Journey to the West: Man in heaven, working nine to five

#2103 - Build the Tower of Light

According to Guanyin's design for the Sky Pillar Lantern Tower, the tower was shaped like a pyramid, with a base of three hundred zhang on each side and a height of one hundred zhang, resembling a small mountain on flat ground.

At the top of the tower, there was a huge lamp oil pool, and the wick was as thick as a washbasin, with the burning light capable of illuminating thousands of meters around.

A total of four Sky Pillar Lantern Towers were built, distributed in the east, west, south, and north of Jinping Prefecture City. Once the four towers were lit, the entire Jinping Prefecture would be as bright as day.

Wang Erzhu was a carpenter within Jinping Prefecture City who had previously enjoyed a stable and luxurious life in Jinping Prefecture.

When the construction of the Sky Pillar Lantern Tower began, due to his profession and his donation of a large amount of wood, he was appointed by the governor as a captain in charge of building the eastern tower, managing hundreds of people.

Wang Erzhu was also one of those who had been mentally stimulated by Guanyin's pie in the sky and fully supported the construction of the lantern tower.

However, after two days of construction, Wang Erzhu realized, based on his professional ability, that the amount of manpower and resources required for this huge Sky Pillar Lantern Tower far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Although tens of thousands of people had been building for two days, they had only completed less than twenty zhang. If construction continued like this, even if the lantern tower could be completed, the cost of materials would force the people to start dismantling their houses.

Moreover, not everyone understood construction techniques. In just two days, more than a hundred people in the construction team were injured, and more than a dozen died.

Wang Erzhu knew that if the Sky Pillar Lantern Tower continued to be built, even if it was completed, the financial resources of Jinping Prefecture would be almost exhausted.

How would these hundreds of thousands of people live then?

After realizing all of this, Wang Erzhu found the governor and offered his opinion.

"This Sky Pillar Lantern Tower is a project that drains the people and wastes money. It must not continue to be built."

"Outrageous!"

Wang Erzhu's suggestion was immediately met with strong rebuke from the governor.

"This is the arrangement of the Western Paradise. How dare you doubt the decision of the Western Paradise? This is a lack of piety towards the Buddha and is truly a disgrace and destabilizing element in my Jinping Prefecture."

The governor, without explanation, directly had Wang Erzhu arrested.

"I'm just telling the truth. I'm not a disgrace. Why are you arresting me!"

Wang Erzhu naturally knew what the consequences would be if he was arrested by the governor like this.

He would be secretly executed by the governor on charges of theft or rebellion, and even his body would be refined into lamp oil.

"Hmph, it seems you still don't understand. I'm the one who decides here. If I say you're guilty, then you're guilty!"

The governor, without explanation, had Wang Erzhu imprisoned in the secret prison of Jinping Prefecture.

Although Wang Erzhu was imprisoned, this was just the beginning.

As the Sky Pillar Lantern Tower was built, more and more people realized the enormity of the project.

More and more people questioned the construction of the Sky Pillar Lantern Tower.

And for these questioners, the governor ordered the supervising soldiers and monks to arrest them directly.

The secret prison of Jinping Prefecture was located underground in the governor's mansion. Although the demons had burned the governor's mansion, they had not discovered the underground prison.