I Am a Rune Engraver, Carrying a Knife Makes Perfect Sense-Chapter 9 - You Won’t Blame Me, Right?

—

Yuan City, North District, East Street – Shen Ge’s Repair Shop

A crowd had gathered outside the repair shop, buzzing with excitement. The word had spread quickly: someone dared to cause trouble at Xu Shen’s place. It was like walking into a lion’s den with a death wish.

“Who are these guys?”

“No idea. They showed up early this morning with bats and pipes.”

“I heard Xu Shen beat up some corporate CEO’s son at school yesterday. Guess they’re here for revenge.”

“Seriously? I heard he pulled a knife on one of the Xinhuo Guard captains!”

The onlookers whispered and speculated, some with schadenfreude in their eyes as they watched the dozen burly men blocking the repair shop entrance.

—

“Boss, isn’t that Yang Dian? He actually dared to show up here?” whispered Liu Jian, the guy who had previously been smacked in the head by Xu Shen, to his scrawny sidekick, Wang Liu.

Liu Jian and Wang Liu were both from East District families who owned small factories—glassworks for Wang Liu and a repair shop for Liu Jian. Liu Jian had once tried to muscle in on Xu Shen’s business but ended up eating a brick to the head for his troubles. Since then, he’d wisely decided not to mess with Xu Shen again.

Now, Wang Liu pointed at the scene outside the shop. There stood Yang Dian, arms akimbo, his head wrapped in bandages like a mummy, leaving only his eyes, nose, and mouth visible. Behind him were twelve bald men, each holding steel pipes and wearing menacing expressions.

“Xu Shen better get here soon,” Yang Dian shouted as he sat arrogantly at the shop entrance.

—

Inside the repair shop, a few of Xu Shen’s workers huddled together nervously. One of them was supporting a young man with a twisted arm—clearly broken.

“You’re cultivators now, and you’re still picking on us?” one of the braver workers shouted, stepping forward.

“Huh? I’m just waiting for Xu Shen,” sneered one of the bald men. “That guy broke his arm on my pipe all by himself. When did I ever lay a hand on him?”

Another thug chuckled darkly. “You’ve all got traces of ghostly energy on you. You’re not exactly ordinary people anymore.”

It was true—anyone who had awakened, even minimally, carried ghostly energy and runes. Only those who hadn’t awakened at all were considered true “ordinary people.”

“Hang in there, Little Monkey,” one of the workers whispered to the injured young man. “Brother Shen will be here soon.”

Little Monkey gritted his teeth and nodded, glaring fiercely at the thugs outside.

—

“I’m getting tired of waiting,” one of the bald men grumbled, glancing at his phone. But before he could finish his sentence, there was a sudden THUD behind him.

Turning around, he saw one of his comrades lying on the ground, clutching his bleeding head.

“Who the hell—” he began angrily, only to see a small black object flying toward him at high speed.

CRACK!

The brick smashed into his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold.

The crowd gasped in shock. Xu Shen had arrived—and he wasn’t pulling any punches. But how had he taken down an awakened cultivator with just a brick?

—

“That bastard’s here!” growled the thug who had broken Little Monkey’s arm. His eyes scanned the crowd warily.

“Xu Shen! Be a man and stop hiding! Come out here!” Yang Dian shouted confidently. His demeanor was a far cry from the sniveling coward he’d been yesterday.

WHOOSH!

Another brick hurtled through the air, aimed straight at Yang Dian’s bandaged head. The terrifying whistle of its flight made everyone’s faces pale.

One of the bald men reacted quickly, activating a boar-like rune that appeared on his body. With a roar, he swung his steel pipe at the incoming brick.

CRACK!

The brick shattered into pieces—but before anyone could celebrate, three more dull thuds echoed as three more bald men collapsed in pools of blood.

In mere moments, their group of twelve had been reduced to six. The unseen assailant was terrifyingly efficient.

—

“See what I mean?” Liu Jian muttered to Wang Liu. “This is what happens when you mess with Xu Shen.”

Wang Liu nodded fervently, his earlier bravado completely gone.

