When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 35

After Ji Ruo finishes his harsh words, he watches as the plague demon he just released locks eyes with Yun Zhuoran—only to immediately flee as if it has seen a ghost.

Yun Zhuoran is just as baffled. Neither he nor his heart demon should be capable of frightening such an ugly plague demon.

The plague demon trembles, hiding behind the mountain wall while cautiously peeking out.

Ji Ruo’s face burns hot with anger. “Why are you hiding?! Come out!”

On one side is his master’s order—one it cannot disobey—and on the other is the righteous cultivator, who, for some inexplicable reason, exudes an overwhelming and terrifying pressure. The plague demon bites its sleeve, reluctantly floating forward. Meanwhile, the heart demon peeks out from Yun Zhuoran’s hand, its tiny black eyes staring intently. The plague demon shudders violently, nearly scared out of its wits.

The more Ji Ruo sees the plague demon’s cowardly behavior, the angrier he gets. “Useless thing!”

Ji Ruo knows deep down that Yun Zhuoran is slightly stronger than him. If he doesn’t launch a sudden attack, he wouldn’t be able to capture Yun Zhuoran at all. To be honest, Ji Ruo is also somewhat afraid of Yun Zhuoran, though he can’t quite explain why. Something about him makes Ji Ruo feel weak, but he refuses to lose face.

Forcing himself to calm down, Ji Ruo bites his fingertip, letting scarlet beads of blood seep out before smearing them onto the sealed magic bead. Then, he commands coldly—

“Open!”

Yun Zhuoran instinctively steps back, his heart demon on high alert.

His caution proves to be justified. As the magic bead absorbs the blood, a wave of dark, fishy-smelling energy surges outward, spreading like rippling water.

At the emergence of this ominous aura, the plague demon panics and hides behind Ji Ruo, trembling even more violently.

Suddenly, a black halo forms above the magic bead, and a single black hoof steps out first.

The cave trembles violently as the demonic energy thickens, growing more distinct.

When the demon pet finally reveals itself completely, Yun Zhuoran gets a clear look. It is a monster with a human face and a beast’s body. Two green snakes coil around its ears, hissing and flicking their scarlet tongues. Its blood-red eyes, filled with deep hostility, radiate an eerie chill.

This is no ordinary creature—it is a refined demon, its strength at least at the Integration stage or higher.

Yun Zhuoran narrows his eyes, suppressing his heart demon as it lets out a hungry, predatory sound.

Ji Ruo suddenly sways, as if drained of strength, his breath coming in quick, ragged pants beneath his mask. Clutching his chest to steady himself, he points at Yun Zhuoran.

“Shebi Shi… keep an eye on him!”

His hoarse voice is commanding, but… is that all he’s ordering the Shebi Shi to do?

Yun Zhuoran is momentarily taken aback. Does Ji Ruo actually think that highly of him?

Ji Ruo watches as Yun Zhuoran stares back, seemingly frozen in place, and feels like he has regained the upper hand. However, a sense of unease creeps in when he notices the Shebi Shi’s blood-red eyes settling on him. After a long moment, the monster slowly lowers its head.

Ji Ruo exhales in relief.

Fortunately, the Shebi Shi doesn’t seem to have much independent will. Though immensely powerful, it is still barely controllable for now.

Feeling reassured, Ji Ruo huffs smugly at Yun Zhuoran, turning away with an air of superiority. Yet, despite his outward confidence, he repeatedly glances back at the Shebi Shi, clearly nervous.

The plague demon follows closely behind, keeping its distance from both Yun Zhuoran and the Shebi Shi. It finds them both terrifying.

Pressing itself against the mountain wall, it hides behind Ji Ruo, occasionally peeking out uneasily. Its fearful gaze shifts between the two figures standing in confrontation in the distance.

Is Ji Ruo also afraid of the very Shebi Shi he summoned? Yun Zhuoran muses, glancing up at the towering, red-eyed monster across from him.

However, Shebi Shi does not step closer.

As if… it, too, is afraid of something.

Yun Zhuoran guesses that his near-perfected Nascent Soul stage spiritual power is difficult to fully conceal. Once Shebi Shi senses their comparable strength, it becomes wary of him, recognizing that he could potentially pose a threat.

The Heart Demon lies eagerly on the back of Yun Zhuoran’s hand. “Brother, it looks delicious!”

Yun Zhuoran presses down on the black sphere in his hand and glances at Ji Ruo in the distance. His gaze briefly sweeps over the Plague Demon hiding behind Ji Ruo, causing it to shrink back as if burned.

They all seem rather dim-witted.

