Tree of Wishes

Deadly Dragon Assassins: A Cypress Perspective

While my powers can be convenient most of the time, there are some limits to altering my age. Not only can it affect my body physically, but if I age myself too young or too old, it can impair my cognitive thinking. An infant lacks the brain mass to think like an adult after all. As such, I typically stay within the 20-60 range, never going lower than 8 or higher than 80. As for why I would even bother to turn into a child in the first place, you would be surprised how it can save me from a life or death situation.

Take for example a dangerous man who appeared one day to visit the tree. His sharp, black eyes and chest-length, evenly split hair contrasted with his white, pinstripe suit, and it was clear from his ominous aura and the prominent scar on his right cheek that he was trouble. At the time, I had a white cat named Shiro (it was Mizuko's idea), but despite her third, golden eye locked on him, the rest of her body was sleeping away on the porch. Therefore, I was left on my own to deal with him.

In beginning, everything seemed to be going well, and the man silently followed my instructions without ever changing his stern expression. He placed the steel suitcase he had been carrying on the altar and opened it to reveal a disassembled assault rifle. Once he was ready, he pressed his palms together and relaxed his shoulders as he focused on his sole target, his stance similar to a man mediating under a waterfall.

"My name is Longwei Feng," he said. "Please accept this weapon as my offering."

The tree had no problem accepting his offering, and soon enough his body was absorbing the rifle that had been lifted from its case to be converted into light. After the ritual had run its course, Longwei stared down at his hands while internally processing his new power. I couldn't view his tattoo with his sleeves in the way, so I was forced to ask.

"What is the name of your new power?"

It seemed like an innocent question, yet he interpreted it as the exact opposite. Whipping out his pistol from his back pocket, he pointed it towards me without a hint of hesitation, his sturdy left hand reflecting his years of experience.

"You saw nothing today," he said with a commanding tone. "I was never here, and you never saw me. Do you understand?"

I nodded, not in the mood to get shot that week. I had dinner plans with Mizuko and I didn't want to disappoint her. Satisfied with this answer, Longwei lowered his gun and began to walk away without another word, yet his back warned me he would turn around and shoot if I moved an inch. Thus, I was forced to watch helplessly as he left without informing me of the name of his power.

This was quite the dilemma. I was required to document every name and power, so I couldn't let this one slide. However, I knew he wouldn't spare me if I crossed paths with him again, which meant I had to get creative. I glanced over to Shiro, who was still resting without a care in the world.

"Watch over the place while I'm out," I said.

The third eye on her forehead blinked twice to confirm she had received the order.

---

Crossing the man's name through the intel I had at the time (most of which are dead or in prison now), I discovered three key pieces of information. First was where he lived, which was in a gated community of lavish apartments that all blended together to create the ideal place to hide in. Second, to the surprise of no one, his occupation was an assassin for a certain Chinese group I will not go into detail about. Lastly, he had two twin sisters, Yu and Mei. They were in elementary school and could be distinguished by their choice in hairbands and hairstyles, with Yu's pigtails tied with two green hairbands while Mei had one red ponytail.