When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 37

Seeing that nothing major is happening over there, Yun Zhuoran lets the Heart Demon continue playing around while splitting his attention to observe the demonic cultivators in the distance. Up to this point, the young master they mention still hasn’t shown up. Unexpectedly, the Heart Demon becomes fixated on Shen Man. As long as the red mark on the fake Yun Zhuoran’s face caused by Shen Man hasn’t disappeared, the Heart Demon won’t let go of his anger.

Shen Man endures the pain and climbs back to her feet. Under the unusually dark and deep gaze of the “Yun Zhuoran,” she forces out a rather twisted smile. “Senior Brother Yun, you’re awake…” The red mark she left is still prominent, making Shen Man feel guilty. She turns around, grabs the teapot left on the stone table by Shen Lingshu, and pours some tea before offering it with an eager expression.

“Senior Brother Yun, are you thirsty? Have some water.”

The Heart Demon effortlessly controls the puppet several hundred miles away, making it lift its hand to take the tea. It slowly brings it to its lips, then…

The puppet’s voice remains flat, “Cold.”

Shen Man’s smiling face freezes. She clearly poured warm tea, but seeing Yun Zhuoran’s especially cold demeanor, she suspects he’s deliberately making things difficult for her.

After some thought, she forces a smile, takes back the tea, and sets it aside before reaching out her hand toward the puppet.

“Let me help you up for a walk, Senior Brother Yun.”

Just as her hand is about to touch the fake Yun Zhuoran, the Heart Demon makes the puppet dodge her even faster.

Seeing this, Shen Man makes up her mind and pretends to lose her balance, falling directly toward the puppet’s arms!

The Heart Demon is shocked. There’s a move like this?

Fortunately, he controls the puppet as naturally as his own limbs. Before Shen Man can fall onto it, the puppet raises its leg and kicks her away.

With a loud bang, Shen Man crashes against the mountain wall. Her entire body goes numb, her abdomen and already-injured tailbone throbbing in pain. She suspects that if she hadn’t already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, that kick might have killed her!

The more Shen Man thinks about it, the angrier and more frightened she becomes. That Yun Zhuoran… how could he be so ruthless?

The Heart Demon, on the other hand, is filled with relief. So close, so close! He’s protected his brother’s dignity!

Shen Man struggles to her feet, clutching her waist. Her skirt is dusty, making her appear rather disheveled. As the pain subsides, she squeezes out some tears and looks back pitifully.

When she seems about to speak, the puppet immediately interrupts, “I just woke up, and you’re already trying to crush me to death!”

Shen Man is dumbfounded. Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black? But she can’t afford to offend this person. With a tearful voice, she says, “No, I just didn’t mean to… I was just careless…”

The Heart Demon gleefully speaks up, “Fine, I’m thirsty. Go pour me some more tea.”

Didn’t I just pour tea earlier? It’s right there! Shen Man curses inwardly, You son of a…

Taking a deep breath, Shen Man goes to pour the tea again. This time, she deliberately keeps three feet away from the fake Yun Zhuoran and hands over the tea from a distance, clearly still shaken.

Before the Heart Demon can instruct the puppet to reach out, the cultivators outside the cave, hearing the commotion, enter. It’s only Shen Lingshu and his siblings, along with Lu Qi, who are present.. 

When Shen Man sees them, she throws the tea aside and looks at Shen Lingshu with tears in her eyes. Her disheveled dress and hair make her appear as though she has just been severely bullied.

However, Shen Lingshu and the others act as if they don’t see her, walking right past her toward the stone bed.

“Junior Brother Yun is awake!” Shen Lingshu sits on the edge of the bed. “Great! You were unconscious for two days, and we were all worried about you. Junior Brother Yun, what happened that day?”

As he leans closer, the Heart Demon quickly makes the puppet back away.

Shen Lingshu’s hand freezes midair and he inexplicably feels that Yun Zhuoran’s eyes are full of disgust when he looks at him.

If possible, the Heart Demon wants his brother to never meet Shen Lingshu again. After some thought, he cheerfully makes the puppet press its hand against its forehead.

Shen Lingshu sees Yun Zhuoran furrow his brows tightly, and is about to reach out to support him when Yun Zhuoran suddenly says, “The spiritual energy on you gives me a headache.”

Shen Lingshu is taken aback. “What?”

Yun Zhuoran winces in pain and falls silent.

Shen Lingshu attempts to rise, and the Heart Demon makes the fake Yun Zhuoran relax.

Shen Lingshu hesitates to get closer to Yun Zhuoran any further. Could it be that the spiritual energy on him is different from that of others, making Yun Zhuoran uncomfortable?

Shen Lingshu can’t make sense of it. As he ponders, he finally notices Shen Man.

Shen Lingshu asks, “What happened to you?”

Shen Man, who has been ignored for so long, is almost about to cry. She avoids his gaze and suddenly, as if trying to cover something up, hastily pulls her loosened collar back into place.

“I’m fine, it’s not Yun… Senior Brother Yun…” she says, quickly covering her mouth as if startled. Her eyes, filled with tears, nervously look at Yun Zhuoran.

