Cheng Xu stared at the colorful plastic siege engine, and a fresh round of disbelief flooded his face.
"What the hell—this weird-looking catapult actually works? How?"
Even the deputy inspector was stunned. "With ten of these, White Fortress is now armed like a little city! The more bandits there are, the more likely the stones will hit something."
Cheng Xu gave him a look that could fry eggs.
"You idiot. A catapult doesn't win by killing people. It wins by breaking morale! Bandits are a mob—they don't charge properly. If a few rocks land in their formation, the cowards in the back line will shrink away, the madmen in the front will keep charging, the whole formation splits in two, and once that happens…? Easy to smash them piece by piece."
He threw up his hands.
"Even so, splitting them or not—our numbers plus this rag-tag militia still can't hold the fortress."
Truth be told, Cheng Xu's spirit was less on the catapults and more on the giant mystery vehicle that delivered them.
A vehicle big enough to carry a two-zhang-wide siege machine?
If such a thing transported soldiers or grain, it'd be…
He recalled again how, during their ambush on the Young Overlord's rebels, that same strange machine bolted through the bandit ranks and sent bodies flying like straw dolls.
Now that was a weapon worthy of legends.
"Shame it's too damn clumsy," he muttered. "On rough ground, it can't go anywhere."
It didn't help that just now, when the thing turned around to leave, it took forever—slow, stiff, helpless.
"If I had to fight it," Cheng Xu thought, "I'd simply order men to jump on during the turn and stab the driver into paste."
In short:
White Fortress still isn't defensible.
And Cheng Xu still had only one plan—run.
Still, he pretended to "discuss strategy" with Bai Yuan for two hours, nodding and mm-hmm-ing while absorbing absolutely nothing, until mealtime arrived. The Bai household stewards had begun cooking for the soldiers, and Cheng Xu was already preparing to enjoy the perks of "military hospitality."
Then—
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
That rumbling again.
He grabbed the two steamed buns handed to him, stuffed one into his mouth, and climbed the watchtower.
He looked toward the noise—
The giant monster-cart was back.
Bai Yuan rushed out once again.
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu hopped off, grinning.
"White Master! Dao Xuan Tianzun asked us to bring you another batch of good stuff!"
This time the truck hauled a pile of colorful giant crossbow carts.
These were the 1:200 siege models custom-built by Ningyang Toy Company for the "Little People's Daily Life" theme—and Li Daoxuan had sent Bai Yuan ten more sets.
Plastic materials aside, their structure was near-perfect replicas of ancient heavy crossbows.
Bai Yuan and Cheng Xu didn't even need instructions; one look and they understood the mechanics.
Bai Yuan beamed.
"Many thanks to Tianzun! Another set of treasures to guard the fortress!"
Cheng Xu, however, eyed the arrows… and his heart sank again.
Plastic toy arrows.
Blunt tips. Round. Harmless.
He could practically feel his eyebrows twitch.
But Bai Yuan simply waved.
"Arrows not sharp? No problem. We add new arrowheads! Fetch bamboo!"
Villagers immediately chopped thick nan bamboo, cut hollow shafts, slid them over the plastic arrowheads, then sharpened the tips.
Just like that—the toy arrows turned into deadly bolts.
Since giant crossbow carts couldn't lob projectiles, they had to be stationed on the wall itself.
Fortunately, they were lighter than the catapults.
Dozens of villagers heaved together—heave-ho! heave-ho!—and pushed them up the ramp, placing all ten crossbows neatly along the battlements.
Cheng Xu looked left. Looked right. Blinked.
In the blink of an eye, White Fortress now had:
10 catapults.
10 giant crossbow carts.
He slapped his forehead hard.
"Hold on—this tiny fortress has more siege engines than a frontier general!"
The deputy inspector edged closer and whispered:
"General… doesn't forging siege weapons in private count as treason?"
Cheng Xu frowned, rubbed his head, seriously thinking it through.
Private armor? Yes—treason.
Private firearms? Definitely—treason.
Private siege engines?
…He'd never heard of such a case.
After thinking long and hard, he shrugged.
"Who cares? The stronger White Fortress is, the safer I am.
If we stop the bandits from entering Chengcheng County, that's my achievement.
These siege engines? I'll just say I organized the villagers to build them.
Why accuse others of rebellion for no reason?
What good does that do me?
I'm not one of those damn civil officials who love tattling. Those bastards don't even have proper sons—every one of them born without a backside!"
The deputy nodded solemnly.
"The general speaks the truth."
They watched as the massive monster-truck slowly—painfully—turned around once more and lumbered back the way it came.
Curiosity finally overwhelmed Cheng Xu.
He walked up to Bai Yuan.
"White Master… that giant cart—where does it come from? And where are all these siege engines made?"
Bai Yuan smiled.
"Why, from Gaojia Village."
"Gaojia Village. Again?!"
Instant chills shot up Cheng Xu's spine.
Two past memories flashed by:
—One trip near dark, where he saw glowing rainbow walls and villagers acting like lunatics.
—Another trip at noon, seeing a tall, normal fortress, where he even collected Zheng Yanfus and Zhong Guangdao's heads.
Bai Yuan chuckled.
"Oh, the two Gaojia Villages you saw? Same village.
It just… changes a lot.
All the time.
As for Zhong Guangdao and Zheng Yanfu—hah! They thought they could launch a night raid on Gaojia Village?
Is that a place one can visit at night?"
Bai Yuan wasn't lying.
Every word was literal truth.
But in Cheng Xu's ears, the meaning twisted into terror.
Every hair on his body stood straight up.
The deputy inspector froze, sweat dripping.
He whispered:
"General… from what he's saying…
It seems… Gaojia Village is safe by day…
But at night… it turns into a village of ghosts…
Those hundreds of bandits… must have been killed by ghosts."
Cheng Xu trembled.
"After dark—never go near that cursed place.
I don't want to meet Great-Grandma yet…"
Footnotes
① Fun Fact — "Siege Weapon Toyline"
The giant crossbow carts and catapults are literally modern plastic toys scaled up. The villagers "modding" them into weapons is peak Ming-era DIY energy.
② Fun Fact — "Plastic Catapult Physics"
The Q-bounce of the catapult arm is exactly how a child's toy would behave, making Cheng Xu question his entire worldview.
③ History Note — Morale Weapons
In real Ming warfare, catapults and trebuchets were often used more to break formations and morale than for killing power—Cheng Xu's explanation is historically on point.
④ History Note — Private Weapon-Making
Private forging of armor or firearms was treason under Ming law, but siege engines occupied a gray zone—rarely regulated because villagers normally didn't have the ability to build them.
⑤ Fun Fact — "Ghost Village Interpretation"
Gaojia Village's day/night transformation is actually technological illusion and rapid construction—but to soldiers of the era, it reads as straight-up supernatural horror.