Chapter 148: The Heavenly Lord Guides the Way
After thanking the Heavenly Lord, Bai Yuan cheerfully returned to Bai Family Fortress with a large stack of "Heavenly Books." He was so engrossed that he forgot to greet his wife and children, his mind completely consumed by the "Mathematics" aspect of a gentleman's six arts.
Fortunately, this was ancient times, where women's status was low, so Madam Bai wouldn't get angry over such a thing. In modern times, if Bai Yuan didn't spend a few days kneeling on a washboard, the matter wouldn't have been settled.
Li Daoxuan watched Bai Yuan depart, feeling quite pleased. He thought: *Excellent. All these textbooks I've prepared will slowly spread through people like Bai Yuan, branching out and blossoming, eventually bearing fruit.*
Just then, Li Daoxuan suddenly heard a clamor of voices coming from the bamboo forest to the southwest. He quickly shifted his focus there.
The bamboo forest to the southwest was where the Short-term Workers Village was located. There, Li Daoxuan had arranged dozens of small "plastic houses," lining them along the stony embankment by the bamboo grove, forming a distinct little hamlet.
A large group of migrant workers had gathered at the edge of the bamboo forest, seemingly in a heated discussion.
Li Daoxuan looked down. In the middle of the circle formed by the workers, a man lay unconscious on the ground, blood on his forehead, as if his head had been split open.
"That's Old Fourth Shi! What happened to him?"
"I don't know. I was just coming over to cut some bamboo for a basket when I found Old Fourth Shi lying there, his head still bleeding."
"Where would *our* village find a doctor?"
A wave of panic swept through the crowd.
Just then, Old Fourth Shi, who had been unconscious on the ground, actually stirred. He opened his eyes, let out a groan, and rubbed his head with a hand: "Damn it all! I've been robbed."
At his words, the onlookers finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Old Fourth Shi looked thoroughly annoyed. "Early this morning, I was carrying a bag of flour and a piece of meat from home. I wanted to go to the fortress to find a blacksmith master, give him a gift, and ask him to take me on as an apprentice."
The short-term workers immediately understood. Bringing gifts on New Year's Day to pay respects – if the master was pleased, he'd teach a few tricks, and then wouldn't one become a skilled artisan? Their wages would skyrocket! Old Fourth Shi was truly clever; why hadn't they thought of that?
Old Fourth Shi continued, "But I hadn't even gone far from my dwelling when someone dragged me into the bamboo grove. Then, four or five menacing ruffians, armed with clubs, threatened me. They demanded I hand over the flour and meat I was carrying. When I refused, they struck me with a club, grabbed my things, and ran off, the bastards!"
The workers were truly startled by this news. "Bandits again?"
"No way! The bandit problem in Chengcheng County had just started to quiet down."
"Oh, heaven help us! I don't want to fight anymore."
The short-term workers descended into chaos.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but frown. He casually opened the surveillance camera app, pulling up all video footage from dawn until now. The bamboo forest was right at the edge of the box, so the video only showed the forest's perimeter, with shadowy figures moving within, but no clear details.
One worker spoke up: "Everyone, stop squabbling! Something like this happened, we should report it to San Shier and have the fortress send out the militia to handle it, right?"
Another worker shook his head. "What standing do we have? We're just temporary laborers from outside villages; how can we compare to the locals inside the fortress? How could the militia possibly bother with our affairs?"
"That... that's true..."
The workers were in a dilemma.
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan felt a pang of sympathy for these "wild folk." They had traveled far to seek a living in Gao Family Village, keeping a low profile, cautious and meticulous in their lives, terrified of losing their livelihoods. Even after such an incident, they didn't dare report it to the fortress.
Such a mentality was truly disheartening.
Li Daoxuan was about to call Gao Yiye to handle the situation when, suddenly, a figure sprang out from the crowd of workers. Dressed in tatters, with a rusty sword hanging at his waist, it was none other than "Ground Rabbit," the one who secretly learned boxing techniques from Gao Chuwu.
Padi Tu stepped forward!
Padi Tu, who fancied himself a true hero, couldn't possibly stand by at such a moment. He instantly strode into the spotlight, addressing the bewildered workers in a loud voice: "Brothers, don't panic! Whether the fortress will step in to help us is one thing, but can't *we* help ourselves?"
Everyone paused, slightly stunned. "You are...?"
Padi Tu beamed with pride. "My name is Padi Tu, and I've only been a short-term worker here for a few days. But I'm not like you lot. When I encounter trouble, I never back down."
Everyone: "..."
Padi Tu declared loudly: "Can't you see? These aren't marauding bandits or major outlaws; they're just a bunch of small, stupid thieves trying to snatch things! What are you so afraid of?"
The workers started murmuring amongst themselves, creating a commotion.
Padi Tu bellowed: "Silence, all of you, stop arguing! Listen to your Ground Rabbit here. You few, grab clubs, and you few as well. Then, all of you, follow your Ground Rabbit. We'll go get Old Fourth Shi's things back and, while we're at it, teach those stupid thieves a lesson, scare them so they won't dare come back. Otherwise, if they rob Old Fourth Shi today, tomorrow they'll come for Old Fifth Zhang. How are we supposed to live?"
The workers heard this and thought, *He's got a point!*
If this gang of thieves wasn't dealt with, they could be dragged into the bamboo forest and clubbed at any time. How could they live like that?
The group immediately sprang into action, grabbing sticks. Before long, a dozen or so men were armed. Padi Tu waved his hand: "Follow your Ground Rabbit!"
Someone asked, "Ground Rabbit, do you know where the thieves fled?"
Padi Tu, hearing someone actually call him "Ground Rabbit," grew even more smug. He let out a hearty laugh: "Your Ground Rabbit has extensive experience in the Jianghu! A single glance at the footprints on the ground is all it takes for me to tell where they went."
"Reporting, Ground Rabbit! We can't find any footprints; the ground here is all rocks."
Padi Tu: "..."
Utterly mortified!
A moment frozen in awkwardness!
Li Daoxuan was thoroughly amused. *How entertaining! I'll give you a hand.*
He reached for the "West" and "South" buttons, tapping them erratically, rapidly shifting his perspective. It was like playing *StarCraft*, searching for a Zergling on a map where the fog of war had already been lifted.
Before long, he actually found them.
Five ragged men were huddled behind a small hill, gathering dry kindling and branches. They were starting a fire, apparently intending to roast the meat they'd stolen from Old Fourth Shi...
Li Daoxuan shifted his view back above the bamboo forest, reached into the box, and drew a large arrow on the ground in front of the short-term workers.
At that moment, Padi Tu was still bewildered, unable to find footprints or figure out how to track the thieves. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling sound. The scattered rocks on the ground were hurled aside by an invisible, immense force, revealing a giant arrow etched into the earth, pointing into the distance...
The short-term workers who had been there longer immediately cheered: "The Heavenly Lord has shown us the way!"
Only Padi Tu was completely dumbfounded: "Huh? Just now... was that the Heavenly Lord manifesting his power?"
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