The improved female villains regained their memories.

In the past, he wouldn't have cared about such things, but now, he's been prophesied to die this year, and the beggar's doomsday prophecy forces Liu Shaoheng to speed things up.

"If my death is due to the apocalypse, then I should start from here and create a large-scale artifact that can evade the apocalypse, but..."

But it's too difficult.

After all, he was just a ten-year-old child. Even with a mature mind and exceptional talent in weapon crafting, he couldn't possibly solve this problem by himself.

"That old Taoist priest said that if I tell others about his calculations, my death will come sooner. But it's not that I can't talk about the end of the world. The only concern is whether it's true or not."

The boy's mind raced, and he muttered to himself, "That beggar was crazy and died in a very strange way. The old lady was the same; she acted strangely after leaving the clinic. Could it be that those two actually knew each other?"

The boy kept reviewing the events of the past few days, but ultimately still couldn't be sure.

There were too few clues, and he had limited access to information. Even the most talented person can't cook without ingredients.

"Sigh!" He sat on the rock and sighed heavily.

"If only there were a skilled weapon refiner who could help me and who would trust me..." The boy's thoughts wandered as he pondered.

There are too many fools in this small town. The weapon refiners he's met, even his own father, are all mediocre. They're all immersed in crafting sacrificial artifacts for the royal family, showing no interest in innovation or research into using magical artifacts. Just like the humanoid magical artifact the boy proposed on stage, it will ultimately only invite misunderstanding and ridicule.

If even a simple idea for refining weapons is so difficult to grasp, what about this so-called doomsday rumor? In the end, he only heard it from a dead beggar. Even if he told everyone, how could anyone possibly believe him?

Indeed, family background and talent are the reasons why Liu Shaoheng is famous in the small town, but having these reasons does not mean that people will listen to his nonsense.

"That older woman was also a witness; if you want to find her..."

"I'm afraid that won't work," Liu Shaoheng shook his head helplessly. He didn't know who the other person was, but he was certain that she was not a powerful weapon refiner. If she were, he probably would have known long ago.

This small town highly values ​​skilled weapon refiners, and if such a person truly exists, Liu Shaoheng will definitely pay attention to him.

"The capable people ignore me, and the people who do talk to me can't help me. Isn't this a vicious cycle?"

There are five renowned weapon refiners in the town: Li Tianfei, Lin Xueyao, Zhang Yijian, Chen Ziyun, and Shi Guiyan.

The five master weapon refiners each have their own eccentric temperaments and are quite unique, making them stand out from the other weapon refiners.

Among these people, perhaps someone can help me, but only if I don't touch on their weird spots.

The boy bit his nails, extremely agitated.

He counted all the skilled weapon refiners in town, eliminated four with eccentric tempers that were simply unacceptable, and finally only one relatively normal one remained.

"Shi Guiyan, a royal certified weapon refiner, is a rising star in recent years. Although he is a seventh-grade weapon refiner, he has also forged eighth-grade magic weapons. His representative works include: sacrificial weapon - Huangtian, sacrificial weapon - Muren Sanqi, and eighth-grade magic weapon - Lumahe."

In the Liu family's underground secret room, Liu Shaoheng went through all the intelligence the Liu family had collected over the years and finally found information about Shi Guiyan.

Liu Shaoheng had heard of Shi Guiyan. It seemed that she came to the town the year he was born. According to his mother, she even visited the Liu family and held him when he was still an infant.

She had a good reputation in the town and never offended anyone. Apart from having a bit of a temper, there were basically no bad rumors about her. Compared to other weapon-refining masters, Shi Guiyan was one of the easier ones to get along with.

"If it's her, it doesn't seem like it's not impossible."

The intelligence report also listed Shi Guiyan's preferences and various points of concern, such as not being allowed to drink in front of her and not letting her know that he was a scumbag. Liu Shaoheng read through it and made up his mind to find her.

“Shi Guiyan likes children, and I don’t have any of the issues that Shi Guiyan is concerned about. So, it’s the most appropriate thing for me to seek help from Shi Guiyan right now.”

Both his skills and character are impeccable. If the other party asks for money, he can give it to them, as long as they believe what he says.

"It's not too late yet, let's not delay and go visit her now."

Despite being just a child, Liu Shaoheng was exceptionally decisive and quick to act. Intelligence indicated that Shi Guiyan had a sweet tooth, so he went to his mother's cook and asked him to make some exquisite pastries. He packed them in a gift box, consulted his mother about the proper etiquette for meeting Shi Guiyan, and then eagerly headed straight for her residence.