Her indecisive and hesitant appearance easily leads others to assume that Yun Zhuoran has done something to her.

Shen Xi, experienced as he is, clicks his tongue and shows a disgusted expression. “What’s going on with you? We haven’t even asked how you ended up here, and now you’re trying to say that Yun Zhuoran, who just woke up, hurt you or something?”

Shen Man hurriedly shakes her head. “No! I didn’t mean that, it has nothing to do with Senior Brother Yun!”

Seeing this, both Shen Lingshu and Lu Qi sense something is off and turn to look at Yun Zhuoran.

The puppet says, “Maybe it’s because I woke up too suddenly, and I scared her, causing her to fall.”

Before Shen Man can smear his name, Shen Xi sighs. “I see. Yun Zhuoran, I believe you’re not the type to randomly bully a woman for no reason…”

Shen Man is astonished. Hadn’t Shen Xi previously looked down on Yun Zhuoran? But Shen Lingshu and Lu Qi are inclined to believe Yun Zhuoran, as they believe he would never wrong someone.

For Shen Lingshu, the matter is settled quickly. He can’t approach Yun Zhuoran, and he wants to do something kind. Noticing the spiritual tea on the table, he tells Shen Man, “Alright. Pour a glass of water for Junior Brother Yun.”

More tea pouring!

Shen Man stubbornly fixes her gaze on the upright-faced Lu Qi, hoping someone will speak up for her. Although she has intentionally tried to manipulate Yun Zhuoran, she still wants someone to help her play along with this act!

The Heart Demon suddenly realizes what’s happening. He slowly controls the puppet, gesturing with a grand wave. “No worries. Though Miss Shen did startle me, I haven’t taken it to heart. There’s no need for an apology.”

Shen Man: “…?”

Upon hearing this, both Shen Lingshu and Lu Qi’s expressions change. They hadn’t expected that Shen Man would secretly enter the cave to disturb Yun Zhuoran and even scare the person who has just woken up.

Shen Man realizes the situation is going awry and thinks to herself, I’ve encountered someone even better at pretending than I am!

She has no choice but to obey. She pours the third cup of tea and brings it to Yun Zhuoran, speaking through her tears, “I still need to apologize. It’s fine that I hurt myself falling, but Senior Brother Yun is already injured. It’s my fault for being so useless. I just wanted to help take care of Senior Brother Yun, but…”

She lowers her head, appearing embarrassed, and says to Shen Lingshu, “Big Brother, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, but everyone else is so busy, and I wasn’t able to help at all…”

After hearing her explanation, Shen Lingshu and Lu Qi’s expressions soften slightly, while Shen Xi only snorts, clearly not believing a single word.

The Heart Demon watches in astonishment. Is this what humans do? Retreat to advance? He thinks to himself and allows the puppet to smoothly take the cup of tea, merely touching its lips to it before setting it down carelessly.

At this moment, Shen Lingshu speaks again, “Is there anywhere else on Junior Brother Yun that still feels unwell? I’ve already notified the senior from outside the Ten Thousand Beast Forest, and in the next two days, someone will come to take Ji Ruo away. At that time, you can leave together.”

Yun Zhuoran, who has been listening intently, now understands. Shen Lingshu has already informed someone from outside the Ten Thousand Beast Forest, and people are on their way. He isn’t sure who is coming, but there’s a high chance it will be Qin Zheng or Jue Fei. As for the puppet…

It is highly likely it will be exposed.

Yun Zhuoran’s expression darkens as he restrains the Heart Demon. “Stop playing.”

The Heart Demon obediently complies. Since his older brother says not to play, he stops, withdrawing his spiritual energy and obediently gazing up at Yun Zhuoran.

Yun Zhuoran sighs helplessly as he looks at him. “Looks like we need to go back.”

The Heart Demon’s eyes are filled with resistance.

Yun Zhuoran turns to the distant demon cultivators who are patrolling. “Once we hear news of the mirage dragon’s whereabouts, we leave.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, in a cave, after Shen Lingshu finishes speaking, he is about to appeal to Yun Zhuoran’s emotions, reasoning that he will give up the opportunity to train and leave the Ten Thousand Beast Forest with Yun Zhuoran. However, “Yun Zhuoran” suddenly closes his eyes and falls back down again.

The others are startled.

Lu Qi hurries over to check Yun Zhuoran’s pulse, but no matter how realistic the puppet is, it isn’t a real person. The pulse he feels is still as strange as it has been these past two days.

Shen Xi suddenly points at Shen Man. “You tell me! Did you poison the tea? Otherwise, how did he drink your tea and then pass out again?”

Shen Lingshu and Lu Qi hadn’t thought of that, but after Shen Xi’s reminder, they both turn to look at Shen Man.

Shen Man is truly wronged. She stares at the person lying on the stone bed, unable to believe what’s happening. So this is my opponent? But does it really have to be like this? To deliberately feign illness and frame me?!

In reality, Yun Zhuoran has only let the Heart Demon play with a toy and doesn’t intend to offend anyone.

It isn’t until the early hours of the morning that movement occurs in the canyon.

