Whence Comes the Guest?

On the streets of Chang'an City.

A man walked with his head hanging low, leading a horse by the reins.

He raised his head and looked at the sky.

"Ah..."

His name was Li Mang. Li Mang was a lychee envoy, once a minor official among the Bad People, responsible for managing the Bad People in one ward of Chang'an City.

Some time ago, his superiors had sent him to investigate a woman.

He had thought it was merely a small assignment, but that woman had turned out to be a Goddess! Never mind investigating her—he had only made it back because that Goddess had mercifully spared his life. After returning, his heart had been fraught with unease. After all, he had failed to complete the task.

This was a task assigned by the Sage!

Heavenly Might was unfathomable.

What if the Sage blamed him?

He had even prepared to plead guilty the next day.

Who would have thought that, after that night, the Sage would suddenly fall ill and show no signs of recovery for quite some time.

No one held him accountable.

He had thought the matter would simply pass.

But who could have expected the emperor to suddenly issue an edict demanding tributes of delicacies from across the realm? And he had even been chosen as the lychee envoy, tasked with transporting fresh lychees back from Lingnan!

What kind of place was Lingnan?

Even riding at full gallop, the journey from there to Chang'an would take nearly a month!

In this weather, the lychees would have long since rotted after a month!

"Such are the times, such is fate!"

"If I don't die, I can't do it."

Li Mang gave a miserable smile.

His selection as the lychee envoy was certainly inseparable from his investigation of Verdant