The night was quiet. The boy stood at the door, carrying a gift box.

The two-story house has a plaque hanging at the top. The plaque is an ordinary wooden sign that reads: "The Second Best Weapon Refiner in the World".

This was not a royal gift, but rather something I carved myself.

Secondly, why second? Liu Shaoheng didn't understand. In the small town, the famous weapon refiners all had a certain pride. Even without royal certification, it was normal for them to carve things like "The First Person in History" or "Unrivaled in the Whole Town". Famous people always like to boast about themselves.

But Shi Guiyan's way of boasting seems a little different. She says she is the second best in the world. Does this mean that with her around, no one dares to call themselves the best in the world?

The master's temper was always eccentric, and Liu Shaoheng dared not speculate, after all, even he, a genius at weapon crafting, was eccentric. He cleared his throat and knocked on the door.

No one responded.

Liu Shaoheng looked up and saw that the second floor was pitch black, and the whole building was quiet, as if it had fallen into a deathly silence.

That's how it is with master weapon refiners; they spend most of their time in their own weapon-refining rooms. Liu Shaoheng thought about it and decided to visit again tomorrow.

But little did he know, his every move was being observed.

--

As night fell and the stars shone brightly, the town was quiet when Shi Guijia returned.

She put away the magical artifacts, wearily opened the door to her home, and found the room lit. Yang Luoyi was sitting in her room, asleep with her head on the table.

She looked at her daughter, pursed her lips, and carried her to bed, just like she had done a few days before.

Then, she went back downstairs, blew out all the lights, and sat quietly alone in a dark corner.

To be honest, she wanted to drink again.

The matter of the Lonely Garden was settled. She used her past identity to take over forcefully, and basically no one dared to say anything.

The problem is that she has a hard time getting along with those orphans.

The oldest of them was thirteen years old, a little girl. Shi Guijia forgot her name, but told her to take good care of the others, left her some money, and then rushed back.

Her daughter is still here; she can't not come back.

[What should we do next? Yang Luoyi is here, and we can't leave the other side unattended. Damn it, why are there more and more troubles these past few days?]

She was feeling frustrated and irritable. Just a while ago she had been living a carefree and decadent life, but now that her younger sister had left, all the troubles seemed to be piling up.

She looked at the windowsill, where a gardenia stood. It was a gift from Zhi Xun. Although she said she didn't care, she still kept it carefully.

Are all human chess players this awful? They always like to leave something behind before they leave...

She thought of Yang Pingsheng again; like Zhi Zixun, he had also left something behind at that time.

-------

The blonde girl blocked the immortal's earth-shattering attack; the magical artifact shattered, and she collapsed into the boy's arms.

"Ping Sheng, I... I'm dying. Devour my spiritual root, and you'll live... cough cough cough cough..."

She was dying, but she was happy. She had been waiting for this day for far too long. She deliberately didn't tell Yang Pingsheng and lured his enemies over, all for the purpose of seeking death.

By the time Yang Pingsheng rushed over, she had already detonated the ninth-grade magic artifact, dragging a True Immortal and a group of Celestial Immortals down with her.

She knew she was going to die, that her days were numbered, but in her final moments, she still had so much to say to Yang Pingsheng: "Pingsheng, I still wanted to watch the sunrise with you, soak in hot springs, make a wish... But, in this life, I can't do it anymore. Please, you must live on, don't let me down..."

She smiled, but suddenly noticed tears streaming down the boy's face, uncontrollably.

He suddenly hugged her tightly and said, "You know what? Xiaojia, I want to tell you, you don't have to die. This shouldn't be you. You can live a better life. You don't need to do this for a man like me..."

Shi Guijia laughed weakly and said, "Actually, I know everything. From our first meeting to getting to know each other and becoming close, it was all your plan. I'm not that stupid; I can't see through your scheme."

"You...you knew all that?" The boy was stunned.

"Yes, I know all that. But even so, I still love you. In this life, even if it is a fate made up by man, I will not regret meeting you, getting to know you, and loving you."

"Why!" the boy suddenly exclaimed, "Even knowing that all of this is a fabricated script, don't you regret it?"

"Yes, I don't regret it."

With her last breath, Shi Guijia said, "I have no regrets about every day I spent with you."

