When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 126

Yun Zhuoran currently has no spiritual power. Although he can modify the talismans that Yun Peiran infused with spiritual energy into other types of charms, the level doesn’t increase significantly. They aren’t enough to ensure he can help someone as tall and upright as Yun Peiran escape from the City Lord’s Mansion dungeon without drawing attention.

He knows that in reality, Yun Peiran has successfully left Yun City. From what Yun Tianqing and Tongye told him, it’s clear Yun Peiran left safely. So he decides not to worry about Yun Peiran for the time being.

After leaving the dungeon, Yun Zhuoran’s concealment talisman has less than half an hour left. He plans to leave the City Lord’s Mansion first, so he follows Yun Duo from a distance to see what she’ll do next.

When they reach the front yard of the City Lord’s Mansion, two guards in the black training uniforms of the mansion push a cart out and bump into Yun Duo. The guards stop and bow, letting Yun Duo pass first.

Yun Duo is used to this and walks ahead without paying it any mind.

Light and shadow intertwine under the tree’s shade, and a few faint lights follow Yun Duo as she passes the guards.

Not long after, Yun Zhuoran smells blood. He stops and looks back. The two guards have pulled the cart handle back up, but the white cloth covering it slips slightly, revealing a pale face and a gray-white arm stained with dozens of dark brown bloodstains on the wrist.

The guards silently cover the cloth again and hurry to the City Lord’s Mansion gate.

The pale face belongs to a child—the same child who sat beside Yun Zhuoran a few days ago when they went to the City Lord’s Mansion to take blood for spiritual root testing.

Yun Zhuoran recognizes him instantly.

The child is no more than five or six years old. He came alone that day and sat timidly next to him and Yun Peiran. Yun Zhuoran noticed him because he glanced at them a few times.

Now, lying on the cart wrapped in white cloth, the child is clearly dead. Only a corner of the cloth has slipped to reveal him. There must be more children lying under that cloth.

Yun Zhuoran stands silently as the guards push the cart past.

After a moment, he stops following Yun Duo and instead follows the cart.

The cart leaves the City Lord’s Mansion and soon enters the altar area surrounded by fences in the square.

The guards standing at the fence don’t notice the child watching them from behind. They take the cart mechanically and dump the bodies of more than a dozen children into a well hidden by a mechanism on the altar. After finishing, the guards leave quietly.

No wonder the altar is full of evil spirits—it’s because of the well underneath.

Yun Zhuoran watches for a long time and gradually understands why Yun Peiran wants to save Yun City even though he is no match for Yun Tianfeng and the high priest.

The child who was still alive and watching him a few days ago is thrown into this well today. While he suffered, his parents likely thought he had been favored by the City Lord’s Mansion and felt happy for him. In the final moments before his quiet, unnoticed death, did he hope that when he opened his eyes after sleeping, he would see sunlight?

Yun Zhuoran takes a deep breath, turns slowly, and follows the guards carrying the bodies back.

After the guards return to the City Lord’s Mansion, they go straight to the main courtyard. When they report to the steward—whom Yun Zhuoran remembers seeing during the earlier blood tests—Yun Zhuoran suddenly realizes that the children’s corpses might have been moved out from Yun Tianfeng’s own residence.

The heart demon whispers, “Brother, there’s a strong smell of blood inside.”

When Yun Zhuoran lost his spiritual power and Sea of Consciousness, he also lost that strange pair of eyes that could see through others’ bloodlines and fortune. His vision is much clearer now, but also much duller.

The heart demon’s voice grows urgent, “Brother, people inside are coming out!”

Unfortunately, the warning comes a beat too late.

A loud noise erupts in the yard, and the strong smell of blood fills the air. A cold atmosphere immediately spreads. A gray-haired man with loose hair and disheveled clothes rushes out of the broken door, clutching his head and groaning in pain, his face hideous.

“Blood… hiss, get some blood!”

The steward quickly comes forward, takes out a small long-necked porcelain bottle, uncorks it, and hands it to the gray-haired man.

The man’s hand trembles with blue veins throbbing in pain. After a long moment, he manages to hold the bottle, and with the steward’s help, pours the scarlet liquid inside down his throat in one gulp.

