Chapter 443: The Heavenly Lord Stirred
Li Daoxuan took a second to clearly survey his current surroundings.
A wave of exhilaration crashed over him. "Hahaha! Finally, I can interact with my little people within their world!"
No, wait!
Hold on, something felt off.
He tried to move, but found himself utterly immobile.
His gaze swept downwards, and only then did he realize his arms were stuck to his body; he was a single, solid clay sculpture.
Not only were his arms immobile, but so were his feet, formed as one solid piece of clay with his body.
The statue's craftsmanship was appallingly crude.
As he grumbled inwardly about the statue's poor quality, he suddenly heard Gao Chuwu exclaim, "Oh! Did you guys notice? The Heavenly Lord's eyeballs just *moved* a little!"
Lao Nanfeng scoffed, "This is merely a statue of the Heavenly Lord, not the Heavenly Lord himself. How could it possibly move? If the Heavenly Lord truly stirred, a single slap would flatten the entire dock!"
Zao Ying added, "Precisely! Chuwu, don't spout such nonsense."
Gao Chuwu scratched his head. "But it truly did move just now, I swear!"
Watching this scene, Li Daoxuan couldn't help but be amused. He thought to himself, *It seems my body can't move, but my eyeballs can rotate. Maybe if my lips could move, I could even speak.*
He really wanted to try!
But if he tried it now, it wouldn't be as entertaining. The more dire the situation, the more he had to resist moving, simply to enjoy Gao Chuwu being ridiculed.
He quickly fixed his gaze straight ahead, his eyeballs utterly still.
Everyone stared at the statue for a few moments, seeing no movement, then once again scoffed at Gao Chuwu before returning to the main topic.
Xing Honglang addressed the envoy, cupping her fist. "We have long admired the reputation of Leader Wang Jiayin. May I ask what brings you here at his behest?"
Li Daoxuan understood instantly. So this capable man was an envoy sent by Wang Jiayin. It was probably this very fellow who had cursed him earlier.
The only person in the room whose identity he didn't know was the middle-aged monk over there. The monk looked benevolent, appearing to be an enlightened master.
The envoy cupped his fist. "Prince Wang has also long admired the esteemed name of Xing Honglang of Yongji. This time, the Prince sent me here primarily regarding the matter of Bu Zhan Ni."
As soon as the name Bu Zhan Ni was uttered, everyone in the room's eyebrows subtly twitched upwards.
Gao Chuwu gasped, "Huh? The Heavenly Lord's eyebrow just twitched upwards a bit!"
Xing Honglang leaned into his ear and whispered, "Chuwu, don't mention that now. Otherwise, Wang Jiayin's men will think you're foolish and look down on you."
Gao Chuwu fell silent.
Li Daoxuan felt like a mischievous child who had tricked an adult, and he was utterly delighted.
The envoy continued, "The Prince heard that Old Zhang Fei, the commander of Bu Zhan Ni's fifth company, had some friction with Chief Xing, and Chief Xing accidentally killed Old Zhang Fei..."
Li Daoxuan thought, *You certainly put that nicely, calling it 'accidentally killed by mistake.' It seems you're here to mediate.*
The envoy declared, "We are all people of the jianghu, brave greenwood heroes who have risen against the government. Occasionally, two factions might clash over minor disputes, which is common in our world. However, we shouldn't lose sight of who our *true* enemy is."
At this point, the envoy put on a noble and righteous expression. "Our enemy is the old emperor and his corrupt officials who oppress the common people. We should not be fighting amongst ourselves. Therefore, the Prince sent me to meet with Chief Xing, hoping to mediate between Chief Xing and Bu Zhan Ni."
Xing Honglang's lips curved into a strange smile. "The Prince needn't worry about that. I, Xing Honglang of Yongji, am not one to stir up trouble. As long as Bu Zhan Ni doesn't provoke me again, I won't actively seek to fight him. After all, what good would come from fighting him? Will gold simply fall from his body?"
"Hahaha!" Gao Chuwu burst out laughing. "Precisely! Fighting him won't drop any loot."
After he finished laughing, he suddenly gasped, then pointed at the statue again. "The Heavenly Lord's lips just curled up a little!"
Everyone exchanged exasperated glances.
This time, no one even bothered to acknowledge him.
The envoy said, "Chief Xing, it's excellent that you won't actively attack Bu Zhan Ni. However, Bu Zhan Ni lost a subordinate and won't let it go. He's very likely to come bothering Chief Xing again."
Xing Honglang snorted, "Hmph, let him come. Am I afraid of him?"
The envoy continued, "The Prince also knows that Chief Xing is a true heroine, not one to shy away from trouble, and certainly isn't afraid of Bu Zhan Ni returning. But as the saying goes, 'it's better to mend fences than to deepen grudges.' And fellow greenwood heroes fighting each other only makes the officials laugh. So the Prince still hopes to resolve this enmity."
Xing Honglang snapped, "What exactly are you trying to say? Just spit it out, clearly and swiftly."
The envoy explained, "The Prince's intention is for Chief Xing to join us. As long as you join our alliance, we will naturally be one family. At that point, the Prince will also have a reason to persuade Bu Zhan Ni to back down. Everyone can live in peace, uniting to fight the government troops. Wouldn't that be a joyful outcome for all?"
A silent ripple of understanding passed through the assembled group.
So after all that talk, Wang Jiayin wants to absorb our forces?
What a grand ambition! Has he even woken up?
Everyone inwardly sneered.
Xing Honglang snorted, on the verge of telling the envoy to get lost.
Suddenly, the statue of Dao Xuan Tian Zun, sitting to the side, opened its mouth...
Li Daoxuan was about to speak. He could tell Xing Honglang was on the verge of refusing, perhaps even declaring war on Wang Jiayin directly. But Li Daoxuan knew this wasn't the optimal solution. If history wasn't too drastically altered, neither Bu Zhan Ni nor Wang Jiayin would live much longer. There was no need to confront them directly at this moment.
Wouldn't it be better to just wait for them to die off?
Why risk his own little people's lives fighting them?
So Li Daoxuan decided to intervene, and also to test if this clay statue could actually speak.
As he opened his mouth, he felt the grit of clay crumbling and falling out...
This clay head, its mouth merely a slit in the rough clay, was fine when still, but once it moved, grit just kept falling out.
Li Daoxuan uttered, "Wait!"
When he spoke, words actually came out, but it wasn't his own voice. Instead, it was a heavy, hoarse sound, a deep, buzzing drone, like the Black Mountain Demon from a film.
This must be a problem with the clay figure's vocal cords.
Every person in the council hall was startled, all of them simultaneously turning their heads to look at him.
"See, see! I told you the Heavenly Lord moved earlier!" Gao Chuwu yelled. "Now the Heavenly Lord is speaking again!"
As he continued his foolish babbling, Xing Honglang hooked her foot, sending Gao Chuwu tumbling to the ground with a thud. Xing Honglang herself quickly performed a deep bow, uttering, "We pay our respects to the Heavenly Lord."
Zao Ying, Lao Nanfeng, and Zhao Sheng also reacted, simultaneously bowing low. "We pay our respects to the Heavenly Lord."
Comments