Cheng Xu was in full panic mode, spinning circles inside the county hall like a terrified beetle.
His great-grandmother's ghostly figure kept appearing everywhere: waving at the doorway… waving at the window… waving from behind the screen… then suddenly seated on the magistrate's chair waving again.
And then—dozens of Great-Grandmas joined hands and twirled around him in a celestial, horrifying square-dance.
A sea of Great-Grandmas.
"Good boy, my sweet great-grandson," they cooed, "come keep me company down below…"
Just then, someone sprinted in through the front doors, slicing straight through the illusion.
It was the deputy inspector—Cheng Xu's loyal lackey—wearing a huge grin.
"Boss! Boss! Good news!"
Cheng Xu wailed, "Good news? There's no such thing! Nothing can save me now. Ten Great-Grandmas are already on their way to escort me to the afterlife!"
The deputy inspector blurted, "Boss—hunters from the mountains brought word! Wang Er's rebel band lost the battle! Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao—dead! And Wang Er is severely wounded!"
Cheng Xu froze.
The flock of Great-Grandmas exploded outward like pigeons startled from a rooftop.
"What? Speak! Quickly!"
The deputy continued, "Two nights ago, Wang Er's rebels launched a night raid on Gaojia Village. But the village was prepared. Under the command of Bai Yuan from Baijia Fort, the villagers ambushed the rebels—killed Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao, heavily injured Wang Er. Now Wang Er has only around a hundred men left, hiding in the mountains and too scared to cause trouble. Other rebel groups, hearing the news, all curled up like scared quails."
Of course, this version of the story was hilariously wrong, and anyone from Gaojia Village would laugh themselves sick hearing it.
But the misinformation wasn't accidental—Wang Er himself had sent those rumors out.
He wanted to protect Gaojia Village, take suspicion off them, and save the honor of Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao.
He shielded everyone… except himself.
Now the world believed he was gravely injured and nearly alone.
A tiger fallen to the flatlands—every mongrel dares bite.
How could Cheng Xu miss this golden chance?
He threw his head back and burst out laughing, hands on his hips:
"Hahaha! Excellent! Perfect! A gift from heaven! Gather the troops—we march immediately! Before the new magistrate from the Donglin faction arrives in three days, we crush Wang Er in one stroke!"
"As long as Wang Er is eliminated, all the small fry rebels will shrink back. Then I'll write a memorial blaming the entire mess on that dead bastard Zhang Yaocai. I, Cheng Xu, did everything I could, single-handedly suppressing chaos! With that, I may just dig a path out of this deathtrap!"
At that moment, all the Great-Grandmas faded—the one at the door vanished, the one smiling at the window dissolved, those flying around him burst into shimmering particles…
Do you believe in the light?
With heroic, over-the-top music swelling in the background, Inspector Cheng Xu rose from the ashes—full HP restored—transforming from terrified coward… into "hero."
He charged out.
Morning in Gaojia Village was as peaceful as ever.
The labor-reform prisoners were released again by Dao Xuan Tianzun's giant hand, each cooking their own breakfast.
A day of labor reform always began with a meal—any outsider hearing this would think it was a fairy tale.
People in other villages would cry with envy.
Inside "Learning Well," a group of children finished their morning exercises and prepared for class.
Mr. Wang held a primer in hand, ready to teach "Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li… Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang," when Gao Yiye suddenly stood up:
"Sir, Dao Xuan Tianzun has a decree."
Mr. Wang immediately straightened up.
He'd been in the village long enough to witness multiple divine manifestations.
He was now a deeply devoted believer—though as a bookish scholar, he would never admit it aloud.
"What does the Tianzun decree? I am humbly listening."
Gao Yiye said, "Dao Xuan Tianzun says he has heavenly methods that can help children learn to read faster and pronounce every word clearly."
Mr. Wang's eyes shone.
"Heavenly methods!"
Forget teaching the children—he wanted to learn too.
"The Tianzun says the method must first be taught to you, Mr. Wang. Then you will pass it on to the children."
Mr. Wang nearly bounced like an excited monkey.
"Excellent! Excellent! We scholars live to inherit the wisdom of the ancients—of course I shall devote myself fully!"
Gao Yiye announced solemnly:
"The method is called… Hanyu Pinyin."
Mr. Wang pressed a hand to his chest.
"Just hearing the name, I feel celestial energy swirling around me."
Li Daoxuan watched the two of them studying pinyin together, amused.
Scholars of this era were notoriously stubborn—introducing new ideas or teaching methods was like trying to pour water into a sealed gourd.
But once you wrapped it in "heavenly secrets" and "divine methods," they became as pliable as dough.
It was absurd, but effective.
He was about to laugh when he heard a commotion outside.
Someone was approaching the village.
A familiar face—Inspector Cheng Xu.
Last time Cheng Xu visited, Gaojia Village was surrounded by a rainbow LEGO-style wall, the villagers were timid, and Li Daoxuan had scared him off with a little supernatural trickery.
But the village was different now—strong, organized, confident.
No need for theatrics.
Let's see how Shansier handles this.
Li Daoxuan switched into "watching-the-drama" mode.
Cheng Xu, approaching from afar, felt nervous again.
Last time he had nearly been eaten by a ghost—well, so he believed—and he'd avoided the place ever since.
But it was early morning; everyone knew ghosts didn't come out this early… right?
Gathering his courage, he led over a hundred soldiers to the front gate.
He looked up.
The walls had changed again—no longer two-zhang-tall rainbow nonsense, but a three-zhang-tall respectable fortress.
This place was strange as ever.
On the wall, Shansier's face popped up, waving cheerfully:
"Oh! Inspector Cheng! Long time no see, missed you terribly! Wait there—I'll come greet you properly."
As he climbed down, he told a servant:
"Go. Tell every villager—hide the armor."