When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 28

Before Ji Ruo can charge forward in a murderous rage, his two attendants quickly hold him back, urging him in a flurry of words, “Young Master! They were able to kill the Phantom Demon; their strength must be far beyond what it appears. Don’t act rashly!”

“Exactly! Please restrain yourself, Young Master. These people’s strength is deep and immeasurable. They were able to trap even the Phantom Demon, so we shouldn’t take any risks. Let’s plan carefully!”

Shen Lingshu, overhearing, asks, “Phantom Demon? Could that be the core of the dark array?”

Lu Qi nods thoughtfully.

As soon as the heart demon appears, he immediately shakes off Li Jianming and throws himself into Yun Zhuoran’s arms, calling out miserably, “Brother!”

Yun Zhuoran, pleased, pats the little black bundle. Without needing to ask, he knows the heart demon has devoured Ji Ruo’s demon pet. It seems the Phantom Demon was formidable, as he feels the spiritual energy within his dantian ripple.

Ji Ruo’s eyes burn red with anger, but realizing the mysterious Phantom Demon is gone—possibly due to someone concealing immense strength on the other side—he grits his teeth and clenches the few remaining black beads in his hand.

Seeing this, his attendants immediately guess his intention and quickly advise, “Young Master! The Palace Master warned you that the other demon pets aren’t as obedient as the Phantom Demon. Don’t use them recklessly!”

“But my Phantom Demon…” Ji Ruo’s tearful voice halts abruptly as he quickly blinks away his tears and glares fiercely at Li Jianming with reddened eyes.

“Yun Zhuoran, mark my words: if I don’t avenge this, I’ll write my name backward!” Ji Ruo then turns to the rest, shouting hatefully, “All of you, just wait! I’ll definitely be back!”

Li Jianming laughs and points to himself, realizing Ji Ruo has mistaken him for Yun Zhuoran.

The real Yun Zhuoran, meanwhile, is staring intently at the string of black beads hanging from Ji Ruo’s neck.

With the Phantom Demon devoured and one of the beads shattered, it becomes clear this is Ji Ruo’s device for releasing demon pets.

The demonic arts are strange and varied; some practitioners rear demonic pets, each creature a fearsome monster that defies normal methods of control. And Ji Ruo raises more than just one.

Yun Zhuoran’s eyes sparkle even brighter.

Just then, Ji Ruo’s two attendants suddenly fire a thunder orb, forcing Yun Zhuoran’s group of four to leap back quickly. A loud explosion echoes twice as thick fog spreads across the locust tree ridge.

Lu Qi hurries forward and confirms that the others have indeed vanished. He scouts the nearby small hut but returns looking frustrated.

“They got away.”

Shen Lingshu, unsurprised, remarks, “I believe they’ll likely come back. But for now, since Daoist Li is affected by the poisonous fragrance, we should hurry back as soon as possible.”

Clutching a tree for support, Li Jianming struggles to stay upright. “Finally, someone remembers me.”

Shen Lingshu laughs, “How could we forget Daoist Li? Although, I do wonder what exactly you did back there. Did you really take down the Phantom Demon yourself?”

Dizzy and feeling even more unsteady, Li Jianming sinks to the ground, holding his forehead. “I can’t take it anymore. Let’s discuss it when we get back… I’m so dizzy…”

So the four of them don’t linger and swiftly make their way back, riding their swords.

Before leaving, Shen Lingshu instructs his disciples to leave a message for Qin Zheng. As soon as they arrive at the inn, they find Qin Zheng already waiting in the lobby.

Fortunately, Li Jianming’s poisoning isn’t severe. After Qin Zheng administers a remedy, the remaining traces of poison are soon expelled, and Li Jianming’s strength quickly returns.

Seeing Li Jianming’s color improve, Qin Zheng lets out a sigh of relief. “You’ll be fine now—just rest up for a few days.” He turns to Shen Lingshu and the others, pleased to see how attentively they’ve been watching over him. “Lingshu, Lu Qi, and also Nephew Yun, it’s been years since you all trained together. Why don’t we make tonight a proper reunion?”

Li Jianming takes the tea Yun Zhuoran hands him, drinking it all in one gulp, seemingly unbothered by the fact it’s cold. He corrects sternly, “This is no joke! That young master from the Demon Palace really wants us dead! We were just lucky this time!”

Qin Zheng’s face grows serious at these words. “Did you encounter the young master of the Demon Palace?”

In a few words, Shen Lingshu recounts the events of the night.

After listening, Qin Zheng’s face turns grave. He plans to inform the other immortal sects of the Demon Palace’s presence nearby. Then he adds, “All three of you were directly under the nose of the Demon Palace’s young master, and he mistook Li Jianming for Nephew Yun, all the while believing you were the one who killed the Phantom Demon…”

His implication is clear—he doesn’t quite understand how Li Jianming manages to pull it off.

Shen Lingshu and Lu Qi are equally curious. The Phantom Demon, reserved as a trump card by the young master of the Demon Palace, couldn’t possibly be weak. Yet Li Jianming, who is a suppressed Golden Core cultivator and poisoned to boot, somehow manages to kill it?

