The forty-two original villagers from Gao Family Village temporarily settled in Luoyang, waiting for Bai Yuan's envoys to make contact with Lao Huihui.
Luoyang was a bustling city, lively and crowded, which provided a welcome distraction. Although the forty-two original villagers were not in the best of spirits, having come this far, they decided to take the opportunity to stroll through the city and have a look around.
Seizing a rare chance to accompany Gao Yiye, Li Daoxuan activated his Co-sensing ability. His consciousness descended into the Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun, allowing him to walk beside her at the front of the group.
"Why are all the trees here bare, without any leaves?" Gao Yiye asked curiously as she looked around.
"Not long ago, there was a severe locust plague," Li Daoxuan explained softly. "Nearly all the leaves were eaten clean."
Gao Yiye gasped. "That serious?"
As she spoke, her gaze was drawn to a scholar standing by the roadside, enthusiastically hawking a painting. The painting depicted Luoyang engulfed in a sea of locusts, while in the sky above, a colossal deity held a tube-shaped divine artifact, sucking the locusts away in a mighty torrent.
The scholar shouted at the top of his lungs, "Paintings for sale! Paintings for sale! The 'Dao Xuan Tianzun's Divine Locust Eradication Painting'! Cheap prices! Take it home and hang it on your wall. What a magnificent sight!"
Gao Yiye pointed at the painting. "Oh!"
She turned her head to look at Li Daoxuan.
Li Daoxuan spread his hands. "That is exactly what happened."
Gao Yiye sounded regretful. "Ah? What a pity I was not here to see it. I really wanted to witness it myself."
The scholar continued shouting enthusiastically, "Paintings for sale, paintings for sale!"
Gao Yiye hurried over and took out some silver. "I will take this one."
The scholar was overjoyed. "My lady, you truly have an eye for quality!"
Holding the painting in her hands, Gao Yiye asked, "Could you tell me in detail what happened back then?"
The scholar replied, "My lady, have you only just arrived in Luoyang?"
Gao Yiye nodded. "Yes. I would like to understand the events more thoroughly, so I can later organize them into a story."
The scholar burst into laughter. "My lady, you jest. As for Dao Xuan Tianzun's deeds, there is already a book circulating throughout the world called Dao Xuan Tianzun's Demon Extermination Legend. That book was personally illustrated by the Saintess herself."
"How could any ordinary person be qualified to write a biography of Dao Xuan Tianzun? For someone like me, painting a single picture is already daring enough."
Gao Yiye murmured softly, "Oh, right."
Suddenly, the scholar felt something was off.
His gaze swept behind Gao Yiye, and he saw the figure who had been walking beside her just moments ago.
Was that not the Miraculous Hero Xiao Qiushui?
And everyone in Luoyang knew that this Miraculous Hero was the incarnation of Dao Xuan Tianzun in the mortal realm.
Cold sweat instantly streamed down the scholar's face.
"May I ask, my lady, your esteemed name?" he asked nervously.
"Gao Yiye," she replied.
The scholar's hands began to tremble. He hastily reached into his sleeve, pulled out a copy of Dao Xuan Tianzun's Demon Extermination Legend, and flipped it open. His eyes landed squarely on the author's name.
Gao Yiye.
His tongue instantly tied itself into knots.
"S-Saintess… Your Ladyship…"
Gao Yiye asked calmly, "I did not personally witness Dao Xuan Tianzun gathering the locusts. Could you tell me about it?"
The scholar straightened immediately. "This humble one will tell you everything that happened, in full detail, right away!"
It was clear that their conversation would not be ending anytime soon.
The Village Chief smiled and said, "Yiye is being watched over by Dao Xuan Tianzun and the guard team. There is no need to worry about her. Let us continue our walk."
The rest of the group moved on, wandering through the streets and alleys of Luoyang.
As they walked, Gao Laba gazed at the shops lining the road. "You know, even though Luoyang looks a bit dilapidated, its population is far larger than our Gao Family Village."
"I have been thinking, if I opened a shop here, would I not earn much more?"
