Gao Yiye pressed her forehead hard against the dusty ground, her knees drawn tight to her chest as her whole body curled inward. She shrank into herself like a helpless little animal that had long since learned not to expect kindness from the world, waiting for the grace of Tianzun above.
She waited.
And waited.
Time stretched thin, but nothing happened.
At last, she dared to lift her head, only to find that the man's face which had once hovered within the clouds had vanished without a trace, leaving behind nothing but an empty sky that felt colder than before.
Does Tianzun not wish to help me?
Gao Yiye bit down on her lower lip, harder than she realized, until a pale row of teeth marks appeared against the skin.
Perhaps what happened yesterday, when those unforgivable bandits were wiped out, was nothing more than a fleeting whim. A passing curiosity. If such a being truly answered every plea, then how could suffering still exist in this world?
Then again, what had she ever offered in return?
She had built no temple. She had burned no incense. She had lit no candles in devotion. She was just a starving girl with nothing to her name. By what right could she expect a god to waste his power on someone as unworthy as her?
Maybe she needed to prepare an offering first. Maybe then he would listen.
Her jaw tightened as she forced herself back to her feet. Better to keep searching for roots than to wait for salvation that might never come.
Dragging her weak and exhausted body across the yellow sands, she resumed her desperate hunt for even the faintest chance at survival.
Outside the box, Li Daoxuan had not abandoned her. He had simply been thinking, carefully and seriously, about how he could actually help.
He had heard every word of the girl's plea. Her voice had been as soft as an ant's whisper, but in the empty apartment, if he focused and listened closely, it was still clear enough.
She needed food.
The problem was how to give it to her.
Li Daoxuan stepped away from the diorama box and walked into the kitchen, where the stove still burned steadily and a pot of water rolled at a lively boil. The two eggs he had dropped in earlier were just about done.
His eyes suddenly lit up.
"If I put an egg in front of her, would she be able to pick it up?"
There was only one way to find out.
He quickly turned off the heat, fished the eggs out of the pot, and rinsed them under cold water to bring the temperature down. Then, holding one egg in his hand, he returned to the diorama box.
Inside, the tiny girl was still wandering across the barren sand, stubbornly searching for something that did not want to be found.
Li Daoxuan leaned close to the glass and spoke gently, making sure his breath did not fog the view too much.
"Miss, let me try to give you something to eat."
The tiny figure froze as if struck by lightning, then slowly raised her head to the sky, her eyes filling with startled joy.
Li Daoxuan lowered his hand into the open top of the box and placed the egg carefully on the sand right in front of her.
Gao Yiye had thought she had already been abandoned, yet as she walked, that warm yet authoritative voice returned to her ears. She snapped her head up, meeting the gaze of Tianzun once more. His eyes were filled with a kind of gentleness and pity that made her chest tighten.
The clouds parted.
A massive hand descended from the heavens and placed an enormous egg before her on the sand.
Her mouth fell open as she stared.
A gigantic egg. Absurdly large. Terrifyingly so. It stretched over three zhang in length and stood more than two zhang tall, resting before her like the egg of some ancient beast. It was so overwhelming that she stumbled backward several steps in sheer instinctive fear, her heart pounding against her ribs.
"Th... this... is... an egg?"
Gao Yiye's voice trembled with disbelief.
Li Daoxuan replied calmly, "Yes. An egg. For you to eat."
Her gaze flickered upward, still unsteady.
"This... is for me?"
"I've already boiled it," he said. "You can eat it directly."
His tone was gentle, almost coaxing, and after a long moment, Gao Yiye finally gathered the courage to step forward. She reached out and tapped the shell lightly. The sound that came back was dull and heavy, more like striking stone than anything edible.
She picked up a rock, gritted her teeth, and swung with all the strength she had left.
CLANG!
The rock bounced away. The eggshell remained completely intact. The recoil knocked her backward, and she landed hard on the ground, sitting there and gasping for breath, her arms trembling from the effort.
Li Daoxuan immediately realized the problem.
For her, this egg was not food. It was an obstacle. She was simply too small, not even a centimeter tall, while the egg in front of her measured several times her size. There was no way she could break it open on her own.
"I'll peel it for you," he said softly.
