Chapter 8: You Can't Kill Them
Li Daoxuan drew out his phone with his right hand. He aimed it at the miniature figures in the box, snapping several close-up photos, capturing that moment of tense deadlock.
At the same time, his left hand was ready to assist "his villagers." He opened the diorama box's lid and held his hand poised above it. The moment any of "his villagers" faced mortal danger, he was prepared to reach in and eliminate these five "outsider officials," those little figures.
Just as he had dealt with the bandit figures.
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Gao Yiye was frantic, seized by an overwhelming panic.
She saw it—the faint, ethereal form of the Heavenly Lord emerging in the sky. Of course, that wasn't the most terrifying part. What truly struck fear into her heart was that the Heavenly Lord had already raised his hand.
She knew what the Heavenly Lord raising his hand signified!
Only yesterday, she had witnessed with her own eyes the Heavenly Lord flattening every single bandit into a bloody paste with a single, decisive slap. That terrifying yet satisfying image still swirled vividly in her mind.
Gao Yiye quickly looked up, shouting desperately towards the vast sky: "No! Heavenly Lord, don't kill them!"
Gao Yiye cried out, "They are government officials! If you kill them, our entire village will be doomed!"
Her cry, delivered with every ounce of her strength, was naturally heard by everyone nearby.
The villagers all froze, bewildered.
The five officials were equally stunned. They simultaneously looked up at the sky, wondering inwardly: *What does this mean? This villager is shouting at the sky, telling 'something' not to kill us?*
*What in heaven could possibly kill the five of us?*
*We can't see anything, there's nothing there.*
They weren't fools, however, and immediately recalled the Village Chief's earlier words: "This is Divine Rice bestowed upon us by the Heavenly Lord, meant to save lives. If you dare touch it, the Heavenly Lord will claim your lives."
"Hmph!" The lead official couldn't help but curl his lip in disdain. "What kind of charade are they pulling now?" he scoffed.
Another official chimed in, "Gave me a fright, I truly thought something was going to kill me. Turns out it's just a bunch of low-lives putting on an act. Do they think I was born yesterday?"
An official snarled at Gao Yiye, "You wretched woman, what kind of nonsensical babble are you spouting? Threatening government officials is defying the imperial court. Do you have a death wish?"
Gao Yiye insisted, "I'm not threatening you, I'm saving you! Leave quickly! The Heavenly Lord has already raised his hand; you've angered him. If you stay, he'll strike you all down, one by one, with a single slap."
The five officials exchanged glances, speechless.
The words sent a shiver down their spines, yet they found it incredibly hard to believe.
The lead official pursed his lips and subtly signaled to his subordinate. "Seize that woman who's spreading seditious talk. Take her back to the County Yamen for a thorough interrogation. She might be a White Lotus cultist."
The official brandished the iron ruler in his hand and slowly advanced toward Gao Yiye.
Gao Yiye glanced at the approaching official, then looked up again. The clouds had parted, and the Heavenly Lord's hand was descending swiftly, already hovering directly above the official's head. It was clear to her that the Heavenly Lord was protecting her; if this official dared lay a hand on her, the Heavenly Lord would bring down his palm and flatten him into a paste.
But officials were different from bandits!
Killing bandits was one thing; they could be dragged out of the village, buried, and that would be the end of it.
An official dying in Gao Family Village, however, would lead to grave consequences. The government would assume the villagers had killed them, branding the entire village as "rebels." Then, a large army would be dispatched to suppress them, leaving everyone without a proper burial place.
Gao Yiye ignored the official advancing on her. She looked up and continued to shout at the sky, "Heavenly Lord, you mustn't kill them, absolutely mustn't! Just let them know you are here, and they won't dare disrespect you!"
Li Daoxuan heard the young woman's fervent plea.
She was screaming herself hoarse, all to protect these five officials?
Oh, no, that wasn't quite right! She was protecting *herself* and her fellow villagers.
Li Daoxuan understood instantly. Behind these five miniature officials stood many more; their status represented the power that backed them.
This diorama box was far more complex than it appeared to his eyes.
This time, he would act according to the young woman's wishes.
Li Daoxuan retracted the hand he'd intended to use for crushing the official. Instead, he extended just two fingers, delicately, as if plucking a small wild flower, and pinched the official.
"Aaaargh!"
The official let out a shriek like a pig being slaughtered.
He had been striding towards Gao Yiye, intent on seizing the woman he deemed a spreader of seditious talk for interrogation at the County Yamen. Suddenly, an immense force clamped down on his shoulders, pressing inward with such power that his bones audibly creaked and groaned, threatening to pull him apart.
He looked left, then right, desperate to see what held him, but there was nothing there. All he could feel was an invisible, colossal strength.
Then his feet lifted from the ground, and he floated into the air.
The unseen power hoisted him aloft, suspending him a full ten feet above the earth.
The other four officials all looked up, their faces etched with shock as they stared at their colleague suspended, struggling ceaselessly, in mid-air.
The villagers, witnessing this sight, simultaneously dropped to their knees, crying out, "The Heavenly Lord has revealed his divine power!"
The official dangling in mid-air was so terrified that tears and snot streamed down his face, and his pants were completely soaked. He flailed his limbs wildly, hoarsely screaming, "Heavenly Lord, spare my life! Heavenly Lord, have mercy! This humble one meant no offense... I was wrong... Mercy!"
The other four officials exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of how to react.
Just then, Li Daoxuan puffed out his cheeks and, with a "whoosh," blew a breath towards the remaining four officials.
"Whoosh!"
A furious gust of wind erupted!
A powerful current of air swirled specifically at the four of them, leaving everyone else untouched.
Blown by this terrifying wind, the four officials were sent flying backward simultaneously, soaring a good ten to thirteen feet before crashing heavily to the ground, nearly breaking their tailbones.
Now, the four finally understood what they needed to do. They quickly scrambled to their feet, then plopped down, kneeling on the ground and pressing their foreheads into the sandy earth.
Li Daoxuan commanded, "Tell them to get out! And forbid them from speaking a single word about what just happened."
Gao Yiye relayed loudly, "The Heavenly Lord commands you to leave! And he warns you, you are forbidden from speaking about what happened here today!"
The four immediately kowtowed, "We will humbly follow the Heavenly Lord's decree!"
They rose and fled as fast as their legs could carry them.
The official still suspended in mid-air cried out desperately, "This humble one also wishes to leave! Heavenly Lord, spare my life, I beg you, please let this humble one go! I won't breathe a single word about anything that happened here..."
Li Daoxuan released his grip. The official plummeted ten feet, landing with a solid thud. But he stifled his pain, scrambled to his feet, and limped away, chasing after his four colleagues.
Li Daoxuan fixed his gaze on the five officials, keen to observe exactly how they would "leave the diorama box." He watched as they stumbled and scrambled, disheveled, out of the village, across the sandy ground beyond, and then kept running, quickly reaching the edge of the diorama box.
There, a glass wall stood.
The five men seemed oblivious to the glass wall, continuing forward and passing straight through it... But they didn't emerge outside the diorama box; instead, they simply vanished without a trace, as if the glass wall were a portal to another world.
"Did they walk out? Vanished?" Li Daoxuan, having personally witnessed how these "outsider figures" entered and exited the diorama box, fell into deep contemplation.
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