When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 140

Just as they return to the warm little building, Pei Heng and Li Jianming arrive right after them.

Li Jianming doesn’t know the detailed current situation of the Wu Clan, but Pei Heng, the eldest disciple who always follows Wen Jianxian, knows it very well.

Perhaps eager to make up for his mistakes, he passes this information to Yun Zhuoran and the others without resting after waking up.

In addition to the map of the Wu Clan and some books recording the customs of various places in Wu City, Pei Heng also brings a lot of recent news about the Wu Clan and the actions of Fengtian Temple and the Wu Clan over the years. However, all of this can only be relayed orally by him. Without the Sword Sect’s provision, they would have had to spend a great deal of effort to gather this information, so everyone, including Ji Ruo, listens carefully.

Thousands of years ago, the Wu Clan declined and was expelled to the wild lands on the edge of Xizhou.

There is almost no spiritual energy there. Next to the snow-capped mountains stretches a large wasteland where no grass grows. A long-lasting thick miasma hangs over the area, and countless ferocious beasts and monsters roam it. After countless battles, the Wu Clan builds Wu City on one of the plains. Since then, Wu City has become the safest habitat for the Wu Clan, but not all Wu Clan live in Wu City.

Outside Wu City flows the Black Moon River, along which seventy-eight tribes of different sizes scatter, collectively known as the Black Moon Tribe.

Pei Heng isn’t particularly interested, but he patiently tells everyone, “The water of the Black Moon River has turned as black as ink due to the pollution of miasma. The Black Moon Tribe lives in the lower reaches, and Wu City is in the upper reaches. If you find the Black Moon River, Wu City won’t be far away. However, the Black Moon Tribe and Wu City have been at odds for hundreds of years. It is said this is because the Black Moon Tribe doesn’t recognize the status of the Wu Clan patriarch in Wu City and claims to be the most orthodox descendants of the Wu Clan.

But without exception, all Wu Clan members in both Wu City and the Black Moon Tribe are born with an evil curse. The people of the Black Moon Tribe are more tolerant of outsiders than those of Wu City. The Wu City people’s rejection of outsiders is even worse—it can be called resentment. Outsiders are best to avoid the Black Moon Tribe; otherwise, they will likely be sacrificed to vent their anger.”

“In short, the Black Moon Tribe seems to have fully inherited the warlike and bloodthirsty nature of the Wu Clan from a thousand years ago. Compared to them, Wu City, under the rule of the Wu Clan leader, is relatively friendly and allows outsiders in. Many have visited Wu City, but perhaps under the extreme torment of the Wu Clan’s curse, the people of Wu City eventually also become believers of Fengtian Temple.”

Lu Yu raises his eyebrows. “Also?”

Pei Heng says, “The very first to shed blood are from the Black Moon Tribes. Later, Wu City’s people begin as well, all claiming to be believers of Fengtian Temple. We don’t know who comes first or later, but Wu City and the Black Moon Tribe have always been at odds. I didn’t expect they would all work for Fengtian Temple.”

Yun Zhuoran nods slightly. “It seems reasonable for Sect Master Wen to suspect that Fengtian Temple is helping them break the curse. If this weren’t related to the future of the entire Wu Clan, the clans wouldn’t have achieved this rare unification.”

“Yes,” Pei Heng says. “As long as the Wu Clan’s cooperation with Fengtian Temple exists, it won’t be difficult to deal with Fengtian Temple by severing their connection. I’m afraid if the blood exchange method can really cure the evil curse on the Wu Clan, we will have to fight them.”

The Wu Clan has complex terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It may take several sects in Xizhou joining forces to succeed. Moreover, these Wu Clan are notoriously paranoid and reckless. They keep sending people out to harass others, openly or secretly, mostly ordinary people without cultivation, making it hard to guard against.

Neither Wen Jianxian nor the other sects in Xizhou have ever considered exterminating the clan.

The Wu Clan has survived for so many years and can still emerge to harm people from time to time. This shows there are indeed strong masters in their clan, and righteous cultivators can’t easily do things that would exterminate an entire clan.

Pei Heng’s worries are not unreasonable.

If blood exchange really removes the curse, the Wu Clan’s previous cruel method of only taking blood and not caring about outsiders’ lives will only cause them to become more crazed in the future. As a last resort, the righteous might choose to exterminate the clan.

