Longevity: Start by practicing the ruthless way

When night fell, the man and the dog arrived at the center of Suiye City. This was the most prosperous and lively area in the entire ancient city, with bright lights, just like daytime!

"The east wind blows thousands of flowers into bloom at night, and blows them down like rain of stars. The road is filled with the fragrance of BMW and carved carriages..."

"Today is not only the annual Zhongyuan ancestral worship ceremony, but also the birthday of our Suiye City's patron saint—the Saint King of Loyalty!"

At the central intersection of several main roads, there is a high platform. An old man with white hair and beard stands on it, introducing the folk activities they are carrying out today to outsiders in a sonorous and powerful voice.

"Zhongyuan Festival..." Gu Chi murmured. He didn't expect that time passed so quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was already July, and another year was about to pass.

The Ghost Festival is a day when the gates of the underworld will be opened to allow the souls who have not yet been reincarnated to return to their homeland and visit their living relatives. Therefore, it is also called the Ghost Festival.

On this day, people will hold grand ancestor worship ceremonies, burn paper ingots, and release river lanterns to pay tribute to the dead and pray for the living.

"The iron flower show is about to begin. Let's count down together! Five! Four! Three! Two... One!!"

There were huge crowds of people, all counting down in unison.

When the countdown reaches "one", iron flowers bloom and fall on the earth like star rain!

"One fight, and the government will be in order! Iron flowers bring good luck!"

"Two hits, blessings from heaven! Joy for all the nine states!"

"Three strikes, good weather, peace and prosperity for the country and the people!"

"Humans and gods—! Have fun together!"

Iron trees and silver flowers fall, and thousands of stars bloom!

This is Gu Chi’s best interpretation of what he sees.

Several dragon dance teams danced their long dragons and passed through the brilliant rain of sparks. Immediately afterwards, the indigenous people of Suiye City carried the statues of their gods and paraded past. All the people cheered in unison, and both humans and gods rejoiced together!

After watching the iron flower performance, the man and the dog came to a small river and saw lotus lanterns floating down with the waves, forming a spectacular and beautiful dragon of lights.

"People believe that when they release river lanterns, they will flow into the Forgetful River, carrying their thoughts and wishes into the underworld to be passed on to their ancestors. This way, they pay tribute to the dead and pray for the living." Gu Chi turned his head to look at the big black dog beside him and said, "Old Black, should we buy two lotus lanterns as well?"

"Okay!" The big black dog nodded vigorously, his eyes full of hope.

They bought two lotus lanterns from a peddler and went to a place where there were fewer people.

"Lao Hei, write down whatever wishes you have in your heart so that God will know what you want." Gu Chi took the brush in his hand, dipped it in ink and began to write his wishes.

The big black dog also had a brush in its mouth. Gu Chi had been teaching it to recognize and write words, so it could write most of the words, but their writing was not very beautiful.

It tilted its head and thought for a moment, then began to write on a piece of paper.

"Hehe, you didn't make a wish to God that you wanted a lot of female dogs to serve you, did you?" Gu Chi laughed and stretched his neck to see what wish the big black dog made.

"Always...stay with Gu..."

The words written by the big black dog were crooked, but Gu Chi could still barely recognize some of them.

When she saw the wish made by the big black dog, she was stunned and looked at it deeply.

So this is what it feels like to be cherished and relied upon...

Two lotus blessing lanterns were placed in the water and floated away with the beautiful wishes of a man and a dog.

"Ao~" The big black dog rubbed against Gu Chi.

"Shh, your wish won't come true if you say it out loud." Gu Chi put his finger to his mouth and said mysteriously.

The big black dog was suddenly startled and swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

The next day, they came to a blacksmith shop in the city, intending to work there to earn a living.

This blacksmith shop is not big, and there is a thick layer of dust on all the facilities. It is obvious that it has not been used for a long time.

An old man about seventy years old was lying in a rocking chair under the banyan tree at the door, basking in the sun.

"Old man." Gu Chi called softly.

"Hey!"

Hearing the voice, the old man jumped up, a smile plastered on his weathered face. He rubbed his hands together and said, "What do you want, lady? Even though I'm old and gray, I still have all the strength I need! I can fight with any weapon!"

Gu Chi scratched his head and said, "Old man, it's like this. My big black dog and I have been born with supernatural powers since we were young. I wonder... are you still hiring here?"