As Yun Zhuoran approaches, Ji Ruo glares at him fiercely and raises his jade talisman as if to send a message. Yet, after holding it for a long time, he remains motionless. Before he can act, a voice rings out from outside the cave—

“Master Ji, I know where you are,” Shen Lingshu calls out. “If you hand over my Junior Brother Yun now, we’ll let you go. Otherwise, don’t blame me for disregarding the Demon Palace’s master!”

That Shen Lingshu comes to his rescue is within Yun Zhuoran’s expectations. Emotionally and logically, Shen Lingshu wouldn’t let anything happen to him—especially with Lu Qi around.

However, Yun Zhuoran didn’t expect them to arrive so soon. Even he is a little surprised.

Ji Ruo, on the other hand, is outright shocked. He jumps up and curses, “This young master is wise and brave! If it weren’t for that damned mirror of yours, do you think I’d have lost this time?”

Despite his outburst, Ji Ruo isn’t foolish enough to respond to Shen Lingshu directly via voice transmission. He has known that he can’t hide in this cave forever, but he didn’t expect Shen Lingshu to find him so quickly.

Clutching the voice transmission jade talisman tightly, his expression grows dark, as if preparing for something serious.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of Shebi Shi.

His eyes light up.

Without hesitation, he puts away the jade talisman and strides toward Yun Zhuoran.

“I almost forgot—I still have you as bait.” Ji Ruo smirks. “You’re a disciple of the Tiandao Sect. Shen Lingshu must care about you. If I use you to lure him and the others into this cave, wouldn’t that be like trapping a fish in a barrel?”

Yun Zhuoran is speechless. After all that scheming, this is Ji Ruo’s grand plan?

But on second thought, Ji Ruo does have a hidden trump card—Shebi Shi—something Shen Lingshu and the others have no knowledge of. If they blindly enter the cave, even with an immortal-grade treasure mirror, they would still be torn apart by Shebi Shi, who is a hundred times more dangerous than the plague demon.

However, judging by Ji Ruo’s actions…

It seems like he intends to act as the bait himself.

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t bother pointing out the flaws in Ji Ruo’s plan. He simply says, “I’m just an insignificant disciple of the Tiandao Sect. They won’t come for me.”

Ji Ruo, however, only becomes more confident. “The more you say that, the more certain I am that Shen Lingshu will come for you.” He claps his hands with a smug grin. “I’ll go find them right now! If I run into Yun Zhuoran…” He clenches his fists with gritted teeth and gives Yun Zhuoran a pointed look. “I’ll grind him into dust!”

If Yun Zhuoran doesn’t already know that Ji Ruo mistakes him for Li Jianming, he wouldn’t even know how to react to this.

For a brief moment, he pities Li Jianming.

Then, with a calm expression, he says, “Yun Zhuoran is very powerful. He has treasures left behind by Gu Shenshu and Yun Peiran. You won’t be able to kill him.”

Ji Ruo scowls. “You talk too much!”

Yun Zhuoran remains unfazed.

Ji Ruo shoots him another glare before turning back to Shebi Shi. “Wait for me to bring them here, then start immediately.”

Shebi Shi nods slowly. Seeing this, Ji Ruo feels reassured and leaves confidently.

Naturally, the plague demon follows. It has a strong feeling that if it stays behind, it might just end up in someone’s stomach.

Once Ji Ruo leaves, the cave falls into silence. Without the background noise of Ji Ruo’s voice, even the faintest sounds are much clearer.

Then, Shebi Shi suddenly moves. Its heavy footsteps echo as it steps toward Yun Zhuoran, its blood-red eyes filled with thick demonic energy locking onto him.

Yun Zhuoran’s gaze shifts toward the cave entrance, watching Ji Ruo’s figure disappear into the distance.

He immediately understands—Shebi Shi is bound by Ji Ruo’s command not to attack him while Ji Ruo is present. Now that Ji Ruo is gone, it no longer feels the need to obey.

No need to overthink it. Direct confrontation works just as well.

Yun Zhuoran curls his lips in satisfaction and presses down the restless Heart Demon.

“I’ll do it.”

The Heart Demon blinks in confusion. “Brother?”

A brilliant golden-red light suddenly flashes outside the cave, instantly engulfing the entrance and solidifying into an impenetrable barrier. When the barrier finally dissipates, the cave is left in complete disarray.

Deep claw marks and cracked web-like fissures mar the rough mountain walls. If not for the barrier’s reinforcement, the entire cave might collapse from the battle.

Now, only Yun Zhuoran and his small black sphere remain.

Leisurely adjusting his sleeves, Yun Zhuoran’s sharp black eyes gleam with satisfaction—proof that this “practice session” goes exactly as he wants.

