Mr. Bai watched the villagers' fanatical behavior with a growing sense of dread.
Their eyes were wide, their faces flushed with a strange, frantic energy.
Combining this with the bizarre behavior he had seen from San Shier earlier, the conclusion hit him like a lightning bolt.
A cult.
This was clearly the playbook of a heretical sect.
That young girl, Gao Yiye, was undoubtedly the Saintess of the group, much like the White Lotus Saintess who led misguided masses into ruin.
This "Dao Xuan Tianzun" they kept shouting about was likely no different from the "Unborn Old Mother" worshipped by rebels and lunatics.
For hundreds of years, the Great Ming Dynasty had been ruthlessly cracking down on such sects, and for good reason.
As a gentleman who meticulously studied the Six Arts of a Gentleman, Mr. Bai had zero tolerance for this kind of underground religious nonsense.
He grabbed San Shier by the arm and pulled him closer, his voice dropping into a sharp whisper.
"Is this village running a cult? You actually decided to mix yourself up with these people?"
San Shier didn't look offended in the slightest.
He calmly smoothed his robes and replied, "Only those who worship evil gods are a cult. If the god is benevolent, you cannot call it heresy."
"Listen to what they are shouting!" Mr. Bai hissed, gesturing toward the crowd. "'Afraid of them for what?' That kind of slogan is exactly what fanatics shout before they march off to get themselves executed. If this is not a cult, then what is it?"
San Shier gave a dry cough, his eyes twinkling.
"Well, that is because Dao Xuan Tianzun is... a bit unconventional in His methods."
"Madness. You have all gone completely mad..."
San Shier smiled faintly.
"Mr. Bai, I actually understand you perfectly. When I first stumbled into this village, I had the exact same thoughts. I thought I had walked into a den of lunatics."
He paused briefly.
"Right up until the moment I saw Dao Xuan Tianzun manifest His power with my own eyes."
Mr. Bai rolled his eyes so hard it almost hurt.
"That is the same line every cult uses to reel people in. There is always a Saintess or a medium who can 'see' the god, while everyone else is left in the dark. Spare me."
"Actually, you just saw Him perform a miracle too," San Shier said casually.
A massive question mark practically appeared over Mr. Bai's head.
"When exactly did I see that?"
San Shier raised a finger and pointed toward the plains outside the walls.
"Just now. When that sandstorm suddenly rose out of nowhere. It shielded your guards and tenant farmers so they could enter the Gao Village Family safely."
He leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"Tell me, Mr. Bai. While that gale was raging outside, did you feel even the slightest breeze on your face?"
The words struck Mr. Bai like a physical blow.
He froze.
He had been too busy fleeing for his life to think clearly, but now that he looked back, the memory was deeply unsettling.
The storm outside had been thick enough to swallow everything in sight.
Yet where he stood, the air had been completely still.
It defied all reason.
"That wind," San Shier said softly, "was Dao Xuan Tianzun intervening."
Mr. Bai fell silent.
His rational education clashed violently with the evidence of his own senses.
Outside the village, the bandits had temporarily halted their advance.
After hearing the unified roar from within the walls, they understood that this village had chosen resistance.
There would be no easy surrender.
They sent two runners to notify their main force, while the rest sat on the ground, staring at the stone walls with cold, predatory eyes.
Inside, the villagers began to grow uneasy.
Most of them were simple farmers with no combat experience.
One by one, they turned to look at San Shier.
He shook his head.
He was a man of accounts, not warfare.
Finally, all eyes turned toward Gao Yiye.
The Saintess spread her hands.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun says we must prepare ourselves. He has other matters to attend to for a short while."
A heavy silence followed.
No one knew what to say.
San Shier reacted immediately.
He grabbed Mr. Bai's sleeve tightly.
"Mr. Bai, it looks like it is up to you to take command. You were the instructor for the Bai Family Fort militia. You know how to fight."
Mr. Bai let out a hollow laugh.
"I just lost my fort and got chased here like a stray dog. You really want me in charge?"
"As the saying goes, a fall into a pit brings wisdom," San Shier replied. "Whatever mistakes you made, you still know far more than we do."
Mr. Bai looked at the anxious faces around him and sighed.
"Fine. I will do it."
The bandits had gone to call reinforcements.
Since their main force was still looting the Bai Family Fort, it would take time for them to return.
That gave them a window.
Mr. Bai quickly counted the people.
There were around one hundred and fifty villagers.
After removing the elderly, the weak, and the children, around seventy men remained.
Adding the dozen surviving guards and sixty tenant farmers who had fled with him, he arrived at roughly one hundred fighters.
One hundred men.
Defending a twelve-foot wall.
Against bandits.
We have a chance.
His spirit surged back to life.
He immediately began issuing orders.
"All able-bodied men, move. Gather every stone you can find. Large or small, bring them to the walls."
"The biggest stones go behind the gate. Block the entrance completely. Even if the gate breaks, they must not be able to rush in."
"The medium and small stones go to the battlements. Stack them high, especially above the gate. If they try to force their way in, drop the stones and bury them."
"If we run out of stones, start tearing down the houses."
His gaze swept across the village.
Most buildings were dilapidated huts.
Only one structure stood out.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun Cave.
Solid stone. Newly built.
He pointed toward it.
"We can start by dismantling that."
"Don't you dare!"
San Shier's voice turned cold instantly.
"If you touch even a single pebble of that shrine, you will not even have a corpse left to bury."
Mr. Bai blinked.
Right. A village of believers.
He immediately changed tone.
"Fine. Moving on."
He continued,
"Do we have oil? If we can boil oil, it will be extremely effective against enemies climbing the walls."
The moment he asked, he regretted it.
This village looked poor beyond words.
Where would they get oil?
Boiling water would have to do.
But before he could change the plan, San Shier had already started shouting.
"You ten, go to the warehouse. Bring out that large basin of oil. Prepare the pots. Start the fires."
Moments later, ten men emerged carrying a massive container.
To Li Dao Xuan, it was just a bottle cap.
Inside the box, it was enormous.
The basin was placed in front of Mr. Bai with a heavy thud.
The rich scent of rapeseed oil filled the air.
Mr. Bai stared in shock.
"So much oil. And such quality. In the middle of a drought... how is this possible?"
San Shier chuckled.
"A gift from Dao Xuan Tianzun."
He waved his hand.
"You will see stranger things soon. Stop staring and keep planning."
Mr. Bai snapped back to reality.
Time was running out.
He led his men onto the walls and began assigning positions one by one.
He explained how to respond to ladders.
What to do if the enemy reached the top.
How to hold the gate.
What to do if it fell.
Layer by layer, he built a defensive plan.
Meanwhile, in the heavens, Li Dao Xuan had already left his apartment.
He was now standing inside a children's toy store, scanning a shelf filled with miniature accessories.