Chapter 582: The Power of One
Within moments, a dozen or so of the Prince of Qin’s household retainers lay sprawled on the ground, none able to rise. And none were lightly wounded. Some had dislocated arms, dangling limply by their sides. Others were beaten black and blue, faces swollen. The worst off was the one Li Daoxuan had struck, his head gashed and bleeding profusely down his face.
The steward, too, had been slammed by Wang Tang so hard his bones nearly fractured. He struggled shakily to his feet. "You... you're really something," he spat. "We dare not touch Wu Shen and Shi Kefa, but dealing with you pack of curs is no problem at all. Just you wait."
Wang Tang smiled. "We'll be waiting."
The steward yelled, "Let's go!"
The group of retainers stumbled and scrambled away. Soon, they vanished around the street corner.
The Gao Family Village folk burst into laughter, and one even let out a triumphant whistle at their retreating forms.
Padi Tu exclaimed, "Wow, I never thought the Heavenly Lord himself would join the fight! When I saw the Heavenly Lord knock that fellow on the head, it felt so exhilarating."
Zheng Gouzi chimed in, "Indeed, quite unexpected."
Li Daoxuan rocked back and forth in his lounge chair, the wood groaning rhythmically, smiling but saying nothing. He thought to himself: *This kind of fighting is quite fun, even more satisfying than reaching down from the sky to squash ants. It feels just like being back at Thirty-Two Middle School, brawling with the hooligans outside the school gates.*
In truth, he was just an ordinary teenager, utterly unskilled in fighting. But when a girl from his class was harassed by hoodlums outside the school, the moment she returned to complain, all the boys in the class rushed out. None of them knew how to fight either, but there was strength in numbers. The entire class surrounded the hooligans and unleashed a flurry of chaotic blows. Li Daoxuan, hidden within the crowd, secretly landed two kicks and a punch, and it felt incredibly satisfying.
Wang Tang murmured, "The Heavenly Lord seems very pleased; his face is beaming with smiles."
Padi Tu chirped, "We were beating up bad guys, of course the Heavenly Lord is happy!"
Zheng Gouzi grinned. "True enough, hehe."
"Next time, they won't just send a dozen or so men," Wang Tang stated. "If I'm not mistaken, they'll bring at least fifty or sixty people next, and they'll be armed with blunt objects designed to cause injury without drawing blood."
Padi Tu chuckled, "Then my Heaven Rabbit Rending Overlord..."
"Don't use a sword!" Wang Tang interjected. "Keep using things that won't draw blood to greet them."
Zheng Gouzi whispered, "But the Heavenly Lord already drew blood! That fellow's head was gushing!"
Wang Tang laughed. "The Heavenly Lord used his fists, too. As long as no lethal weapons are involved, even a broken head is within the bounds of a reasonable brawl. We are nominally subordinates of Wu Shen and Shi Kefa. If we go too far, waving weapons around in the streets, then Wu Shen and Shi Kefa will be in serious trouble. They'll certainly be impeached. They are, after all, rare good officials. If they get impeached and demoted, and the court sends some corrupt, useless officials in their place, that would be truly bothersome."
The others burst into laughter. "That's true," they conceded.
That very night, a heavy snow fell upon Xi'an.
Padi Tu was in the open space behind the fertilizer shop, busy building a snowman. Oh, no, it was a snow rabbit. The rabbit was quite plump; if it were real, it would yield a good amount of meat.
He was enjoying himself immensely when he saw the Heavenly Lord emerge from the side room and wave him over. "Bunny Lord," the Heavenly Lord called.
Padi Tu jumped in surprise. "Heavenly Lord," he stammered, "please don't add 'Lord' to my name when you call me; this humble one cannot bear such an honor."
Li Daoxuan chuckled. "Nicknames are just for fun," he said. "Don't take it so seriously."
Still greatly flustered, Padi Tu insisted, "Please just call me Bunny."
Li Daoxuan replied, "Alright, Bunny, come with me. Let's slip out quietly and do some good."
Padi Tu brightened. "Oh? Do some good deeds?"
This topic certainly sparked his interest.
Li Daoxuan instructed, "Go check the last cart that brought the fertilizer. There are many black bags on it; grab one at random."
Padi Tu sprang into action. Soon, he found the last fertilizer cart. The cart held many black bags, and he casually reached for one, only to find he couldn't lift it. The bag didn't look large, yet it weighed over two hundred jin.
He opened it up to look inside. It was filled entirely with clipped silver fragments, the kind that had been cut into tiny pieces.
Padi Tu exerted himself more this time and managed to hoist the bag onto his back. Tongue lolling, he struggled to carry it out of the storeroom and ran to Li Daoxuan's side. "Heavenly Lord, so much silver! I'm utterly exhausted!"
Li Daoxuan chuckled. "What else do you think I called you for? Come on, let's take a stroll outside."
Padi Tu largely guessed what the Heavenly Lord intended to do. He immediately perked up, "Oh, yes! Yes!"
The two of them slipped out of the fertilizer shop...
By now, the fertilizer shop was under tight security. Wang Tang had arranged patrols, wary of the Prince of Qin's household causing further trouble. Though the shop appeared relaxed, it was constantly under watch, with guards monitoring not just the premises but even the surrounding block.
When the Heavenly Lord and Padi Tu slipped out, the sentries had long since noticed them.
But the sentries were no fools; if the Heavenly Lord wished to slip away, would they dare stop him? Naturally, they pretended not to see anything.
Li Daoxuan and Padi Tu walked through the nighttime streets of Xi'an. A heavy snow swirled from the sky, snowflakes continuously dusting their forms.
Li Daoxuan felt no cold. His steel-boned silicone body seemed impervious to it.
However, the moment he consciously thought, "I want to feel it," the cold immediately registered. It was as if there was a switch: closed, he was numb; open, he perceived clearly. Quite convenient, he mused.
Li Daoxuan pointed to a narrow alleyway off the main street. "Look over there."
Padi Tu walked to the alley's entrance and peered inside. He immediately spotted several dark figures huddled in a corner. They appeared to be refugees, struggling to survive the snowy night. Several of them were pressed closely together for warmth.
"Give them some silver!"
The moment Li Daoxuan spoke, Padi Tu understood. He quickly untied the black bag in his hand, grabbed a handful of clipped silver, and placed it before the huddled figures.
The people stared, expressions of disbelief on their faces. After several seconds, they dropped to their knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly to the two men.
But Li Daoxuan pulled Padi Tu swiftly away.
As they walked, Padi Tu whispered, "Heavenly Lord, my heart aches; I can't bear to see such suffering in the world."
Li Daoxuan remained silent.
Padi Tu continued, "This bag of silver is only a bit over two hundred jin; I'm afraid it won't be enough to distribute, will it? Oh, I should have carried more out... but my strength is too meager..."
Li Daoxuan said, "The weight of this bag of silver represents the number of people you can help with your individual strength. Therefore, if you want to save the common people, relying solely on your personal benevolence won't achieve great things."
Padi Tu paused, startled by the realization. He now understood that the Heavenly Lord was teaching him a lesson about life. The Heavenly Lord still remembered him overturning the grain cart last time, so he was offering guidance through a different method.
"Come on, let's keep distributing silver."
Li Daoxuan continued, "Although the power of one person is limited, you shouldn't withhold your effort simply because it's small. Give it your all, go distribute the silver to as many common folk as you can. Even if it's just so they can enjoy a few full meals this winter, that would be good."
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