When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 32

The valley is shrouded in a faint mist, likely due to the shade, making the air pleasantly cool. Yun Zhuoran returns to the valley once again, partly because he is unwilling to give up and wants to see if the black dragon Gu Qiuming mentioned is still here. More importantly, he believes that since Lu Qi has seen the black dragon with his own eyes, it won’t leave so easily.

The black dragon is a clue left behind by Gu Shenshu. Yun Zhuoran is deeply disappointed that he failed to stop Gu Shenshu last time. He still yearns to meet him—not to inquire about his changes, but to uncover the truth behind his downfall.

A cool breeze sweeps through the lush grass and trees, rustling noisily.

The heart demon is particularly sensitive to evil spirits. With it as his guide, Yun Zhuoran quickly locates the place with the strongest concentration of evil energy. It is a dark cave, its entrance mostly obscured by green vines hanging down from the cliff.

Yun Zhuoran bends slightly and walks into the cave. A cluster of flexible light suddenly ignites and floats in front of him to lead the way, allowing him to see the situation in the cave clearly.

The cave is not deep, but it is spacious and arched. The rough mountain walls are crisscrossed with claw marks from wild animals, and the dry ground is littered with irregular marks, about the size of a fist—likely the footprints of some kind of wild animal.

As Yun Zhuoran steps further inside, a black shadow darts from a hidden corner and swiftly blocks the entrance. It moves silently, approaching Yun Zhuoran’s back.

Yun Zhuoran seems unaware, and the shadow draws closer, its footsteps growing quieter the nearer it gets.

The shadow lunges!

But before it can strike, it is ensnared by a large net formed from spiritual energy. The net tightens rapidly, wrapping the shadow tightly as it falls to the ground. With the loud commotion of the heavy fall and the dust that fills the air, Yun Zhuoran can’t help but notice. He frowns and turns to look.

“Thunder lion beast?”

The giant lion, still struggling in the spiritual energy net, is silver-gray all over. It is a level-4 monster beast, a rare mutant thunder lion known for its thunder attacks, placing it among the more advanced monsters.

The 4th-tier demon beast has already formed a demon core.

The thunder lion, now entangled in the net and rolling on the ground in panic, gradually slows its struggles. It seems to realize that escape is futile. The creature’s roar suddenly morphs into a human voice: “My lord, spare my life!”

Yun Zhuoran raises an eyebrow. “You’ve awakened your spiritual wisdom?”

As the words fall, the thunder lion beast completely stops struggling and looks at Yun Zhuoran with a pair of wet eyes. He seems to know there’s no use in resisting. Seeing this, Yun Zhuoran suppresses the heart demon, who is eyeing the creature hungrily, and asks, “There aren’t many monsters in the valley. You seem to have the highest cultivation and are very skilled at hiding. If I hadn’t checked with my spiritual sense just now, it would have been difficult to detect you. Let me ask you: who has come to the valley in the past few days?” Yun Zhuoran pauses, then quickly adds, “Have you seen a black dragon?”

After a long silence, the thunder lion beast finally stammers, “The black dragon is very fierce, and its owner… he hurt me. It hurts…”

As if worried that Yun Zhuoran won’t believe him, the thunder lion beast quickly lifts his hind legs. The silver-gray fur at the base of his leg is clumped together by a thick layer of blood, though the wound has already healed and isn’t deep.

Yun Zhuoran asks, “Is its owner a handsome man in black?”

The thunder lion beast’s eyes hold confusion. Clearly, he doesn’t understand the concept of ‘handsome,’ but he responds angrily, “That hateful man is terrible, and the power in him is terrible too…”

Yun Zhuoran shakes his head. “What did he do, and where did he go?”

The thunder lion beast, lacking intelligence, can’t recall the exact details of when the man and the black dragon came or went. All he knows is that he was injured when he encountered the man a few days ago, and then he hid. But this confirms that the black dragon indeed has an owner. If the black dragon is the same mirage dragon that appeared in Tiandao Sect, then its owner is most likely Gu Shenshu.

It is highly likely that Gu Shenshu is in the Ten Thousand Beast Forest, so Yun Zhuoran is right to have come here.

