Chapter 308: A Bathtub Full of Wind Oil Essence
Li Daoxuan whistled softly as he returned home.
He was in high spirits. A detached villa in Zhaomushan, over three hundred square meters, with a spacious garden, only cost a little over six million. With his current financial means, he could easily afford it.
His plan was to buy it, then knock out all the walls on the second floor to create a single, enormous, open-plan space. It would be used solely for the diorama box, a bed, and a computer desk—nothing else. This way, there would certainly be enough room for the box, even if it expanded a few times in the future. He didn't anticipate any issues.
The box shouldn't expand indefinitely; it would likely reach a certain size and then stabilize.
As he mused over his grand plans for the miniature world's development, he pulled out his keys, unlocked the door, stepped inside, and switched on the living room lights. The enormous diorama box stood prominently in the room. Before leaving, he had casually initiated a "rainfall" in a random spot, and by now, the soil in that area had been thoroughly moistened over the course of the day.
Li Daoxuan put away the medical nebulizer, then tapped on Gao Family Village. The view instantly shifted. Although night had fallen, the village pulsed with a vibrant, bustling scene. Workers, having finished their shifts, gathered in Gao Family Village's commercial district, watching plays, listening to music, sipping tea, and captivated by storytellers.
Next, he casually tapped on Bai Family Fortress, where all was quiet and peaceful. Then he moved to the county town, focusing his attention on the Gao Family Village Bookstore.
Immediately, he sensed something was amiss.
Gao Yiye, Bai Yuan, and Master Wang were all awake, standing grimly around a bed.
He appeared to be severely wounded.
“Damn it!”
This was one of his own people!
His own person was gravely injured!
Li Daoxuan felt a surge of panic, as if seeing his own pet cat wounded. He urgently asked, “Yiye, what happened?”
Hearing his voice, Gao Yiye's face lit up with joy. She quickly looked up. “Heavenly Lord, you’ve arrived!”
Bai Yuan, hearing Gao Yiye, also perked up. He immediately looked up. Although they were indoors and couldn't see the low clouds in the sky, Bai Yuan still offered a deep bow towards the ceiling.
Gao Yiye quickly reported, “Just as dusk fell today, five fierce individuals covertly infiltrated the Gao Family Village Bookstore. They murdered two of our Bai Family Fortress household guards and two militia sentries. They also intended to kill Master Bai, but Padi Tu desperately defended Master Bai’s room, blocking their entry.”
Upon hearing this—four of his people dead, Padi Tu gravely wounded—a furious rage instantly ignited within Li Daoxuan.
“Damn it all!”
Four of them!
Since his arrival, Gao Family Village had never suffered such grievous losses. Even during the conflict with the Guyuan rebels, the casualties hadn't been this severe.
Li Daoxuan, incensed, demanded, “Have the perpetrators been caught?”
Gao Yiye quickly recounted the events in detail: of the five attackers, one had escaped, three were killed, and one had been captured alive.
Li Daoxuan, so furious he almost laughed, declared, “Bring out the one you captured alive and interrogate him thoroughly. I want to see who dares to lay a hand on the people of Gao Family Village.”
Bai Yuan clasped his hands towards the sky in a salute, then hurried off to make arrangements.
Before long, Zheng Gouzi and two militia members dragged the captured outlaw into the bookstore's courtyard, forcing him to his knees.
Bai Yuan, abandoning his usual gentlemanly demeanor, his face dark, commanded, “Beat him! Beat him first, then we’ll talk.”
At the same moment, Li Daoxuan echoed, “Thrash him! Thrash him first, then we’ll talk.”
Naturally, such orders were executed with immediate vigor. Zheng Gouzi and the militia members immediately launched into a flurry of punches and kicks, pummeling the man as if he were a rag doll.
After the beating, Bai Yuan, his face still dark, demanded, “Who ordered you to kill me?”
The outlaw, true to his “tough guy” image, remained defiant. “Pah! I’d never tell you, you government lackeys and accomplices!”
“Petty thieves and rogues, yet you pretend to be a brave man?” Bai Yuan scoffed. “Beat him again!”
Zheng Gouzi and the others immediately resumed their barrage of punches and kicks.
To their surprise, even after the second beating, the wretch still refused to speak.
He was truly committed to playing the part of the unyielding tough guy.
Bai Yuan frowned, thinking, *This is problematic! This fellow knows we won’t kill him, because that would cut off our only lead. That’s why he’s so stubbornly silent....*
Just then, Li Daoxuan spoke. “Yiye, tell Zheng Gouzi and the others to fetch a large wooden bathing tub.”
Yiye quickly relayed the order.
Zheng Gouzi and his men went, and before long, returned with a massive bathing tub.
Li Daoxuan rummaged through a cabinet, found a bottle of wind oil essence, inverted it, and squeezed out a few drops. In the miniature world, the bathing tub instantly filled to the brim with the potent liquid.
This massive tub of wind oil essence emitted an incredibly pungent and irritating odor, causing the nearby militia soldiers to almost be unable to open their eyes.
Though they didn't know what it was, its oily green color and strange, piercing scent led them to conclude it was undoubtedly a “toxic liquid”—and a whole tub of it at that.
Li Daoxuan commanded, “Throw that fellow in. Immerse everything but his head.”
The outlaw’s eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the “toxic liquid” tub. “Impossible! You can’t kill me! If you poison me to death, you’ll learn nothing!”
Li Daoxuan cut him off, “Don’t waste words on him. Throw him in. Be careful not to splash yourselves.”
Zheng Gouzi grabbed the outlaw, heaved him up, and dropped him into the tub brimming with wind oil essence. At the same moment, he violently leaped backward, fearing the green, poisonous liquid might splash onto him.
The outlaw plunged into the wind oil essence bath with a sickening splash. The sheer, searing agony of that instant was beyond words. Every mucous membrane on his body screamed with a hot, stinging pain, and even his backside was overwhelmed with that horrifying sensation.
“Aargh! Aaah! No!”
The outlaw shrieked, “What is this monstrous, toxic liquid? Aaah! Get me out! Get me out of here!”
“Aaah, I can’t bear it! I’m going to melt in here!”
Everyone watched his struggles with cold eyes.
Ordinarily, Li Daoxuan was a gentle, even overly kind, man. But now, he felt not the slightest softening. The lives of four of his own people had ignited a fire in his mind, leaving no room for pity.
“I’m dying! I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Please, get me out of here!”
Only then did Li Daoxuan reach into the box, and with a single touch of his finger, overturned the bathing tub. The massive amount of wind oil essence streamed out, and the outlaw lay on the ground, rolling in agony.
Li Daoxuan ordered, “Pour water on him!”
Zheng Gouzi and the others quickly fetched several basins of water and splashed them over the outlaw. The burning sensation finally subsided on most of his body, but certain sensitive areas, like his backside, still throbbed with excruciating pain.
“Now, talk. Who sent you?” Bai Yuan pressed, his voice stern. “If you don’t want another dip in that tub, then spill everything.”
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