Why Fear Me Like a Tiger

Even though City God Xu did not ask Gu Ning'an for help with surrounding and killing the true demon during their time at the City God Temple, if one day Gu Ning'an truly encounters a true demon being hunted by the City God, he certainly wouldn't just stand by.

After all, he had many old acquaintances in Lexiang County, and even property here. He didn't want to find that one day, after being away on a long trip, he returned to find that Lexiang County had been turned into a "barren land" by demonic influence!

Since it was likely that he would have to face a true demon whose strength was unknown, he naturally needed to prepare a suitable weapon.

After coming to terms with the usefulness of the Worldly Qi, the first person that came to Gu Ning'an's mind was Carpenter Zhao!

The wooden items in Ansi Courtyard were mostly crafted by Carpenter Zhao, and even the chopsticks he used to carry the Worldly Qi were made by Zhao. Since Zhao's chopsticks could carry Worldly Qi, could a wooden sword made by him carry even more?

With this thought in mind, Gu Ning'an quickly tidied up the messy room with his magic and then left with a jar of Wishing Spring tea.

...

Clink! Clink! Clink!

The sound of intense wood planing came from the Zhao Family Carpenter's shop around the corner.

Looking through the open door, an elderly man, dressed in a short jacket, about sixty years old, was vigorously planing a piece of wood, with wood shavings scattering all around him.

Though over fifty years old, the old man's body was in excellent condition. His exposed arm muscles were bulging, making him appear stronger than many younger men in their prime.

Take that young martial artist Lei Ben, for example, who had recently "stood guard" for the Tiao Lang Clan. Though the young man's muscles looked larger, one could always feel that his strength didn't quite measure up to Carpenter Zhao's.

Gu Ning'an walked into the carpenter's shop. Carpenter Zhao didn't look up; he kept working as if he had eyes on the top of his head, noticing Gu Ning'an's presence.

Without pausing his work, he spoke in a deep voice: "If you want something ready-made, it's on the shelves. If you want a custom job, choose your wood. If you have your own wood, just tell me what you want made."

Gu Ning'an walked through the shop, glancing at the wooden items on display as he responded, "Alright, I'll take a look."

The carpenter's shop was arranged with a sense of order. Upon entering, the smaller finished wooden items were displayed. As one moved deeper into the shop, the items grew larger in size.

The raw wood used for custom items was piled in the back, labeled with the type of wood and its price.

Such careful arrangements were clearly not the work of Carpenter Zhao, who was known for his rough methods.

After looking around, Gu Ning'an didn't leave empty-handed. He picked up a pair of finished wooden chopsticks and walked over to Carpenter Zhao.

At this moment, Carpenter Zhao was sweating profusely, working hard on a knotty part of the wood. A large amount of wood shavings flew in all directions, covering his body with a fine layer of dust.

After much effort, Zhao finally cleared the knot. When he set down his planer and wiped the wood shavings from his face, he noticed someone standing beside him.

"Ah! Why stand right next to me while I'm planing wood?" Zhao grumbled, "If this gets on your silk clothes, don't come to me for compensation!"

The reason for his words was simple—when Carpenter Zhao glanced over, he immediately noticed the fine fabric of the person's white robe. It was clearly made from high-quality satin.

And wood shavings, if they stuck to such fine fabric, would surely leave stains.

"It's fine, I haven't gotten any on me," Gu Ning'an smiled and replied.

Upon hearing this, Carpenter Zhao quickly removed the wood shavings from his face, widening his eyes to inspect Gu Ning'an's white robe.

"Strange! There's really nothing on you." Carpenter Zhao seemed to doubt his own eyes, circling Gu Ning'an, inspecting him from all sides, even checking his shoes, but there wasn't a single speck of wood dust anywhere.

"This robe of yours, where did you buy it? Maybe I should go buy one tomorrow…" Carpenter Zhao began, but stopped midway, his eyes finally focusing on Gu Ning'an's face.

"You, you, you!"

Seeing Carpenter Zhao stammering, Gu Ning'an took the opportunity to interrupt, cupping his hands in greeting: "Carpenter Zhao, long time no see."

"You're… Er Qian!" Carpenter Zhao stammered for a while before finally blurting out this phrase.

Gu Ning'an hadn't anticipated that the incident over twenty years ago—when Carpenter Zhao's daughter had pleaded with her father to give him a small discount—would lead to "Er Qian" becoming his nickname in the old man's mind. Smiling wryly, he replied, "Carpenter Zhao, I didn't owe you those two coins back then. Do you really still hold onto it after all this time?" [Er Qian literally means 2 coins.]

Carpenter Zhao, who had come to his senses, suddenly recalled that his daughter had told him that Mr. Gu from Ansi Courtyard had returned.

The same man who, in one night, cleaned up what five people couldn't finish.

Most importantly, Mr. Gu looked exactly the same as he had more than twenty years ago.

Such an extraordinary person—he must either be a ghost or an immortal!

And then there was the fact that he stood amidst all the wood shavings, yet didn't get a single speck on him. This could only mean one thing: divine power! My goodness, I just pointed at this immortal and called him Er Qian?

With a face ashen as dirt, Carpenter Zhao hurriedly bowed and cupped his hands: "My apologies! Mr. Gu! I must be blind, my brain isn't working properly, I spoke without thinking... I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it!"

"What wind brings you here today?"

"If you need woodwork, you could have just sent someone to let me know. There's no need to trouble you to come personally."

Gu Ning'an realized that Carpenter Zhao was acting a bit apprehensive after learning some things, so he joked: "It's naturally the wind from Er Qian."

"My goodness…" Carpenter Zhao gave a bitter smile: "Sir, please don't hold it against me, an old fool… You're an immortal, and immortals' hearts can hold the sea…"

Gu Ning'an waved his hand: "Alright, alright... Carpenter Zhao, we've had many dealings in the past. Do I really seem like the kind of person you should fear like a tiger?"

Hearing this, Carpenter Zhao fell into deep thought.

Back then, he had indeed been quite familiar with Gu Ning'an. In his memory, Gu Ning'an was always very polite and humble, and except for being a little "poor," he didn't seem to have any flaws.

The matchmaker had even tried to arrange a marriage between Gu Ning'an and his daughter, but then Gu Ning'an suddenly left without a word, and the marriage proposal was dropped…

"Well, that does seem true." Carpenter Zhao nodded and said: "If you're an immortal, you must have been one in the past too. Back then, you were also humble and kind, and got along well with us."

"Then, I certainly shouldn't fear you now."

"Clear-minded!" Gu Ning'an smiled and changed the subject: "I came here today not only to buy a pair of chopsticks but also to order a wooden sword."

"A wooden sword?" As soon as Carpenter Zhao heard that "business" had arrived, the last bit of his hesitation faded away: "Mr. Gu, this is a carpenter's shop. If you need a sword, why make it out of wood?"