Once the thunder lion beast finishes explaining, he only asks Yun Zhuoran to release him, but his eyes, still filled with animalistic hatred, glare at Yun Zhuoran. Without hesitation, Yun Zhuoran feeds the creature to his heart demon before leaving the cave.

Unfortunately, the trail of Gu Shenshu seems to have ended here. Where should he search next?

Suddenly, a cold rebuke echoes through the forest. “Who is it!”

Yun Zhuoran is about to take action when he suddenly feels a familiar and unmistakable sword intent. He lowers his hand, which had been forming a seal.

“Brother Lu, it’s me.”

The sword cultivator emerges from the dense jungle, sword in hand. “Brother Yun?”

Lu Qi appears tense, his face pale with traces of blood. His sword is unsheathed, as though he has just been through a fierce battle. When he sees Yun Zhuoran, he sheaths his sword, but his eyes are filled with confusion. “Why are you here? Brother Shen said you were in the Ginkgo Forest.”

Yun Zhuoran pauses. “I just arrived.”

Lu Qi nods. “I received a message from Senior Brother Shen last night, saying that you were waiting for him in the Ginkgo Forest. However, he had something urgent come up and couldn’t make it, so he asked me to find you first.” Seeing Yun Zhuoran glance at his robe and the bloodstains on his clothes, he explains, “Last night, I got entangled with a level 6 monster. It took quite a bit of effort to deal with it.”

Level 6 monsters are roughly the strength of monks from the late Nascent Soul stage to the late Out-of-Body stage.

Yun Zhuoran can’t help but marvel. “Thank you for your hard work, Senior Brother Lu.” Of course, he doesn’t mention that he’s lying to Shen Lingshu. Instead, he says, “I heard from Gu Qiuming that you were here, so I came to find you.”

“In that case, Junior Brother Yun, you will accompany me for the next two months or so,” Lu Qi replies.

Lu Qi doesn’t doubt Yun Zhuoran’s words. His eyes are clear, and he doesn’t even question how Yun Zhuoran managed to arrive here in a single night from the distant Ginkgo Forest, or how he had met Gu Qiuming.

Seeing that Lu Qi looks exhausted, Yun Zhuoran invites him to rest inside the Thunder Lion’s cave.

Lu Qi notices that Yun Zhuoran is staring at him, and he knows that Yun Zhuoran has something to say. Yun Zhuoran directly asks him about the black dragon he saw when he found Gu Qiuming. When the black dragon is mentioned, Lu Qi also finds it suspicious.

It turns out that the black dragon Lu Qi saw was only a fleeting glimpse. Fortunately, his eyesight is sharp, and he manages to see the dragon clearly. When he first spots it, the black dragon had been hiding not far behind Gu Qiuming, seemingly watching him. As Lu Qi approaches, the black dragon flees. He is sure that the black dragon has a thick, sinister aura.

This is undoubtedly a demon dragon. Although Lu Qi has been in seclusion during the earlier incidents at Tiandao Sect and hasn’t seen the demon dragon that caused chaos within the sect, he has heard his master and Jiang Zhi Bai mention it. He doesn’t believe it’s a coincidence and suspects that the black dragon is the same demon dragon that caused havoc at Tiandao Sect.

However, the unfortunate thing is that Lu Qi couldn’t catch up to the black dragon. “I couldn’t catch up with it at the time. After sending Gu Qiuming away, I searched the valley again, but then a sixth-tier demon beast came after me.”

Yun Zhuoran is deep in thought. “If the black dragon is the demon dragon that caused chaos in the sect, why would it appear in the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest? If it’s the same dragon, its appearance here would make this place very dangerous, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m planning to go find Senior Brother Shen. I wonder if he can contact the seniors outside the Ten Thousand Beast Forest and send this news out in time.”

The barrier outside the Ten Thousand Beast Forest is incredibly thick. Ordinary messengers or jade slips can’t penetrate it to deliver messages. Level 1 sound-transmitting instruments can only facilitate short-range communication.

Lu Qi is truly exhausted after skipping a level to battle a level 6 monster. He spends two hours in the cave in a daze, with his spiritual power circulating for another two days before he fully recovers from the exhaustion. During that time, Yun Zhuoran stays by the cave entrance, guarding him. As soon as Lu Qi regains his strength, he grabs his spirit sword and heads out, eager to report to Shen Lingshu.

