When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 121

Shen Lingshu’s natal spirit sword was shrouded in a strange golden light, becoming razor-sharp. He was still in disbelief as it pierced through the fabric covering Yun Zhuoran’s abdomen. 

Just as Yun Zhuoran had never imagined that Shen Lingshu would want to become Dao companions with him, he also never imagined that—even after the truth of Gu Shenshu’s death had come to light—Shen Lingshu would still turn his sword against him, even going so far as to try to take his life.

After all, he was Gu Shenshu’s apprentice, and now with nothing left, he had to start cultivating from scratch. Yun Zhuoran had subconsciously believed that no matter how far gone Shen Lingshu was, he wouldn’t kill him and certainly couldn’t hurt him.

But this was the harsh reality.

Shen Lingshu had apologized to him too many times in the past, which had caused him to underestimate the enemy.

In the distance, a cluster of black mist flickering with deep purple spiritual light and golden radiance suddenly condensed into a young man dressed in red. As if sensing Yun Zhuoran’s abnormality, the heart demon figure froze and abruptly turned to look at him.

“Brother!”

Seeing Yun Zhuoran wounded, Yun Duo quickly flew back. The cruel expression on his face shifted into a surprised smile. she clapped his hands and laughed, “Good! You are truly worthy of being the one I chose, Shen Lingshu—you really surprise me!”

The heart demon’s eyes flashed with scarlet blood as he glared fiercely at Yun Duo, preparing to rush toward Yun Zhuoran. 

Unexpectedly, Yun Duo’s smile faltered. With a flick of her sleeves, she flew in front of the heart demon and shouted at Shen Lingshu, “What are you waiting for? Take this chance to kill Yun Zhuoran!”

A layer of golden light reappeared over Yun Duo’s hand, blocking the heart demon’s path. 

The heart demon halted, glancing at the crumbling red figure in the distance. His dark pupils shifted completely into a faint scarlet.

At this moment, Yun Zhuoran gripped the sword blade tightly, barely holding back the spirit sword’s penetration. Boiling blood oozed from the wound in his palm, trickling along the sword’s edge, slowly staining his bright red Taoist robe. It was impossible to tell if it was blood from his abdomen or from his hand.

The golden light on the sword finally found a crack in Yun Zhuoran’s tight defense through the wound and rushed into his body. A piercing pain spread quickly, corroding his hand and rapidly draining his strength.

The spiritual power in his dantian began to drain at an alarming rate. Yun Zhuoran’s face turned pale. His body trembled in severe pain, and his breath grew rapid and heavy.

He lowered his eyes and stared at the scarlet blood on his hands and sword. His pale lips barely moved.

“You… why…”

Shen Lingshu’s eyes flickered away before fixing resolutely on Yun Zhuoran. “Don’t blame me… Between you and me, only one can survive.”

Yun Zhuoran’s eyes widened in stunned disappointment. He didn’t understand why Shen Lingshu insisted only one could survive, but he understood the implication—Shen Lingshu wanted to live, so Yun Zhuoran had to die.

He had still overestimated Shen Lingshu.

Not every disciple of Gu Shenshu was like him—clear-eyed and bright.

A cold smile appeared on Yun Zhuoran’s lips. Ignoring the fierce burning pain from the golden light spreading along the sword blade in his palm, ignoring the overwhelming golden light crawling up his arm, he clenched the sword with both hands.

Shen Lingshu’s eyes showed a flicker of fear as he saw blood flow from Yun Zhuoran’s hands again. He knew well the power of the golden light. Watching it crawl up Yun Zhuoran’s arm to his shoulder, poised to engulf him, Shen Lingshu’s eyes reflected a trace of hesitation. Yet he shut his mouth tightly, gripped the hilt, and pushed forward with all his strength.

But Shen Lingshu’s spirit sword couldn’t advance even half an inch, and the flowing golden light was blocked outside.

The flame mark on Yun Zhuoran’s brow flashed with a silver-white light. His eyes gleamed coldly.

As Shen Lingshu hesitated, he faintly heard a subtle, almost inaudible sound. He quickly realized it was his natal spirit sword wailing.

