Although the new era had already begun, the remnants of the old age had not yet been completely erased, and that simple truth settled quietly but firmly in Li Dao Xuan's mind as he reflected on what he had just witnessed.
He understood now that he could not truly let go.
He might choose not to interfere in the daily lives of ordinary people, and he might refrain from guiding every decision or correcting every mistake, but he could not simply disappear, because if he vanished at this delicate moment, whether the New Ming could stabilize itself completely would remain uncertain.
This world still could not do without him.
In that case…
He would act like a true immortal, roaming freely across the land, leaving most things untouched, yet occasionally extending a hand to correct injustice when it appeared before him.
The decision had only just settled in his mind when the sandbox in front of him suddenly lit up.
A soft golden glow spread across its surface, and on the outer wall of the box, a strange dial slowly appeared, resembling the adjustment wheel of a camera, the kind used to control aperture and shutter speed, and its design was so intuitive that it practically invited his fingers to reach out and turn it.
Beneath it, a line of text revealed itself gradually.
New function unlocked: Activate "Time-Lapse Mode".
Li Dao Xuan's eyes flickered with interest, because he did not need any further explanation to understand what this feature was meant to do.
"…Now this is something."
He reached out and gave the dial a gentle turn, stopping at X2.
Instantly, the world inside the sandbox changed.
The people walking on the ground began moving faster, clouds drifted across the sky at an accelerated pace, and even the trains sped along their tracks at twice their previous speed, yet it was not that they themselves had become faster, but rather that the flow of time within the box had been increased.
X2 meant that time itself was moving twice as fast.
And if that was the case, then the higher settings, X3, X4, X10, X30, X100, X365, X1000, X5000, required no further explanation.
A faint smile curved at the corner of Li Dao Xuan's lips.
The sandbox was rewarding him.
That was the simplest way to put it.
It was giving him the ability to witness the results of his efforts, to see with his own eyes how far this world could go, because no matter how long he lived, even if he reached a hundred years, it would still not be enough to watch this civilization fully unfold.
But if time inside the box could be accelerated, then within his limited lifespan, he could witness nearly limitless possibilities.
His fingers pressed firmly against the dial.
And then he turned it further.
…
Night had fallen.
The Forbidden City lay quiet beneath a deep sky, its vast courtyards bathed in silver moonlight.
Gao Yiye, now thirty years old, sat alone in the imperial study, occupying the seat that had once belonged to Zhu Youjian, her posture relaxed yet her presence striking, her mature beauty carrying the kind of quiet allure that needed no adornment.
She tilted her head slightly, gazing out at the moon.
Loneliness lingered around her like a thin veil.
The imperial palace now belonged to her, yet she did not handle state affairs, because this was no longer an era where an emperor or a saintess could decide everything with a single word, and her role had gradually shifted into something symbolic, much like the statue of Dao Xuan Tianzun placed at the center during every session of the People's Congress.
A presence to steady the room.
A figure to anchor belief.
Nothing more.
But Gao Yiye was not someone who could endure loneliness easily.
She preferred running freely through open fields, or wandering along lively streets, picking up small snacks as she walked, eating as she pleased, laughing without restraint.
She did not belong within these palace walls.
Whenever the night grew deep and quiet, she would look up at the sky, and her thoughts would inevitably drift toward Li Dao Xuan.
It had been a long time since Dao Xuan Tianzun had appeared before her.
In fact, it was not just her, because even within the Gao Village Family, no one had seen him for quite some time, not Shan Shier, not Cheng Xu, not a single one of them.
And yet, everyone knew he was still there.
From time to time, he would appear somewhere in the world, punishing a corrupt official, dealing with a tyrant, doing a single good deed before vanishing once more into the sky, leaving behind nothing but stories and rumors.
Gao Yiye missed him.
"Why is it…" she murmured softly, her voice barely louder than the night breeze, "that he goes everywhere, yet never comes to the capital?"
Deep down, she already understood the answer.
