I Am a Rune Engraver, Carrying a Knife Makes Perfect Sense-Chapter 4 - I, Xu Shen, Love Reasoning the Most

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When Xu Shen woke up, he felt something soft and warm beneath his head. It smelled nice too. Around him, the rumble of car engines filled the air, and his body swayed slightly with the vehicle’s motion.

“Where am I?” he muttered, opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was Wang Qingqing’s face, a mix of sharp confidence and a faint smirk. He realized he was lying on her lap.

“Awake? Get up,” Wang Qingqing said casually.

“Ah, my head feels like it’s splitting open... No, I need to lie down a bit longer,” Xu Shen groaned dramatically, clutching his forehead in an over-the-top performance. His acting was terrible, but he kept sneaking glances at the driver.

It was none other than the elegant Li Li.

No wonder he was allowed to rest on Wang Qingqing’s lap. If it had been Uncle Wang driving, he’d have been tossed out of the car without hesitation.

“Xu Shen, what did you do with Old Wang last night? Why does he look so cheerful today?” Li Li suddenly asked from the driver’s seat. Her tone was calm but carried a hint of curiosity and happiness. “Also, he broke through to the Tongyou Realm last night.”

Xu Shen froze for a moment before quickly closing his eyes and checking the panel in his mind. Sure enough, his Engraving Points had jumped from 10 to 60.

“Just one line added fifty points? Or was it because Uncle Wang broke through?” Xu Shen thought to himself, his eyes glinting with contemplation.

“Yes, Xiao Shen,” Li Li continued with a smile. “Qingqing, after your awakening today, let’s celebrate with a big feast.”

Her voice carried a trace of gratitude as she glanced at Xu Shen through the rearview mirror. Her initial impression of him as unreliable had clearly changed.

Xu Shen chuckled awkwardly. He wasn’t sure how much Li Li knew about what had happened, but it was clear she had connected some dots. Her tone had shifted from disappointment to warmth.

“Where’s Uncle Wang?” Xu Shen asked as he sat up.

“He’s at Qingqing’s school. You’ll be awakening there today too. Your Uncle Wang already arranged everything with the school,” Li Li replied.

Xu Shen nodded silently, feeling a pang of gratitude. He knew that as someone who hadn’t attended school, he wasn’t eligible to awaken there. Getting permission for an outsider like him must have come at a significant cost.

—

When they arrived at the school, the entrance was packed with people. A noisy commotion echoed from the crowd.

“What’s going on?” Xu Shen asked as he stepped out of the car. In front of him was Qingqing’s school, Experimental High School, but the gates were surrounded by a sea of people arguing loudly.

As Xu Shen listened closely, his expression turned strange. One of the voices sounded very familiar—like Uncle Wang’s.

“Captain Wang Bing,” a portly middle-aged man in a uniform identical to Wang Bing’s was shouting at the gates. “Today is an important day for awakenings at this prestigious high school. Why are you giving a spot to an outsider? What’s the meaning of this?”

Wang Bing stood at the gate, his face dark and expressionless. Opposite him was Zhang Ling, another squad leader in the Xinhuo Guard. Zhang Ling was speaking loudly and self-righteously.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Zhang Ling addressed the crowd. “Today is a crucial day for our children’s awakenings. We can’t afford any mistakes! Captain Wang wants to bring in an unemployed outsider to take part—how can we allow this?”

His words stirred up murmurs among the parents gathered around.

“Yeah, my kid is in there too! What if this outsider is dangerous?”

“There have been incidents before where outsiders caused trouble during awakenings.”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

“We can’t let him in!”

“Captain Wang, we respect you, but don’t ruin your reputation over this!”

Hearing their complaints, Wang Bing remained calm and spoke firmly. “I, Wang Bing, Captain of Squad 18 of the Xinhuo Guard in Yuan City, swear on my life that if anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility—even with my life.”

His declaration silenced the crowd. A squad captain staking his life on it left little room for argument.

However, Zhang Ling’s eyes flashed with malice as he raised his voice again. “What good is your life if something does go wrong? And I hear you spent quite a bit to secure this spot for someone named Xu Shen.”

He sneered and turned to address the crowd once more. “Does everyone know who Xu Shen is? He’s infamous on East Street for fighting—some even call him ‘Brick King.’ This unemployed troublemaker—is this someone you’d trust around your children?”

The murmurs grew louder again as many parents recognized Xu Shen’s name. While he wasn’t known for any heinous crimes, his reputation for causing trouble made people uneasy.

“Zhang Ling, isn’t this a bit much?” Wang Bing’s eyes burned with anger as he glared at Zhang Ling coldly.

The two had been at odds for years. Their feud began when Wang Bing reported Zhang Ling for colluding with underground forces to amass wealth at the expense of public safety. Though Zhang Ling had connections that protected him from severe punishment, he never forgot the grudge.

Zhang Ling smirked. “I’m just doing my duty. But you, Captain Wang—protecting this boy so much—what is he to you? Your illegitimate son? Or maybe—”

“I’ll kill you!” A furious shout interrupted him.

Crack!

Zhang Ling felt a sharp pain at the back of his head as blood trickled down his scalp. Before he could react fully, a cold blade pressed against his neck.

Xu Shen stood behind him, his eyes cold and filled with murderous intent. The black knife in his hand pressed just hard enough to draw blood from Zhang Ling’s throat.

“Say that again,” Xu Shen said with a sinister smile as he pushed the blade slightly deeper.

Zhang Ling broke into a cold sweat. Though he was a squad leader, his cultivation level was only at the basic Awakening Realm. He knew this knife could slit his throat if Xu Shen wanted to.

“Xu Shen! Stand down!” Wang Bing shouted sharply, his face pale with worry. If Xu Shen killed Zhang Ling here, it would escalate into an uncontrollable disaster.

Xu Shen glanced at Wang Bing before snorting and withdrawing the knife. “If you dare run your mouth again, I’ll stab you for real next time,” he said seriously. “Worst case, I’ll just leave the city.”

Zhang Ling clutched his bleeding neck and glared venomously at Xu Shen before storming off without another word.

The surrounding parents exchanged uneasy glances. Some were shocked that Xu Shen dared to threaten a Xinhuo Guard squad leader with a knife. Others noted that Xu Shen had no cultivation yet managed to sneak up on Zhang Ling and knock him out with a brick before pulling out the knife.

Xu Shen turned to the crowd with a friendly smile. “Everyone knows I’m not usually like this,” he said cheerfully. “I’m Xu Shen—I love reasoning things out peacefully.”

“But when someone insults my Uncle Wang like that... well, which young man wouldn’t stand up for their family? Surely you all understand.”

The parents’ expressions were complicated—some even smiled awkwardly. Xu Shen’s mix of aggression and charm left them unsure how to respond.

Wang Bing sighed heavily and dragged Xu Shen toward the school gates along with Qingqing and Li Li.

“Xu Shen,” Wang Bing said sternly as they walked. “You can’t act so impulsively anymore. Do you realize how serious it is to draw a knife on a Xinhuo Guard member?”

Xu Shen nodded absentmindedly but didn’t respond further.

“And where did you learn all this? Sneaking up on people with bricks and pulling knives—what are you turning into?” Wang Bing continued angrily.

Xu Shen stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking with a faint smile. “If I don’t want to be bullied, I have to be tougher than them.”

“My parents are gone, but I still have my younger siblings. I have to be like this to protect them.”

“Uncle Wang... you know how this world works better than anyone. Retreating, being weak, compromising—it only makes people look down on you.”

“The only way to survive... is to become even more ruthless.”

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