When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 123

Before dark, the two brothers went to Yun Tianqing’s house for dinner. Yun Peiran had already established his foundation, so he only needed to take fasting pills, but Yun Zhuoran was young and weak, so he couldn’t do the same. The second time he came to Yun Tianqing’s house with Yun Peiran, Yun Zhuoran realized that Yun Peiran and Yun Tianqing had a really good relationship.

After dinner, the two didn’t bring lanterns when they returned home. With the light of the moonstone in Yun Zhuoran’s hand, they could even see the small stones deep in the bushes clearly. Yun Peiran was too lazy to even light a candle.

It seemed that it was not a loss to risk offending Yun Tianfeng to take the moonstone.

After washing, Yun Peiran removed the gauze on Yun Zhuoran’s hand, frowned, and applied a thick layer of plaster on the bloody wounds that didn’t seem to have changed at all, then wrapped them up again. Yun Zhuoran was very obedient. This Yun Peiran had no ill will toward him, and he naturally felt a good impression and trust.

After the bandage was done, Yun Peiran put the moonstone back into Yun Zhuoran’s hands on the bedside, picked up the small clothes the other had changed from the shelf, and stood up.

“Go to sleep, I’ll go out and lie down.”

Yun Zhuoran asked, “Check where the blood went?”

Yun Peiran stopped and looked at him sideways, “Why did you suddenly become so smart?”

Yun Zhuoran had no expression on his face. In Yun Peiran’s eyes, was his brother stupid?

Yun Zhuoran hugged the moonstone with one hand, jumped off the bed, and said, “I’ll go too.”

Yun Peiran said, “No.”

Yun Zhuoran said, “Then I’ll go by myself.”

Yun Peiran looked at him and hesitated, “Why are you getting more and more disobedient… Okay, I can take you there, but you have to wait for me outside the wall.”

Yun Zhuoran was no longer the original owner of this sick body, Xiao Yun Weiran. Yun Peiran looked at his stubborn eyes and realized he couldn’t stop his brother from becoming strange, so he took a step back.

After getting a small snow-colored cloak and putting it on Yun Zhuoran, Yun Peiran took him out.

Yun Zhuoran followed behind, his steps a little hurried. His short legs were naturally much slower than Yun Peiran’s. He started panting as soon as he walked into the yard. His body was too weak, and he was panting after two steps.

Yun Peiran was the first person he met here. Yun Zhuoran believed the key to leaving here was Yun Peiran, and it was right to follow him.

However, Yun Zhuoran obviously underestimated Yun Peiran. Yun Peiran was about to abandon him as soon as they reached the courtyard. Wrapped in a nightgown, he pulled up his mask and pointed to the wall separating their small courtyard from the City Lord’s Mansion.

“You just wait here.”

Yun Zhuoran fell silent.

He was sure Yun Peiran was lying to the child.

Under Yun Zhuoran’s dim gaze, Yun Peiran smiled greatly, then walked seriously to the gate.

“Let’s go, don’t lose it.”

Yun Zhuoran followed quickly with the moonstone in his arms, and the shadow followed closely behind him.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he ran out of the gate, his thin body was picked up by the black-clothed boy outside the door, who moved fluently with him on his shoulders. He tensed all over, and his face grew stern. Then he heard Yun Peiran’s hearty laughter behind him, as if it was very funny to scare him.

Yun Zhuoran lay on his shoulder with some discomfort, speechless.

Yun Peiran was really childish.

Under the cold moonlight, a black shadow disappeared in a flash, vanishing under someone’s eaves in the blink of an eye.

The square opposite the City Lord’s Mansion had recently been surrounded, tightly wrapped with red cloth. People came and went from time to time, and no one knew what was being prepared.

Yun Peiran found the side door of the City Lord’s Mansion near the forest and put Yun Zhuoran down.

“Stay here and don’t run around. I’ll go in and take a look. I’ll come back for you soon.”

