Li Daoxuan lifted his phone with his right hand and snapped a few close-up shots of the tiny people in the box, freezing this tense moment in time.
At the same moment, he raised his left hand over the open top of the diorama box, ready to intervene at once. If "his little people" faced any danger, he was prepared to reach in and wipe out the five "outsider constable figurines."
Just like he had crushed the bandit figurines.
Gao Yiye was panicking—truly panicking.
She could faintly see the Heavenly God above the clouds, and that alone wasn't even the scariest part. The terrifying thing was that the Heavenly God had already lifted His hand.
And she knew exactly what that meant.
Yesterday she had personally witnessed the Heavenly God smack every bandit into meat paste—one slap each. That horrifying yet deeply satisfying scene still lingered in her mind.
Gao Yiye mustered her fiercest expression and shouted at the constables:
"Don't move the rice! Don't touch it! If you do, you'll die!"
Li Daoxuan: "Huh?"
Gao Yiye shouted again, "Hurry and leave!"
She used every ounce of strength in her voice. Everyone around her heard it clearly.
The villagers froze.
The five constables also froze. They looked around, confused.
What does she mean, we will die?
What around here could possibly kill them?
They saw nothing except a group of "peasant rabble." No threat anywhere.
They remembered the village chief's warning:
"These grains are divine rice bestowed by the Heavenly God to save us. If you touch them, the Heavenly God will take your lives."
"Tch!" the lead constable sneered. "What kind of spooky nonsense?"
Another constable scoffed: "Scared me for a moment. Thought something might actually kill us. Turns out it's just these peasants pretending. Do they think we scare so easily?"
One constable barked at Gao Yiye:
"You filthy woman, what are you babbling about? Trying to frighten officers of the court is treason! You sick of living?"
Gao Yiye yelled, "I'm not frightening you—I'm saving you! Please go! The Heavenly God has raised His hand! You've angered Him! If this continues, He'll squash you one by one!"
The five constables: "…"
Her words made their hearts chill, but it was simply too hard to believe.
The lead constable jerked his chin at his men:
"Grab that wicked girl. She's probably a White Lotus cult witch. Take her back to the magistrate's office—we'll interrogate her properly."
A constable raised his iron ruler and strode toward her.
Gao Yiye glanced at him, then looked up again. The clouds were parting—the Heavenly God's hand was already descending quickly, positioning itself right above the constable's head.
Clearly, the Heavenly God was protecting her. If the constable touched her, the Heavenly God would slam him flat.
But constables were not bandits.
Bandits could be killed and buried without consequence.
Constables dying in Gaojia Village… that would bring disaster.
The government would think the villagers killed them and accuse the entire village of rebellion.
She had seen it before—Uncle Gao Yingxiang once hit a constable, and soon dozens of officers swarmed the village. Outnumbered, Gao Yingxiang fled and had never dared return.
Gao Yiye shouted desperately:
"Please, spare us! If you leave now, you can still live!"
Li Daoxuan heard her voice.
She wasn't protecting the constables—she was protecting herself and her people.
Li Daoxuan instantly understood. These constable figurines represented a larger power behind them. The girl didn't know how long the "god" would protect them. Maybe a few days… maybe never again. Once divine protection ended, the village would be doomed.
This miniature world clearly had many mysteries left to explore.
This time, he would act according to the girl's wishes.
He withdrew his hand that had been ready to crush the constables.
Instead, he gently pinched the approaching constable between two fingers—like plucking a tiny wildflower.
"AHHHHHHH!"
The constable screamed like a slaughtered pig.
He had been walking toward Gao Yiye, ready to arrest her. Then suddenly, a crushing force clamped his shoulders, squeezing his bones until they creaked.
He looked left and right, but saw nothing—no hands, no ropes—just invisible, overwhelming force.
Then his feet lifted off the ground.
He dangled in midair, a whole zhang (three meters) high.
The other four constables stared upward, stunned.
The villagers instantly dropped to their knees.
"The Heavenly God has manifested!"
The suspended constable cried so hard his nose and tears ran together. His pants were soaked.
He flailed in midair and screamed:
"Heavenly God, spare me! I meant no offense! I was wrong! Spare me!"
The remaining four still hesitated—until Li Daoxuan puffed his cheeks and blew a single breath at them.
WHOOM!
A violent gust blasted the four constables off their feet, sending them flying three to four meters before they crashed down, landing so hard their backsides felt split.
Now they understood.
They scrambled up at once, dropped to their knees, and banged their heads on the sand.
Li Daoxuan said, "Tell them to crawl away. And they are forbidden to speak of what happened today."
Gao Yiye shouted, "The Heavenly God commands you to leave—and forbids you from speaking a single word about today!"
The four constables slammed their heads down again.
"We obey!"
They bolted.
The constable hanging in midair wailed:
"I want to leave too! Heavenly God, please! Spare me! I won't speak a word—I swear!"
Li Daoxuan loosened his fingers.
The constable fell from the height with a heavy "thud," groaned in pain, then limped away after the others.
Li Daoxuan watched them closely. He wanted to see how "outsider figurines" exited the diorama.
The five ran shakily out of the village, across the sand, toward the edge of the box.
A glass wall stood there.
The five seemed not to see it—they ran straight at the glass… and passed through it.
But they did not appear outside the box.
They simply vanished—as if the glass was a doorway to another world.
"They're gone? Just like that?"
Li Daoxuan stared, deep in thought…