Shen Lingshu suddenly lifted his head, meeting Yun Zhuoran’s dark, frosty gaze.

Suddenly, there was a bang—A deep crack appeared on the spiritual sword in Yun Zhuoran’s bloodied hands. A few crisp snaps followed as the blade shattered into several pieces, and the golden light exploded!

The moment the natal spirit sword broke, its backlash surged directly into Shen Lingshu’s soul.

A sharp pain struck his dantian. Shen Lingshu pursed his lips tightly, but blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Although the protective golden light shielded his heart in time, the heavy blow to his body and soul left him staggering, his body falling like a kite with a broken string.

Shen Lingshu watched the distance between himself and Yun Zhuoran widen rapidly. He looked into Yun Zhuoran’s cold, downcast eyes, filled with disbelief.

He was shocked. Even with his spiritual veins as blocked as possible by the golden light, Yun Zhuoran could still destroy his natal spirit sword!

The sword had pierced his abdomen, yet Yun Zhuoran had fought back fiercely. Shen Lingshu had gravely misjudged.

Yun Duo’s anger flared, her brows raised as she glared at the fallen Shen Lingshu and cursed, “Waste!”

The heart demon breathed a sigh of relief. His blood-red eyes flickered once, then his form dissolved into black mist and vanished.

Yun Duo turned back and saw a red shadow approaching Yun Zhuoran—it could only be the little island master of Penglai. Now that no one was stopping Yun Zhuoran and the little island master was coming to aid him, wouldn’t the Taiyin True Fire steadily fall into Yun Zhuoran’s hands? Thinking this, Yun Duo’s anxiety surged as she hurried to catch up.

She didn’t understand how Shen Lingshu could ignore the extreme yin energy of the Taiyin True Fire, or how he could rapidly increase his strength to surpass Yun Zhuoran and injure him beyond expectation. But now that Shen Lingshu had missed, none of it mattered. Yun Duo knew only one thing—she must not let Yun Zhuoran obtain the Taiyin True Fire. It belonged solely to her.

In fact, Yun Zhuoran had already exhausted all his strength fighting Shen Lingshu. The golden light piercing his body burned fiercely as if searing his internal organs, and the loss of spiritual power in his body accelerated sharply.

The Taiyin True Fire flickered rapidly, as if resonating, and a wave of urgency stirred in his heart—the True Fire was urging him forward.

Yun Zhuoran’s body shook suddenly, almost collapsing. Fortunately, his arms tightened as a sudden force pulled him back.

Looking back, he saw the figure of the red-clothed boy he knew well.

The heart demon embraced Yun Zhuoran, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Yun Zhuoran’s bloody hands and abdomen, a cold and murderous aura emanating from him.

“Brother…”

The heart demon’s face darkened, and his bloodshot eyes coldly stared at Shen Lingshu lying on the ground, unable to get up.

Golden light almost covered Yun Zhuoran’s entire arm. He felt faint and his whole body was wracked with severe pain, especially at the wound on his abdomen.

But from the moment the heart demon embraced him, Yun Zhuoran knew it was Weiran.

“Weiran, I’m fine.”

The heart demon hugged him helplessly, carefully covering the back of Yun Zhuoran’s hand that pressed against the wound. With bloodshot eyes, he asked, “Brother, does it hurt?”

Yun Zhuoran didn’t respond clearly. The golden light entering his body silently eroded his sea of consciousness. He didn’t answer, instead staring blankly at the flashing Taiyin True Fire before him.

At that moment, noticing Yun Zhuoran was injured by Shen Lingshu, Ji Yan and the others stopped fighting.

The huge purple spirit butterfly suddenly pounced on the two red-clothed figures before the Taiyin True Fire, but the little island master in red didn’t even look at them. His bloodshot eyes condensed, and a strong demonic cloud suddenly appeared, forming a tight barrier.

But Yun Duo wouldn’t give up easily. While attacking the two with poisonous gas, she desperately rushed toward the Taiyin True Fire.

Yun Tianqing saw this and gripped the wheelchair’s armrests. “Stop her! If the Taiyin True Fire falls into her hands, none of us will leave here alive!”