Even though Yun Zhuoran doesn’t want to accompany Shen Lingshu, he has no choice but to follow Lu Qi.

The sun is already slanting toward the west, signaling noon. The two of them make their way toward the mouth of the valley. Just as they are about to leave the forest, they hear voices ahead—one of them sounds like a woman crying, and a familiar name reaches their ears: Shen Lingshu.

“I’m warning you, don’t touch me! Shen Lingshu is my brother!”

The two exchange a glance and, without making a sound, quietly hide in the woods.

A group of people passes by on the path outside the forest, gradually getting closer, and the voices grow clearer.

In the commotion, the sharp female voice rings out particularly loudly. “Hey! Did you hear? My brother is Shen Lingshu! The future sect leader of Tiandao Sect, one of the four major sects! My father is Shen Fu, the head of the Shen family in Shengjing! Let me go now, or when my brother arrives, I’ll have him kill all of you demon cultivators!”

Yun Zhuoran and Lu Qi exchange a glance. Without waiting for the other to explain who this person claiming to be Shen Lingshu’s sister is, they observe as 35 demon cultivators push two people forward, their hands bound behind their backs. The girl in yellow clothes, clutching her wrist, walks ahead, while the one who had spoken so loudly glares at the person pushing her, her face twisted in dissatisfaction.

If Shen Lingshu were there, he would immediately recognize this girl as his biological sister, Shen Xi.

However, even if she truly is Shen Lingshu’s sister, she wouldn’t fare well in front of the demon cultivators. The young man in black, walking ahead, hears her arrogant tone and laughs.

“Bah! Your brother is nothing!” The masked young man in black steps onto a rock, raises his chin, and points his nostrils at Shen Xi. “My father is the master of the Demon Palace and the current top figure in the Demon Path! Do you really think you can fight with my connections? If you don’t shut up, I’ll have your face scratched off!”

Shen Xi’s face turns pale at his words. She sobs quietly, calling for her brother in a low voice. Deep down, she curses herself and mutters, “When my brother comes, I’ll have him kill all of you demon cultivators!”

Ji Ruo is very skilled at controlling the temper of young ladies like Shen Xi. As soon as he speaks, Shen Xi dares not argue. The group quickly passes through the forest, unaware of Yun Zhuoran and Lu Qi’s presence. Ji Ruo, muttering proudly, adds, “Shen Lingshu, come quickly. I can’t wait to cut off his head.”

After they move on, Yun Zhuoran and Lu Qi emerge from the woods. Lu Qi gazes into the distance, where they have just gone, deep into the valley.

“Is that really Senior Brother Shen’s sister?” he asks.

Yun Zhuoran’s gaze grows distant. “Yes.”

He has never met Shen Lingshu’s sister before. He has only heard Shen Lingshu mention her a few times and knows that Shen Lingshu is very protective of her. To his surprise, Ji Ruo seems to have a good relationship with Shen Lingshu’s sister. Yun Zhuoran finds it curious, especially because the stories he has heard portray Shen Xi as arrogant and domineering, with a temperament just like her brother’s—ruthless and fiery. Ji Ruo, as spicy as he is, can be difficult to deal with, and Shen Lingshu has often struggled when the two of them clash.

Yun Zhuoran unconsciously twirls the small black balls wrapped around his wrist. A cold glint flickers in his sharp eyes, and he lets out a soft chuckle.

“Ji Ruo raises magic pets. Last time, one magic demon went missing, but there are still several left,” he muses.

Lu Qi, looking a bit embarrassed, replies, “Yes. Based on Ji Ruo’s actions last time, the remaining demon pets should be stronger. But we can’t just stand by and let Senior Brother Shen’s sister fall into his hands.”

“We won’t leave yet.” Lu Qi hesitates for a moment, then makes a swift decision. “According to Ji Ruo, Senior Brother Shen didn’t come to you in an emergency, so he must have known about Shen Xi being kidnapped and is likely on his way here. Junior Brother Yun, go back to the cave and hide. I’ll keep an eye on Ji Ruo and the others and wait for Senior Brother Shen to join us.”

Yun Zhuoran, momentarily distracted, is clearly being directed by Lu Qi. At his words, Yun Zhuoran frowns. His cold expression turns blank for a second. Saving Shen Xi? Wasn’t it Ji Ruo they were worried about?