By the time the bandit attack was over, night had already fallen. The sun had only just begun to set when the fighting started, and by the time the last scream faded, the sky was completely dark.
The Bai family clearly couldn't travel anymore today, so they had no choice but to stay overnight in Gaojia Village.
But Gaojia Village wasn't a city—it had only a handful of houses. Nowhere near enough to host an entire entourage.
The tenant farmers who'd followed Bai Yuan from Bai Fort were used to hardship; they simply squeezed themselves against the inner side of the village wall, mixing in with the refugees already camped there. Farmers could sleep on anything as long as it didn't stab them.
But Bai Yuan, Madam Bai, and the Bai family's young master?
They couldn't just curl up with refugees like sacks of potatoes.
After some hesitation, their eyes drifted toward the newly built Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable Cave.
In ancient times, it was normal to spend a night at a temple or a monastery while traveling. And if the place was abandoned or had no monks? Even easier—just walk in and sleep.
But this wasn't an empty temple.
This one had a real, living deity hovering directly above it.
A deity who had showed divine power today.
Under such circumstances…
Who dared walk in casually and say:
"Hey, nice temple, I'll crash here."
Bai Yuan's hesitation was obvious—and San-shi-er immediately caught it. He grinned and said to Gao Yiye:
"White gentleman here wants to stay in the Heavenly Venerable's abode. Does the Venerable permit it?"
Yiye tilted her ear, listening to the voice only she could hear. She smiled.
"The Heavenly Venerable grants permission."
Bai Yuan lit up instantly. He bowed deeply toward the sky.
"I have troubled Your Excellency much today. When my situation improves, I shall rebuild Your temple and cast Your divine effigy anew."
Yiye listened again.
"The Heavenly Venerable has more to say. One hour from now, when all the villagers are resting—San-shi-er, Third Madam, Bai Yuan—you three must enter the temple. The Venerable has tasks for you."
Everyone's posture straightened at once.
Especially Third Madam—she trembled like someone who had just drawn the winning lot at New Year.
"Me? A humble woman… receiving the Heavenly Venerable's command… This must be a blessing I earned over three lifetimes!"
For the next hour, the four of them stared at the sky, silently willing time to go faster.
The sun disappeared completely, leaving only the moon and a ring of lanterns atop the village wall to push back the darkness. The villagers went to sleep; only two sentries paced the ramparts.
Inside the Heavenly Venerable's temple, oil lamps flickered. Yiye, San-shi-er, Third Madam, and Bai Yuan sat in a rough circle, their silhouettes swaying with the flame.
Madam Bai and the Bai young master were not invited and therefore didn't even dare approach the place.
Yiye listened again, her face brightening.
"The Heavenly Venerable has arrived."
The others immediately straightened their backs.
Spines turned into bamboo poles.
Expressions became holy, solemn, and painfully serious.
From the "sky window," Li Daoxuan looked down at the four mortals.
"I summoned you because only you four in this village can accomplish this mission. It is a glorious, yet extremely difficult task."
Before Yiye finished relaying the words, San-shi-er jumped up like a puppy awaiting praise:
"No matter how difficult, this humble one will exhaust my life and die without regret!"
Bai Yuan also bowed toward the statue.
"My life was saved by the Heavenly Venerable. Whatever command is given, I do not dare disobey."
Li Daoxuan continued:
"I wish to save more suffering people. I want them to live without hunger, without fear of war, to live in peace."
He paused. He had originally wanted to add: And of course, everything else should just develop naturally on its own, but that was for himself. Mortals could work hard—no need to tell them they didn't have to.
The two men froze for a moment.
Surprisingly, it was Third Madam who perked up first. She considered herself very kindhearted, and "saving people" pushed all the right buttons.
"What are you two stunned for? The Heavenly Venerable is compassionate and merciful, wanting to save the world. Such a grand wish! And you're sitting there dazed?"
Both men instantly dropped into deep bows.
"The Heavenly Venerable is benevolent!"
But as for how exactly to save the world… that was another question entirely.
Li Daoxuan went on:
"In this terrible drought, I can give people food to keep them alive. That's saving them. But if I feed them too much and they become lazy and useless—that's not saving them at all."
The men immediately understood and answered together:
"Better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish."
"Exactly," Li Daoxuan said. "Saving people is complicated. Some only need their lives saved—once they survive, they will move forward on their own. Others require their lives and their hearts to be saved, or they will fall right back into ruin."
Li Daoxuan still didn't fully understand his "salvation index" system, so for now, experimentation was the only path.
He continued:
"But not everyone deserves happiness. I can be kind to good people. But those who commit evil? Those cruel and violent? They do not need salvation—they need heavenly punishment. Letting them live only harms everyone else. Killing an evil man is saving countless good ones."
He had wanted to save people ever since he learned the box was overlooking Ming China. But that never meant he wanted to save everyone. He hated evil. He squashed the so-called "Immortal Lord" without hesitation. He'd rather save fewer people than save the wrong ones.
Then he addressed Bai Yuan:
"You're returning to Bai Fort tomorrow, aren't you?"
"Yes. The bandit chief has been smashed by Your divine palm. The remaining stragglers pose no threat. I must return to clean up the mess."
"But the villages around Bai Fort must be devastated. And your fort has been looted bare. You go back empty-handed—you won't be able to help the people rebuild."
Bai Yuan fell silent.
Li Daoxuan said, "Go look at your cart."
Bai Yuan hurried outside. The cart sat parked outside the temple. He rushed over, lifted the curtain—and froze.
Half a cart of flour balls. White, round, packed to the brim.
He had no idea when they'd been placed there.
Li Daoxuan said:
"Take these back and save the villages around Bai Fort. It won't be enough. After you return, send more carts to Gaojia Village. Ensure the people survive the drought and guide them into new lives."
Bai Yuan inhaled deeply and bowed low.
"The Heavenly Venerable is benevolent."
Next, Li Daoxuan spoke to Third Madam:
"You already have a jar of burn medicine. Tomorrow, bring more empty bottles and jars. I will grant you more divine medicines of different effects. Go and heal the suffering."
Third Madam immediately understood.
"For every person I heal, I will tell them the Heavenly Venerable's grand vision!"
"No need," Li Daoxuan said. "They don't need to know who saved them. Saving them is enough. But tell them this—being saved does not give you permission to harm others."
Bai Yuan, hearing that, suddenly woke up as if from a dream and quickly added:
"When I help the villages around Bai Fort, I too will teach them the Heavenly Venerable's truth: only the good deserve salvation. The wicked have no right to it. Save lives—teach virtue."
"Mm. Do that."
And with that, Li Daoxuan "disappeared" beyond the cloud cover.
Yiye listened, then announced:
"The Heavenly Venerable has returned to the heavens."
Everyone exhaled loudly and simultaneously.
Bai Yuan shook his head and sighed.
"For a moment, I nearly misunderstood the Heavenly Venerable. I thought He was a gullible soft-hearted saint who saves anyone without distinction… truly disrespectful of me. The 'ritual propriety' in the Six Arts of a gentleman—cross it out, cross it out."