Yun Zhuoran sat pressed against the locked small door, holding the moonstone with both hands.

“Don’t run around.”

Yun Peiran kept reminding him for a long time, drew a talisman on Yun Zhuoran’s palm, and slipped into the wall of the City Lord’s Mansion.

It wasn’t that Yun Zhuoran didn’t want to keep up, but he couldn’t use his spiritual power or open his sea of consciousness. He only had a defensive magic weapon hanging on his ear, which needed both of them to work together. If he wanted to follow Yun Peiran, he would definitely be a burden. Besides, Yun Peiran sneaked into the City Lord’s Mansion in the middle of the night. If Yun Zhuoran brought the moonstone, Yun Peiran would be exposed. If there was no light at all, his heart demon might disappear.

Yun Zhuoran had to stay, but that didn’t mean he would obey.

As soon as Yun Peiran left, Yun Zhuoran followed the shadow and walked toward the fenced square not far away. He remembered there was supposed to be an altar here, but now it was blocked. It was late at night, and the square was empty. No one appeared for a long time. The red silk cloth hanging on the wooden fence fluttered silently in the evening breeze, giving a strange atmosphere.

There were guards in front of the wooden fence, and several teams patrolled nearby. The fire soared into the sky, silently projecting huge black shadows on the red cloth, which from a distance looked like some kind of beast.

The shadow floated out and circled near a place with light, then floated back and took Yun Zhuoran with it, going around in a large arc to another corner.

Yun Zhuoran pursed his pale lips tightly, careful not to let his breath leak out. When he caught up with the shadow, the back of his clothes was soaked with sweat.

Yun Zhuoran wiped his sweat and looked in the direction the shadow pointed. It was still the dark red silk cloth hanging on the wooden fence, completely blocking the outside view. The shadow squatted and pointed to the corner of the red cloth dragged on the ground. Yun Zhuoran opened his mouth slightly, took a deep breath, and lifted the corner of the red cloth as the shadow indicated.

The gap in the wooden fence was two feet wide, and Yun Zhuoran’s thin body could definitely fit. No one guarded nearby, and the patrol hadn’t come yet.

Yun Zhuoran followed the shadow into the wooden fence without hesitation and saw a huge stone statue in front of him — a mythical beast, with an altar already built beneath it.

The carved grooves on the ground looked fresh, clearly made not long ago.

Yun Zhuoran walked toward the stone statue with the shadow. Perhaps because his body was smaller now, the statue, which he had to look up at, seemed several times larger than he remembered, making him look even smaller.

Several stone statues of mythical beasts surrounded the altar, positioned exactly as he recalled.

However, this altar was newly built, and everything around it was pristine. The formation pattern engraved on the ground was naturally complete.

What Yun Zhuoran had recorded before was only a fragment of the formation, but now he could see the entire design.

The City Lord’s Mansion guards only patrolled outside the fence and rarely came inside. Yun Zhuoran took the opportunity to approach the altar and found that the array base here matched the incomplete formation he had recorded before, missing only a few key strokes. Even though it was damaged, it hadn’t hindered anything at that time.

He circled around twice. Without any magic weapon or spiritual power on him, he could only choose to leave for now.

The Heart Demon led the way again and found the gap where the patrol team had just passed. Yun Zhuoran quickly slipped out through another gap in the fence. Outside was a dark forest, with only a few faint rays of light coming from the moonstones inside Yun Zhuoran’s sleeves.

The patrol team was not far ahead. Yun Zhuoran held his breath, ready to take the chance to leave. Suddenly, a suppressed voice came from behind the fence, separated by red cloth: “No, all this blood is wrong.”

Yun Zhuoran looked back and saw a figure shadowed against the red cloth, flickering in the firelight inside.

The voice sounded annoyed: “The blood sent by the high priest is useless. Do we really need to stay here?”

High priest?

Yun Zhuoran gestured to the heart demon to wait, calming himself to listen to the conversation inside the fence.

