Bai Yuan snorted. "No wonder. My strategy was flawless, trapping the bandits in the courtyard for a pincer attack. We held every advantage. Yet when they reached the Immortal's Cannon, their casualties were surprisingly light."
Zheng Daniu scratched his head, looking genuinely puzzled. "Huh? You guys could actually recognize your neighbors in all that dark smoke and chaos? I... sort of forgot about all that."
Everyone: "..."
You big oaf. Just go marry Gao Chuwu already.
Shansier, his face full of reverence, first offered a deep bow toward the sky before lowering his head. "Among those left, many are your neighbors, fellow villagers, even relatives, correct? You held back during the fight because you didn't want to kill them. And Dao Xuan Tianzun spared them... to honor your feelings."
The twenty or thirty kneeling villagers pressed their foreheads to the ground, not daring to speak.
The men trapped in the passage, their courage already shattered by the "divine fire," didn't dare utter a single word either.
Shansier continued, "Since Dao Xuan Tianzun has already spared them, we naturally cannot slaughter them all either. But what to do with them now... that becomes a troublesome matter."
He furrowed his brows, thinking left and right, unable to decide.
It was then that Gao Yiyi, who had been silent all this time, spoke up softly. "Dao Xuan Tianzun commands: these men are to undergo Labor Reform."
"Huh?" The crowd was momentarily confused. "Labor Reform?"
Gao Yiyi explained, "Labor Reform means using hard work to atone for the crimes they've committed."
Now they understood.
Gao Yiyi continued, "Dao Xuan Tianzun says: Gaojia Village is in a state of recovery, with countless tasks requiring manpower. Instead of killing these men in front of their own neighbors and relatives, which would leave everyone feeling ill at ease, it's better to organize them. Let them compensate for their sins through labor."
"Those undergoing Labor Reform will be called reform-through-labor convicts. They will be given food, but no additional rewards. Only when their debt is considered repaid will they be restored to commoner status."
The men huddled in the passage, hearing this, suddenly looked up: What? They'll still feed us? Is this punishment or a reward? This 'reform-through-labor convict' gig sounds doable.
A chorus of thump-thump-thumps followed as they kowtowed frantically in thanks.
Gao Yiyi turned to Shansier. "As for what labor is needed, Steward Shansier will arrange that."
Being addressed directly, Shansier straightened his posture, his spirits lifting. "We still need to produce large quantities of cotton cloth, forge many sets of iron armor... The new fortress's rooms don't even have doors or windows yet, those need to be made. Quarrying stone, felling timber, cutting firewood... The tasks are endless. We truly need a great deal of manpower. This batch of reform-through-labor convicts will be put to work on these tasks."
The villagers had no objections now. The twenty or thirty who had knelt also gradually rose to their feet, touched that Dao Xuan Tianzun had considered their feelings and hadn't burned their relatives and neighbors to death.
But...
Where would these convicts live?
This became the next new problem!
Letting them live inside Fort Gao felt... weird. After all, they'd just been locked in a life-and-death struggle. To accept them into the fortress immediately, to have them sleeping right beside you... it made people nervous. Who wouldn't fear having their throat slit in the middle of the night?
Li Daoxuan could see their hesitation. Solving this problem was simple. He took the Lego bricks he'd removed from the diorama box a few days earlier and placed them back inside—this time not as a wall, but as a small, simple enclosure with one narrow opening.
While everyone was still fretting, they suddenly saw a "wall" of multicolored light descend from the sky, forming a large circle on the open ground outside Fort Gao, about the size of a big alleyway.
They immediately understood Dao Xuan Tianzun's intent.
Shansier waved a hand. "You will live inside that walled circle. Sleep obediently at night, labor diligently during the day. Since Dao Xuan Tianzun has spoken, you will have food to eat. But additional rewards? Not a single copper coin. Only when you have earned Dao Xuan Tianzun's approval one day and regained your status as commoners will your work earn extra compensation."
The men thought to themselves: Having food is already a blessing from heaven. Who needs extra rewards?
They still didn't know who this "Dao Xuan Tianzun" was, but hearing the Gaojia villagers invoke the name repeatedly, and knowing it was Dao Xuan Tianzun who had spared them... well, they'd just give thanks.
A group shout rose: "We thank Dao Xuan Tianzun for his mercy!"
After the thanks, they stood, surrendered all their weapons, and were promptly marched off by the Gaojia villagers for their first reform-through-labor task: cleaning the battlefield.
They stripped the corpses of those killed by rocks, carried them out of the fortress, dug a pit on the hillside, and buried them. The corpses incinerated by the lighter were more troublesome—their clothes couldn't be stripped, and carrying them left hands black with soot and sticky with tar, the foul stench enough to make one retch.
But...
This was reform-through-labor!
Who said you got to pick your chores?
You did it whether you wanted to or not.
The villagers suddenly realized that having a gang of convicts to order around wasn't half bad. After the previous times Dao Xuan Tianzun had dealt with bandits, the Gaojia villagers had to clean up the battlefield themselves—carrying corpses, digging pits... so disgusting.
Now, with the convicts doing the work, they only needed to stand guard. This feeling was... pretty damn great.
Indeed, slaughtering all the enemies wasn't the best choice. Keeping some for labor reform made much more sense.
Thinking this, some of the quicker-witted villagers couldn't help but take the thought a step further: If Gaojia Village had even more convicts, enough to handle all the work... wouldn't that mean I'd never have to work a day in my life again? I'd just spend my days supervising convicts doing this and that...
Oh no!
Once the thought started, it was impossible to stop.
The villagers fell into deep self-reproach, slapping their own faces a few times in shame over such a filthy notion.
---
Sometime later, the convicts finally finished cleaning the battlefield.
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu escorted them into the large, multicolored enclosure outside the fortress.
Once all the convicts were inside, Li Daoxuan reached a finger down and gently nudged the single opening in the Lego circle. It sealed shut, trapping all hundred or so men inside.
Perfect. They could be released at dawn tomorrow. Safe and secure.
Seeing the convicts securely locked up, the villagers relaxed, finally able to return to their homes and sleep in peace.
Just then, a man knelt before Bai Yuan and Shansier, crying out loudly, "Master Bai! Steward Shansier! You've forgotten... you still need to save Big Brother Wang Er!"
Everyone looked. Oh! It was White Cat, the one who had come to warn them.
They suddenly remembered: The job wasn't finished.
Awkward!
A bit embarrassing. Someone risked his life to warn Gaojia Village, and after the defense was over, Gaojia Village completely forgot about Wang Er. It was somewhat... shameful.
Shansier's face flushed red. He looked to Bai Yuan for help.
Bai Yuan smiled effortlessly. "With Dao Xuan Tianzun's protection, what's to stop us from going into the mountains to save this Wang Er? I shall muster men immediately, march into the hills, and rescue your Big Brother Wang Er. It will be a trivial matter."