The moon hung high in the sky as Li Yuanzhen leaned against the window, gazing at the withered white tea tree in front of the palace. Unable to sleep, her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of how her aunt would save the tree tomorrow.
It was the night of the full moon. The elevated position of her princess quarters and the open space in front offered a clear view. The moonlight cascaded down like frost, illuminating the night. As Li Yuanzhen rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought, she suddenly noticed a faint white figure standing beneath the dead tea tree.
The ethereal white silhouette appeared semi-transparent in the moonlight, its sleeves fluttering. From a distance, it seemed to be looking in her direction. Li Yuanzhen froze for a moment, then her eyes widened. This person had appeared in her recurring dreams for the past ten years – the one she had longed to see again.
She had thought about him for so many years that it had become an unspoken obsession.
Suddenly, Li Yuanzhen ran out of the palace doors like a madwoman, rushing down the steps. She had been preparing for bed, her hair undone and flowing loosely. On her feet were a pair of phoenix-headed shoes, which fell off as she hurried down the stairs in her haste. Paying no heed to such trivial matters, Li Yuanzhen kept her eyes fixed on the figure, fearing that if she looked away for even a moment, he would vanish.
The palace maids attending to her were startled by her sudden movement. They grabbed shawls and lanterns, chasing after her.
“Princess! Princess!”
“Your Highness, what’s wrong? Slow down, be careful not to fall!”
Without looking back, Li Yuanzhen shouted, “Don’t follow me! Go back, all of you! No one is to follow!”
The maids stopped in their tracks, exchanging bewildered glances. They dared not pursue further, only watching as she ran to the white tea tree.
Li Yuanzhen came to a halt, panting, and looked up at the white-robed man beneath the tree. He remained as he had been ten years ago and in her dreams, silently gazing at her without uttering a word.
Li Yuanzhen stopped before him, at a loss for words. Seeing him smile at her, she instinctively smiled back, though her eyes stung with emotion.
“I…” Li Yuanzhen gripped her skirt. Her bare feet touched the soft earth, making her feel as if she were walking on clouds. Her voice sounded faint as if it weren’t coming from her mouth. “I still don’t know your name.”
The man smiled again and shook his head.
Li Yuanzhen could see the withered white tea tree through his translucent form. Suddenly, she burst into tears, resembling the small, disheveled, pitiful girl she had been when they first met.
“I still don’t know your name,” she repeated, choking back sobs.
Li Yuanzhen saw the man approach her. He took her hand and placed a flower bud in her palm. With a touch of his finger, the flower bloomed – four white petals surrounding a delicate yellow center.
“This is this year’s bloom,” Li Yuanzhen thought inexplicably. Though she couldn’t hear the man’s voice, she had a strong feeling that he had come to say goodbye.
The man released her hand and stepped back. Li Yuanzhen’s heart lurched, and she clutched the flower tightly, reaching out to grab the hem of his robe.
“Don’t go!”
Li Yuanzhen felt she couldn’t grasp his robe, watching helplessly as he dissipated before her eyes. Her nose stung, and she was about to cry again when suddenly a voice spoke near her ear.
“Little Yuanzhen, give me that flower in your hand.”
Li Yuanzhen was startled, the cry caught in her throat, causing her to hiccup. She whirled around to see Wu Zhen standing behind her.
“A-Aunt?” How had her aunt entered the palace in the middle of the night and approached so silently? Li Yuanzhen then noticed the palace maids lying unconscious in the distance. What was happening?
Having just witnessed a spirit, why was she still so shocked by her aunt’s sudden appearance? Seeing Li Yuanzhen’s dazed expression, Wu Zhen took the white tea flower from her hand and examined it closely.
“Indeed, it’s the last condensed essence,” Wu Zhen said. She blew gently, and a white mist suddenly enveloped them. The man’s form, which had already dissipated, began to coalesce again, though more ethereal than before.
The young princess, already stunned by Wu Zhen’s ability to create such a mist, was even more astonished to see the man reappear.
Wu Zhen produced a wooden hairpin carved with a lifelike white tea flower. She pointed it at the silent man and said, “Reside within this hairpin, and you’ll be safe. But you must abandon your original form and forfeit your freedom. Are you willing?”
The man glanced at Li Yuanzhen and nodded. Wu Zhen then turned to Li Yuanzhen, “Yuanzhen, are you willing to nurture this spirit…”
Li Yuanzhen quickly regained her senses and exclaimed, “I am willing!”
Wu Zhen: “Let me finish. Why such haste?”
Li Yuanzhen obediently retreated: “Go on, Aunt.”
Wu Zhen looked at her seriously: “Have you truly thought this through? He is not an ordinary man, but a spirit called Jiling. Though he has consciousness, he cannot speak. Though he can be seen, he cannot always accompany you…”
Li Yuanzhen couldn’t help but interject: “Just being able to see him makes me happy.”
Wu Zhen raised an eyebrow, “How can a princess be so unambitious? Don’t you want to consider other possibilities?”
The sixteen-year-old Princess Li Yuanzhen looked bewildered, while the spirit nearby emanated a pure and pristine aura.