The group stays busy all night—first rescuing Wen Jianxian, then listening to Pei Heng’s lengthy report about the recent Wu Clan situation for half the night. Unknowingly, dawn arrives.

By the time Pei Heng and Li Jianming depart, dawn has already broken. Ji Ruo has long since succumbed to sleep, dozing against Yun Shaowei.

Seeing Lu Yu staring thoughtfully at Pei Heng and the others walking away, Yun Zhuoran puts down the Wu Clan map and asks with concern, “Senior Lu, have you thought of a way to deal with the Wu Clan?”

The heart demon hugs Yun Zhuoran’s arm, yawns softly at Ji Ruo’s snoring, then quietly leans back on Yun Zhuoran’s shoulder and looks sleepily at Lu Yu.

Lu Yu frowns. “Do you think Su Pengpeng will come back to find Pei Heng?”

Although Yun Zhuoran doesn’t understand why Lu Yu asks this, he thinks seriously. “It depends on how deep their feelings are.”

“Then I still have a chance to see the next scene of this play?” Lu Yu’s worried face finally breaks into a smile. He turns and accuses the confused Yun Zhuoran, “That poor fellow is heartbroken, doesn’t rest a moment, and spends the whole night telling you about the Wu Clan—and you actually let him ramble on for hours? You youngsters, no sense of sympathy at all!”

So this “Senior Lu” really is just here to play hired muscle, and with nothing to do, he is getting restless?

Yun Zhuoran stays silent for a moment but says nothing. He pats Weiran’s shoulder to wake him up, packs his things, stands, and tells Yun Shaowei and the others, “Alright, let’s go back to our rooms.”

“Oh.” Yun Shaowei responds, quietly wakes Ji Ruo, and helps his unconscious cousin upstairs.

Yun Zhuoran packs up and takes Weiran back to his room.

Soon, only Lu Yu is left sitting in the hall.

“You all went back to your rooms?” Lu Yu frowns, sighs, stretches with a loneliness no one understands, and goes back to his own room.

Since coming to Jialan City, Weiran has little time to sleep, which goes completely against his usual schedule. After returning to his room, he naturally goes to catch up on sleep next to Yun Zhuoran.

Yun Zhuoran sits by the bed and meditates as usual.

Yun Shaowei, Ji Ruo, Lu Yu, and others rest in their rooms, so the small building is unusually quiet.

The sky brightens, and a beam of sunlight quietly touches the Kunwu Sword Sect’s snow-capped mountains that have not melted for a hundred years.

In this rare warm and peaceful place, a great storm begins to rise within the Sword Sect.

The cause and effect of Su Pengpeng’s expulsion from the sect spreads quickly throughout the mountain, and most disciples express disbelief. From the sect’s founding to the present, from the outer sect to the inner sect, almost all Sword Sect disciples have some kind of relationship with senior sister Ling Xuefeng, who manages the sect’s trivial affairs. Most disciples respect her greatly, especially the female disciples. No one thinks that this senior sister, who usually cares for the juniors, is actually a member of the Wu Clan and has betrayed the sect.

Disciples sigh endlessly. Looking back, they now realize her many suspicious absences, like disappearing every full moon—likely hiding the curse’s eruptions.

Naturally, some feel sympathy for Su Pengpeng. The Sword Sect is in close proximity to the Wu Clan, and in recent years they often quarrel. Most disciples know about the Wu Clan and understand the inhuman suffering caused by the curse.

Their sympathy turns into anger. They know the Wu Clan is troubled, but that is no excuse for Su Pengpeng to lurk within the Sword Sect for years, take advantage of everyone’s trust, and stab the Sect Master in the back.

In the end, despite all her wrongdoings, Su Pengpeng is only expelled from the sect!

Disciples close to her feel deeply betrayed, but when thinking carefully, their grievances are less severe than those of the eldest senior brother, who has been deceived for years, and the Sect Master, who is betrayed but lets Su Pengpeng go for so long out of affection.

The disciples of the Sword Sect have mixed feelings. The sect, usually a little cold but lively, is unusually quiet today. Every disciple wears a solemn expression for no clear reason. Many practice their swordsmanship more fiercely, channeling their anger into motivation, and growing more eager to pacify the Wu Clan.