But there was no more sound. He looked up and saw the figure on the red cloth had disappeared. His eyes widened, his expression grew serious, and he ran into the woods.

“Still want to run?”

The voice came from behind him. Yun Zhuoran froze and saw a man wrapped in a black cloak suddenly appear in front of him.

He forgot the other party was a monk; even without breathing or moving, the man could sense his presence so close.

Yun Zhuoran pursed his lips, took two steps back with the moonstone in his pocket. His breathing quickened, chest rising and falling heavily, causing slight suffocation. He took a deep breath and raised his hand to touch his earlobe. The magic weapon Lingxi was still there — a defensive magic weapon used by Dao companions. It did not identify its master by dripping blood. Yun Zhuoran had shrunk here, but it still followed him. He just didn’t know if it would be useful.

If Gu Shenshu’s resentment incarnation was a lie, this magic weapon might not protect him.

Yun Zhuoran’s face was solemn as he frantically considered how to escape. The black-robed man approached step by step as Yun Zhuoran retreated.

“It’s so late, and there are still children wandering around. You’re very brave.” The black-robed man smiled with sparkling eyes. “Since you’re here, don’t go back. The high priest’s formation base isn’t complete yet, so you can use it to lay your foundation.”

Yun Zhuoran clenched the moonstone in his hand.

The black-robed man didn’t hesitate and reached out to touch Yun Zhuoran’s shoulder, but the little figure in white quickly dodged. His movements were extremely fast, unlike an ordinary untrained child.

While the black-robed man was stunned, Yun Zhuoran bit his fingertips and quickly drew several strokes at the spot where Yun Peiran had left the amulet on his hand. A flash of light appeared, and the amulet suddenly transformed into a cluster of lightning and fire!

After changing the amulet, Yun Zhuoran’s energy was drained. His legs weakened and he almost fell but managed to steady himself and hurriedly raised his hand to cover the corner of his mouth.

A strong smell of blood surged into his throat, and he barely swallowed it.

The black-robed man hadn’t expected such a small child to be able to draw a talisman, especially such a powerful one. He hurried to block it but was shocked and staggered back.

Although the injury wasn’t serious, the black-robed man was impressed. When he looked at the weak, pale child again, his smile grew more interested.

“It seems he’s practiced before?”

The black-robed man waved his hand, and the flesh wounds on his hands, burned by lightning and fire, instantly vanished.

“It seems I really underestimated Yun City. There are indeed many capable people hidden here.”

Yun Zhuoran was out of strength. He only changed the amulet to a thunder-fire one thanks to Yun Peiran’s spiritual power within it. He amplified its power once but had no strength to fight on his own.

At this moment, Yun Zhuoran couldn’t help but complain silently about the strange Taiyin True Fire.

Why send him here just to weaken him so much?

But suddenly, something unexpected happened—

A black shadow appeared at the black-robed man’s feet. He didn’t notice it at first, but as his shadow was swallowed, he paused, clutching his clothes tightly, his face contorted grotesquely.

Yun Zhuoran didn’t know what was happening but saw the black-robed man kneeling, trembling violently, teeth chattering, then collapsing.

Within breaths, the man lay on his back, bleeding from all seven orifices, dead.

How did he die?

Is there a third person here?!

Yun Zhuoran became alert.

The shadow beside the black-robed man swayed and crawled toward him. Yun Zhuoran instinctively retreated and stopped, staring doubtfully at the shadow on the ground.

“Is it Weiran?”

Yun Zhuoran’s childish voice was hoarse, and he noticed the black-robed man had no shadow.

“Don’t be afraid, brother, it’s okay.”

The familiar voice, full of gentle comfort, echoed directly in his ears. Yun Zhuoran was startled and squatted down in front of the shadow, pressing his aching chest.

“Weiran, can you speak?”

Yun Zhuoran’s eyes shone brightly, making his pale, delicate face look dazzling.