Yun Fushuang nodded and personally led the Magic Palace guardians to fight. Ji Wuwang, Yun Shaowei, Ji Ruo, and others hurried  after, but Ji Yan blocked their way, and they couldn’t stop Yun Duo for the time being.

In the distance, While chaos erupted in the distance, the heart demon on the altar didn’t care in the slightest. The black fog formed by his demonic energy blocked Yun Duo’s path. Without Shen Lingshu stabbing him in the back, Yun Duo wouldn’t find the previous opportunity, and the heart demon’s demonic energy could delay her but couldn’t stop her for long.

The heart demon had no time to care about the fly-like Yun Duo and only held Yun Zhuoran’s hand to transfer spiritual power. Unexpectedly, all the spiritual power was swallowed by the golden light on Yun Zhuoran’s body, and even the blood from his hand’s wound couldn’t be stopped.

The heart demon’s eyes were bloodshot. “Brother, don’t be afraid, it won’t hurt for long…”

Yun Zhuoran took a breath, gently pressed the heart demon’s hand, and said hoarsely, “No, no…”

He looked at Yun Duo, who had broken through the barrier of demonic energy, and panted, “Weiran, help me up first…”

“Brother!” The heart demon disagreed, blood still pouring from Yun Zhuoran’s wound.

Yun Zhuoran pressed the back of the heart demon’s hand, slowly pushed it away, and faced the Taiyin True Fire. Without hesitation, he stretched out his hand to grab it. 

Yin energy enthusiastically flew over, gently wrapping his wrist, and a cool breath covered his face, soothing the burning pain caused by the golden light. His pale fingertips moved forward an inch and touched the silver-white core of the burning Taiyin True Fire.

“No!” Yun Duo, having just broken through the last of the demonic mist, watched in horror. Her eyes widened in furious disbelief.

The center of the Taiyin True Fire glowed with a spotless silver-white light. When it touched Yun Zhuoran’s fingertips, it exploded with a dazzling white light. Even Yun Zhuoran subconsciously closed his eyes.

At the same time, the light golden-white flames suddenly exploded, spreading outwards bit by bit, almost swallowing everyone instantly.

Yun Tianqing, witnessing the flames, shouted urgently for the first time, “Get out of here! The Taiyin True Fire will kill us all!”

Fear overwhelmed Yun Tianqing; his eyes almost burst as he remembered the fire from 28 years ago—when those flames swept through, it was exactly like when the fire ravaged Yun City that year.

Those who personally experienced that fire, even knowing Yun Zhuoran wouldn’t use the Taiyin True Fire to hurt them, trembled with fear at its overwhelming power.

Yun Duo and the others noticed something was wrong. After the Taiyin True Fire fell into Yun Zhuoran’s hands, shouldn’t it be put away? Why did it come out? They seemed to realize the Taiyin True Fire’s terror and fled immediately.

Realizing their mistake, Gu Jinping hurriedly helped Shen Lingshu up and followed.

However, they were too slow.

Before the Taiyin True Fire that could destroy the world, no one could escape being swallowed.

The south of the city, dark for many years, lit up with dazzling flames. Yin energy quickly covered all of old Yun City and drowned out the anxious shouts of the heart demon.

When Yun Zhuoran opened his eyes, astonishment still lingered. It was quiet around him. There was no dazzling fire, no rising yin energy, and everyone had disappeared, including the heart demon behind him.

Suddenly, a sharp pain came from the palm of his hand. Yun Zhuoran frowned.

He withdrew his gaze from the small room he was in and looked down at his hands.

Under the dim light leaking through the window, Yun Zhuoran saw his hands clearly.

Very small, very thin…These were a pair of children’s hands.

Yun Zhuoran could tell at a glance that the owner was no more than seven years old.

Two thin, fresh bloody wounds appeared on the palms and knuckles of these white, tender hands. The bones were faintly visible, but no blood flowed. The wounds were sealed by a faint golden light that kept flashing—sometimes cool, sometimes extremely hot, barely maintaining a warm temperature.

However, all the spiritual power in Yun Zhuoran’s body had disappeared, and the pain multiplied many times over. He had no way to find the heart demon’s whereabouts.

