I Am a Rune Engraver, Carrying a Knife Makes Perfect Sense-Chapter 16 - Jiang Ruyue

—

Xu Shen instinctively took a step back, his hand naturally resting on the hilt of the black knife at his waist. His expression remained calm as he spoke.

“Senior, isn’t it a bit rude to ask about someone’s cultivation technique the moment you meet them?”

The old man frowned slightly, his voice turning colder. “Don’t play games with me. I saw everything you did yesterday.”

“A Forbidden Body, yet capable of attacks rivaling Core Solidification cultivators at full power. Your rune—just a single, incomplete line. Who... are you?”

The old man’s eyes turned pitch black, his white robes billowing as an overwhelming aura of terror filled the room.

Shadow Soul Realm!

The Guide?!

Xu Shen’s heart sank as he felt the oppressive pressure. There was no mistaking it—this man was far beyond Uncle Wang in strength. And given their location inside Xinhuo Pavilion, there was only one possibility: this was the Guide.

Still, Xu Shen’s face remained composed, though a hint of coldness crept into his expression. This old man had shown up and immediately started interrogating him—did he think Xu Shen had no temper?

“Old man, you’re the Guide, right? Someone stole a rune from right under your nose yesterday, and you still have the nerve to question me?” Xu Shen retorted coldly.

The Guide froze for a moment before retracting his aura. His expression turned curious as he looked at Xu Shen.

“Who told you about that?”

“Principal Ding Wentian,” Xu Shen replied without hesitation, throwing Ding under the bus.

The Guide stared at Xu Shen for a long moment before sighing and sitting down at a wooden desk. Instantly, the illusory surroundings vanished, revealing an ancient, elegantly decorated office.

Xu Shen glanced around briefly before pulling up a chair and sitting across from the Guide without waiting for an invitation. He met the old man’s gaze without flinching.

“You’re not afraid of me?” the Guide asked after a moment of silence.

“Afraid of what? I’m not some rat hiding in the shadows, and I haven’t done anything wrong,” Xu Shen replied calmly. “Besides, in a country as vast as Xia Nation, surely even someone like you understands that everyone has their own opportunities.”

“My rune and cultivation technique are my opportunities. What are you going to do—steal them from a junior?” Xu Shen’s tone remained steady as he stared back at the Guide.

But beneath the table, his hand trembled ever so slightly.

The Guide didn’t respond immediately, simply observing Xu Shen with an unreadable expression. Xu Shen held his gaze, refusing to back down.

Five seconds... ten seconds... a full minute passed.

Suddenly, the Guide burst into laughter. “Hahaha! You’re an interesting one, kid. Hahaha!”

Xu Shen wasn’t sure what was so funny but kept his guard up. Against someone this powerful, no amount of scheming would help.

“Child, may I see your rune?” the Guide asked again, his tone now warm and friendly.

Xu Shen frowned and was about to refuse when the old man introduced himself.

“My name is Jiang Ruyue.”

Xu Shen froze in shock. “You... you’re Jiang Ruyue? You’re not dead?”

His throat felt dry as he spoke.

Jiang Ruyue was a legendary figure in the Northeast District. During Xia Nation’s darkest days—when cultivators first began to emerge—the Northeast had been overrun by ghouls, teetering on the brink of collapse.

It was Jiang Ruyue who had risen to prominence during that time, engraving the first high-tier Silent Realm rune: The Moon Sovereign Rune. With its power, he had swept through the ghoul-infested Northeast, reclaiming it for Xia Nation in a bloody campaign.

Afterward, Jiang Ruyue had vanished. Some said he had been gravely injured in that final battle; others believed he had died.

Xu Shen had read about him in textbooks growing up. There was even a statue of Jiang Ruyue in Heicheng, not far from Yuan City.

And now, this living legend was sitting right in front of him.

“I nearly died back then,” Jiang Ruyue said with a chuckle. “But someone saved me.”

“How do I know you’re really Jiang Ruyue?” Xu Shen asked skeptically.