The shadow, which was about to crawl up Yun Zhuoran’s feet, paused. Then Yun Zhuoran heard a surprised voice again. “Brother can finally hear me speak!”

Hearing the heart demon’s voice again stirred mixed emotions in Yun Zhuoran’s heart, and he felt a sense of calm. He let out a long sigh of relief and sat down on the spot.

The heart demon’s voice was urgent: “Brother! Where are you hurt?”

Yun Zhuoran’s body did feel uncomfortable. First, it was the original illness of this body—headache and cold limbs. Second, he had just spent too much energy changing the talisman, and his body was weak from the backlash; his heart and hands ached. Normally, no matter how serious the injury, Yun Zhuoran wouldn’t say a word. But after two days without hearing the heart demon, now he suddenly didn’t want to hold on anymore.

“Weiran, my body hurts.”

The shadow climbed up along Yun Zhuoran’s hand near the cold ground and covered the middle finger that had just been bitten. The heart demon’s voice was a little suppressed, but the anxiety in it was clear. Yun Zhuoran thought he heard a slight grievance in his brother’s words.

“Brother, don’t be afraid. I will find a way to get us out of here as soon as possible,” the heart demon said distressedly.

Yun Zhuoran lowered his eyes to look at the shadow on his wrist. He felt weak all over and didn’t want to move his fingers. He pursed his lips as if to say something, when suddenly a figure ran over from a distance. As soon as Yun Zhuoran heard the voice, the heart demon quickly returned to his side, disguised as a silent shadow.

“Don’t be afraid, brother. It’s Brother Peiran.”

It seemed only Yun Zhuoran could hear the heart demon’s voice, because Yun Peiran had already rushed over and stepped over the black-robed man’s body. He should not have heard it, but squatted down carefully.

“What’s wrong? Are you seriously injured?”

Before Yun Zhuoran could reply to the heart demon, Yun Peiran interrupted. Yun Zhuoran frowned and picked up the moonstone on the ground.

“It’s okay…”

Just as Yun Zhuoran tried to stand, Yun Peiran grabbed his small shoulder, lifted him up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked him over from head to toe. After seeing that only his middle finger had a bloody wound, Yun Peiran finally relaxed and stood up easily with him in his arms. “It’s good you’re okay…”

Yun Peiran looked suspiciously at the black-robed man who had died strangely, then walked over and nudged the man’s cloak with his toe. Under the moonstone’s light in Yun Zhuoran’s hand, he saw a small wooden sculpture hanging from the man’s waist—a human figure.

“The High Priest’s man.”

Yun Zhuoran quietly looked for his own shadow and calmly responded when Yun Peiran noticed it.

The patrol team was almost back, and faint footsteps could be heard. Yun Peiran’s ears twitched, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he turned and left with Yun Zhuoran in his arms.

When the patrol team found the black-robed man’s body, Yun Peiran had already returned to the small courtyard in the corner of the City Lord’s Mansion, separated by a wall. Just after Yun Zhuoran was put down, a fire as bright as daylight lit up on the other side of the wall. Yun Peiran looked up, his face heavy.

Yun Zhuoran took a break; the pain in his chest had faded considerably, and the wounds on his hands caused by Shen Lingshu’s sword didn’t feel as sharp. Seeing Yun Peiran standing silently, Yun Zhuoran stopped looking for his shadow and watched his back curiously.

“Never mind.”

Yun Peiran sighed lightly and pushed the door open. “Come in, I’ll bandage you.”

Bandaging again.

Yun Zhuoran looked at the thick gauze wrapped around his hands, showing only ten fingers. He quietly hooked his fingers at the shadow on the ground, then slowly walked into the house.

Yun Peiran’s face was very solemn tonight. He silently untied the dusty gauze from Yun Zhuoran’s hands, but his hands trembled.

“…Much better.”

After the reminder, Yun Zhuoran looked down at his hands and saw that the bloody wounds had indeed started to heal and scab over.

