Chapter 35: Lying with Eyes Wide Open
This time, Li Daoxuan didn't print on the entire A5 sheet. He printed the Supreme Treasure version of Sun Wukong's image onto a corner of the A5 paper, then cut that corner off with scissors.
It became a small image, just three centimeters long and two centimeters wide.
He couldn't shrink it any further, or the details in the picture would become unclear.
He then gently placed this tiny picture into the diorama box, setting it before Gao Yiye and the two sculptors.
This paper, appearing out of thin air, truly startled the two sculptors. It was the first "Divine Miracle" they'd witnessed since coming to Gao Family Village, and they immediately fell to their knees, bowing their heads repeatedly with loud thuds.
Once Gao Yiye called them to rise, the two men peered closely, recognizing it at once: "This is... the Victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong."
As expected of sculptors, they recognized far more deities and Buddhas than the people of Gao Family Village. Gao Yiye herself couldn't immediately tell who the figure was.
"The Heavenly Lord wants you to create this Buddha statue. It must be identical to the one in this drawing. Oh, and by the way, don't make it from clay; use wood."
"Make it the same size as the picture? Two *zhang* tall?" The two sculptors gasped in alarm.
Gao Yiye shook her head. "That won't be necessary. Making it life-sized will suffice."
The two sculptors said, "That's much simpler. With our skills, we can carve a regular life-sized statue in just a few days. However, to make it perfectly identical to the drawing will require considerable delicate work, so we'll need a few extra days to meticulously carve the details."
Gao Yiye cocked her ear, listening to the voice from above, then put on a serious expression. "It needs to be painted, you know."
At her words, the two sculptors froze awkwardly. "We don't have various colored paints; that stuff is extremely expensive."
Gao Yiye replied, "That's a trivial matter. Go find the wood first. Once the wooden base is ready and you need to paint it, come find me again."
The two sculptors quickly went off to find wood.
Li Daoxuan, meanwhile, stood up from the edge of the diorama box. "Looks like I need to make another trip out."
Across from the east gate of his apartment complex was a Hongxing Macalline furniture store. He vaguely recalled them selling various paints there. Following his memory, he walked for ten minutes and found the paint shop tucked away in a corner of the furniture store.
He bought a small can of each color of the mini-paints, which cost 15 yuan per can. The collection was surprisingly heavy once he had all the colors. He struggled to carry them home, finally arranging the multitude of bottles and jars beside the diorama box.
After stepping out for a while and returning, the village was already a scene of fervent activity. In the blacksmith's forge, several smiths surrounded Li Da, clanking and banging on iron blocks under his guidance.
New and old villagers worked together, hauling stones and timber, enthusiastically preparing to build the temple. San Shier, hands clasped behind his back, wove through the crowd, directing the villagers to run this way for a moment, then that way.
A lively atmosphere began to permeate the air, with shouts and calls rising and falling in succession.
Li Daoxuan watched, as if observing his own children grow, a proud parent's smile spreading across his face.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, visitors arrived from outside the village...
Li Daoxuan's gaze shifted towards the village's periphery. *Tsk*, that's quite a crowd.
Leading them was a distinguished-looking general, mounted on a tall horse, clad in armor, and wearing a helmet. Behind him, over a hundred soldiers in cloth armor noisily approached Gao Family Village.
Imperial soldiers.
Li Daoxuan didn't need to rack his brains to know why the imperial soldiers were in the vicinity. He frowned in thought. It would be easy enough to swat them all away, but... there was no need!
He lowered his head and spoke into the box, "Gao Yiye, go get San Shier. I'll teach him how to bluff the imperial soldiers away."
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The leading military officer was named Cheng Xu, a ninth-rank military inspector of the Great Ming Dynasty.
From atop his horse, he was busily cursing Wang Er from Baishui's entire lineage.
His "greetings" were a colorful testament to the nation's millennia-old traditions of "respect for elders and love for the young," liberally spiced with curses against Wang Er's parents, threats to butcher his entire family, and grim wishes for his future offspring.
It was no wonder he was so exasperated, for the duty of a military inspector was to apprehend bandits and maintain public order.
Just a few days prior, while he was watching an opera troupe perform in his jurisdiction, news suddenly arrived that Wang Er had raised his arm in rebellion, gathering several hundred commoners. They stormed the county seat, butchered Magistrate Zhang Yaocai, and, while they were at it, also killed the Assistant Magistrate and Registrar, murdered several wealthy gentry members, broke into the granaries, and seized the government grain.
The incident had happened too suddenly. By the time Cheng Xu received the news and hastily gathered his soldiers to rush to the county seat for suppression, it was already too late.
Zhang Yaocai's head hung from the city gate, swaying in the wind, and Wang Er from Baishui and his gang had long since packed up and fled, leaving Cheng Xu with nothing but a devastated Chengcheng County and several houses spewing thick black smoke.
No matter how one looked at it, this was a dereliction of duty on Cheng Xu's part, and being held accountable and facing punishment afterwards was inevitable.
He had spent two days finally calming the out-of-control county. Now, all he could do was apprehend Wang Er as quickly as possible. Perhaps this would allow him to redeem himself slightly and lessen his impending punishment.
Cheng Xu had just come from Wangjia Village, which was now deserted, not a soul to be found. He couldn't even find anyone to ask which direction Wang Er had fled. He had no choice but to wander aimlessly in the vicinity, and in his wandering, he eventually arrived at Gao Family Village.
Catching sight of Gao Family Village's "towering city walls," Cheng Xu couldn't help but rub his eyes. "Damn it, am I seeing things?"
His Deputy Inspector whispered, "Boss, you're not mistaken. There really is a city there."
Cheng Xu sucked in a sharp breath. "Could it be that Wang Er has already built a great city in the mountains?"
A wave of panic washed over him. If Wang Er had indeed built a city, then the hundred-odd soldiers under his command would be of no damn use. Taking a city was impossible, and his hope of capturing Wang Er to atone for his mistakes was likely to fall through.
"This is bad... if that bandit already possesses such strength, the imperial court will surely punish me... I can almost see my great-grandmother waving me goodbye..."
"Oh, isn't that General Cheng?" The gates of Gao Family Village opened, and an old acquaintance rushed out. It was San Shier, the magistrate's strategist. He waved at Cheng Xu like greeting an old friend, then cheerfully approached the imperial soldiers, stopping before Cheng Xu's horse. "What fine wind brings the General to Gao Family Village? This is truly a case of a 'distinguished guest gracing our threshold!'"
Normally, hearing San Shier's exaggerated, quirky summaries would make Cheng Xu want to punch him. But now, for some reason, he felt a wave of relief. He dismounted, saying, "Hmm? Strategist San Shier? A city suddenly appeared here! I actually thought that rebel Wang Er had amassed such power. It scared me to death! Thankfully, you're here, Strategist San Shier. Quick, tell me, what exactly is going on with this city?"
San Shier's face held a peculiar expression. "A city? What city?"
Cheng Xu pointed at the enormous city walls before him. "Isn't this a city? With walls so tall, what else could it be?"
San Shier turned his head, glanced behind him, looked left, then right, putting on a show of being utterly blind and seeing nothing at all. He then turned back to Cheng Xu. "What city walls? I don't see any! There's only a desolate little village here, a village full of refugees. There are no city walls or cities at all. General, how can you 'conjure something out of thin air'?"
Cheng Xu half-drew his saber with a *swish*. "Damn you, San Shier! Are you brazenly lying to my face, playing me for a fool?"
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