As soon as the bottle opens, Yun Zhuoran smells blood.

The bottle contains only blood.

Yun Zhuoran suddenly realizes the person needing blood isn’t only the high priest, but also this gray-haired man. He guesses this is Yun Tianfeng, the lord of Yun City.

After drinking the bottle, Yun Tianfeng looks much more relaxed. He closes his eyes, showing an expression of relief. When he opens them, his pale face is rosier, and the red in his almost bloodshot eyes glows more vividly.

Yun Tianfeng presses his forehead with one hand. Though still in pain, his voice is clearer than before.

“Go to the clan and call all those children. This little blood is not enough…”

The two guards by the courtyard gate lower their heads. On closer look, their legs tremble slightly.

The chief steward is no longer careless. He says earnestly, “City Lord, to collect blood from boys with blood similar to yours, more than a dozen children have gone missing from the clan these past few days. An elder came to inquire. The high priest’s magic circle will open soon. Please be patient. When your powers are perfected, you won’t have headaches anymore.”

“This isn’t okay… I am the city lord. I just want the blood of these children to relieve my old injuries. Yun City has suffered for so many years. Isn’t it me who protects them?” Yun Tianfeng is emotional, and the backlash makes his head hurt worse. He gasps, frowning his brows into a “川” shape, and says angrily, “It hurts me! If the children in the clan aren’t okay, then go find Yun Peiran’s brother!”

“City Lord, have you forgotten—Young Master Peiran and Young Master Weiran are both under the High Priest’s control.”

Yun Tianfeng’s fury only grows. “You open your mouth and keep talking about the High Priest! Is it because this City Lord has been in closed-door cultivation for too long that Yun City has become the High Priest’s Yun City? Even you have become the High Priest’s slave!”

In his rage, Yun Tianfeng radiates a murderous aura, a heavy pressure crushing outward.

As a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, Yun Tianfeng is the most powerful person in Yun City. Even the chief steward is frightened, trembling all over.

Yun Zhuoran feels uneasy and quickly slaps a talisman on himself. An invisible defensive barrier unfolds before him, blocking the intrusion from outside, easing the suffocating pain in his chest somewhat.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Yun Tianfeng suddenly turns toward the gate and shouts in surprise—

“Who’s at the gate?!”

The two guards kneeling at the gate freeze.

Yun Zhuoran sees Yun Tianfeng turn sharply, sensing the subtle fluctuation of his spiritual power from using the talisman, then dash off without hesitation.

Yun Tianfeng’s attack comes quickly—a ball of demonic energy chases after Yun Zhuoran.

The shadow beneath Yun Zhuoran jumps swiftly; only a black shadow flashes by. The demonic energy ball vanishes, but the effect of Yun Zhuoran’s concealment talisman is halved, revealing a faint figure.

Seeing the figure fleeing, Yun Tianfeng’s face darkens. He dashes out of the yard, and in the blink of an eye, appears before Yun Zhuoran.

The dense black demonic energy transforms into slender, sharp willow-leaf knives rushing toward him.

Yun Zhuoran quickly retreats and immediately waves a talisman. Flames lick the air, burning all the leaves above in an instant.

After the black magic blades vanish, Yun Tianfeng’s hand strikes from behind.

Yun Zhuoran ducks, pinches several talisman papers between his fingers, closes his eyes, silently chants spells, then lunges toward Yun Tianfeng.

With a clatter, the talisman papers ignite, surrounding Yun Tianfeng who is momentarily unaware.

Given Yun Tianfeng’s strength, he should easily break these small talismans.

So Yun Zhuoran hurries away with his short legs. The intense exertion flushes his cheeks with two spots of red, and his dark eyes are slightly moist.

Sure enough, before Yun Zhuoran has run ten feet, a loud noise comes from behind.

He knows Yun Tianfeng has destroyed the talismans. Fighting him head-on is impossible, so he avoids wasting his talisman papers. He takes off the Lingxi magic weapon hanging on his earlobe, bites his fingertip, and wipes the blood on it.

