The sun had only just rolled out of bed. It stretched once, yawned once, and apparently forgot to pull its blanket back up—because a few stray beams leaked straight down into the mortal realm.
And with sunlight clocking in, the Solar Bus could finally start its morning route.
Two newly appointed bus drivers took their places. Over twenty villagers from Zhengjia Village lined up, boarding one after another, ready to ride home to work their fields.
This daily commute—from fortress to farmland—had become as natural as breathing.
But today, the atmosphere on the bus was heavy.
Xing Honglang's report still pressed on everyone's chest like a sack of wet grain.
Once bandits start stirring in Heyang County… well, bandits have legs. And if they run in the wrong direction? Straight into Zhengjia Village?
Goodbye wheat. Goodbye harvest. Goodbye months of work.
Just when Dao Xuan Tianzun had kindly invited the Dragon King to bring the rains, just when Zhengjia Village finally saw hope, just when their carefully tended wheat was looking better than anything in living memory—all this, and now bandits?
Honestly, history really likes to balance blessings with panic. Ancient farmers had it harder than exam-takers.
The two new drivers were extremely cautious, driving so slowly that six li of paved road took half a stick of incense. The moment the bus stopped, the villagers practically leaped off like hungry chickens spotting grain.
Zheng Daniu's father sprinted to his field. He was just about to step in—
CRACK!
A loud clap echoed from the sky, like someone slapped a divine palm against the heavens.
Everyone froze. Heads snapped upward.
Clouds parted, revealing an enormous sheet of paper descending like the world's slowest divine memo.
Two large words were written on it:
"Be careful."
Twenty-plus villagers stared blankly. Illiterate as they were, they still recognized a heavenly warning when it slapped them in the face.
Zheng Daniu's father shouted,
"Dao Xuan Tianzun has issued a decree! Everyone keep your eyes peeled! Maybe those Heyang bandits already set foot nearby!"
That did the trick. Everyone's vigilance shot straight up, movements suddenly cautious, eyes darting around.
And once they actually looked—
Something was wrong.
Their farmland… looked crooked?
No, not crooked—blocked.
The edges of the field had vanished behind something smooth and perfectly vertical.
Zheng Daniu's father gasped.
"There's a transparent wall! A wall blocking the fields!"
The others finally noticed it too.
Sure, if you're careless, you might miss a glass wall. But once someone points it out? Impossible to unsee.
City folk would've recognized it immediately as liuli, a glazed glass-like material.
But for the simple villagers of Zhengjia… this was sorcery-level confusion.
"What is this wall for?"
"Why block our fields?"
"Who puts a wall in the middle of farmland?"
They circled the barrier, searching for an entrance. One full loop later:
Nothing.
Not a crack. Not a doorway. Not even a suspiciously shaped rock.
Utter confusion.
"This… what's going on?"
"Is the field… locked?"
Suddenly Zheng Daniu's father slapped his thigh and burst out laughing.
"I got it! HA! Dao Xuan Tianzun put a magic treasure here to protect our wheat! He must've dropped the decree to warn us!"
A collective ah-ha moment hit the crowd.
Two characters in the sky? Obviously "magic treasure."
(If literacy rates were higher, the heavens wouldn't have to work this hard.)
Everyone's imagination spun up like a waterwheel.
"This treasure is transparent! Keeps thieves out but lets sunlight in—amazing!"
"So thick too! Even if bandits smash it with a hammer, they won't break through!"
"Let them stare at our wheat from outside—serve them right, the greedy rascals!"
Then someone pointed out the downside.
"Uh… we also can't get in. I was planning to pull weeds today."
"…Oh."
Collective brain-freeze.
Up above, Li Daoxuan waited for them to reach that exact realization before finally acting.
He reached into his storage box and gently lifted a bottomless fish tank.
A deep rumbling echoed across the fields.
The entire transparent barrier rose straight upward, vanishing into the clouds like a curtain being drawn.
Zheng Daniu's father cheered,
"I can get into my field again! I knew it! Dao Xuan Tianzun lifts the treasure when we arrive, and puts it back when we leave!"
One by one, the "fish tanks" were stored away by Li Daoxuan.
The villagers dashed into their fields, working like their lives depended on it—because in ancient farming societies, they literally did. After finishing, they stepped out and bowed respectfully to the sky.
Right on cue, the transparent domes descended once more—
duang duang duang—
covering every single field in Zhengjia Village.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun bless us!!"
With their fields protected better than ancient palaces, the villagers walked with springy steps, hopped onto the Solar Bus, and happily rode back to Gaojia Fortress.
Li Daoxuan chuckled, tapped the characters "Gaojia Village," and his vision snapped back home.
And immediately, he saw a performance worth watching.
Gao Yiye stood at the front of the militia, dressed in dignified robes, expression solemn.
Over a hundred militia members stood upright, legs together, backs straight, listening with absolute seriousness.
Well—
Except one.
Flat-Rabbit.
Flat-Rabbit was muttering under his breath:
"What is this? I worked so hard to pass all those tests, but instead of teaching me martial arts, they drag me into a lecture? I joined a martial group, not a school!"
Gao Yiye glanced at him.
"Flat-Rabbit. You're new, right?"
"Yes!"
He snapped to attention, shedding half his laziness.
"This rabbit… joined yesterday!"
Normally he would've said "this Rabbit-grandpa," but one does not casually boast in front of a saintly maiden.
Gao Yiye smiled.
"Since you're new, I don't blame you. But if you keep being lazy… even if I spare you, Dao Xuan Tianzun won't."
Flat-Rabbit almost screamed.
"What?! Skipping a lecture is serious enough for Dao Xuan Tianzun to punish me?!
But Tianzun didn't punish Gao Sanwa when he skipped class!
Why is it always me?! What heavenly grudge did I provoke?!"
Footnotes
Solar Bus – In ancient Chinese stories, the sun is often personified. Here, the "Solar Bus" plays on that idea while adding modern comedic flavor.
Bandits in Heyang County – Rural areas were historically vulnerable to small roaming bandit bands. Even rumor alone could terrorize farming communities.
Liuli (glazed glass) – A high-status material in ancient China. For common villagers to see transparent walls was unthinkably miraculous.
Bottomless fish tanks – Dao Xuan Tianzun's "magic treasure," though hilariously mundane from a modern perspective.
Lectures in militias – Many historical militias relied on discipline training and moral instruction, not just fighting skills. Flat-Rabbit, of course, wants none of that.