The Village Chief chuckled. "What, are you planning to leave Gao Family Village? If you leave your hometown, you will just be inviting trouble."
Gao Laba thought it over seriously. That made sense. How could he easily leave his own village?
After pondering for a moment, he said, "Then I could open a branch here and hire a few people to manage it for me."
Everyone burst into laughter.
"No, no, that will not work!"
"It is too far away. You would not be able to supervise them."
"If they pocketed the money, you would not even know."
Gao Laba sighed helplessly. "It is all because of my son. He refuses to inherit my trade. He insists on opening a bookstore and selling books."
The Village Chief scolded him with a smile. "Gao Shan is an educated child. Selling books is a good thing."
"If he followed you and sold rice noodles, he would make plenty of money, but he would also smell like cooking oil all day."
Gao Laba nodded. "Village Chief, you speak wisely. Very wisely. It is fine if my son does not make rice noodles anymore."
The whole group laughed together.
As they continued walking, a small shop appeared ahead with a signboard that read "Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup."
Everyone's spirits lifted at once.
"Oh! We have not tried this before."
"And we are hungry. Let us go in and have a taste."
At the moment, Gao Yiye was not with them, but the remaining group still numbered forty-one people. A small roadside vermicelli shop could hardly accommodate so many customers.
As they poured inside, four people squeezed around each table. All eight tables were quickly filled, leaving nine people with nowhere to sit.
The shopkeeper was startled. He hurriedly borrowed stools from the neighboring shop, urging everyone to squeeze in and make themselves comfortable.
"Shopkeeper, forty-one bowls of duck blood vermicelli soup!" the Village Chief laughed heartily. "I am treating everyone!"
"The Village Chief is treating us again, hahaha!" Gao Laba laughed. "Another free meal!"
The Village Chief smiled broadly. "I do not have many years left anyway. Dao Xuan Tianzun has bestowed endless wealth upon us. Truly endless. I might as well treat everyone to a few more meals."
Gao Sanwa piped up, "Grandpa Village Chief, you are talking nonsense. You will live for another hundred years!"
The Village Chief burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Sanwa always knows how to talk!"
While they chatted and laughed cheerfully, the shopkeeper was worked to the point of exhaustion. With forty-one customers arriving at once, he was flustered and spinning around nonstop.
Just as he was at his busiest, several more people squeezed through the shop entrance.
The leader was dressed in eunuch's attire. His left hand was wrapped in thick bandages and hung from a sling, making him look especially pitiful.
It was none other than Eunuch Zheng from the Prince of Fu's estate.
Last time, to atone for his wrongdoing, his left hand had been deliberately broken. Such a serious injury required at least a hundred days of recovery, and even now, his hand still needed careful attention.
The moment he stepped inside, Eunuch Zheng called out, "Shopkeeper? Is the shopkeeper here? This humble eunuch has come to… hiss…"
He suddenly froze.
"Why are there so many people here?"
He was completely stunned by the sight of forty-one people crammed into the tiny shop.
Forty-one pairs of eyes turned to look at him at the same time.
The atmosphere instantly became strange.
In the past, Eunuch Zheng would have sneered and shouted, "What trash dares stare at this eunuch? Do you know who I am?"
But after the previous incident, he no longer dared to be arrogant.
With an awkward expression, he asked, "What are you all doing here?"
The Village Chief replied calmly, "We are customers, waiting to eat vermicelli."
"Oh." Eunuch Zheng nodded stiffly. "I see. Please take your time."
He then turned toward the inner room and shouted, "Shopkeeper! Is the shopkeeper here?"
The shopkeeper hurried out to greet him.
Eunuch Zheng pulled out a large money pouch filled with silver fragments and copper coins. He shook it lightly, producing a clattering sound.
"Our estate has thoroughly interrogated all the local ruffians," Eunuch Zheng said. "Anyone found to have eaten without paying was dragged out and given ten planks."
"We then ordered them to pay double as compensation, along with a small token of goodwill from our Prince…"