Yun Tianfeng is closing in. Seeing the mysterious figure who had been half-hidden suddenly stop, he sneers, thinking he’s playing tricks. Just as he’s about to strike, a fierce spiritual light flashes from the opposite side, hurting his eyes and forcing him to close them.

Yun Zhuoran takes advantage of this to slap a magic talisman on his calf, puts on the small earrings, and runs.

The magic talisman greatly increases his speed.

Yun Zhuoran focuses only on escaping, unaware that the shadow at his feet does not follow. Instead, it turns and runs toward the shadow at Yun Tianfeng’s feet, then floats away from the ground amid Yun Tianfeng’s agonized roar.

When Yun Zhuoran reaches the hidden small door of the City Lord’s Mansion, he meets the shadow again.

Yun Zhuoran hasn’t realized the shadow didn’t follow until he reaches the gate. He takes out the moonlight stone from his sleeve pocket to check and finds that there is no shadow around him.

But in the blink of an eye, the shadow reappears just outside the gate.

He doesn’t even need to think to know that the heart demon has clearly done something in secret. But this isn’t a safe place to linger—they need to leave as soon as possible.

So Yun Zhuoran lights the moonlight stone in one hand and reaches toward the shadow stuck to the wall with the other. The shadow silently climbs onto him.

Yun Zhuoran shakes his head and hurries out of the City Lord’s Mansion before chaos breaks loose.

Fortunately, Yun Zhuoran asked Yun Peiran to help draw many spiritual talismans over the past few days and also stole a bottle of low-grade Rejuvenation Pills—not high level, but helpful.

After hurrying back to the small courtyard he shares with Yun Peiran, he takes a few pills and slowly regains his strength.

The courtyard is dim, but the raging flames from the City Lord’s Mansion cast a faint glow over the wall.

Beyond a high wall, Yun Zhuoran hears chaos from the mansion.

He calms himself and then asks the heart demon what just happened.

The heart demon truthfully says that when it saw Yun Tianfeng’s eyes stabbed by transcendent spiritual energy from the Lingxi magic weapon, it bit fiercely into Yun Tianfeng’s shadow.

Yun Zhuoran suddenly realizes, “Yun Tianfeng is seriously injured?”

“Maybe he lost part of his soul?” The heart demon isn’t sure, but it knows it feels very comfortable when Yun Tianfeng wails. It also worries Yun Zhuoran might hurt himself after expending so much energy and using the blood on his fingertips to combine the Lingxi magic weapon and talisman into a powerful attack.

“Brother, are you okay?”

Yun Zhuoran sits down by the well, leans against it, and presses his fingertip where the blood has scabbed over.

“I’m fine.”

He has just spent too much energy and needs time to recover.

After sitting for a while, Yun Zhuoran enters the house, searches for the pills Yun Peiran has hidden, and finds a high-level Foundation Establishment Pill. It’s a pity he can’t use it now without spiritual power. Rejuvenation Pills are more effective for replenishing his energy and blood.

He carefully selects a few pills to treat internal injuries and ease his discomfort, then packs them up and leaves the house.

When he returns after being out for half a day, Yun Zhuoran notices the medicine chest has been opened, and many things have been rummaged through and thrown into disarray. However, nothing is missing. It’s likely that Yun Tianqing and her brother searched for him and didn’t have time to take the medicine with them.

Yun Peiran has taken Yun Zhuoran to Yun Tianqing’s house before, so he knows the way. But this time, as he approaches the yard outside Yun Tianqing’s house, strange noises come from inside.

The bright firelight casts shadows of many people at the door.

Yun Zhuoran’s eyes pause. He beckons his heart demon to follow and uses talisman paper to become invisible, hiding behind a huge rock by the road.

Those people wear the dark training clothes of the City Lord’s Mansion. A delicate girl in a white dress stands in front of the door. Looking closely—who else could it be but Yun Duo?

Opposite her is Yun Fushuang, her hands tied.

There are many people in the yard, as if searching for something, with scattered miscellaneous items on the ground.

No wonder his and Yun Peiran’s yard is such a mess—it must be these people rummaging around.

