Li Daoxuan's colossal hand closed around Qin Changqing and lifted him straight up into the air, raising him six or seven meters above the ground as easily as if he were pinching up a bundle of straw.
As the enormous statue moved, Li Daoxuan could clearly feel just how agile and powerful this body was. It was not merely a lump of silicone shaped into human form. Beneath the outer layer was a metal skeleton that provided firm support, ensuring the body neither sagged nor felt soft and rubbery when force was applied. The structure responded smoothly to every command, strong yet precise, and the sensation pleased him greatly.
He did not immediately crush Qin Changqing to death.
Instead, Li Daoxuan carefully controlled his strength, applying just enough pressure to make Qin Changqing feel as though his entire body were being squeezed into a tight ball, bones creaking, breath trapped in his chest, yet stopping short of causing actual injury.
Qin Changqing was so terrified that his mind went completely blank. He could not scream, could not beg, could not even form a single coherent thought. His limbs flailed uselessly in midair, feet kicking at nothing as his life hung in another's grasp.
Below, the people of Jiangzhou erupted.
Cheers, cries, and hoarse shouts surged together like a crashing wave. Many were weeping openly, tears streaming down faces lined with hardship and resentment. Some fell to their knees, others clasped their hands together, trembling with excitement.
How could they not be overwhelmed?
A deity they had worshipped their entire lives had suddenly manifested before their eyes, towering above the city, alive and responsive. To witness such a miracle in one's lifetime was enough to drive any believer into ecstasy.
Li Daoxuan's voice rolled out from above, heavy and solemn.
"Tell me," he asked slowly, "is Qin Changqing a good official?"
The crowd froze.
If anyone else had asked such a question, the answer would have come without hesitation. Of course he was a good official. That was the answer people gave to survive.
But now, the one asking was Jiwang.
The weight of that realization pressed down on them, and for a brief moment, silence hung thick in the air.
Then someone shouted from within the crowd, voice raw with fury, "No! He's not a good official. He's a vile magistrate!"
Another voice immediately followed, louder still. "He took money from the rich and helped them bully honest people!"
More cries burst forth, one after another, as if a dam had finally shattered.
"Steward Zhou forcibly took Old Yang's granddaughter. When Old Yang went to the prefectural yamen to plead for justice, this vile official locked him up instead and tortured him to death!"
"He helped Steward Li seize Zheng's two mu of land!"
"He ruined our lives!"
Years of resentment, fear, and bitterness poured out all at once. These were grievances that had been swallowed in silence, pressed deep into the heart with no hope of redress. Now that Jiwang himself stood before them, presiding over justice, all that pent up anger surged forth like a raging flood.
Li Daoxuan listened quietly, his gaze sweeping across the sea of faces below. He waited, wondering whether even a single person would speak a good word for Qin Changqing.
None did.
Not one.
There were only curses, accusations, and cries of hatred, piling atop one another without end.
At that point, Li Daoxuan understood perfectly what needed to be done.
"Whether this official should die," he declared, "is for you to decide."
As his voice faded, Li Daoxuan slowly lowered Qin Changqing down, placing him directly into the very center of the crowd.
The instant Qin Changqing touched the ground, a sharp sound rang out.
"Ptooey!"
A glob of saliva landed squarely on his face.
Immediately after, a stone flew in from the side, striking his head with a dull thud. It bounced away and accidentally hit another civilian nearby, who clutched his forehead and yelled in pain, "Stop throwing stones! You're hitting our own people. Just use your fists!"
"That's right," someone else shouted. "Don't hurt yourselves!"
As if given a signal, a group of villagers surged forward and began raining blows upon Qin Changqing with their bare hands. Fists, feet, elbows, and knees fell without mercy.
These were ordinary people, unarmed and unprotected, who had endured the oppression of corrupt officials for years with nothing but silent submission. But now, with the eight meter tall Jiwang standing watch over them, they finally understood what it felt like to have someone powerful backing them.
There was no fear left.
No humiliation.
Only release.
They struck again and again, pouring out every ounce of fury they had been forced to suppress for so long.
