Chapter 5: Meals Can Be Messy, but Words Can't

　　Xiao Fan: ( •̀ ω •́ )

　　As Xiao Fan enjoyed his meal, the little people in the ecological box also devoured the food bestowed by the Lord of Heaven.

　　"The Lord of Heaven's food is so delicious," one of the little people couldn't help but ask.

　　"Yao Xi, or rather, Saintess, can you ask the Lord of Heaven what this is? It's just too delicious!"

　　While Xiao Fan ate his takeout, he casually replied, "Braised lion's head over rice!"

　　Upon hearing the Lord of Heaven's words, Yao Xi showed a surprised expression. "Braised lion's head over rice? The name sounds quite strange. Will it cause panic among the villagers? But... but I cannot violate the Lord of Heaven's words. I've already decided to dedicate myself to the Lord of Heaven; how can I casually change the Lord's divine oracle..."

　　After some internal struggle, Yao Xi hesitatedly said, "The Lord of Heaven says... yes, braised lion's head... over rice?"

　　Upon hearing Yao Xi's words, the open space suddenly fell into silence. The little people, who were enjoying their food moments ago, abruptly stopped, utterly shocked.

　　"What? Are we eating the head... of a lion?" the inquiring little man's face turned pale, and panic spread to the others.

　　The knowledgeable elder, Gao Cunzheng, also stood still, and the rice with meat juice in his hands fell to the ground.

　　"A lion's head? Made from a lion's head?"

　　"What's rice over meat? What does that mean?"

　　The little people erupted into chaos.

　　Xiao Fan: (｀Д)!!

　　Yao Xi was now in a panic, and Xiao Fan was even more panicked.

　　Xiao Fan cursed himself in his heart.

　　Why did he say that? The times were different, and the limited understanding of these little people might drive them crazy if they suddenly heard something beyond their comprehension.

　　"It's pork, made into meatballs, then braised. 'Rice over meat' means placing braised pork meatballs on rice. The lion's head is just a decoration! Yes, it's not made from a lion's head!" Xiao Fan hastily explained.

　　Yao Xi quickly followed up with an explanation, and the panicked villagers finally calmed down.

　　"Finally settled down; it seems I can't speak carelessly," Xiao Fan sighed in relief.

　　The little female people also sighed in relief. It seemed that not all of the Lord of Heaven's teachings could be revealed, or else these mortals would truly go mad.

　　With the crisis averted, Xiao Fan counted the number of little people; there were a total of 55. A single grain of rice was enough to feed them for a meal. It looked like feeding these little people would cost Xiao Fan a few bucks every month.

　　Thinking about this, Xiao Fan felt a bit helpless. In a few days, this supposed Lord of Heaven might end up sleeping on the streets. How would he take care of these little people then?

　　He had to earn some money in the next few days, at least enough to cover the rent. Xiao Fan made up his mind.

　　On the other hand, there was another thing that piqued Xiao Fan's curiosity — where did these little people come from?

　　Watching the little people fill their stomachs, kneel and bow to the female little person, and then begin their work, Xiao Fan wondered about their origin.

　　Some of the little people picked up axes and headed toward the edge of the ecological box where there was a forest; they seemed to be going to chop wood.

　　Others began repairing the city walls. They dug out yellow mud and water from a dimly lit pit and used it to pile up on the walls.

　　However, more little people picked up dried bamboo baskets and walked outside the city, digging into the sandy ground. Xiao Fan took out his magnifying glass and saw the little people digging out a blade of grass, placing it in the bamboo basket, and then moving on to dig the next patch of soil. These little people were preparing for their next meal.

　　Xiao Fan's heart stirred. Just this one full meal wouldn't truly change their fate.

　　On the open ground, a few little people surrounded Yao Xi. Among them was an elder, possibly Village Chief Gao Cunzheng, who had been maintaining order and directing the little people to their tasks.

　　"Li Fifteen, you and Zhang Eighteen, go repair the thatched house for the Saintess. Gao Thirty-Five, do you still have any decent clothes at home? Offer them to the Saintess."

　　"Ah! Okay! We'll go chop some wood!" Li Fifteen enthusiastically responded.

　　"Ah... Village Chief, as you know, it's been several years since a trade caravan visited... Ah... I'll do my best to find some fabric. I'll figure out a way to make a new set of clothes for the Saintess!" Gao Thirty-Five furrowed his brows, gritted his teeth, and accepted the task.

　　The elder instructed a few village little people.

　　"Village Chief, there's no need for this. I can take care of myself. Everyone's life is challenging, don't burden the villagers for my sake..." Yao Xi quickly refused.

