This Life's Song: The Genius Rune Master

The specific details of the story are unknown, as it is all hearsay and not firsthand experience; it's just something to talk about over tea.

After Luo Xia and Li Chen got together, she accompanied him to travel to various places. She thought the two would live happily ever after. However, the arrival of a new life broke the peace. Just when Luo Xia was surrounded by happiness and joy, Li Chen learned that Luo Xia was pregnant and left without saying goodbye. She only thought that he had gone to prepare for the future for herself and the child.

But what awaited her was excruciating labor pains, and Li Chen finally appeared, bringing his men to her side.

"Li Chen, look at our child! He looks just like you!" Excited about bearing his child, she didn't notice his expression. At that moment, Li Chen's face was contorted with rage, in a state of frenzy, filled with overwhelming excitement.

"You know how long I've been waiting for this day, hahaha!" He laughed maniacally.

"Yes, I'm very happy too," Luo Xia thought, "So he really likes children."

But then, Li Chen waved his hand, and his men came over, grabbed the child, and were about to leave.

"Be careful not to hurt the child!" Luo Xia was extremely anxious.

"Haha, Luoxia, you're really naive and easy to fool. Thank you for being my guinea pig," Li Chen said with a sinister look.

"What experimental subject? What are you talking about? No—what are you going to do with our child? He's your child! How can you be so heartless?" Luo Xia shouted hoarsely.

"Tsk tsk, how pathetic. Of course, I'm only close to you because I know your identity. Otherwise, why would I? Haha," the ruthless words came from Li Chen's mouth.

"No—why? Spare the child! You—you can kill me, kill me, please spare the child! I beg you!" she pleaded desperately, ignoring her own body as she collapsed to the ground.

Li Chen took the child and lifted him by his feet. The child cried loudly, as if he knew danger was coming, and cried until he was hoarse.

It is said that the child was killed on the spot, and then other things were done to the child's body... Luo Xia was already weak from childbirth and was powerless to stop it. She watched helplessly as her child died. With her last breath, she chased after the child to this place and fought it for more than a month, burning her life force. In the end, she was defeated and died. The place was destroyed by the battle and formed a lake, which was named Luoxia Lake by later generations. Houses were built around it, and over time it became the present-day Luoxia City.

"Master, if this story is true, isn't Li Chen incredibly wicked? He gave her happiness with his own hands, and then destroyed it with his own. How cruel!" Lianxue was already in tears, feeling sorry for Luoxia.

"Yes, people are driven by self-interest. There are many things more cruel than this. That's one of the reasons your master brought you out here—to help you discern people's character and distinguish between good and evil," Ye Lan said earnestly, looking at Lian Xue.

"I will observe carefully," Lian Xue nodded solemnly.

Even after entering the city, its prosperity was still evident. The two found an inn to stay temporarily, put down their luggage, and rested for a while.

A knock sounded at the door. I opened it and saw my master standing outside.

"Xing'er, your master has some errands to run and will be back in a day or two at most. You can explore the city and learn about human nature. Remember, don't judge a book by its cover, and don't easily trust others," Ye Lan earnestly advised.

"Master, Xing'er remembers. Don't worry, I have talismans. If all else fails, I'll just run away. They're all just ordinary people anyway," Lian Xue replied nonchalantly.

"That's good. Just be careful and don't be careless. I'll tell the shopkeeper to keep an eye on you later." He shook his head, turned around and left. The child has grown up. Without experiencing hardships, one will not grow. He hoped that Lianxue could see both light and darkness.

After her master left, Lianxue also left the inn and went out onto the street. She watched the hurried pedestrians—some leaving the city, some entering; an old man carrying firewood to sell, a weaver going to sell cloth; children playing, women chasing children with willow branches, and so on...

Lianxue felt that these shouldn't be the main points her master had mentioned. Continuing forward, she came to a secluded place where beggars were pleading with passersby with broken bowls. There was a disabled child among them who looked truly pitiful. She went over and gave the disabled beggar her five taels of silver.

Then a group of beggars surrounded him. He quickly cast a spell to freeze them, squeezed through the crowd, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily I ran fast. It seems being a good person isn't easy," he muttered to himself as he continued walking. As he passed a house, he heard shouting and cursing coming from inside, along with a woman's weeping.

Lianxue felt the woman was far too weak, sighed, and continued walking forward like a little adult. Suddenly, the woman was hit and ran out the door, stumbling forward as she ran, saying, "Husband, stop hitting her!"

A murmur of conversation arose nearby; a crowd of onlookers had gathered. "Sigh, I really don't understand why the men of the Li family beat their wives all the time. They've been kicked out of the house countless times," a middle-aged man sighed.

"Yes, Li's daughter-in-law is such a kind person, why should she suffer like this?" The woman shook her head repeatedly.

"If my husband treated me like that, I would have left him long ago. It's infuriating, his temper!" the woman holding her child said with a mixture of regret and resentment.

“Don’t be fooled by how the Li family men treat their wives. They used to have a very deep affection for each other, but later…” An elderly man with a white beard shook his head with a sigh, leaving the rest of his words unsaid.

Lianxue thought to herself, "It seems that the Li couple also have a story to tell."

She understood that the answer must be etched in her heart; otherwise, why would the Li family's daughter-in-law remain steadfast despite such treatment? The neighbors said the Li family's daughter-in-law was very kind, but only she knew the true story. All Lianxue could feel was regret.

After walking for about an hour, it got dark. Lianxue thought it was time to go back and headed towards the inn. Suddenly, she heard a whispering voice. She used a concealment talisman to quietly approach a few people. She should have looked away, because wow, it turned out to be those beggars.

The disabled child was being dragged along by several people. A richly dressed man in the alley took the silver from the child's hand. "Hmm, looks like you made a good profit today. You brat, keep up the good work tomorrow, or I'll kill you." After saying that, the man put the silver into his pocket, turned around and strode away.

The remaining group of people and the disabled child said, "You good-for-nothing, you only earned this much today, making us only get a few copper coins. Let's find another one next time. It seems you're useless." With that, the group dragged the child away.

Lianxue hid in the corner unnoticed. Watching these people leave, Lianxue wanted to rush up, but what could she do afterward? Could she take care of the child? Could she support him for the rest of his life? The answer was definitely no. How realistic and cruel.

I stood there silently for an hour, until it was completely dark. I walked back to the inn, went up to the second floor, entered the second room on the right, locked the door, and leaned against it, thinking about what had just happened. The woman's forbearance, making money off a disabled child—was this what my master meant by humanity? My master said this was just the tip of the iceberg. What about the woman who was bullied? She must be kind, otherwise why would she have stayed by her side? I sighed inwardly, a sense of helplessness welling up inside me. Black and white, huh? I'll definitely ask my master about it when he gets back. I'm sure he already has the answer.

Unable to calm my mind, I went back to the bed, sat cross-legged, relaxed my body and mind, and entered a state of selflessness. Then I absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into my body, impacting the Xinshu acupoint. I then guided the spiritual energy from the Dantian to the Shenque, Qihai, Guanyuan, Tianshu, and Zhongwan acupoints, and finally back to the Xinshu acupoint.

Each acupoint requires countless attempts to break through, as spiritual energy is scarce here, and breaking through is already difficult. Master said that the place we are going to has abundant spiritual energy, and we can gather spiritual energy through battle to break through. Tonight, I will meditate and adjust myself to the best state.

After a long period of time, Leng Yaoye finally returned home. Looking at the place where he grew up, a surge of emotion welled up inside him. He was finally back; he hoped his return would be timely...