Chapter 2: Drawing Runes

“Tie Shan, where’s the master you mentioned?”

“Keep your voices down or you’ll disturb the master!”

Even from a distance he could hear a bunch of voices chattering loudly. They were filled with excitement and curiosity.

Lin Xun glanced through the group before focusing on the elder leading them. The old man had white hair and a white beard. Although he was thin, he had a tall and sturdy figure and each movement he made gave off a certain feeling of power.

“Eh!”

The tall elder came to an abrupt halt when he saw Lin Xun standing in the distance. The look of excitement on his face was quickly replaced by bewilderment. He had not expected the frail-looking boy in the distance to be the ‘master’ mentioned by Tie Shan.

“Where’s the master? Tie Shan, where’s the master you were talking about? Why is there only a young brat here?” Skeptical looks appeared on the villagers' faces when they saw Lin Xun.

Tie Shan was caught in an awkward spot and hurriedly said, “Everyone, the master is this young fellow!”

It might have been better if he had not explained because an uproar immediately erupted.

“What? You mean this beardless kid can help you achieve a good harvest? What nonsense!”

“Haha. Tie Shan, ah, Tie Shan, you’ve clearly been tricked by this cheeky brat. How can a twelve year old kid be a master?”

“Tie Shan, we’re facing a crisis. How are you still in the mood to joke around?”

Some of the villagers were unhappy, while others let out mocking remarks. Some other people were full of doubts and another subset were just angry. It was basically a mess. Everyone was certain that Tie Shan had been tricked.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

After all, Lin Xun looked far too young which was not helped by his gaunt and sickly pale face. It was difficult for the villagers to match this image to a ‘master’.

Tie Shan was flustered. He awkwardly waved his arms as he hopped about, “I didn’t lie. We’ll know whether this young man can help once he tries!”

Unfortunately, everyone felt that they had been tricked and had no intention of listening to his explanation.

Amidst the chaos, Lin Xun ignored the various looks and walked towards the tall elder. “If my guess is correct, you are the village chief of Feiyun Village.”

“You’re right.” The tall elder nodded. His wise eyes observed Lin Xun without revealing any emotions. The old man was clearly not someone who would be easily flustered.

Lin Xun asked, “Then will you agree to my condition?”

The tall elder could sense that although the boy seemed young and immature, he had a confident and stable demeanor that did not match his age.

This observation made the old man’s heart stir. He nodded, “If you can accomplish what you promised, I will let you stay in Feiyun Village.”

Several of the nearby villagers were stunned by these words. Soon after, they skeptically cried out one after another, “Village Chief, you can’t be seriously taking this little guy for real, right?”

The tall old man displayed a charisma befitting of a village chief as he waved his hand, “In this world, how will we know if we never try?”

Lin Xun chuckled, knowing that the matter was settled. He turned around and spoke to Tie Shan, “Uncle, did you remember to bring me some food?”

Tie Shan hastily retrieved a big piece of dried meat and handed it over. In addition, he had also prepared a leather bag filled to the brim with water.

Lin Xun did not waste any more time and began to ravenously dig in right next to the field. Although the meat did not contain much Aeth power, the seasoning made it pretty tasty.

The villagers could not help but laugh at Lin Xun devouring the food like a half-starved wolf as they grew increasingly doubtful. Could this little fellow be a food scamming conman?

Even Tie Shan could not help but feel dazed as a feeling of apprehension rose in his heart. If Lin Xun was a conman, Tie Shan would have made a humiliating mistake.

Only the tall old man watched Lin Xun with kind eyes and a sliver of surprise. If this little fellow wasn’t a fearless conman, it would mean that he was the real deal.

Regardless of which he was, such a display of composure and confidence was already more than sufficient proof of his boldness.

Lin Xun soon consumed the entire piece of meat, washing it all down till his stomach was also full of water. He felt better than he had in days.

Tie Shan could not help but inquire, “Young brother, shouldn’t you begin?”

Lin Xun looked at the sky and casually replied, “Wait a bit.”

Time flowed as night began to surge from the horizon.

Just as the crowd was growing impatient, the silent Lin Xun finally moved. He opened the old wooden box by his feet and retrieved an azure blade with seasoned movements before walking into the field. The blade was nearly three feet long and three fingers wide.

The tall elder’s eyes instantly narrowed. He could faintly sense a familiar presence from Lin Xun. The boy’s confidence, concentration and calm were clearly different from the norm and this began to tug out some vague memories buried deep in the old man’s mind that had nearly been forgotten.

The tall elder immediately waved his hand to quiet the grumbling villagers. “Stop being noisy and wait.”

His voice contained a hint of authority.

All chatter instantly disappeared. Everyone looked towards Lin Xun with a tinge of skepticism in their eyes.

Although they were now forbidden to speak, the villagers could still sign to each other with their eyes. They silently fanned out around the field to deny Lin Xun any opportunity of escaping.

Lin Xun seemed oblivious to the slight change in atmosphere around him as he retrieved a thumb-sized broken golden bone that resembled a fang from his clothing.

His right hand tightly gripped the handle and he exerted force through his wrist, causing a sharp scraping sound as the blade pushed across the broken golden bone.

Faint golden powder drifted from the bone and landed on Lin Xun’s ready palm. When his hand was covered in a thick layer of gold, he finally stopped and put away the broken golden bone.

He took a deep breath and squatted on the ground. He then dabbed his finger on the golden powder and began to draw on the wet ground.

At this distance, the villagers could clearly see everything he was doing.

Lin Xun’s young and slightly pale face was completely focused. His gaze was clear and calm as his finger left numerous complex strokes on the ground as if it was a calligraphy brush. His movements were natural and practiced, flowing with a natural grace akin to clouds floating through the air and water streaming across the ground.

These villagers' eyes widened, and they didn’t dare to blink as they watched Lin Xun’s movements. Astonishment rose in their hearts when they saw faint golden symbols seeming to flow out of the ground. These symbols gave off a mysterious aura.

Even the stupidest among them understood that Lin Xun was doing something that had completely surpassed their imaginations.

The combination of Lin Xun’s absorbed expression, his clean, proficient movements, and the rapidly growing golden pattern on the ground seemed to bathe him in a mysterious glow.

The suspicions in villagers' hearts had imperceptibly vanished. Many of them were now convinced by the methods Lin Xun displayed.

They might not have understood exactly what he was doing, but it did not stop them from being amazed by the beauty of his work.

The tall elder’s body shuddered unnoticeably as he had finally confirmed his suspicions—this frail-looking young boy was drawing a rune!