The Heart Demon lets out a satisfied burp and floats back onto his shoulder.

“Let’s go.” Yun Zhuoran rubs the black sphere, tosses down a puppet, and walks straight out of the cave.

Behind him, the puppet shimmers with golden-red light. When the glow fades, a perfect replica of “Yun Zhuoran” stands in the cave. Without a backward glance, he departs.

The moment the Heart Demon devours Shebi Shi’s corpse, Yun Zhuoran receives immediate feedback. His already formidable foundation at the peak of the Transformation Stage stabilizes, and the once-overflowing spiritual power within his dantian now pushes him toward a breakthrough.

Just as he leaves the cave, Ji Ruo arrives with Shen Lingshu.

Ji Ruo has only dared to feign defeat and allow himself to be captured because he is confident that they won’t dare to kill him outright—after all, making an enemy of the number one figure in the Demon Dao is too great a risk.

Thinking about the setup inside the cave, Ji Ruo eagerly anticipates the moment of revelation. As he stands at the entrance, the corners of his lips curl into a cold smirk beneath his mask.

“The person is inside.”

Shen Lingshu and Lu Qi exchange a glance. Knowing Ji Ruo’s vengeful nature, they suspect an ambush and remain still.

Ji Ruo sneers and strides into the cave, deliberately taunting, “Are all you Tiandao Sect people this cowardly—” His voice cuts off abruptly.

Ji Ruo stands frozen at the cave’s entrance, his eyes widening at the chaotic scene before him.

Rubble and debris litter the ground—clear evidence of a fierce battle that has taken place not long ago. But the Shebi Shi he has so carefully arranged… is gone.

The only thing left in the cave is a man in white, lying motionless in the corner.

Yun Zhuoran.

Where’s my demon pet?! Panicking, Ji Ruo instinctively clutches the pendant hanging from his chest—just as a sharp crack echoes through the cave.

His magic bead, which somehow develops a fracture, shatters in his palm, splitting into several jagged shards.

His Shebi Shi… is gone.

Ji Ruo’s vision darkens, and he nearly collapses on the spot.

Meanwhile, Shen Lingshu and Lu Qi have already rushed past him, heading straight for the unconscious Yun Zhuoran. They carefully examine him and, upon confirming that he is still breathing, albeit unconscious, let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Qi extends a hand, but before he can act, Shen Lingshu steps forward, bending down to pick up Yun Zhuoran himself. With a glance at Ji Ruo, he instructs, “Junior Brother Lu, Master Ji is now your responsibility. We can’t let him escape before the seniors arrive.”

Originally, they had intended to let Ji Ruo go. But his repeated meddling has worn Shen Lingshu’s patience thin. While he has outwardly claimed to release Ji Ruo, he has secretly notified the elders outside. A response has already come—someone has entered the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest to personally escort Ji Ruo from the Demon Palace.

Ji Ruo only realizes this after hearing Shen Lingshu’s words.

His grief over losing another powerful demon pet is instantly overshadowed by shock. He stares at Shen Lingshu in disbelief.

“Shen Lingshu, you lied to me!”

Ji Ruo has walked straight into a trap and is now at Shen Lingshu’s mercy. He hadn’t expected his plan to fail so spectacularly—not only has he lost a demon pet, but he has been deceived yet again. Rage and regret boil inside him, nearly suffocating him, until suddenly, his eyes widen in realization.

He jabs a finger toward the person in Shen Lingshu’s arms. “Wait a minute… You just said he’s your Junior Brother Yun?”

Recalling Li Jianming’s face, a chilling suspicion creeps into Ji Ruo’s mind. His voice turns sharp. “Who is he to Yun Zhuoran? Did Yun Zhuoran come here?! Last time, that damned Yun Zhuoran secretly killed my demon pet!”

The cultivators near the cave entrance instinctively distance themselves from Ji Ruo—his sudden hysteria is unsettling. Only Shen Xi and Shen Manshen truly understand his reaction. They have just realized that the person in Shen Lingshu’s arms is Yun Zhuoran!

Shen Lingshu has no desire to waste another word on Ji Ruo. Holding Yun Zhuoran, he walks past him and leaves the cave. Lu Qi, gripping Ji Ruo’s arm tightly, follows behind.

After a moment of thought, a rare trace of pity flashes across his otherwise emotionless face.

“Junior Brother Yun is Yun Zhuoran. There is only one Yun Zhuoran in our Tiandao Sect.”

Ji Ruo freezes.

Then, his face twists with fury. “You people from Tiandao Sect are all liars!”