The baby's sudden crying instantly drew Gao Chuwu over.
He rushed forward, scooped up his son, and began coaxing him gently.
"Gao Zhengjing, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously. "Are you hungry?"
Only after speaking did he notice something deeply abnormal.
The Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun—
Was moving.
Its little wooden arm was waving.
From the baby's chubby hands.
Gao Chuwu froze.
Then his face lit up with pure joy.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun!" he exclaimed. "Long time no see!"
The puppet replied calmly, "Hedong Circuit has been peaceful lately, so I haven't appeared much. I didn't expect your son to grow so fast. What did you just call him?"
Gao Chuwu grinned proudly.
"Gao Zhengjing."
The puppet inhaled sharply.
"…You named your child that?"
Gao Chuwu scratched his head sheepishly.
"My wife named him. I wanted to call him Gao Chuliu, but she wouldn't allow it. She said the child needed a 'serious' name. My wife is smarter than me, so I listened."
The Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun fell silent.
"…."
A serious name… that's what she meant by it?
The puppet covered its face internally.
As expected of Gao Family Village's most legendary idiot general. Years pass, empires rise and fall, but his excellence remains eternal.
Still—
"Zhengjing" wasn't completely unusable. Even in modern times, plenty of people were named Li Zhengjing or Zhang Zhengjing.
…Technically legal.
Gao Chuwu asked eagerly, "Dao Xuan Tianzun, do you have any orders for us this time?"
Li Daoxuan snapped back to business mode.
"Where is Xing Honglang? Some things can't be explained to you."
Gao Chuwu shouted toward the inner room, "Honglang! Dao Xuan Tianzun is calling you!"
"Oh! Coming!" her voice replied.
Xing Honglang bustled out.
She was visibly plumper than before—
which was perfectly normal for a woman who had just given birth and was eating heavily to nourish her child.
Given her already massive build, she now looked even more imposing.
Mountainous.
Absolute war goddess physique.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun," she said respectfully, "what are your orders?"
Li Daoxuan said calmly, "You've seen the news about the Manchu invasion."
"Yes," Xing Honglang replied grimly. "The Manchu are despicable."
"Good," Li Daoxuan said. "You are now a court-appointed official. You cannot leave Hedong Circuit. So you will remain."
He continued:
"Count your troops. Leave the minimum necessary to defend Hedong Circuit. Hand the surplus over to Gao Chuwu. He will lead them north to resist the Manchu—under the name of a spontaneously organized civilian militia."
Xing Honglang clasped her fists.
"As you command!"
Li Daoxuan added, "A civilian militia heading north will attract attention. To avoid trouble, write to the Governor of Shanxi, Dai Jun'en, and inform him."
At the name, Xing Honglang immediately remembered the old man who pretended to be mad and recited poetry all day.
A faint smile appeared.
"Understood. I'll write the letter immediately."
"Good," Li Daoxuan said. "I'll head to Puzhou."
He prepared to co-sense away—
Snap.
A sharp cracking sound rang out.
Two chubby little hands—
Had broken the Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun's neck.
"AHHHH!" Xing Honglang screamed.
"AHHHH!" Gao Chuwu screamed.
Both parents lunged forward at the same time, grabbing the baby, ready to spank his bottom.
The puppet's severed head, still conscious, grinned.
"It's fine," it said. "Don't hit the child. He's just a baby. He doesn't understand anything."
Then, proudly:
"He's only a few months old and already broke a puppet. That's talent. This boy will grow up to be a fierce general."
Only then did the couple relax.
"Thank you, Dao Xuan Tianzun, for your mercy," they said together.
With a whoosh, Li Daoxuan co-sensed away to Puzhou.
Xing Honglang immediately issued orders:
"I'll write the letter and count the troops.
Chuwu, find a craftsman to repair Dao Xuan Tianzun's neck.
And from now on—never let the child touch the avatar again."
Gao Chuwu nodded frantically.
"Never again. That boy is too violent."
By the time the craftsman repaired the puppet's neck, Xing Honglang's letter was finished.
In it, she explained to Dai Jun'en:
The people of Hedong Circuit were enraged by the Manchu threat.
They had spontaneously organized a civilian volunteer corps to resist the invasion.
In later eras, such a reason would seem normal.
But in the late Ming Dynasty—
It was utterly absurd.
Yet excuses weren't about logic.
They were about attitude.
Five hundred troops remained in Hedong Circuit under Xing Honglang.
Two thousand five hundred troops were handed to Gao Chuwu.
Gao Chuwu marched north.
Along the official road.
All the way to Pingyang Prefecture.
The place was already bustling.
Lao Nanfeng had just arrived.
Bai Mao and Wang Er were already waiting.
The generals greeted each other joyfully.
"Back when Gao Family Village was small, we met every day."
"Now the territory's so big, meeting is rare."
"Is everyone here?"
"Not yet. Dao Xuan Tianzun said Instructor He Jiu is coming."
"What?! Even Instructor He Jiu?"
"He's General He Kegang's deputy, right?"
"I thought he was just a common soldier?"
"I heard the movie hid his identity. He's actually He Kegang's deputy."
The generals immediately straightened their posture.
Reverence activated.
A scout suddenly ran over.
"Instructor He Jiu has arrived! Leading the main Gao Family Village militia!"
Cheers erupted.
"They're here!"
"Ever since I watched A Common Soldier at the Daling River Frontier Army, I've wanted to meet him!"
In the distance, an army appeared—
No banners.
No flags.
No markings.
Perfect civilian militia disguise.
Cheng Xu stepped forward.
His first words:
"Governor Dai Jun'en hasn't suspected us, right?"
"Relax," Bai Mao said. "He'd never guess you're He Kegang's deputy."
Cheng Xu: "What?"
Lao Nanfeng added enthusiastically:
"Instructor He Jiu must be thrilled. This is your chance to avenge General He Kegang!"
Cheng Xu: "What? What? WHAT?"
The generals smiled knowingly.
"No need to pretend," they said together.
"We all understand."
"And we won't say a word."
Cheng Xu stood there in silence.
Internally:
When did I get a secret identity storyline?