Those stuck on the outside grew anxious, jumping in place and shouting, "Let me in. I want to kick him too!"
"Take turns. Don't hog him. Let those of us outside get a few hits as well!"
By now, nearly the entire population of Jiangzhou City had surged toward the entrance of the Jiwang Temple. The narrow intersection was packed to the point of suffocation. People climbed onto walls, crowded onto rooftops, and even trampled through fragile tiles, some losing their footing and crashing down amid startled cries.
In the middle of the chaos, Qin Changqing was beaten until he was no longer recognizable as a human being. Even after the target of their hatred had been reduced to a mangled heap, the crowd did not disperse.
Instead, they formed a wide circle, three layers inside and three layers outside, gazing up at the colossal figure of Jiwang with reverence and awe.
"Thank you, Jiwang!"
"Great beneficence, Jiwang!"
Seeing that the situation had fully stabilized, Li Daoxuan finally moved on to the next step of his plan.
He spoke slowly, his voice echoing across the city like distant thunder. "Rain… has fallen… This year, you may plant your crops…"
The people cried out in unison, "Jiwang protect us. May this year bring a bountiful harvest!"
Jiwang was the god of abundant harvests, after all. In the hearts of the common folk, nothing mattered more than full granaries and full stomachs.
Li Daoxuan continued, "A bountiful harvest alone is not enough. You also need convenient transportation…"
The crowd hesitated slightly, puzzled. Even so, many among them understood this truth on some level. Without roads and waterways, grain could not be moved, wealth could not circulate, and prosperity would remain limited.
Li Daoxuan explained, "Jiwang governs harvests, but not all matters. Therefore, I have invited a friend to help you. His name is Dao Xuan Tianzun."
The common folk had never heard of Dao Xuan Tianzun. Still, since Jiwang himself called this being a friend, that was more than enough. Who needed explanations from a god?
They immediately cried out, "Many thanks, Jiwang!"
Li Daoxuan said, "Dao Xuan Tianzun will help you dredge river channels and guide you toward prosperity. You must cooperate fully."
The people responded without hesitation, "As you command!"
Moments later, the gigantic Jiwang slowly floated upward, rising higher and higher until he vanished into a low hanging cloud. The cloud closed around him, and his form disappeared completely.
Cries of amazement erupted. "Wow. Jiwang has returned to the heavens!"
Then the clouds parted once more.
This time, a much smaller deity emerged, roughly the size of an ordinary person, descending gently from the sky.
Naturally, this was Li Daoxuan releasing another life sized silicone Dao Xuan Tianzun.
The smaller figure dropped down before the crowd with a soft thud. Unlike the previous body, this one had no metal skeleton inside. The silicone was soft and elastic, causing it to bend and twist strangely upon landing, folding into angles no human body could ever manage before bouncing back with a whoosh and finally standing upright.
The people stared, dumbfounded.
The silicone Dao Xuan Tianzun shook out his hands and feet, movements lively and exaggerated, unmistakably alive.
"Heh heh," he chuckled, grinning broadly. "Jiwang sent me to look after you all."
Unsure of what else to do, the people followed custom and called out together, "Many thanks, Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
Dao Xuan Tianzun raised an arm and pointed toward the Fen River beside the prefectural city. What had once been a broad waterway now looked little better than a shallow ditch.
"I will widen and deepen this river," he announced, "and restore its former navigational capacity. You should immediately inform the fishermen on the river to come ashore and drag their small wooden boats up as well, so they are not damaged by my spell later."
The crowd hesitated.
They believed deeply in Jiwang, but this newly appeared Dao Xuan Tianzun was still unfamiliar to them. Had they not seen him descend from the sky with their own eyes, some might have suspected trickery.
And yet…
That dramatic descent carried undeniable divine authority. No one dared to disobey.
Fishermen hurriedly steered their small wooden boats toward the riverbanks, while villagers on shore rushed forward to help pull the boats far away from the water's edge.
Before long, not a single vessel remained on that stretch of the Fen River.
Dao Xuan Tianzun climbed up onto the southern city wall and turned to face the narrow river below. Raising both hands high, he called out loudly, "Watch closely, everyone!"