The Tang Dynasty in the Sand Table: Starting by Feeding a Small Rhinoceros

The next day, after getting off work in the evening, Li Mo did not go straight back to his rented room as usual.

He deliberately went into a stationery store outside the residential area—the stack of paper he had taken out of the drawer last night was too thin and too translucent; if he put it down to the scale of the sand table, the words would probably be a blurry mess.

He went straight to the back shelf, grabbed a pack of the thickest, whitest A4 printing paper, and three thick black markers with the richest ink.

When it was time to pay the bill, the owner didn't even look up.

It cost less than twenty yuan.

But Li Mo knew very well that once this light package of paper passed through the barrier of that corrugated cardboard box and landed in the Tang Dynasty, its weight would be thousands of times heavier than a box of Want Want milk.

Back in his rented apartment, Li Mo didn't even order takeout. He simply washed his hands and sat down at the table.

He pulled out an A4 sheet of paper and removed the marker.

What should I write?

Lengthy discourses? No, it would be too difficult for the ancients to read modern vernacular Chinese, and it would also seem beneath them.

Paying too much attention to the wording? That won't work either. If those civil officials on the other side start showing off their literary skills, I, a modern person, will be exposed sooner or later.

What he needs is a sweeping, core declaration.

Li Mo took a deep breath and pressed the pen tip heavily onto the paper.

He practiced repeatedly seven or eight times, wasting five or six sheets of paper, constantly adjusting the size and thickness of the font.

The sand table is a miniature scale. If the characters are written too small, they will appear as a bunch of illegible black patterns to the ancients after being thrown in.

It must be extremely large! Extremely black!

Finally, he wrote eight large characters in the center of a brand new A4 sheet of paper:

I am the Supreme One, protecting the Rhinoceros Child.

There was no signature, no explanation, and no unnecessary words.

These eight words were enough for Empress Zhangsun to understand two things: First, the spirit that descended was not some wandering ghost, but a god from beyond the heavens; second, this god was there specifically to support Princess Jinyang.

The next morning.

The first rays of sunlight had just shone into the sand table.

Li Mo stood at the edge of the corrugated cardboard box right on time.

In the sand table, the windows of the Rijō-den (Hall of State Affairs) have already been opened.

Little Sizi woke up exceptionally early today. Before she could even comb her hair, she stood barefoot on the soft couch, her little hands gripping the windowsill, gazing longingly at the sky.

"Fairy brother, what are we eating today...?"

The little one's sweet, childlike voice came through the barrier right on time.

"The word 'eat'."

Li Mo chuckled softly from outside the cardboard box.

He gripped the edge of the A4 paper with eight large characters written on it with both hands, as if he were holding a top-secret intelligence document. He held his breath and found an open space directly in front of Sizi.

Just as Sizi raised her head, her little face was illuminated by the sunlight.

Li Mo released his grip.

……

The Great Tang Dynasty established the Lizheng Hall.

The morning breeze still carried a hint of coolness.

Empress Zhangsun was sitting behind a table not far away, watching Qinglan organize yesterday's records.

Suddenly, the sky outside the window darkened.

There were no howling winds, nor any earth-shaking noises.

Only a suffocating shadow silently pressed down from the heavens.

It was an enormous, unparalleled "white curtain"!

It was dazzlingly white, so smooth without a single wrinkle, and it floated down slowly from the clouds, defying all the laws of gravity.

All the palace staff in the main hall froze in place, their breaths stopped.

"Clatter."

The enormous white curtain landed precisely in front of Xiao Sizi's knees, spread out on the brocade cushions of the soft couch.

There were no folds or curls; it was so perfect it was like an illusion.

Wow—

Little Sizi had no idea what fear was.

Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed the "white curtain" that was bigger than herself.

This thing feels smooth to the touch, and it's light and thin.

The little guy held it up with both hands, waved it vigorously at the sky, and then happily turned his head: "Mommy! The fairy brother sent me a blanket! I can use it to put my candy on top!"

As she spoke, she reached for the lollipop in the sandalwood box, intending to put it on the white paper.

"Your Highness, you mustn't!"

Qinglan was terrified and rushed forward to stop it, but dared not touch the magical object. She jumped up and down in a panic.

Just then.

"All of you, stand back!"

A short, sharp shout, filled with extreme shock, resounded throughout the hall.

Empress Zhangsun had suddenly risen from behind the desk without anyone noticing.

The moment she saw the surface of the "white curtain," her expression completely changed. Her previous composure vanished, replaced by undisguised horror!

Her movements were so fast that even Qinglan didn't have time to react before the Empress had already strode to the bedside.

Empress Zhangsun's hands trembled as she carefully took the paper from her daughter's hand.

I only glanced at it.

Empress Zhangsun confirmed it.

This is not a painting, not a talisman, and certainly not a blanket.

Those are words.

But... what exactly is this character?!

The paper was too white and too smooth. The eight black ink marks on it had neat and sharp edges, as if they had been carved into jade with a sharp knife, exuding a coldness and majesty that did not belong to the human world.

The more it resembles characters, the more astonishing it becomes!

"thump!"

The two closest attendants, upon seeing the eerie black light emanating from the paper, were so frightened that their legs went weak, and they immediately knelt on the ground, trembling like leaves.

Empress Zhangsun felt a surge of blood rushing to her chest, a tremor of extreme awe.

She folded the paper abruptly and tucked it into her wide sleeve.

"Issue my imperial decree!"

Empress Zhangsun's voice trembled slightly with excitement, but her eyes were sharp as a drawn sword.

"From this moment forward, seal the gates and bolt the doors of the Imperial Palace!"

"Today, only those who are permitted to enter this side hall are allowed; not even a single flying insect is permitted to escape!"

"Anyone who dares to leak even the slightest word will have their entire family, including nine generations of their relatives, executed!"

She clutched her sleeve tightly, her heart pounding.

Text.

The gods actually issued a divine decree to the Tang Dynasty directly through written words!

She had to immediately decipher every single word of this "heavenly book"!