Li Daoxuan had already sensed a troublesome truth:
Gaojia Village had no "organization" whatsoever.
To put it bluntly, the place wasn't a village so much as a pile of loose sand.Aside from Village Chief Gao—who maintained authority purely by having a high moral score—every villager lived like a self-contained household, each drifting according to their own whims.
Every time Li Daoxuan distributed supplies, the villagers would grab whatever handful they fancied, leave a slightly larger share for Gao Yiye, and then simply disperse like startled chickens.
No structure.No planning.Not even a "who sleeps where" chart.
When San Shier and Li Dagang first arrived, not a single villager stepped forward to greet them.They even had to rely on Li Daoxuan himself to prod the chief before lodging and food were arranged.
Annoying.Deeply annoying.
This kind of thing should not be his job.
But now that San Shier was here, things had begun to change.
First, he persuaded Wang Er to stop causing trouble.
Then, together with the Third Lady, he resolved the "summoning" dilemma.
Two headaches gone in a single night—Li Daoxuan almost felt spoiled.
He recalled a comment from the forum the night before—specifically from the user on the fourth floor.
A good god should recruit more useful followers.
He now agreed wholeheartedly.
After being disciplined by the Third Lady, the villagers dispersed, muttering, and crawled back into their houses to sleep.
Meanwhile, the two blacksmiths—old master Li Da and apprentice Gao Yiyi—huddled in Gao Yiyi's forge, studying the night bell they had cast.
The furnace glowed faintly as they hammered and adjusted.Li Da lectured as he worked, passing down techniques generously. He wasn't worried about "the disciple starving the master to death"—in fact, he had already sworn to himself that as soon as he regained his original body, he would never touch a smithing hammer again.
Even if I starve, even if I leap from a cliff—Master Li will never be a blacksmith again.
Before dawn
The Third Lady dragged the half-awake Gao Yiye to the pond for a bath.
In daytime there were too many curious villagers around, so the predawn darkness was the only safe time.Of course, neither of them knew that outside the box, a night-vision camera was faithfully recording every second of their lives through a sheet of transparent glass…
Ahem.
The bros on the forum would definitely be thrilled.
After washing, the Third Lady produced a set of snow-white ceremonial robes—thick fabric, clearly expensive.They hung a bit loosely on Gao Yiye, but that hardly mattered. Today she wasn't hoeing fields or carrying water. Today she had a sacred job.
Gao Yiye stuck out her tongue."Lady Third… it's so hot!"
It was July, the land was dry, the heat intense—and her ceremonial robes felt like wearing a quilt under the sun.
"You must endure," The Third Lady whispered while adjusting the folds."We are to meet a god today. When Dao Xuan Tianzun answers, make sure to ask his honorific title. We can't worship blindly. Once we know his title, we can build a temple and shape his golden statue."
Gao Yiye nodded obediently."I'll remember."
Then the Third Lady opened her makeup box and began painting Gao Yiye's face stroke by careful stroke.
Morning bell
Li Daoxuan was woken by a clanging, unmusical "bell".
He had stayed up reading historical forums and late-Ming references until nearly three in the morning.So when the bell sounded, he rose like a zombie, head buzzing.
The miniature diorama box sat beside his bed, close to his computer.The bell sound echoed directly from within.
Blinking away sleep, he leaned over and looked inside.
Ah.The little people were surprisingly energetic today.
The forty-two villagers, plus San Shier's household, plus the new blacksmith Li Da—forty-eight in total—had formed a solemn square formation, exactly like a high school class during a flag-raising ceremony.
At the front stood Gao Yiye.
For the future happiness of the entire village, she had clearly gone all-in: dressed in white robes, hair elaborately styled, hairpins glimmering with borrowed luxury. She was already pretty—but now, with the makeup and ceremonial robes, she was striking enough to turn heads even in modern society.
Li Daoxuan chuckled.
Not bad. This girl is getting more and more charming… tempted to lift her skirt and—
He froze.
Damn it. I've been corrupted by the degenerates on the forum.
Gao Yiye raised a ceremonial cup with both hands, though her stance was… questionable.
Behind her, the rest of the villagers knelt.
Then came the prayer—obviously written overnight by San Shier and the Third Lady.Unfortunately, recitation was not Gao Yiye's talent. She stuttered, slipped, mispronounced, and even invented new syllables halfway through.
Still, after much struggle, she finished.
Then she announced loudly:
"Great Immortal! Please reveal your sacred honorific name, so we may build your temple and fashion your golden body!"
Li Daoxuan replied dryly from the outside:
"Li Daoxuan."
He didn't mind playing along.
Gao Yiye's eyes lit up instantly.She turned toward the Third Lady and shouted:
"Lady Third! The Heavenly Lord answered! His name is Li Daoxuan!"
The Third Lady trembled with excitement.
"Dao… Xuan…?"This was unmistakably the name of a Taoist immortal!
She had been genuinely worried that the god might be a Buddhist bodhisattva—she wouldn't even know the right incense to offer.
But now—Taoism!Her own field!
Without hesitation she fell to her knees and bowed deeply.
"Greetings to Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
Gao Yiye instantly followed—
"Greetings to Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
And the remaining forty villagers echoed thunderously:
"Greetings to Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
Li Daoxuan felt a sudden surge of mirth.
From anonymous ghost to honored Tianzun—life came at you fast.
It was almost embarrassing.
Gao Yiye began delivering another memorized speech—clearly the version San Shier prepared for the Taoist scenario.
She thanked Dao Xuan Tianzun for gifting them a city wall.Then she reported that guards were needed at night, that lanterns had to be lit, and that lanterns required oil.Therefore she humbly begged the god to provide them with some blessing—preferably in the form of oil.
Playing house like this was unexpectedly fun.
Listening to her halting words, Li Daoxuan picked up his vegetable oil bottle, dripped oil into a mineral water bottle cap, and gently lowered it into the landscape box—
A divine reward for the devout.