This Life's Song: The Genius Rune Master

Danger was drawing ever closer, but the people in the tree were still unaware, enjoying the fruit—a reddish-purple plum about the size of a plum, sweet and refreshing, and very delicious.

Suddenly, I heard a crawling sound beneath my feet. Looking down, I saw a giant python, as thick as a tree that a person could wrap their arms around, moving quickly and almost reaching my feet. I was terrified and spun around, landing on another tree. The python was in hot pursuit, flicking its tongue in a terrifying manner.

Before he could think any further, he flung out a talisman. Without even checking what kind of talisman it was, he formed a hand seal and a flash of white light appeared, instantly creating an ice pillar. It turned out to be an ice talisman.

The ice spell only froze the snake's tail; it struggled for a few breaths before breaking free. An attack came, which he dodged to the side. He stabbed back at the python's vital spot, but the python's hide was incredibly tough; the dagger slipped from his grasp, and the python's tail struck, forcing him back several steps until he landed under a tree, blood staining his mouth.

Ignoring the pain, he flipped backward again to dodge the second attack, and threw out an ice talisman, which froze the python's head this time. Taking advantage of its weakness, he simultaneously injected his soul power and spiritual power into the dagger and stabbed it into the python's vital spot.

Unfortunately, it only injured the python, not killed it.

Enraged, the python opened its blood-red maw and lunged at Lian Xue. Lian Xue used a talisman to block the snake's mouth and quickly moved to the side. The python's mouth brushed past her, bringing with it a foul stench. The python was very agile and turned back to attack again.

Lian Xue could only dodge while throwing talismans. Fortunately, she had a lot of talismans left, otherwise she would probably be dead by now. Not daring to think too much, she continued to chase the python. Lian Xue herself did not realize that because she often dodged the python's attacks, her speed had become much faster than before.

In the ensuing chase, the python suffered countless injuries and vowed to devour Lianxue.

Lian Xue was already panting heavily. She threw out the immobilization talisman and the Frost Talisman, and once again gathered her power to stab at its vital point. This time, she finally succeeded. The python struggled desperately for a few breaths, then coiled its tail and stopped moving.

He took a deep breath, walked over and took out the demon core as usual, and of course, he didn't forget the snake gall either. He went back to the tree he had been on, picked a few fruits, wrapped them up, and left the place.

The forest was eerily quiet; why were there no birdsong or insect chirps? A sense of panic crept into her heart—people are often afraid of the unknown—but she knew her master and senior sister were nearby. She reassured herself that everything would be alright and continued walking forward.

He found a relatively safe tree, climbed to the top (the tree was as thick as three people could encircle), and used a concealment talisman by making hand gestures. After looking around and finding no danger, he sat cross-legged to recover his strength and injuries.

On the other side, a man stopped in front of a city, looking at a city called Qingcang. With a determined look, he walked into the city gate. There were many cultivators here. The stalls on the street mainly sold various weapons, talismans and pills, mostly for cultivation purposes, and secondly, food.

"Is this the world of cultivation?" he muttered to himself.

Looking at the busy people on the street, I was stunned for a moment.

"Hey! Why are you standing in the middle of the road? Don't you let people pass?" A woman's voice rang out, and he turned around abruptly, apologizing profusely.

Then he noticed a woman in her early twenties standing behind him. She had delicate eyes, an oval face, and her black hair was tied up with a bamboo hairpin, making her look both pretty and cute.

"What are you looking at? Get away!" The woman wondered if he was an idiot.

Awkwardly stepping aside, I realized there were two carriages behind the woman, and it seemed she had gotten off one of them.

Just then, a reproachful voice came from inside the carriage, "Rou'er, speak properly! Look how frightened you've made someone!" A middle-aged woman, dressed very elegantly, pulled back the carriage curtain and walked to the carriage shaft, speaking...

"Mom, he wasn't that mean, okay? He didn't yell at me, look at what you're saying," the girl replied coquettishly.

"Please don't take offense at my daughter's rashness," the woman said apologetically, looking at the girl with a doting expression.

"No, I was being presumptuous" is definitely a polite way of saying things. Being new to the place and completely unfamiliar with it, it's best not to make enemies. Besides, the other person didn't do anything excessive, so being humble is only appropriate.

"Um, Madam, Miss, please continue on your way. I won't disturb you any longer." She bowed and gestured for them to proceed.

The woman nodded in agreement, sat back in the carriage, and the girl also got back in. The carriage slowly drove away.

The man shook his head, thinking to himself that he was lucky he hadn't offended anyone.

After wandering around the city for a while, he discovered that the money transactions here were no longer in silver.

What is it? It turns out to be a type of stone that can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, called a spirit stone. This stone grows in places rich in spiritual energy, and wealthy families in the city also buy mountains to mine it.

Spirit stones are also divided into grades: low-grade spirit stones, medium-grade spirit stones, high-grade spirit stones, and top-grade spirit stones.

