Li Daoxuan's mischievous little devil in his heart perked right up.
After all, this fellow wasn't officially one of his people yet — more like… a "wildling sidekick."
And wildling sidekicks were fair game for unlimited harassment.
So Li Daoxuan really extended a hand, gently tapping the back of the self-proclaimed "Grandpa Rabbit."
Flat-Rabbit was in the middle of secretly copying Chuan-zhong Red Fist moves — very seriously too — when he suddenly felt a powerful shove from behind.
He toppled forward, splat, eating dirt so hard he nearly planted a vegetable garden with his teeth.
He froze in terror.
Had he been caught stealing martial arts?!
People died for that sort of thing!
Heart pounding, Flat-Rabbit rolled several times like a panicked armadillo, already preparing the "please don't kill me" speech… but when he turned back—
Nothing.
Empty mountain breeze.
Zero ghosts, zero people, zero witnesses.
If he were an old villager of Gaojia Village, he would've immediately guessed it was Dao Xuan Tianzun playing tricks on him.
But he was an outsider.
He had only heard rumors these past few days, working odd jobs in the village.
He hadn't seen the deity show up personally yet.
So naturally, the idea of being pranked by a god didn't cross his mind.
Flat-Rabbit squinted, looked left, looked right, checked behind a rock, checked behind a tree…
Nothing.
So he dusted off his butt, forgot the incident in two seconds, and once again stuck his behind up like a periscope, peeking at Gao Chuwu's practice.
Li Daoxuan chuckled.
This idiot really dares to keep stealing? He forgot the slap in ten seconds? What kind of industrial-grade nerve system is that?
Fine.
Round two.
He reached out again and tapped Flat-Rabbit's back.
Once more, Flat-Rabbit felt a sudden force — SPLAT.
Another premium face-to-ground moment.
He rolled away professionally and spun around.
Again: nothing but air.
"WHO?! Who's messing with Grandpa Rabbit?!"
Flat-Rabbit yanked out his ancestral rusty sword with dramatic flair.
"You come out here! Let Grandpa Rabbit show you my ultimate technique — Heaven-Splitting Rabbit King Slash!"
Li Daoxuan laughed so hard he nearly lost divine composure, then poked him again.
SPLAT.
Flat-Rabbit fell — again — but this time, he was prepared.
Mid-fall, he braced on the ground, flipped up, and swung his sword backward in a mighty slash… only to hit empty air.
His own overpowered spin sent him tumbling again.
SPLAT. Perfect third helping.
At this point, Flat-Rabbit finally realized he had encountered a mysterious master — someone who could appear and vanish without a trace.
Absolutely not someone he could afford to offend.
He sheathed his sword and retreated down the slope with the defeated aura of a kicked-out stray dog.
Li Daoxuan shook his head, amused.
If he wants to spy on martial arts, fine — but first he has to earn the "official sidekick" badge. Then sure, I can go full instructor mode and even show him modern army combat videos.
That thought made him pause.
Red Fist was great — truly a treasure of traditional martial arts.
But modern military combat?
That was the real "I can legally ruin your day" technique.
Tradition and science — both hands must be strong.
Ancient saying, eternal truth.
He couldn't do it before.
But now he had Cheng Xu, the perfect tinkerer.
Li Daoxuan opened his favorite military-history forum and anonymously posted:
"Brothers, anyone got high-res videos of military close combat? Nothing blurry please."
Reply 1: "I got 64GB of HD here. Link: XXXXXX"
Reply 2: "Don't trust Floor 1. That link is fake. Last time I downloaded it, it said it was a top martial arts instructor… turned out to be Calabash Brothers."
Reply 3: "Fine, I'll be the good guy. Click my profile — cloud folder inside. Download freely."
Li Daoxuan thanked Reply 3 and checked the folder.
Tens of gigabytes.
Jackpot.
He started the download and let the computer do the slow work.
Then he looked back at the hill.
Gao Yiye was sneaking up wearing a red cotton jacket, her cheeks matching the coat — either from cold or running.
She tiptoed behind Gao Chuwu and suddenly yelled into his ear:
"WAH!"
Gao Chuwu, deep in training, nearly died from heart failure.
He spun around and sighed in relief. "Yiye! You scared me to death!"
Gao Yiye cackled and sprinted downhill.
Li Daoxuan, amused, called out softly:
"Yiye!"
"Huh? Tianzun?" Her face brightened instantly. "Tianzun! Happy New Year!"
Being greeted by a small child actually warmed Li Daoxuan's celestial heart.
"I visited some friends yesterday. Everything well here?"
Gao Yiye nodded vigorously.
"Oh yes! Tianzun went visiting other immortals! Gaojia Village is super happy. Everyone's great!"
"I need you to go to the Blacksmith Well. I have something for Li Da."
"Okay!"
She dashed away like a tiny red meteor.
Everyone greeted her along the path — old villagers, new hired workers, even a few penal laborers waved at her.
She greeted them all politely before reaching the smithy.
Li Da was under the eaves, deprimed over a freshly failed experiment — a handmade spring that had turned into soft noodles after heating.
He just couldn't understand.
It was springy before heating… why useless afterward?
Welcome to metallurgy.
When Gao Yiye arrived, Li Da was flattening the spring with both hands.
He released it… and it stayed flat like a dead caterpillar.
His soul left his body for a moment.
"Li Da," Gao Yiye said, "Tianzun asked me to tell you something."
Li Da immediately straightened up and bowed.
Li Daoxuan wasn't angry about the failed spring.
Science always required pain, tears, and broken prototypes.
Giving him a lighter spring earlier was only a hint — whether Li Da could reverse-engineer the principles depended entirely on his brain's ability to do a spiral-level upgrade.
"Li Da, you said you knew how to make triple-barrel hand-cannons?"
"Yes, Tianzun. I can."
"Your new firearm design still needs a long time. Before it's done, our militia could really use some transitional weapons.
So I want you to teach the other smiths to forge triple-barrel guns. They will handle those.
You focus on developing the new one."
Li Da bowed.
"As you command."
"Good. I'll grant you some gunpowder. Manage it carefully. Give it to the smiths working on the triple-barrels."
Li Daoxuan began dismantling firecrackers as he added:
"Oh — and my gunpowder grains are big. Before using it, you need to grind it fine. During grinding, manage it properly. Don't blow yourselves up."
Footnotes
Triple-barrel hand-cannon — A real late-Ming rural militia weapon using three rotating barrels. Cheap, loud, unreliable, and very popular. Basically the ancient version of a "budget shotgun."
Firecracker gunpowder — Historically, many craftsmen repurposed festival firecracker powder for early firearms. Very unstable, very smoky, and very capable of giving you a free trip to the afterlife if mishandled.
Springs losing elasticity after heating — A classic metallurgy failure. Without proper steel tempering knowledge, ancient smiths often made "tragic springs" — springs that only spring in spirit, not in function.