Chapter 233: Bai Family Fortress Comes into View
Now that his field of view had significantly expanded, Li Daoxuan naturally hastened to survey the newly added area.
There was one particular place he yearned to see, so he instinctively clicked the "West" and "North" buttons repeatedly, giving it priority.
Soon, his view encompassed a new village, "Shiqu Village," but it was already deserted. This appeared to be the village of Old Shi Fourth. Clicking further northwest, he added "Hejia Ravine" to his view; it too was empty.
He continued to click...
As he kept clicking, a formidable fortress suddenly entered Li Daoxuan's field of vision.
The fortress was square, and clearly had been recently renovated. Its layout bore a striking resemblance to a Hakka Walled House Tank, with four tall corner towers and a recently constructed watchtower.
On the third-floor balcony of the watchtower, a man in flowing white robes sat. He clutched a textbook titled "Middle School Mathematics, Year 1, Semester 2," intently engrossed in study. On the table before him lay a towering pile of discarded drafts, testament to his calculations.
Bai Yuan, it was Bai Yuan!
Li Daoxuan's heart swelled with delight. Bai Family Fortress was finally within sight.
However, seeing Bai Yuan's earnest dedication to his math problems, he decided against disturbing him for now.
Li Daoxuan continued to adjust his view, observing the situation around Bai Family Fortress.
After his gaze moved beyond Bai Family Fortress, it could only extend a little over one li northward before halting. He could just make out the foot of Dragon Mountain, but the scene on Huanglong Mountain remained out of sight for now.
Pulling back his view, he scanned the surroundings.
Vast stretches of farmland surrounded Bai Family Fortress, but they were all parched and cracked like the shell of a tortoise. A little farther out, several small villages lay, forming a semicircle that cradled Bai Family Fortress in their midst.
This layout was somewhat reminiscent of Gao Family Village's current situation: Gao Family Fortress at the center, with the Valley of Exiles, Short-term Workers Village, and other settlements encircling it.
However, Bai Family Fortress was considerably smaller, and while the farmlands around Gao Family Fortress were all operating normally, the area around Bai Family Fortress remained a desolate expanse of yellow earth.
Li Daoxuan casually dragged his view, scanning the conditions of the several villages around Bai Family Fortress. These villages varied in size; some housed hundreds, others only dozens.
The villagers within seemed to possess a far better spirit than those he had previously discovered in abandoned settlements.
Though natural disasters were merciless, Bai Yuan, the eccentric, was quite compassionate. For the past two years, preceding the drought, Bai Yuan had continuously used his personal wealth to relieve the surrounding villagers. Later, Li Daoxuan frequently dispatched large trucks carrying grain, constantly assisting Bai Yuan in providing relief.
This allowed the villagers around Bai Family Fortress to barely scrape by, preventing them from fleeing as refugees. Effectively, the population here had been stabilized.
Li Daoxuan was quite pleased. Witnessing the state of Bai Family Fortress, he knew he hadn't misjudged Bai Yuan all this time...
How should he present a "welcome gift" to Bai Family Fortress and its surrounding villages?
Rain would certainly be an excellent idea, but with Bai Family Fortress and the vast cluster of surrounding villages, the area was simply too wide. Li Daoxuan would be overwhelmed just trying to make it rain. Drizzling a bit here, a bit there—how long would that take? That wouldn't feel like a joyous welcome gift; it would merely be "a silent nourishment," barely noticeable.
The welcome gift had to be grand, something that would startle the villagers for maximum enjoyment.
Li Daoxuan continued to glide his view, and soon, he spotted something unusual.
Right in the center, between Bai Family Fortress and the cluster of villages, lay a massive depression.
It was truly enormous. If Li Daoxuan centered the box's view on this depression, the vast hollow would nearly fill the entire display. It could no longer be called a depression; it was a sinkhole.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that Bai Family Fortress and all the surrounding small villages were built around this "sinkhole." Li Daoxuan initially didn't grasp it, but after a few moments, a lightbulb seemed to illuminate in his mind: it wasn't a giant sinkhole at all; it was a lake!
A small lake, completely dried up to its bed!
Ancient people loved building villages around lakes. How had he not thought of that earlier? His reaction speed was truly too slow.
Now that he understood this, Li Daoxuan knew exactly how to present a welcome gift to the villagers.
First, he prepared several large buckets. Then he snuck downstairs. In the community's central pond, he drew several full buckets of water, sending the koi carp scattering in fright, nearly scooping them into the buckets.
The buckets, heavy with water, he laboriously dragged them, one by one, into the elevator. It was quite a struggle to get them upstairs and finally pull them beside the diorama box.
The esteemed Heavenly Lord was drenched in sweat from hauling a few buckets.
Now, he could finally greet Bai Yuan.
Li Daoxuan tapped the "Bai Family Fortress" label on the outside of the box. His view immediately zoomed directly above Bai Family Fortress. Bai Yuan was still buried in his math homework.
Li Daoxuan lifted the box's lid, intentionally without the Infinite Gauntlet, and waved his hand towards Bai Yuan...
A strange, fierce gust of wind suddenly swept down towards Bai Yuan.
The drafts scattered across his table fluttered up in a chaotic flurry, dancing through the air.
Bai Yuan cried out, "Ah!" and leaped to his feet. "My math problems!"
He lunged forward, snatching a sheet of paper that had just taken flight. Then, with a whirl, he grabbed another, and with a flurry of nimble steps and leaps, he swiftly recovered several more draft sheets. He then threw his head back and laughed heartily: "Hahahaha, even if a sudden demonic wind sweeps through, it won't stop my mathematical prowess from advancing by leaps and bounds..."
Just as he finished laughing, he felt something was amiss. Above his head, at a height of sixty or seventy zhang, a low-hanging cloud drifted. Wasn't that the very same low cloud that accompanied Dao Xuan Tian Zun's every divine manifestation?
Sweat immediately poured down Bai Yuan's face. He cried out in alarm: "The Heavenly Lord has arrived? Ah, I was too impolite! To actually call that a demonic wind just now... The 'rites' art, scratch that, scratch that! Heavenly Lord, please forgive me; I truly did not expect you to personally grace Bai Family Fortress with your presence."
Li Daoxuan chuckled inwardly. It was he, the Heavenly Lord, who had been irreverent for his age, playfully teasing a mere mortal. How could he blame Bai Yuan for a few words that slipped out unintentionally? He took out an A4 sheet, printed a few characters, and unfurled it downwards.
Bai Yuan, anticipating divine punishment, suddenly saw the clouds in the sky part. A colossal sheet of paper appeared, bearing a few characters: "Gather the Villagers."
Bai Yuan's spirits soared; he understood. The Heavenly Lord had finally flown to Bai Family Fortress to care for its people! "Hahahaha, excellent! My Bai Family Fortress has finally received the Heavenly Lord's favor!"
Overjoyed, he rushed to the balcony railing and bellowed down to the household guards below: "Beat the clapper! Gather all the villagers, quick, quick, quick!"
The household guards struck the bamboo clappers hanging from the four corners of Bai Family Fortress, producing a hollow "kong-kong-kong-kong" sound that echoed for several li. Following suit, the surrounding villages also began to ring with the "kong-kong-kong-kong" sound. Large numbers of villagers streamed out of their homes.
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