I Am a Rune Engraver, Carrying a Knife Makes Perfect Sense-Chapter 8 - Going to College?

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Cough cough cough…

Jiang Youyi nearly spat out his tea. He wasn’t surprised that Xu Shen dared to confront him, but he hadn’t expected the boy’s words to be so sharp and cutting.

“Does this kid not know who I am?” Jiang thought, his face darkening.

Suddenly, Wu Yun burst into laughter, his face turning red. “Kid, how did you know he got kicked in the head by a donkey when he was young? Hahaha!”

The room fell silent for a moment before everyone’s expressions turned strange. Xu Shen blinked. “Wait... that’s true?”

Even Li Li and Wang Bing struggled to suppress their laughter, their faces twitching as they held it in.

Jiang Youyi set down his teacup with a dark expression. “Enough joking. Let’s get to the point.”

He looked directly at Xu Shen. “Tell me about that black knife of yours and the rune you’ve engraved on yourself. What’s the story behind them?”

Jiang’s curiosity had been piqued. For now, even Wang Qingqing’s situation took a backseat to this mystery. A Forbidden Body shouldn’t have been able to engrave such a powerful rune, and that knife—capable of injuring Wu Yun—was no ordinary weapon.

Xu Shen casually walked over to Wang Qingqing and plopped down beside her, leaning back lazily. “What’s in it for me if I tell you?”

Jiang raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?”

“My siblings’ school fees waived, plus a monthly stipend for them,” Xu Shen replied without hesitation.

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Jiang frowned slightly. “Children who lost their parents in the western district catastrophe were sent to orphanages and provided with stipends. Didn’t you receive any?”

Xu Shen let out a cold laugh. “At first, yes. Then it turned into food handouts. After that, the people distributing them just disappeared.”

“That’s your so-called stipend?” he sneered.

Jiang’s frown deepened as he glanced at Wang Bing, who nodded grimly. Wu Yun’s face darkened as he pulled out his phone and barked into it, “Investigate the western district stipends from ten years ago! I want every penny accounted for!”

His raspy voice carried a barely restrained fury. Many adults in the western district had sacrificed themselves to prevent the ghoul outbreak from spreading to other areas. And now he learned that someone had embezzled the funds meant for their orphaned children?

“If I find out who did this, I’ll personally rip their head off,” Wu Yun growled.

Jiang nodded solemnly. “Fine. I’ll ensure you get double the amount you were owed, retroactively.”

Xu Shen smirked and pointed at Wang Qingqing. “And her? No one touches her.”

Wang Bing’s eyes glinted with approval as he chuckled. “Xu Shen, you’ve misunderstood. These two aren’t here to take Qingqing away.”

“Huh?” Xu Shen looked at Jiang suspiciously.

Jiang nodded and explained seriously, “While the disaster caused by the previous Ghost Attribute awakener was catastrophic, we can’t hold the mistakes of one person against their successors.”

He continued, “Although Wang Qingqing has a Ghost Attribute, as long as we monitor her mental health carefully, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

Xu Shen raised an eyebrow. “Mental health? So the previous guy went off the rails mentally?”

Jiang and Wu Yun exchanged glances before Jiang sighed and elaborated, “Ghost Attributes can only engrave runes related to myths and legends of the underworld. Currently, Xia Nation knows of only two such runes: one is an unknown spear rune; the other is called Soul Reaper—the rune engraved by that disaster.”

“Soul Reaper?” Xu Shen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The name alone sounded ominous—could it really snatch souls?

Jiang nodded gravely. “Runes influence their users’ states of mind. For example, Captain Wang’s Ghost Wolf Rune naturally amplifies aggression and killing intent.”

“But Soul Reaper magnifies a person’s darkest thoughts and emotions. Without careful control, it can lead to complete mental collapse.”

Jiang’s tone grew heavy as he concluded.

Xu Shen nodded in understanding and patted his chest confidently. “No problem! I’ll vouch for her. If anything happens, come find me!”