Meanwhile, Wu City is in chaos. The clan leader’s youngest son is taken away by outsiders. Given how much the Wu Clan values their offspring, this is a slap in the face to the entire clan. No matter what, they must get the child back, but Fengtian Temple refuses to help.

In desperation, the Wu Clan sends people to rescue him themselves.

If one looks closely, there are more outsiders in Jialan City today. Except for a few caught by Sword Sect disciples hiding in the shadows, several figures sneak into the mountain under cover of night.

Shen Lingshu is one of them.

This is not his first visit to Kunwu Sword Sect. Many years ago, he came with Qin Zheng as the future leader of Tiandao Sect. Back then, Pei Heng, the Sword Sect’s eldest disciple, greeted him at the gate. But now, his identity has changed drastically, forcing him to sneak in through cracks in the barrier under cover of darkness.

How glorious it is then, how mocking it is now.

Shen Lingshu avoids patrolling Sword Sect disciples. He remembers that the guest accommodations are usually grouped together.

After searching, he finds a building with a single candle burning. He carefully holds his breath and circles the cedar forest behind it.

Few rooms have candlelight. Shen Lingshu looks up and fixes his gaze on a third-floor room, not moving away. Two tall, thin figures are reflected on the window paper.

Shen Lingshu stares silently, lost in thought.

When the two figures begin to move, Shen Lingshu cautiously retreats to the cedar forest—but suddenly meets a pair of surprised eyes not far behind.

It is Yun Shaowei, the young master of Yun City!

Without hesitation, Shen Lingshu seals Yun Shaowei’s spiritual veins with his sword, covers his mouth with one hand, and grips his neck with the other.

His movements are so fast Yun Shaowei doesn’t see them coming. He only feels his back hit a cold tree trunk and nearly suffocates, unable to move.

Yun Shaowei is shocked. When he was in Yun City, Shen Lingshu was clearly only at the foundation-building stage, but now he is completely powerless against Shen Lingshu. He is sure Shen Lingshu’s strength has grown tremendously in a short time.

Yun Shaowei can’t speak and can only stare at Shen Lingshu with dark eyes. His eye shape is strikingly similar to Yun Zhuoran’s.

Shen Lingshu pauses, loosening his grip slightly.

“I won’t kill you,” Shen Lingshu whispers. “Don’t make a sound. I’ll let you go.”

Yun Shaowei’s eyes show clear distrust.

Shen Lingshu’s expression softens a little. “Don’t look at me like that. He’s here. How could I harm you?”

Yun Shaowei is puzzled. Who is “he”?

Shen Lingshu says no more.

Just as Yun Shaowei is wondering, his expression suddenly tenses and the hand on his neck tightens. Shen Lingshu pulls him close and hides behind him.

Yun Shaowei looks up and sees Yun Zhuoran’s room upstairs—and at the same time, Shen Lingshu sees the third-floor window gently pushed open by a pair of hands.

The young man in red stands at the window.

It is the little island master!

Yun Shaowei is surprised but can neither speak nor move, unable to ask for help. He can only wait and hope the little island master finds him quickly.

Unfortunately, Yun Shaowei is disappointed. From his blind spot beneath the third-floor window, the young man in red only looks upstairs briefly before turning away.

Yun Shaowei grows anxious, noticing the subtle relaxation of the person behind him. Just when he is about to lose hope, another figure appears at the window—a person in white.

Shen Lingshu doesn’t miss Yun Shaowei’s sudden tense reaction as the heart demon and Yun Zhuoran appear one after another. At the moment, he no longer cares that he has sneaked into the Sword Sect or that he is still holding Yun Shaowei.

He stares at the white figure upstairs with a complicated, almost obsessed look in his eyes.

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t expect anyone to be watching him from the woods below. His consciousness doesn’t detect anyone, but he sees the heart demon still lying by the window, so he follows to take a look.

“It’s snowing again.”

No one knows when it starts snowing again, but soon the snow covers the windowsill.

Yun Zhuoran stretches his hand out of the window and soon catches a handful of snowflakes, feeling the cold white flakes slowly melting in his palm. “It is indeed a little cold. No wonder Ji Ruo always refuses to go out.”

