Ma Tianzheng set out alone, heading toward Gao Family Village.
As a wandering Daoist priest, he was accustomed to long journeys. Traveling thirty li or more was hardly worth mentioning. His steps were steady, but his mind churned with restless thoughts.
He wanted to see it with his own eyes.
He wanted to know whether a being called Dao Xuan Tianzun truly manifested divine power in the mortal world.
Surely not.
His master had often spoken of the Primordial Heavenly Lord and the Grand Supreme Elder Lord, recounting their legends countless times. Ma Tianzheng had grown up listening to those sacred tales, memorizing every word, yet never once had he witnessed even the faintest trace of divine manifestation.
And now, suddenly, a Heavenly Lord had appeared from nowhere. This name was not recorded in their scriptures. It did not belong to any recognized lineage of orthodox Daoism.
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
It was impossible.
Someone must be deceiving him.
Lost in these thoughts, he walked on without noticing the passage of time. Darkness gradually fell, and only then did he realize he had departed the county town far later than intended. After traveling only a few li, the road ahead was swallowed by night.
He attempted to find lodging in a nearby village, but every settlement he passed was abandoned. The houses stood silent and empty, their doors hanging loosely as though their occupants had fled in haste.
It soon became clear what had happened.
The drought had driven everyone toward Chengcheng County in search of relief grain. No one remained behind.
Ma Tianzheng's doubts deepened.
If even villages close to the county seat were deserted, what hope was there for Gao Family Village, which lay over thirty li away?
By the time he arrived, he might not find a single living soul.
Perhaps not even a ghost.
And yet, people claimed a deity manifested there.
It was absurd.
They were deceiving him. They had to be.
Eventually, he found a withered tree and settled beneath it. He ate half of a dried biscuit and lay down without removing his robes. Hunger gnawed faintly at his stomach, but exhaustion soon overtook him.
He did not fear wild beasts.
After three years of relentless drought, even the animals had vanished.
Before dawn the next morning, he rose and resumed his journey.
The winter sun slowly climbed into the sky, its pale light spreading across the barren land. As he walked northeast, something unusual appeared ahead.
A gray road.
It ran parallel to the official highway, stretching into the distance like a ribbon of stone.
Curious, Ma Tianzheng stepped onto it.
The surface was astonishingly hard and smooth beneath his feet, far more solid than any ordinary road. It felt as though it had been carved from a single massive slab of stone.
He stopped and stared at it in disbelief.
What kind of strength could carve such immense stone so precisely and lay it across the land?
An absurd thought rose unbidden in his mind.
Supernatural craftsmanship.
He immediately imagined the Primordial Heavenly Lord standing atop the mountains, wielding an enormous axe. With each swing, vast slabs of stone fell cleanly away. The Heavenly Lord would place them carefully upon the earth, press them flat beneath his feet, then hoist the axe upon his shoulder and depart in dignified silence.
Ma Tianzheng froze.
What was he thinking?
Such thoughts were profoundly disrespectful.
He clutched his head in distress.
His Daoist heart was not pure enough. His faith was not steadfast enough. That must be why the divine had never revealed itself to him.
Just then, a strange sound reached his ears.
He looked up.
Something enormous was approaching along the gray road.
It was a vehicle unlike anything he had ever seen. It measured three zhang in length and moved forward without oxen, horses, or any visible means of traction. Its shape was peculiar, and its movement smooth and steady.
Even more astonishing was the sight of people inside.
Farmers filled the interior, packed tightly together. One man's hoe even stuck out through a window.
Several elderly farmers were singing.
"Toil the fields, drink thin broth. Build the houses, live in huts. Weave the cloth, wear rags..."
Their song was interrupted by laughter.
"That song is outdated," one of them said cheerfully. "That was before Tianzun came. Now we eat well, live well, and dress well."
Ma Tianzheng's heart pounded.
He raised his arm and waved urgently.
"Stop. Stop!"
Inside the vehicle, the novice drivers panicked.
"There is someone ahead. Slow down. Brake."
One driver quickly adjusted the sunshade above, while the other engaged the braking mechanism. Even so, the vehicle continued forward for some distance before finally coming to a halt just in front of him.
Both drivers leaned out the windows, their expressions a mixture of fear and irritation.
"Daoist priest, are you trying to get yourself killed? Why would you stand in the middle of the road?"
Ma Tianzheng swallowed.
He had indeed been frightened.
"This humble Daoist thought you could stop easily," he admitted.
The drivers exchanged glances.
"This vehicle cannot stop instantly. Even a horse cart requires distance to halt. You should step aside when you see it approaching."
Ma Tianzheng nodded and bowed politely.
"You are correct. This humble Daoist was careless."
Seeing his humble demeanor, the drivers' anger faded.
He then asked the question that weighed most heavily upon his mind.
"What is this vehicle? It moves without animals, yet travels so swiftly."
The farmers burst into laughter.
"This is the chariot of the Lord of the Morning Sun," one of them said proudly. "Tianzun lent it to us."
Ma Tianzheng blinked.
"The Lord of the Morning Sun?"
The driver nodded enthusiastically.
"Master Bai explained it to us. There is a divine rooster in the heavens. Each morning, it calls out and awakens the sun."
Ma Tianzheng frowned.
"And this vehicle…"
"It moves when the sun shines upon it," the driver said. "When the sun disappears, it stops."
Ma Tianzheng's breath caught.
Such a thing was beyond reason.
He had to see it for himself.
He climbed aboard without hesitation, squeezing in among the farmers. His eyes remained fixed on the sunshade above.
The driver gestured toward it.
"Watch carefully."
Slowly, the sunshade was drawn back.
Sunlight fell upon the vehicle.
And it moved.
Ma Tianzheng froze.
His eyes widened.
His heart trembled.
For the first time in his life, doubt crept into the foundation of everything he believed.
Perhaps…
Perhaps they were not deceiving him after all.