Yun Zhuoran, gently rubbing the little heart demon concealed within his sleeve, looks over at Li Jianming with equal curiosity.

But to their surprise, Li Jianming, looking quite pleased with himself, folds his arms and laughs. “Of course, I used the protective charm my master left me! The moment my master’s sword aura flares up, any demon or ghost is reduced to dust, alright?”

Qin Zheng and the others exchange knowing looks.

They had briefly forgotten—just because Sword Immortal Wen has been overshadowed for centuries by Gu Shenshu and Yun Peiran doesn’t mean he’s weak!

Yun Zhuoran hadn’t expected Li Jianming to say this and raises an eyebrow. Then he sees Li Jianming turn back and wink at him, as if trying to communicate something. Yun Zhuoran responds with a slow blink.

Apparently understanding something, Li Jianming flashes him a toothy grin, his white teeth gleaming.

Just as Qin Zheng is about to instruct them on a few things before heading out, a disciple enters the hall, escorting someone. As they approach, Shen Lingshu rises to his feet.

“Father.”

Shen Fu hadn’t expected that he would arrive late at night to check on his son, only to encounter so many people. He pauses for a moment upon seeing everyone in the hall, then nods when Shen Lingshu greets him and approaches Qin Zheng to catch up.

Qin Zheng is on his way to inform the other immortal sects. It would be easy enough with the four major sects, but the aristocratic families in Shengjing, who have never been close to the four sects, pose a challenge. He’d originally thought of sending Shen Lingshu, who is from Shengjing and a future sect leader, to approach them. But with Shen’s father, the head of the Shen family, already here, Qin Zheng puts on a welcoming smile and greets him.

With nothing more required from Yun Zhuoran and the others, he and Lu Qi escort Li Jianming upstairs to his room. Li Jianming insists Yun Zhuoran come in with him. Lu Qi, not one to pry, returns to his own room without asking further questions.

Yun Zhuoran follows Li Jianming into the room. As soon as the door closes, before even sitting down, Li Jianming eagerly pulls him over, asking, “What’s up with that barrier of yours? It can even swallow demonic creatures—it’s insanely strong!”

Puzzled, Yun Zhuoran considers this. When the heart demon had devoured the Phantom Demon, Li Jianming should have been nearby. Hadn’t he witnessed the heart demon consuming it, and that’s why he’s concealed the truth and brought him here to ask privately?

When Yun Zhuoran doesn’t respond, Li Jianming continues, “That demonic pet tried to lure me out of the barrier, but of course, someone as incredibly sharp as me didn’t fall for it. So, it got impatient and tried to grab me, but the moment it hit the barrier—poof! Gone!”

The heart demon, listening from inside Yun Zhuoran’s sleeve, snorts quietly. It thinks, if this guy hadn’t repeatedly teased that Phantom Demon, it wouldn’t have lost its mind and foolishly rammed into the barrier out of sheer rage.

At that time, the Phantom Demon, thinking Li Jianming had softened, pitifully returned, pretending to be injured to coax him out to heal it. But Li Jianming feigns ignorance and refuses to step outside. Realizing his true intentions, the Phantom Demon becomes so furious that it sheds its human guise and tries to storm in to bite him to death.

Patting his chest as if in lingering fear, Li Jianming says, “It was so fierce! But it seemed terrified of that barrier of yours. It hesitated for ages before daring to get close, and as soon as it touched it, it got sucked right in. Just vanished!”

Yun Zhuoran lets out a sigh of relief and asks the heart demon, “Did you seize the chance to eat the Phantom Demon?”

The heart demon replies, “He argued with the Phantom Demon so hard that he passed out cold on the ground.”

…Considering the person in question is Li Jianming, somehow, this all makes sense.

Yun Zhuoran praises, “You’re quite clever.”

The heart demon’s tail wags happily, and it chirps, “Brother, you’re the smartest!”

Yun Zhuoran suppresses a smile and comes up with a quick excuse for Li Jianming, telling him that the barrier is a Golden Light Spell. Li Jianming listens intently, thoroughly convinced.

“The Golden Light Spell from the Tianqing Sect? No wonder it’s so powerful! Did your brother teach you that?”

At this point, Li Jianming suddenly covers his mouth, noticing Yun Zhuoran’s calm expression. He quickly reassures him, “Don’t worry; I won’t tell anyone!”

He promises again and again that he’ll take the secret of Yun Zhuoran knowing the Tianqing Sect’s unique Golden Light Spell to his grave.

Little does he know, Yun Zhuoran doesn’t mind at all. Yun Peiran has taught him many things, including the Golden Light Spell, and some people in the Tianqing Sect are aware of this.

But Yun Zhuoran senses that the spiritual energy in his dantian is becoming difficult to contain, so he exchanges a few words before hurrying back to his room. He activates a barrier and focuses on his cultivation.

Outside, under the bright moon, a small paper figure sits on the windowsill, hugging its knees and gazing at the moon in a daze.

