Gao Yiye watched the commoners on the streets scrambling to scavenge every last cake crumb and spread her hands helplessly.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun is celebrating a festival for the people of Heyang County."
San Shier looked at the chaotic yet joyful scene.
"And what kind of festival would it be this time?"
"I bet it is called the Tianzun's Sudden Whim Festival," Qiu Ju guessed while keeping a sharp eye on the falling treats.
Dong Xue chimed in with a nod.
"I think Tianzun's Egg Cake Festival sounds more like it."
Inside his room, Li Dao Xuan was caught between laughter and tears at their naming conventions.
"No, this one is called the Tianzun's Fright Festival."
Hearing his voice resonate, Gao Yiye quickly looked up toward the sky.
"Ah? Tianzun is here! But why is it called the Fright Festival?"
"Because I was frightened by your fifth volume of the Chronicles of Dao Xuan Tianzun's Demon Slaying," Li Dao Xuan replied with a mock shudder.
Gao Yiye's pretty face flushed a deep shade of crimson.
"Oh? Does Tianzun not like that plot? Fairy Chang'e falling in love with you, isn't that a wonderful thing?"
"Do you even know that Chang'e is Hou Yi's wife?" Li Dao Xuan countered.
"Another man's wife running off to fall in love with me? What kind of terrifying netorare development is that? I wouldn't even need to wait for Marshal Tianpeng to lead a heavenly army against me; Hou Yi would be hunting me down with his sun-slaying bow to settle the score personally."
Gao Yiye was genuinely shocked.
"Eh? Fairy Chang'e is actually Hou Yi's wife? No one ever told me that part of the lore!"
Li Dao Xuan slapped a hand over his face in despair.
Beside him, San Shier, Qiu Ju, and Dong Xue all performed a simultaneous, perfectly synchronized facepalm.
"You can let your imagination run wild when storytelling," Li Dao Xuan advised with a sigh, "but try to create your own original content. Don't go mixing things up in other people's legends and stealing their wives, or you will end up in some very awkward situations."
Gao Yiye lowered her head pitifully, looking like a puppy that had been scolded.
"I understand! I was wrong."
"Good, as long as you know. Go ahead and change the content of this volume," Li Dao Xuan said.
Gao Yiye hurried to obey, while Qiu Ju and Dong Xue bowed along with her.
"By your command!"
The two girls were already whispering about how to pivot the plot, likely planning to replace the goddess with someone else.
Just then, Gao Yiye's curiosity got the better of her again.
"Tianzun, if you and Hou Yi fought one on one, could you actually beat him?"
"Hou Yi is a long range ADC, so his build is incredibly squishy," Li Dao Xuan explained in a matter-of-fact tone.
"His solo dueling capability is weak. Almost any assassin-type hero with a decent gap closer could burst him down instantly. Yes, that is exactly how the meta works."
Gao Yiye's face turned pink.
Wow, so Tianzun is even more powerful than the man who shot down the suns. Even if he did steal Fairy Chang'e, he wouldn't have to worry about the consequences. Still, it is probably for the best to change that part. If he really did end up with her, I would feel a bit...
"Your expression looks suspicious again," Li Dao Xuan noted. "What are you thinking about now?"
"Nothing, nothing! I am going back to fix Volume Five right away!"
While they were engaging in their modern banter, the citizens across the city were looting cake crumbs at breakneck speed.
Many had managed to grab several large chunks, cradling them in their arms with the kind of satisfaction usually reserved for gold bars.
Once the ground was picked clean, everyone turned their attention to the rooftops. Quite a few people scrambled up the tiles to recover the crumbs that had landed high up.
In a small alleyway, a large group of commoners discovered a massive piece of cake as big as a decorative garden rock.
Working together, they stationed people at both ends of the alley to guard the entrance while they called their friends and family over to carve up the giant prize inside.
By the time the frantic scavenging ended, the streets were spotless, though the sweet scent of cake still lingered throughout the city like a sugary fog.
With their bellies half full and their prizes secured, the people's minds finally began to clear.
"Where did this delicious egg cake come from?"
"It fell from the sky, obviously!"
"But why would egg cakes just fall from the sky?"
"Don't ask me, how should I know? I just know they taste great and I want more."
As the commoners buzzed with discussion, the great drum at the entrance of the county yamen began to chime.
A large crowd rushed toward the gates, huddling in the plaza. There stood Ma Tianzheng, the Taoist priest, holding the drumsticks and striking the drum with a series of strange, dance like movements.
Once enough people had gathered, he set the sticks down and turned to face the crowd with a wide, theatrical grin.
"Do any of you know where that egg cake just came from?"
The commoners shook their heads in unison.
"It was a gift from Dao Xuan Tianzun," Ma Tianzheng announced.
"His message to you is this: though the bandits are coming, you have no need for concern. With His Holiness watching over this place, you only need to eat well and sleep soundly. There is absolutely no reason to worry about the bandits."
The commoners were stunned into silence.
After a brief moment, someone let out a roar of a cheer, and soon the entire crowd was erupting in joy. The sound quickly spread through the entire city, bathing everyone in pure relief.