“I’m not stupid. I know that everything you do to me is a facade, from your personality to your emotions. Sometimes I even wonder if your excuse about being a demonic cultivator who devours spiritual roots is also a facade.”

"But so what? Even if what you say is false, I believe it to be true, because I love you, and it is because of love that I do this unconditionally."

"It's not because I'm stupid, it's not because I'm dumb, it's because I love you."

Chapter 333 Pervert

The next morning, when the sun came out, the whole town was shrouded in fog.

For a small town, fog is not a strange thing. First, the spiritual energy around the town is abundant, and the manifestation of this is fog. It is not surprising that it appears occasionally. Second, the weather has been very changeable recently. It is clearly the season when winter is approaching, but it is still unbearably hot. Now there is fog, and there is a tendency for it to rain.

At the westernmost edge of the town, in the alley near the bamboo forest, lies the domain of a certain master. No one dares to enter casually, for the array set up there contains sword energy as venomous as a snake, ready to attack anyone who dares to trespass.

Rumor has it that some people who disagreed with the weapon refiner ignored the old man's advice and insisted on challenging him to a duel. As a result, they were first severely injured by the sword energy, and then lost an arm to the refiner in the weapon-refining competition. From then on, everyone knew that the weapon refiner in the bamboo forest west of the town had a bad temper. Therefore, apart from skilled immortals, few people in the town would come to him for guidance.

Crunch, crunch—

A millstone as tall as a two-story building was placed in an open space in the bamboo forest. A strong, shirtless man placed his hands on the millstone and, without using any spiritual energy, simply used his physical strength to push it forward.

The millstone was covered with thick bamboo leaves, and as the man pushed it, even the air vibrated.

"Drink!"

Those terrifying muscles were covered in scars. With the man's low shout, his muscles and veins bulged, his blood surged, and he was drenched in sweat.

An old man and a young man stood in the bamboo forest. The young man was as tall as a child, but was actually over forty years old. The old man was dressed in white, his posture was as upright as a pine tree, and he looked like an immortal.

These two were none other than Li Tianfei and Chen Ziyun, two of the five most famous weapon refiners. Leaving Li Tianfei aside for the moment, let's talk about Chen Ziyun, a dwarf, about the same height as Liu Shaoheng, but dressed in adult clothes. At this moment, he was looking up at Li Tianfei with his two black grape-like eyes and sneered, "I say, what's so interesting about a barbarian practicing his body here?"

Li Tianfei stroked his beard and said with a smile, "What's the rush? This is Zhang Yijian's training time. Since we've taken the liberty of disturbing you, we should naturally wait until he finishes training."

Chen Ziyun picked her nose and sneered, "It's like peeping into a women's bathhouse. Only an old man like you would have this kind of fetish. I've heard that you went to the bathhouse in the east of town to peep, got caught, and were extorted for a lot of money. I'm asking you, do you like the auntie who runs the bathhouse? Otherwise, why don't you find a way to give her money?"

Li Tianfei couldn't stand the child's incessant chatter about his shameful deeds, so he quickly changed the subject, saying, "Mind your own business. It's still better than you being a kleptocrat. I wouldn't steal a beggar's bun even if I was bored."

"You know nothing!" Chen Ziyun snapped, brandishing her claws as she said, "Beggars can eat better than people. Do you know about [White Jade Tofu Soup]? Tsk, that taste... I don't even have any inspiration for weapon crafting unless I steal food from beggars."

Li Tianfei coughed and said, "They're all perverts, so let's not judge each other."

Master craftsmen often have their own quirks.

Li Tianfei likes to peep, Lin Xueyao likes young boys, Zhang Yijian likes to torture his own body, and Chen Ziyun likes to steal food from beggars. Basically, none of the famous weapon refiners in this small town are normal people.

The only one who was relatively normal was Shi Guiyan, and because of this, she was the only one among the five to receive royal certification.

Li Tianfei's statement, "They're all perverts, so let's not judge each other," is indeed correct.

But Chen Ziyun was displeased. He raised his hand, plucked a beard hair from Li Tianfei, and frowned, saying, "Who are you calling a pervert?"

Li Tianfei didn't want to argue with a "little brat." Anyway, Zhang Yijian, that masochist, would take a while, so he decided to talk to Chen Ziyun first. He went straight to the point: "I heard that Shi Guijia has been summoned by the royal family again."

Chen Ziyun glanced at him sideways: "You used your power to convene today just to tell us this?"

Li Tianfei shook his head.