Four weeks later, on the streets of Jianshang, Long Ming walked alongside Gao Ting towards Gao Ting's friend's residence. Upon arriving in the city, they had to leave their horses in a stable, as riding horses through the city streets was prohibited. But after that, they went straight to the Wu family residence, the family of Gao Ting's friend. In that city, the families of cultivators usually had their residences in the center, around the residence of the chief family, the Lin family.
Along the way, Long Ming couldn't help but be impressed by the presence of several people who, given their posture and behavior, were also likely cultivators. They possibly had a cultivation level similar to his own, if not lower (in most cases) or higher on occasion. Although the presence of cultivators in streets governed by cultivators was not uncommon, there was still an exceptional density in those streets.
"Hey, my friend. Could you tell me why there are so many cultivators roaming these streets?" Curious, Long Ming approached a vendor and questioned him.
"It must be because of the event that's going to happen in the city in a few days, sir. Every year, Mr. Lin, along with other families of cultivators, holds a competition. Anyone can participate, so there are always many people trying their luck," the vendor replied casually.
"Is that so? So, it's that time of year already..." Long Ming murmured upon hearing the explanation. Such competitions were not unfamiliar to him; in fact, he had participated in some of them before.
For a variety of reasons, all city rulers with families or clans of cultivators usually held a series of competitions; whether to recruit new talents or simply to attract new tourists. In Cui Shi, for example, the Li clan held an annual examination to recruit talented youths aged 15 to 20. Similar events occurred in other cities as well.
As there was a substantial distance between cities, especially those governed by cultivators, cultivators often operated in just one region, occasionally traveling to other cities but always in close proximity to these cities led by families or clans of cultivators. Therefore, these competitions usually served to acquaint oneself with, and discover the strength of, the cultivators in that region. This made it an important event for all residents of that place, for various reasons, of course.
Long Ming silently stared at Gao Ting as he pondered these things. Gao Ting, noticing Long Ming's gaze, said, "What's up, kid? If you want to participate in these competitions, just sign up. It's not like I'm your father or something, needing my permission. But before that, let's talk to this friend of mine." With these words, they bid farewell to the vendor and continued walking.
After a few minutes of leisurely walking, occasionally stopping at some shops that caught Long Ming's interest, they reached the front of a beautiful residence, with two guards guarding the gate, holding iron spears. Above the gate, Long Ming could see a modest but elegant facade containing the characters "Wu."
"Halt, state your purpose!" the left gatekeeper shouted upon noticing the approach of the two.
"I've come to talk to an old friend, Wu Qinlao," replied Gao Ting, as he took out from his robes a wooden plaque containing the character "Wu." The gatekeeper took the plaque and examined it out of curiosity, but seconds later, he decided to call their superiors, as verifying the authenticity of a family token was beyond his capabilities.
Soon, the superior of those gatekeepers appeared and greeted them before also taking the token and examining it. Not noticing any irregularities, he allowed the two to follow him into the residence. Following him, Long Ming looked with interest at the interior of the place, quite intrigued by the buildings he could see in the distance, as well as the paved roads leading to each of these buildings, and the neatly trimmed grass of the courtyard. It was a very beautiful and well-maintained place, clearly showing the dedication of the workers in keeping the place clean and organized.
"So you're the famous senior blacksmith Gao! First Uncle Wu has told us many things about you. It's impressive that your technique allows a sword to cut through another sword of the same material, thanks to its superior craftsmanship!" At this moment, Long Ming also began to pay attention to Gao Ting's conversation with their guide.
Along the way, Long Ming naturally inquired about Gao Ting's relationship with this family. According to him, many years ago, when Gao Ting was still a young adventurer traveling all over the kingdom in search of improving his techniques and creating powerful weapons, he ended up creating a sword for Wu Qinlao to use in a duel.
In summary, during the duel, Wu Qinlao split his opponent's sword in half thanks to the superiority of the sword made by Gao Ting. As gratitude, he promised to fulfill any request from Gao Ting. Throughout all these years, Gao Ting had never used this request, so he believed he could ask for help from the Wu family to start a new life in that city.
"By the way, who are you, kid? Are you perhaps the grandson of senior blacksmith Gao?" At some point, their guide looked at Long Ming and began to converse with him. Up until this moment, Long Ming had remained quiet while observing the place, fearing to say something he shouldn't.
"Grandson? No. You could say I would be a friend of his, but currently, I am only his bodyguard. He's getting old, you see, so I decided to accompany him here to ensure nothing bad happened," explained Long Ming, subtly emphasizing the fact that Gao Ting was old. Gao Ting, who already knew Long Ming's personality, glanced at him because of this subtle provocation, but their guide didn't seem to have noticed.