　　"Saintess, we are all volunteers."

　　"Ah... Thanks to the Saintess and the blessing of the Lord of Heaven, I feel alive again. I'll go back and cut some clothes!" Several village little people revealed long-lost smiles.

　　"Yao Xi, this is not only to repay you but also to express our gratitude for the Lord of Heaven's blessings. You must accept it, even if it's on behalf of the Lord of Heaven accepting our gratitude," Village Chief Gao said.

　　Yao Xi looked up at the Lord of Heaven, her fair neck, clear eyes, teeth biting her lip, rosy cheeks, revealing a somewhat embarrassed expression. Clearly, she hadn't done anything, yet she had to accept the gratitude of the villagers, feeling ashamed.

　　In this way, she seemed like a shy young deer, waiting for her owner's call.

　　Xiao Fan looked at the little female person. Damn, she was so cute; the science guy almost couldn't control himself. I'm only a chicken @#¥¥%&*～==!

　　Xiao Fan: Ψ(￣￣)Ψ

　　"I am the Lord of Heaven, not the Lord of Evil. I absolutely cannot do anything against human morality..." Xiao Fan silently prayed in his heart.

　　"Yao Xi, just consider it accepting the goodwill of the villagers on my behalf," Xiao Fan nodded towards the little female person and said.

　　At the same time, a question arose in Xiao Fan's mind. In which era was this world within the ecological box, or was it some kind of different world space?

　　"Cough, cough, Yao Xi. I want to ask you, who are you people? Which dynasty are you from? And where is this place?" Xiao Fan asked the little female person in the ecological box.

　　Yao Xi, upon hearing Xiao Fan's call, quickly raised her head. Village Chief Gao and the other little people immediately stopped talking.

　　"Village Chief, the Lord of Heaven is asking, who are you people? Which dynasty are you from? And where is this place?" Yao Xi, born and raised in this fortress, never left for 16 years, didn't know the answers to these questions. So, she turned to Village Chief Gao, the oldest person in this place.

　　Xiao Fan: (°_°) ?

　　However, the following words from Village Chief Gao completely shocked Xiao Fan.

　　"Replying to the Lord of Heaven, the current era should be the ninth year of the Jianzhong era. This place is Shule Town, and it falls under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate in the Great Tang Dynasty!" Village Chief Gao saluted with clasped hands, reporting to the Lord of Heaven.

　　Xiao Fan: (°_°) !!!

　　In just a few words, Xiao Fan was completely stunned. He hadn't expected that the little people in this ecological box were from the Tang Dynasty. Although Xiao Fan was a civil engineering student and not well-versed in history, he knew about the Great Tang and the Anxi Protectorate.

　　Yao Xi repeated it again, looking at the Lord of Heaven in a dazed manner, causing her to stutter for a moment.

　　"Great Saintess, has the Lord of Heaven replied?" Village Chief Gao asked, interjecting and bowing.

　　"Ah? Um... the Lord of Heaven said he knows," Yao Xi, worried that the previous commotion might happen again, replied on behalf of the Lord of Heaven.

　　Village Chief Gao frowned slightly but nodded, saluting, and continued to organize the villagers' work.

　　"What is the ninth year of the Jianzhong era? And where is Shule?" Xiao Fan was puzzled, but as the saying goes, if you don't know, you have to ask.

　　Taking out his phone, he searched on Baidu. The search bar still had some history records, like when the Three Siblings of Shark Island would be back on air, who is currently the top sister on Lion Tooth Island, and the complete version of Mina's post-drinking hammer without deletions...

　　"Great Tang Jianzhong era 9th year..."

　　This search result was completely different from the previous history records.

　　Xiao Fan: („ಡωಡ„)

　　Xiao Fan: (￣～￣;)

　　However, the results displayed by Google left Xiao Fan speechless. There was no Jianzhong 9th year in the Great Tang, and the country's name changed by the 4th year.

　　"This expression should be when the Lord of Heaven encounters a problem. The smirk from earlier seemed a bit lewd... oh, how could the Lord of Heaven be lewd? It must be that I can't fully understand the Lord of Heaven's great thoughts..." Yao Xi raised her head, watching Xiao Fan's changing expressions and thinking.

　　The admiring girl came with her own filter. She observed Xiao Fan's expressions, wanting to remember every frown and smile of this esteemed person.

　　But Xiao Fan was currently worried. Where did this group of little people come from?

　　Since Baidu couldn't find it, no problem, Xiao Fan had another way!!

　　Xiao Fan: (￣︶￣)↗