Yun Zhuoran remains completely unaware.

After bidding Qin Zheng farewell, Shen Lingshu sees Shen Fu out. The father and son don’t discuss the Demon Palace’s young master much. Once they’re alone, Shen Fu finally addresses the real reason for his visit. “Why did you bring Yun Zhuoran here?” Thinking of the extraordinarily handsome young man in white he saw earlier in the hall, Shen Fu’s face turns slightly cold. “Are you still protecting him?”

Shen Lingshu replies, “He’s my junior martial brother.”

Shen Fu speaks with a stern expression, “Don’t forget, he’s Yun Peiran’s brother! Just leave him be—Tianqing Sect wants to take him away, so just hand him over to Juefei on this occasion.”

This isn’t the first time Shen Fu has brought this up, but once again, Shen Lingshu refuses.

“Junior Brother Yun is also a disciple of our master; there’s no reason to send him off to Tianqing Sect.”

“But what if Yun Peiran returns? Yu’er, you’re well aware of how many eyes are on you now. Once you break through to the Nascent Soul stage, you’ll be the next head of Tiandao Sect. Keeping him around will only bring calamity!”

Hearing his father’s increasingly agitated tone, Shen Lingshu furrows his brow, a look of helplessness crossing his face. “Father, if I really were to send Junior Brother Yun away like that, wouldn’t people say I have no regard for the bonds between fellow disciples?”

Shen Fu is indifferent. “Then just find some fault in Yun Zhuoran to pin on him.”

Displeased, Shen Lingshu replies, “Father, setting someone up is hardly the act of a true gentleman!”

Realizing he’s overstepped, Shen Fu adds somewhat sheepishly, “But Yu’er, keeping him around and supporting him will only stir up nasty rumors outside. You’re only putting yourself in harm’s way!”

“I know you’re only concerned for me, Father.” Shen Lingshu turns, looking at his father with a rare seriousness. “But I cannot send Junior Brother Yun away. It’s not just because we are fellow disciples. What you don’t know, Father, is that, despite my efforts in cultivation over the past two years, my progress has stalled entirely.”

As Shen Lingshu speaks, a flicker of hesitation crosses his eyes. He wonders if he should tell his father about the recurring dreams he’s had over the past few months involving Yun Zhuoran and how he might be his destined person—perhaps even his key to breaking through his bottleneck.

Shen Fu, visibly worried, asks, “Could it be that the fragmented scrolls left by your master have issues?” After a moment, he adds, “Did Gu Shenshu also teach Yun Zhuoran the path of the Emotionless Daoist? And more completely than he taught you?”

Shen Lingshu opens his mouth to answer but, noticing his father’s anxious expression, hesitates. He suddenly realizes that if he does intend to marry Yun Zhuoran someday, his father would never approve. Best to let him think Yun Zhuoran has indeed received the complete Emotionless Daoist. Bowing his head, he tacitly confirms it, although a trace of doubt lingers in his heart—has Junior Brother Yun really not studied the Emotionless Daoist?

Apart from the Shen father and son, few know the truth: Gu Shenshu hasn’t actually taught his unique Emotionless Daoist to his one true disciple, Shen Lingshu. What Shen Lingshu practices is merely a compilation of fragments Gu Shenshu left behind. Naturally, Shen Lingshu has no intention of revealing this fact.

Three days later, Yun Zhuoran finally emerges from his room.

The heart demon has recently consumed the Phantom Demon, which is comparable to the Dream Demon he encountered in the Cloud Pool—a creature of roughly the Nascent Soul stage’s peak. Yet absorbing such a small demon isn’t enough to help Yun Zhuoran push past the final hurdle from the late Spiritual Transformation Stage. His dantian’s spiritual energy has accumulated from a lake into a vast ocean, but he’s still a bit away from the peak.

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t want to waste time; with a few days left before they are to enter the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest, he thinks he’ll seize the opportunity to push his cultivation forward. He practices for three days, but unfortunately, his progress stalls just shy of the peak of the Spirit Transformation stage.

Upon exiting his retreat, Yun Zhuoran notices three small paper figures lined up outside his window.

The paper figures have been cut precisely alike, each carefully painted with small black eyes.

During his cultivation, he has set up a barrier to ensure no disturbances, completely isolating himself from the outside. Each day, the heart demon notices an extra paper figure outside the window, but it’s too busy gnawing on the spiritual provisions Yun Zhuoran has prepared for it, happily sipping away from a jade bottle, with no intention of notifying him that someone has left messages.

When Yun Zhuoran opens the window, his eyes widen slightly in surprise. He looks back at the heart demon, who blinks at him innocently. Feeling resigned, he brings the little paper figures inside. Perhaps reflecting their owner’s rather glum mood, the paper figures emanate an air of dejected sorrow.

The little paper figures hop nimbly from the window to the desk, one by one, and display the messages their master has sent Yun Zhuoran over the past few days:

— Need help?

— Why haven’t you come to find me yet?

— You gave away the jade branch I gifted you!