Yun Zhuoran suddenly realized something. When he looked around the room again, a strong sense of familiarity washed over him. 

He jumped off the bed and walked to a dark corner. There, he found a bronze mirror. He picked it up and walked to the window. In the mirror, he saw the face of a child—sickly pale, with eyebrows and eyes exactly like his own.

He had become smaller.

The child in the mirror frowned faintly; his soft, delicate face looked as cold as frost.

Is this an illusion? Yun Zhuoran thought to himself. Enduring the burning pain in his hand, he threw down the bronze mirror and stepped outside.

This room was a place he knew very well. It was the small courtyard where he had lived with the heart demon before, and also the place where he and Yun Peiran had lived when they were children.

He remembered clearly being engulfed by the flames from the sudden explosion of the Taiyin True Fire. He hadn’t expected to return to this place—and for his body to be shrunk.

This body seemed never to have been cultivated; weak, powerless, and severely suppressed.

Yun Zhuoran couldn’t help but begin speculating about who had created this illusion. He walked slowly to the courtyard, noting the obvious signs of habitation. The sight reminded him of the small, rundown courtyard he and the heart demon had tidied up before—startling, yet within expectation.

Even in his Nascent Soul stage, he had been shrunk. If this courtyard hadn’t been restored, it would’ve seemed too out of place.

He was twenty-eight years younger now. The courtyard twenty-eight years ago—what exactly was the purpose of this illusion?

But this body was too weak. Yun Zhuoran gasped for breath as soon as he reached the courtyard gate. His chest hurt faintly from suffocation.

He thought to himself, he really was too weak.

Was he really this weak as a child?

If so, then where was Weiran? And were Yun Tianqing and the others here too?

Before Yun Zhuoran could figure it out, a young man appeared, walking into the courtyard against the dusk sky.

Against the setting sun, Yun Zhuoran felt an immediate familiarity with the figure. He stepped forward with hesitation and was about to say “Weiran” when a clear laugh carried by the cool breeze reached his ears.

“Brother is back.”

The voice was wrong.

Yun Zhuoran suddenly realized that the boy standing at the door looked completely different from Weiran.

The blurry figure of a boy in black became clear. He carried several medicine bags and walked toward Yun Zhuoran with a lazy smile on his lips.

“It’s dark, why don’t you light a candle and come out to greet your brother?”

The familiar tone and the unique way he addressed him—Yun Zhuoran froze.

The boy in black had similar facial features to him, and his smiling eyes and eyebrows were youthful and arrogant. Yun Zhuoran stared blankly at the familiar face and muttered, “Yun… Peiran…”

Yun Peiran clicked his tongue, lifted his robe hem, squatted down, and pinched Yun Zhuoran’s cheek with two fingers. “You’re rude. Why do you call me brother like that?”

Yun Peiran’s strength was weak, but Yun Zhuoran’s skin was so white and tender that a small red mark immediately appeared from such a light pinch. Yun Peiran put down his hand guiltily but, seeing that his brother only stared silently, he feared he had angered him.

In the past, this child didn’t like being pinched on the face—but tonight, he came back late.

Yun Peiran coughed lightly and smiled awkwardly. 

“Brother came home late today and almost forgot to buy your medicine, but luckily, he went to several pharmacies and finally got it. Xiao Weiran, don’t be mad, okay?” Yun Peiran held his brother’s hand flatteringly but immediately felt something wrong. He looked down and saw the hideous wounds on the child’s hand. “How did your hands get hurt?”

Yun Peiran carefully grabbed Yun Zhuoran’s wrists and examined the deep bloody wounds. His lazy expression suddenly grew serious.

“Who came here today? Who hurt you?”

Yun Zhuoran kept staring at Yun Peiran. The boy was now a teenager, a little less mature than he remembered. This was clearly an illusion. Yun Zhuoran knew it was fake, but the touch left on his cheek reminded him that the Yun Peiran before him was real.

This illusion was too real.

But Yun Peiran didn’t know that, in his eyes, his brother was being bullied when he wasn’t home. He was so badly hurt, probably scared—but there was no blood, so he must have been treated…

In Yun City, who would bully his brother, Yun Peiran, and then heal his injuries? What else could it mean if not torture?