After thinking for a moment, he took out the demon cores he had obtained and went to the Treasure Pavilion to exchange them for spirit stones. Because his level was too low, five demon cores could only be exchanged for one low-level spirit stone. Four hundred demon cores were exchanged for 80 spirit stones.

After looking around the Treasure Pavilion, I turned around and went to the market. I went to an inn called Kelaiju, booked a regular room, paid ten spirit stones, and rested for the night.

The next day, "Boss, I want to earn spirit stones. Do you have any jobs you could recommend?" He gave the boss another five spirit stones and asked softly.

"No problem. There are many ways to earn spirit stones. For example, you can run errands at a small shop, work as a waiter at the Treasure Pavilion, join a mercenary group, or become a guard at a powerful organization. Seeing that you are strong and healthy, I suggest becoming a guard. You can earn twenty spirit stones a month, which won't affect your cultivation." The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed into slits with a smile when he saw the spirit stones, and he rattled off his list.

"Then how do I apply to become a bodyguard?" After thinking about it, I still felt that being a bodyguard was suitable. I should first understand the rules of this place before considering other options.

"That's easy. Just turn right after you go out, and you'll see a red-lacquered door. Walk left for about fifteen minutes, and you'll find the Mercenary Guild. All the recruitment information and missions are there, and you can also ask for information there," the shopkeeper said without hesitation after receiving the spirit stones.

After thanking the shopkeeper, I walked forward, turned left at the red-lacquered door, and sure enough, fifteen minutes later I saw the Mercenary Guild. This place... well, it's hard to describe...

A wooden plank hung crookedly in front of the dilapidated door, with the word "mercenary" written on it. Inside the small courtyard enclosed by a fence was a small thatched hut...

Am I in the right place? I looked around and it seemed like this was the place. People were constantly going in and out; some were shaking their heads and sighing, some were beaming with joy, and some looked fierce...

Stepping inside revealed a completely different world; the room was incredibly spacious, capable of accommodating four or five hundred people. I was amazed by the wonder of this place and looked ahead.

At the far end of the room was a table, behind which someone was recording the tasks they had received and how to redeem rewards. On the left wall of the table were various guild tasks, with slips of paper listing the task details and rewards. On the right wall were various miscellaneous city tasks, such as the job he was looking for as a guard. Compared to other jobs, guard tasks didn't yield many spirit stones, so no one was willing to take them.

One of the jobs was as a guard in the Blue Mansion, which paid 25 spirit stones per month. The requirements weren't high: good health and martial arts skills at the general level were sufficient. Seeing that it looked good, I walked over, reached out, and took the job. After the person in front of me finished, I reported the task.

"Hmm, one person goes to the Lan residence. Wait on the right. There's another person; you'll all go report together in a bit." The old man looked up and started writing.

I walked to the side and watched other people choose tasks. I thought to myself that there were really a lot of tasks, all kinds of weird ones, and naturally the rewards were different. Some people even argued over a task.

At this point, someone from the management intervened, telling them that if they continued arguing, they would be disqualified. However, some minor disputes still occurred.

"Hello, my name is Zhang Xian." At this moment, a boy younger than himself walked over and introduced himself.

"Hello," she said, glancing at the boy with a puzzled look.

"Um... don't misunderstand, I'm also going to the Lan family to serve as a guard," the young man quickly explained, seemingly noticing her confusion.

"So it turns out you're the one I've been waiting for. Hello, my name is Meng Chenyu, you can just call me Chenyu," she nodded in reply to Zhang Xian.

"Brother Chenyu, let's go. We can just go to the Lan Mansion to report." You've already reported to the guild, and the mission will be taken down afterward.

As they walked, Zhang Xian spoke, “My family is from Lincheng, which is nearby. My parents sent me out to gain some experience, so I had no choice but to come here and give it a try.”

Zhang Xian was cheerful and talkative, creating a relaxed atmosphere. After walking for an hour, they arrived at a mansion with a tall, ancient wooden gate that opened to both sides. A guard leaned against it listlessly.

"We're here to report for duty, but we don't know who to look for," Meng Chenyu asked softly as he stepped forward.

"Ah! Oh, the steward is inside, I'll go call him." With that, the guard ran into the mansion.

The two looked at each other, wondering whether to go in or not.

A moment later, a manager in his forties strode out with an imposing air and looked the two men up and down.

"So it was you who accepted the mission from the Mercenary Guild," the manager nodded, seemingly satisfied.

"Yes, we don't know what we need to do," the two said at the same time.

"It's not very complicated. The two of you will simply patrol the manor from 7 PM to 3 AM every night, and you can collect your spirit stones from me every month."

After saying that, he waved his hand and ordered someone to lead the two to the servants' quarters, where they shared a room.

Because they were guards, they received special treatment. Otherwise, if they were just ordinary servants, they would have shared a room with about ten people.

After familiarizing myself with the room and speaking with the manager, I returned to the inn to retrieve my luggage.

After returning to the inn to collect my luggage, I went downstairs, exchanged a few more polite words with the owner, and then turned to leave.

As they reached the gate of the mansion, someone suddenly ran out and bumped into them...