Women Only Slow Down My Blacksmithing

"Please make way."

Chen Xun shouted with a frown as he sped past. Startled cries rose from the passersby. That young man was fast!

In the back courtyard of the smithy, Black Bull tended the fire and brewed medicine. It did not want Elder Sun to die either. Low mooing rumbled from its mouth as it hung its head.

By the bedside, Sun Kaile already bore the signs of the Five Declines of Heaven and Man, lucid at times and forgetful at others. Yet today, his complexion was remarkably rosy.

He called Chen Xun and Black Bull into the room, then slowly sat up and leaned against the wall. A black bovine head poked in, watching him with concern.

"Hehe..."

Sun Kaile patted Black Bull and smiled kindly. "I'm fine. Everyone has their day."

"Elder Sun, it's fine. I asked the city physicians about it. If you keep taking medicine every day, you can live at least another ten years!"

Chen Xun smiled carelessly. "I'm strong, and business is so good every day. We're not short on silver."

"I still remember your first day at the smithy."

With a face full of wrinkles, Sun Kaile smiled as he looked at Chen Xun. "You looked like some country boy, loud and full of fuss."

Chen Xun forced a smile and said nothing.

"I have nothing more to teach you. You've learned it all. From now on, this shop is yours."

Sun Kaile smiled faintly and took Chen Xun's hand. "Save up more silver, find yourself a wife, and stop buying medicine."

"Elder Sun, you underestimate me too much. How much can these herbs possibly cost?"

Chen Xun waved a hand. "Elder Sun, didn't you hear me? I asked the—"

"Don't comfort me. I know my own body."

Sun Kaile coughed and interrupted Chen Xun. "I have something here to give you."

After saying that, he took a secret manual from behind his pillow and smiled weakly. "My son once read this, and that was why he went off in search of immortals."

"Elder Sun, I'm not interested in cultivating immortality."

Chen Xun did not care about the manual. "Living well is what matters most."

"If only my son had possessed a temperament like yours."

Sun Kaile's eyes grew slightly unfocused as he sighed softly. "I have nothing else to leave you. Just take it."

"Alright." Chen Xun nodded.

"Black Bull, hehe, follow Chen Xun well."

Sun Kaile looked at Black Bull, his eyes full of affection. "I've seen so many beasts, but you are the most spiritual. Heaven cherishes life. It will bless you both."

"Moo! Moo!" Black Bull bobbed its head.

"Elder Sun, don't say such disheartening things. The physician said the better your state of mind, the longer you'll live."

Chen Xun clasped Sun Kaile's hand tightly. It was so cold. A bone-piercing chill slowly seeped into Chen Xun's heart.

"Chen Xun."

"I'm here, Elder Sun."

"Thank you both."

Sun Kaile smiled warmly and looked deeply at Chen Xun and Black Bull, as though he wanted to imprint those two faces in the depths of his mind and never forget them for all eternity.

"Go on. I'll rest for a while."

"Alright. Old Bull, let's go brew the medicine."

"Moo!"

Chen Xun and Black Bull hurried out and followed the prescription to brew medicine in the courtyard, fumbling in their haste.

The next day, cold winds drifted through the air. Countless yellow leaves fell from the plum tree outside the courtyard. Sun Kaile passed from the world in his room, peaceful to the end.

On the street, Black Bull pulled a cart bearing a coffin, while Chen Xun walked behind it and pushed, his face expressionless.

The pedestrians along the way all frowned, feeling greatly unlucky, and kept far away.

The man and the ox paid no heed to the looks of others as they slowly pulled the cart toward the outskirts. They moved with great care, afraid of even the slightest jolt.

Chen Xun found a place blessed with good feng shui and buried Elder Sun there. The tombstone was carved with the words: Tomb of Beloved Mentor—Sun Kaile.

The cold wind swept by, scattering yellow funeral paper across the sky. A desolate air lingered between heaven and earth. Chen Xun offered incense and bowed. Then the man and ox slowly walked back toward the city, their figures gradually vanishing.

They returned to the smithy and sat in a daze for a long while. That chair stood empty now, as if there would never again be a little old man napping there.