Since he could hear the heart demon’s voice again, his wounds healed faster. And since the heart demon could speak, it must have consumed the black-robed man’s shadow…

Yun Zhuoran soon confirmed the truth.

Yun Peiran thought the wound medicine given by Yun Fushuang was finally taking effect, and his face looked better. “What happened just now? That man should be the High Priest’s subordinate. How did he die?”

Yun Peiran looked at Yun Zhuoran and said, “The subordinate died suddenly. The High Priest will definitely investigate thoroughly. If he finds us here…”

Yun Zhuoran understood. “Do you think I could kill him? His death was very strange.”

Yun Peiran had just witnessed the black-robed man’s death. “He had no shadow, was bleeding from all seven orifices, and his soul was scattered. Who could have done that?”

Yun Zhuoran said only, “It can’t be traced back to us.”

Yun Peiran looked into Yun Zhuoran’s clear eyes, then lowered his head and applied medicine after a moment.

“I hope so.”

After bandaging, Yun Peiran told Yun Zhuoran to change out of his dirty clothes and put him to bed. He stayed by his side to prevent Yun Zhuoran from speaking to the heart demon. After listening to the heart demon’s words quietly in his ears, Yun Zhuoran fell asleep soon.

This body was very weak. It was frightened at night and injured inside. Now, without spiritual power, Yun Zhuoran could barely bear it.

But Yun Peiran couldn’t sleep. He stayed with his brother all night, feeling very uneasy.

The next morning, Yun Peiran learned that the city lord’s mansion still hadn’t found the murderer who killed the High Priest’s men. He began to suspect that an outsider had sneaked into the city—someone skilled in magic. Only then did he slowly calm down.

When Yun Zhuoran woke up, Yun Peiran sent him early to Yun Tianqing’s house. Thinking he was going to eat again, Yun Zhuoran put on the moonstone and followed Yun Peiran out. Unexpectedly, Yun Peiran was going out with Yun Tianqing and asked Yun Fushuang to look after him.

Yun Fushuang was a quiet person. Maybe Yun Peiran had told her that Yun Zhuoran didn’t speak, so she didn’t bother him. She just took her hoe to plant flowers in the yard and took the initiative to explain that these were seeds brought by Yun Yan from the end of the street, and she was helping to plant them to see if they could survive.

Hearing the name Yun Yan, Yun Zhuoran, who was still fixated on the shadow on the ground, slowly raised his eyes.

“Udumbara?”

Yun Fushuang chuckled. “How does Xiao Weiran know? Did your brother tell you?”

Yun Zhuoran shook his head quietly, neither denying nor admitting. It seemed even the tung leaves had appeared in this illusion.

It wasn’t until after dark that Yun Peiran and Yun Tianqing returned, both unusually silent.

Yun Zhuoran guessed they might have heard something outside. When they went home with Yun Peiran after dinner, Yun Peiran suddenly asked him a question.

“Brother, do you want to leave Yun City?”

Yun Zhuoran and Yingzi paused. He looked at Yun Peiran with an inquiring gaze.

Yun Peiran sighed. “I checked where the blood went last night and found your blood was taken to the High Priest. The children sent to the city lord’s mansion also went to the High Priest, but they only went in and never came out. I’m afraid they’re in danger.”

Yun Peiran’s handsome face looked a little tired. “Today, Yun Duo came to see me.”

He told Yun Zhuoran, “Yun Duo said the High Priest wants to kill everyone in Yun City.”

Yun Zhuoran’s brows tightened suddenly. He felt it had finally come, as if he had waited for so long and now reached a turning point.

Yun Peiran looked hesitant. “She asked us to find a chance to escape Yun City, but if we just leave, so many people here may not survive. If we don’t leave, we won’t survive either.”

“Are we going or not?”

Yun Zhuoran didn’t answer quickly. He didn’t know if this question was the key to leaving. He couldn’t decide for a while.