The two thousand soldiers led by Zheng Gouzi and Flat Rabbit set up camp at the Medicine King Temple on Tianzhu Mountain.
The Daoist priests of the Medicine King Temple had long received generous offerings from the Luo family. As soon as they heard that the request came from the Luo household, they did not hesitate at all and immediately opened both the front and rear courtyards of the temple for the soldiers to pitch their tents.
At first, the Daoist priests were somewhat worried about the poor discipline of government troops. However, after observing them for a short time, they realized that these were not government troops at all, but the private guards of some powerful figure.
Their discipline was extremely strict. They neither harassed the common people nor seized supplies at will.
Only then did the Daoist priests finally relax.
At the same time, curiosity inevitably arose regarding this mysterious "lord."
That lord—the mass-produced third Dao Xuan Tianzun unit—stood at the edge of the cliff in front of the Medicine King Temple, looking down at the deep ravine below.
"The scenery here is truly beautiful," Li Daoxuan said, clearly pleased. "Natural landscapes really can't be faked. Those so-called scenic spots in later generations mostly rely on man-made cultural packaging."
Li Daoxuan had previously been thoroughly disappointed by places such as Dragon Gate Ferry, Yongji Ferry, Fengling Ferry, and Puzhou City. Because of that, he had almost completely lost interest in traveling inside the box.
But Tianzhu Mountain genuinely surprised him.
Judging purely from the scenery, it would be more than worthy of being rated a five-A scenic area in the future.
At that moment, a Daoist priest approached from behind and performed a formal hand salute.
"Boundless Longevity and Fortune. Mr. Li, you have traveled far to assist Shanyang County in resisting bandits. This humble Daoist is deeply grateful. However… our small temple does not have much stored grain. If you station so many people here, I fear we may not be able to provide for them."
Li Daoxuan immediately understood what the Daoist priest was worried about.
He smiled and waved his hand.
"Grain isn't a problem. Our logistics unit will arrive shortly. You only need to lend us some space to store supplies."
The Daoist priest was momentarily stunned.
"Eh?"
Li Daoxuan glanced around and suddenly noticed a large grassy slope ahead. The incline was extremely steep, at least sixty degrees, and the turf was thick and smooth.
He couldn't help exclaiming,
"If this were up to me, I'd turn this place into a grass sledding attraction. Charge a hundred yuan per ride and make a fortune."
"Grass… sledding?" the Daoist priest repeated, completely confused.
"You wouldn't understand even if I explained it," Li Daoxuan said, waving dismissively. "Forget it. I'll just go play by myself. Do you have any cowhide mats or something similar? Lend me one."
"Yes, yes, we do!" the Daoist priest replied hastily.
He quickly went inside and soon returned carrying a large, stiff cowhide mat.
This type of cowhide mat was commonly used in summer. It was cool and comfortable, though if someone slept on it too long, it would leave a very obvious flattened imprint on their face.
Li Daoxuan placed the cowhide mat on the grassy slope and sat down on it.
Only then did the Daoist priest finally realize what he was about to do. His face changed drastically.
"Mr. Li, you absolutely must not! This slope is far too steep and far too long. Sliding down from here is extremely dangerous. You could easily crash into rocks at the bottom of the mountain and be severely injured."
Li Daoxuan did not respond.
He simply pushed backward lightly with his hands.
The cowhide mat immediately slid forward, shooting down the sixty-degree grassy slope.
The Daoist priest was terrified.
"Quick! Someone! Mr. Li is sliding down the mountain! This is too dangerous!"
Hearing the shout, the militia soldiers all rushed over and crowded around the edge of the slope.
They watched as Li Daoxuan, seated on the cowhide mat, hurtled wildly downward.
The slope was indeed extremely steep—so steep that even modern grass sledding attractions would not dare use such an angle.
Li Daoxuan's speed increased rapidly.
The Daoist priest broke out in a cold sweat.
The militia soldiers, however, burst into laughter.
"Oh, Dao Xuan Tianzun, that looks so fun!"
"Only Dao Xuan Tianzun can play like that," another soldier said. "If it were us, we'd die for sure."
Li Daoxuan's laughter echoed through the valley, bouncing between the mountain peaks as he continued accelerating.
At the bottom of the slope stood a massive boulder.
Because his speed was too great, he had no time to slow down.
With a loud crash, Li Daoxuan slammed directly into the stone.
The Daoist priest's heart sank.
It's over. Mr. Li must be dead.
But in the next instant, he realized he was wrong.
Li Daoxuan had smashed a large, clearly defined human-shaped indentation into the boulder. He pushed himself out of the hollow with both hands and laughed.
"So Tom and Jerry really was a documentary. You really can crash into a person-shaped dent."
Thump.
His left arm fell off.
The impact had damaged the joint mechanism.
Li Daoxuan calmly picked up the detached arm with his right hand and tucked it under his armpit.
"Broken again," he muttered. "Looks like I'll need to reattach it."
The Daoist priest stared in complete shock.
"This… this… what kind of divine power is this?!"
"The silicone outer layer is damaged too," Li Daoxuan added. "Fortunately, I brought spare parts."
He wrapped himself in his cloak and slowly climbed back up the slope. Then he entered his large carriage. Several militia soldiers followed him inside, retrieved spare components, reconnected the arm joint, and replaced the damaged silicone outer layer.
Before long, Li Daoxuan stepped out of the carriage once again, looking exactly as he had before.
He smiled at the soldiers.
"See? This is the advantage of standardized production. Parts can be replaced at any time."
The soldiers exchanged strange looks.
"Yes, yes, Dao Xuan Tianzun is correct," they said. "But we only brought three sets of spare parts, and you've already used one. Please try to be more economical when playing in the future."
Li Daoxuan walked over to the Daoist priest, still smiling.
"Fun, isn't it? Tianzhu Mountain really is an excellent scenic area."
The Daoist priest was practically radiating confusion, completely unable to respond.
After a long pause, he finally stammered,
"Mr. Li… are you here to suppress bandits, or to play?"
"We suppress bandits, and we play," Li Daoxuan said seriously. "Both hands must be grasped firmly. And incidentally, I also want to help the local people prosper."
He paused briefly, then continued,
"Let's first examine the living conditions of the common folk around Tianzhu Mountain. Someone, launch a reconnaissance hot air balloon."
"Coming!" Zheng Gouzi replied immediately.
This time, the militia did not need to hastily construct a balloon on the spot. Large numbers of reconnaissance hot air balloons had already been prepared in advance and transported as important military supplies.
Zheng Gouzi quickly launched one.
The Daoist priest stood there blankly, completely unable to understand what was happening.
After the hot air balloon rose into the sky, Li Daoxuan closed his eyes and stood motionless.
Several seconds later, he suddenly opened them, pointed diagonally forward, and said,
"In that direction, about one li from here at the foot of the mountain, there is a poor village of roughly fifty people. Mark it down. Later, send a poverty alleviation team."
"Understood!" Zheng Gouzi replied.
Li Daoxuan then pointed in another direction.
"At the foot of the mountain in that direction, there's a large village with more than four hundred people. There also seems to be a local gentry household there. Go investigate their conduct. If they're good, assist them. If they're not…"
He paused slightly.
"…beat them into submission first, then assist them."