat.
Their topics drifted from the horse races to the upcoming preliminary examinations for the Academic Palace, then from the examinations to the sick house, and somehow, eventually, to strange and unusual tales.
The ancient locust trees in the East Market of Chang’an, several in number, were said to have been planted during the Southern Dynasty, making them older even than the Former Sui. It was said that Dharma himself had achieved enlightenment under one of these trees during his journey east.
These trees supposedly held miraculous powers, capable of fulfilling a person’s most devout and intense wishes—for a price. Perhaps this was due to their limited mana, or maybe the ancient trees were, in fact, a malevolent Alien species. In any case, the way they granted wishes always seemed contrary to what was hoped for.
For instance, one might trade a lifetime of joy to wish for topping the imperial examinations. Indeed, that year the top scorer’s name would be theirs—only it belonged to someone else with the exact same name.
Another person, wishing for a sudden windfall in exchange for being childless for life, did indeed acquire wealth—as compensation after being crippled by a nobleman’s carriage.
Over time, no one believed in making wishes to the ancient locust trees anymore.
But one man remained skeptical. He believed previous Wish Makers had been too blunt, leading to adverse consequences. To achieve a Perfect outcome, one had to be more subtle with their wish.
After reading about the existence of Invisibility Leaves in ancient texts, he would go to the ancient tree night after night. He offered incense and devout prayers, wishing for an Invisibility Leaf in exchange for ten years off his lifespan. According to the texts, the leaf would not cause him to disappear completely. It would take effect when he picked it up and cease when he put it down, ready for use at any moment.
For forty-nine consecutive nights he prayed, and on the final night, a leaf finally drifted down from the ancient tree, landing before him.
Upon picking up the leaf, he discovered that others could no longer see him. Anyone he tripped would simply think they had slipped and fallen. In the mirror, his reflection was gone. Even the Cultivators could not sense his presence.
Finally, completely assured, he boldly entered the bank’s vault with the Invisibility Leaf and made off with the gold and silver inside.
Just as he was leaving with the loot, a hand landed on his shoulder. When he turned to look, he saw a kind-looking old man with white hair.
Terrified, he instinctively cried out, "How can you see me?" Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NovᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt
The old man answered with a smile, "This Invisibility Leaf in your hand truly makes you invisible. However..."
As he spoke, the old man’s mouth grew larger and larger, revealing a mouthful of sharp fangs. He then consumed the man’s head in one bite and mumbled around a mouthful, "I’m not human, you see."
It turned out that in the world of Aliens, a person holding an Invisibility Leaf was as conspicuous as a lit lamp in the desolate wilderness at night.
The constable who was speaking paused, then said leisurely, "But, of course, that story must be false. If the ancient locust tree truly granted every wish, Wish Makers would have stripped it of all its leaves and flowers long ago. How could it still be standing there? The Academic Palace and the garrison would surely have noticed its strangeness, felled it, and taken it to Dongjun Tower or some other place for strict confinement."
The gentle chimes of the Haotian Bell echoed through the post house. It was already 05:00.
They had to travel the next day, so everyone blew out their candles, returned to their beds, and sank into a heavy sleep.
The constable who had woken first to swat mosquitoes now lay on his bed, tossing and turning. In a hazy doze, he heard extremely faint creaking sounds from the room’s wooden floor.
Probably just someone getting up to relieve themselves, he figured.
The constable turned over and continued to sleep, but those faint creaking sounds, after stopping for a moment, resumed, slowly making a half circle around the room.
He subconsciously opened his eyes. In the dim light, he saw the quilt on the opposite constable’s bed lift at one corner, seemingly on its own.
Then the first bed, the third bed...
Wherever the strange presence went, the creaking of the wooden floorboards followed.
One by one, the corners of the quilts were lifted, as if an invisible Butcher were selecting the plumpest pig in a sty.
Finally, the footsteps came to a stop next to the bed where Li Shenbin lay.
The constable felt a chill surge through his body and instinctively wanted to scream.
Instantly, accompanied by the clash of gold and iron, a radiant rainbow light burst forth from around Li Shenbin, flooding the bedroom.
The light from the Protective Talisman illuminated the entire room, waking all the Government Officials. It also revealed the would-be assailant: a short figure shrouded in a grey robe, wielding a wooden Dagger. A single green leaf grew on the wooden Dagger.
The assassin, clearly not anticipating this, clutched the wooden Dagger tightly. Their figure flickered, unable to become completely invisible under the talisman’s rainbow light.
Startled awake, Li Shenbin slapped his bed and sat up. He laughed unrestrainedly at the assassin. "I knew someone would try to assassinate me! Who? Who sent you? Li Ang? Meng Chengye? Or Jin Wusuan? Hahaha! No matter who it is, for defying the Emperor’s decree and attempting assassination, you will all die!!"
As if to validate his words, the hum of a Sword came from the next room. The two garrison Cultivators tasked with escorting Li Shenbin to Mang State had made their move.
Two Flying Swords burst through the wall, streaking toward the assailant with the ferocity of thunder.
Li Shenbin sat on his bed, watching with smug delight as events unfolded.
He belonged to the royal family. His status was far from that of an ordinary criminal, especially since he had made a deadly enemy of Jin Wusuan, the number one merchant of Yu Country. Considering various factors, the garrison had lent him several Protective Talismans to fend off assassination attempts that might occur during his exile.
I just never expected an assassination attempt to come so quickly, so suddenly, so... pathetic, he mused.
Li Shenbin almost wanted to burst into triumphant song. His sentence of exile had been personally altered by Emperor Yu. No matter how much His Majesty, the Emperor, might despise him, he would not tolerate such an act of assassination, which defied the imperial will.
The assassin, and the mastermind behind them, would both die terribly.
The Sword Qi from the two Flying Swords tore recklessly through the room, splintering the floorboards, but they missed their target, failing to strike the assassin as intended.
The short assailant was now in a corner of the room, shielded from behind by a dark figure in a black trench coat and a Dragon-head mask.