On the eighth day of the eighth month, Year Seven of Tianqi, the temple to the Dao Xuan Deity was completed.

Actually, the temple had been finished two days earlier. But Thirty-Two, Third Lady, Gao Yiye, and the Village Chief had discussed it and decided the eighth day of the eighth month was an auspicious date. So even though it was ready, they pretended it wasn’t, deliberately waiting until August eighth.

Thus, on the eighth day of the eighth month, over a hundred villagers, all dressed in clean clothes, lined up in orderly rows, much like pupils arranged in classes for a flag-raising ceremony.

Gao Yiye once again took the center position. Wearing an unbearably hot white outfit and heavy makeup, she knelt before the “Dao Xuan Deity Cave.”

It was clearly a temple, yet they insisted on calling it a cave.

Without exaggeration, the “Dao Xuan Deity Cave” was currently the most grand, impressive, and high-end structure in Gaojia Village. It even had a proper foundation — the base built from fine stone, the upper portion crafted with meticulous woodwork.

Li Daoxuan had supplied the modern paint, vibrant and glossy, making the entire building eye-catching. If this were a battlefield, archers would surely target it.

The statue of the Dao Xuan Deity inside was carved with astonishing realism. Apart from being 32% more handsome and 320% more imposing than the actual person, it had no other flaws.

Li Daoxuan, watching his temple from outside the box, felt a strong urge to reach in, dig it out, take it to Cai Xinzi’s place to appraise its value, and sell it.

But seeing the little people gazing at it with such reverence, worshipping devoutly… well, better behave like a decent human.

Gao Yiye began reciting the prayer once more. Last time she had stumbled, but this time she was much smoother. These past days, she’d been learning reading and writing with Third Lady, reciting prayers daily. Now, though not perfectly fluent, she at least didn’t make major mistakes.

After finishing the script, Gao Yiye waved her hand: “Ring the bell!”

Beside her, Gao Chuwu swung a massive hammer: “GONG! GONG! GONG!”

Resonant bell tones rang out — proper bell sounds, deep, lingering, carrying a hint of sacredness.

Clearly, the blacksmiths Li Da and Gao Yiyi had finally forged an excellent bell.

Li Daoxuan couldn’t help but find it darkly amusing: I ask you to craft iron armor, and after over half a month, I haven’t seen a single set. Yet you manage to produce a fine bell first.

He now understood just how far apart the command plane was from the execution plane. Even if he watched the box every day, unless he specifically focused on those two blacksmiths, their work progress would never align with his thoughts.

Once the ceremony concluded, the Dao Xuan Deity Cave was officially open for business.

Villagers began lining up to enter the cave, kneeling before the “Deity Statue,” kowtowing with resounding bangs. After kowtowing, of course, they made wishes.

Li Daoxuan pressed his magnifying glass against the window to see inside.

A villager knelt before the Deity Statue, knocking his head five times audibly on the ground.

“May the Deity grant us favourable weather next year and abundant harvests.”

Li Daoxuan thought: That’s already something I intend to do for you. I supply water daily. Even if there’s a great drought across the land, Gaojia Village won’t suffer.

Feeling mischievous, he said to Gao Yiye: “Yiye, tell him this wish is granted.”

Standing beside the statue, Gao Yiye quickly adopted a solemn expression and told the villager: “Rise! The wish you just made has been granted by the Deity.”

The villager stared, stunned, then overjoyed: “Really? Truly granted?”

Gao Yiye: “The Deity personally granted it just now.”

Elated, the villager scrambled towards the exit. After only two steps, he suddenly remembered he hadn’t completed his reverence. Sweat broke out in panic. He rushed back, kowtowed several more times with heavy thuds before the statue, then finally ran out of the temple, shouting: “The Deity granted it! We can plant crops next year! Hahaha! The Deity granted it! Three years of drought… three whole years… you don’t know how I survived these three years! Hahaha! Finally, we can plant next year!”

Third Lady leaped out from the side, catching the villager to scold him: “If you truly plant and harvest next year, don’t forget to fulfill your vow!”

The villager hurriedly promised: “Of course, of course!”

Seeing this, the villagers behind rejoiced greatly. They lined up, taking turns to kowtow and make their wishes.

“May the Deity bless my family’s fields to yield several extra bushels of grain beyond a normal year.”

Li Daoxuan thought: What’s so hard about that? Just give you some fertilizer and it’s done.

“Yiye, tell him, granted.”

Gao Yiye relayed this in measured tones. The villager paused in disbelief, then burst into wild joy, kowtowed vigorously, ran out of the temple, and laughed hysterically in the village center: “Hahaha! Wonderful! Granted! My wish is granted too! Hahaha…”

The next one who stepped forward was unexpectedly Thirty-Two. The guy actually queued like the villagers, knelt before the Deity Statue, kowtowed, and made his wish: “May the Deity bestow blessings. I wish for… that little thing down below… to grow bigger. And for it to last longer… truly become ‘vigorous as a dragon and fierce as a tiger’.”

Li Daoxuan: “What the hell?! Tell him to get lost immediately!”

Gao Yiye froze, then awkwardly told Thirty-Two: “The Deity is angry. Tells you to get out. Immediately.”

Thirty-Two covered his head and scurried away like a frightened rat.

The entire village, over a hundred people, Li Daoxuan included, were thoroughly enjoying themselves…

Suddenly, the two sentinels guarding the wall beat rhythmically on two large bamboo tubes hung on the city gate — KONG! KONG! KONG! — then shouted: “Whoa! Someone’s coming! People outside coming! Lots of people coming!”

Their shouts sent everyone in the village sprinting towards the wall.

Li Daoxuan, previously engaged in the fun with the villagers, straightened up and looked towards the village outskirts.

But something interesting happened.

His line of sight covered only a 500m x 300m area, barely encompassing Gaojia Village and a surrounding strip of fields. Yet, from atop the wall, the villagers’ gazes stretched for miles. So, while the villagers were already sounding the alarm, Li Daoxuan still couldn’t see anyone entering the box.

“Damn! So inconvenient!”

Li Daoxuan cursed again: “This cursed field of vision! How the hell do I increase it?”

Chaos rippled through the village now.

Lacking any organization, the villagers were just scattered sand. Facing an emergency, no one had a clue what to do.

Ironically, Thirty-Two — the one who had just scurried away like a rat — now recovered his spirit. He scrambled onto the wall, peered into the distance, and immediately started barking orders:

“Everyone with weapons, grab them! Those without, grab pot lids, brooms, mops, sickles, hoes… take whatever you can find! Grab something! Everyone onto the wall! Now!”

The villagers, previously running around like headless flies, now blindly obeyed as soon as someone gave direction. Without caring who commanded, they snatched up all kinds of “chaotic equipment,” and climbed onto the wall.