While the wealthy citizens of Puzhou City were locked in a fierce bidding war, scalping movie tickets and throwing money around without restraint…
…over in Gao Family Village itself, at the newly completed theater entrance, a subordinate dispatched by Lao Nanfeng to manage the Gao Family Village Grand Theater stood quietly to the side, watching the spectacle unfold.
Just moments earlier, a small merchant—having come to Gao Family Village on business and failed to buy a movie ticket—rushed to the theater entrance and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"I'll buy tickets at double the price!"
That single shout immediately brought trouble down upon his head.
From the side, the Old Village Chief of Gao Family Village emerged. He wore a faded cotton tunic and a pair of wooden clogs. Stroking his flowing white beard, he spoke mildly:
"My good sir, isn't this sort of price gouging rather unsavory?"
"Because you have more money, you want to exploit the poor and buy their tickets?"
The merchant had only done business in Gao Family Village a handful of times and had no idea who this old man was. Seeing the shabby clothes and clogs, he dismissed him as just another rustic villager.
He sneered. "What business is it of yours, old man? I'll buy at a high price if I want to. If someone's willing to sell, that's their choice. I'm not forcing anyone. What's wrong with that?"
The Old Village Chief replied calmly, "You may not be forcing anyone, but high-priced purchases like yours will only encourage speculators."
"Soon enough, people will start snapping up tickets in advance, hoarding them, and reselling them at outrageous prices. Then those who truly want to watch the movie won't be able to."
The merchant shrugged indifferently. "I don't care. If people can profit by satisfying my needs, isn't that a good thing?"
The Old Village Chief's expression darkened slightly.
"Oh?"
"So you're determined to throw your money around and stir up trouble?"
He looked at the merchant steadily.
"Do you even know where you are? This is Gao Family Village itself."
The merchant snorted. "Isn't Gao Family Village famous for being orderly and reasonable? As long as I'm not breaking the law, even Dao Xuan Tian Zun wouldn't fault me."
The Old Village Chief's eyes gleamed faintly. "Very well. Those were your own words."
Seeing that the old man had stopped lecturing him, the merchant turned back toward the crowd and once again shouted:
"Tickets for sale! Double the price! Buying tickets!"
Before his voice had even faded—
"Tickets for sale!"
"Triple the price!"
The Old Village Chief's voice rang out clearly.
The merchant's jaw dropped.
He spun around, glaring. "Old man, if you don't have money, don't interfere!"
"How do you know I don't have money?" the Old Village Chief countered mildly.
"If I dare shout such a price, I can certainly afford to pay it."
"Oh?" The merchant sneered. "So you want to compete over who has more money?"
"Indeed," the Old Village Chief replied with a mischievous grin.
"I just happen to have too much money to burn—and today, I don't feel like letting you buy any tickets."
Furious, the merchant shouted, "Four times the price!"
"Five times," the Old Village Chief answered instantly.
"Six times!" the merchant roared.
The Old Village Chief shook his head disdainfully. "How petty. Raising it a little each time is so boring."
"Watch and learn from me."
"Tickets for sale! Ten times the price!"
"You—you—this is outrageous!" the merchant stammered.
"I'm not breaking any laws," the Old Village Chief said calmly.
"…Eleven times," the merchant said weakly, already losing ground.
"Twenty times the price!" the Old Village Chief boomed.
The merchant collapsed to the ground with a thud.
After lying there for a few seconds, he suddenly sprang up, pointing accusingly.
"You old man, you must be bluffing! You don't have that much money. When someone actually comes to sell a ticket, you won't be able to pay!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a theater worker hurried over, ticket in hand, smiling awkwardly.
"Old Village Chief," the worker said, "why are you suddenly buying tickets at twenty times the price? Are you planning to watch the movie?"
"I can just give you my ticket for free, you know."
The Old Village Chief chuckled. "I wouldn't take it for free."