He did not want to interfere with governance.
He did not want collective governance to become his personal rule.
He was that kind of person.
That kind of… existence.
But understanding did not make the feeling any easier.
She still missed him.
"Yiye-jie, Yiye-jie!"
A voice suddenly broke the silence outside.
"Come out quickly, we have good news!"
Gao Yiye stood up at once and hurried outside, where she found Gao Sanwa, Gao Chuwu, Zheng Daniu, and several others who had followed Dao Xuan Tianzun since the earliest days, all gathered together with excited expressions.
"What is it?" she asked quickly.
Gao Sanwa stepped forward, barely containing his excitement.
"This evening, Dao Xuan Tianzun appeared in a small village not far from the capital," he said, speaking quickly, "he dealt with a local tyrant and then flew up into the sky, but after that, he did not leave immediately and has been hovering above the village ever since."
Gao Yiye's eyes lit up instantly.
"Take me there," she said without hesitation, "quickly."
No one bothered to question the hour.
The group rushed to their large iron vehicle, and under the pale glow of moonlight guiding their path, they sped out of the capital, racing toward the distant village.
When they arrived, they saw it immediately.
Above the village, at a height of roughly two hundred meters, floated a strange, low hanging cloud, the unmistakable immortal cloud that always accompanied Dao Xuan Tianzun's appearances, now illuminated by the moonlight in a way that made it seem almost unreal as it hung across the night sky.
Whenever Dao Xuan Tianzun appeared, ordinary people could see this cloud.
But they could only see the cloud.
Only Gao Yiye could see him.
Gao Sanwa looked up eagerly.
"Yiye-jie, can you see Dao Xuan Tianzun?"
Gao Yiye stared at the cloud for a long moment.
Then she slowly shook her head.
"No," she said quietly, "the cloud is there, but he is not."
What they did not know was that earlier that evening, after Li Dao Xuan had dealt with the tyrant and withdrawn his manifested body from the sandbox, he had received a call from Cai Xinzi, who urgently dragged him out for hot pot, insisting that an entire table of people was waiting for him.
In his haste, he had forgotten to put the lid back on the sandbox.
And whenever the sandbox was left uncovered, a low cloud would appear in the sky.
After that, he had gone out, eaten hot pot, drank beer, sang a few songs at KTV, and then returned home to sleep, completely unaware that his carelessness had left behind this floating cloud, which was now drawing a crowd.
Gao Chuwu scratched his head.
"If the cloud is here but Dao Xuan Tianzun is not," he said slowly, "does that mean he forgot his immortal cloud here? Wouldn't that make things inconvenient for him elsewhere?"
Zheng Daniu stared at the cloud with shining eyes.
"It looks like cotton candy," he said seriously, "I kind of want to eat it."
The others fell silent.
Gao Yiye did not respond.
She simply stood there, looking up at the cloud, her expression gradually dimming as disappointment settled in.
"So I still could not see him…"
"Yiye-jie, do not be sad," someone said quickly, trying to comfort her, "if we wait here a little longer, maybe Dao Xuan Tianzun will return."
Gao Yiye bit her lower lip gently.
"I have already waited long enough," she said, her voice steady but carrying a quiet firmness, "for the past few months, I have not seen him even once, and he has gone everywhere in the world except the capital, so I cannot keep waiting like this."
She lifted her gaze again, her eyes fixed on the cloud.
"This time, I will go to him."
Her words startled everyone.
"Yiye-jie, do not say something like that," Gao Chuwu said quickly, alarmed, "how are you supposed to go to him?"
Gao Yiye raised her hand and pointed upward.
"I will go into the cloud and take a look."
Gao Chuwu hesitated.
"That… does not seem like a good idea," he said cautiously, "that is an immortal's cloud, and we are just ordinary people, so we probably should not touch it."
Zheng Daniu, however, was still staring upward.
"It really does look edible," he muttered.
The others could only fall into silence once again.