Li Daoxuan had already grasped a rather troublesome truth:
Gaojia Village had absolutely no concept of "organization."
To be blunt, calling it a village was generous. It was more like a heap of loose sand. Other than Village Chief Gao—whose authority came solely from having the highest moral reputation—everyone lived as a self-contained unit, drifting wherever their own thoughts took them.
Whenever Li Daoxuan distributed supplies, the scene was always the same.
People rushed in, grabbed whatever handful they liked, conscientiously left Gao Yiye a slightly larger share, and then scattered in all directions like chickens startled by a firecracker.
No structure.
No planning.
Not even a basic "who sleeps where" arrangement.
When San Shier and Li Dagang had first arrived, not a single villager came forward to greet them. Lodging and food were only arranged after Li Daoxuan personally nudged the village chief into action.
Annoying.
Deeply annoying.
This was not something a god should have to micromanage.
But ever since San Shier appeared, things had begun—slowly, miraculously—to change.
First, he persuaded Wang Er to stop stirring up trouble.
Then, together with the Third Lady, he resolved the whole "summoning" fiasco.
Two massive headaches gone in a single night.
Li Daoxuan almost felt spoiled.
He recalled a comment he'd read on the forum the night before—specifically from a user on the fourth floor:
A good god should recruit capable followers.
At the time, he'd scoffed.
Now?
He agreed completely.
After being scolded into submission by the Third Lady, the villagers muttered a few half-hearted responses and crawled back into their homes to sleep.
Meanwhile, the two blacksmiths—old master Li Da and his apprentice Gao Yiyi—were still awake, huddled inside Gao Yiyi's forge, studying the newly cast night bell.
The furnace glowed faintly in the darkness.
Hammer strikes rang out softly as Li Da explained techniques without reservation, passing on everything he knew. He wasn't worried about "raising a disciple who would starve the master"—in fact, he'd already sworn to himself:
Once I regain my original body, I will never touch a smithing hammer again.
Even if I starve.
Even if I leap off a cliff.
Master Li will never be a blacksmith again.
Before Dawn
The Third Lady dragged a half-asleep Gao Yiye toward the pond.
During the day there were too many curious villagers, so predawn darkness was the only safe time to bathe.
Of course, neither of them knew that outside the box, a night-vision camera was faithfully recording every second through a sheet of transparent glass.
…Ahem.
The forum bros would absolutely lose their minds.
After washing, the Third Lady produced a set of snow-white ceremonial robes. The fabric was thick, heavy, and clearly expensive.
They hung a little loosely on Gao Yiye—but that didn't matter.
Today, she wasn't carrying water or hoeing fields.
Today, she had a sacred duty.
"Lady Third…" Gao Yiye stuck out her tongue. "It's so hot."
It was July. The land was parched. The heat was merciless.
Wearing ceremonial robes under the sun felt like wrapping herself in a quilt and asking fate for mercy.
"You must endure," the Third Lady whispered while carefully adjusting the folds. "We are meeting a god today. When Dao Xuan Tianzun responds, be sure to ask his honorific title. We cannot worship blindly."
Once they knew the title, they could build a temple.
And craft a golden statue.
Gao Yiye nodded obediently. "I'll remember."
The Third Lady then opened her makeup box and began painting Gao Yiye's face stroke by painstaking stroke.
Morning Bell
Li Daoxuan was jolted awake by an unmusical, metallic clang.
He'd stayed up until nearly three in the morning reading historical forums and late-Ming references.
So when the bell rang, he rose like a zombie, head buzzing, soul halfway detached.
The miniature diorama box sat beside his bed, close to his computer.
The bell echoed straight out of it.
Blinking hard, he leaned over and peered inside.
Ah.
The little people were unusually energetic today.
All forty-two villagers, plus San Shier's household and the blacksmith Li Da—forty-eight people in total—stood in a neat square formation.
It looked exactly like a high school class during a flag-raising ceremony.
At the very front stood Gao Yiye.
For the future happiness of the entire village, she had clearly gone all in.
White robes. Elaborate hairstyle. Borrowed hairpins that glimmered faintly in the morning light.
She had always been pretty—but now, with ceremonial makeup and proper posture, she was striking enough to turn heads even in modern society.
Li Daoxuan chuckled.
Not bad. This girl is getting more and more charming… almost tempting to lift her skirt and—
He froze.
…Damn it.
I've been corrupted by the degenerates on the forum.
Gao Yiye raised a ceremonial cup with both hands, though her stance was… somewhat questionable.
Behind her, the villagers knelt.
Then came the prayer—clearly written overnight by San Shier and the Third Lady.
Unfortunately, recitation was not Gao Yiye's strong suit.
She stuttered.
She misread characters.
She invented syllables that had never existed in any known language.
Still, through sheer willpower, she finished.
Then she shouted loudly:
"Great Immortal! Please reveal your sacred honorific name, so that we may build your temple and fashion your golden body!"
Li Daoxuan replied from outside the box, tone dry:
"Li Daoxuan."
He didn't mind indulging them.
Gao Yiye's eyes lit up.
She spun around toward the Third Lady and shouted excitedly:
"Lady Third! The Heavenly Lord answered! His name is Li Daoxuan!"
The Third Lady trembled.
"Dao… Xuan…?"
This was unmistakably a Taoist immortal's name.
She had been genuinely worried the god might turn out to be a Buddhist bodhisattva—she wouldn't even know what incense to burn.
But now—
Taoism.
Her home field.
She dropped to her knees without hesitation.
"Greetings to Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
Gao Yiye followed immediately:
"Greetings to Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
The remaining villagers thundered in unison:
"Greetings to Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
Li Daoxuan felt a strange surge of amusement.
From anonymous ghost to exalted Tianzun—
Life really did move fast.
Almost embarrassingly fast.
Gao Yiye began another memorized speech—clearly the version San Shier had prepared just in case the god was Taoist.
She thanked Dao Xuan Tianzun for gifting them city walls.
She reported the need for night guards.
Night guards required lanterns.
Lanterns required oil.
Thus, she humbly begged for divine blessing.
Preferably in the form of oil.
Playing house like this…
Was unexpectedly fun.
Listening to her halting words, Li Daoxuan picked up his vegetable oil bottle, dripped oil into a mineral-water bottle cap, and gently lowered it into the miniature landscape—
A divine reward.
For the devout.