Chapter 214: The Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan's Demon-Slaying Saga
"I wasn't messing around, not at all."
Gao Yiye insisted she wasn't messing around, but her eyes, darting mischievously, gave her away. She was, after all, still a fifteen-year-old girl. Even after half a year of being revered as the Saintess, her playful nature remained untamed.
San Shier's premonition deepened. "What kind of naughty thing did you draw? And you can't let the Heavenly Lord know? I'm telling you, if it's too outrageous, my bookstore won't dare print it."
Gao Yiye pouted. "It's not that outrageous, really. Just a little bit mischievous, but most of it is serious."
San Shier eyed her suspiciously. "Let me see it."
Gao Yiye giggled, scampered back into her room, and soon emerged clutching a thick stack of papers. Each sheet was filled with drawings, and in the bottom right corner, Arabic numerals marked the page number.
San Shier picked up the first page and gasped. Wasn't this a depiction of the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan?
Though he had never personally seen the Heavenly Lord's face, everyone gazed upon the Heavenly Lord's statue daily. It was unmistakably him.
From outside the Diorama Box, Li Daoxuan also saw it. "Isn't that my face?" he mused. "Though it's drawn 32% handsomer and 3200% more majestic! Oh, my, my."
San Shier was utterly startled. "You... you didn't, by any chance, make light of the Heavenly Lord, did you?"
Gao Yiye winked. "Hehe, I wouldn't dare make light of the Heavenly Lord. I've drawn a story about the Heavenly Lord vanquishing demons!"
San Shier quickly flipped to the second page... then the third...
Li Daoxuan watched alongside him.
He immediately understood. This was indeed a story of demon-slaying. The general framework wasn't too different from the tales sung in Northern Shaanxi folk operas. The young girl, after all, didn't possess exceptional creative abilities and could only borrow a worldview from the operas she'd seen.
The story began with the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan on an immortal journey in the mortal realm. He came across a small village plagued by ferocious mountain bandits living on a nearby peak. These bandits regularly raided the village, setting fires, killing people, and stealing grain.
The Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan was enraged. With a mighty slap, he flattened one of the bandits into a meat patty.
After dispatching the bandit, the Heavenly Lord bestowed grain upon the villagers, then departed to continue his immortal travels.
Unexpectedly, not long after the Heavenly Lord left, a monstrous demon descended upon the village. Its appearance was quite peculiar, resembling a lobster-man from some strange, faraway land!
The little lass had clearly drawn it based on a lobster-man, precisely.
The lobster-man wreaked havoc, devouring people and committing heinous acts. But the Heavenly Lord was absent. Just as the villagers faced imminent danger, a Daoist priest suddenly appeared.
This priest was clearly drawn as Ma Tianzheng, even down to his clothes and demeanor.
The priest employed Daoist magic, engaging the lobster-man in battle. However, he was ultimately outmatched. His longsword flew from his grasp, and it seemed he would be devoured.
Just then, the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan returned. He unleashed his divine power, one hand growing to an immense size, and with a resounding clap, squashed the lobster-man flat onto the ground.
The Daoist priest knelt in gratitude, bowing deeply.
The joyous villagers rushed out, retrieved the lobster meat, and made a fragrant, delicious lobster porridge. Many villagers gathered around the large pot of porridge, singing and dancing, even drinking fine liquor.
The story ended there.
The little lass was a true master of narrative pastiche, combining so many strange elements into one picture book!
Li Daoxuan nearly choked on his amusement.
San Shier finished reading, his expression equally peculiar. "This... this... this story..."
Gao Yiye prompted, "What's wrong? You don't think it's good?"
San Shier wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "I don't know if it's good or not. It feels like it could be, but there's something... unsettling about it."
Gao Yiye pressed, "So it can be done, right? Manager San, please help me. Print this book for me."
San Shier felt the immense pressure. "It depicts the Heavenly Lord. If the Heavenly Lord dislikes it, wouldn't that be terrible? I must... I must... ask for the Heavenly Lord's instructions."
Gao Yiye protested, "This is supposed to be a surprise for the Heavenly Lord! If you ask him, it won't be a surprise anymore."
"But what if it's not a pleasant surprise, but one that incites his wrath?" San Shier countered.
Gao Yiye scoffed. "No way! The Heavenly Lord will definitely love to see this. It tells of his good deeds, of vanquishing demons. How could he possibly be angry?"
She pursed her lips. "I didn't portray the Heavenly Lord as an evil immortal, after all."
San Shier considered this carefully. She was right. Although the plot of this picture book was a chaotic jumble, it didn't malign the Heavenly Lord's venerable image. The story it told was, by and large, righteous. "Hmm, alright," he conceded. "We'll try printing a few. It is the Saintess's request, and in this village, the Saintess has the final say."
"Then... I'll have the woodblock print artisan carve the plates," San Shier said. "But let me make it clear: we can't print too many. Just a few copies for you to play with. The artisan's wages cannot come from the village storeroom; you'll have to pay for it yourself. The cost of paper and ink, too, must come from your own pocket."
Gao Yiye giggled. "Okay! I have so many things the Heavenly Lord bestowed upon me. I can just take a little out to pay the artisan!"
In truth, Gao Yiye's residence was directly above the storeroom. If she wanted to take anything from the village's stores, no one could stop her. Yet, aside from cotton, she never stole anything else. And even the cloth she wove from the stolen cotton was returned to the village's stores.
San Shier's words were merely a casual reminder, a subtle way to tell Gao Yiye not to go overboard. Though the Saintess held supreme authority, she was still a child and needed guidance from adults.
Gao Yiye beamed as she handed the stack of papers to San Shier. "Don't ruin them! This is my only copy."
San Shier nodded. "Every page here has the Heavenly Lord drawn on it. Who would dare damage it?"
He shook his head and descended from the watchtower, making his way to the Craftsman Well.
The woodblock print artisan and his apprentices were idly carving characters, bored.
Indeed, these past few days, the artisan and his apprentices had been quite bored. They had successively completed "Pinyin," "Elementary Mathematics," "Middle School Mathematics," and "Yang Family Generals." They had even carved a plate for "Middle School Physics." After that, there was nothing left to do, leaving them idle day after day.
Being idle meant "no extra pay," which made them a little glum. They secretly wished the Heavenly Lord would conjure up something new for them to print, but the Heavenly Lord was busy with steam trains and hosting the people from Qingjian County, temporarily forgetting the cultural industry.
The woodblock print artisans had no choice but to carve characters for practice, merely to pass the time.
San Shier walked up to them, extending the thick stack of papers in his hand. "Here's some work. Carve this. The Saintess will pay your wages."
The artisan and his apprentices gathered around, took the papers, and immediately gasped in astonishment. "A story... about the Heavenly Lord vanquishing demons?"
San Shier saw their expressions of "shock," "awe," and "desire to prostrate themselves," and he couldn't help but wonder inwardly: *Should I tell them this is the Saintess's mischievous prank?*
*Forget it! I won't say anything.*
San Shier announced, "That's right. The name of this book is 'The Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan's Demon-Slaying Saga.'"
The woodblock print artisan and his apprentices, their faces full of reverence, carefully held the stack of papers. "Manager San, rest assured, we will carve this story flawlessly, even if it costs us our lives."
Li Daoxuan smiled. *Have your fun.*
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