Paying respects to Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable

Li Daoxuan had actually noticed a problem long ago.

Gao Family Village lacked "organization."

Or rather, Gao Family Village was not an organization to begin with, just a tray of loose sand. Apart from the village chief, whose age and reputation gave him some say, nobody had authority over anyone else. They were all independent individuals.

Every time Li Daoxuan gave them food, the villagers simply divided it up, each taking a pile home and leaving a little extra for Gao Yiye. And that was that.

There was no coordinated management of supplies.

When San Shier and Li Da first arrived at Gao Family Village, nobody received them. Li Daoxuan had to speak up personally before Gao Yiye arranged somewhere for them to stay and brought them food.

Honestly, it was a little annoying.

This was not something he should have had to manage himself.

Now that San Shier was here, things had suddenly changed.

San Shier had just persuaded Wang Er to leave, and now Third Madam had solved the problem of "summoning him." Just like that, they had taken two troubles off Li Daoxuan's hands, making his life much easier.

Thinking back to the debate he had read on the forum earlier, the fourth poster's words really did make sense.

For the next little while, his focus should be on the broader goal of "getting more useful people."

After Third Madam gave them a thorough scolding, the villagers dispersed and went back inside to sleep.

The two blacksmiths, Li Da and Gao Yiyi, gathered at Gao Yiyi's home to work out how to forge a bell overnight. Naturally, making a proper bell in a single night was out of the question. They could only make something simple for now, something like a large iron bucket.

The two lit the furnace and got to work. As he worked, Li Da taught Gao Yiyi the techniques. He was not afraid that teaching his apprentice would leave the master starving. He had already made up his mind: once he regained commoner status, he would never touch a hammer again for the rest of his life.

Even if I starve to death or jump off a cliff, I will never be a blacksmith again.

Early the next morning.

Before dawn, Third Madam marched Gao Yiye off to bathe.

The only place in the village where they could bathe was the "big pond." During the day, too many people were around it for them to dare wash there. But before dawn, none of the villagers were up. Taking advantage of the pitch darkness to bathe quickly, they did not have to worry about being seen.

Of course, they had no idea that outside the box, separated from them by a pane of glass, a camera with night vision was recording everything inside twenty-four hours a day. If they had known...

Ahem!

That guy on the forum would probably have been over the moon.

After the bath, Third Madam brought out a set of snow-white robes made from exceptionally thick fabric. One look was enough to tell they were expensive.

Her clothes were a little too big on Gao Yiye, far too roomy, but that was not much of a problem. She would not be working in the fields anyway. If the clothes did not fit, she could simply move more slowly.

Gao Yiye stuck out her tongue. "I'm so hot!"

It was July, midsummer in the middle of a drought, and the temperature was frightening. The thicker the fabric she wore, the more unbearable it became.

"You must endure it, even if you're hot." As Third Madam tugged her clothes into place and smoothed out the creases, she said softly, "You must show the Heavenly Deity more respect. After we invite his venerable presence today, you must ask for his honored title. We cannot keep worshipping him so haphazardly. Once we know his title, we can build him a temple and fashion his gilded image."

Gao Yiye obediently nodded. "I understand."

Third Madam then brought out her makeup box and, with gentle hands, began applying Gao Yiye's makeup, stroke by careful stroke...

Li Daoxuan was awakened by a series of "bell tolls."

The night before, he had been browsing the History and Military Forum and reading historical materials on the late Ming. Before he knew it, he had stayed up until two or three again, so naturally he could not get up in the morning.

Only when a hideous series of clang, clang, clang "bell tolls" reached his ears did he shake his head and climb out of bed, utterly bewildered.

The Scenery Box now stood beside his bed, right next to his computer desk, and the "bell tolls" were drifting out of it.

He shook off his drowsiness, and as his mind slowly cleared, he remembered what had happened the previous night. That sound like someone banging on a battered bucket must have been the villagers "summoning the Heavenly Deity."

He rolled across the bed, crawled to its edge, and stretched his head over the Scenery Box to look inside.

Oh! The little people look lively today!

The village's forty-two residents, along with San Shier's family of four and the newly arrived blacksmith Li Da, made forty-seven people in total. They were now arranged in a large square formation, like a high school class attending a flag-raising ceremony.

Gao Yiye stood at the very front. For the sake of the whole village's future happiness, she was clearly making her debut in center position. Her white robes fluttered, and her hair had been arranged in an elaborate style studded with ornaments. Already young and beautiful, she now wore makeup that truly gave her the beauty of flowers and the moon, a loveliness fit to feast upon.

In the modern world, she would certainly qualify as a goddess. She would have at least a regiment of sweet, attentive men around her, a company of simps, and a platoon of rich heirs. Even Principal Wang would have to drop her a line: "What's in my IV tonight? A night of missing you."

Li Daoxuan watched with amusement. Not bad! This girl keeps getting prettier. Looking like that, she's even making me want to lift her skirt... Damn, this is bad. That idiot on the forum has led me astray.

Gao Yiye raised a cup in both hands, making a gesture of offering a toast to the sky. Her movements were not quite correct; clearly, she had only practiced at the last minute, clutching at Buddha's feet. First she toasted heaven, then poured the wine onto the ground-it was actually water in the cup-and finally knelt properly...

The forty-six people behind her all knelt together.

Gao Yiye began reciting a prayer. San Shier and Third Madam must have written it for her overnight and had her memorize it to recite now. Clearly, she had not learned it very well. She stammered and stumbled, managing to get a single sentence wrong three times.

Li Daoxuan had no interest in listening to this mystical mumbo jumbo, so he let it pass in one ear and out the other. After quite a while, she finally finished reciting and said loudly, "May we boldly ask the Heavenly Deity's honored title, so that we may build you a temple and fashion your image?"

"Li Daoxuan."

Li Daoxuan answered, treating it as playing house with them.

Hearing his voice, Gao Yiye was instantly delighted. She turned to Third Madam and cried, "The Heavenly Deity answered me! His name is Li Daoxuan."

"Daoxuan?" Third Madam was overjoyed at those two syllables. He was clearly a Taoist immortal! She herself believed in Taoism and had actually been a little afraid that the Heavenly Deity might be a Buddhist bodhisattva. That would have been so awkward she could have offered incense to awkwardness's mother.

Now that she could be fairly certain he was Taoist, Third Madam wasted no time. Thump! She kowtowed and cried loudly, "We pay our respects to Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable!"

Gao Yiye copied her, kowtowing with another thump! "We pay our respects to Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable!"

The other forty-odd people immediately followed suit, calling out in unison, "We pay our respects to Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable!"

Li Daoxuan was delighted. Interesting. Fun. In an instant, he had gone from an unnamed Heavenly Deity to Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable. He had a title now.

Nobody could have imagined that the "Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable Religion," which would later sweep across the entire land, had its curtain raised at this very moment by these forty-odd little people.

Gao Yiye began speaking haltingly again. San Shier had probably taught her this speech too. They had even prepared two versions, one Taoist and one Buddhist.

She was now reciting the Taoist version. First she thanked Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable for granting the villagers a wall, then explained that they needed people to stand watch at night and lanterns lit all around the wall. Those lanterns required a great deal of oil, so she begged the Heavenly Deity to bestow some oil upon them, and so on.

Playing house like this was rather fun.

As she stumbled over her words, Li Daoxuan picked up the cooking oil jug, filled a mineral water bottle cap to the brim, then slowly set the cap down in front of Gao Yiye.