Several days later, several helicopters arrived on the east coast.
Li Xiaogong stepped out of the cabin at the forefront, his jaw dropping as he looked at the endless forest stretching before him.
"Damn it! There really are such massive trees!"
After he had exiled Yuan Tiangang to this area, the men who returned reported discovering giant trees, so he sent the news back to Chang'an.
However, he never imagined that the discovery of these giant trees, which had allowed him to get Yuan Tiangang away from his side, would necessitate his own hurried return.
This was truly frustrating!
But the moment he saw the trees with his own eyes, his frustration vanished instantly.
The trunks of those trees were so thick that a house could be carved out of them!
"Xiao Mi'er~ What did your Prince say? With trees this big, how do we cut them down?"
He asked Zhang Xiaomi, who had accompanied him.
Zhang Xiaomi scratched his head. He had initially planned to come and take a look himself and leave, but he hadn't expected Li Xiaogong to come to inspect the trees on behalf of the Emperor, which led to their chance encounter and joint journey.
"Your Highness only provided a conceptual idea for a mobile saw. This humble one needs to examine them up close to form a plan."
Seeing these trees, he was also troubled.
Not only had he never seen them, but he had never even heard of trees of this size.
How should they be cut?
As the group walked towards the forest, they realized upon getting closer that the trees were even larger than they had imagined!
With trunks easily eight to nine meters in diameter, it would take over twenty people to embrace one. What size saw would be needed to bring such a behemoth down?
He took out a two-person saw from the cabin, called for a craftsman to assist him, and they sat on one of the trees to begin their attempt.
"Oh, Jiu Ye, coming to see me yourself?"
Just as they were at a loss, Yuan Tiangang strolled over with his hands behind his back, a teasing smirk on his face as he looked at Li Xiaogong.
"You baldy Daoist, stay away from me~"
The moment Li Xiaogong saw him, he felt a shiver of dread.
Chai Shao had almost lost his life twice to this fellow when he went to Shenyang. He had no intention of repeating that experience.
"Hehehehe, the ocean lies behind me. This humble Daoist has nowhere to retreat~" Yuan Tiangang said, stroking his beard as he approached Zhang Xiaomi.
He casually patted the tree a few times, then asked in a feigned manner.
"What, are you planning to fell trees?"
Zhang Xiaomi had only been a manager at the steel plant in Shenyang and had no prior dealings with Yuan Tiangang. However, seeing that he was willing to banter with Li Xiaogong, he respectfully nodded.
"Replying to the immortal, you truly have a keen eye!"
Yuan Tiangang rolled his eyes at him upon hearing this. "This humble Daoist is not blind!"
Zhang Xiaomi: ..........
If you're not blind, why ask the obvious!
Before he could figure out how to respond, Yuan Tiangang began circling the tree.
A moment later, he sidled up to Zhang Xiaomi, a sly grin on his face.
"Little brother, would you like to witness a miracle?"
"This humble Daoist guarantees that even if you two saw for a whole day, you won't bring this tree down!"
"However, if you let me handle it, it will take at most an hour."
"What do you say, want to give it a try?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaogong's face turned ashen. He quickly waved to call Xie Bian.
"Damn it, this baldy Daoist is going mad again!"
"Quick, start the helicopters, let's get away from here~"
The group hurriedly boarded the helicopters and flew to a safer distance.
Zhang Xiaomi was somewhat confused. He was quite eager to see if Yuan Tiangang could indeed fell the tree within an hour.
"Immortal, please, whatever you say, this humble one will obey!"
Yuan Tiangang was delighted, patting Zhang Xiaomi on the shoulder a few times. "Good lad~ This humble Daoist truly didn't misjudge you!"
With that, he took out a compass and began circling the tree again.
After a few circuits, he returned to Zhang Xiaomi's side and said.
"This humble Daoist has calculated, and a west wind is sure to blow today!"
"Therefore, the west is the gate of life. You shall saw from the western side of this tree."
"Saw for half an hour, then use axes to cut notches around the saw marks."
"As long as you do this, the rest will be left to this humble Daoist!"
Zhang Xiaomi nodded repeatedly. It was only an hour, and with over a dozen brothers, they could simply take turns.
"Chii~ chii~ chii~ chii~~"
The sound of sawing echoed through the forest.
"Roar~~"
"Roar~~"
Just as they were enthusiastically sawing, two grizzly bears poked their heads out of the forest, their expressions distinctly hostile.
"Get away, you stinking bears!"
A soldier, sent by Zhuzi to guard the craftsmen, saw the bears and grabbed a Yun Er style rifle, advancing towards them.
Yuan Tiangang paid no mind to such matters and leisurely walked towards the newly built wooden house by the sea.
Back in the house, he pulled out a wooden chest from under the bed, filled with white "dough." He grabbed a large lump from it, wrapped it in a cloth bundle, slung it over his shoulder.
He casually picked up a pencil-like stick from the table, tucked it behind his ear, and walked back into the forest.
An hour later, a notch nearly half a meter deep, about the size of a washbasin, had been carved at the base of the large tree.
"Hmm, time's up. Well done!"
Yuan Tiangang glanced at his watch, nodding in satisfaction at Zhang Xiaomi, and then said with utmost seriousness.
"Next, it's time to witness a miracle!"
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
Zhang Xiaomi didn't dare to delay and quickly led his men back.
Yuan Tiangang still waved them back, unsatisfied.
"Not far enough! Further!"
"Further!"
Only after they had retreated a hundred meters did Yuan Tiangang begin his operation.
He took out the dough, stuffed it into the notch in the tree trunk, and then inserted the stick he had tucked behind his ear into the dough.
After completing these preparations, he stepped back to Zhang Xiaomi and the others and said to a member of the Skyfire Army.
"Come, this humble Daoist will test your marksmanship for your Prince!"
"Look at that spot where you were just sawing. There's a stick inserted into that white mass. Use your rifle to blow it up~"
The soldier did as he was told, raised his rifle, held his breath, and peered through the scope at the tree.
"Hiss~~"
"Whoosh~~"
After adjusting his state, he suddenly pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The bullet was fired, accurately hitting the stick inserted into the "dough."
"Boom!"
Instantly, the base of the tree was enveloped in a ball of flame.
That white dough was, in fact, C4!
Following that, wood chips flew everywhere. The tree, with its eight to nine-meter diameter, began to sway. Countless leaves drifted down from above, as if autumn had arrived.
After a long while, Zhang Xiaomi looked at Yuan Tiangang blankly. "Immortal, is this what you call a miracle?"
Yuan Tiangang: ..........
Damn it, he used too little of the explosive!
Suddenly, a west wind blew, causing the tree to sway more violently. Then, to everyone's astonishment, it began to fall towards the beach.
"Screeeech~~~"
"Crash!"
The giant tree toppled, the impact sinking deep into the ground.
"Hiahiahiahia~~"
Seeing this, Yuan Tiangang put his hands behind his back and laughed triumphantly.
"You know why Li Lao Jiu ran? This is the reason!"
"Remember, don't ever doubt this humble Daoist's miracles again~"