Yun Zhuoran immediately thought of two people.

Yun Peiran was both distressed and angry. “Is it the high priest? Or someone from the City Lord’s Mansion?” Beyond that, Yun Peiran didn’t know who else would dare to bully his brother like this. He stared at the wounds on his brother’s hands, his handsome face clouded with frost. “I’ll go settle accounts with them.”

Yun Zhuoran came back to his senses and subconsciously reached out to grab Yun Peiran’s sleeve. “Yun… wait a minute.”

Yun Peiran’s name came to his lips, but Yun Zhuoran changed his words abruptly. He didn’t know what kind of illusion he was trapped in, but it seemed to be a forgotten memory.

From Yun Peiran’s tone, his relationship with the City Lord’s Mansion and the high priest was already very tense. Yun Zhuoran didn’t know what would happen next and didn’t want to see Yun Peiran bringing trouble to the City Lord’s Mansion for his sake.

Besides, his hand was injured by Shen Lingshu.

Yun Zhuoran opened his mouth, and under Yun Peiran’s distressed and angry gaze, he lowered his eyes and whispered, “It’s not them. I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Yun Peiran’s face darkened further. He seemed to be holding something back. He took a deep breath, then bent down to hug Yun Zhuoran.

Yun Zhuoran, who rarely experienced such an embrace from Yun Peiran in his memories, opened his eyes wide in disbelief, his white ears quietly reddening.

“Brother knows I’m too weak now and can’t fight the high priest and Yun Tianfeng,” Yun Peiran said sullenly, lowering his head. “One day, brother will avenge you.”

Yun Zhuoran was stunned again. It seemed that Yun Peiran really thought his injury was caused by the high priest…

But soon, Yun Peiran cheered up and strode back to the house carrying Yun Zhuoran in his arms.

“Your injury is very serious. We need to bandage it quickly.” Yun Peiran held Yun Zhuoran’s wrist very carefully. Both of Yun Zhuoran’s small hands rested in his palms—they looked especially tiny, and the injuries on them were shocking. Yun Peiran worried, “No, your wounds are very deep. I’ll take you to Tianqing to see him. He has lots of good medicine for wounds.”

In Yun Zhuoran’s memory, he had never been this close to Yun Peiran since growing up. He felt a little uncomfortable, so he quietly withdrew his hands.

Yun Peiran was quick-witted and grabbed his wrists with slender palms. He pretended to be serious and frowned, “Don’t move, it will hurt!”

It did hurt, but Yun Peiran’s attitude made it seem as if he was the one in pain… Yun Zhuoran lowered his head silently, his ears turning pink.

Yun Tianqing’s home wasn’t far. Peiran indeed brought him over and asked Yun Fushuang, a healer, to help treat the injuries. Yun Zhuoran saw the teenage versions of Tianqing and Fushuang, both of whom hovered around him worriedly. Tianqing, looking far younger than years later, even cursed the High Priest alongside Peiran, his gaze filled with concern.

Most of the medicines Yun Zhuoran usually took were hard to find, and most had to be sourced outside the city. Recently, Yun City strictly prohibited leaving the city, so there was no way to go out. 

Today, Yun Peiran had asked Yun Tianqing and his sister to look for medicinal materials within the city. Seeing Yun Zhuoran’s injuries, everyone regretted not having someone watch over him that day.

However, Yun Zhuoran’s hand wounds were serious, and Yun Fushuang, who had been ill for a long time, was not very proficient in medicine, so naturally, he couldn’t properly treat it.

The golden light sealing the wounds seemed to slowly heal Yun Zhuoran’s hands.

After Yun Peiran thanked Yun Tianqing and his sister, he carried his brother back with the same worried look he had shown when he brought him in.

Along the way, Yun Zhuoran silently observed how close Peiran was to the Tianqing siblings—they seemed more like family than friends. Both siblings wore guilt and worry on their faces, clearly treating him well in the past too. Just as he wondered if the real Tianqing siblings were truly like this now.