The room fell silent as everyone exchanged incredulous looks. They all knew that if something did happen, Xu Shen would probably be the first to help Qingqing flee the country.

“Now that’s settled—” Jiang began but was quickly interrupted by Xu Shen raising a hand.

“Hold on,” Xu Shen said with a smirk. “You letting her off has nothing to do with me, so don’t try to use it as leverage.”

Jiang’s face twitched as he suppressed the urge to slap Xu Shen across the room. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “What else do you want?”

Wu Yun struggled to contain his laughter. He found Xu Shen’s boldness refreshing—it was rare to see someone talk circles around Jiang Youyi.

Xu Shen’s expression turned serious as he made his next request: “I want to go to college.”

The room fell silent again as everyone turned to look at him.

Wang Bing and Li Li’s eyes filled with sympathy. They knew how much Xu Shen had longed for an education but had given it up to shoulder his responsibilities. After dropping out at fourteen, he had refused to let Wang Bing pay for his schooling, insisting he had already owed him too much.

Jiang’s initial irritation faded as he considered Xu Shen’s request. “Going to college isn’t difficult,” he said after a moment. “But without a high school diploma, even with my help, you’d only get into a third-rate university.”

“And honestly,” Jiang added, “those schools won’t teach you what you’re looking for.”

“Unless...” Jiang trailed off, his sharp eyes glinting with ambition as he studied Xu Shen.

“Unless I prove my worth,” Xu Shen finished for him with a knowing smile.

Wu Yun raised an eyebrow in surprise at Xu Shen’s perceptiveness.

“I’m also a Rune Engraver,” Xu Shen said softly.

“What?!” Wu Yun and Jiang exclaimed in unison.

Even Wang Qingqing looked skeptical as she nudged Xu Shen in the side. “Stop bragging.”

Ignoring her, Xu Shen turned to Wang Bing. “Uncle Wang, show them.”

All eyes turned to Wang Bing as he sighed and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the glowing Ghost Wolf Rune on his chest. The intricate lines and lifelike eyes immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Jiang stepped closer, squinting at the rune with narrowed eyes. “The lines aren’t fully integrated with the old pattern... This is a recent modification?”

Wang Bing nodded. “Yes. Xu Shen made these changes. Afterward, I broke through.”

Wu Yun chimed in, “That makes sense. If this kid really did modify your rune, it would’ve taken an immense toll on his mental strength—especially at your level.”

“You’re lucky he didn’t end up brain-dead,” Wu Yun added grimly.

Xu Shen shuddered slightly at the thought but remained silent.

Satisfied, Jiang leaned back with a smile before glancing at Xu Shen again. “Anything else?”

In response, Xu Shen raised his right hand, allowing the crimson Weapon Rune on its back to shimmer faintly under the light.

“Is this enough?” he asked calmly.

Jiang stared at the rune for a long moment before nodding slowly. “It’s enough.”

“I’ll arrange for you to attend college,” Jiang promised. “But you’ll still need to pass the entrance exams—I can’t just hand you a spot.”

“Your academic performance doesn’t need to be stellar,” he added after some thought. “Just meet half of the basic requirements.”

“No problem!” Xu Shen grinned confidently.

—

As the meeting wrapped up, Wu Yun asked curiously, “Can I take a look at your knife?”

“Sure,” Xu Shen said nonchalantly as he tossed it over.

Wu Yun examined the black knife closely but found nothing unusual about it. Frustrated, he eventually handed it back.

Xu Shen breathed a quiet sigh of relief—his hunch had been correct: only he could unlock the knife’s true potential.

With everything settled, Jiang and Wu Yun left shortly afterward.

—

Exhausted from engraving the Weapon Rune earlier, Xu Shen fell asleep on Wang Bing’s sofa and didn’t wake until noon the next day when his phone rang.

“Brother Shen! Trouble! Someone came to wreck our shop! Little Monkey got his arm broken!”

Xu Shen bolted upright, his eyes cold and menacing.