Several days passed in a blur, like pages flipping too fast to read.
The television, she figured it out.
The refrigerator, she figured it out.
The rice cooker, she figured it out.
And then everything else followed, one by one, like obedient disciples lining up to be understood.
Back when she was still inside the box, Gao Yiye had already been exposed to countless "immortal artifacts." Compared to that, learning how to operate these modern devices in the so called Immortal Realm was honestly not that difficult. It was more like reconnecting with old friends she had only glimpsed from afar before.
On top of that, the people of Gao Village had long been introduced to simplified Chinese from the Immortal Realm, so reading signs and labels posed no challenge for her at all.
The supermarket at the entrance of the residential compound, she had also completely mastered.
Now she no longer needed Li DaoXuan to guide her. She could stroll there on her own with ease, walk through the aisles with confidence, and return with bags full of things she personally selected.
The neighbors in the compound would smile and wave at her.
"Hello!"
And Gao Yiye would respond with a proper, elegant bow, her posture graceful and composed, her sleeves flowing softly. That single gesture alone was enough to leave every neighbor praising her endlessly once she walked past.
"She's so refined."
"That temperament… you can't fake that in a lifetime."
"She must be some kind of model."
Meanwhile, Gao Yiye herself was quietly learning.
She began to understand the purchasing power of "Immortal Realm money." By listening to the casual conversations of neighbors while shopping, she gradually figured out what counted as expensive, what was considered cheap, what was worth buying, and what was basically a trap designed to fleece the clueless.
She even made notes for herself.
High end goods are things that make others feel they are expensive at first glance.
Cost performance means something that looks expensive but is actually cheap.
A sucker purchase is when you spend a lot of money, yet everyone else thinks it is not worth it.
Her learning curve was terrifyingly fast.
She also watched television frequently. Through that small screen, she could observe and understand this entire world, much like how she used to learn about the Great Ming through Gao Village broadcasts.
But in truth, she spent even more time staring at the box.
Far more than Li DaoXuan ever did.
Because…
That was her world.
Li DaoXuan sat beside her and pointed at a dial.
"Yiye, see this knob? You can adjust the flow of time inside the box with it."
"Ah?" Gao Yiye tilted her head. "Then… can I turn it backward? Back to when my father was still alive?"
Li DaoXuan let out a quiet sigh.
"The lowest setting is x1."
Gao Yiye fell silent for a moment, then nodded gently.
"So time cannot be reversed. Even immortals cannot do that."
After finishing her daily chores, she would sit by the box and watch the miniature world inside.
She watched the sun rise and set.
She watched days pass into nights, and nights into days again.
She watched familiar faces moving about busily.
The New Ming dynasty was growing stronger with each passing day, and smiles were returning to the faces of the common people.
Soon, she saw Wang Er leading troops on an expedition to Tibet, the soldiers struggling as they climbed snowy mountains, gasping for breath.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun, Dao Xuan Tianzun, we have to help them."
Li DaoXuan shook his head slowly.
"You can help for a moment, but not for a lifetime."
Gao Yiye puffed her cheeks slightly.
"But I still want to help them."
"Alright then."
Li DaoXuan took out his phone, opened a delivery app, and placed an order for medical oxygen tanks.
"I'm going back in," Gao Yiye said. "Dao Xuan Tianzun, you have to catch me."
"Got it."
She jumped into the box without hesitation.
In that instant, she felt as if she had passed through a barrier between two worlds, like breaking through an invisible wall of energy. As she crossed it, her body began shrinking rapidly.
At the same time, a giant golden hand reached in from above and gently caught her in midair.
She landed safely in Dao Xuan Tianzun's palm.
Sitting there, she waved happily at the expedition troops below, her laughter light and bright.
…
"Dao Xuan Tianzun, Dao Xuan Tianzun! There's an earthquake inside the box. Flat Rabbit is ringing the bell, and it is loud, really loud…"
"Let them handle it themselves," Li DaoXuan replied.
"But… this time it looks really serious," Gao Yiye said, her voice tense. "Look… such a large area is affected… that entire mountain has collapsed halfway…"
Li DaoXuan leaned in to take a look.
What he saw made him pause.
The western Sichuan region was in chaos. Mountains were crumbling, the earth was splitting apart, rivers had changed their courses, and countless villagers were trapped in isolated settlements. Even cities like Dujiangyan had suffered significant damage.
Li DaoXuan's mind moved, and he entered the box, linking consciousness with his key officials one after another.
"Mobilize the entire nation. Support the disaster zone."
The whole country sprang into action.
At the same time, he reached into the box and picked up a massive boulder that had fallen and blocked a road, casually tossing it aside into a ravine.
Gao Yiye looked on eagerly.
"I… I want to help too."
She extended her hand into the box, trying to imitate him.
But the moment her hand entered, it shrank instantly, becoming tiny within the clouds.
Her small hand waved helplessly.
It could do nothing.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun…" she said, her voice soft, deploying her ultimate technique.
The legendary soft persuasion.
Li DaoXuan glanced at the disaster again.
The situation was indeed severe. This was not something that could be resolved with a few casual hand movements. The excavators used during the Mingyue Gorge project would finally have their time to shine.
"Yiye, come with me."
He shrank the box, carried it outside into the yard, then expanded it again.
After that, he climbed onto Storm One.
"Yiye, come here. I'll teach you how to use this."
Gao Yiye looked at the small excavator.
There was only one seat.
But that was not a problem at all.
With a light jump, she landed directly onto Li DaoXuan's lap and sat down.
Li DaoXuan paused.
He had something to say.
Then decided not to say it.
No need to ruin the mood.
"Alright, hold this lever with your left hand, and this one with your right."
"Yes, like that. Pull… push…"
"Press this…"
Gao Yiye was naturally intelligent. With just a bit of instruction, she quickly grasped how to operate the excavator. After all, using an excavator was not that hard at a basic level. The real difficulty lay in fine control. Digging rocks was easy. Stir frying fish fragrant shredded pork with it, that was another story entirely.
Fortunately, she only needed to dig.
That was more than enough.
She immediately got to work, controlling the machine and clearing landslides that were blocking rescue teams.
"Flat Rabbit has a mountain path blocked ahead. I will clear it for him."
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Gao Yiye threw herself wholeheartedly into disaster relief.
…
"Dao Xuan Tianzun, Dao Xuan Tianzun, come look! They are holding a sports meet inside the box. It looks so fun."
Gao Yiye called out excitedly.
Li DaoXuan walked over with a smile.
By now, they had developed a seamless rhythm. Gao Yiye jumped into the box, and Li DaoXuan caught her effortlessly, letting her sit comfortably in his palm.
Their appearance alone sent morale soaring inside the box.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun and the Saintess are watching!"
"We must win more gold medals this time!"
Gao Yiye giggled.
"Look, Dao Xuan Tianzun, Bai Yuan is actually competing in the shooting event."
Li DaoXuan smiled.
"I bet he misses. If I win, you kiss me."
Gao Yiye smiled back without hesitation.
"Then I bet he hits a perfect ten. If I win, you let me kiss you."
A gunshot rang out.
Bai Yuan's bullet landed cleanly on the neighboring Shanxi team's target.
A perfect ten.
Li DaoXuan grinned.
"I win. He did not hit his own target."
Gao Yiye tilted her head, equally smug.
"I win. It was still a ten."
Since both sides claimed victory, there was only one logical conclusion.
They both had to fulfill their bets.
And after that…
Well.
They kissed to their hearts' content.