When Yun Peiran carefully put him on the bed where he had first opened his eyes, his hands were covered with a thick layer of plaster, then wrapped with gauze like buns.

Yun Zhuoran stared at his completely wrapped hands, speechless for a moment.

In fact, these wound medicines had no real effect on his hands, which still hurt, but he had gotten used to it over time.

Listening to Yun Peiran’s orders not to move, Yun Zhuoran suddenly felt like a fragile porcelain doll being cared for by him. He still wasn’t used to Yun Peiran being so intimate, but fortunately, Yun Peiran soon went out to boil medicine.

Yun Zhuoran was left alone in the room. Gazing at the flickering candlelight on the table, his excited heart gradually calmed because of seeing Yun Peiran. This illusion was too real. If he weren’t worried about his heart demon, he might have been willing to stay a long time.

But where was Weiran? Yun Zhuoran frowned slightly and began reflecting on what had gone wrong.

Was this illusion related to Yun Duo and the others? And Yun Tianqing and Yun Fushuang…

Yun Tianqing had said the Taiyin True Fire belonged to him, and Yun Duo was afraid he would get close to the Taiyin True Fire. But when Yun Zhuoran actually touched the Taiyin True Fire, it sent him into this illusion. Could the Taiyin True Fire be the cause?

Without spiritual power, Yun Zhuoran was trapped and powerless to break free.

But now, his main worry was the heart demon. The heart demon was behind him at that time. If it was involved, the heart demon shouldn’t have escaped.

Suddenly, a stabbing pain burst deep in the center of his eyebrows. 

This was a problem from this body itself.

At that moment, the flame mark on Yun Zhuoran’s forehead disappeared completely.

Yun Zhuoran subconsciously tried to press his forehead, but when he raised his hand, he saw a large ball of rough gauze. Silent for a moment, he lowered his head and sighed.

Yun Peiran’s medical skills were too poor.

Yun Zhuoran silently complained. Hearing Yun Peiran decocting medicine outside, his anxiety gradually faded.

When he was alone, he noticed his shadow trembling, not sure if it was part of the illusion. Sitting on the edge of the bed, the curtain blocked most of his shadow, leaving only the reflection of one hand—a round hand.

Yun Zhuoran now found it funny to see his hands wrapped like steamed buns. It hadn’t bothered him before, but after seeing the shadow, he felt something was off.

He looked down again and realized the shadow’s movements didn’t match his own. The shadow’s shaking wasn’t an illusion!

Coincidentally, the hand in the shadow trembled again. 

Startled, Yun Zhuoran jumped off the bed and walked to the table with the candle.

With the light, his shadow was no longer blocked and appeared fully at his feet.

That’s when Yun Zhuoran saw his shadow run out from under his feet!

His eyes turned cold as he watched the small shadow run to the door, half its body disappearing into the darkness, then stretch out a hand waving at him.

It looked like it was beckoning him.

Yun Zhuoran thought for a moment, cleverly gripping the candlestick with his wrists, and followed it. With light, the shadow could always exist.

The shadow didn’t move, but Yun Zhuoran felt it seemed very happy.

He raised his eyebrows and followed the fleeing shadow with this subtle feeling.

The shadow stopped in front of the desk in the outer room and pointed a swollen round finger at the large characters on the table. Yun Zhuoran suddenly found he could understand it again. He reached out and pulled out the top sheet of paper.

The shadow jumped in front of him and pointed to the name in the lower right corner.

Yun Zhuoran knew these large characters must have been written by him as a child. The handwriting was immature, barely neat, and rounded. At that time, he seemed to like writing his name in the lower right corner. Not every sheet had it, but the top sheet did.

“Weiran…” Yun Zhuoran read the name aloud, and suddenly a ridiculous thought came to him.

He looked up at the shadow lying on the table and saw it point to his right ear again.

Following the shadow’s motion, Yun Zhuoran raised his hand and touched his earlobe. Through the thick gauze, he vaguely felt a small hard object.

It was their shared defensive magic weapon! Yun Zhuoran suddenly realized, and his dark eyes filled with surprise, shining like stars. Looking at the shadow again, his heart finally settled.

“Weiran, it’s you.”