The two sculptors were trembling like apprentices who had accidentally insulted an immortal.
The material before them — supposedly a divine substance — behaved in ways that made no worldly sense. It felt hard as stone, yet the moment their chisels tapped it, it yielded like damp tofu. They were terrified of striking too hard and accidentally blowing a celestial artifact to pieces.
Truly nerve-wracking. Truly spine-tightening.
They stared at the huge "portrait" pinned beside them. The subject's face was… unfortunate. Triangular eyes, a flat nose, the kind of expression that screamed tax evader or petty villain. They couldn't imagine why the Celestial Lord wanted this man carved into eternity.
"Do you recognize which god he is supposed to be?" one whispered.
"Not a clue. I've never seen a deity dressed like a roadside gambler."
"Then he must be a demon."
"Oh—! You're right. If he's a demon, then the Celestial Lord will carve his statue, paste a talisman on its back, light the whole thing on fire… and when the statue burns, the demon's real body will burn with it! Poof! Gone forever!"
"Yes, yes! The storyteller said immortals use that method. I was thrilled when I heard it."
"So if we carve this demon faster, fewer innocent civilians will be harmed."
"Then let's hurry!"
Fueled by righteous delusion, the two sculptors worked with heroic fury. Morning to night, night to morning, they carved under dim rapeseed-oil lamps, terrified that if the statue's face was inaccurate, the Celestial Lord might accidentally incinerate the wrong person. So they stared at the "demon portrait" again and again… and even the tiniest wrinkles at the corner of the eyes were sculpted to uncanny precision.
By the next evening…
Li Daoxuan was casually demolishing a fried chicken leg from Jet Warrior when the familiar dong… dong… dong echoed from inside the miraculous box — the summoning bell of the little folk.
He leaned over.
Inside the miniature realm, Gao Yiye and the two sculptors knelt before a great bronze bell, reverently worshiping the sky as his face appeared among the clouds.
Gao Yiye bowed.
"Esteemed Celestial Lord, the two sculptors have fulfilled your sacred command."
"So fast?" Li Daoxuan muttered.
The two sculptors, sporting panda-like dark circles under their eyes but glowing with zeal, exclaimed,
"For the glory of cleansing demons from the world, we would gladly die!"
"…Cleansing what now?"
Li Daoxuan had several question marks hover over his head, but he gave up understanding. Their brains ran on ancient-era logic. Trying to reason it out would only shrink his lifespan.
If they were happy believing they had served justice — fine. Let them.
He usually rewarded their crafts with food — rice, flour, oil — but today he pondered a better gift. After a moment, he grabbed his sugar jar.
Pinching a tiny heap of white sugar, he dropped it before the sculptors.
"By the heavens—that sugar chunk is enormous!"
"It shines like ice!"
"I've only ever seen dark brown sugar in my life — never translucent celestial sugar!"
"This must be immortal sweet-jade!"
The sculptors shook with ecstasy.
Sugar in the Ming era was luxury treasure. What Li Daoxuan casually sprinkled before them could be sold for a small fortune.
"One of these days," one sculptor sighed, "I'd like to take some valuables to the county town and sell them. If only the outside world weren't full of war. I'd finally be able to pay the craftsman's levy."
"Actually," the other said, "I also need to pay that tax. And I heard Third Master is visiting the county soon. We could tag along for safety."
"Brilliant! Then it's settled!"
Li Daoxuan examined the newly completed plastic miniature. Up close — wow. It looked exactly like the photo. Maybe too exact. They had even made the expression slightly fiercer.
"Eh… maybe the customer will like it? Let's deliver it first."
He grabbed a ride to Cai Xinzi's model shop and called on the way.
"Old Cai, I'm bringing the figurine. Fifteen minutes."
"That fast? Great! I'll tell the customer to come."
Fifteen minutes later, he arrived.
Cai Xinzi was chatting with a young man — the very same triangular-eyed, flat-nosed fellow from the photo. The guy was fiddling with an extravagant robot model. Truly gorgeous craftsmanship: removable armor plates, glowing eye lights, tiny articulated joints — everything high-end.
A custom piece worth twenty thousand.
When they noticed Li Daoxuan, Cai Xinzi stood.
"Sir, your custom pilot figure has arrived. We can assemble the final stage right now."
The young man nearly leapt out of his chair with joy.
Li Daoxuan handed him the figurine.
The man inspected it from every angle. Left. Right. Up. Down. Then his eyes lit up like he'd been handed the Emperor's seal.
"This is incredible! Way more detailed than I expected! The expression — fierce, battle-ready — perfect! A proper mecha pilot should look like he's prepared to annihilate the enemy!"
Cai Xinzi grinned.
"This was made by my buddy Li Daoxuan. His micro-sculpting skills are unmatched."
"Unmatched what," Li Daoxuan laughed. "Just trying to earn lunch."
But the customer was no longer listening. Trembling with excitement, he opened the mech's cockpit, gently placed the figurine inside, and closed the transparent canopy so the face remained visible.
"Hahaha! Look at this! I look like an elite ace pilot! Behold—! My ultimate attack! Mega High-Speed Particle Cannon!!"
Li Daoxuan and Cai Xinzi exchanged a look.
This man… is a full-grown adult?
Their eyes said the same thing:
Ah. A textbook case of "eternal teenager syndrome."