He needed to take another look at his Scenery Box. Perhaps it was not merely a place to keep these forty-two little people, but... a connection to another world, a Little People Kingdom?
No, "connection" probably was not quite right. "Looking down on" was more accurate.
He had thought he was keeping a small box of little people, so he could just look after them casually, like a box of little hamsters. He had never considered investigating what these little people actually were. But if he was "looking down on" another world of little people, there was a great deal worth exploring.
Li Daoxuan turned his view back toward the tiny villagers.
By now, the tiny constables had fled, and the tiny villagers were gathered together, cheering and kowtowing to the sky.
As "the only person who could speak to the Heavenly Deity," the tiny girl stood surrounded by the villagers, who were all talking to her at once.
The tiny girl raised her head and shouted at the sky, "Heavenly Deity, everyone thanks you for your help. They would also like to ask whether this Divine Rice was granted to me alone, or whether everyone is allowed to eat it."
Li Daoxuan fixed his gaze on the tiny girl.
This tiny girl could communicate with him. She could hear him speak, and he could learn about the world of the Little People Kingdom through her. It seemed it was time to have a few words with her.
Li Daoxuan said, "Divide the rice among everyone. Also, I have some questions for you."
The tiny girl was overjoyed. "Everyone, the Heavenly Deity says this rice is a gift for all of us! We can share it!"
The tiny villagers immediately burst into cheers.
"May the Heavenly Deity bless us!"
"Long live the Heavenly Deity!"
"Uh, One Leaf, is the Heavenly Deity a Buddhist god or a Taoist god? Should we say 'Amitoofa' or 'Boundless Long-life Blessings'?"
The tiny girl was just as baffled. Although she could see the deity's face faintly appearing among the clouds, she could not see whether he wore Taoist robes or Buddhist robes. She really had no idea whether they should pray with "Amitoofa" or "Boundless Long-life Blessings." This was awkward.
If they used the wrong prayer formula and angered the Heavenly Deity, they would be dead before they even knew how to spell it.
Then again... they all seemed to be illiterate, so they could not spell "dead" anyway.
The tiny villagers froze, unable to continue praying.
Li Daoxuan shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. These little people were rather entertaining. They were actually debating whether he was a Buddhist or Taoist god. It seemed the culture of this Little People Kingdom shared the same roots as his own.
With a hint of amusement, he said, "Don't worry about Buddhism or Taoism. I belong to neither."
The tiny girl was stunned. This was beyond anything she knew. Could there really be such a Heavenly Deity?
Li Daoxuan said, "Don't worry about little things like that. Tell everyone to be quiet. I'm going to ask my questions."
The tiny girl hurriedly called out, "Everyone, quiet! The Heavenly Deity has a few more questions for us."
At her shout, everyone immediately fell silent.
Li Daoxuan asked, "What planet are you on? Or what continent? Or what dimension?"
The tiny girl did not understand. She repeated his words exactly to all the tiny villagers.
Yet not a single little person present understood them. Even the tiny Village Chief, the most knowledgeable and worldly among them, looked completely bewildered. What was a planet? What was a continent? What was a dimension?
Their expressions made it clear that they had no concept of these terms.
Li Daoxuan understood. Although their cultures shared the same roots, their knowledge was still at the level of several hundred years ago. "What country are you in? What is the current reign era?"
The little people did have juuuust a little understanding of countries. They knew they lived in a country, and that this country had an Imperial Court and an army. But none of them knew its name or what era it was. They all shook their heads in unison.
Li Daoxuan frowned. These people don't even know what country they're from or what reign era they're living in. That's an extraordinary level of illiteracy.
But after thinking it over more carefully, he understood!
Ancient peasants could not read a single word and never left their villages. The farthest they ever ventured from home was probably the County Seat. If their birthplace was just a little remote and few traveling merchants passed through, the villagers would end up like this group before him: knowing nothing, completely ignorant of the outside world.
In the mountains, the years passed unnoticed, while a century aged the mortal world.
Li Daoxuan let out a long sigh. "Never mind! I won't learn anything by asking you."
The tiny villagers exchanged glances.
Gao Yiye lowered her voice and said to the villagers beside her, "The Heavenly Deity seems very disappointed."
The Village Chief said, "Eh? We can't answer his venerable self's questions. Of course he's disappointed."
Gao Yiye asked, "What should we do?"
The Village Chief gave it some serious thought. "Tell the Heavenly Deity to please give us a little time. We'll think of a way to find someone learned."
Gao Yiye said, "Someone learned? There isn't a single learned person in the village."
The Village Chief said, "There isn't one in Gao Family Village, but there are some in the County Seat. Let me think... the most learned person... I've ever met... would have to be the county magistrate."
Gao Yiye shook her head awkwardly. "How could we possibly persuade the magistrate to come?"
The Village Chief said, "Then we'll invite the magistrate's Secretary, San Shier."
(P.S. San is a very rare surname, first recorded in the Ming Dynasty's Comprehensive Genealogy of Ten Thousand Surnames. Historical figures with this surname included San Baozhu, prefect of Rui'an during the Yuan Dynasty, and San Chengzhi during the Ming Dynasty. So someone with the surname San and the given name Shier would be perfectly plausible in Great Ming, right?)
Gao Yiye shook her head. "We can't get the Secretary to come either."
The Village Chief chuckled. "The Secretary may be an important man too, but unlike the magistrate, he doesn't have constables surrounding him all day. He'll be much easier to invite."
Gao Yiye said, "???"
The Village Chief turned toward a young man beside him. "Chu Wu!"
Gao Chuwu stepped forward with a good-natured grin.
The Village Chief instructed him, "Early tomorrow morning, take a few young men from the village with you. Eat plenty of white rice and fill your bellies so you'll have some strength. Go to the County Seat and invite the Secretary to Gao Family Village. If he's willing, invite him politely. If he isn't, knock him out with a club and carry him back. Remember, we owe our lives to the Heavenly Deity. Whatever he wants, we must place it in his venerable hands as an offering. We cannot let him be disappointed in us."
Gao Chuwu grinned broadly. "All right, all right! The Heavenly Deity gave me a big egg and white rice. I'll do what his venerable self says. But I've never been to the County Seat. How do I get there?"
The Village Chief said, "I'll tell you the way..."
Li Daoxuan was still watching from outside the box. Seeing these little people earnestly discussing how to "invite" a learned Secretary back to answer his questions, he could not help being amused. It sounded rather fun.
The world of this Little People Kingdom seemed fairly large. It had villages, a County Seat, constables, a county magistrate, and a Secretary. That meant there had to be a vast country as well.
He hoped they would "invite" the Secretary from the County Seat back as soon as possible.
Before you continue