Chapter 41: Playing Make-Believe
In the seventh year of Tianqi, on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, the temple of Dao Xuan Tian Zun was completed.
In truth, the temple had been finished two days prior, but San Shier, Mrs. San, Gao Yiye, and the Village Chief had gathered to deliberate, and decided that the eighth day of the eighth lunar month was an auspicious day. Thus, even though it was already complete, they insisted it wasn't, delaying the grand opening until the eighth day.
So, on this eighth day of the eighth lunar month, over a hundred villagers, all dressed in clean clothes, stood in neat ranks, much like several classes of students queuing for a flag-raising ceremony.
Gao Yiye once again occupied the center stage, clad in suffocatingly hot white robes, wearing heavy makeup, kneeling before the "Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord's Grotto."
It was clearly a temple, yet they insisted on calling it a grotto.
Without exaggeration, the "Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord's Grotto" was currently the most luxurious, grand, and high-class building in Gao Family Village. Remarkably, it even had a foundation, its lower half constructed from beautiful stones, and its upper half crafted with exquisite carpentry.
The paint, modern lacquer provided by Li Daoxuan, was vibrant and glossy, making the entire structure exceptionally eye-catching. On a battlefield, it would surely attract unwanted attention from archers.
Inside, the statue of Dao Xuan Tian Zun was carved with lifelike realism, and aside from being 32% more handsome and 320% more majestic than his actual self, it had no other flaws.
From outside the box, Li Daoxuan gazed at his own temple, truly wanting to reach in, dig it out, then take it to Cai Xinzhi for a good appraisal and sell it.
Gao Yiye began reciting the prayers once more. The last time, she had stumbled, but this time, it flowed much more smoothly. In recent days, she had been learning to read and write with Mrs. San, reciting the prayers daily. While she couldn't yet claim to know them by heart, she no longer made major errors.
After finishing her lines, Gao Yiye waved her hand, declaring, "Ring the bell!"
Beside her, Gao Chuwu hefted a large hammer, and struck it: "Dong! Dong! Dong!"
The resonant bell tolls filled the air, a normal, far-reaching, and sacred sound.
It seemed Li Da and Gao Yiyi, the two blacksmiths, had forged a fine bell anew.
Li Daoxuan chuckled inwardly: "I told you to forge armor, and it's been half a month already. I haven't seen a single piece of armor yet. Instead, you've produced a splendid bell."
He now understood how vast the gap was between the realm of giving commands and the realm of actual execution. Even if he constantly watched the box, as long as he didn't specifically monitor the two blacksmiths, their progress would deviate significantly from his expectations.
With the ceremony concluded, the Dao Xuan Heavenly Lord's Grotto was officially open for business.
Villagers began to enter the grotto in turns, kneeling before the "Heavenly Lord's statue," and kowtowing with loud thuds. After kowtowing, they naturally made their wishes.
Li Daoxuan brought his magnifying glass closer to the window, peering inside.
A villager knelt before the Heavenly Lord's statue, knocking his head five times in quick succession.
"I pray to the Heavenly Lord for blessings, for favorable winds and rains next year, and for an abundant harvest."
Li Daoxuan thought: "I was going to grant this wish anyway. I supply you with water daily, so even if the entire world suffers a great drought, Gao Family Village will not go dry."
A playful impulse struck him. He addressed Gao Yiye: "Yiye, tell him I have granted this wish."
Gao Yiye, standing beside the statue, quickly adopted a dignified expression, and told the villager: "Rise! The wish you just made has been granted by the Heavenly Lord."
The villager blinked, then erupted with joy: "Really? It's really granted?"
Gao Yiye replied, "The Heavenly Lord himself just granted it."
The villager was ecstatic, and dashed towards the temple exit. After only a few steps, he suddenly remembered his incomplete etiquette and broke into a cold sweat, rushing back. He returned, profusely kowtowing to the sacred statue several more times, then dashed out of the temple again, shouting: "The Heavenly Lord has granted it! We can plant crops next year! Hahaha, the Heavenly Lord has granted it! It's been three years of drought, three long years! Do you know what I've been through these past three years? Hahaha! Next year, we can finally plant crops!"
Mrs. San suddenly appeared beside him, grabbing the villager and scolding: "If you truly plant crops and reap a harvest next year, do not forget to fulfill your vows!"
The villager hastily replied, "Absolutely, I wouldn't dream of it."
Seeing this, the villagers behind him were overjoyed, lining up and taking turns to kowtow and make their wishes.
"I pray to the Heavenly Lord to bless my fields next year with a harvest of several more *dou* of grain than usual."
Li Daoxuan mused, "What's difficult about that? A little celestial fertilizer will do the trick."
"Yiye, tell him it's granted."
Gao Yiye relayed the message with affected gravity. The villager paused, then burst into delighted laughter. He finished his kowtows, ran out of the temple, and stood in the village, roaring with laughter: "Hahaha, wonderful! It's granted, my wish is also granted... Hahaha..."
Next to appear was none other than San Shier. This fellow, surprisingly, mimicked the villagers, queuing up to stand before the Heavenly Lord's statue. He knelt properly, kowtowing: "I pray the Heavenly Lord grants a blessing, that 'that thing' down there might grow a bit larger, and last a bit longer, so that I may be henceforth 'as fierce as a dragon and mighty as a tiger.'"
Li Daoxuan exclaimed, "Damn it! Tell him to scram immediately!"
Gao Yiye blinked, then awkwardly told San Shier: "The Heavenly Lord is angry. He says for you to scram immediately."
San Shier scurried away, clutching his head.
Over a hundred people in the village, Li Daoxuan included, were having a grand time...
Suddenly, two sentries on the city wall banged on the two large bamboo tubes hanging by the gate, making a "kong-kong-kong" sound, then shouted loudly: "Oh dear, people are coming! People are outside! Many people are coming!"
At their shout, the villagers immediately rushed towards the city wall.
Li Daoxuan had been amused by the villagers' antics. Now, hearing the commotion, he straightened up and looked outside the village.
However, something interesting happened.
His field of view was limited to a range of 500 by 300 meters, barely covering Gao Family Village and its surrounding fields. Yet, when the villagers stood on the wall and looked out, their line of sight extended for several *li*, meaning the villagers had already raised the alarm, but Li Daoxuan still couldn't see anyone entering his diorama box.
"Damn it! This is so inconvenient!"
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but curse again: "How in the blazes do I increase this cursed field of view?"
Chaos began to spread through the village.
Without any "organization" in place, the villagers were like a heap of loose sand, with no one knowing what to do when faced with a sudden crisis.
It was San Shier, who had just fled clutching his head, who now seemed to regain his composure. He scrambled onto the city wall, glanced into the distance, and immediately bellowed commands: "Everyone with a weapon, grab your weapon! Those without, take pot lids, brooms, mops, sickles, hoes... whatever you can get your hands on! Everyone, get onto the city wall!"
The villagers, who had been scrambling around like headless flies, immediately obeyed without question when someone stepped up to command, regardless of who was giving orders. They instantly grabbed all sorts of haphazard "weapons" and climbed onto the city wall.
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