While Chengcheng County was in turmoil, construction of the city gate at Gao Family Village ran into a problem.
The problem was rope.
The city walls Li Daoxuan had casually assembled from Lego bricks were enormous. Although he had deliberately made the gate opening smaller than the rest of the wall, it was still two zhang tall and two zhang wide.
A gate that size required numerous tree trunks bound tightly together.
Unfortunately, the villagers' straw ropes were inadequate in both quality and quantity. They were already scarce, and the villagers made them by hand using crude techniques. They were just about good enough for tying furniture legs, plow handles, and pitchfork shafts. Binding tree trunks as thick as a man's arm? That was another matter entirely.
"This is disaster! The rope here snapped again."
"Grandpa, your rope crumbles with a light tug."
"Hey... hey... Someone tie those two posts over there! They're about to fall!"
The villagers scrambled in utter disarray.
Li Daoxuan watched from outside as his people toiled for over an hour. Just as they managed to bind a row of tree trunks together, two ropes snapped, and the entire structure fell apart. The poor villagers had to start all over again.
What can I give them to help?
His gaze swept over the chaotic mess scattered around his home. Past the empty takeout containers. Past the pile of laundry he had been ignoring for a week. Then it landed on a dust-covered fishing tackle bag in the corner.
An idea flashed in his mind.
Fishing line!
He vividly recalled researching fishing line specs when purchasing some. Among them was a 0.4-gauge line, just 0.104 millimeters thick.
Even magnified two hundred times within the box, its diameter would only reach two centimeters. Compared to the villagers' grass rope, it was like heaven and earth. And unlike straw, nylon would not rot or fray. It would hold for years.
He snipped off a length and leaned over the box.
"Yiye! Yiye!"
Gao Yiye, who was desperately twisting grass rope into something usable, heard Tianzun's call. She looked up at once. Her small face, still streaked with dirt but slowly regaining color from days of proper meals, tilted toward the sky.
"Tianzun, what is Your command?"
"Take this rope. Have everyone use it to bind the city gate timbers."
Li Daoxuan cut a length of the 0.4-gauge fishing line and slowly lowered it into the miniature world.
Gao Yiye quickly beckoned the villagers over. Everyone looked up. A transparent strand descended from the sky. No thicker than a finger, glistening faintly in the afternoon light. To their eyes, it resembled a cooked wide glass noodle, or perhaps a strand of frozen rain.
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances.
"What... what kind of strange rope is this?"
Gao Yiye announced, "Tianzun says we should use this to tie the wood for the city gate."
The villagers froze. "Huh?"
Though filled with doubt, none dared voice it aloud. They simply stared as the transparent noodle touched the ground.
Then one of them reached out and touched it.
"Strong," he muttered. "This thing is strong."
"Stronger than our rope?"
"Way stronger. Here, try pulling it."
The man grabbed the line with both hands and pulled. His face turned red. The line did not stretch.
"I am pulling."
"Pull harder, then."
"I'm pulling as hard as I can!"
Another villager stepped forward and grabbed the line too. Together they strained, feet dug into the dirt, veins bulging on their foreheads. Nothing.
"Someone get a knife," one of them gasped.
"What for?"
"Cut it. See if it holds when we tie the logs."
A knife was brought. The man sawed at the line. Nothing. He sawed harder. Sweat poured down his forehead. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, snap. A short section came free.
He wiped his brow and stared at the line in his hands.
"What kind of rope is this?"
The harder the line was to cut, the more valuable it seemed. They cut a few more sections, bound two logs together, and had several men pull from both ends. The men strained until their faces turned red. The line did not budge.
"This thing is way stronger than grass rope!"
"It must be a divine rope, right?"
Then a voice muttered, "Could this be... an Immortal-Binding Rope? The kind the gods use on demons?"
The villagers went pale.
"Shit... we cut it..."
"We cut an Immortal-Binding Rope!"
"Will this bring bad luck? Will Tianzun punish us?"
One man's knees buckled. Then another. Within moments, half the crowd was on the ground.
"Tianzun, mercy..."
"Tianzun, we didn't know! We didn't know it was a divine rope!"
"Please, Tianzun! Have mercy!"
Gao Yiye laughed. "Look at you! Tianzun says it's just a toy. Use it however you want. He has plenty."
Holy shit. If even His toy is this strong, one villager thought, what must a real Immortal-Binding Rope be like? What kind of demon could it hold?
More villagers started to kneel.
"Long live... Tianzun."
"Long live Tianzun..."
Outside the box, Li Daoxuan groaned. "Stop kneeling all day! Spend more time working!"
Gao Yiye copied his tone and scolded them, barely holding back a laugh. "Hahaha... Hear that? Tianzun says stop bowing and get back to work!"
The villagers scrambled up, embarrassed, and returned to the gate.
With the new rope, the work went faster. They bound a row of logs into a wooden raft. Stood it upright. A gate panel, two zhang tall and one zhang wide. One more and they would have doors.
Just then, a villager standing sentry atop the gate shouted loudly.
"Ah! Gao Chuwu and the others are back! Huh? They've brought outsiders!"
The villagers set aside their work and gathered near the gate to see the commotion.
Li Daoxuan's gaze, however, went straight to the edge of the diorama box.
Soon, Gao Chuwu dashed in first. Following him were a man dressed as a manservant, a plump, fair-skinned middle-aged woman holding the hand of a ten-year-old girl, a maid protecting the girl's side, and finally, three village youths.
The panicked and disheveled group of eight ran desperately toward Gaojia Village.
When Gao Chuwu's party had left early that morning, Li Daoxuan had not yet placed the Lego wall into the box. So Gao Chuwu and the others had no idea a wall now existed.
Seeing from afar that Gaojia Village was encircled by an enormous, strange, multicolored brick wall, they were filled with dread.
Am I at the wrong village?
Thankfully, the sentinel on the gate waved toward them and called, "Chuwu! Chuwu! You're back?"
Gao Chuwu felt a wave of relief. He ran closer and yelled, "You scared me! I thought I was at the wrong village! What happened here? Why is there suddenly such a weird wall?"
The sentinel laughed. "What 'weird wall'? It's Tianzun's gift, Chuwu! Dare you call it weird? If Tianzun stops feeding you, just see if you cry!"
Gao Chuwu's face paled. He quickly shouted at the sky, "Tianzun, I was wrong! I'm brainless, my words are like farting! Please don't take offense!"
Li Daoxuan chuckled. Kid, I don't care about your insults. I care if you starve.
Gao Chuwu's group hurried through the still gateless archway and slipped into the village. The four newcomers, three women and one man, appeared timid, their eyes cautiously darting around the surrounding people.
Finally, their gaze settled on the colossal wall and the strange transparent ropes, unable to look away. The girl clutched her mother's sleeve. The servant swallowed hard. The maid stared open-mouthed at the shimmering line still coiled on the ground. Yet, as newcomers, they dared not ask questions outright. Any doubt they kept bottled inside.
Gao Chuwu spotted Gao Yiye in the crowd, ran up to her, and blurted out in haste, "Yiye, tell Tianzun! Those four are Advisor Shan Shi'er's wife and daughter, servant, and maid. He went to find a blacksmith for Tianzun! Please ask Tianzun to watch over his family."