In response, intricate runes began to glow on Jiang Ruyue’s face as soft beams of moonlight radiated from his body.

“The Moon Sovereign Rune—is this proof enough?” Jiang Ruyue asked with a smile.

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“More than enough! Please put it away!” Xu Shen yelped, wincing as the cold moonlight made his body feel like it was submerged in ice water.

Once Jiang Ruyue retracted the light, Xu Shen stood up and bowed deeply. “I apologize for my earlier rudeness, Senior. But you did scare me a bit...”

His tone turned playful toward the end.

“No harm done,” Jiang Ruyue said with a wave of his hand. “You’ve clearly been through a lot to develop such vigilance and determination at your age.”

He studied Xu Shen thoughtfully. Yesterday, unable to leave Xinhuo Pavilion himself, Jiang Ruyue had extended his spiritual sense across Yuan City’s North and West Districts. That was when Xu Shen’s actions had caught his attention.

Despite being only at the Awakening Realm, Xu Shen possessed extraordinary strength and an unyielding spirit—he had even dared to fight a Flame Mastery-level ghoul head-on. And somehow, he had survived being struck by its tailbone.

Curious about this anomaly, Jiang Ruyue had looked into Xu Shen’s background and decided to meet him in person.

“Now then,” Jiang Ruyue said with a smile. “May I see your rune?”

Xu Shen hesitated but eventually nodded. He extended his right hand as crimson energy flowed through it, revealing the blood-red Weapon Rune etched into his skin.

Jiang Ruyue examined it closely, his brow furrowing in thought. The rune’s thick lines and incomplete form were unlike anything he had ever seen before.

“Could this be an ancient rune?” Jiang Ruyue murmured to himself. Xia Nation had discovered remnants of ancient runes in ruins across its territory—runes so old their origins were impossible to trace. But even among those, this one was unfamiliar.

“This rune isn’t complete yet, is it?” Jiang Ruyue asked after a moment.

“No,” Xu Shen admitted. “This is just the beginning.”

“What level is it?”

“I don’t know,” Xu Shen replied honestly.

“Can you complete it?”

“Not yet—I need to reach a higher cultivation level first,” Xu Shen explained. In truth, he wasn’t entirely sure himself; he simply lacked enough Engraving Points to continue for now.

Jiang Ruyue nodded thoughtfully. “High-level runes often start with just a basic outline. Forcing them to completion prematurely can result in catastrophic backlash.”

“The fact that this single line already holds such power suggests it’s no ordinary rune.”

—

After some more questions about Xu Shen’s technique and fighting style—which Xu Shen attributed to an old blind man on East Street who had taught him through force—Jiang Ruyue made a request.

“Xu Shen,” he said with a smile. “I’d like you to do something for me.”

“What is it?” Xu Shen asked cautiously. “If it’s within my ability, I’ll do it.”

“It’s simple: get into Capital Academy and join Xinhuo Pavilion.”

Xu Shen blinked in confusion. “Why?”

Jiang Ruyue explained patiently: “Your rune and technique are highly unusual—possibly unprecedented in Xia Nation.”

“If others discover them without proper context, it could bring trouble your way.”

“By joining Xinhuo Pavilion, we can officially document your abilities as part of its legacy. No one would dare question or covet them after that.”

Xu Shen frowned but understood the logic. While he could protect himself most of the time, he couldn’t always be there for Xu Dong and Xu Xia.

“Alright,” he said finally. “I’ll go to Capital Academy and join Xinhuo Pavilion.”

Jiang Ruyue smiled approvingly before adding one last piece of advice: “Visit that blind man more often—he might have more to teach you.”

With that, Jiang Ruyue waved his hand, and Xu Shen found himself back inside Xinhuo Pavilion among rows of shelves filled with cultivation techniques.

—

Though curious about the techniques around him, Xu Shen decided not to linger and left Xinhuo Pavilion shortly after. The plaza outside was nearly empty now; most students and principals had already returned to their schools.

As he hailed a taxi back to East Street, Jiang Ruyue’s words lingered in his mind.

“Old man... who are you really?”