The cotton fields of Puzhou had exploded into white.
From the riverbank to the distant ridgeline, cotton bolls puffed open like clouds that had fallen from the sky and refused to float back up again. Each one was fat, clean, and bursting with fiber. A harvest so good it made people suspicious.
For the first time in their lives, the cotton farmers truly saw what the Celestial Fertilizer could do.
At first there was silence—long, stunned silence—broken only by the rustle of wind over the fields.
Then came shouting.
Then panic.
Then speed.
Straw hats flooded the fields. Men and women bent low under the summer sun, hands flying as they stripped cotton from the stalks. This year's rains had been generous to the point of menace; one more sudden downpour and all this white gold could rot on the stems. Nobody dared to joke about that.
Among them was Gao Yiye.
She stood out like a crane among sparrows.
Her robe was pure white, threaded with gold and silver, the kind of clothing meant for ceremonies and altars—not mud and sweat. And yet she wore a straw hat like everyone else, sleeves rolled, back bent, fingers quick and practiced as she picked cotton.
The farmers nearly dropped their harvest.
"Saintess!" someone cried.
"Please—please don't do this!"
"This kind of work is for us common folk!"
Gao Yiye laughed, light and unbothered, hands never stopping.
"When I was little, I did this all the time. Why can't I do it now?"
The farmers exchanged helpless looks.
"Oh dear…"
They truly didn't know how to persuade her.
Nearby, a hundred guards had already rolled up their sleeves, preparing to take over the work by force if necessary—when a presence made them all freeze.
From the edge of the field walked a life-sized figure.
A Dao Xuan Tianzun.
He smiled gently and waved them down.
"Don't bother her. Let her enjoy it. It's rare for her to find something she likes. If she couldn't even do this… how dull would life be?"
The guards locked up like statues.
This Dao Xuan Tianzun was labeled Test-02, the latest product of Gao Family Village.
Silicone skin over a steel skeleton—same as before—but the internal structure had been upgraded with additional joints. Movements were smoother, expressions subtler, posture far more human.
In short, he looked alive.
The only remaining flaw was… certain details that the engineers were still studiously pretending not to notice.
Test-02 stepped beside Gao Yiye, reached down, and picked up a freshly plucked cotton boll. He turned it over in his fingers, studying it with curiosity.
"Oh," he said. "So this is cotton. It's a bit different from what I imagined."
City folk, after all, rarely understood farming.
Gao Yiye turned her head. Her face lit up like sunlight breaking through clouds.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun! Look—so much cotton! I can weave so much cloth from this. And this time, it's cotton we grew ourselves. No more shamelessly begging you for it."
Li Daoxuan smiled.
"That's wonderful."
Her eyes sparkled.
"I want to use this cotton to make you a Daoist robe."
He paused, then laughed softly.
"A Daoist robe? I already have too many. I don't really care for them."
He tilted his head.
"Instead—make me a knight's outfit."
"A knight's outfit?"
Gao Yiye understood instantly.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun liked to wander the world, passing through cities and rivers like a drifting traveler. A knight's outfit would be perfect—plain, practical, fit for disguising oneself as an ordinary adventurer.
"Alright!" she said brightly. "But when you go out wearing it, you have to take me with you."
Li Daoxuan replied calmly,
"It'll be very dangerous."
"I'm not scared at all!"
She bounced in place amid the cotton stalks, scattering white fluff into the air.
"The Dao Xuan Tianzun promised! I'll make myself a knight's outfit too. You'll be the male knight, and I'll be the female knight."
He laughed.
"You don't know any swordsmanship. How exactly will you be a knight?"
Gao Yiye reached behind her robe.
With a smooth motion, she produced a silver handgun, about the length of her forearm. The metal gleamed coldly in the sun.
"Sir," she said sweetly, "times have changed."
Li Daoxuan fell silent.
…This was unexpectedly convincing.
He pointed at the little gun and laughed helplessly.
"Where did you get that? I've been focused on Henan lately—I didn't even know you had this."
Gao Yiye giggled.
"Li Da made it. He shortened the barrel of a Chassepot rifle and miniaturized the firing mechanism. He said it's lighter and easier for women to use, so he gave it to me."
She added seriously,
"The range is short, and the accuracy isn't great. But I'm not going to war. For self-defense, it's enough."
Li Daoxuan shook his head.
"Giving something this dangerous to a young girl to play with is unacceptable. I'll speak to Li Da later."
Gao Yiye pouted.
"But I'm not just an ordinary girl! The Dao Xuan Tianzun himself said I work in ideological and political education for the army. That makes me a soldier too! Isn't it reasonable for a soldier to practice shooting and carry a weapon?"
Li Daoxuan spread his hands.
"…Fine. So how's your marksmanship?"
"Within five paces," she said proudly, "I never miss."
"Five paces?"
For a moment, Li Daoxuan felt sweat pour down his back.
Then he remembered—this body didn't sweat.
On second thought, five paces was actually quite impressive.
Handguns were inherently inaccurate. Those stage plays where someone drops an enemy from a hundred meters with a single shot were pure fantasy. In reality, beyond twenty meters, even hitting the target wasn't guaranteed.
And that was with modern firearms.
For Li Da's crude early pistol to hit reliably within five paces was already no small feat.
"Very well," Li Daoxuan said, smiling. "You've developed some combat ability. Once the knight's outfit is ready, I'll take you out."
Gao Yiye nearly burst with joy.
Being the Saintess had been suffocating—too many rules, too many expectations, too little freedom. Now that Li Daoxuan could use Co-sensing, she no longer had to run messages everywhere. She could finally breathe.
"Then I'll hurry and weave the cloth!" she said eagerly. "I'll have the clothes made as soon as possible!"
Just then—
A long, mournful whistle rolled across the river.
They turned.
A massive vessel emerged from the distance. A tall chimney rose from its deck, belching thick black smoke into the sky.
"A steamship!" Gao Yiye gasped. "It's here!"
Li Daoxuan's lips curved upward.
"So Young Master Bai's steamship is finally finished."
Once the steam engine had broken through its final bottleneck, steamships were inevitable. The technology itself wasn't difficult.
What made it dangerous was the Yellow River.
Wild currents, shifting channels, sudden floods—one mistake and even an iron hull could vanish without a trace. The recent storms had only worsened things.
Only in the past few days, with the rains easing and the sun returning, did the experimental vessel dare to make its maiden voyage—sailing straight from Qichuan Ferry to Puzhou.
"Come," Li Daoxuan said. "Stop playing with cotton. Let's go see it at Yongji Dock."
Gao Yiye ran out of the fields and climbed into her carriage.
Li Daoxuan considered the massive steel skeleton inside his body, then decided not to torture the horses. He rose smoothly into the air, floating alongside the carriage as it rolled forward.
Gao Yiye glanced out the window.
She could see a giant hand supporting the Dao Xuan Tianzun's sculpted body as he flew.
She wondered quietly,
What kind of divine art is this? Why does the Dao Xuan Tianzun need to hold his own body to fly?
But she didn't question it.
How could one doubt the Dao Xuan Tianzun?
The carriage raced along the road.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun drifted through the sky.
Together, they headed for Yongji Dock.
Along the way, every cotton farmer who witnessed the scene dropped to their knees in reverence.