Wu Zhen: “…Never mind. You’re still young. We’ll discuss other matters later.”
She took Li Yuanzhen’s hands and pinched her fingertips. Ten drops of blood rolled from Li Yuanzhen’s fingers, coalescing into a single droplet in Wu Zhen’s hand. Wu Zhen flicked the blood droplet into the air, where it instantly transformed into a red thread binding the white-robed man’s fading body. Simultaneously, Wu Zhen tossed the white tea flower the man had left for Li Yuanzhen toward him, commanding, “Enter!”
The white-robed man’s form involuntarily transformed into a wisp of smoke wrapped in red thread, floating into the white tea flower. Wu Zhen beckoned, catching the flower in her hand. She placed the flower, in which the man now temporarily resided, onto the wooden tea flower hairpin. A soft, moonlike radiance suddenly appeared beneath her palm.
Under this glow, the white tea flower merged with the wooden hairpin. Once fully integrated, the formerly wooden hairpin became translucent and lustrous, as if carved from white jade, with a faint, pure aura emanating from it.
Wu Zhen closed her eyes briefly, allowing her vertically slit pupils to return to normal. She then casually inserted the hairpin behind Li Yuanzhen’s ear. Li Yuanzhen suddenly became so still that she didn’t dare move her head. She carefully removed the hairpin and stared at it for a while before excitedly asking with a flushed face, “Is he… is he inside?”
Wu Zhen: “Yes, from now on you must wear it every day. It’s mandatory.”
Li Yuanzhen was almost floating with joy: “Will I be able to see him?!”
Wu Zhen: “After some time, when he’s recovered a bit. If you call him and he’s willing, he’ll appear.”
Li Yuanzhen was quiet for a moment, then suddenly crouched down, holding her head and shouting, “Ahhhhh!”
Wu Zhen quickly covered her mouth, startled: “My dear, if you shout so loudly, you’ll attract the patrol outside. Where am I supposed to hide?”
Li Yuanzhen was ecstatic, her eyes sparkling as she clutched the jade hairpin. She jumped up and hugged Wu Zhen: “Aunt! Aunt! I can see him now!”
Seeing her niece filled with such joy, Wu Zhen couldn’t help but be infected by her happiness and smiled as well. Well, her little niece’s happiness made all her efforts worthwhile, even if she now owed that demon a big favor. At least everything had gone smoothly tonight, with heaven’s blessing.
“Thank you, Aunt! If you ever need anything in the future, Yuanzhen will do her best to help!”
“Alright,” Wu Zhen said with amusement. “I don’t need your help with anything. You should thank tonight’s full moon instead. Such pure moonlight has done you a great service.”
After Wu Zhen left, Li Yuanzhen lay in bed clutching the hairpin, trying to calm her emotions. Finally, a question occurred to her, and she sat up abruptly – wait, how does Aunt know such immortal-like magic?!
…
Outside the window, sunlight streamed in. All the lamps inside the room had been extinguished, leaving only a faint scent of lamp oil. Mei Si stared at the unchanged painting on the table before him, his eyes and arms red. To keep himself from falling asleep during the night, he pinched his arm hard whenever he felt drowsy, leaving his entire arm bruised.
He had spent the whole night thinking about how to slash the painting if the demon emerged, but come morning, the painting remained unchanged, and none of the ten poses he had imagined were put to use.
Leaning on his sword as he stood up, Mei Si’s legs trembled. Sitting all night had left them numb. He walked around the table, occasionally glancing at the painting, his mind conflicted.
He felt there was something wrong with this painting, but without seeing anything with his own eyes, he was reluctant to destroy it. After hesitating for a while, Mei Si finally made up his mind. He took out the basin he used for waste paper, gritted his teeth, and rolled up the painting from the table. He threw it into the basin, lit a fire stick, and tossed it in. Noticing the brush on the table, he had a sudden thought and threw that into the fire as well.
Watching the flames consume the demon on the paper, Mei Si let out a long sigh and collapsed onto a nearby cushion.
Just then, a streak of purple smoke suddenly erupted from the flames, shooting towards Mei Si like lightning. Before he could react, it entered his body. Mei Si’s body stiffened, and he fell backward.
After only a moment, Mei Si opened his eyes again, but now his body lacked the innocent sincerity it once held. His eyes were darker than before, reflecting no light at all.
‘Mei Si’ got up from the ground, examined his new body, and displayed an unsettling smile. Soon, he left Mei Si’s home and vanished into a corner of Chang’an city.
At the Ministry of Justice, Mei Zhuyu was signing official documents when he suddenly felt his eyelid twitch, as if something had happened. He instinctively turned to look out the window at the sunny, bright day. As he put down his brush and was about to perform a quick divination, a minor official hurriedly entered.
“Physician Mei, there’s been a murder in Yongfu Ward. Assistant Minister Xu wants you to lead a team there immediately.”
Mei Zhuyu set aside his work and took the official document handed to him, glancing at it before saying, “Understood.”
In an abandoned old house in Yongfu Ward, two bodies had been discovered. The corpses were in a horrific state as if mauled by a giant beast. Yet how could there be a man-eating monster in the grand city of Chang’an?