Yun Zhuoran frowns slightly. He presses a drop of blood from the freshly scabbed middle finger onto his ear and draws a few strokes.

His hearing sharpens instantly, and even the footsteps within Yun Tianqing’s house become clear.

Just then, the City Lord’s Mansion guards searching Yun Tianqing’s house come out, and the team leader approaches to report to Yun Duo.

“No one was found.”

Yun Duo looks displeased but doesn’t vent her anger on the guards. She stares coldly at Yun Fushuang. “Where did Brother Weiran go? Yun Fushuang, if you don’t tell me, your brother will die. Brother Weiran’s not even your blood brother. If you insist on protecting him, you’ll just end up being buried alongside him in the foundation of the ritual. Is it worth it?”

The heart demon mutters in frustration and alarm, “Her again. It’s her again.”

Yun Zhuoran says nothing, only looks quietly at Yun Fushuang.

He doesn’t speak. He just quietly watches Yun Fushuang. Judging from how Yun Tianqing seems completely unaware of what Yun Duo has done in the past, Yun Fushuang shouldn’t have been caught by her in this version of events.

But here she is—bound and captured. Yun Tianqing is very likely caught as well.

Could it be that by parting with Yun Fushuang earlier than expected, he’s caused this outcome?

Yun Zhuoran can’t be sure.

Yun Fushuang just smiles lightly, looks at Yun Duo with disappointment, and says, “I used to think you were forced to stay in the City Lord’s Mansion and serve the High Priest these past few years. It was unavoidable that your temperament changed. At least you still remembered the friendship with Brother Peiran and Little Weiran. But I was wrong after all. I never expected you would become like the High Priest and Yun Tianfeng. I should be thankful Weiran left early.”

Yun Duo’s face darkens further at these words, but Yun Fushuang doesn’t speak again.

With nothing useful found in the house, Yun Duo shoots her a fierce glare and storms off.

Watching the guards follow Yun Duo away, Yun Zhuoran doesn’t follow.

He suddenly feels confused.

So things here don’t follow the path he remembers. Because he hasn’t convinced Yun Peiran to give up on saving Yun City, Yun Peiran has been invited to the City Lord’s Mansion—that part matches what Yun Tianqing told him from the past. But now that he hasn’t left with Yun Fushuang and Yun Tianqing, it seems they’ve been captured earlier than they should have.

The heart demon notices Yun Zhuoran’s mood shift. Half hidden in the darkness, his form blurs, only appearing slightly clearer when faint light from Yun Zhuoran’s sleeve touches him.

A hand-shaped shadow covers the back of Yun Zhuoran’s hand in the dim light. The shadow approaches silently, and Yun Zhuoran doesn’t feel it.

The heart demon doesn’t warn him, only asks, “Brother, does your hand still hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Yun Zhuoran shakes his head gently, lowers his eyes to look at the faint shadow on the ground, and suddenly grows a little nervous. “Weiran!”

The heart demon quickly responds, “Brother.”

Yun Zhuoran takes out the moonstone from his sleeve, watching the shadow become clearer and clearer, and also notices the shadow on the back of his hand. He’s stunned for a moment, then his eyes light up again.

“Weiran. I haven’t seen you for so long, I almost forgot what you look like.”

In truth, Yun Zhuoran wants to tell the heart demon directly—I want to see you.

But the heart demon doesn’t understand. His voice sounds frustrated, but also filled with determination.

“I know… Brother, I’m thinking of a way. I’ll work hard!”

Yun Zhuoran chuckles.

It seems his heart demon misunderstands again.

After a moment, he stands up holding the moonstone.

“Let’s go.”

The sickly young boy in white holds the moonstone like a lamp, lighting the way ahead. His heart demon follows behind, playing the role of his shadow—nervous but unwavering in his duty to protect.

The heart demon asks, “Where are we going?”

“To find the High Priest.” Yun Zhuoran’s expression is calm. He’s thought of a possible key to leaving this place.

“No matter what we choose, we can’t avoid the High Priest who caused the disaster in Yun City that year. Only by starting with the High Priest can we find a way out of here.”

And maybe, that will let him see his heart demon sooner.