Wang Chenggong was not stupid.
The moment he heard the name Zuo Liangyu, he already knew that invoking Governor Fan Shangzheng was pointless. This Officer Zhang in front of him was, at best, a bandit chief who had successfully wrapped himself in official clothing. At worst, even the surname "Zhang" might have been improvised on the spot. If someone told Wang Chenggong that the man's real nickname was something absurd like Megatron or Bumblebee, he would not have been surprised in the slightest.
As for the title "Runing Commander," that was almost certainly something Zuo Liangyu had granted privately. Whether the imperial court even acknowledged such a post was another matter entirely.
He lowered his voice and spoke to his men without moving his lips too much.
"A wise man avoids immediate loss. Give them the grain for now. We keep our lives. Then we send word to Instructor Bai. When the main force arrives, we collect everything back with interest."
The militia members understood at once. Two hundred against three thousand was not bravery. It was suicide dressed up as righteousness.
Decision made, Wang Chenggong raised his head and spoke in a clear, even tone.
"Very well. Since you are also an imperial officer, I will hand over this grain. Consider it assistance between fellow officials."
Officer Zhang's face bloomed with satisfaction. He had expected resistance. Instead, he received obedience. Things were going more smoothly than he had anticipated.
And then everything changed.
The cotton thread embroidery of Dao Xuan Tianzun on Wang Chenggong's chest suddenly opened its mouth.
"Wang Chenggong. Do not fear him. Challenge him."
For a split second, Wang Chenggong thought he had hallucinated.
Then the meaning sank in.
His eyes widened. His entire expression transformed as if someone had poured boiling wine into his veins.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun has arrived?" he muttered, then louder, "Dao Xuan Tianzun has entered my body for the first time?"
The realization hit him like lightning.
He threw his head back and burst into laughter, loud and unrestrained, the kind of laughter that did not belong on a battlefield.
"Hahahaha! I am personally blessed by Dao Xuan Tianzun! All those years of labor reform were not wasted after all!"
His voice echoed through the battered streets of Wuyang County. Even civilians hiding behind doors exchanged uneasy glances. Had the militia captain lost his mind at the crucial moment?
Officer Zhang frowned deeply.
"What are you laughing at?"
When Wang Chenggong lowered his head again, the joy on his face was gone. In its place stood something far older, something he had once worn like armor during his bandit days.
His gaze sharpened. His back straightened. The modest middle aged man vanished, and for a fleeting moment, the ruthless outlaw of Wangjia Fork returned.
"I have reconsidered," he said calmly.
"Not a single grain will go to you."
Officer Zhang blinked, stunned by the abrupt shift.
"You grew a leopard's gall in the span of a breath?"
Wang Chenggong's lips curled slightly.
"Our grain feeds common people who cannot defend themselves. It feeds proper soldiers who fight bandits honestly, like the White Pole Soldiers. But it will never feed vermin who rob under an official banner."
He paused just long enough for the insult to land.
"If you become prisoners, however, we may feed you as convicts. We are not inhumane."
Officer Zhang stared at him as if trying to determine whether this was some elaborate joke. Moments ago, the man had been reasonable. Now every word was edged like a blade.
"You are seeking death," he growled.
"With Dao Xuan Tianzun protecting me, how could I die?" Wang Chenggong replied almost lazily.
The embroidered figure on his chest spoke again, voice clear and composed.
"He will not die. That much I guarantee. As for you, the situation is less certain."
Several of Officer Zhang's men physically recoiled.
"That embroidery is talking?" someone whispered.
Officer Zhang's face turned red, whether from anger or fear was difficult to tell.
"Cheap jianghu tricks. Ventriloquism. Moving your chest to fake speech. Do you think I am a fool?"
Wang Chenggong gave a small shrug.
"If disbelief comforts you, keep it."
Officer Zhang's patience snapped.
"Attack!"
At that very moment, high above them, Li Daoxuan was considering his options.
Using the giant palm again felt repetitive. Even gods should avoid becoming predictable. His gaze drifted across his desk until it landed on his personal seal, the one he had bought at a tourist site for far more than it was worth.
It looked like jade. It almost certainly was not.
He picked it up and casually dropped it into the Diorama Box.
Below, Officer Zhang's men were already surging forward. Three thousand against two hundred. In their eyes, this was a trivial sweep, not a battle.
Wang Chenggong, meanwhile, stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, completely unhurried. Confidence radiated from him, not the reckless kind, but the sort that came from knowing someone infinitely larger was watching.
Then the sky split open.
Clouds rolled aside as if brushed away by an invisible hand, and from the heavens descended an enormous seal.
It did not fall chaotically. It came down with deliberate weight.
The impact shook the entire county.
The ground thundered. Nearby buildings that had survived earlier raids finally surrendered to the tremor and collapsed into dust. The seal stood embedded between the two forces, its surface gleaming faintly through the rising haze.
To the militia, it was merely another sign of Dao Xuan Tianzun's intervention.
To Officer Zhang's army, it was the end of all rational explanations.
The object towered four or five zhang high, thick as an ancient tree trunk, square and imposing like a fragment of heaven carved into shape. Along one side were four powerful characters.
None of them could read the full meaning. Most of them could barely recognize the strokes.
But everyone understood one thing.
Stones do not carve themselves.
And they do not descend from clear skies without cause.
Before anyone could process what they were seeing, the massive seal rose again, slowly, impossibly, lifting back into the clouds until it vanished entirely.
On the ground remained a deep imprint.
Seal of Li Daoxuan.
Officer Zhang felt his knees weaken before he consciously decided to kneel. He hit the ground hard.
Behind him, as if pulled by a single invisible string, three thousand men followed, kneeling in a chaotic wave.
Silence fell.
Wang Chenggong looked at the kneeling mass and let out a long breath.
"I told you earlier," he said, not loudly, but clearly enough for them to hear.
"At first, it was only attempted grain robbery."
His gaze swept across their lowered heads.
"Now you have added attempted robbery and attempted murder."
He shook his head with something almost like pity.
"The labor reform camp will be a very educational place for you."