Gao Chu-wu, covered head-to-toe in dirt and shame, was quickly dragged aside by Zheng Dan-niu and parked under a big tree like a broken ox left out to cool.
Everyone else was cheerful—Xing Hong-lang was already back to trading with villagers—yet Gao Chu-wu alone sat gloomily, head drooping like a frostbitten eggplant.
"I'm weak, Dan-niu…" he muttered.
Zheng Dan-niu clapped his shoulder consolingly. "Brother, you and me—we're the same. You're weak. I'm weak. The two of us together… still weak."
"I always thought I was the strongest fighter in Gaojia Village," Gao Chu-wu sighed. "Turns out women outside the village are all monsters."
"Who knew?" Zheng Dan-niu shrugged. "Life is full of unpleasant surprises."
At that moment, Cheng Xu stepped in front of him. "Do you know why you lost?"
Gao Chu-wu shook his head.
"That woman uses Hongquan," Cheng Xu explained. "It started in the Zhou and Qin eras, became famous in Tang and Song, flourishes in today's dynasty—lots of branches. Hers is Jin-style Hongquan from Shanxi. Strong stuff. Your little countryside flailing? Honestly, not even worthy to carry her training shoes."
Gao Chu-wu looked up at him pitifully. "Instructor He… You said you'd teach me martial arts. But all week you only taught me how to stand in lines. And formations. And more lines."
"Feeling wronged?" Cheng Xu grinned. "Good. Feeling wronged makes you learn faster. Want to beat that woman?"
"YES!"
"That's the spirit." Cheng Xu chuckled. "But Jin-style Hongquan isn't the strongest. The real beast? Guan-zhong Hongquan—from Shaanxi. And guess who just so happens to know Guan-zhong Hongquan?"
"I want to learn!" Gao Chu-wu shouted.
"I want to learn too!" Zheng Dan-niu echoed.
"Perfect. Let's move the militia over to Zhengjia Village and train in secret. Everyone gets stronger together… and then we shock the world."
The militia snapped into formation—an impressively wiggly Long Snake Line—and thundered toward Zhengjia Village.
Li Daoxuan watched this with a satisfied grin. Good! Motivation. Determination. Team-based self-improvement. That's the stuff of future village heroes.
Then—huh?
He zoomed his divine camera in on the road crew. That new refugee worker—the one who called himself "Flat-Rabbit Grandpa"—had stopped shoveling and was staring longingly at the spot where Xing Hong-lang had beaten Gao Chu-wu senseless.
His eyes shone with yearning. "So strong… If only I could be like that…"
"BANG!"
The road-crew foreman smacked him on the head. "No daydreaming. No work, no pay!"
Flat-Rabbit yelped. "Working! I'm working!"
The commotion in the square died down. The gossip crowd drifted off, leaving only villagers who still had goods to sell Xing Hong-lang.
Xing Hong-lang retrieved her knife, hung it at her hip, glanced at the distant retreating militia—and hmphed. She casually rubbed the knuckles of her right hand.
It hurt.
That big oaf was built like an iron furnace. Her fist still throbbed. If that idiot actually learned a proper martial art… tch. Trouble. Big trouble.
"Men," she thought sourly, "are just born unfair. I train like mad but still lose in raw power to these ox-shaped humans."
While she was muttering internally, Gao Yiye approached, smiling gently.
Xing Hong-lang perked up. "You're the boss of this village?"
Gao Yiye shook her head. "No, no. I'm just an ordinary girl."
Immediately, a villager jogged over. "Holy Maiden! We're making braised pork tonight. I'll send an extra bowl to your home."
Gao Yiye flailed. "Ah—no, no, really, that's too—"
"It's all thanks to Tianzun's blessing," the villager chuckled. "You're his Holy Maiden. Serving you is serving Dao Xuan Tianzun."
He left happily. Gao Yiye turned back, cheeks pink with embarrassment.
Xing Hong-lang squinted. "So. Tianzun is the real boss here? And you're his… woman?"
At that, Gao Yiye's face instantly flared red—ears included. So rude! So blunt! So… so ridiculously flattering…
Seeing her reaction, Xing Hong-lang made her own conclusion: "Ah. So it's a cult village. And she's the cult leader's girl. No wonder everyone's weird."
"Holy Maiden," she said politely, "what instructions do you have?"
"Tianzun wants to discuss something with Miss Xing."
Xing Hong-lang gestured. "I'm listening."
"Tianzun says the drought has destroyed commerce everywhere. Trade routes are broken. Supplies don't circulate. People starve. But Miss Xing, despite all this chaos, still runs business across the land. That's impressive."
Xing Hong-lang smiled. Flattery. Good sign. They want something.
"Tianzun says," Gao Yiye continued, "that every time you visit, our village becomes lively. He hopes you can come more often, buy more goods."
Ah. There it is. The ask.
And as Xing Hong-lang knew well: wanting merchants to "come more often" was nothing unusual. Her old salt supplier said the same thing—every time.
But still…
Why should I?
There must be a sweetener.
Then Gao Yiye added quietly:
"Tianzun said… from now on, whatever goods you buy from our villagers… he'll secretly give you a ten-percent rebate."
Xing Hong-lang blinked. "A… rebate?"
Gao Yiye nodded. "If you buy one hundred jin of sugar, he gifts you ten jin privately."
Xing Hong-lang froze—
—and then her pupils lit up like two gold coins.
A ten-percent bonus.
On already dirt-cheap goods.
From a village with absurd productivity.
This was wealth dropping directly from the sky and landing in her arms.
But—
Why?
Why would this mysterious Tianzun pay out of his own pocket? What's in it for him? Why does he want me to buy more from these villagers?
For the first time in a long time, Xing Hong-lang felt a bit unsettled.
Something here did not add up.
---
Footnotes
1. Hongquan – A real historical martial art family. Yes, the author is flexing trivia again.
2. Ten-percent rebate – Known in history as "the fastest way to make a merchant suspicious."
3. Flat-Rabbit – Not actually a rabbit. Unfortunately.
4. Guan-zhong Hongquan – Also real, also deadly, also unlikely to be taught in a rural militia without breaks for snack.