Rune Soldiers, Children

The Cat-Faced Man charged straight at Tang Long. As it neared him, it leaped high, its ten claws spread wide, its mouth gaping as it bit viciously toward Tang Long.

In response, Tang Long fixed his gaze on the Cat-Faced Man's movements, retreating swiftly while gripping his sword with both hands, raising it high, and slashing down with all his might.

The Cat-Faced Man crossed its arms to block.

Chi!

Tang Long's heavy, powerful chop was stopped by its flesh and blood. With a whoosh, a layer of flame erupted from Tang Long's sword, instantly traveling from the blade onto the creature's body.

That layer of flame seemed to inflict severe damage on it.

It let out a sharp shriek and tried to leap away.

Just then, a long spear shot through, piercing the Cat-Faced Man clean through from behind its chest.

Fei Shan had arrived. Seeing Tang Long locked in a fierce struggle with the Weird, he seized the moment and struck with a successful ambush. Before the Cat-Faced Man could react further, he lifted it with his spear, swung it around, and flung it hard toward the Talisman Soldier.

At that moment, a yellow light flashed in the Big Carp Talisman Soldier's mouth. A thread of yellow, finer than a hair, shot out and instantly pierced the Weird.

The Cat-Faced Man, without a sound, turned to ash in midair.

A wisp of black-gray air flowed out and merged into Jiang Yan's left hand.

Weird Value: 7

The Cat-Faced Man was utterly slain by the Talisman Soldier.

Jiang Yan stood not far from the Talisman Soldier, watching as the Weird was subdued by Tang Long and Fei Shan working together, then killed by the Talisman Soldier.

A flicker of heat burned in his eyes. With martial arts achieved, one need not fear Weirds!

Meng Sheng and Qian Peng's faces had turned deathly pale. This was only the first day, and someone had already died.

Was the Patrol Team this dangerous?

The two of them were already feeling regret in their hearts. Compared to throwing their lives away for nothing, spending a lifetime as miners didn't seem so bad after all.

At this moment, the entire square was eerily silent.

After a long while, Tang Long shouted, "It's over. Everyone, stand under the Talisman Soldier for twenty breaths."

No one found it troublesome.

After the inspection was complete, the sky had turned pitch black, with only the Talisman Soldier emitting a warm yellow glow.

"Alright, hurry back now. These next few days, study carefully. In a few days, you'll likely be split into groups for formal patrols."

Shan Renhu spoke in a low voice to Jiang Yan and the other two.

Then he turned and parted ways with them.

He had his own lodging, a small rented courtyard in the village.

Jiang Yan and the other two headed back together. Meng Sheng and Qian Peng chatted with each other, subtly excluding Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan could sense it, but he said nothing. Those two had abandoned him and Shan Renhu earlier and run off. Aside from guilt and shame, they also harbored resentment—resentment that Jiang Yan hadn't run with them.

Twisted values.

Qian Peng's face was still pale. He rubbed his face hard and said, "This Patrol Team is way too dangerous. We have to train like mad. If we can become Martial Apprentices, as strong as Captain Tang, that'd be great."

"Then, even if we run into a Weird, if we can't beat it, we can still escape."

"Ha, stop dreaming." Meng Sheng shook his head. "Becoming a Martial Apprentice isn't that easy."

"Haven't you seen Shan Renhu? He's been training for at least a year, and he's still stuck at the bottleneck."

At that, he cursed a few times under his breath.

Qian Peng's body trembled. "Then... what do we do?"

Meng Sheng opened his mouth but said nothing.

Qian Peng then turned his gaze to Jiang Yan. "Jiang Yan, got any ideas?"

"Train in martial arts. Isn't that what you just said?"

"Become a Martial Apprentice, become a Body-Tempering Martial Artist, become a Xiantian Martial Artist. See a Weird, chop it to death!"

Jiang Yan looked at Qian Peng, grinned, and flashed a row of white teeth.

The new lodgings the Dahe Gang had prepared for them were similar to those in Iron Mine Village—one narrow little room per person.

Small as they were, they still offered some private space, and that felt pretty good.

He drew a bucket of water from the well in the courtyard and washed his face carefully, instantly feeling much fresher.

He wasn't the only one in the courtyard. Quite a few others were silently practicing the Chopping Iron Four Forms.

Watching these people train hard and earnestly, Jiang Yan sighed inwardly. Truth be told, he too wanted to take it step by step, relying on his own talent to cultivate a sense of qi and become a Martial Apprentice.

Unfortunately, that sense of achievement from breaking through entirely on his own would never come again, he thought silently.

"Jiang Yan."

Ren Tao had returned at some point without Jiang Yan noticing. When Jiang Yan came back, he had deliberately looked for him in the square.

"I heard someone got possessed in the square just now. Is that true?"

Fear and curiosity flickered in Ren Tao's dark, beady eyes. He had arrived late, and by the time he reached the square, the incident was already over.

His heart churned with both curiosity and fear—he wanted to know what that Weird called the Cat-Faced Man really looked like, yet he was also afraid of how terrifying the Patrol Team's work could be.

Jiang Yan looked at Ren Tao. The two of them had been partners in the mine, their relationship only average. But now, in a different place, with the same people and changed surroundings, a trace of inexplicable warmth stirred in his heart.

"Yeah, I was in the square just now."

"Then tell me about it."

Ren Tao's eyes lit up as he urged.

Jiang Yan glanced around. "It's not convenient here. Let's go to my room."

In the cramped room, there was nothing but a bed. The two entered, and didn't even light an oil lamp.

In fact, there wasn't one.

"In a little while, I'll reveal my Martial Apprentice strength and rent a small courtyard like Old Shan. This is way too cramped," he silently told himself.

For now, he didn't dare reveal it—truly, he didn't. It wasn't that he feared being seen as a genius; he was afraid of being mistaken for a Weird.

There was absolutely no possibility of peaceful coexistence between the Human Race and Weirds. Weirds spread fear and fed on human flesh and blood essence, while humans were eager to kill Weirds at every opportunity.

If he were suspected of being a Weird, that would be trouble.

"Jiang Yan, what are you dawdling for?" Ren Tao urged.

At the same time, he gave him a light kick.

In the darkness, Jiang Yan silently noted: On such and such a year, month, and day, commoner Ren Tao kicked Martial Apprentice Jiang Yan.

"Here's what happened..."

Jiang Yan's voice was steady as he recounted how Tang Long and Fei Shan had worked together to subdue the Weird Cat-Faced Man.

He also shared some of the precautions that Shan Renhu had taught them.

After he finished, silence filled the room.

A long moment later, Ren Tao digested Jiang Yan's words. "Jiang Yan, that old hand leading you guys is a solid man."

Then he cursed bitterly, "The guy who led us was a complete bastard. If you hadn't told me this, I might have died without even knowing how from some careless mistake!"

Old Shan really was a solid man.

"By the way, Ren Tao, have you never tested your martial arts aptitude before?"

"No. You have to be sixteen to test for martial arts aptitude. I'm not there yet!"

"You... you're not sixteen yet?"

In the darkness, Jiang Yan slowly turned his head. Though he couldn't see anything, his mind still conjured Ren Tao's dark face and sturdy limbs.

"Actually, I'm still a kid."

Ren Tao added another sentence.

PS: Asking everyone for your recommendation tickets!