Yun Zhuoran secretly observes the dozen or so black-robed demon cultivators gathering in the distance, performing a hand seal to cast a spell, and overhears their conversation.

The demon cultivators are discussing moving to a new position. It seems they have confirmed that the mirage dragon isn’t here. Their young master has instructed them to deal with the people in the canyon and then rush to join him. As for what “deal with” means…

The distant demon cultivators are excited, discussing how many cultivators each of them will take, whether they will drink blood or eat flesh. Some of the demon cultivators aren’t as evil and have no interest in participating in dealing with the righteous cultivators. After all, these people’s meridians have been sealed and are utterly powerless to resist.

Yun Zhuoran is a bit shocked. During the day, those demon cultivators said their young master wanted to spare the lives of these people. He hadn’t expected such a swift change of heart. Was it because they no longer have any use for these cultivators?

The demon cultivators haven’t arrived yet. Yun Zhuoran glances at the people resting on the stone beach before standing up with the Heart Demon. He kicks Cheng Yu, who is lying not far from him.

Cheng Yu opens his eyes and is startled to see a large dark figure in front of him. Realizing it’s the new companion from earlier, he pats his chest and lets out a sigh of relief.

“You…”

Before he can finish speaking, Yun Zhuoran suddenly slaps his palm on top of his head.

Cheng Yu, still groggy from waking up, sees a pair of cold, black eyes that seem icy to the core, so much so that he fears for his life. But just then, a familiar warmth spreads through his meridians, rapidly flowing through his limbs and bones. This…

When Yun Zhuoran withdraws his hand, Cheng Yu can only stare blankly at his own hands.

His spiritual meridians have been unsealed.

Yun Zhuoran reminds him, “They’re planning to kill people.”

Cheng Yu turns his head and looks into the distance, finally noticing that the group of demon cultivators is behaving strangely. Just then, the corner of a snow-white robe, flowing like waves, flashes before him. Something heavy, long, and cold is thrown into his arms.

He instinctively catches it, then is shocked to realize it’s a high-level spiritual sword. His eyes instantly light up, and the voice of the person who has given him the sword rings clearly in his ears, “Get these people out of here.”

Cheng Yu, holding the spiritual sword, stands up, “What about you?”

As his words fall, a dense black mist silently descends, like a barrier, separating the righteous cultivators on the stone beach from the demon cultivators in the distance, and blocking Cheng Yu’s line of sight. Cheng Yu realizes that this person is definitely not a disciple of the Kunwu Sword Sect.

Just as he hears a sudden bang, he instinctively looks up—

The barrier in the canyon shatters!

The demon cultivators finally realize something is wrong. They can’t break through the black mist and can’t immediately repair the barrier.

Suddenly, someone cries out in shock, pointing at a figure standing high on the mountain wall. They can’t see his face or the patterns on his clothes, but they can clearly feel the overwhelming pressure emanating from him.

One demon cultivator, struggling under the pressure, gasps, “This… this is a great master in the Integration Stage!”

The group of demon cultivators can’t believe it. How can this be? They had checked—over the years, the highest cultivation level of the righteous cultivators who entered the Ten Thousand Beast Forest for training had been limited to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. How can there be an Integration level cultivator?

Cheng Yu’s movements are swift. Realizing that Yun Zhuoran has brought him this opportunity, he immediately wakes everyone up, not having time to unseal their spiritual meridians one by one, and hurriedly leads everyone to flee.

As the group escapes the canyon, Yun Zhuoran withdraws his divine sense and looks down at the demon cultivators in the valley, who are now firmly suppressed. He has helped Cheng Yu and the others this far, but if they are caught again, he will not intervene.

A cold wind suddenly surges in the valley, and there’s something off about it. When Yun Zhuoran senses the killing intent, a black blade filled with demonic energy is already three feet away from his back, charging at him with overwhelming force!

Yun Zhuoran retreats just in time, and the demonic sword brushes past him, leaving behind a chilling and sinister aura.

Yun Zhuoran quickly forms a hand seal, creating a curved barrier and swinging his hand to send the demonic sword flying back.

The sharp blade cuts through the mountain wind and lands in the hand of a shadowy figure above the canyon.

The demon cultivator, clad in black robes, has no idea how long he has been standing there, watching.

The moment Yun Zhuoran sees him, a name surges in his mind—Young Master.

Whoever this Young Master is, Yun Zhuoran can’t discern his cultivation level, and the man isn’t affected by his pressure. From this, Yun Zhuoran infers that the man’s cultivation is likely on par with his own, or perhaps even higher!

Above the canyon, the man in the black robe tilts his head, seemingly trying to get a clear look at Yun Zhuoran. But in the end, it seems futile. He asks, “Who are you?”

This is Yun Zhuoran’s advantage. He raises his hand to suppress the Heart Demon on his shoulder, his gaze icy cold.

“I am Ji Ruo.”

The man in black robes is silent for a moment. “You’re lying.”

Yun Zhuoran’s expression remains calm. He is indeed lying, but why should he tell the truth?

Then, the man in black robes speaks again, “I am his older brother.”