"It's fine, Old Bull. We should be happy."

"Moo?"

"If we hadn't been there, what would Elder Sun have done? There wouldn't even have been anyone to handle his funeral."

"Moo?"

"At least over these past few years, we ran the smithy well. Elder Sun lived happily too, didn't he?"

"Moo!"

"Exactly. We did a great deed. Come on, cheer up. Ha, ha, ha."

"Moo! Moo! Moo~~"

The man and ox laughed more hideously than they cried. The shop slowly fell quiet again. Chen Xun did not know whether those words had been meant to comfort Black Bull or himself.

"Ah!"

Chen Xun suddenly slapped his forehead. The more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

"Moo?" Confusion filled Black Bull's eyes. What was wrong?

"Old Bull, we got cheated."

Chen Xun spoke heavily, certainty blazing in his eyes. "That physician must have seen how anxious we were and lied to us about the prices of the medicinal herbs."

His heart ached with regret. Why had he not properly learned medicine among the eighteen martial arts? Little Mountain Village had no physician, only folk remedies. He had learned to treat external injuries, but he had never expected this day to come.

A miscalculation.

Black Bull was startled and nudged Chen Xun. Why hadn't you learned medicine?

"Let's forge well and earn money first. This past year, we've borrowed quite a bit from the neighbors."

A raging fire ignited in Chen Xun's eyes. Medicine was an industry of enormous profits. Besides, when traveling the world, bumps and bruises were unavoidable; learning some medical skill was indispensable. A new goal formed in his heart.

"Moo!"

A sharp gleam appeared in Black Bull's eyes. It thought, If Chen Xun learns medicine in the future, can he treat illnesses himself? Then those people won't have to die from sickness anymore.

Seeing the approving look in Black Bull's eyes, Chen Xun smiled faintly as well. The gloom from before was swept away. Life was always full of the unknown and challenges. That was what made it wonderful.

"Old Bull, get to work!"

"Moo!"

The clanging of hammering began to ring from the smithy once more. Chen Xun's control over his strength had now reached such a level that with a single finger, he could leave an ant's body utterly unharmed while taking only the head from its neck.

Because of this, the anthill in the smithy suffered a great calamity and had begun migrating en masse, leaving behind many headless corpses.

By now, Chen Xun's smithy had earned a great reputation throughout several nearby streets. Its prices were fair, its quality excellent, and its relations with people good.

Quite a few matchmakers also came to propose marriages. Those sixteen-pack abs nearly made even them unable to endure, autumn waves rippling in their eyes.

Chen Xun merely gave a cold smile upon hearing this and said to the matchmakers, "After forging iron here for years, my heart has become as cold as the hammer in my hand. Women only slow down my blacksmithing."

The moment those words were spoken, countless sheltered young women were left sorrowful. They secretly thought, As expected of the man I admire. Even the way he speaks is so heroic and extraordinary.

One year later, Chen Xun finally paid off all his debts and even had some savings. He also continued adding Longevity Points to speed.

Dawn had only just broken, and the streets were sparsely populated, with only a few people passing through.

They cleaned the smithy, packed all sorts of things, and hung pots, bowls, ladles, and every other necessity from both sides of Black Bull.

"Old Bull, get ready to go."

"Moo!"

They carefully sealed up the shop. The deed, however, still belonged to them. As long as they did not sell it, they could come back to visit in the future.

"Let's go." Chen Xun gave the surrounding streets one last look and smiled freely.

"Moo! Moo!"

Black Bull called out happily. Chen Xun had said he would take it to buy wooden carvings today, and they would also set off Wish Lanterns. A sense of ritual in life was indispensable, or else it would be far too dull.

Jingle, jingle. Crisp clinking sounds came from Black Bull's body as the two figures gradually traveled farther away.

The sun rose. Someone passing Chen Xun's smithy discovered that it had closed, and its owner had vanished without a trace. They all sighed inwardly. If they had known, they would have had more iron tools forged here to keep at home.

The closing of Chen Xun's smithy delighted the smithies on several nearby streets beyond measure. It was a celebration across the land. Raise prices—they had to raise prices! Let's see who dares not to!