The heart demon stares at Yun Zhuoran blankly, a somewhat surprised expression on his face. Hearing him say the snow is cold, the heart demon hurriedly brushes the snowflakes off his hands, wipes the moisture from his palms with his sleeves, and scolds seriously, “If you know the snow is cold, don’t play with it. Brother is not a child anymore. The snow outside isn’t clean.”

It isn’t the first time Yun Zhuoran is scolded by someone, but he finds it amusing to be scolded by the heart demon. He nods cheerfully. “Okay, I know.”

“Brother is so good.”

Yun Zhuoran gives in, and the heart demon can no longer stay serious. He holds Yun Zhuoran’s hand and places it on his heart to warm it.

Yun Zhuoran isn’t feeling cold at all, but he doesn’t pull the hand away. He even jokes, “I’m so good, what reward will Weiran give me?”

“Reward?” The heart demon pauses, then tiptoes forward and kisses Yun Zhuoran’s forehead before saying seriously, “Brother, you must be obedient.”

Yun Zhuoran stares at the heart demon with bright eyes.

What the heart demon likes most is that Yun Zhuoran only looks at him—just like now. He is moved and whispers, “It seems I haven’t kissed you today…”

To keep count so precisely? Not even willing to miss a single day? Yun Zhuoran finds it funny.

Before Yun Zhuoran can speak, the heart demon quickly kisses him on the mouth like a dragonfly skimming the water, then immediately pulls away and looks at him pitifully with sparkling red eyes.

“Brother, hurry up.”

Yun Zhuoran: “…”

The two figures are entwined in front of the window, their breaths mingling, when Yun Zhuoran suddenly remembers the window is open. He hurriedly pushes the heart demon’s shoulder to pull back.

As soon as he says “window,” the heart demon chases him with dissatisfaction, closes the window, gently presses Yun Zhuoran against it, and kisses him again.

But downstairs, Shen Lingshu clenches his sword, his eyes red with jealousy.

From the moment the two kiss, Yun Shaowei has turned his face away, cheeks burning red. He catches sight of Shen Lingshu’s expression—dark and stormy, filled with hatred, anger, and murderous intent.

What is he so angry about?

Yun Shaowei’s curiosity catches Shen Lingshu’s attention.

His eyes narrow, and the hand holding Yun Shaowei’s neck suddenly tightens. “Even you are mocking me!”

Yun Shaowei feels suffocated again, staring with confused eyes, gritting his teeth.

Shen Lingshu looks at his face, somewhat like Yun Zhuoran’s, and shows a pained expression. He slowly relaxes his grip and looks helpless. Then he lets go completely. “I didn’t mean it. Don’t look at me like that. I…”

Yun Shaowei has no mood to listen. Even with a good temper, he is angry at being treated like that. He greedily inhales fresh air and coughs hoarsely. As soon as he makes a sound, someone covers his mouth again. He doesn’t even need to think and immediately glares at Shen Lingshu.

Shen Lingshu stares steadily and says in a low voice, “Don’t make a sound. I really don’t want to hurt you.” He gives a bitter smile. “I can’t beat Yun Zhuoran, and I don’t want to disturb him.”

Yun Shaowei just wants to scold someone, not hurt him. Is this a ghost pinching his neck?

Shen Lingshu’s eyes are deep and strange. After letting go, he steps back with his sword in hand and says, “Don’t tell him I’ve been here.”

Yun Shaowei’s eyes widen, about to remind Shen Lingshu that his spiritual veins are still sealed.

But Shen Lingshu only looks at him deeply, then turns and disappears into the cedar forest in an instant.

Yun Shaowei is angry and anxious when a lazy, satisfied voice comes from behind. “Who was here just now?”

It is the little island master.

Yun Shaowei is so excited he almost cries. Sure enough, he sees a familiar figure in red stepping out beside him.

Hands slowly arrange the loose bright red collar, a faint redness on his lips—the heart demon appears in this form.

This little island master is stunning, with a silent charm that invites closeness.

However, Yun Shaowei subconsciously closes his eyes at the first sight and shouts loudly, “Ninth Uncle! I didn’t see anything!”

“You recognized the wrong person.” The heart demon looks at Yun Shaowei strangely, then gathers his clothes to hide his broad white chest, and lifts the corners of his slightly swollen lips into a satisfied smile. “But I wouldn’t mind if you called me ‘little uncle.’ Go ahead.”