He reached into his sleeve and took out a piece of silver, placing it in the worker's hand.
"Here. Take it."
The worker hesitated, embarrassed by the amount, but the Old Village Chief was a figure of immense respect. Once he spoke, there was no refusing.
As the worker accepted the silver and turned to leave, the Old Village Chief called him back.
"Wait. Take your ticket as well."
The worker blinked. "Huh?"
"I bought your ticket only to give it away," the Old Village Chief explained.
"Now that I've bought it, I'm giving it back to you so you can watch the movie."
"But remember—you must watch it yourself. You may not resell it to anyone else."
The worker stood there, dumbfounded.
The merchant's eyes bulged even wider.
Completely bewildered, the worker finally left—still holding both his ticket and the silver.
Cold sweat poured down the merchant's back.
"Y-you… just who in the heavens are you?"
The Old Village Chief smiled gently. "Just an ordinary old man."
At that moment, Gao Yiye came running over from the distance.
Seeing the Saintess approach, the merchant immediately straightened, preparing to bow respectfully—
Only to see Gao Yiye run straight up to the Old Village Chief, smiling brightly. Like a child, she grabbed his arm and shook it back and forth.
"Grandpa!!!" she said sweetly.
"I want to eat chocolate while watching the movie, but the Tianzhun gave me some earlier and it's all gone now. I can't find him to get more."
"Do you have any left?"
The Old Village Chief laughed indulgently, just like a doting elder, and handed her a key.
"There, there. Go take some from my house."
"Just yesterday, I helped the heavenly immortals make a small chair, and Dao Xuan Tian Zun rewarded me with a huge bar of silky milk chocolate. It's in the cupboard."
"Eat as much as you like."
"Thank you, Grandpa! You're the best!" Gao Yiye exclaimed, clutching the key as she dashed off.
The merchant sucked in a sharp breath.
The Old Village Chief turned back to him leisurely.
"So? Still want to raise the price?"
"Go on. What's next—thirty times? Or forty?"
The merchant dropped to his knees with a thud.
"This humble one was mistaken!"
Only now did he finally understand the meaning of those words:
"This is Gao Family Village itself."
Hidden dragons and crouching tigers were everywhere. An old man in wooden clogs was not someone he could afford to offend.
Fortunately, the Old Village Chief did not pursue the matter further.
The original forty-two inhabitants of Gao Family Village, living under Dao Xuan Tian Zun's benevolent light, had not developed the habit of bullying others.
The Old Village Chief waved his hand dismissively, letting the merchant go.
Then he sat down at the theater entrance, crossed his legs, and gently swung them, his clogs tapping rhythmically against his soles.
With him sitting there, no one dared to inflate prices again.
Those with tickets watched the movie. Those without simply waited for the next showing.
Order was perfectly maintained.
Soon, the movie began.
"Huh? This one wasn't personally made by Dao Xuan Tian Zun!" someone exclaimed.
"The director is Queen of a Thousand Faces M. Who's that?"
"Maybe some female Immortal King from the heavens, like the Queen Mother of the West?"
"Incredible! Dao Xuan Tian Zun even invited a female Immortal King to produce the film!"
The movie quickly got underway.
As it progressed, murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Wait… this Immortal King's production skills seem even better than Dao Xuan Tian Zun's!"
"So spectacular!"
"There are even slow-motion shots in the fight scenes!"
Seeing slow motion for the very first time, the audience erupted in cheers.
Then came an even more astonishing scene.
The protagonist, Lao Nanfeng, loosed an arrow—and the camera followed it in flight.
Bullet time.
Aesthetic violence.
The entire audience exploded.
"Holy cow! This is unbelievable!"
"Long live the female Immortal King!"
Somewhere far away—
"Ach-choo!"
Queen of a Thousand Faces M sneezed violently.
"Who's talking about me behind my back?" he muttered.
"And why does it sound like someone's calling me a woman?"
"Dammit! I'm a man, alright?!"