Hearing what Gu Chi said, the smile on the old man's face disappeared in an instant. He lay back in his chair and said lazily, "You can see that my blacksmith shop has no business at all. It's not far from closing down. I can't afford to pay you for working here."

Gu Chi said quickly: "The wages don't really matter. As long as we have a place to live and food to eat every day, that's enough."

"Oh? No wages?"

The old man looked at Gu Chi twice with some surprise.

"As long as food and accommodation are provided, that's fine." Gu Chi nodded with a smile.

Hearing her say this, the old man thought for a moment and said, "Okay, you can live freely in the backyard of this blacksmith shop. As for the three meals a day, if you don't mind, you can eat whatever I eat, okay?"

"no problem."

After the conditions were agreed upon, Gu Chi took the big black dog and cleaned out a room in the backyard for sleeping.

Half an hour later, the sound of clanging iron could be heard in the blacksmith shop. A man and a dog were practicing their blacksmithing skills in front of the furnace under the high temperature.

Seeing the hammer, weighing over eighty kilograms, being easily swung into the mouths and hands of the man and the dog, the old man in the blacksmith shop couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "I didn't expect you two to be so strong."

After thinking for a moment, he walked over and took the hammer from Gu Chi, saying, "Although blacksmithing looks simple, it's not enough to rely on brute force alone. I see that you are also promising talents. Today, I, an old man, will show you my skills. Open your eyes and watch carefully, and learn well!"

Gu Chi and Big Black Dog stood aside and learned carefully, and then began to practice by swinging the hammer themselves. They found that it was indeed easier to forge iron according to what the old man said.

In the days that followed, Gu Chi brought the big black dog to forge iron in front of the furnace every day, and the old man in the blacksmith shop would occasionally give him some advice.

Whether they are immortal cultivators or mortals, they all have their own wisdom and experience in their respective fields, and Gu Chi benefits greatly every time he receives guidance.

After that, the blacksmith shop started to make money, and Gu Chi and his colleagues finally received their first salary, and they worked even harder.

The old man in the blacksmith shop is named Wu Moshan. He originally had a son, but the son ran away from home ten years ago after being beaten and scolded by the old man. There has been no news of him since then, and he has no intention of coming back.

"This bastard is so young and so naughty. Not only did he peek at Widow Wang bathing, but he also slaughtered the ox next door from Old Man Li's farm for his friends! He was so angry that he had a heart attack and died on the spot. I'm lucky I didn't kill this bastard!"

Although ten years have passed, Old Man Wu still gets furious every time he mentions his good-for-nothing son.

In the following year, Gu Chi and Big Black Dog improved their speed and quality in blacksmithing, and received more and more orders.

"Gu Xiaomei!"

On this day, a burly, dark-skinned middle-aged man came to the blacksmith shop.

"Oh! It's Brother Zhang. What kind of weapons do you want to order this time?" Gu Chi greeted him with a familiar look on his face.

This man's name is Zhang Yuan. He is a martial artist from a nearby martial arts sect. Every time he comes to the blacksmith shop, it is a big order. In Gu Chi's eyes, he is a big customer.

Zhang Yuan walked in and said, "One hundred long-handled swords, can you do that?"

"One hundred is a big deal. When do you plan to get them, Brother Zhang?"

"Within two months. If you can finish it within one month, you will definitely get the money."

"Okay, okay. I promise to make everything clear for you, brother. Just come and pick it up at this time next month."

"Hahaha, little sister Gu is really straightforward! I'll go back now."

Watching Zhang Yuan disappear at the end of the street, Old Man Wu frowned and said, "Gu girl, you shouldn't work on ironwork for too long. Although both of you have strength and endurance far exceeding that of ordinary people, if you work on it for too long, it will inevitably cause irreversible damage to your bodies. It's not worth it."

Gu Chi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Wu. I was born with supernatural strength. Although this work is rough, it is just physical training for me. It won't cause any harm."

This is a fact. She now regards blacksmithing as a means of training to master her own strength. She enjoys it and does not feel tired at all.

That night, Gu Chi and the big black dog returned to the yard, added the longevity points they had earned that year to the [Strength] attribute, and then dug out the savings of the entire year from the ground and counted them carefully.

