Becoming an immortal against the will of heaven

After looking around again, the man noticed the few people at the table. He walked over with an air of arrogance and said to Erwa's father, "Dali, you know I have over a dozen shops in town waiting for me to manage. I don't have time to waste here. Where is that Chen blacksmith? If he's not here, I'm leaving."

Hearing this, Erwa's father's face darkened. He quickly stood up, forcing a smile, and said, "Shopkeeper Zhou, don't be in such a hurry. Isn't my brother right here?"

As he spoke, Erwa's father pointed to Chen Tian and introduced him to the Zhou shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper Zhou, my brother's blacksmithing skills are famous far and wide. You've seen how popular his tools are in town, so you definitely can't go wrong with him."

"What? Is this guy the renowned Chen blacksmith? Dali, you're not lying to me, are you?"

Shopkeeper Zhou was stunned by Erwa's father's words. Because Chen Tian hadn't had time to change, he was still shirtless, covered in sweat and furnace ash, making him look filthy.

"Hey, Shopkeeper Zhou, he's my brother. How could I mistake him? Look, all those popular iron tools in town are made by my brother. He's the Chen blacksmith you're looking for."

Mentioning Chen Tian, Erwa's father's face filled with endless pride, and his voice grew louder.

Although still doubtful of the unimpressive-looking Chen Tian, Shopkeeper Zhou frowned, since Erwa's father had said so much. "Forget it, I don't care if this guy is the legendary Chen blacksmith. As long as he can satisfy me, I'll reward him handsomely!"

"Hehe, Shopkeeper Zhou, rest assured. My brother Chen's craftsmanship will definitely satisfy you," Erwa's father continued, forcing a smile.

However, Chen Tian seemed confused by their conversation. He looked at Erwa's father and asked, "Brother Zhang, what's going on?"

"Hey, Brother Chen, look at me. I was so busy chatting that I forgot the real business," Erwa's father said with an embarrassed laugh. "It's like this: this Shopkeeper Zhou is the richest man in town. I met him by chance when I took my wife to the clinic for treatment. When he heard I was from Vegetable Basket Village, he immediately asked if I knew Chen the blacksmith, saying he wanted you to make something. When I heard there was business, of course, I had to help you get it, so I brought Shopkeeper Zhou back with me."

As he spoke, Erwa's father seemed extremely pleased, as if he had done Chen Tian a great favor.

Shopkeeper Zhou was somewhat surprised to see Chen Tian like this.

He had originally thought Chen Tian was a reckless brute, but now seeing Chen Tian's refined and polite demeanor, he must be a scholar.

Although he couldn't understand why a scholar would end up as a blacksmith, out of respect for scholars, Shopkeeper Zhou temporarily restrained his arrogance and returned the greeting, saying, "It's like this: I belong to a large sect, and above me, there is a hall master. In a few days, the hall master's mother will be celebrating her eightieth birthday, and I'm worried about what gift to choose for her. Just then, I heard this Brother Dali say he knew you, Chen the blacksmith, so I came here with him, hoping you could make something as a birthday gift for the old woman. I wonder if you can help me with this?"

"Make a birthday gift?"

After hearing Shopkeeper Zhou's purpose, Chen Tian couldn't help but be stunned. Then he asked, "What do you want me to make?"

"Hehe, Chen the blacksmith, you don't have to worry. I've already had the best painter in town depict the perfect birthday gift in my mind. You just need to make something according to the picture."

Shopkeeper Zhou chuckled, then took out a scroll from his sleeve, stepped forward, and handed it to Chen Tian.

Chen Tian remained seated, casually taking the scroll and unrolling it on the dirty table.

Seeing Chen Tian's perfunctory manner, Shopkeeper Zhou frowned slightly, seemingly displeased. But thinking that he still needed Chen Tian's skills, he suppressed his dissatisfaction and stared intently at Chen Tian, waiting for his reply.

After Chen Tian opened the scroll, it depicted an exquisitely crafted longsword.

The sword was about six feet long, and the hilt was adorned with extremely intricate and gorgeous patterns. Even in the painting, its uniqueness was evident.

"Wow, Uncle Chen, that sword is so beautiful!" Just as Chen Tian was looking at the scroll, Erwa also came over to join in the fun and was stunned by the beautifully decorated sword.

Shopkeeper Zhou was even more pleased to hear this and smiled. "The hall master's mother is almost eighty years old, but she is still very healthy and practices swordsmanship and boxing in her garden every morning. So I thought if I sent this sword, it would definitely make her happy. Once she's happy, the hall master will be happy, and if the hall master is happy, then I can naturally get a lot of benefits and be promoted to become a branch leader, which shouldn't be too difficult. So Chen the blacksmith, you must not mess up this job for me."

Shopkeeper Zhou was extremely pleased. Just last month, the branch leader in a nearby large city was dismissed for poor performance, leaving a vacancy.

This was a lucrative position, and not only him, but also the other people in charge of the branch towns were eyeing it, planning to compete for the position.

Therefore, this time, the hall master's mother's birthday was a great opportunity. Whoever could win the hall master's favor would be most likely to take over that city and become the branch leader.

Shopkeeper Zhou had been in this remote place for almost ten years, and this was a rare opportunity, so he naturally had to give it his all.

Finding Chen Tian was to have Chen Tian make a birthday gift to win the hall master's favor.

But at this moment, Chen Tian suddenly closed the scroll and shook his head expressionlessly. "I'm sorry, Shopkeeper Zhou, I won't take this job!"