"Is that so? Well, if you're a friend of senior blacksmith Gao, then you're our friend too!" With these words, they soon arrived in front of a two-story building with considerable space. Its facade was beautiful, with traditional and elegant architecture.
"Please wait here while I fetch First Uncle Wu," their guide replied before entering the building.
"If you want, you can go on your way now, kid," Gao Ting said to Long Ming, while patiently waiting for the return of their guide.
"Nah, I'm curious to meet this Wu Qinlao, old man. After all, as a bodyguard like me, how can I just leave him at a stranger's house without meeting him first? That would go against all the principles of bodyguards!" Long Ming said playfully, though there was a clear seriousness in his gaze. Obviously, he would only bid farewell to Gao Ting when there was no potential risk to his life. Besides, he also wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, since upon leaving on his journey, it would take at least a few years for them to reunite.
"...whatever, just don't cause any trouble with the Wus. Especially with the young ones of the third generation," replied Gao Ting.
By young ones of the third generation, he referred to the new generation of the family, the children of the current 'leaders' of the Wu family. Moreover, they should also be roughly the same age as Long Ming, but given their living conditions, they would possess a cultivation level superior to his own.
"Don't worry about that, old man. You know I'm not a troublemaker; you could count on one hand the times I've clashed with any young master," replied Long Ming, confident in his ability to avoid trouble. As a hermit who had walked alone through many places, he had attracted the attention of some unpleasant young masters wanting to humiliate him or even assault him, and Long Ming had always managed to escape these situations without being marked for death.
A few seconds later, a man emerged from the building and, upon seeing Gao Ting, broke into a huge smile as he spoke, "Old Gao! You've finally decided to pay us a visit?"
"Tsk, so many years have passed, and you're still the same, kid," Gao Ting replied somewhat displeased, noticing that Wu Qinlao's appearance hadn't changed much despite all this time. It was one of the privileges of being a cultivator.
The two approached and greeted each other, both smiling and happy with the reunion. After chatting briefly, Gao Ting looked at Long Ming and introduced him: "This kid here is Long Ming. He showed up a few years ago wanting to buy a spear, and since then, he's been following me around like a puppy." Long Ming then approached and clasped his hands in a sign of respect as he formally greeted him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Senior Wu. The old man Gao has told me many things about you, especially about that famous day when, thanks to your talent with the sword, you were able to defeat a formidable opponent," he greeted while adhering to all the etiquettes he knew.
"Haha! No need to bother with such formalities; if you're a friend of old Gao, then you're my friend too! Come, come, there are many things I want to talk to you about," Wu Qinlao said with a smile, although his words showed a sense of pride and satisfaction. Soon, the two entered the building and went to a room with an opening to the residence's garden.
In this room, the three sat around a table, and Wu Qinlao asked a series of questions to Gao Ting, very interested in all the things he had done over the years they hadn't seen each other. Watching them talk, Long Ming tactfully remained quiet, acting only as a spectator.
At some point, they finally began to discuss the main topic, the reason for Gao Ting's visit. Wu Qinlao knew that Gao Ting had been living in Cui Shi, and that this city was very far away, so there was no way Gao Ting had come all the way just to chat.
"So, why did you come here, old Gao?"
"For personal reasons, I decided to leave Cui Shi and live in Jianshang. But as you can imagine, such an abrupt change isn't easy for an old man like me, so I wanted to ask for your help in building my shop, house, and even attracting the first customers," replied Gao Ting. He was telling the truth; because he had left Cui Shi so abruptly, he had not taken any money with him, which was why Long Ming had covered all the expenses so far. However, Long Ming wouldn't stay with him forever, so Gao Ting needed to establish some source of income in that city.
"Seriously, don't worry, old Gao, that's quite simple! By the way, why don't you work for our Wu family? We can offer you a building here on the residence to serve as a smithy," Wu Qinlao began to convince Gao Ting to join their family until, after some brief discussion, Gao Ting agreed to work for them in crafting weapons.
Meanwhile, footsteps were heard from the corridor, heading towards that room. Long Ming stared at the entrance, curious to know who would appear from there, while Wu Qinlao seemed momentarily confused before smiling cunningly and provocatively. The reaction of the two intrigued Gao Ting, who also began to watch the entrance.
"Dad!?" Soon after, a young girl burst open the door aggressively and began to stare at the three men sitting and staring at her. At first, she seemed confused, but then a kind of understanding emerged, and with anger, she shouted, "So it's true that you want to marry me off to this boy!"
