Chapter 443: The Deity Moved
Dive into Chapter 438 of "The Great Ming in the Box": Li Daoxuan spent one second taking in his surroundings.Immense joy surged within him. Ha ha... Find out more!
Li Daoxuan spent one second taking in his surroundings.Immense joy surged within him. Ha ha ha! Finally, I can interact with my followers in their world.
Wait!
Something wasnât right.
He attempted to move but found himself paralyzed.
Glancing downward, he realized his arms were fused to his torsoâthe entire figure was one solid clay sculpture.
Not only were his arms immobile, but his legs couldnât budge either. They were seamlessly molded as one with the clay body.
The craftsmanship of this statue is utterly primitive!
Just as he mentally criticized the shoddy sculpting skills, Gao Chuwu suddenly exclaimed, âHey! Did you notice? The Deityâs eyeball just twitched!â
Xing Honglang whipped her head around to look, then shook it. âNo, I didnât! The Deity hasnât moved at all.â
Old Nan Feng chimed in, âThis is merely the Deityâs statue, not the Deity Himself. How could it possibly move? If the true Deity stirred, a single slap would flatten this entire dock.â
Zao Ying added, âExactly! Chuwu, stop talking nonsense.â
Gao Chuwu scratched his head. âBut⌠it really did move just now.â
Witnessing this, Li Daoxuan felt inwardly amused. Apparently, though my body wonât budge, my eyeballs can rotate. Maybe if my lips could move, I could even speak.
What fun to try!
But testing it now would spoil the entertainment. The more tempting it is to move, the more I must resistâwatching Gao Chuwu face their skepticism is too amusing.
He quickly locked his gaze straight ahead, eyes frozen in place.
The group stared at the statue for a few moments, saw no movement, dismissed Gao Chuwuâs claim, and refocused on their discussion.
Xing Honglang clasped her fists toward the envoy. âWang Jiayin is a name we hold in great esteem. May I inquire why he sent you to us?â
Li Daoxuan immediately understood. So this capable-looking man is Wang Jiayinâs envoy. That means heâs the one who insulted me earlier.
The only unidentified person left in the room was the middle-aged monk over there. The monk appeared gentle and compassionate, giving every impression of an enlightened master.
The envoy returned the gesture. âThe name of Yongji Xing Honglang is likewise revered by Prince Wang. Iâve been dispatched primarily to discuss the matter concerning Bu Zhan Ni.â
The mention of âBu Zhan Niâ made everyone in the room raise their eyebrows slightly.
Gao Chuwu gasped: âHuh? Just now, the Deityâs eyebrow lifted faintly.â
Xing Honglang leaned close and whispered, âChuwu, not now. Otherwise, Wang Jiayinâs men will think youâre a fool and look down on you.â
Gao Chuwu: ââŚâ
Li Daoxuan, feeling like a mischievous child tricking adults, was thoroughly delighted.
The envoy continued, âPrince Wang has learned that Captain Old Zhang Fei, one of Bu Zhan Niâs five unit leaders, held some grudge against Boss Xing. Regrettably, during a confrontation, Boss Xing accidentally killed Old Zhang FeiâŚâ
Li Daoxuan reflected cynically: How tactfully phrasedââaccidentally killedâ. Clearly, youâre here as a peacemaker.
The envoy: âWe are all forest heroes bravely resisting the authorities. Minor clashes between factions happen frequently among brethren. Yet we must never mistake our true enemy.â
Here, the envoy adopted a noble expression. âOur enemy is the oppressive emperor and his corrupt officials. We must not turn on each other. Therefore, Prince Wang sent me to discuss reconciliation between Boss Xing and Bu Zhan Ni.â
Xing Honglang curled her lips into a peculiar smile: âThereâs no need for Prince Wang to worry about that. I, Xing Honglang of Yongji, am not a troublemaker. If Bu Zhan Ni stops provoking me, I wonât take the initiative to hit him. After all, what good would it do? Does he shed gold when hit?â
âHahaha!â Gao Chuwu laughed: âExactly, hitting him doesnât drop anything.â
After he finished laughing, he suddenly gasped âAh!â and pointed a finger at the statue: âThe corner of the Deityâs mouth just raised slightly.â
The crowd: ââŚâ
This time, nobody even acknowledged him.
The envoy said: âBoss Xing, itâs certainly excellent that you donât take the initiative to hit Bu Zhan Ni. But after Bu Zhan Ni lost his subordinate, heâs unwilling to let it go and is very likely to trouble you again, Boss Xing.â
Xing Honglang said: âHmph, let him come. Iâm not afraid of him.â
The envoy said: âPrince Wang also knows that Boss Xing is a heroine, not one to fear trouble, and will not fear Bu Zhan Ni coming again. But as the saying goes, enemies are better resolved than made. Since youâre both forest heroes, fighting each other only gives the officials something to laugh at. So Prince Wang still hopes to eliminate this grudge.â
Xing Honglang said: âWhat exactly are you trying to say? Speak clearly all at once, and be quick about it.â
The envoy said: âPrince Wang means that Boss Xing joins us. If you join and become part of the confederation, naturally weâll be one family. Then Prince Wang would have a reason to persuade Bu Zhan Ni to stop. Everyone would get along peaceably and fight the officials together. Wouldnât that be best for all?â
The crowd: ââŚâ
After all this, Wang Jiayin wanted to annex their faction?
What an enormous ambitionâwas he even awake?
The crowd secretly laughed inwardly.
Xing Honglang snorted. She was just about to tell the envoy to get lost.
Suddenly, the Dao Xuan Deity Statue sitting nearby opened its mouthâŚ
Li Daoxuan was going to speak. He could guess that Xing Honglang would refuse, or even declare war on Wang Jiayin outright. But Li Daoxuan knew it wasnât the best solution. If history didnât change much, Bu Zhan Ni and Wang Jiayin wouldnât live much longer anyway. It wasnât necessary to confront them head-on now.
Wouldnât it be fine to wait for them to die on their own?
Why bother risking their own peopleâs lives to fight them?
So Li Daoxuan planned to intervene verballyâand also to test if the mud statue could actually speak.
Once he opened his mouth, he felt the sand and mud inside it cascading downâŚ
The mud-made head had a mouth that was merely a slit in the clay. When not moving, it was okay, but when moving, it shed mud incessantly.
Li Daoxuan said: âSlow!â
When he spoke, he actually managed words. But it wasnât his own voiceâinstead, it was a deep, raspy, droning sound, like the Black Mountain Demonâs voice in movies.
That was probably the issue with the mud-manâs vocal cords!
Everyone in the discussion hall was startled into a jump. The crowd turned to look his way simultaneously.
âLook, look, I told you the Deity moved just now!â Gao Chuwu shouted: âThe Deity is speaking again now.â
He was still foolishly making a fuss. Xing Honglang hooked her foot around his ankle. Gao Chuwu fell to the ground with a thud. Xing Honglang hurriedly kowtowed deeply: âGreetings to the Deity.â
Zao Ying, Old Nan Feng, and Zhao Sheng also realized it and bowed down together: âGreetings to the Deity.â