Recalling the unique Tianzun style, Ma Tianzheng shouted,
"Today is the Tianzun's Egg Cake Festival! Everyone, fill your bellies and enjoy your cakes!"
"It is a festival!"
"Eat the cakes!"
"Who cares about the bandits now? We have snacks!"
"To be honest," someone remarked after a few bites, "I feel like I could actually make this. Seriously, if you gave me eggs, flour, sugar, and yeast, I could definitely pull it off."
"Don't be stupid," another replied. "In a famine year like this, where are you going to find those ingredients? You might as well ask for dragon meat."
Li Dao Xuan chuckled to himself as he overheard their conversation.
Gao Village actually has all of those.
Since the food crisis had been resolved, Gao Village had begun raising poultry and livestock on a massive scale.
The little ducklings raised by Gao Sanniang had grown into a formidable flock. Someone in the Gao Village business district had even started buying her ducks to make braised duck, opening a shop that was now doing incredible business.
Furthermore, chickens, pigs, and cattle were becoming common sights in the village.
It seemed he could start cautiously guiding trade between the two counties. Goods from Gao Village and Cheng County could be sold in Heyang County, while local specialties from Heyang could be traded back, allowing the commoners to exchange resources and share techniques.
The more they interacted, the deeper their bond would become.
Wasn't there a fellow just now claiming he could bake a cake after one taste? If eggs, yeast, and sugar were transported here, he might actually do it, and then he could sell those cakes back to Gao Village.
He could fully leverage the reputation of a famous Yellow River ecological food city and promote their culinary culture. This would also open up the palates of the people in Gao Village who, while no longer worried about food, had not yet experienced many delicacies.
"San Shier," Li Dao Xuan instructed.
"Once you return to Gao Village, organize a small short distance merchant caravan. Transport some eggs, sugar, yeast, cloth, and cotton to Heyang County to sell to the people here."
Gao Yiye, who was still with San Shier, relayed the Tianzun's decree.
San Shier understood the intent immediately.
"After a few years of development, the variety of goods in Gao Village is already quite rich. Meanwhile, Heyang County currently only has the flour bestowed by Tianzun. They will need all sorts of daily necessities to enrich their lives."
Tianzun could have bestowed these things directly upon Heyang, but he chose not to. Instead, he had San Shier sell them from Gao Village.
San Shier understood the logic instantly. The two regions needed to interact more. The more they walked the path between them, the deeper the bond would grow.
In the days that followed, the atmosphere in Heyang County transformed from one of dread to one of bustling activity.
The looming threat of Wang Jiayin was still there, but it felt like a distant storm while the sun was shining directly on them.
Flat Rabbit was busy at the docks, overseeing the reinforcements and trying his best to look like the Jianghu expert he claimed to be.
Every time he saw a scout return, he would strike a pose, hoping to be immortalized in the next volume of the chronicles.
"Mr. Bai," Flat Rabbit said, approaching Bai Yuan who was watching the river. "Do you think the enemy will be intimidated by our cannons? Or should I go out and challenge their champion to a duel first?"
Bai Yuan looked at the rabbit and then back at the water.
"If you go out there, the only thing you'll be challenging is their appetite for rabbit stew. Just stay behind the wooden trial fortress system and look menacing. That is your primary job."
"You have no soul," Flat Rabbit muttered, though he didn't move an inch from the safety of the fortifications.
Meanwhile, the first of the small merchant caravans from Gao Village arrived.
They brought crates of eggs packed in straw, bags of refined sugar that looked like snow, and jars of yeast that promised fluffy bread.
The Heyang commoners, initially wary of these 'outsiders' from the next county over, quickly changed their tune when the trade began.
The man who claimed he could bake cakes was the first to buy the supplies. Within hours, the scent of fresh baking was competing with the lingering aroma of Tianzun's original gift.
"Hey, these eggs are huge! What do you feed your chickens in Gao Village?" a Heyang local asked.
"Hard work and the blessings of Dao Xuan Tianzun," the merchant replied with a grin. "And maybe a bit of special feed from the New Ming agricultural bureau. Want to buy some cloth too? It's much softer than the coarse stuff you're wearing."
The interaction was exactly what Li Dao Xuan had hoped for.
It wasn't just about the goods; it was about the realization that they were all part of the same growing ecosystem.
They were no longer isolated villages waiting to be devoured by bandits; they were becoming a unified front under the watch of a giant.
As the sun set over the Yellow River, the wooden trial fortress system stood tall, its silhouette a reminder that peace was something to be guarded.
The cannons were ready, the militia was trained, and the people were well fed.
If Wang Jiayin wanted this city, he would find that it was no longer a helpless prize, but a fortress with a very long, very divine shadow protecting it.
Bai Yuan fanned himself, the word Gentleman visible even in the twilight.
"A bit of trade, a bit of cake, and a lot of cannons. That is how you build a civilization."
San Shier nodded beside him.
"And a bit of fear for the gods. Don't forget that part. It keeps everyone honest."
They both laughed as the first lights of the 'Tianzun's Egg Cake Festival' began to twinkle in the windows of the town, a small pocket of defiance against the chaos of the late Ming era.