—

“Xu Shen! Stop hiding like a coward and face me!” Yang Dian roared as he tore off his shirt. His aura surged as he activated his newly engraved rune—a hawk-like pattern that shimmered faintly on his chest.

The surrounding crowd murmured in awe. The Skyhawk Rune was a high-tier rune from the Nether Realm category. With proper cultivation, it granted its user razor-sharp claws, incredible speed, and control over windstorms.

Hidden among the crowd, Xu Shen narrowed his eyes as he observed Yang Dian’s rune. In Xia Nation, runes and cultivation techniques were divided into four major realms: Soul, Nether, Silent, and Annihilation, each with three sub-levels: lower, middle, and upper.

A high-tier Nether Realm rune like Skyhawk was already quite impressive—it wasn’t something easily obtained without significant resources or connections.

“My Weapon Rune... and the Nine Observations of the Nether Immortal... The system didn’t specify their rank,” Xu Shen thought to himself. “But I can feel it—my Weapon Rune is far superior to this Skyhawk Rune.”

—

Deciding to act again, Xu Shen hurled another brick from his hiding spot. Another bald man went down with a spray of blood.

“Xu Shen! Show yourself!” Yang Dian bellowed, his eyes scanning the crowd frantically.

“If you don’t come out,” growled one of the remaining thugs, “I’ll break that kid’s other arm!”

“Three seconds! Three—”

THUNK!

Before he could finish counting, a black knife embedded itself in his wrist. Blood spurted as he fell to his knees with a scream.

The crowd shuddered as Xu Shen finally stepped forward from the shadows, wearing a cap that obscured part of his face. He walked up to the injured thug and yanked the knife free without hesitation.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

In three swift motions, Xu Shen slashed through both of the man’s legs and his remaining wrist. Blood pooled around him as he collapsed completely.

“Sorry,” Xu Shen said with a chilling smile. “I wasn’t sure which hand you used to break my guy’s arm, so I just disabled all of them. You won’t blame me for that... right?”

He stomped down hard on the thug’s mangled wrist, eliciting another scream of agony.

The remaining bald men dropped to their knees in terror, their faces pale as they stammered out apologies.

“Fifty thousand yuan,” Xu Shen said coldly. “Pay up now if you want to take him to the hospital.” (tln : around 7k usd)

“We’ll pay! We’ll pay!” they cried desperately.

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“Good.” Xu Shen kicked their leader toward them like a sack of potatoes. “Take him and go.”

As they scrambled to leave, Xu Shen added casually, “Oh, and cover my guy’s medical bills too.”

“Of course! Of course!” they babbled as they helped Little Monkey into their car along with their injured boss.

—

With only Yang Dian left standing amidst the carnage, Xu Shen turned to him with an icy smile.

“Brother Shen... I was wrong... I’ll pay fifty thousand too! Please let me go!” Yang Dian stammered as his legs shook uncontrollably.

“You’re Yang Dian?” Xu Shen asked calmly.

“Y-Yes.”

“You have a brother named Yang Feng?”

Yang Dian nodded nervously. “Y-Yes... my brother is Yang Feng.”

Xu Shen fell silent for a moment before muttering under his breath, “Your dad must be some kind of genius...”

Grabbing Yang Dian by his bandages like a sack of flour, Xu Shen dragged him into the repair shop.

“Ah San! Close the door,” Xu Shen called out casually.

Yang Dian let out a terrified wail as the door slammed shut behind them.

—

Inside the office, Xu Shen tossed Yang Dian onto a sofa before sitting down in his chair. He stared at Yang Dian’s trembling form with an unreadable expression.

After a long pause, Xu Shen finally spoke in a low voice: “So... who sent you?”

“What do you mean?” Yang Dian stammered.

“You brought over ten guys here to cause trouble in broad daylight,” Xu Shen said coldly. “Normally, the Xinhuo Guard would’ve shown up within minutes.”

“But today? Twenty minutes passed without anyone showing up.”

Xu Shen leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping even lower. “Who told you to come here?”