"Lao Hei, after we finish this order from Brother Zhang, we'll choose a place in this city and spread out the coffins again. What do you think?"

"Ao~" The big black dog rubbed against Gu Chi's feet and had no objection.

It doesn't have too many demands on life. As long as it can be with Gu Chi, it feels very happy no matter what it does.

Gu Chi moved the place and buried the pottery jar containing his saved money in the ground. This was the start-up capital for their future life and it must not be lost.

The next month, Zhang Yuan did not come to the blacksmith shop as promised. Gu Chi was a little puzzled. After all, the other party had never broken an appointment before, so why did he break it this time?

"Maybe it was delayed by other things."

Gu Chi didn't think much about it and continued to forge iron.

The next month, someone finally came to get the knife, but it was not Zhang Yuan himself.

"Hey young man, where is Brother Zhang? Why doesn't he come and get it himself?" Gu Chi asked casually, and he and Big Black Dog brought out a hundred long-handled swords that had been made long ago.

"Senior Brother Zhang Yuan...died in a fight with the bandits." The man said in a low voice, feeling depressed.

"what?"

Gu Chi was startled, but soon realized that he had spoken too much and stopped asking questions.

Soon, the young man paid the money and took the hundred long-handled swords away with his followers. Gu Chi sat down on the steps in front of the blacksmith shop, supporting his cheek with one hand, and said to the big black dog: "Old Black, Brother Zhang is dead. He died in the battle to suppress bandits."

"How could this happen?" The big black dog hung his head, feeling depressed.

"In the martial arts world, fighting and killing are common, and deaths are even more common than in the world of immortal cultivators." Gu Chi sighed.

The big black dog nodded heavily, feeling that their current life was safer.

"Longevity is our greatest reliance. We won't take the initiative to offend others or get involved in disputes. However, if someone wants to harm us, we must take up our weapons and do everything possible to kill them, just like we did with the immortal cultivator from the Lin family last time!"

After a series of passionate speeches, Gu Chi regained his composure, looked into the distance, and said, "Changsheng, we will inevitably have to watch the old friends around us fade away one by one. We cannot have too many emotions for the people around us, otherwise it will only increase sadness."

"Heaven and earth are unkind and treat all things as straw dogs. As immortals, we should cultivate the way of ruthlessness and look at everything in this world as a bystander. Otherwise, it is very likely that our future path will be affected by many emotions." Gu Chi sighed.

The big black dog's eyes were full of admiration. Only Sister Gu Chi could say such profound and philosophical words, right?

Just then, Old Man Wu came back driving his donkey cart with an angry look on his face, cursing.

"Mr. Wu, what's going on?" Gu Chi asked.

"Oh! Don't mention it. We're not going to open this blacksmith shop anymore. We won't tolerate the bullying of those bastards!" Old man Wu threw his straw hat onto the donkey cart and walked into the blacksmith shop cursing.

"This..." Gu Chi and the big black dog looked at each other, wondering what Mr. Wu was angry about. Why was he going to close the blacksmith shop for no reason?

A man and a dog walked in cautiously. Gu Chi asked in a low voice, "Mr. Wu, did Lao Hei and I do something wrong and make you angry?"

Old Man Wu calmed down and said, "It has nothing to do with you. It's the One-Ear who sells the iron ore. He knows our blacksmith shop is doing good business, so he wants to increase the price of the iron ore he sells to us by 20%!"

"What? You want to increase the price by another 20%? Isn't this bullying honest people?!" Gu Chi screamed.

The price of iron ore was already high, and after deducting costs, they barely made any profit. Now the seller is raising the price even higher. Do they really want to survive?!

"This is outrageous, Lao Hei! Grab your weapons and go argue with them!" Gu Chi picked up a nine-ring broadsword and went out.

"Ouch——"

The big black dog howled loudly and crashed into the weapons rack. All kinds of swords, spears, swords and halberds instantly hung all over its body, fully arming it.

The place where the iron ore was sold was on Tiekui Mountain, fifty miles outside the city. Gu Chi came over with a big black dog, ruthlessly killing them.

"One Ear! Get out here!"

Gu Chi chopped the nine-ring broadsword on the sign outside the village gate, put his hands on his hips and shouted.

The big black dog also barked a few times. Its sturdy body, more than half a person's height, and the shiny knives and swords on its body, were really scary.