A mischievous impulse struck Li Daoxuan. After all, this person wasn’t part of his “own figures” yet; he was still just a “wild figure.”

Wild figures were fair game for all sorts of pranks.

Li Daoxuan really stretched his hand inside and lightly tapped the back of that self-proclaimed “Ground Rabbit.”

Ground Rabbit was currently secretly practicing Guanzhong Hong Fist, wholly absorbed in his efforts, when he suddenly felt a tremendous force surge against his back. It shoved him forward hard, and he landed face-first with a thud, eating dirt.

This startled him badly. Had he been caught learning kung fu in secret? That could get him beaten to death!

Ground Rabbit, tense with fear, immediately rolled several times close to the ground, already stammering out words of surrender. But when he looked back, there was nothing behind him, absolutely nothing.

Had he been an old villager of Gaojia Village, he might have guessed it was the Deity playing with him. But he was an outsider. Although he had heard others talk about the “Dao Xuan Deity” during his short stay working in the village, he wasn’t very familiar with it.

He hadn’t personally witnessed the Deity manifesting, so he was half doubtful. Naturally, he wouldn’t think to blame the Deity just yet.

Ground Rabbit warily scanned the space behind him for a while, looked left and right, and confirmed there was nothing there. He climbed to his feet, patted the dust off his bottom, completely forgot the incident, and resumed sticking his backside up as he spied on Gao Chuwu.

Li Daoxuan was amused: Is this guy still daring to spy? He forgot what happened just moments ago? What incredibly thick nerves!

Alright, have another taste.

He stretched his hand again and lightly tapped Ground Rabbit’s back.

Ground Rabbit once again felt a powerful surge against his back. Thud! He ate dirt once more. He rolled frantically across the ground, putting a good distance away instantly. Turning his head, he saw, to his shock, the space behind him was still completely empty.

“Who? Who dares mess with Ground Rabbit?!”

Ground Rabbit flashed his rusted, ancestral sword: “Come out! This master will show you my ultimate move: ‘Celestial Rabbit Sword’!”

Li Daoxuan chuckled silently. His finger moved behind Ground Rabbit again and gave a little push.

Thud! Ground Rabbit went down once more.

This time, he seemed somewhat prepared. As he fell, he pushed off the ground with one hand, flipping back onto his feet while simultaneously swinging his rusty sword hard behind him. But Li Daoxuan’s finger had already retracted.

The sword slashed through empty air. Off-balance from the wild swing, he spun and fell heavily again – thud! Once more, he ate dirt.

Ground Rabbit finally realized he’d encountered a “superior master” – one who came without a trace and vanished the same way. Not someone to mess with. Retreat! He sheathed his sword and scampered sheepishly down the hillside.

Li Daoxuan shook his head with a smile. Want to spy? That’s fine. But first, be acknowledged as one of my “own figures.” Then, if you want to learn Army Combat Techniques, I can even find a video for you to study.

This thought suddenly woke Li Daoxuan up. Ah, while Hong Fist is excellent, a treasure of our traditional martial arts, modern Army Combat Techniques are the real deal for killing. We need both tradition and science. Two hands must grasp, both hands must be strong.

Before, it hadn’t been feasible. But now, with Cheng Xu around, he could try.

He opened his regular military history forum, posted anonymously asking: “Which bro has a high-def video of Army Combat Techniques? None of that fuzzy crap.”

Reply 1: I do, 64GB, HD. Link here: XXXXXX

Reply 2: Don’t believe No.1! The link’s fake. I recognized it right away. Damn, last time the same link claimed it was ‘some teacher’ stuff. I downloaded for a day and night only to get Calabash Brothers.

Reply 3: Let me be the good guy. Click my profile, my Netdisk’s there. You can download from it.

Li Daoxuan thanked No.3, clicked in, found the video – over ten gigabytes, quite large. He started the download and let his computer chug along.

He turned his attention back to the diorama.

Gao Yiye had sneaked up the hill. She was wearing red cotton clothes, her little face flushed red too, either from the cold or the running. She crept up behind Gao Chuwu and suddenly shouted “Wah!” right into his ear.

Gao Chuwu, intensely focused on his kung fu practice, jumped violently at the shout. “Wah!” he yelped, nearly falling over. Turning around and seeing it was Gao Yiye, he relaxed with a sigh: “Yiye, you scared me to death!”

Gao Yiye laughed brightly and ran back down the hill.

Li Daoxuan chuckled and gently called out: “Yiye!”

“Huh? The Deity is here?” Gao Yiye looked up joyfully. “Deity, Happy New Year!”

Li Daoxuan felt warm inside unexpectedly receiving New Year greetings from a figure. “I was visiting relatives yesterday. Were you all okay?”

Gao Yiye: “Ah! So the Deity was visiting other immortals? Gaojia Village is doing great! Everyone was very happy.”

Li Daoxuan: “Go to the artisans’ well for me now. I have something I wish to say to Li Da.”

Gao Yiye acknowledged the instruction and scurried off swiftly towards the artisans’ well on her little legs.

Many people greeted her along the way: Old Villagers, new laborers, even several labor offenders waved to her. She returned the greetings and soon arrived inside the artisans’ well.

Reaching the front of the blacksmith’s shop, she found Li Da under the eaves, deeply engrossed in examining a spring he had just produced.

Though he had the spring from the lighter Li Daoxuan had given him before, Li Da couldn’t understand why the spring he made, after he heated it red-hot, hammered it thin, coiled it into shape, and finished it… lost all its springiness.

It had spring before being heated! Why did heating it make it flaccid? Utterly baffling.

When Gao Yiye arrived, he was pressing down the small spring he had made with both hands. When he let go, the spring just stayed squashed flat. His head sank; he looked utterly dejected, on the verge of tears.

Gao Yiye: “Li Da, the Deity sent me to tell you something.”

Li Da hurriedly wiped away his despairing expression and performed a respectful bow.

Seeing Li Da fail at making the spring, Li Daoxuan wasn’t angry. Actually, he fully expected it. Scientific progress worked this way. Giving him a sample was just inspiration. Whether he could reverse-engineer the principles depended on whether his knowledge could spiral upwards.

“Li Da, I remember you said you could make Three-Eyed Divine Firearms?”

Li Da answered quickly: “Yes, I can, Lord Deity.”

Li Daoxuan: “I see that your research on the new-style firearm needs a long, long time. Before it’s ready, it would be good if our militia could have some transitional firearms to use. So, I want you to teach other blacksmiths how to forge Three-Eyed Divine Firearms. From now on, they can make those, and you can continue focusing on your new-style firearm project.”

Li Da immediately replied: “I obey the Decree of the Deity.”

Li Daoxuan: “Then I shall bestow some gunpowder upon you. Manage it carefully. Give it to the other blacksmiths for experimenting with the Three-Eyed Divine Firearms.”

As he spoke, he started unpacking firecrackers: “Oh, one more thing. The gunpowder particles I have are quite coarse. Before you use it, you must grind it finely first. Be extremely careful during the grinding process. Don’t blow yourself up.”