He reached into the box again, lifted the egg out, and tapped it against the wall beside him. To him, it was a faint tapping sound, the kind of casual noise one made without thinking. But to the tiny ears inside the box, it must have sounded like thunder rolling across the sky, followed by the grinding shriek of something enormous being torn apart.
A few efficient motions later, the shell was gone. He placed the peeled egg back in front of her.
Gao Yiye's eyes widened even further.
Before, she had not dared to be certain, but now, with the shell gone, there was no mistaking it. This was truly a boiled egg. Just unimaginably large.
The white surface gleamed softly under the sun, smooth and warm. A faint crack near the top revealed the golden yolk beneath, rich and dense and waiting.
"This... is really for me to eat?"
"Eat," Li Daoxuan said.
She hesitated, her voice still unsteady.
"It really... is given to me?"
Li Daoxuan let out a long breath.
"Eat, you poor girl."
That was all it took.
Gao Yiye threw herself forward without another word and bit straight into the soft white surface.
Delicious. So fragrant. So warm.
After so many days of dry bark and bitter roots, of sand grinding between her teeth and hunger hollowing out her stomach, the taste of the egg white hit her like a wave. It was soft, tender, and slightly sweet, with a richness that seemed to spread through her entire body.
This was the kind of food only the sons of wealthy landlords could hope to taste, and yet now an entire giant egg had been placed before her, enough for her to eat her fill without restraint.
In just a few bites, she tore a deep hollow into the egg white, breaking through to the rich yellow yolk inside. She shoved her entire head into the opening and began devouring it in large, eager mouthfuls, muffled sounds of satisfaction spilling out between bites.
She ate with joy.
And Li Daoxuan found himself smiling along with her, relieved that he had finally managed to help this pitiful girl.
Then a thought struck him.
Was this egg too big?
The girl herself was less than a centimeter tall, while the egg was several times her size. There was no way she could finish it all. It was already July. If it sat overnight, it would spoil.
Just as the concern formed, the tiny girl lifted her head again and spoke timidly.
"Can I... call the villagers to come eat together? I... cannot finish it alone... and if it is left until tomorrow... it will go bad..."
Li Daoxuan softened his voice even further.
"Of course. Call everyone to come eat."
Gao Yiye immediately dropped to the ground and kowtowed again.
"Th... thank you... Tianzun..."
With food in her stomach, strength returned to her limbs. She sprang to her feet and ran toward the village as fast as she could, but as she ran, a new worry crept into her mind.
Yesterday, when Tianzun helped them kill the bandits, only she had been able to see that enormous hand. The others had seen nothing.
Would it be the same this time? Would the others even be able to see the egg?
If they could not, then dragging them here would only make her look like a liar. A madwoman chasing miracles that only she could see.
The thought made her abruptly turn around and sprint back. She tore off a chunk of yolk about the size of her fist, cradled it carefully in both hands, and rushed back toward the village.
The first person she ran into was a man from the same clan.
"Brother Chuwu," she called out breathlessly, "can you see what I'm holding?"
Gao Chuwu focused his eyes on her hands, and his expression shifted from mild curiosity to confusion, then to open disbelief. He leaned closer, squinting hard.
"Th... that large a piece of yolk? Where did you get something this good?"
Relief flooded through her.
"You can see it. You really can see it. That is wonderful. Try a bite."
Gao Chuwu was still dazed. Food like this was rare even in better times, and Gao Yiye herself barely had enough to eat most days, so why was she offering it so freely now?
"What? No, no, you keep it for yourself," he said quickly. "You're skin and bones already..."
"Just try it," she insisted, pressing the yolk into his hands.
Hunger did not care for manners or restraint. He took the yolk and bit into it.
Warmth and satisfaction spread instantly through his mouth.
"Ah... it is so fragrant. I have not eaten anything this good in so long."
Gao Yiye turned toward the village and shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice ringing with a strength that had not been there before.
"Uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, everyone, come quickly. There is food. Enough for everyone to fill their stomachs."
---
Author's note regarding physics: Microscopic objects passing through the box into the Ming Dynasty do not increase in individual size. Cells, molecules, atoms, and fibers remain the same scale. However, their quantity increases proportionally to match the macro-object's expansion, resulting in a larger overall volume while maintaining structural integrity.